December 4, 2021 Nutrition Notes

SUBJ: evidence supports taking alpha-ketoglutarate reduces epigenetic aging by 7 years

SUBtitle: Arsenic, Lead and Cadmium in Some Popular Spices

Lots of useful notes as we end a difficult hear. See past newsletters here   

SHORT NOTES: 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide could be potentially prevented every year if people ate 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day; Consumer Reports Just Found Arsenic, Lead and Cadmium in Some Popular Spices; BCAAs stimulate muscle growth; evidence supports taking alpha-ketoglutarate reduces epigenetic aging by 7 years;  War on cancer started 1971; Healthy steps-exercise, coffee, green tea, cruciferous veggies, sleep. Lack of sleep increases cancer risk 43%; Is high dietary quality the real fountain of youth? Changes in DNA methylation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases that are largely influenced by dietary quality, including cardiovascular disease and cancer;  analgesic nanoparticles anaesthetize the nerves inside the tumors, shutting down communications between them, thus inhibiting tumor growth and spread; The NanoGhost cancer treatment enables the dose of existing immunotherapies to be reduced by a millionfold, to prevent toxic side effects; Declines in added sugars intake were observed among children from 2001–2018,  intakes remain above the DGA recommendation; full breastfeeding was associated with lower likelihood of detecting four important enteric pathogens in the first six months of life; When a man is dehydrated, it impairs blood flow to all parts of the body, including the penis; Metformin is being deployed in clinical trials to ameliorate aging in older non-diabetic humans; If you are experiencing sciatica pain going down your leg, beware of cortisone injection; melatonin may reduce the risk of TBI-induced neurodegeneration; Pharmabiotics, postbiotics, and next-generation probiotics, are considered as a means to prevent oxidative stress, inflammatory processes, neurodegenerative and viral diseases through gut microbiome regulation;  We found no evidence of a sleep imbalance when both parents have similar working responsibilities; Estrogen has been shown to attenuate anticholinergic-induced impairments resulting in a more “young adult” phenotype; Boosting your muscle mass increases your metabolism, so you burn more calories all the time, even when you're not working out; Pomegranate attenuates development of atherosclerosis;  Lots of great information from the Fickenscher files. Email to get on the distribution list: Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action; Over the course of the last decade family premiums for employer-sponsored coverage have jumped on average 47%;  Remote care delivery is becoming the norm in health care; The evolving pandemic of concern? Obesity among children; The diet-microbiota-immunity triad is increasingly recognized as a major interplay inside of us that contributes to a whole host of issues from allergies to malabsorption to immune reactions.

LONG NOTES:

Aging biomarkers, such as DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks, have been developed to monitor biological age. Herein we report a retrospective analysis of
DNA methylation age in 42 individuals, an alpha-ketoglutarate based formulation, for an average period of 7 months. DNAm testing was performed at baseline and by the end of treatment with Rejuvant® supplementation. Remarkably, individuals showed
an average decrease in biological aging of 8 years. Furthermore, the supplementation is robust to individual differences, as indicated by the fact that a large majority of participants decreased their biological age. Moreover, we found that Rejuvant® is of additional benefit to chronologically and biologically older individuals. [Note evidence supports taking alpha-ketoglutarate]

Consumer Reports Just Found Arsenic, Lead and Cadmium in Some Popular Spices.  The assorted spices included multiple brands of basil, black pepper, chili powder, coriander, cumin, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, oregano, paprika, saffron, sesame seed, thyme, turmeric and white pepper. See list here. Walmart  Great Value flunked.

Eating more fruits and vegetables may prevent millions of premature deaths. Analysed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. The team found that although even the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduced disease risk, the greatest benefit came from eating 800g a day (roughly equivalent to ten portions - one portion of fruit or vegetables if defined as 80g). 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide could be potentially prevented every year if people ate 10 portions, or 800 g, of fruit and vegetables a day.

Efficiency of Free Amino Acids in Supporting Muscle Protein Synthesis. Proteinogenic AAs stimulate body, and more particularly, muscle protein synthesis as substrates, and some AAs (i.e., leucine, isoleucine, valine, arginine, glutamine) act as nutritional signaling molecules able to activate mRNA translation and protein synthesis

War on cancer started 1971, 50% survival. Now 98% survive prostate cancer, 96% melanoma, 92% breast. But bladder cancer just from 72 to 79%. From .65 to 1.8 million new diagnoses per year, average monthly drug cost is $14,580.  Healthy steps-exercise, coffee, green tea, cruciferous veggies, sleep. Lack of sleep increases risk 43%,  exercise reduces colon and breast risk 20%.57% of cancer care providers rarely used assessment tools to optimize treatment. War on cancer, Sari Harrar, AARP, Nov, 2021, pg 10-18

Is high dietary quality the real fountain of youth? DNA methylation is one of the most studied epigenetic marks related to chronic disease risk. Changes in DNA methylation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases that are largely influenced by dietary quality, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Recent work suggests that diet can have a major impact on an individual's epigenome.

Silencing tumor communications. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a breakthrough cancer treatment by injecting analgesic nanoparticles into the bloodstream. These anaesthetize the nerves inside the tumors, shutting down communications between them, thus inhibiting tumor growth and spread.
https://www.jns.org/innovative-breast-cancer-treatment-uses-anesthesia-of-nervous-system-around-tumor/

The NanoGhost cancer treatment targeted delivery mechanism developed by scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute is truly revolutionary (see here previously).  It enables the dose of existing immunotherapies (e.g., TRAIL) to be reduced by a millionfold, to prevent toxic side effects.

Mitochondrial dysfunction may participate in the development of aging
and a series of human diseases. Mitoepigenetics may regulate mitochondrial DNA-encoded gene expression and contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Trends in added Sugars Intake and Sources Among U.S. Children, Adolescents and Teens using NHANES 2001-2018. Declines in added sugars intake were observed among children, adolescents and teens from 2001–2018,  intakes remain above the DGA recommendation.

Full breastfeeding protection against common enteric bacteria and viruses: Results from the MAL-ED cohort study.  full breastfeeding was associated with lower likelihood of detecting four important enteric pathogens in the first six months of life. These results also show that full breastfeeding is related to delays in the first detection of some bacterial and viral pathogens in the stool. As several of these pathogens are risk factors for poor growth during childhood, this work underscores the importance of exclusive or full breastfeeding during the first six months of life to optimize early health.

When a man is dehydrated, he does not have as much blood volume in his body as when he is properly hydrated. Therefore, his blood vessels become constricted, as there is not enough blood to keep them tense. This impairs blood flow to all parts of the body, including the penis. Little research has looked at whether dehydration directly causes erectile dysfunction, so further studies are needed.

Metformin, a commonly used, well-tolerated treatment for type 2 diabetes, is being deployed in clinical trials to ameliorate aging in older non-diabetic humans. Concerningly, some experiments in model organisms have suggested that metformin use at old ages shortens lifespan and is toxic to mitochondria. We found that, in old rats, metformin did not compromise mitochondrial DNA integrity, did not affect mortality, and may have cardiac benefits.

If you are experiencing sciatica pain going down your leg, you may have received a recommendation for a cortisone injection. But is cortisone the best course of action? When patients experience referred pain and possibly tingling down to the calf and toes, either cortisone (steroid) or dextrose injections can be used. It's important to understand, however, that steroids are strong anti-inflammatories! They need to be limited to no more than 3-4 injections each year in order to prevent the thinning of the bone and connective tissue damage.

Melatonin as a Potential Regulator of Oxidative Stress, and Neuroinflammation: Mechanisms and Implications for the Management of Brain Injury-Induced Neurodegeneration. Melatonin has shown beneficial regulatory effects against the Traumatic brain injury-induced autophagic dysfunction, regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, such as ERK, activation of the NLRP-3 inflammasome, and release of the inflammatory cytokines. The collective findings strongly suggest that melatonin may regulate TBI-induced neurodegeneration

Common Inflammatory Mechanisms in COVID-19 and Parkinson’s Diseases: The Role of Microbiome, Pharmabiotics and Postbiotics in Their Prevention.  The coronavirus infection can be the trigger for neurodegenerative diseases by dysfunction of the RAAS. Pharmabiotics, postbiotics, and next-generation probiotics, are considered as a means to prevent oxidative stress, inflammatory processes, neurodegenerative and viral diseases through gut microbiome regulation.

Do Mothers Have Worse Sleep Than Fathers? We found no evidence of a sleep imbalance when both parents have similar working responsibilities.

Sleep Imbalance, Parental Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction in Working Parents

Loss of Estrogen and the Risk of Cognitive Decline: A Missing Choline(rgic) Link?  While age is the most striking risk factor for AD, it is notable that the prevalence of AD is higher in women, representing two-thirds of cases.  Estrogen has been shown to attenuate anticholinergic-induced impairments in verbal memory and normalize patterns of frontal and occipital cortex activation, resulting in a more “young adult” phenotype.

People who do strengthening and toning exercises in an effort to trim fat from a certain area -- thighs, hips, stomach, or arms -- have the wrong idea. Although these exercises can help firm muscles, if the targeted area still carries an extra layer of fat, it won't look much different. You can't isolate fat loss to one part of the body. Cardiovascular exercise will torch calories, but resistance training is a big part of the equation if you want to burn fat. Boosting your muscle mass increases your metabolism, so you burn more calories all the time, even when you're not working out.

GRG symposium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4PdLwj_eC4. Transient reprogramming of cells can restore youthful gene expression. Basically turning somatic (differentiated) cells back to stem (undifferentiated) cells. Pomegranate attenuates development of atherosclerosis. But may work only with certain microbiomes.

Lots of great information from the Fickenscher files. Email to get on the distribution list:

Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license. The data are absolutely clear – vaccinations work. AND, more importantly, Facebook, Etsy, Instagram and Fox et.al. are NOT the resources that provide “data” in an unbiased fashion.

Over 22million infants across the globe are at risk of measles – a VERY controllable disease – because they missed their initial vaccinations. 

Over the course of the last decade family premiums for employer-sponsored coverage have jumped on average 47%, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The increases in health care premiums dramatically outpace both wage growth (31%) and inflation (23%) over the same time period. To put it all in perspective, the annual premiums for family coverage in 2021 reached an average $22,221 with workers contributing an average $5,969 

Remote care delivery is becoming the norm in health care as well. We should clearly expect that this trend will not only continue but accelerate. On the health care front, there’s also increasing evidence that remote care actually decreases costs and accelerates effective treatment for a large number of medical problems. 

Speaking of pandemics, there’s another one lurking out there that has not gotten much attention. The World Health Organization highlighted the issue as a recent meeting. The evolving pandemic of concern? Obesity among children. 

The diet-microbiota-immunity triad is increasingly recognized as a major interplay inside of us that contributes to a whole host of issues from allergies to malabsorption to immune reactions.