ras

https://gizmodo.com/intermittent-fasting-not-better-than-regular-dieting-y-1848823438

Moderate alcohol used to be recommended for its health benefits, and a prominent member of the CR Society once encouraged many fellow members to follow him in imbibing. The research story of the last several years has been the growing accumulation of evidence to do just the opposite -- avoid alcohol or at least severely limit it. The following article is from the September 2021 issue of the Harvard Health Letter. -- RAS *** Alcohol and atrial fibrillation Question: I started drinking more during the pandemic. But I’ve heard that alcohol can increase the risk of atrial fibril- lation, a condition that my mother already has. How much alcohol is dangerous in terms of atrial fibrillation? Answer: We’ve long known that binge drinking (consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short time period) can trigger a bout of atrial fibrillation, the rapid, irregular heart rhythm commonly known as afib. Doctors refer to this phenomenon as “holiday heart” because they see more cases of it around the holidays, when people are more likely to overindulge in alcohol. However, growing evidence suggests that in general, the more you drink on a daily basis, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with afib. Even small amounts make a difference. One observational study that tracked people over an average of 14 years found that even a single drink per day—a glass of wine, a beer, or a shot of whiskey, gin, or other spirits—was linked to a 16% higher risk of developing afib compared with not drinking at all. For people who already have afib, alcohol appears to have a nearly instantaneous effect on their heart rhythm, according to a recent study. People in the study wore heart rate monitors and special ankle sensors to measure their alcohol intake. Researchers found that a single drink doubled the odds of a bout of afib occurring within the next four hours. In yet another study, researchers created three-dimensional structural maps of the left atrium (one of the two upper chambers of the heart) in people with afib. Compared with light drinkers and nondrinkers, moderate drinkers had more evidence of scarring and electrical signaling problems in their atria. The severity of those problems was directly linked to the severity of afib among the participants. The bottom line is that even small amounts of alcohol may harm your heart, which is why avoiding alcohol or limiting yourself to an occasional drink on special occasions may be the safest approach. [emphasis added --RAS] Alcohol use is linked to many other health threats, including car accidents, violence, high blood pressure, and various cancers, and the risks rise in tandem with the amount you drink. By the way, afib does appear to have a genetic component, although the degree of added risk to family members of people who have afib isn’t entirely clear. As for other ways to lower your personal risk, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise can help.

As reported in ScienceAlert (https://www.sciencealert.com/oxygen-therapy-found-to-turn-back-the-sands-of-time-on-our-body-s-aging-cells) -- Richard Schulman

Protein restriction -- consuming no more than the minimum daily requirement for protein -- seems to be essential for effective calorie restriction. But CR practitioners need to think twice before assuming that veganism would be a good way of practicing a protein restrictive diet, for reasons explained in this article, the heading and sub-head of which read How a vegan diet could affect your intelligence.The vegan diet is low in – or, in some cases, entirely devoid of – several important brain nutrients. Could these shortcomings be affecting vegans' abilities to think?

"Longevity Linked to Proteins That Calm Overexcited Neurons": https://www.quantamagazine.org/longevity-linked-to-proteins-that-calm-overexcited-neurons-20191126/

This will be of great concern to those of us who started CR relatively late in their lives. By all means keep us posted, Al!

This post today of Al's ("Exercise degrades Bone in Calorie Restriction") is very concerning. I'm assuming similar effects accrue to humans. The previous concerns among CR practitioners, if I recall correctly, were that CR could cause bone fragility. That exercise doesn't counterbalance the effect but instead makes matters worse is an even greater concern. Informed comments and relevant research would be appreciated.

This article explains why men should try to tamp down testosterone after they've sown their wild oats: http://nautil.us/issue/49/the-absurd/why-men-dont-live-as-long-as-women