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Resveratrol may be an effective intervention for lung aging
The Saban Research Institute (Los Angeles), February 22, 2023
In a study led by Barbara Driscoll, PhD, of The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, researchers demonstrate, for the first time that inhaled resveratrol treatments slow aging-related degenerative changes in mouse lung. Lung aging, characterized by airspace enlargement and decreasing lung function, is a significant risk factor for chronic human lung diseases. The study is published online in the journal Thorax.
“We believe that ours is the first study to demonstrate a beneficial effect of lung-directed resveratrol treatments on aging lung function,” said Driscoll.
Resveratrol (RSL), a chemical found in red wine, is an antimicrobial chemical substance produced by plants to protect against infection and stress-related changes. It has previously been shown to support muscle metabolism when delivered orally.
RSL prophylaxis by inhalation was a novel measure taken by the research team as a potential approach for slowing age-related deterioration of lung function and structure by preserving alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AEC2) which line alveoli (the tiny air sacs in the lungs through which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place) and produce surfactant which is vital for efficient breathing.
In healthy young adults, breathing is an essential, efficient process, but natural aging of the lung occurs at a steady and irreversible rate, as measured by a decline in lung function. This natural deterioration leads to a significantly reduced quality of life, over a time frame dependent on genetic and environmental factors. Although some available therapies can ameliorate symptoms, aging-related lung failure is generally irreversible and is accompanied by high rates of morbidity and mortality due to increased disease risk, including development of COPD, with accompanying emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
The research team found that inhaled, prophylactic resveratrol treatments can slow the rate of lung function decline, alveolar enlargement and alveolar epithelial type 2 cell DNA damage that occurs in the early stages of lung aging. They concluded that administration of resveratrol directly to the lungs may be an effective intervention for lung aging, which is a significant risk factor for development of chronic lung disease.
Keto vs. vegan: Study of popular diets finds over fourfold difference in carbon footprints
Tulane University, March 1, 2023
For those on keto or paleo diets, this may be tough to swallow.
A new study from Tulane University that compared popular diets on both nutritional quality and environmental impact found that the keto and paleo diets, as eaten by American adults, scored among the lowest on overall nutrition quality and were among the highest on carbon emissions.
The keto diet, which prioritizes high amounts of fat and low amounts of carbs, was estimated to generate almost 3 kg of carbon dioxide for every 1,000 calories consumed. The paleo diet, which eschews grains and beans in favor of meats, nuts and vegetables, received the next lowest diet quality score and also had a high carbon footprint, at 2.6 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 calories.
The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compiled diet quality scores using data from more than 16,000 adult diets collected by the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Individual diets were assigned point values based on the federal Healthy Eating Index and average scores were calculated for those eating each type of diet.
“We suspected the negative climate impacts because they’re meat-centric, but no one had really compared all these diets—as they are chosen by individuals, instead of prescribed by experts—to each other using a common framework,” Rose said.
On the other end of the spectrum, a vegan diet was found to be the least impactful on climate, generating 0.7 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 calories consumed, less than a quarter of the impact of the keto diet. The vegan diet was followed by vegetarian and pescatarian diets in increasing impact.
The pescatarian diet scored highest on nutritional quality of the diets analyzed, with vegetarian and vegan diets following behind.
The omnivore diet—the most common diet, represented by 86% of survey participants—sat squarely in the middle of the pack of both quality and sustainability. Based on the findings, if a third of those on omnivore diets began eating a vegetarian diet, on average for any given day, it would be equivalent to eliminating 340 million passenger vehicle miles.
Notably, however, when those on omnivorous diets opted for the plant-forward Mediterranean or fatty meat-limiting DASH diet versions, both carbon footprints and nutritional quality scores improved.
A 2021 United Nations-backed study found that 34% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the food system. The major share of those emissions come from food production, with beef being responsible for 8-10 times more emissions than chicken production and over 20 times more emissions than nut and legume production.
L-Arginine-B vitamin combination effective for blood pressure improvements: Study
University of Hannover (Germany), February 26, 2023
A combination of l-arginine with folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 may improve vascular function and help reduce blood pressure, says a new study from Germany. Supplementation produced significant improvements in the reactive hyperemia index, a measure of endothelial function that demonstrates improvements in vascular function, reported scientists from the University of Hannover, Ulm University of Applied Sciences, and University Clinic Münster.
Data from a placebo-controlled clinical trial with 81 people indicated that blood pressure measures improved and homocysteine levels significantly decreased.
“This trial confirms the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a dietary intervention combining l-arginine and B vitamins for the purposes of improving cardiovascular health,” wrote the researchers in the European Journal of Nutrition.
“The primary efficacy analysis demonstrates a statistically significant superiority of the l-arginine and B vitamin combination over placebo in improving and restoring the impaired endothelial function after fat loading in a group of subjects with slightly to moderately elevated BP.”
Participants aged between 40 and 65 were randomly assigned to receive a combination of L-arginine and B vitamins (2.4 g l-arginine, 3 mg vitamin B6, 0.4 mg folic acid, 2 micrograms vitamin B12) or placebo for three months. The participants were followed for a further three months without supplementation.
Results showed that reactive hyperemia index (RHI) increased in the intervention group (0.37 increase), no significant changes were recorded in the placebo groups at the end of the study, said the researchers.
In addition, systolic blood pressure significantly decreased by an average of 6 mmHg over the study period for the arginine group, but not in the placebo group. There was also a tendency for diastolic blood pressure to decrease.ssociated with a 14% reduction in stroke risk and a 9% reduction in coronary heart disease risk. Thus, it is justified that the positive effects of the test preparation on BP in our mildly hypertensive patients are interpreted as clinically relevant.”
Satisfying mid-life relationships linked to lower multiple chronic disease risk in older age
University of Sydney, February 23, 2023
Satisfying relationships in midlife with partners, friends, or work colleagues are linked to a lower risk of accumulating multiple long term conditions in older age—at least among women—suggests research published in the open access journal General Psychiatry.
The less satisfying these relationships were, the greater was the risk, with the findings only partially explained by influential factors, such as income, education, and health behaviors, the study shows.
Mounting evidence indicates a link between strong social networks and good health/well-being in older age, but it’s not known if these connections might lower the risk of multiple long term conditions (multimorbidity), which many older women, in particular, face.
All the women in the current study were aged 45-50 in 1996. Their health and well-being was tracked roughly every three years via questionnaire up to 2016.
They were asked to rank their levels of satisfaction with each of their 5 categories of relationships on a 4-point scale, with each response scored up to a maximum of 3 points.
And they were asked to indicate if they developed any of the following: diabetes; high blood pressure; heart disease; stroke; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD); asthma; osteoporosis; arthritis; cancer; depression; and anxiety.
Accumulating 2 or more of these from a starting point of none, or additional conditions from just 1, or from 2 or more, was defined as having multiple conditions (multimorbidity).
The final analysis included 7,694 women, 58% (4,484) of whom accumulated multiple long term conditions over 20 years of monitoring.
Overall, relationship satisfaction was associated with the accumulation of multiple long term conditions: the greater the levels of satisfaction, the lower were the risks.
Compared with women reporting the highest level of satisfaction (score of 15), those who reported the lowest (score of 5 or less) were more than twice as likely to accumulate multiple long term conditions after fully adjusting for potentially influential factors.
The strength of the association was comparable with that of well established risk factors, such as overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol intake, say the researchers.
Tai Chi may reduce stroke risk
Chinese University of Hong Kong, February 23, 2023
Weekly Tai Chi exercise sessions may reduce stroke risk by lowering high blood pressure and increasing the good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), according to research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference.
Researchers studied how Tai Chi compared to brisk walking for reducing stroke risk in 246 adults with known stroke risk factors, including high blood pressure. Participants were randomly assigned to a group that participated in two 60-minute Tai Chi sessions each week; a walking group that walked briskly for 30 minutes every day; or a control group, which was told to maintain the activities they were doing before the study.
At three months into the assigned activities, researchers found:
The Tai Chi group had notably greater reductions of 10.25 mm Hg in systolic (upper number) and 6.5 mm Hg in diastolic (lower number) blood pressure measurements than those in the control group.
The Tai Chi group also had an average 0.16 millimole (mmol/L) increase in HDL, compared to the control group.
There were no notable differences in blood pressure or HDL in the walking group.
None of the groups experienced notable changes in total cholesterol, blood sugar levels, body mass index, waist circumference or body fat percentage.
Hitting Rock Bottom Frees Us From Negative Emotions
University of Notre Dame, February 22, 2023
We’ve all heard it said, “When you hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.” This can prove especially true in business, where bottoming out as a result of job loss can be necessary before finding the radical solution that will lead to a new work identity, according to research from the University of Notre Dame.
“On the way down, we frantically do all sorts of things to try and repair the situation, and suffer as they fail,” Shepherd says. “Bottoming out frees us from the misconception that the problems can be fixed, and in the process, frees us from other constraints and negative emotions and provides the conditions necessary to find a viable solution.”
Individuals who eventually hit rock bottom come to realize their identity has been lost, and that realization can lead to one of two paths: toward recovery or toward dysfunction.
“Using ‘identity play’ provides a safe environment to escape the situation and try new things, discarding bad ideas or finding and refining a new identity and returning stronger than before.”
Play provides an opportunity to both withdraw from the mental anguish and to be creative in generating alternative new work identities and then trying them out to see how they feel without having to commit to them, which can be fun.
Once the individual finds a potential identity that feels right, they then begin to refine the job to make sure it’s a good fit for both their needs and the reality of the situation. Without hitting rock bottom, the individual would not have been freed from the past to enable them to creatively explore different alternatives for the future.
“A failed corporate executive might consider a variety of other potential roles,” Shepherd says, “For example, sitting on the board of a nonprofit organization that is desperate for experienced managerial guidance, exploring government positions or running for office, working with startups, and so forth. Similarly, a failed entrepreneur might explore how skills learned in starting a business could be applied in a corporate setting, take standardized exams to be considered for law school or engage in other low risk exploration activities. In these cases, hitting rock bottom opens up myriad new opportunities.”
The less desirable path involves using fantasy as a means of escape and can include alcohol and drug use.
Along this less desirable path, “people will oscillate between no emotion and severe negative emotion and make no progress toward building a new identity, which can eventually lead to even worse outcomes like suicide,” Shepherd says.
Recent studies have explored the impact of career-ending injuries for musicians and soldiers-injuries that generated intense negative emotions as they approached rock bottom. In both studies, some of these individuals were fixated on the loss of a former identity, paralyzed by the realization that they could no longer perform or continue in an established role. Some sought escape through cognitive deconstruction, including the use of drugs.
A deeper understanding of why some recover and others languish provides an opportunity to develop interventions that facilitate recovery from work identity loss.