Mediterranean diet's cellular effects revealed:
People who follow the Mediterranean diet—rich in fats from olive oil and nuts—tend to live longer, healthier lives than others who chow down primarily on fast food, meat and dairy. But it hasn't been clear on a cellular level exactly why the diet is so beneficial.
Now researchers led by the Stanford School of Medicine have found one of the first cellular connections between healthy fats—known as monounsaturated fatty acids—and lifespan in laboratory worms. The finding hints at a complex relationship between diet, fats and longevity.
"Fats are generally thought to be detrimental to health," said professor of genetics Anne Brunet, Ph.D. "But some studies have shown that specific types of fats, or lipids, can be beneficial."
The researchers learned that one of the fats in the Mediterranean diet, oleic acid, increases the number of two key cellular structures, or organelles, and protects cellular membranes from damage by a chemical reaction called oxidation. This protective effect has a big payoff: Worms fed food rich in oleic acid lived about 35% longer than those consigned to standard worm rations, the researchers found.
Journal Reference:
Papsdorf, Katharina, Miklas, Jason W., Hosseini, Amir, et al. Lipid droplets and peroxisomes are co-regulated to drive lifespan extension in response to mono-unsaturated fatty acids [open], Nature Cell Biology (DOI: 10.1038/s41556-023-01136-6)
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 16, @10:36AM (2 children)
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/magazine/the-island-where-people-forget-to-die.html [nytimes.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday May 16, @06:53PM
>Worms fed food rich in oleic acid lived about 35% longer than those consigned to standard worm rations, the researchers found.
So, I'll be staying away from standard worm rations, then.
>How does he think he recovered from lung cancer?
Dramatic change of lifestyle, including the air he was breathing (probably important to lung cancer...)
It doesn't always work, but I believe that some of what makes Gerson Therapy [angeleshealth.com] and similar effective, for some people, is very much like the cures prescribed for the rich in Northern Europe in centuries gone by: "Take a break, go somewhere nice, like Italy, and relax." Not only are you giving up the stress of your normal life, you're also leaving behind the weather, pollen, insects, and whatever else was in the environment that you got sick in.
Just a change of lifestyle can work, sometimes. I knew a guy in his mid-late 20s who was diagnosed with Testicular cancer - he did not want the "standard therapy" which involved bilateral removal... So, he didn't quit his high stress sales job, but he started going about it in a much more low stress way, he started doing a lot of meditation, he cleaned up his diet - he didn't even leave the LA smog, and he put himself into lasting remission after a couple of years.
Humans are highly adaptable, but we adapt to some environments, foods, and lifestyles better than others. If you have gotten ill in your current regime, just changing it can be a cure.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Tuesday May 16, @11:38PM
I've heard a lot of spontaneous remission [wikipedia.org] stories over the years. They do tend to make the news. This one sounds exceptional. Not a doctor, but I'd put money on the immune system theory and actual doctors [cancer.gov] are working in that direction too. Moving home probably boosted his immune system in addition to removing him from whatever pollution may have triggered the cancer in the first place.
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(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday May 17, @12:23AM
Worms are somewhat remote from us biologically.
There are lots of things that make us sick, but that animals a lot closer to us than worms thrive on.
Grass, for example.