 | September 25, 2009 | Vitamin K study supports triage hypothesis of degenerative disease | | An analysis conducted by Joyce C. McCann, PhD and Bruce N. Ames, PhD at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute provides support for Dr Ames' triage hypothesis, which proposes that our bodies have evolved to allocate often scarce micronutrients to functions that are critical to short term survival rather than to those which protect long term health. Chronic insufficient intake of many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids causes DNA damage, mitochondrial decay and cellular aging, which, while not affecting immediate survival, can lead to degenerative diseases later in life. "Natural selection favors short-term survival at the expense of long-term health," explained Dr Ames in an introduction to his hypothesis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. "I hypothesize that short-term survival was achieved by allocating scarce micronutrients by triage, in part through an adjustment of the binding affinity of proteins for required micronutrients. If this hypothesis is correct, micronutrient deficiencies that trigger the triage response would accelerate cancer, aging, and neural decay but would leave critical metabolic functions, such as ATP production, intact." Drs Ames and McCann reviewed hundreds of articles concerning vitamin K and its 16 known dependent proteins for the current analysis. Studies of mice in which vitamin K-dependent proteins were rendered inoperative revealed that five of these proteins have functions that are essential to survival, and 5 are less critical. The body preferentially distributes vitamin K to the liver to preserve coagulation when vitamin K levels are reduced; however, suboptimal vitamin K intake and anticoagulant-induced vitamin K deficiency have been linked with such age related conditions as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer. "A triage perspective reinforces recommendations of some experts that much of the population and warfarin/coumadin patients may not receive sufficient vitamin K for optimal function of vitamin K-dependent proteins that are important to maintain long-term health," the authors write. The report, which appeared online on August 19 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was published in the October, 2009 issue. The analysis is the first in a series conducted by Drs Ames and McCann to test the triage hypothesis. "Encouraging support for the triage theory from our vitamin K analysis suggests that experts aiming to set micronutrient intake recommendations for optimal function and scientists seeking mechanistic triggers leading to diseases of aging may find it productive to focus on micronutrient-dependent functions that have escaped evolutionary protection from deficiency," Dr McCann stated. | |  |
| The premise of taking actions to maintain youthful health and vigor is based on findings from peer-reviewed scientific studies that identify specific factors that cause us to develop degenerative disease. These studies suggest that the consumption of certain foods, food extracts, hormones, or drugs will help to prevent common diseases that are associated with normal aging. Therefore, the concept of disease prevention can be defined as the incorporation of findings from published scientific studies into a logical daily regimen that enables an individual to attain optimal health and longevity. A well-justified fear of cancer is a major reason why people take dietary supplements. As has already been shown, there is a compelling body of evidence that cancer risk can be reduced by taking the proper supplements over an extended period of time. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by Clark et al. (1996) showed that 200 mcg of supplemental selenium a day reduced overall cancer mortality by 50% in humans compared to a placebo group not receiving supplemental selenium. This 9-year study demonstrated that a low-cost mineral supplement could cut the risk of dying from cancer in half in certain individuals. In the March 17, 1999, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Zhang et al. 1999), associations between intakes of specific nutrients and subsequent breast cancer risk were investigated in 83,234 women who were participating in the Harvard Nurses' Health Study. Breast cancer risks were significantly lower in women who consumed alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and vitamins A and C. Among premenopausal women who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol (a known risk factor in breast cancer), beta-carotene lowered risk. Premenopausal women who consumed 5 or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables had modestly lower risk of breast cancer than those who had less than 2 servings a day. |
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| | |  | | Cats have been domesticated since early times, essentially to catch rats and mice. Today, they are mainly household pets that, like dogs, require special attention when it comes to their nutrition and care. Cats are carnivorous. But unlike dogs that can eat some plant-based foods, cats need animal protein to survive. Amino acids like taurine and arginine are important to a cat’s health, and without them cats could die. Taurine, for one, is a must for heart, kidney, and eye health. Arginine detoxifies ammonia in cats’ kidneys and is also important for heart and pancreatic function and keeping the gut healthy. The essential fatty acid, arachidonic acid, is another must for cats; it is used in every cell in the body. And, just like humans, they need B vitamins to support their cardiovascular system. Cats also have problems metabolizing certain amino acids from other nutrients, like the conversion of niacin to tryptophan, or vitamin A from beta carotene. For that reason cats have more stringent nutritional requirements than omnivores such as dogs and humans. | | | |  | | Life Extension Update | | What's Hot | | Life Extension magazine | |
