Lion's Mane and Agmatine: Targeting Nerve Function
Hi there,
This week I'm bringing you two new articles that explain the research on a couple of natural supplements.
The first article covers the research on lion's mane mushrooms. This is something that I've personally taken as a supplement periodically, and I love to eat it as a fresh mushroom when I can get it. There is a ton of research on the beneficial properties of lion's mane, and I try to explain the better quality studies. Reading through the research also helped me understand that the supplements with the fruiting body of lion's mane likely have somewhat different effects from the supplements with just mycelium.
The second new article is on agmatine, which is a metabolite of l-arginine that is also available as a supplement. I came across it in a research paper on small fiber neuropathy and decided to follow that rabbit trail. Agmatine has been known for a century or more, but new research on it shows benefits for neuropathy, back pain, and major depressive disorder. I haven't tried it myself yet, but the research is interesting.
Gratefully yours,
Debbie
Lion’s Mane: Cognitive function, nerve regeneration
Lion’s mane mushroom is a food and natural supplement with a number of potential health benefits. Some of the most well-researched benefits of lion’s mane mushroom extract include:
Improved cognitive function
Reduced depression and anxiety symptoms
Increasing nerve regeneration
This article digs into the research studies on lion’s mane and then makes connections to possibly related genes.
Agmatine: Neuropathic pain and antidepressant
Key takeaways:
~Agmatine is a compound created in the body that acts within neurons.
~ Studies show that it may be helpful for neuropathic pain, depression, and brain function.
~ Clinical trials in humans are few, though, which is something to consider when looking at the benefits of a supplement.
What I've been reading:
1. Longevity and Genetic Trade-Offs
This is my overview article on a study from last year that looked at polygenic risk scores in centenarians compared to a middle-aged control group. The use of genetic pathways gave researchers new insight into the bigger picture of which pathways are important in the long run. For example, higher polygenic scores for schizophrenia were linked to longevity (in people without schizophrenia), which is likely due to immune system genes.
2. High-fat diet ‘turns up the thermostat’ on atherosclerosis
It seems like nutritionists, doctors, and health gurus have been arguing for decades about dietary fat and heart disease. Researchers now have found a mechanism for why high-cholesterol, high-fat diets increase atherosclerosis in some people. The key may be in the interaction of a fatty acid, lysophosphatidic acid, and the intestinal cell walls.
From the article: "To study the intricate connection between diet and atherosclerosis, the researchers used a mouse model that not only recapitulates the high levels of low-density lipoprotein, or “bad cholesterol,” seen in atherosclerosis patients but also lack the specific enzyme involved in the generation of pro-inflammatory derivatives of natural emulsifiers in the intestinal lining cells. Using this model, the researchers found that on a high-fat high-cholesterol diet, the cells that line the small intestine churn out reactive phospholipids that makes the intestinal lining more susceptible to invasion by the bacteria that live in the gut."
New on Long Spike: