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How One Company Destroyed An Entire Country - Moon
Green tea EGCG backed to prevent life-threatening ‘artery explosion’
Kyoto University, August 25, 2022
Drinking polyphenol-packed green tea could help to prevent a deadly condition in the body's main artery, according to new research in rats.
Writing in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, the Japanese research team reported that polyphenols from the nation's favourite drink, green tea, co...
Videos:
How One Company Destroyed An Entire Country - Moon
Green tea EGCG backed to prevent life-threatening ‘artery explosion’
Kyoto University, August 25, 2022
Drinking polyphenol-packed green tea could help to prevent a deadly condition in the body's main artery, according to new research in rats.
Writing in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, the Japanese research team reported that polyphenols from the nation's favourite drink, green tea, could offer benefits in preventing abdominal aneurysm expansion (AAA) – a serious condition characterised by destruction of the body’s main artery.
The new study from the Kyoto University team found that rats fed a green tea extract containing epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) developed AAA less frequently than rats that were not given the polyphenol.
"The type of polyphenol found in green tea [EGCG] has recently been shown to regenerate elastin, an essential protein that gives the artery its stretchy, yet sturdy, texture," explains Setozaki. "Considering that abdominal arterial aneurysms are caused by inflammation and the degradation of elastin components in the arterial wall, we thought drinking green tea may show promise for treatment."
The results confirmed that EGCG blocked AAA progression in the rat model by preserving the aortic thickness and elastin content through regeneration of elastin.
“Regular green tea consumption might be advantageous for patients with a small AAA or as a prophylactic strategy for AAA,” the team suggested.
Lower potassium intake linked to premature mortality risk
University of California at Irvine, September 2 2022.
A study reported on August 26, 2022, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a higher risk of dying during a median 5.8 to 7.8-year follow-up period in association with a lower intake of potassium. The risk was similar between individuals with normal or impaired kidney function.
“In healthy adults, higher dietary potassium intake is recommended given that potassium-rich foods are major sources of micronutrients, antioxidants, and fiber,” Yoko Narasaki of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues explained. “Yet among patients with advanced kidney dysfunction, guidelines recommend dietary potassium restriction given concerns about hyperkalemia [elevated blood potassium—ed.] leading to malignant arrhythmias and mortality.”
The investigation included 37,893 continuous participants in the National Health and Nutrition Education Survey (NHANES, 1999–2014) whose potassium intake was calculated from 24-hour dietary recall interviews. Mortality data was collected through the end of 2014.
Among subjects with impaired kidney function, those whose potassium intake was among the lowest one-third had a risk of dying during a median 5.8-year follow-up period that was 18% greater than those among the top third. For participants with normal kidney function, mortality risk for those among the lowest third was 17% higher during a median 7.8 years of follow-up.
High intake of potassium primarily from plant sources was associated with lower mortality during follow-up in comparison with a low intake of the mineral from animal-dominant sources. In the group with impaired kidney function, a 24% greater risk of mortality during follow-up occurred among those who consumed a low amount of potassium paired with a high amount of protein compared to high potassium/high protein.
“Lower dietary potassium scaled to energy intake was associated with higher mortality, irrespective of kidney function,” the authors concluded. “Further studies are needed to elucidate pathways linking potassium intake and co-existing dietary factors with survival in populations with and without chronic kidney disease.”
People who lack compassion for the environment are also less emotional in general
University of Michigan, September 2, 2022
People who respond less emotionally to images of damage to the environment are also less emotional and empathic in general, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Differences in political ideology can limit policy adjustments that address climate change. Researchers and practitioners often raise concern by appealing to people's empathy.
However, some people appear less emotionally impacted by environmental destruction—particularly those who are more ideologically conservative and less pro-environmental, the study showed.
In a series of online experiments in the U.S., psychology professor Stephanie Preston examined the emotional responses of more than 600 people in a variety of contexts.
People not concerned when viewing pictures of damage to the environment—such as oil spills on fire in a gulf—also did not feel bad about other images including crying babies, officers in distress, injured athletes, wounded soldiers and even moldy food.
Consistent with this lack of contagious distress, more "impassive" people said that they felt less empathy for those in daily life and were less pro-environmental and less awed by nature. This group also responded less to positive images such as happy babies, ice cream and stacks of money, the research showed.
The study's results suggest that some people's lack of concern for the environment may not be particularly political or reflect a specific disinterest in the environment. It is instead a characteristic of their broader emotional palette, Preston said.
"Given that our sense of risk and decisions are strongly guided by emotions, more impassive people are less inclined to dedicate resources to this slowly building crisis," she said.
Amino acid supplements may boost vascular endothelial function in older adults: Study
University of Alabama, August 28, 2022
A combination of HMB (a metabolite of leucine), glutamine and arginine may improve vascular function and blood flow in older people, says a new study.
Scientists from the University of Alabama report that a supplement containing HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate), glutamine and arginine (Juven by Abbott Nutrition) increased flow-mediated dilation (FMD - a measure of blood flow and vascular health) by 27%, whereas no changes were observed in the placebo group.
However, the researchers did not observe any changes to markers of inflammation, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)
“Our results indicate that 6 months of dietary supplementation with HMB, glutamine and arginine had a positive impact on vascular endothelial function in older adults,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr Amy Ellis in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition . “These results are clinically relevant because reduced endothelial-dependent vasodilation is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases
Break A Sweat For Your Brain: Exercise Protects Aging Synapses
University of California at San Francisco, September 2, 2022
Scientists at UC San Francisco have found that the brains of physically active elderly adults contain more of a specific type of protein known to enhance the connections between neurons and help maintain healthy cognition. Importantly, autopsies show this held up even among people whose brains contained high levels of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“Our work is the first that uses human data to show that synaptic protein regulation is related to physical activity and may drive the beneficial cognitive outcomes we see,” says lead study author Kaitlin Casaletto, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology, in a university release.
“Maintaining the integrity of these connections between neurons may be vital to fending off dementia, since the synapse is really the site where cognition happens,” Dr. Casaletto adds. “Physical activity—a readily available tool—may help boost this synaptic functioning.”
The analysis revealed older adults who had remained active displayed higher levels of proteins that make the exchange of information between neurons possible. Moreover, researchers admit it was surprising to see the beneficial effects extend beyond just the hippocampus — the mind’s memory center — to additional brain regions associated with cognitive function.
“It may be that physical activity exerts a global sustaining effect, supporting and stimulating healthy function of proteins that facilitate synaptic transmission throughout the brain,” Dr. Honer explains.
Fermented soymilk isoflavones could cut UV damage
Yakult Central Institute (Japan), August 30, 2022
Consuming fermented soymilk products may help protect against ultraviolet radiation damage by increasing the number of isoflavone compounds in the body, according to a study on mice.
Researchers from the Yakult Central Institute in Japan tested female hairless mice, feeding groups of six soymilk (SM) or fermented soymilk (FSM), with additional untreated and control groups. They found mice fed on FSM showed less skin reddening and skin thickening compared to those fed on regular soymilk.
The researchers found that isoflavone concentrations in the blood and UV-exposed skin were significantly higher in the FSM group compared to the SM mice. They had previously found isoflavone absorption is higher for subjects fed aglycone-enriched FSM compared to glucoside-enriched SM.
We believe that the higher delivery of genistein and daidzein to the serum and dorsal skin is due to differences in effectiveness between FSM and SM,” they added.
“Because of their similar structures, isoflavones exert oestrogen-like activity and can protect against hormone-dependent diseases. We believe that the oestrogen-like activity of isoflavones from FSM partly compensates for the oestrogen depletion in [ovariectomised] hairless mice, preventing the photodamage induced by UVB irradiation,” they added.
