Before (pre) and after (post) the supplementation period, participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometry test to determine the PWCFT [physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT)]. Results: Significant increases in PWCFT (28.6%) from pre- to post-supplementation were found for the BA treatment group (p<0.05), but no change was observed with PL treatment. These findings suggest that ninety days of BA supplementation may increase physical working capacity by delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue in elderly men and women.

The researchers believe that beta-alanine supplementation may help in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women.

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Beta-Alanine Improves Muscle Endurance Among the Elderly

These observations build on previously published reports that vitamin K may have an effect on diabetes development via the vitamin K-dependant protein osteocalcin:

By “knocking out” these genes in mice so that they could not function, the animals lacking a functional osteocalcin gene gained fat, showing that osteocalcin helps regulate the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas and release it into the bloodstream.

These osteocalcin deficient mice also became glucose intolerant. Both conditions are considered “pre-diabetic.”

Osteocalcin was also shown to signal fat cells to release a hormone called adiponectin that increases insulin sensitivity (Cell, 2007 Vol. 130, pp. 456-469).

Vitamin K1, also called phylloquinone or phytonadione, (as opposed to Vitamin K2, also termed menaquinones) is found in green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli and spinach.

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Vitamin K1 May Reduce Development of Insulin Resistance

A team of researchers across seven European countries and co-ordinated by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine sought to investigate the association between fish intake and omega 3 fatty acids with wet AMD, comparing people with wet AMD with controls. Participants were interviewed about their dietary habits including how much fish they ate and what type. Information on the main omega 3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was obtained by linking dietary data with food composition tables.

The findings show that people who habitually consume oily fish at least once a week compared with less than once a week are 50% less likely to have wet AMD. There was no benefit from consumption of non oily white fish. There was a strong inverse association between levels of DHA and EPA and wet AMD. People in the top 25% of DHA and EPA levels (300 mg per day and above) were 70% less likely to have wet AMD.

Would fish oil supplement do the trick as well? They don’t know.

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Oily Fish Consumption May Prevent Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Check it out!

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Foods to Keep You Healthy

A new study published in the Journal of Lipid Research, however, provides clues as to how the compounds move from the blood stream to the eye. Apparently, a protein called SR-B1, or scavenger receptor class B, type 1, is responsible for transporting nutrients to the eye.

These study provides supporting evidence on the potential of zeaxanthin and lutein in preventing the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of legal blindness for people over 55 years of age in the Western world.

Read more here.

Photo Credit: danilima

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Zeaxanthin and Lutein Transporter Protein

And what about for those who are watching their alcohol consumption? The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has published Alcohol Facts, a side-by-side comparison of the alcohol, calorie and carbohydrate content per serving of the top 26 domestic and imported alcoholic beverage brands sold in the US. According to their press release:

Designed to help consumers follow the Dietary Guidelines’ advice that men limit their consumption to two drinks a day and that women restrict their consumption to one drink per day, Alcohol Facts further explains what constitutes a “standard drink” — 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof (40%) distilled spirits. According to the Dietary Guidelines, these amounts represent moderate drinking. Public health officials warn that consuming too much alcohol contributes to dependence, obesity and a range of diseases, such as liver cirrhosis and cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Want to know how much alcohol is in that bottle of Guinness or glass of Merlot? Click the image above to see a larger version, or download the poster here.

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Comparison Chart of Alcoholic Beverages

In addition to cardiovascular function, the scientists found resveratrol to have a variety of positive effects on other age-related problems in mice:

• Treated mice tended to have better bone health, as measured by thickness, volume, mineral content and density, and bending stiffness compared to the non-treated control group.
• At 30 months of age, resveratrol-treated mice were found to have reduced cataract formation, a condition found to increase with age in control-group mice.
• Resveratrol enhanced balance and motor coordination in aged animals. Scientists found significant improvement in performance at 21 and 24 months versus 15 months in the resveratrol-treated mice but not in the untreated mice.
• Resveratrol partially mimicked the effects of dietary restriction on the gene expression profiles of liver, skeletal muscle and adipose (fatty) tissue in mice.
• Along with determining the effect of resveratrol on the health of mice, scientists also studied the effect of resveratrol on longevity.

What is new in this study, however, is that the data suggest that resveratrol did NOT affect the lifespan of animals that were on a standard diet and were therefore not obese. It seems that resveratrol extended the lifespan of obese animals by improving their cardiovascular health and slowing down other age-related decline.

These findings have been published in the July 3, 2008 issue of Cell Metabolism.

Photo Credit: woodsy via stock.xchng

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Resveratrol Fights Aging

A granddaughter-in-law, Hamda Amash, 40, said Mariam is a “healthy, active woman. She walks each day and makes sure she drinks at least one glass of olive oil.”

What I find to be the real feat in this is not the age itself, but that she lived to be that old and seems to be still physically and mentally fit. Afterall, who wants to be old, but bedridden? or old but with flaky mental health?

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Live Long with One Glass of Olive Oil Daily

After analysing samples from 15 olive oil mills, researchers have demonstrated that olive oil is very rich in polyphenols. According to Professors Alberto Fernández and Antonio Segura, “as preventive substances, polyphenols help to combat any oxidative disease associated with the degenerative process.”

The polyphenols found in olive oils are powerful antioxidants and is thus highly beneficial for the prevention of cell aging and osteoporosis.

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil Against Degenerative Diseases

According to a study involving around 400,000 people, keeping to a Mediterranean Diet may reduce the risk of dying from cancer and cardiovascular disease by 22 and 17 per cent in men, and 12 per cent for women.

“Conformity with the Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with high antioxidant capacity and low concentrations of oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, suggesting that this dietary pattern could be capturing the combined effect of dietary antioxidants, which could, partially, explain a lower risk of mortality.

“The Mediterranean diet also includes other important dietary constituents such as fiber and a low omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio, both of which potentially prevent cancer initiation and progression,” they added.

For further reading, you may want to look up “Mediterranean Dietary Pattern and Prediction of All-Cause Mortality in a US Population – Results From the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study” published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (167(22):2461-2468).

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Mediterranean Diet for a Longer Life