QualityCounts.com Newsletter of 2/6/02

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How to Stop Diabetes In Its Tracks - WebMD, 2/6/02 - "the study found that the diet/exercise program cut diabetes risk by 58%. Glucophage was significantly less effective, but still decreased risk by 31% ... The diet was centered around lowering fat intake to less than 25% of overall calories ... the 30-minute daily exercise regime "should be easily achievable" by most nondiabetic overweight Americans with high blood sugar levels"

Caffeine Disturbs Blood Sugar Hormone - WebMD, 2/6/02 - "When insulin sensitivity goes down, this indicates that your body is less able to take blood sugar into the cells to be used for energy ... Caffeine decreased insulin sensitivity by 15%, a significant decline compared to placebo. Plus, stress hormone levels in the blood increased with caffeine. Blood pressure increased to a small degree as well"

Calcitonin Boosts Trace Minerals In Postmenopausal Osteoporotics - Doctor's Guide, 2/6/02 - "Serum values of Mg, copper (Cu), and Zn were found to be significantly lower in the patient than the control group ... After three months of [calcitonin] treatment, serum Cu, Zn, and Mg levels were similar between the two groups; this continued after the end of six months of therapy. During the six-month treatment period, serum Cu, Zn, and Mg levels increased consistently"

Hormone Therapy Relieves Menopause Symptoms - WebMD, 2/5/02 - "The latest study to weigh in on the benefits of hormone replacement therapy evaluated depression, energy levels, and other quality-of-life variables in a group of postmenopausal women enrolled in the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS), conducted between 1993 and 1998 ... Women reporting hot flashes or flushes had improved mental health and fewer symptoms of depression when they received HRT, compared with women who had similar symptoms but did not receive the therapy. Those without hot-flash symptoms who received hormone therapy actually had greater declines in physical function and energy levels, compared with women given placebos"

Diet, Cholesterol Drug Combo Works Best - WebMD, 2/5/02 - "Drugs usually can lower cholesterol more than a healthy diet. But combining the two gives you the best effect ... the drug [Zocor] had some potentially harmful effects on antioxidant levels. Antioxidants help get rid of toxic chemicals produced in the body that may increase the risk of heart disease and even cancer. Zocor decreased levels of the antioxidants vitamin E, beta-carotene and ubiquinol-10 ... When the drug was taken alone, there also was another concerning finding. It increased insulin levels and raised insulin resistance ... The [Mediterranean] diet did not increase insulin levels or insulin resistance. In fact, it lowered both of them. This suggests that the diet may help prevent diabetes. Plus, the Mediterranean diet helped keep insulin levels and insulin resistance normal in men taking Zocor"

New Guidelines for Identifying Kidney Disease - ABC News, 2/5/01 - "The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure ... If you are in one of the at-risk groups, you should ask your doctor to test your blood level of "creatinine" — a waste product that is normally passed in urine. A high level may mean that your kidneys aren't filtering your blood properly"

Novel vaccine combats cancer - MSNBC, 2/5/02 - "In a preliminary trial of the so-called dendritic cell vaccine in 13 patients with prostate cancer who had exhausted all the usual life-extending treatments, there were no adverse side effects ... Additionally, immunological testing indicated that the vaccine revved up the patient’s immune system to fight the cancer ... And while this just-published work was done in prostate cancer patients, similar results have since been observed in kidney cancer patients as well ... this approach “extends the scope of vaccination to virtually every cancer patient, regardless of his type of tumor or its genetic makeup,”"

Study Links Tanning Beds to Skin Cancer - WebMD, 2/5/02 - "those who had ever used a tanning bed were 2.5 times more likely to have squamous cell cancer and 1.5 times more likely to have basal cell cancer ... those that started using tanning beds at an earlier age tended to be more likely to end up with skin cancer"

Well-Rounded Prevention May Lower Colon Cancer Risk - WebMD, 2/4/02 - "Research suggests that aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the vitamin folate, and the mineral calcium, all may have a protective effect against colon cancer. Estrogen, too, may have a protective effect ... The best way to lower your risk of colon cancer is to reduce red meat intake, exercise regularly, stop smoking, and control your weight ... aspirin reduced the risk of colon cancer death by 40%, when taken 16 times per month or more. Similarly, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Clinoril (sulindac) significantly reduced polyps in high-risk people. Both aspirin and Clinoril can cause stomach bleeding, but the new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex may prevent colon polyps without this side effect ... The herb rosemary, the spice turmeric, the skin of red grapes, and green tea all have similar effects as the [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug] Celebrex"

Weight Loss Eases Harmful Inflammation - WebMD, 2/4/02 - "They measured levels of a blood chemical called "C-reactive protein," or CRP. This chemical goes up when inflammation in the body rises. Then, 25 of the women were put on a weight-loss program ... On average, CRP levels fell by 32% after a weight loss of about 33 pounds over 14 months"

Diet, Reproductive Factors May Protect Against Lung Cancer - Medscape, 2/4/02, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Among smokers, intake of total, cruciferous and non-cruciferous vegetables was inversely associated with lung cancer ... The investigators observed a significantly reduced lung cancer risk among nonsmokers, but not smokers, with higher intakes of soy foods ... There was a significant association between fruit intake and a reduced risk of lung cancer among nonsmokers ... Reproductive effects were also primarily confined to lifetime nonsmokers, among whom having three or more livebirths (adjusted odds ratio 0.65) and a menstrual cycle length of more than 30 days (adjusted odds ratio 0.46) accorded a significantly reduced risk of lung cancer"

Evaluation of the Association Between St. John's Wort and Elevated Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone - Medscape, 12/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "This study suggests a probable association between St. John's wort and elevated TSH levels ... In one patient, TSH dropped from 18.63 to 5.37 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuing St. John's wort, and subsequently to 1.32 µU/ml 6 months later. In the second patient, TSH decreased from 14.76 to 3.23 µU/ml 1 month after discontinuation of the herb ... Although the similarities between St. John's wort and tricyclic antidepressant drugs are less clear, it has been postulated that tricyclic antidepressants interfere with the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis through noradrenergic or serotonergic systems, indirectly decreasing T₄ or triiodothyronine (T₃) levels in the blood" - Decreased in thyroid hormones is not uncommon with anti-depressants/anti-psychotics. See Quetiapine (Seroquel®): A Brief Review which says "Statistically significant decreases in T3 and T4 (generally within 20 percent of lower limit of normal) in the absence of TSH elevation were reported". A Medline search of "fluoxetine [Prozac] T3" claims "There was a significant association between a decline in triiodothyronine (T3) levels and response to FLU [Prozac]. Another site claims that "Several studies show that fluoxetine [Prozac] causes a decline inT3 levels and affects T3 production"

Study Links 'Western' Diet with Adult Diabetes - ABC News, 2/4/02 - "Men whose diets are rich in red meat, high-fat dairy products and baked goods made from refined flour are 60 percent more likely to develop diabetes after the age of 40 ... researchers also found that men who ate a "prudent" diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and poultry had a type-2 diabetes risk at levels 20 percent below the norm"

1/3 of Diabetic Men Have Impotence - WebMD, 2/1/02 - "Diabetes can cause problems with erections in several ways. High blood sugar over a long period of time can cause nerve damage. Nerves that supply the penis are necessary for erection. In addition, diabetics are more likely to have clogged arteries. This can decrease the blood supply to the penis ... The researchers also found that many of the men with erectile dysfunction -- nearly two-thirds -- had symptoms of depression as well"

Why Antioxidants Aren’t Enough - Life Extension Magazine, 2/02 - "Glycation can be described as the binding of a protein molecule to a glucose molecule resulting in the formation of damaged, non-functioning structures. Many age-related diseases such as arterial stiffening, cataract and neurological impairment are at least partially attributable to glycation. The glycation process is presently irreversible ... carnosine has been shown to protect DNA, crystallin (eye lens protein), amyloid beta, the cellular antioxidants SOD and catalase, serum albumin and anti-thrombin III (an anticoagulant blood protein) from glycation"

Habitual Exercise Improves Late-Life Functionality in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 2/1/02 - "Habitual exercise - such as walking, dancing, floor exercises and swimming - is significantly associated with higher fat-free mass (FFM) potassium content over a 20-year span ... Moderate to vigorous physical activity was the major determinant of the potassium content of FEM, such that an active 70 year-old had the potassium content value of a 55 year-old sedentary woman"

Willow Bark Cheap Alternative To Pain Killers For Low Back Pain - Intelihealth, 1/31/02 - "Noting that willow bark is roughly 40% less expensive than rofecoxib [Vioxx], the researchers conclude that willow bark and rofecoxib are equally safe and effective in the treatment of low back pain, but that willow bark extract "has the current advantage of being cheaper than rofecoxib."" - In another recent study, rofecoxib was shown superior to Celebrex. See:

Mycological Medicine - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 1/02 - "Medicinal mushrooms' powerful immune-modulating and potentiating activity help support and enhance overall immune function. Researchers also are finding that mushrooms can directly stimulate both the basic (lymphocytes, neutrophils, etc.) and secondary immune responses (immunoglobulins IgE, IgA, IgG) of the immune system. This stimulus can increase production of immune defenders such as cytokines and macrophages, which play vital roles in recognizing and removing foreign antigens, as well as releasing chemical mediators including interleukin-1" - See beta-glucan, maitake and shiitake.

My iHerb affiliate now carries Life Enhancement Magazine Products (LEP). LEP was the very first to introduce supplements such as DHEA and 5-HTP to the U.S. market. Associated with LEP are Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, well-known pioneers on the subject of anti-aging. Also associated is Jonathan Wright, M.D., author of several books on nutrition: See http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?iherb+9Dv4fa+life.html.

I was searching for the best price on phosphatidylserine. If you do the math, I think you will find that the Jarrow PS-100 at iHerb is the best deal. Use discount code "qc" to get an additional 5% off, plus it's free shipping over $60. If you purchase four bottles, 800 mg of PS per day (8 capsules) comes to $2.38 per day (with the 5% discount code). You may find in house brands that are cheaper but do you really trust what is on the label? Even Vitacost's in house brand comes to $2.66 per day for 800 mg PS and that's not counting the $4.95 postage.