Newsletter #94: Why a Shrubbery Might Make Your Gut Healthier 🌲
Hello Friends!
Welcome to the newest edition of the humanOS newsletter! Below is our own content and a roundup of the various studies and media that captured our attention this week. 🤓
This Week’s Research Highlights
🥦 Eating a diet rich in flavonols may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers analyzed data from 921 subjects from the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), who did not have Alzheimer’s disease at the start of the study. Participants completed annual neurologic evaluations and dietary assessments using a validated food frequency questionnaire. After an average followup of 6.1 years, those who had the most flavonols in their diet were 48% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, compared to those who consumed the least. Specific flavonols appeared to have differential effects on disease risk. When the researchers examined the impact of individual compounds, they found that the highest intakes of either isorhamnetin or myricetin were tied to 38% lower odds of developing Alzheimer’s, while the highest consumption of kaempferol was tied to a 51% lower risk.
🩸 Dietary nitrate from beetroot juice may lower blood pressure and improve vascular health.
Twenty older adults were randomly assigned to either beetroot juice or a placebo for 28 days. Over the course of the study, the subjects attended three laboratory visits, during which blood pressure and various measures of blood vessel function were assessed. In the group consuming beetroot juice, plasma NO3− levels increased, along with a concomitant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (approximately −6 mmHg and −4 mmHg respectively). Additionally, flow-mediated dilation - a measure of endothelial health — increased by 1.5%. Check out this interview with researcher Jonathan Burdette to learn more about the potential health benefits associated with beetroot juice.
🧠 Short sleep is linked to alterations in brain structure, mood, and cognitive performance in children.
Researchers examined data from 11067 children (aged 9-11 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Brain imaging was analyzed in relation to sleep duration and various psychiatric and cognitive measures. They found that depression, anxiety, impulsive behavior, and poor cognitive performance in the children were linked to shorter sleep duration. The behavior problems score for children with less than seven hours of sleep was 53% higher on average, and the cognitive total score was 7.8% lower on average, compared to children with 9-11 hours of sleep. Furthermore, structural MRI revealed that lower volume of brain areas involving the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal and temporal cortex, precuneus, and supramarginal gyrus were all associated with shorter sleep duration.
🏡 Yard vegetation and land cover is associated with shifts in health-associated gut microbiota.
Researchers obtained stool samples from 48 elderly Finnish adults and identified bacterial phylotypes via 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing. They also examined aspects of their living environment, including yard vegetation and land cover classes surrounding homes.
The researchers found that the presence of diverse yard vegetation was associated with a reduced abundance of Clostridium and an increased abundance of Faecalibacterium and Prevotellaceae, the latter of which are butyrate producing bacteria thought to have anti-inflammatory properties. Living near diverse shrubs and non-woody flowering plants was found to be linked to higher Firmicutes and reduced Bacteroidetes. Higher Firmicutes and lower Bacteroidetes is inversely associated with obesity.
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Steve Ottersberg: CBD, Endocannabinoids, and Impacts on Pain & Inflammation. Via Dr. Bubbs Performance Podcast.
- Cindy Nebel & Megan Sumeracki: Learning to Learn. Via Smart Drug Smarts. (An oldie but a goodie)
- Ugolick Phillips: How Tech Can Make Us More—And Less—Empathetic. Via Science Friday.
Products We Are Enjoying
Hutzler 376TU Saver Set fruit keeper.
I’m always on the lookout for things that can make it easier to maintain healthy habits and prevent food waste, which is what drew me to this little container. As you can see, it has a colander built into it, so you can wash your berries (or whatever produce you happen to have) and then stick them in the fruit keeper. This way, they stay dry and fresh for longer. It’s also a pretty decent size (two quarts or ~1900 grams capacity).