Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 7/13/05.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

I sent letters to lawmakers in Washington via the http://www.saveoursupplements.org/ website.  I've been getting letters back and they weren't good.  Every Senator/Congresswoman that responded is for making DHEA a controlled substance.  I hope more people will speak up via http://www.saveoursupplements.org/ or otherwise to try to prevent this.

Omega-3, Omega-6 Fatty Acids Can Affect Bone Loss - CBS 2 Chicago, 7/12/05 - "eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- found in walnuts and salmon -- may prevent bone thinning. While excess amounts of omega-6 -- found in grains and beef -- may actually promote bone loss ... a low ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 appears to be best"

Vitamin controls backed by Europe - BBC News, 7/12/05 - "Under the EU Food Supplements Directive, due to come into effect in August, supplements will only be able to include vitamins and minerals taken from an approved list"

Curry Spice May Fight Skin Cancer - WebMD, 7/11/05 - "curcumin, the yellow pigment found in the spice turmeric, kills and stops the growth of melanoma skin cancer cells in laboratory tests"

• Curry Spice May Curb Breast Cancer's Spread - WebMD, 6/9/05 - "Less than a quarter of the mice in the curcumin-plus-Taxol group had cancer that spread to the lungs. So did half of the curcumin group. In comparison, cancer spread to the lungs in three-fourths of the Taxol group and almost all (95%) mice that got no treatment"
• Curry Spice May Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 1/5/04 - "the curry pigment curcumin slows the formation of, and even destroys, accumulated plaque deposits in mouse brains"

Statins Not Associated with Reduced Dementia Risk - Doctor's Guide, 7/11/05 - "Participants were on average 75 years of age, and statin use was assessed for a median of 5 years. Statin exposure may need to occur earlier in adulthood or for longer periods to prevent dementia"

• Statins May Decrease Alzheimer's Risk by 79% - Clinical Psychiatry News, 6/02
• Statins May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 4/16/02

Complementary and Integrative Approaches to Dementia - Medscape, 7/5/05 - "Ginkgo biloba, an herbal product long used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been studied extensively and found to be well tolerated with mild benefit, approximating that of the 2nd generation cholinesterase inhibitors ... Huperzine A is a potent plant-based alkaloid with reversible acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory ... There have been several controlled clinical trials suggesting that ALc slows the progression of AD" - See iHerb ALC, ginkgo and Huperzine A products.

Normal Blood Pressure Key To Longer Life - CBS 2 Chicago, 7/5/05 - "people in their fifties with normal blood pressure develop heart disease about seven years later than people with high blood pressure. They also live about five years longer"

Reduce Your Blood Pressure - ABC News, 7/5/05 - "blood pressure is the key to healthy arteries, and arteries are the key to aging ... the ideal blood pressure is 115/75"

Adult Lifestyle Biggest Risk Factor For Diabetes, Study Finds - Science Daily, 7/5/05 - "Type 2 diabetes is strongly related to overweight and lack of physical activity, and accounts for 90% of all diabetes"

Patients Seek Natural Alternatives to NSAIDs - Clinical Psychiatry News, 7/05 - "SAMe appeared to be as effective as NSAIDs in reducing pain and improving functionality with fewer adverse effects than NSAIDS" - See iHerb SAMe products.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics:

Insulin Resistance in Cognitive Impairment: The InCHIANTI Study - Arch Neurol. 2005;62:1067-1072 - "insulin resistance might contribute to cognitive impairment"

Folic acid supplementation for 3 wk reduces pulse pressure and large artery stiffness independent of MTHFR genotype - Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82(1):26-31 - "5 mg folic acid/d ... Folic acid reduced brachial pulse pressure by 4.7 ... Folic acid is a safe and effective supplement that targets large artery stiffness and may prevent isolated systolic hypertension" - See iHerb folic acid products.

• Vitamin B8 (Folic Acid) - drugstore.com - "folic acid supplementation can interfere with the laboratory diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency, possibly allowing the deficiency to progress undetected to the point of irreversible nerve damage" - See iHerb B12 products.

Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review - JAMA. 2005 Jul 6;294(1):97-104 - "This systematic review supports the hypothesis that habitual coffee consumption is associated with a substantially lower risk of type 2 diabetes"

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