The Gary Null Show - 12.21.21

Curcumin could aid diabetic kidney disease patients

Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, December 17 2021. A meta-analysis of randomized trials concluded that curcumin supplementation was associated with improved creatinine (a marker of kidney function), cholesterol, glucose and systolic blood pressure compared to a placebo in men and women with diabetic kidney disease, a frequent complication of diabetes. The findings were published on December 2, 2021 in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

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Cardiovascular disease risk boosted by stress 

University of Gothenburg (Sweden), December 16, 2021 The risk of cardiovascular disease rises with an increasing burden of perceived stress, financial problems and adverse life events, a major international study with University of Gothenburg researchers as main authors shows. They were able to link the risk of both heart attack and stroke with high stress levels. The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, included 118,706 individuals in 21 countries, five of which were low-income, twelve middle-income, and four high-income countries. The participants, both men and women, were aged 35–70, 50 years being the average when the study began).

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New study suggests health benefits of swapping animal proteins for plant proteins

St Michael’s Hospital, December 20, 2021 Substituting one to two servings of animal proteins with plant proteins every day could lead to a small reduction in the three main cholesterol markers for cardiovascular disease prevention, a new study suggests. The health benefits could be even greater if people combined plant proteins with other cholesterol-lowering foods such as viscous, water soluble fibres from oats, barley and psyllium, and plant sterols, said lead author Dr. John Sievenpiper of St. Michael's Hospital. Dr. Sievenpiper led a systematic review and meta-analysis of 112 randomized control trials in which people substituted plant proteins for some animal proteins in their diets for at least three weeks. The results were published online today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Blueberry vinegar improves memory in mice with amnesia

Konkuk University (S Korea) December 20, 2021 In the search for new ways to fight cognitive decline, scientists report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that blueberry vinegar might offer some help. They found that the fermented product could restore cognitive function in mice. To carry out their experiment, the researchers administered blueberry vinegar to mice with induced amnesia. Measurements of molecules in their brains showed that the vinegar reduced the breakdown of acetylcholine and boosted levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein associated with maintaining and creating healthy neurons. To test how the treatment affected cognition, the researchers analyzed the animals' performance in mazes and an avoidance test, in which the mice would receive a low-intensity shock in one of two chambers.

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Protective effect of education against midlife mental health struggle waning for Americans

Arizona State University, December 16, 2021 Middle-aged adults in the United States today experience worse mental health than older generations of Americans and also their European and Asian peers. To understand what is happening with middle-aged American adults, a research team led by Arizona State University scientists compared middle age across different cultures and periods of time. The study examined how physical and mental health in midlife changed over time and in different countries. "The protective effect of education is waning in the US. People born in the 1950s and 1960s who have a college education report more depressive symptoms and have poorer memory and overall health than both older American adults and their same-age peers in other countries with similar economic structures to the US," said Frank Infurna, associate professor of psychology at ASU and lead author on the study.