#478

Why would you think that? Leftover carbohydrates are digested by gut bacteria if you take Acarbose or not, it is the normal process of digestion. It produces some (or a lot) gas and short-chain fatty acids. If you take Acarbose you do not completely block the digestion of carbohydrates in small intestine. You just add some carbs to be digested by bacteria in large intestine.
SCFAs are generally considered beneficial. They play important roles in various physiological processes, including energy metabolism, immune function, and gut health. They help maintain the integrity of the gut barrier, regulate inflammation, and support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Additionally, SCFAs have been associated with various health benefits, such as improved insulin sensitivity, reduced risk of inflammatory diseases, and protection against colon cancer.

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#479

Our intestinal bacteria can produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) themselves, and it is not necessary to take acarbose to produce them. Furthermore, there are several types of SCFAs, for example, Butyric acid can be directly produced by Butyric acid bacteria, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii can produce Propionic acid, and so on.

#480

That is what I said, Acarbose or not, but with Acarbose bacteria have more carbohydrate sources to produce more SCFAs.

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#481

How much carbohydrate absorbtion does acarbose really block?

#482

Metformin also can lower IGF1 slightly and that hasn’t been shown to extend lifespan so I don’t buy the IGF1 theory.

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#483

There is so much research on IGF1, its probably one of the top 2 most validated pathways for longevity in addition to mTOR.

So, from my standpoint, the data is pretty conclusive of it having “some effect” in healthspan and lifespan.

But I think you can argue that if started later in life, the impact may be small. But even without a lifespan improvement, the disease burden reduction seems to be more compelling. I mean look at the health profiles of the Laron syndrome dwarfs who never get cancer or diabetes… its hard to argue against (except again, how much benefit you’d get from later life IGF1 reduction vs. life-long reduction, this is an open question).

Anyway - we’ve got lots of threads on IGF1, so not to digress too much in this Acarbose thread.

  1. Growth Hormone and longevity
  2. IGF-1 inhibitors and lifespan extension?
  3. A Life-Extension Drug for Big Dogs Is Getting Closer to Reality (Wired)
  4. Another (likely) Longevity Drug - Somavert / Pegvisomant
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#484

I’m pulling out my list of people with idiosyncrasies again. “yeah, he’s a pretty good administrator…but he has an obsession with…“the Little People of Ecuador””

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/aging/little-people-ecuador-laron-syndrome-may-unlock-cancer-diabetes-cure-n511266

Hope you don’t move into @AnUser territory.

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#485

New Blueprint stack coming soon…

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#486

Yes, I absolutely have a thing for dwarfs that never get cancer or diabetes. I mean how could you not love these people… :smiley:

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#487

people with Laron syndrome have a significantly reduced risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes.

]> people with Laron syndrome do not seem to have an increased lifespan compared with their unaffected relatives.

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#488

I think this conclusion is likely premature given the small sample size… how can you not live longer if you’re not getting cancer or diabetes? " Among the approximately 100 individuals in this population, there were no reported cases of diabetes and one case of cancer.[29]". wikipedia.

Certainly the healthspan is much longer than unaffected relatives.

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#489

Just had a quick google and pulled up a couple of articles

Blockquote
there were 30 deaths among patients with Laron syndrome: 9 due to age-related diseases (8 due to cardiac disease and 1 to stroke) and 21 were due to non–age-related causes. Patients with Laron syndrome from the Ecuadorian cohort died much more frequently from accidents, alcohol-related causes, and convulsive disorders
Blockquote

and another article/quote suggests that maybe people with Laron syndrome think they are invulnerable and eventually their modern diet is going to catch up with them one day.

Blockquote
Guevara-Aguirre said that in the absence of alarming symptoms or blood tests, it can be difficult to convince his [Laron syndrome] patients, who are prone to obesity, that they need to eat right and exercise.
Valarezo just laughs when he tells her she needs to lose weight, and he frets that a modern diet might eventually overtake the built-in protections of her disease.
“Eventually, it will catch up with you,” he said. “They are pushing the limit.”
Blockquote

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#490

Can imagine that psychological and discrimination effects would confound comparisons?

Perhaps comparing to populations with other forms of dwarfism could help, but then you would have other issues to control for.

Does anyone know if they have done any biological age clock studies in that population?

#491

  • Not just cancer and diabetes, but also heart disease and Alzheimer’s… that would be the big four… wow!?

  • And in rodents it does extend lifespan

See bold parts below

Unlike others with dwarfism, Laron patients don’t lack growth hormone, but they have a defect in the receptor in the liver that is supposed to bind to the hormone and produce a substance called insulin-like growth factor 1. In Laron, there is no binding and no IGF-1 - and stunted growth as a result. But the absence of IGF-1 may also prevent the uncontrolled growth of cells that turn into cancer, and it creates extra sensitivity to insulin that serves as a shield against diabetes.

Longo duplicated Laron in lab rats. "The mice actually lived 50 percent longer and get a lot less diseases. It’s very clear in the mice. Can it be true for people?'" His lab is testing drugs that would block IGF-1 in people, but the question is whether medicine will work as well as an actual mutation in humans. Longo said it will be at least a decade before they know the answer. Meanwhile, his team is also investigating its theory that Laron may be a defense against heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Preliminary results show that at the very least, the little people don’t have any higher risk of those conditions.

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#492

Actually one of the biggest killers of Laron Syndrome folks are accidents.

Instead of dying from chronic diseases connected to obesity, however, there is an unusually high rate of alcohol- and accident-related deaths as well as convulsive disorders among the Laron population, he said.30 Apr 2

#493

Part of that might be higher portion of suicides as they may face discrimination in multiple ways (which also could be a driver of the higher alcohol intake)

Or does anyone think low IGF-1 would be causing that somehow?

#494

Been taking acarbose for 3 months. The fartulence side effect was once blatantly evident but my body seems to have acclimated.
Right now I’m on a bunch of antibiotics for an infection and hopeful that arcarbose will contribute to rebuilding my gut microbiome once I’m off those meds
Feeling it might be worth a study and in fact wonder if much study has been done on the effect on the micro-biome of taking serious antibiotics and methods of rebuilding this important aspect of our system

5 Likes
#495

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Abstract

Age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as well as for other disorders that increase the risk of AD such as diabetes and obesity. There is growing interest in determining if interventions that promote metabolic health can prevent or delay AD. Acarbose is an anti-diabetic drug that not only improves glucose homeostasis, but also extends the lifespan of wild-type mice. Here, we test the hypothesis that acarbose will not only preserve metabolic health, but also slow or prevent AD pathology and cognitive deficits in 3xTg mice, a model of AD, fed either a Control diet or a high-fat, high-sucrose Western diet (WD). We find that acarbose decreases the body weight and adiposity of WD-fed 3xTg mice, increasing energy expenditure while also stimulating food consumption, and improves glycemic control. Both male and female WD-fed 3xTg mice have worsened cognitive deficits than Control-fed mice, and these deficits are ameliorated by acarbose treatment. Molecular and histological analysis of tau and amyloid pathology identified sex-specific effects of acarbose which are uncoupled from the dramatic improvements in cognition, suggesting that the benefits of acarbose on AD are largely driven by improved metabolic health. In conclusion, our results suggest that acarbose may be a promising intervention to prevent, delay, or even treat AD, especially in individuals consuming a Western diet.

https://t.co/p6wVVgwmjv

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#496

Interesting, but it makes me wonder if this means acarbose doesn’t help unless one is eating a high sugar, crappy diet.

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#497

I’d be curious if anyone has thoughts about your question because I just started acarbose and have been surprised to see no noticeable effect on my cgm. It would be interesting if the reason is because I haven’t tried it with eating ‘crap’ ?

And on that note, I found this thread because I read this article that mentions Monch Monch. It seems you all are way ahead of me! I had wondered if anyone had tried it. I also see that some of you are making a version of it on your own. Any updates or new thoughts? I thought it seemed like a neat idea to have some with me when on vacation and eating treats I normally wouldn’t indulge in.

BTW, the ingredients are now clearly shown on their website
“Biolumin fiber (cellulose, Konjac gum, carrageenan)

2 Likes