LifeAfterSixty

Fountain of Youth Found!

Ghost of Ponce de Leon says, “Told You So!”

Once again I am surprised to find that there is more to discuss than the basic (and correct) advice: get your sleep, do your exercise, eat your veggies, drink very little alcohol. (Btw, recent re-analysis of the statistics shows that moderate drinking of alcohol is not healthier than abstention, it’s moderately less healthy. The correction is: group the never-drank people separately from the used-to-drink-but-now-abstain people. The latter includes many alcoholics, and the damage they already did skewed the numbers in earlier analyses. All alcohol increases cancer risk and other diseases.)

The happy surprise about aging is that reversal of aging at the cellular level has been achieved in the laboratory. It’s reported in the recent issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal “Aging” aka “Aging-US”. It’s available online at https://www.aging-us.com/article/204896/text .

Briefly, various naturally-occurring proteins already were known to be used by the cells of advanced lifeforms to heal the damages that constitute cellular aging. But previously, adding those proteins into the cells made the cells cancerous. Now researchers have discovered that by timing the introduction in pulses, they can successfully reverse the damages safely. They achieved success in vivo in non-human mammals, and in vitro with human cells. If this pans out, the possibilities are amazing.

Of course this is not a usable therapy now, it is just a starting point for developing therapies. But perhaps in my lifetime (born 1955) my brain cells can be rejuvenated, and I will be able to find my glasses. Where was that “Save” button again?

Ain’t Counting Covid No More

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Rich

How many people had a “common cold” last year? How many had a cough, a low fever, or a mild case of flu for a day or two? Of course, we don’t know. Who cares how many total cases there were? It ain’t news!

We know how many people were hospitalized from respiratory infections, flu, or pneumonia, and how many died. An insurer might even guess at at how many cases resulted in visits to the doctor. But the media mostly ignores all these, for those diseases, because it isn’t news. We know they are diseases, we know they are dangerous, we know that our doctors and hospitals have ways to help and ways to avoid the diseases, or at least avoid the worst outcomes.

Science and our medical institutions have now normalized the “Covid” family of diseases too. Some media are sensationalizing the current situation by pointing out the large number of cases of new omicron variants. But the danger now is much less severe than the dark days of 2020. For people who can and do vaccinate, and do testing, and use Paxlovid promptly when a test is positive, the danger today is similar to the danger from flu.

It’s the “and do vaccinate” part that prompts this criticism of the news outlets. Reports of myriad infections scare people and lead them to believe that the science has failed, and that the scientist’s advice can be ignored. In fact, responsible people like Dr. Fauci have always said clearly: we may not be able to entirely prevent this disease. We cannot prevent the common cold either.

The media should be reporting the numbers of deaths from Covid and flu. It should report separate numbers for vaccinated and unvaccinated people, both deaths and hospitalizations, and report the results of using Paxlovid and future antiviral meds. This would clearly show the right course of action for those without scientific or statistical training. The media should not highlight the number of infections. Fact is, viruses will continue to mutate, infect us, and sicken us for the foreseeable future.

News media should show the public the simple numbers that prove vaccination is the best idea, and that testing and Paxlovid are a wise second line of defense. The media should not be emphasizing the large numbers of infections, which they do only because it is the scariest-sounding aspect. Comparing the uncertain infection figures to those of past years also is useless, and will lead the people to erroneous conclusions if not done right.

Unlike China, in the USA we don’t force people to have vaccinations or unduly restrict what medications are available, we just restrict what unvaccinated people can do – for instance, they may not be nurses or doctors. Obvious common sense, since the vaccines (and masks) successfully reduce the spread of Covid.

The voluntary system only works well when the people are thoughtful, and, the media and public figures act responsibly. Many of the anti-science hucksters were sincerely misled, and suffered serious cases of Covid. But bottom line, the anti-vaxxers spread false info and did the people a grave disservice – they sent hundreds of thousands to the grave, unvaccinated and misinformed. At present, the media could be more helpful in countering that problem.

Let’s get our public messaging right!

Hope!

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Rich

Well I was going to end this blog with one word: Exercise. The state of current science is that the main way to extend vitality is exercise. I would bet that mainstream yoga, less studied, also has the same effect. (If you have tried it, you know it is hard exercise too, just with less motion.) And it’s mainly because circulation is the key to healthy body. Exercise , less sugar, the end. I said it, nothing more to say, no more blogging required.

But. Not so fast. Look at these:

Yes, these are tunicates aka sea squirts. And, along with scallops, they contain plasmalogens. So do you!

Plasmalogens are a family of chemicals in our cerebrospinal fluid. They have reversed aging in old mouse brains. Not “prevented” – “reversed”! Old brain got young! Dementia symptoms reduced in humans too!

This exciting field of scientific inquiry has just begun. It started when a young scientist, Dr. Tal Iram, performed a feat of heroic dullness: she spent a year perfecting technique for collecting the fluid from mice, and then injecting it into mice. (It bathes the spinal column and the brain.) The results were mind-blowingly mind-rejuvenating. Further investigation revealed the role of plasmalogens.

Because they are lipids, plasmalogens can be absorbed by eating them. I expect huge news about them in regard to Alzheimer’s disease! Stay tuned!

Soon I will try a supplement, Neuroregain, that contains plasmalogens from scallops. I have typical symptoms of aging, but not dementia; so there is no reason to expect significant results. OTOH this whole subject is a morass of unknowns.

Speaking of supplements, i am currently taking a new supplement with my ginseng. It contains L-arginine. I was hoping for a boost to my nitric oxide levels – it’s a vital neurotransmitter that our bodies make from L-arginine, a common protein. But some pretty solid research shows that a person with normal levels of L-arginine in the blood will not increase those levels, nor levels of nitric oxide, with supplements. So, I will drop the use of these once I run out.

I also don’t like that there are assorted herbs in that supplement. I must confess to careless shopping in this case. It was the only L-arginine available at the store.

Totally Wrong but Yes to Salt

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Rich

So the good Dr S, DDS, corrected my diagnosis of my dental troubles. No abscess. Most likely a piece of food wedged under my bridgework and physically irritated my gum there, leading to swelling, inflammation, and pain. Salt gargling, she explained, shrinks the gum back and, best case, the food comes free. The most common food involved in this: bits of hulls in my beloved snack popcorn. (Air pop with salt and real butter. Microwave popcorn? Don’t get me started.)

The patient and meticulous Dr S explained that an abscess will usually develop differently. There will be swelling a good ways beyond the gum line. Sensitivity to chewing may be less pronounced, and there may be more pain when not chewing.

Gargling with salt by itself won’t cure an abscess, which is an infection. It may help your body fight that infection, so it’s still a good stopgap. But an abscess should be treated promptly by a professional. It can become quite serious, even deadly.

Salt

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Rich

I knew but I forgot. Luckily I was reminded. If you have a toothache, rinse well with very salty water. Every two hours if possible. After meals too.

Salt is a great, nontoxic antiseptic. Safe for alcoholics, too.

A week ago my left upper gums hurt every time I chewed. It was probably an infection, which probably started on the surface and became an abscess.

A ton of salt rinses helped my body fight the infection and a week later, it was gone. A dentist probably would have told me to do the same. Maybe a dentist would have prescribed antibiotics.

Yes, antibiotics can save your life, but it wasn’t in danger near-term. Antibiotics cause serious changes in your body that science is starting to understand. (You do know that most of the cells in your body are bacteria, not human cells, right? If you count cells. Each animal cell is much larger.) Even if I had used antibiotics, salt water would only have helped.

Basically the salt disinfects the surface, strips off slime, and penetrates the soft tissues a little. You know how ocean water makes your tongue feel? A little pickled?

My usual dental cleaning was due a month ago, but the office was closed, due to Covid-19. They have re-opened, and I have an appointment, so we will get a professional opinion of the result of the salt! Exciting times in the health blog!

Of course if you have a toothache, professional help is a good idea if you can get it. But it’s rarely available right away. Until you get in that chair, salt water rinses will probably help.

Garlic! And take a walk.

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Rich

As I write, the USA is at the start (probably) of the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s usually called “coronavirus” because the new virus is in that family of viruses. Testing of anti-viral medicines is proceeding. Development of vaccines is proceeding. Comments of all sorts are flying around, including the usual anti-science from Clown Resident Rump.

Yet I hear and read nothing about the potent, safe, anti-viral medicine that has been known for centuries: GARLIC!!

This post isn’t about nutrition. Onions of all sorts, and in general, fruits and vegetables, are nutritious, and eating lots of them, and less meat, is known to reduce Alzheimer’s and heart disease. But that’s another topic.

It is garlic alone that provides ajoene, a potent anti-viral.

Nobody will make billions by testing and proving ajoene’s benefits. Big Pharma is testing everything that they can sell, but they don’t sell garlic.

To bring ajoene directly to your lungs and throat, chop and gently fry some raw garlic in oil. As it begins to sizzle, note the nasty raw-garlic aroma. That’s the good stuff, including the ajoene! Be careful not to breathe overly hot fumes. Breathe it deep and hold it a bit.

The ajoene evaporates quickly, a minute at most, so get to it. When it is gone, the aroma changes to the familiar warm garlic smell. Eating that garlic and the oil, in a food like scrambled eggs, is healthful too, and more ajoene probably will form in the oil.

Wikipedia states that “Ajoene is most stable and most abundant in macerate of garlic (chopped garlic in edible oil)”. It also states that ajoene has “broad anti-microbial and anti-fungal” properties. It cites scientific studies showing that ajoene fights many families of viruses, fungal infections, and cancers, including basal-cell carcinoma (the less-dangerous kind of skin cancer). Other studies indicate ajoene probably fights melanoma (the more-dangerous kind of skin cancer) (for example https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15019157 ).

Eating raw garlic with fatty foods will provide ajoene to your whole system. Oil or fat is necessary. The ajoene forms from allicin when raw garlic is cut up and the allicin is exposed to oil or fat. (Solvents also work, so extracts of garlic also contain ajoene.) Raw garlic contains lots of allicin, and less ajoene, so just eating raw garlic alone is not as good. Garlic contains many other sulfur compounds, which probably are healthful too.

And like all your body’s processes, just as a reminder: good circulation will improve results! So get some exercise, pump that blood, and tone that heart muscle! Eat good fats, cut bad fats, cut sugars and white foods, and your arteries will work better!

And when your daughter dates a guy who makes great cheesecakes in your kitchen (oh yes she did! and he did!), send it home with him. (I am crying softly, it’s that good.)

No The Kids Aren’t Alright

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Rich

Why

Suicide

Why

Middle class American kids are killing themselves.

Actually middle aged rural American adults are also killing themselves in greater numbers than before. I won’t pretend to understand rural life and people.

But I raised Middle Class American kids. I was a Middle Class American kid. All the while, I was surrounded by Middle Class American kids. I should understand.

I was depressed. I should understand.

I should understand why.

But all I understand is, it hurts.

Do something. Something is better than nothing.

Forgive someone. Help someone. Donate to someone.

Destroy a cult. Advise against opiates. Get someone to treatment.

And treat yourself good too.

Sugar the Villain Again

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Rich

Those pesky scientists have found new dangers in today’s high-sugar, white-food diets. It appears that the tidal wave of autoimmune disease in modern times is caused (at least in part) by the white wave of sugar in so many modern foods.

For the short version see https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/high-sugar-intake-worsens-autoimmune-disease-mice ; pseudo-intellectuals (jk) can read the science by Dr. Wanjun Chen from NIH’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) in the August 23, 2019 issue of Immunity. Summary: sugar activates an inflammatory pathway that humans share with mice.

Although these results were obtained by testing on mice, they very likely apply to humans too, as indicated by the epidemiology. This may even provide one of the mechanisms behind the known fact that excessive sugar and “white foods” (simple starches) in the diet lead to diabetes. Stay tuned!

Yes, like alcohol, the body can process small amounts of these villains safely, especially when absorption is slowed by crude fiber. But if you’re the person who “can’t eat just one”, total abstinence may be needed to change your habits. Eat fruits and veggies, and avoid sugars and white foods, for twelve days, and you will probably have a new habit, one that may save your life (or at least, your feet, which are often amputated due to diabetes). That, and exercise, are the only things known to science that reduce the risk of diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

The Animal Zoo

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Rich

This winter I pulled a few dollars from my depleted pockets and joined a gym. For many years I gained fat and lost muscle every winter. In recent years I worked out at the park in the winter, when possible. But it was usually an ordeal due to the cold. Often snow made it impossible.

After all that, the gymnasium is quite a luxury, simply because it is indoors. In addition, it offers a wide variety of options and equipment, group classes, swimming, and basketball. It also offers personal trainers, if you want to sweat even more luxuriously.

If you plan to join a gym, you should check out a few things. Check equipment in detail.

If a pool is important to you, and the gym has one, ask how often the pool was actually open in the past six months? A pool may often need to be closed for “shocking”, which is treatment with concentrated chlorine. Also check the water temperature if that matters to you.

Whatever equipment or activity you want to do, be sure to check it out carefully. Does it work? Is it what you think it is – for instance, it may look like a sauna, but in fact it might be a steam room. Does the equipment work? For instance, if you expect to use treadmills, check the condition of a few of them, and see whether they actually respond to their buttons. Nothing looks newer than a machine that won’t turn on, so it is never used.

If you will shower at the gym, check the operation of the showers.

Go to the gym at the times you expect to work out there. See how crowded it is, and whether the equipment you want is available.

Many people like classes better than a solo workout. If you like classes, look in on a few and see whether you like them, and whether they are at your level.

All in all, it makes sense to do a “trial ” membership if at all possible. If a gym insists that you sign up for automatic payments, it is a red flag that maybe they make their money by not letting people cancel. There are thousands of sad stories online about this. A chain may even close a gym and move your membership to a facility far away. Do not sign up before you have checked everything out; find a way to get the information you need first. If you must make a contract, be sure you know exactly how to cancel it; and be sure that those exact instructions are in the contract.

Of course you can find reviews of gyms on Yelp and such. But those reviews may be fake or out-of-date. Check the facts yourself.

BTW “Animal Zoo” is an old song by Spirit, written by Jay Ferguson. “Oh no, Something went wrong, You’re much too fat and a little too long…”. I suppose nowadays that is called “body-shaming”. But I see it as an appeal to live a longer, happier life by exercising appropriately.

Empty Backpacks are as Safe as Parachutes

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Rich

This really tickled me. A scientific study has proven that backpacks are as good as parachutes when jumping to earth from an airplane. This was a little humour from the British Medical Journal.

Details are at https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/12/22/679083038/researchers-show-parachutes-dont-work-but-there-s-a-catch .

The study succeeded because it was carefully designed. The airplanes in question were two feet above the ground during testing. All injuries that resulted were carefully analyzed, and it was proven that the backpack was as safe as the parachute.

The serious point here is that medical studies can be designed to yield the desired answer, through careful selection of patients and methods. Lately, the long-running Talc & Asbestos controversy is back in the news. Lawyers will no doubt find or create studies that contradict the long-established conclusion that talcum powder is safe. Not all studies are equal.