The Latest Nutrition Discoveries
Compiled and Interpreted by David Pensgard

The following list of news items are what I take to be the most important of the past decade. Most have implications for what we ought to be doing to stay healthy, the remaining are not useful yet, but may be in the future. Mentioning the not-yet-useful is helpful, however, as it helps us to be prepared and watchful for the eventual development of these concepts.

1. Resveratrol:
   I've written about this in my main page (from which you likely came). However it is important to give it a place on this list. This is the chemical found in red wine and grape skins that has made headlines for slowing down the aging process. It also helps to mitigate the effects of poor diet on health. Recently, however, it has been found that resveratrol works with other compounds in wine so that there is a synergistic effect. This is how relatively low doses of the compound, as found in wine, are able to have a significant effect beyond what can be had by taking resveratrol alone. Thus, it is good to have small amount of red wine every day. This has been seen to aid the health of the French population who drink red wine regularly.

2. Fiber:
   Don't skip this entry! Don't skim it! I used to think that fiber was a crude colon cleanser. I scoffed when I heard that fiber and even Cheerios cereal could improve heart health. But, new research makes sense of this counter-intuitive effect! It turns out that gut bacteria processes soluble fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCF). These, in turn, enter the blood stream and bind to a receptor on white blood cells. This receptor causes the cell to be less active and, thereby, to reduce inflammation of all kinds.

   Fiber > digestion by bacteria > SFCs > White Blood Cell Receptor > Less Inflammation
   
   While a small aspirin a day helps to reduce the risk of heart attack by reducing inflammation in the arteries that feed the heart muscle, fiber can have the exact same effect. Thus, Cheerios really can reduce the risk of heart disease! However, Cheerios is not a great source of fiber. It contains too much sugar and carbohydrate to be healthy. Vegetables, unmodified oats (oatmeal), beans, and soluble fiber powder are much better options. The following quotation illustrates the importance of this new finding:
   

   1. "Published tomorrow in Nature, breakthrough research by a Sydney-based team makes new sense of such known facts by describing a mechanism that links diet, gut bacteria and the immune system. PhD student Kendle Maslowski and Professor Charles Mackay from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with the Co-operative Research Centre for Asthma and Airways, have demonstrated that GPR43, a molecule expressed by immune cells and previously shown to bind short chain fatty acids, functions as an anti-inflammatory receptor."
      (as reported in New Scientist 10/28/2009)

   We should be eating twice the recommended dose of 18 grams per day. There is no practical limit to how much you can eat. Since we are already aware that we need to be eating mostly vegetables, the fiber in vegetables may be sufficient. But, eating some beans and supplementing with some fiber powder is a great idea.

   Unfortunately, it is impossible to get the beneficial effect without getting some gas. The very process that produces the SFCs also produces methane. The methane collects into pockets and must be expelled by "passing gas." This might be the limiting factor for you, but try to tolerate as much as you can.

3. Sweet Drinks and Insulin:
   It turns out that diet drinks do something bad regardless of whether or not the artificial sweetener used in them is toxic. The very fact that they are sweet activates an anticipatory secretion of insulin which negatively affects artery health. If you are fat, diabetic, and/or having any health problem involving arteries (high blood pressure, aneurysms, DVTs, clots, atherosclerosis, heart disease or history of heart attacks) do not drink sweet liquids! This will make the problem worse. Insulin levels need to be kept very low (naturally) for optimum health. While diabetics require insulin to stay alive, they would require less if they ate fewer calories and less sugar. Insulin is required to process the sugar created by digesting food. And some sugar is necessary as fuel. But, keeping sugar and insulin low are keys to good health and longevity. Diet drinks don't raise blood sugar, but they do cause a rise in insulin. Paradoxically, this increases hunger and promotes fat deposition. Insulin is somewhat addictive, too. Diet soda drinkers tend to be hooked. Have you ever seen someone who loves diet cola but is fat anyway?

4. Allergies and Antibiotics:
   This is another issue that is described extensively on the main page. The basic idea is that our immune systems get started when we're young and learn about the world through interaction with bacteria in the gut. Antibiotics kill the bacteria in the gut, in addition to killing the bacteria elsewhere in the body that is causing the child to be sick, and then the body no longer knows who the good bacteria are. New bacteria grow, but the relationship is new and different. It seems that this new relationship may also be inferior. The Immune system is thus more likely to mistake good for bad and attack it. So, the body might attack pollen, peanuts, or even itself. Many diseases requiring expensive treatments result. This is a life-long problem! So, avoid antibiotics if possible.

   In addition, it may help to alleviate the problem if fiber is ingested regularly and in high quantities. This promotes a large population of bacteria in the gut. Another potential cause of the diseases of the immune system may be insufficient fiber in the diet. Eating yogurt and taking probiotic capsules can also help, but the bacteria you reintroduce in this way must be fed and maintained. They eat fiber, so give them what they need.

   Glucosamine (or n-acetyl-glucosamine) help to prevent the onset of inappropriate immune affinities (allergies and autoimmune diseases). If you are prone to getting allergies, you should take this regularly. It might prevent a major disease or allergy later in your life.

5. Telomere Malfunction:
   While it is not news that telomeres are implicated in aging, the exact mechanism for their involvement has been elusive. New research shows how this really works. It turns out to have little to do with length of the telomeres (a past theory). The following quotation describes the research well:

   1. "Scientists at the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute say they have identified the root molecular cause of a variety of ills brought on by advanced age, including waning energy, failure of the heart and other organs, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes . . . The scientists found that the basic cause of age-related health decline is malfunctioning telomeres — the end caps on cells’ chromosomes that protect them against DNA damage. As cells reach their predetermined limit of times that they can divide, the telomeres become shortened and frayed, making the chromosomal ends vulnerable to increased rates of unrepaired DNA damage. . . . DePinho published a study in Nature in January 2011 that demonstrated it was possible to reverse the symptoms of extreme aging in mice by increasing their levels of telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the health of the telomeres. In this new, larger role, the telomere dysfunction also sets off an array of reactions leading to diminished health and longevity. For example, muscles suffer a loss of mitochondria, a cell’s chemical power plant, causing waning vitality and failure of the heart and other organs. Risks of metabolic disorders such as diabetes are increased."
      (as reported in New Scientist 2/10/2011)

6. The importance of nutrition:
   It seems like every few weeks a new compound is found in fruits and vegetables that can have a dramatic effect on health. I expect this trend to continue. And, as mentioned above with Resveratrol, some compounds are found to be more effective when taken with their co-factors. I derive two major themes from this trend:

   1. The best way to get good nutrition is by eating large quantities of unmodified and uncooked vegetables as well as a variety of fruits. Not only do they contain the nutrients that are discovered so far, but they contain the nutrients that haven't been discovered yet. Moreover, they contain the combinations of co-factors that are needed to maximize the effects of the nutritious compounds.

   2. Nutrition can make a very large difference in health and longevity. It is, in fact, the most important factor that we can modify. Our oldest citizens typically eat vegetables every day. The ones who set records for longevity stand out as super vegetable eaters:

      1. A Moroccan man named Sidi Kaddour Maksouri (123 years old) is probably the world's oldest living man, but unofficially. He reports that he lives primarily on barley bread, honey, olive oil, dates and other fruits and vegetables including those that he finds growing wild in the mountains. You can find images of him if you do an image search of his name.

      2. Many other centenarians report eating vegetables and avoiding foods low in nutrition.
         
         After reaching 110, these folks have lived almost two complete lives in good health. While genetics is no doubt a large factor in this achievement, this is also caused by eating large quantities of vegetables every day. Vegetables maximize your potential to live a long and healthy life
         
         It is easy to overlook the importance of good nutrition and it is also easy to look for it in the wrong place (not in a bottle!). The people who live the longest and healthiest lives eat mostly vegetables. You should start doing this too!

7. Methionine: (don't do this at home... not enough info yet.)
   This is an amino acid found in proteins. Fruit flies, a commonly used experimental animal, lived longer when methionine was restricted in their diets. The scientists were trying to discover why calorie restriction increases lifespan in virtually all animals. This result indicates that maybe only one particular nutrient needs to be restricted instead of total calories. If so, it means that low-methionine foods, when replacing other foods, might lead to increased health and longevity. This is an early result, but it might turn out to be significant later.
   
   We need protein in our diets to survive and be healthy. Proteins are made entirely out of amino acids. One of the amino acids is methionine. So, to try to lower methionine in our diets we need to know which foods contain proteins that contain methionine. Foods high in methionine include meat (fish too), eggs,  brazil nuts, sesame seeds, cereals and wheat germ. These range from 1700mg/200 calorie serving down into the 800s. Other significant sources include seaweed/spirulina (900 mg), soy beans (700mg) and cheeses. There is significant range within the cheeses Cottage cheese is the highest at 1036mg. Cream cheese is at 960mg. Cheddar and colby are in the mid 600s.
   
   Most fruits and vegetables contain very little methionine. Most beans (legumes) are also low in methionine.
   
   Note: While reducing methionine might increase longevity and health, be aware that there is a minimal level that is required. The RDA is about 800 mg, but it varies with weight. Children need more than fully grown adults as well. If you experiment with lowering levels before further research becomes available, do so very carefully.