Ron Put

I agree with Gordo. Better to eat the whole mushroom: "Active hexose correlated compound, or AHCC, is a proprietary medicinal mushroom extract intended to strengthen the immune system. In the past, the formula was considered a trade secret of the Japanese manufacturer, so we don’t know for sure what’s in it other than a combination of several species of Basidiomycete mushrooms, including shiitake (which has been shown to have anti-cancer effects). ... Until we know more about whether AHCC works as advertised, I suggest that your sister-in-law consider the mushrooms I recommend to cancer patients for their proven immune-enhancing and anti-cancer effects: Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), is a common medicinal mushroom shown to have anticancer effects in ongoing research in this country. Use liquid or encapsulated extracts. Maitake (Grifola frondosa) is an edible mushroom known in the U.S. as “hen of the woods” because in appearance it resembles the fluffed tail feathers of a nesting hen. In addition to its anti-cancer, anti-viral and immune-enhancing properties, maitake may also help reduce blood pressure and blood sugar. Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is too bitter to eat but is widely available in teabags, capsules and liquid extracts. Animal studies have shown that reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumors; it is also a natural anti-inflammatory agent. Agaricus blazei (Agaricus brasiliensis) contains beta glucans, a group of polysaccharides (complex sugars) believed responsible for this mushroom’s immune-boosting effects. Research has shown that Agaricus has anti-tumor and anti-viral activity, as well as moderating effects on blood sugar and cholesterol. Oncologists in both Japan and Brazil use this mushroom in treatment protocols. It is sold in the U.S. in dried form as well as in extracts." https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/cancer/mushrooms-against-cancer/

The Slate article Gordo posted makes perfect sense. It's very likely that the infection rate is significantly higher than reported, partially because of limitations in the testing methods and partially because there is political pressure on governments to show action and success, even if their information is inaccurate, and if they are aware of such inaccuracies. While liberal democracies often wash their dirty laundry in public, this is not the case for authoritarian states such as China or some of its neighbors. Test kits appear to have some significant shortcomings, which means that a significant number of carriers are not detected. CT scans appears to be more accurate, but such equipment is less readily available in poorer countries: "About 60% tested positive with the RT-PCR, but 88% with chest CT scan. Of this 60%, it is possible to pick up 97% of cases using chest CT alone. Moreover, when the RT-PCR test is negative, the positive chest CT scan made it possible to pick up approximately 300 more patients who were very likely to have the infection, and 33% of these were thought to have COVID-19 infection. Among the RT-PCR negative patients, 75% showed chest CT findings, which suggested COVID-19 infection. In all, there were about 900 patients with positive chest CT findings, with an average age of 60 years. Just over 300 of them had positive chest CT findings but negative RT-PCR results. Of these patients, 83% showed characteristic lung signs. About half of these were highly likely cases, and another third probable cases – which means that, in the words of the author, “About 81% of the patients with negative RT-PCR results but positive chest CT scans were re-classified as highly likely or probable cases with COVID-19.” https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200227/Chest-CT-scan-best-for-coronavirus-diagnosis.aspx

Hah, I didn't know Italy had a CR proponent in the 16th century: Luigi Cornaro "When he was about 40, Cornaro found himself exhausted and in poor health, a condition he attributed to a hedonistic lifestyle with excessive eating, drinking, and sexual licentiousness. On the advice of doctors, he began to adhere to a calorie restriction diet specially for morbid obese/anorexia nervosa persons,[3] centered on the "quantifying principle" of restricting himself to only 350g of food daily (including bread, egg yolk, meat, and soup) and 414 mL of wine.[4] His book Discorsi della vita sobria (Discourses On the Temperate Life), which described his regimen, was extremely successful, and "was a true reconceptualization of old age. As late as the Renaissance it was largely the negative aspects of this phase of life which were emphasized ... Cornaro’s method offered the possibility for the first time not only of a long but also a worthwhile life." After his conversion to a holistic lifestyle, he remained in vigorous health well into old age.[4] In 1550, when Cornaro was about 83, he was urged to write down his secrets of health, and its English translation, often referred to today under the title The Sure and Certain Method of Attaining a Long and Healthful Life, went through numerous editions; he wrote three follow-ups in 1553, 1558, and 1562. The first three were published at Padua in 1558. They are written, says Joseph Addison, in the early 18th century periodical The Spectator (No. 195), "with such a spirit of cheerfulness, religion and good sense, as are the natural concomitants of temperance and sobriety." Friedrich Nietzsche criticized the work for mistaking the consequence with the cause,[5] insisting that Cornaro's diet is not the cause of his long life, but rather that the cause of his long life - which Nietzsche gives as his slow metabolism - is the reason for his diet."

Here are the fatality rates of coronavirus for every age bracket — and they vary widely A recent study from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzing 72,314 coronavirus cases in mainland China found that while about 80 percent of cases are mild, the virus poses the greatest threat to elderly people with preexisting health issues. The research shows patients older than the age of 80 had a 14.9 percent chance of dying after being infected, while those in their 70s were found to have an 8 percent chance of death. Patients in their 50s were about three times more likely to die than patients in their 40s, at a rate of 1.3 percent. Patients ages 10 to 19 were as likely to die as patients in their 30s, at just 0.2 percent. The study did not report any deaths in children younger than 10, who represented less than 1 percent of patients. And this is just as a broad reference: Flu Pandemic Morbidity / Mortality

Drinking kefir may prompt brain-gut communication to lower blood pressure After nine weeks of kefir supplementation, the treated rats had lower levels of endotoxins (toxic substances associated with disruption in the cells), lower blood pressure and improved intestinal permeability when compared with the untreated group. Healthy intestines allow some substances to pass through, but generally act as a barrier to keep out harmful bacteria and other potentially dangerous substances. In addition, kefir supplementation restored the natural balance of four different bacteria in the gut and of an enzyme in the brain essential for normal nervous system function, suggesting that the nervous and digestive systems work together to reduce hypertension.

It'd be interesting to see if this holds up and if it does, what it means.

On a somewhat related note, Daniel Dennett may not be the smoothest speaker, but he is good:

LOL! This is hilarious! Loved the Noah bit and the look of the guy in the audience. Thanks.

In small population "blue zones" like Ikaria (less than 10,000), my guess is that genetics plays an important role. But notably, the diet has changed since those over 90 were in their prime. Olive oil and meat consumption has increased significantly, as well as the consumption of processed foods. The same trend is seen elsewhere, especially in Okinawa, where dietary changes since the 1950s have been dramatic, with a corresponding increase of disease and mortality.

I am not sure if this limited human study has been posted before, but thought it's interesting: Postprandial Oxidative Metabolism of Human Brown Fat Indicates Thermogenesis Highlights A carbohydrate-dominant meal triggers human brown fat thermogenesis After a meal, the genes involved in fatty acid metabolism are highly expressed in BAT BAT uptake of circulatory fatty acids after meal consumption is minimal Postprandial thermogenesis in BAT is linked to circulatory fatty acid uptake

Thank you, Gordo!!! I sent you a PM. This is really helpful!

I may be missing something, but wouldn't both control and the CR animals be exposed to the same temperatures in the same lab?

You are probably right, Saul. But IQ is largely heritable and parents who feed their offspring mostly junk food are probably less likely to be of the higher IQ variety, so....

Thanks, Gordo and tea! I consume mushrooms almost daily, mostly brown, oyster, maitake and portobello, and supplementing occasionally with turkey tail and reishi powders. But my question was regarding the Golden Teacher variety....

How big of a problem is contamination? I understand it can be quite dangerous. At the same time, mushrooms grow in the wild so what is the issue with home-grown mushrooms and what exactly contaminates them?

Yep, it's human classification of mathematical patterns commonly found in nature, generally the result of optimization. James Gates is flamboyant and bombastic, and writers in the blogosphere often exaggerate and sensationalize stuff like this "error-correcting code" as clickbait. String theory (all of its variations) is just a mathematical model. It does make a number of testable predictions (I have already posted examples above). Like all such models, it's likely incomplete, and likely wrong in (maybe even large) part. People believe lots of things without evidence. It's like Nostradamus or biblical prophecies or like me claiming that "intelligent" clouds make bunny shapes on purpose, because I can count three right now above me. While there are scientists who strongly disagree on whether particular proposed mathematical descriptions are valid or not, please do not confuse the generally sound foundations of such proposed models with the science fiction and religious nonsense lurking on the internets.

The problem is that at one gram per dosage, one would need approximately 10 of these daily to get the dosage I see used in studies (e.g. about 6g for turkey tail mushrooms). Better off buying dried mushrooms or powder. On another note, this is interesting: Johns Hopkins study finds Psilocybin dosage 'sweet spot' for positive and lasting effects

LOL, methinks you might be the target audience and you might already be drinking it :D Anyway, this is a "new" virus and it may become ubiquitous like the flu, or it may mutate and disappear. It is similar to viruses previously found in China (if I remember, carried by bats) and likely localized infections among villagers have been commonplace before, but it didn't spread. But the panic it is causing is way out of proportion, although it may trigger a way overdue market correction, as well as a long overdue supply chain realignment.

Sibiriak, thank you for the NYTimes article assailing the few fringe conspiracy theorists in the US. Now, if you can find similar Russian mainstream articles assailing the avalanche of disinformation spread internally and externally by Russian sources and government sanctioned trolls, I would appreciate it. I don't know your back story, but I am somewhat familiar with Russia and life in Russia. Your statements read like 30 years old Radio Moscow communique. And are just about as inaccurate. Not a single of Russia's neighbors is likely to agree with that "minimize political tensions" bit. And from my experience, few of the brighter (and wealthier) Russians have such illusions -- I've heard much disdain for the mujiks who can't afford to go to Crimea, but are willing to die for it. As to gas pipelines and driving wedges: Vladimir Putin bribed Schroeder (now on the boards of two Gazprom subsidiaries, even though he should be in prison) and Berlusconi into allowing Gazprom to tie their economies to Russian energy supplies and is trying to do the same now. Russia has a long history of using supplies of resources as a tool to influence others and to aid its expansionist interests -- it is currently applying pressure on Byelorussia, with the goal of effectively absorbing it. And Russia has a long history of financing fringe elements with the goal of destabilizing its neighborhood and beyond. Seeding fear, anger and mistrust in local institutions is a large part of it. But you are right that this is not the forum for it, so this is all I will say on the subject. Cheers.

Hm, Sibiriak, maybe Siberians are not the target audience...? Here are a few of the many pearls of often silly disinformation spread by Russian outlets a quick search finds (I assume you can read Russian): https://ren.tv/news/v-mire/653042-mutatsiia-tainaia-laboratoriia-ili-provokatsiia-otkuda-prishel-koronavirus http://katyusha.org/view?id=13538 https://topcor.ru/12844-smertelnyj-virus-shiritsja-protiv-kitaja-mogli-primenit-biooruzhie.html Of course, the armies of Russian disinformation trolls are the main "carriers" (pun intended) spreading it in the West. BTW, the majority of the Russian energy contracts are long term ones and short-term fluctuations are well hedged against. And I don't think those who are in charge really care much about such fluctuations if longer term goals of Western destabilization are advanced, or if they can create enough turmoil and public opinion spikes in the EU, to push stuff like Nord Stream 2 through and prevent energy diversification in Europe. Cheers.

Yep. Tru dat. Russia Knows Just Who to Blame for the Coronavirus: America "Russian efforts to undermine Western countries long predates the outbreak of coronavirus. The nature of the messaging and their singling out of the United States are typical of the Kremlin’s disinformation playbook, which loyal editors and producers are well familiar with—and know the political necessity of sticking to. The overarching theme of the stories that appear across the Russian media, from fringe websites to prime-time television, is that the virus is the product of U.S. labs, intended to kneecap China’s economic development. Some articles have flirted with the idea that Bill Gates or Kremlin nemesis George Soros might have had a hand in the outbreak. In one of the more bizarre turns, a host on Russia’s state-funded Channel 1 floated the idea that the name “coronavirus,” is a veiled reference to its American origins, because U.S. President Donald Trump once handed out crowns at beauty pageants, and corona means crown in Latin."

Yep, which is why RT and Sputnik re so busy spreading this....

My guess is that reducing calories and exercising may help, and not just with MBL. I am sure that you have read up on it, but nevertheless, I came across this rather good general summary which may provide additional information: Monoclonal B Cell Lymphocytosis

Oh, boy.... This nonsense rears its head periodically and it often rides on industry-sponsored studies (I don't have time to look more carefully at the study, but will at some point). Poor nutrition, especially during childhood, may correspond with lower IQ. But so it goes for those who live on KFC, as well as those who live on French fries. Here is another study to ponder (note that IQ generally stays the same after the age of 10 or so): IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood: 1970 British cohort study "Higher IQ at age 10 years was associated with an increased likelihood of being vegetarian at age 30 (odds ratio for one standard deviation increase in childhood IQ score 1.38, 95% confidence interval 1.24 to 1.53). IQ remained a statistically significant predictor of being vegetarian as an adult after adjustment for social class (both in childhood and currently), academic or vocational qualifications, and sex (1.20, 1.06 to 1.36)."

Just to keep it in perspective: CDC: 80,000 people died of flu last winter in U.S., highest death toll in 40 years That's for 2017, which was a bad flu season.