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Higher vitamin D levels linked to longer telomeres: Study
Harvard Medical School and University of Tromsoe (Norway), February 10, 2023
Increased levels of vitamin D are associated with longer telomeres, reported to be a marker of biological aging, says a new study.
Every 10-nmol increase in levels of 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the non-active ‘storage’ form of the vitamin) was associated with a 0.03-kbp longer telomere in leukocytes in middle-aged adults, according to data extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001–2002.
The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition , show correlation and not causation, but could have implications for our understanding of healthy aging and potential cancer risk reduction.
“LTL [leukocyte telomere length] is recognized as a measure of a cell’s replication and its remaining proliferative potential,” explained the authors of the new paper. “Age is a well-established factor associated with telomere shortening. “[M]odifiable conditions and factors such as poor diet, being overweight or obese, and sedentary lifestyle—which are highly correlated with inflammation—are also associated with telomere shortening,” they added.
Study details
The scientists analyzed data from 1,542 younger adults aged between 20 and 39, 1,336 middle-aged adults aged between 40 and 59, and 1,382 adults 60 and over.
After adjusting the numbers to account for potentially confounders such as gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, and other factors, the researchers found that 25(OH)D levels of at least 50 nmol/L were associated with 0.13-kbp longer LTL in middle-aged adults with, compared with the same aged adults with 25(OH)D levels less than 50 nmol/L.
The results also presented a potential mechanism of action for the reported anti-cancer effects of vitamin D, which were first proposed in 1941 when Frank Apperly demonstrated a link between latitude and deaths from cancer, and suggested that sunlight gave “a relative cancer immunity”. Since then there have been numerous studies suggesting associations between vitamin D and lower risks of certain cancers.
“Because malignancy can be a consequence of genomic instability and telomere shortening, our findings of a positive association between serum 25(OH)D and LTL could be interpreted as a possible mechanism for the ‘protective role’ of vitamin D and as a justification for further RCTs with cancer as a primary outcome,” wrote Beilfuss et al.
Açai pulp may improve antioxidant defenses, protect arteries
Universities of Ouro Preto and São Paulo (Brazil), February 11, 2023
Supplementing the diet of healthy women with açai pulp (Euterpe oleracea Martius) may improve antioxidant defenses, decrease markers of oxidative stress, and help protect against the formation of plaques in arteries, Brazilian researchers report.
Data published in Clinical Nutrition indicated that the addition of 200 grams per day of açai pulp to the habitual diet decreased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA, a marker of oxidative stress) by 68%, while levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL, an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease) by 61%.
In addition, the total antioxidant capacity measured in the 40 female participants of the four week study increased by 18%.
“Therefore, açai could be a functional food that may protect the human body against atherogenesis and other degenerative diseases related to oxidative stress and dysfunctional lipid metabolism,” wrote scientists from the University of Ouro Preto and the University of São Paulo.
Açai pulp has been demonstrated to affect cell signaling, enzyme activity, maintenance of the oxidant and antioxidant balance, receptor sensitivity, gene regulation, and reduction in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, while restoring or maintaining functional cellular antioxidant status.
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Commenting on the new study’s findings, Dr Alex Schauss, Senior Director of Research and CEO of AIBMR Life Sciences and a renowned açai researcher, told NutraIngredients-USA: “This study provides further support for the overall benefits of the functional properties of acai pulp in humans, supported by 20 years of in vitro and in vivo investigations on its bioactivities and mechanisms of action. “It confirms our early observations, as reported in Atherosclerosis (2011; 216: 327-333), of the athero-protective properties of acai pulp through inhibition of the formation of atherosclerotic lesions combined with a significant reduction of inflammatory agents and increase in antioxidant bioactivity when added to the diet, even in animals fed a high-fat diet.
“The authors of this new study confirm for the first time in humans that reducing lipid peroxidation by boosting antioxidant enzymes and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine production through incorporation of acai pulp into the diet as the major underlying mechanisms to understand its athero-protective properties.
The Brazilian researchers added 200 grams of açai pulp to the diets of 40 healthy women for 4 weeks.
“Our data indicate that açai has favorable actions on plasma HDL metabolism and anti-oxidant defense; therefore açai could have a beneficial overall role against atherosclerosis, and it is a consistently good candidate to consider as a functional food,” they concluded.
How To Sleep Better Without Meds: Soak In More Daylight Outdoors, Even If It’s Cloudy
University of Washington, February 13, 2023
It’s a popular question among tired Americans: How can I sleep better without turning to medicine? The answer could be on the other side of your front door. Getting outside for at least a little while and soaking in some daytime light, even when it’s cloudy, can help us sleep soundly at night, new research from the University of Washington suggests.
Scientists measured the sleep patterns of UW undergrad students, observing that they tended to fall asleep especially late and wake up later in the morning during winter. Of course, that’s a time when when daylight hours on the UW Seattle campus are usually limited and the skies stay overcast.
Collected data confirmed that the observed students weren’t getting nearly as much daylight during winter in comparison to other seasons. Study authors theorize this is why they slept less. Numerous earlier studies have indicated that lack of daylight exposure can lead to restlessness come bedtime.
“Our bodies have a natural circadian clock that tells us when to go to sleep at night,” says senior author Horacio de la Iglesia, a UW professor of biology, in a statement. “If you do not get enough exposure to light during the day when the sun is out, that ‘delays’ your clock and pushes back the onset of sleep at night.”
Based the collected data, study authors posit that something was happening during winter to “push back” the students’ circadian cycles. The instinctual circadian cycle governing when we wake up and sleep runs at about 24 hours and 20 minutes for most people, but is also “calibrated” on a daily basis by environmental stimuli. The students’ circadian cycles were running up to 40 minutes later in winter than summer.
Researchers focused on light as a potential catalyst for these findings. It’s important to note, however, that light can have a number of different impacts on circadian rhythms at different times of the day. “Light during the day — especially in the morning — advances your clock, so you get tired earlier in the evening, but light exposure late in the day or early night will delay your clock, pushing back the time that you will feel tired,” Prof. de la Iglesia explains. “Ultimately, the time that you fall asleep is a result of the push and pull between these opposite effects of light exposure at different times of the day.”
The data indicates that daytime light exposure has a bigger impact on sleep than evening light exposure. More specifically, each additional hour of daytime light “moved up” the students’ circadian phases by a half hour. Even if it was cloudy or overcast during the winter, outdoor light exposure still had this effect. Each hour of evening light (light derived from indoor sources like lamps and computer screens) meanwhile, delayed circadian phases by about 15 minutes. Cloudy daylight is still significantly brighter than artificial indoor lighting.
“It’s that push-and-pull effect,” Prof. de la Iglesia comments. “And what we found here is that since students weren’t getting enough daytime light exposure in the winter, their circadian clocks were delayed compared to summer.”
Study suggests alcohol consumption linked to acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, February 17, 2023
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60% to 80% of dementia cases, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. While current research suggests alcohol use disorder is a risk factor in Alzheimer’s disease, the impact alcohol use disorder has on Alzheimer’s disease pathology is an area of continued research.
In a new preclinical study, scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine showed that even modest amounts of alcohol can accelerate brain atrophy, which is the loss of brain cells, and increase the number of amyloid plaques, which are the accumulation of toxic proteins in Alzheimer’s disease.
The study appears in Neurobiology of Disease.
“These findings suggest alcohol might accelerate the pathological cascade of Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages,” said Shannon Macauley, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Using mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology, researchers used a 10-week chronic drinking approach where mice were given the choice to drink water or alcohol, mimicking human behavior regarding alcohol consumption. They then explored how voluntary, moderate consumption of alcohol altered healthy brain function and behavior and whether it altered the pathology associated with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers found that alcohol increased brain atrophy and caused an increased number of amyloid plaques including a greater number of smaller plaques, potentially setting the stage for increased plaque proliferation in later life.
Interestingly, researchers also noted that acute withdrawal of alcohol increased the levels of amyloid-beta, which is a key component of amyloid plaques that accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease.
Further analysis showed that chronic alcohol exposure poorly regulated brain and peripheral metabolism—another way to accelerate Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Macauley previously showed that elevated blood sugar increases amyloid-beta and amyloid plaques. In the current study, researchers found that even moderate drinking caused elevations in blood sugar and markers of insulin resistance, which increases the risk not only for Alzheimer’s disease but also for other diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The study also found that moderate alcohol use altered anxiety and dementia-related behaviors.
Nutritional supplement improves cognitive performance in older adults, USF researchers find
Florida State University, February 15, 2023
Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.
Now a University of South Florida (USF) study reports that a formula of nutrients high in antioxidants and other natural components helped boost the speed at which the brains of older adults processed information.
The USF-developed nutritional supplement, containing extracts from blueberries and green tea combined with vitamin D3 and amino acids, including carnosine, was tested by the USF researchers in a clinical trial enrolling 105 healthy adults, ages 65 to 85.
The two-month study evaluated the effects of the formula, called NT-020, on the cognitive performance of these older adults, who had no diagnosed memory disorders.
Those randomized to the group of 52 volunteers receiving NT-020 demonstrated improvements in cognitive processing speed, while the 53 volunteers randomized to receive a placebo did not. Reduced cognitive processing speed, which can slow thinking and learning, has been associated with advancing age, the researchers said.
“After two months, test results showed modest improvements in two measures of cognitive processing speed for those taking NT-020 compared to those taking placebo,” said Brent Small, PhD, a professor in USF’s School of Aging Studies.
Blueberries, a major ingredient in the NT-020 formula, are rich in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic, or natural phenol substructure.
“The basis for the use of polyphenol-rich nutritional supplements as a moderator of age-related cognitive decline is the age-related increase in oxidative stress and inflammation,” said study co-principal investigator Paula C. Bickford, PhD. “Non-vitamin polyphenols are the most abundant modulators of oxidative stress and inflammation in our diet. NT-020 is 95 percent polyphenols.”
How to avoid long COVID: These 5 factors are key to preventing severe infection
Harvard School of Public Health, February 19 2023
Usually, a bout of coronavirus is sudden, intense, and brief. Most patients recover completely. About 20 to 40 percent of patients, however, experience long-term health effects, a condition called post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS), post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), or informally, long COVID. Now, a new study by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that a healthy lifestyle may be the best defense against lingering long COVID symptoms.
Long COVID has a wide range of symptoms that affect everyday living. Some are dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, extreme fatigue, aches and pains, diarrhea, headache, confusion, conjunctivitis (pink eye), fever, and others. When it comes to preventing this, researchers say five specific healthy actions can help lower the risk of COVID-19 becoming long COVID by about 50 percent. The five lifestyle factors are:
· Having a healthy body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9
· Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week
· Moderate alcohol intake (5-15 grams per day)
· Eating a high-quality diet
· Adequate sleep (7-9 hours per day)
A sixth factor associated with less risk for long COVID is never having smoked. That isn’t modifiable, of course. If you previously smoked but quit, good for you. Don’t restart. If you smoke, researchers suggest seeing your healthcare provider about quitting. You’ll be healthier in every way.