Live Longer by Not Eating?

By Michael Danielson

In many animals, calorie restriction - provided all essential nutrients are present in the diet - can lengthen the average lifespan significantly. The effects of a low calorie diet are pretty cool and show up within the first year - lowered BMI, lowered blood pressure, low cholesterol, low triglycerides, and improved insulin sensitivity. Because you are using less energy, your body slows down in order to conserve resources and maintain homeostasis.

If you are not receiving all the things your body needs, it will not be able to maintain homeostasis. Some of the manifestations of malnutrition caused by calorie restriction are constant hunger, weakness, dizziness, lethargy/sluggishness, chronic fatigue, irritability, depression, nausea, anemia, muscle wasting, and formation of gallstones. Further complications include lower extremity edema (swelling of the legs and feet), impaired regulation of body temperature, dry skin, hair loss, osteoporosis, loss of cardiac muscle mass and lung capacity, increased risk of infections, inability to properly utilize proteins and amino acids, and infertility. Sound familiar to any of you low-calorie dieters out there?

When looking at calorie restriction and its effect on longevity, I was surprised to find that literally all of the dominant theories behind it revolve around the human body's improved ability to metabolize glucose. One theory suggests that it's the reduced levels of insulin in the body that are behind the increases in lifespan. Another suggests it's the restriction of glucose that ends up creating a resistance to oxidative stress in the body.

Yet another theory suggests that with less glucose in the bloodstream, fewer AGEs are produced (Advanced Glycation End product: Essentially, an AGE is a molecule formed when glucose sticks to a protein or a fat when it's not really supposed to. Certain types of AGEs are major factors in many diseases). Fewer AGEs leads to a reduction in chronic illnesses like diabetes and asthma, as well as a reduction in age-related degeneration like Alzheimer's and arthritis.

Here's the rub: if all of the theories surrounding low-calorie diets' ability to keep us alive longer revolve around glucose metabolization, then simply restricting blood glucose without restricting calories should have an identical effect on longevity. That's called "low-carb dieting", and it does, in fact, provide all of the benefits of low-calorie dieting, without the nasty side effects mentioned above.

Low-carb dieting allows the body to maintain homeostasis much more easily than low-calorie dieting, and homeostasis IS health. The laundry list of common American maladies is almost entirely attributable to massive homeostatic imbalance. You can prolong your life, improve your health, and even lose weight, all with a single change to your lifestyle: your diet. Lean more today!

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Drink Away Dementia?

Study shows one to two drinks daily may lower risk of cognitive decline in older adults

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Moderate drinking can lower the risk of dementia in older people, new research shows. "Amongst cognitively normal adults, one to two alcoholic drinks a day is associated with a 37 percent decreased risk of dementia over six years," said senior study author Dr. Kaycee Sink, an assistant professor of medicine in geriatrics at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C. But among those in the study who had mild cognitive impairment to start with, drinking moderately had no effect. And heavier drinking -- two or more a day -- nearly doubled their risk of developing dementia during the six-year follow-up. Sink presented her findings Thursday at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting, in Chicago. Sink, along with study author Dr. Deanna Mangieri, a clinical geriatric fellow at Wake Forest University, and their colleagues looked at 3,069 men and women, average age 79, and followed them for six years. At the study start, 2,587 were evaluated as cognitively normal; 482 had mild cognitive impairment, which can progress to dementia. The researchers asked about alcohol intake, smoking, depression, social activity and other factors, and tested the participants' cognitive functioning at the end of the study. About 38 percent of the participants had one to seven drinks a week, while about 9 percent had eight to 14 drinks a week. The bottom line, according to Sink: "If you are cognitively normal, there is no reason you should avoid light to moderate use of alcohol, and it may be beneficial. But if you have memory problems, we would probably say any amount of alcohol may be hazardous for your cognitive functioning. If you already have some memory problems, drinking is not going to help prevent progression to dementia, and may accelerate your progression." Exactly why and how alcohol seems to help preserve normal cognitive functioning isn't clear, experts say. It may increase the release of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which helps brain cells communicate with each other. The new results conflict with those from an earlier study, reported in 2007 in the journal Neurology, that found people with mild cognitive impairment might slow their mental decline with up to one drink a day. The first finding in the new study -- the 37 percent reduction in dementia among cognitively healthy moderate drinkers -- "is a very substantial reduction," said Dr. Denis Evans, Jesmer Professor of Internal Medicine at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago. "This is consistent with other studies," he said. As for the finding that those mildly impaired get no benefit or, if they drink more than moderately, increase their risk of dementia? There may not have been enough participants to definitively find a link, Evans said. And, Evans added, what looks like a healthy effect of alcohol among those who are cognitively normal and drink may actually be due to something else. "Is it really the effect of the alcohol or the difference between people who drink and those who don't?'' he asked. For instance, he said, older adults who drink alcohol moderately may be in better physical and mental shape. The healthy cognitive function that persists may be due to other lifestyle habits. And, Evans added, "Alcohol consumption is something to be cautious about even though it seems to have some beneficial effects." More information To learn more about the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association. SOURCES: Kaycee Sink, M.D., assistant professor, medicine in geriatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Denis Evans, M.D., Jesmer Professor of Internal Medicine, Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago; April 30, 2009, presentation, American Geriatrics Society annual meeting, Chicago Last Updated: May 01, 2009 Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Prescription Training Puts Docs in Shoes of Older Patients

Challenges for seniors on multiple meds better understood after taking hands-on approach

FRIDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies show that specific training and tools can help young doctors do a better job of prescribing medications for their elderly patients. Seniors face added challenges with prescriptions, especially since many tend to take multiple medications at one time. Avoiding their greater susceptibility to side effects and higher risk of drug interactions, and finding solutions to their possible physical, mental or financial impairments to maintaining dosing schedules were the focus of the studies, scheduled to be presented this week in Chicago at the American Geriatrics Society's Annual Scientific Meeting. One study looked at a four-week program in "thoughtful prescribing" for elderly patients taught to internal medicine residents at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Maryland. In addition to classroom learning, the students used special worksheets to review their patients' use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. "Although fundamentals of pharmacology are taught in medical school, it is during residency that one's prescribing practices are developed. Our hope is that by using a more deliberate approach to prescribing, we can teach doctors habits that result in more safe and sensible care for their vulnerable patients," report lead author Dr. Lynsey Brandt, of Johns Hopkins, said in an American Geriatrics Society news release. The program resulted in nearly three-quarters of the residents learning their patients had been prescribed medicines that could interact with other medicines they were already on. In addition, about 22 percent learned their older patients had received at least one potentially inappropriate prescription medication. "Our findings show that a brief, self-directed tool can be utilized to increase residents' awareness of important principles of prescribing," Brandt said. The second study reviewed a Medical College of Wisconsin program about the elderly and polypharmacy -- the use of multiple drugs -- that had medical students and residents take complex regimens of candy "medications" for a week. As a result of this hands-on experience, students learned about barriers elderly people may encounter when trying to maintain a dosing schedule, including the ailments of old age, such as arthritis, poor eyesight or memory, and psychological issues such as feeling one was taking too many medications and that meds weren't alleviating their ills. They discussed possible solutions to these issues -- including decreasing the number of medications, and utilizing friends and family to help keep the patient on their dosing schedules -- with each other and faculty members. Questionnaires filled out before and after the program found that the participants believed they had become much more knowledgeable about the problems facing the elderly taking multiple medications, and that they would try to reduce the number and doses of prescriptions they give to seniors. "Walking in their patient's shoes helps them think practically about changes both the physician and patient can make to decrease medications, and to help patients take their medications correctly," study lead author Dr. Kathryn Denson, said in a news release. More information The AARP offers tips on using medications wisely. -- Kevin McKeever SOURCE: American Geriatrics Society, news release, April 30, 2009 Last Updated: May 01, 2009 Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Newly Identified Compounds May Inhibit Strep Infection

Discovery shows promise for reducing bacterial growth

FRIDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Six compounds that may help fight strep infections have been identified by U.S. researchers. Antibiotic resistance is becoming more common among infection-causing bacteria, researchers have warned. One promising approach to deal with this problem involves new antimicrobial agents that suppress bacteria virulence (ability to cause disease), according to background information in an American Heart Association news release about the University of Missouri study. In previous studies, the researchers determined that the protein streptokinase was a critical virulence factor for group A streptococcus (GAS), which causes more than 700 million infections worldwide each year. Streptokinase is secreted by all disease-causing GAS strains. In this new study, the University of Missouri team screened 55,000 compounds and identified six that significantly inhibit streptokinase expression. One of the compounds protected mice from GAS infection, the researchers found. The study was presented Thursday at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference, in Washington, D.C. More information The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more about antibiotic resistance. -- Robert Preidt SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, April 30, 2009 Last Updated: May 01, 2009 Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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