Newsletter #101: Cocoa Flavonoids & Mushroom Beta Glucans 🍄
Hello Friends!
Welcome to the latest edition of the humanOS newsletter! Below is our work, and a roundup of the various studies and media that have captured our attention this week.
This Week’s Research Highlights
🦠 The structure of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein may be a major reason why it is so infectious.
Why are there so many more cases of COVID-19, than there were SARS cases back in 2002-2003? To better understand this, researchers have produced a 3D map of the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 - the part of the virus that attaches to and gains to our cells. Using biophysical assays, they were able to show that this spike protein binds at least ten times more tightly to the ACE-2 receptor, compared to the corresponding protein of SARS-CoV-1.
🍵 Diets rich in certain phytochemicals may be protective against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance.
Researchers analyzed data from a total of 789 subjects included in a metabolic screening program. Higher (above the upper median) phenolic acid intake was associated with 31% lower odds of NAFLD, and 39% lower odds of insulin resistance, after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, and lifestyle factors. Specifically, high intake of hydroxybenzoic acids is associated with a lower prevalence of steatosis and fibrosis, and high intake of hydroxycinnamic acids is associated with lower prevalence of insulin resistance.
🧪 Higher levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to increased risk of obesity in descendants.
Researchers examined blood samples and anthropomorphic data from women who were enrolled in the Child Health and Development Studies during the 1960s. In the early 2000s, the researchers also measured the weight, height, and waist circumference of a subset of their daughters and granddaughters. The California Department of Toxic Substance Control measured levels of PFASs (man-made chemicals found in cookware, carpets, textiles, etc) in the stored blood of the grandmothers that had been collected shortly after they gave birth. The researchers calculated that a 20-year-old granddaughter's joint risk of abdominal and whole-body obesity increased 53% with a doubling of PFAS blood levels in her grandmother when her grandmother also had lower cholesterol (bottom 25%). This translated to an estimated 2.3-fold increase in the joint risk of abdominal and whole-body obesity for women whose grandmothers were in the top 25% of PFASs exposure compared to the bottom 25% of PFASs exposure in this group.
🍫 Chronic consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa powder reduces body fat in endurance athletes without affecting performance.
Male cross-country athletes of normal body mass and excellent aerobic fitness were randomly assigned to take either 5 grams of fat-reduced cocoa containing 425 flavanols or 5 grams of maltodextrin (placebo).
After 10 weeks of daily use, the cocoa group showed significantly reduced body fat percentage, specifically in the trunk, visceral area, and lower limbs. The reduction in body fat mass was accompanied by an increase in plasma follistatin and a decrease in leptin, while myostatin levels remained unchanged. Athletic performance was not impacted by the cocoa regimen or the change in body composition.
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Christian Benedict: Sleep, Diet, Obesity, and Weight Gain - Part 1. Via Sleep Junkies Podcast.
- Zach Bush: A Pandemic of Possibility. Via Rich Roll Podcast.
- Maggie Koerth (from FiveThirtyEight): Why Do We Still Not Have Enough COVID-19 Tests? Via Science Friday.
Products We Are Enjoying
Terrasoul Superfoods cacao nibs.
If you are looking for a good source of those cocoa flavanols, like in the study described above, this is a pretty good way to get them. So why this brand in particular? Not really any special preference. The reason has to do with a fundamental characteristic of cacao. The leaves and beans are naturally prone to accumulating heavy metals from the soil, particularly cadmium, which is potentially problematic. This process probably isn’t fully preventable, but it can be monitored.
That’s what I like about Terrasoul - they third-party lab test for heavy metals in their products. And if you wanna know more about benefits associated with chocolate, check out these blogs addressing how cocoa flavanols can improve exercise performance, and how dark chocolate boosts cognition. Good stuff.
New humanOS Content
On this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan speaks with Jeff Chilton. Jeff is sort of a trailblazer in the area of medicinal mushrooms. He studied ethnomycology - historical uses and sociological impact of fungi - at the University of Washington in the late 1960s, then went on to work on a commercial mushroom farm in 1973. Over the following decade, he became the production manager, responsible for the cultivation of over 2 million pounds of agaricus mushrooms per year. He was also involved in the research and development of shiitake, oyster, and enoki mushrooms, which ultimately resulted in the earliest sales of fresh shiitake mushrooms in the US in 1978.
Fast-forward to 1989: Jeff founded Nammex, a business that introduced medicinal mushrooms to the US nutritional supplement industry. Nammex extracts are now used by many supplement companies, and are noted for their high quality based on analysis of the active compounds. Given his background, it is hard to think of a more qualified person to speak to about the mushroom industry, and the health-promoting power of mushrooms. Check out the interview below to learn more!
