Carotenoids Are Associated With A Younger Epigenetic Age And Reduced All-Cause Mortality Risk

[Mike Lustgarten]

 

 

[Clinton]

Spinach, carrots, cooked tomatoes baby!!

[drewab]

I continue to enjoy your videos Mike! I've noticed that legumes, lentils, and other pulses are notably absent from your diet. Any reason in particular?

[Mike Lustgarten]

Yep Clinton, and thanks drewab! I have elevated IgE to many legumes, and GI issues as a result, including bloating and pain. I wish that weren't true, though!

[drewab]

2 hours ago, Mike Lustgarten said:

Yep Clinton, and thanks drewab! I have elevated IgE to many legumes, and GI issues as a result, including bloating and pain. I wish that weren't true, though!

I hear you - I have a similar issue but there are a few that I have found that I can tolerate. For example, I can tolerate chickpeas and lentils well (cooking in the Instant Pot seems to make them much easier on the guy). But meanwhile there are many other common legumes that I don't do well with (i.e. kidney beans). 

[Ron Put]

Mike, you have some really impressive carotenoid intake! I thought I was crazy with my 1432% of vitamin A RDA (including retinol and equivalents) over the last year, but you put me to shame.

One note on albumin. Low protein intake can lead to lower serum albumin, and conversely, high protein intake (including unhealthy animal protein levels) can increase serum albumin. Granted, if I recall, vegans have higher relative levels, likely because of what you describe in your video.

But CR and keeping protein low, would suppress albumin to an extent, no?

[Mike Lustgarten]

Ha, thanks Ron. I've read that low protein can impact albumin (and have heard it anecdotally, too), but in my data, protein intake isn't significantly correlated with albumin (r=0.18, p=0.37, n=28 blood tests since 2015). If albumin is low on CR, that's going in the wrong direction, as it decreases during aging and relatively lower levels are associated with an increased mortality risk. So I'd figure out within CR how to increase it, whether it's more carotenoids, protein, or something else.

[Ron Put]

23 hours ago, Mike Lustgarten said:

I've read that low protein can impact albumin (and have heard it anecdotally, too)

Hah, I took another cursory look at this and it appears that it's not a certainty:

Serum Albumin and Prealbumin in Calorically Restricted, Nondiseased Individuals: A Systematic Review
In these otherwise healthy subjects, serum albumin and prealbumin levels are not “markers of nutritional status.” The “markers” failed to identify subjects with severe protein-calorie malnutrition until extreme starvation. That is, they failed to identify healthy individuals who would benefit from nutrition support, becoming abnormal only when starvation was already obvious. In contrast, serum albumin and prealbumin levels are known to fall promptly with injury or illness regardless of nutrient intake. They are negative acute-phase reactants. When these measures are low in sick patients, this cannot be assumed to reflect nutritional deprivation.

But:

Dissociated response of plasma albumin and transferrin to protein-calorie restriction in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)
The responses of albumin and transferrin to selective nutritional interventions were assessed in 31 infant monkeys. Diets were restricted in protein, calories, or both from age 2 to 8 wk (study A) or protein alone from age 4 to 24 wk (study B)--in both cases to prevent growth. Transferrin levels in study A were significantly lower than control in all three restricted groups whereas albumin levels were decreased only in both low-protein groups. In study B albumin and transferrin concentrations were significantly decreased during the first 12 wk of intervention. A sharp recovery in the transferrin concentrations, however, was observed when a minimal increase in protein intake was allowed in the latter portion of the study. It appears that the response of albumin is linked to amino acid availability whereas the response of transferrin is influenced by variables such as acute dietary manipulation and rate of growth, among others. The value of these indices as single predictors of nutritional status is questioned.

And this seems to point at leucine, specifically:

 

Leucine improves protein nutritional status and regulates hepatic lipid metabolism in calorie-restricted rats
Rats were subjected to a 30% calorie-restricted diet for 6 weeks to study the effects of leucine supplementation on protein status markers and lipid metabolism. Caloric restriction reduced the body weight. However, increased leucine intake preserved body lean mass and protein mass and improved protein anabolism as indicated by the increased circulating levels of albumin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and the liver expression of albumin and IGF-1 messenger RNA.