Anti-aging News

November 2010

Tai Chi Lessens Arthritis Pain

Anti-aging News - November 26 2020 --Tai Chi is a Chinese wellness practice that has been previously associated with a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Leigh F. Callahan, from the University of North Carolina (North Carolina, USA), and colleagues studied 354 men and women, ages 18 years and over, with any type of self-reported, doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

(Report taken from Longevity Magazine)

Chatting with friends increases brainpower

Anti-aging News, November 26, 2010 -- A team from the University of Michigan (Michigan (USA) have been stuying the cognitive benefits of short-term social interactions and reconfirmed the findings of numerous studies on this subject. Chatting to your friends improves brainpower and boosts mental processes such as memory and thinking skills.

I'm sorry guys but this is something we women have always known. So come on - you strong, silent types, now is the time to break down the silence barrier. We women would like you to stick around a bit longer and communicate more with us!

(Source: Longevity Magazine)

Volunteering may promote Longevity

Anti-aging News, November 26, 2010 -- Volunteering is known to be beneficial both to the volunteer and to the beneficiary, according to a report in the latest edition of Longevity magazine. After analyzing data from 916 community-dwelling American adults, ages 65 years and older, a team from Arizona State University (USA) led by Morris Okunhas discovered that older adults with functional limitations may reap life-extending benefits from volunteerism.

That is good news for age-well.org as we are always looking for volunteers both to contribute articles and to promote the site. Our site is run exclusively by volunteers.

(Source: Longevity Magazine)

Beets are good for your brain

Anti-aging News, November 26, 2010 -- Beets facilitate the flow of oxygen to your brain, according to a recent report in Longevity magazine. This is because beets are high in nitrates which converted through digestion to nitrate which allows oxygen to reach places which are often starved of this life-essential element, according to the report. Nitrite is a compound that helps to open up the blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen specifically to places that are lacking oxygen. A team led by Daniel Kim-Shapiro, from Wake Forest University (North Carolina, USA) discovered that that drinking beet juice also increases blood flow to the brain.

I've been considering buying a juicer and now i think that has convinced me.

(Source: Longevity Magazine)

Eat More Raw Foods in Summer

There are advantages to eating raw food – fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, are all full of nutrients undamaged by heating and processing. There are, however, drawbacks from eating nothing but raw foods. Some people find them difficult to digest because the fibres have not been softened enough by heating. Cooking can also make some of the nutrients more available and easily absorbed by the body. As for the seasons, it’s certainly good for the body to stay wall warmed in the winter with cooked foods. Steaming is a great way to cook as it leaves the nutrients intact. My advice is to change the balance of raw to cooked food depending on the season. Go for more cooked food in the winter and eat more raw in the summer.

Health Tip from My Health Digest ‘Natural News for Women’

Knock Years Off Your RealAge with Exercise

Exercising every day can make you seem biologically younger than those who do not exercise, say scientists. Inactivity not only leads to a greater risk of age-related diseases, but also may influence the ageing process. Academics from King’s College London and in the US studied over 2000 twins, analysing telomeres, which protect cells from damage. Telomeres shorten with age, increasing susceptibility to cell damage, which causes disease. Comparing twins who did different amounts of exercise they found that, on average, the telomeres were longer in more active ones

Celery Compound May Fight Memory Decline

Previous studies have suggested that inflammation in the brain may be a primary contributor to age-related memory problems. Rodney W. Johnson, from University of Illinois (Illinois, USA), and colleagues studied the effects of dietary luteolin, a bioactive plant compound found abundantly in foods such as celery, peppers, carrots, peppers, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile, on memory decline. Employing a mouse model of aging, the team studied the brains and behavior of adult (3- to 6-month-old) and aged (2-year-old) mice. The mice were fed a control diet or a luteolin-supplemented diet for four weeks, during which spatial memory was assessed and levels of inflammatory markers in the hippocampus, a brain region that is important to memory and spatial awareness, were measured. Whereas under normal circumstances, aged mice have higher levels of inflammatory molecules in the hippocampus and are more impaired on memory tests than younger adult mice., the team found that aged mice on the luteolin-supplemented diet performed better on the learning and memory task than their peers, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in their brains were more like those of the younger adult mice. The researchers posit that that dietary luteolin accesses the brain and exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on microglial cells to suppress the release of inflammatory cytokines they produce, thereby allowing working memory to be restored to its performance of an earlier age. The team concludes that: “Luteolin consumption may be beneficial in preventing or treating conditions involving increased microglial cell activity and inflammation.”

Multivitamin May Ward Off Risks of Heart Attack

Multivitamin and mineral supplements have been shown by previous studies to significantly lower the risk of myocardial infarction, and that the combined use of multivitamins and supplements of vitamin A, C, or E may yield a 25% lower risk of coronary heart disease mortality. Susanne Rautiainen, from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), and colleagues assessed the relationship between multivitamin use and myocardial infarction in a population of over 30,000 Swedish women ages 49 to 83 years. Among those women with no history of cardiovascular disease, the daily use of multivitamins alone (as compared with no use of supplements at all) was associated with a 27 % lower risk of myocardial infarction. Additionally, women using multivitamins in combination with other supplements were at a 30% lower risk of myocardial infarction. The team concludes that: “The use of multivitamins was inversely associated with [myocardial infarction], especially long-term use among women with no [cardiovascular disease].”

Pine Bark Extract Helps to Improve Tinnitus

An estimated 50 million Americans will experience some degree of tinnitus in their lifetime, a hearing condition that causes the constant misperception of sound, including hissing, ringing and rushing noises. In a study conducted by the Chieti-Pescara University (Italy), 82 patients, ages 35 to 55 years, with mild-to-moderate tinnitus in only one ear (the other ear is unaffected), were studied for a four-week period. Tinnitus in all subjects was a result of restricted blood supply to the inner ear, as measured by high resolution ultrasonography imaging of their cochlear blood flow. Patients were assigned to one of three groups: the first group (24 subjects) received 150 mg/day of proprietary pine bark extract, the second group (34 subjects) received 100 mg/day of proprietary pine bark extract, and the third group (24 subjectsa) received no extract and served as control. The team found that after four weeks of treatment with the pine bark extract, inner ear systolic and diastolic blood flow velocities in the affected ear rose to an average of 21.2 and 8.23 cm/sec in the low dose group and to 24.3 and 12.5 cm/sec in the high dose group. The researchers also documented documented improvements in the symptoms of tinnitus. Four weeks of pine bark extract produced marked reductions on symptoms as rated using a standardized tinnitus scale, demonstrating a dramatic reduction of the disturbing background noise in the effected ear, whereas there were no significant changes within the control group. The team concludes that: “These results suggest that in selected patients with tinnitus and altered perfusion, [pine bark extract] is effective in a short period of time in relieving tinnitus symptoms by improving cochlear blood flow,