Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/7/09.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Study supports pomegranate’s anti-prostate cancer potential - Nutra USA, 1/6/09 - "the average doubling time increased from an average of 15 months to 54 months for the men drinking the pomegranate juice" - [Abstract] - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.

Diabetes Slows Brain Function - WebMD, 1/5/09 - "Mild diabetes slows mental function, even when kept under tight control ... Diabetes patients had normal reaction times and normal perceptual speed. But they were slower on tasks requiring rapid and precise processing of new verbal information. The defects involved speed and not verbal fluency"

Fosamax: Higher Risk of Jawbone Death? - WebMD, 1/2/09 - "After having teeth pulled, 4% of patients in a study who were taking Fosamax developed a dangerous condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw, USC researchers report. None of the tooth extraction patients not taking Fosamax developed osteonecrosis ... The condition, sometimes called jawbone death, occurs when bone in the jaw fails to heal after a minor trauma. It results in pain, swelling, infection, and exposed bone"

Antioxidants Offer Pain Relief In Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis - Science Daily, 1/1/09 - "In this placebo-controlled, double blind trial, 127 patients, ages 30.5+/-10.5, were assigned to placebo or antioxidant groups. After six months, the reduction in the number of painful days/month was significantly higher in the antioxidant group, compared with the placebo group (7.4+/-6.8 versus 3.2+/-4, respectively). The reduction in the number of analgesic tablets/month was also higher in the antioxidant group (10.5+/-11.8 versus 4.4+/-5.8, respectively). Furthermore, 32 percent and 13 percent of patients became pain free in the antioxidant and placebo groups, respectively; the beneficial effect of antioxidants on pain relief was noted early at three months"

High Insulin Level Is An Independent Risk Factor For Breast Cancer - Science Daily, 12/31/08 - "women with the highest insulin levels had nearly a 1.5-fold higher risk of developing breast cancer than the women with the lowest insulin levels. Further, the investigators separately analyzed women who were not using hormone therapy and found that, in these women, those individuals with the highest insulin levels had a 2.4-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to those with the lowest levels, even after accounting for multiple other breast cancer risk factors, including estrogen levels"

Grape-seed Extract Kills Laboratory Leukemia Cells, Proving Value Of Natural Compounds - Science Daily, 12/31/08 - "An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract ... They also discovered that the extract does not affect normal cells, although they don't know why" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.

Dr. Yosef Krespi Highlights Ways To Fight Bad Breath To The Roots - cbs2chicago.com, 12/31/08 - "Most bad breath comes from bacteria that put out foul smelling byproducts. They can live in plaque on your teeth, on your tongue, or in the little pockets that cause gum disease. But sometimes, they're a little further back in your throat ... Tonsil stones can't be brushed or cleaned, so it's difficult for people suffering from bad breath to get rid of tonsil stones on their own"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Neuroprotective Effects of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate on Aging Mice Induced by D-Galactose - Biol Pharm Bull. 2009 Jan;32(1):55-60 - "aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main polyphenolic constituent of green tea ... Oral administration of EGCG (2 mg/kg or 6 mg/kg) for 4 weeks significantly improved the cognitive deficits in mice and elevated T-SOD and GSH-Px activities, decreased MDA contents in the hippocampus, and reduced the cell apoptosis index and expression of cleaved caspase-3 in the mouse hippocampus. The results suggest that EGCG has potent neuroprotective effects on aging mice induced by D-gal through antioxidative and antiapoptotic mechanisms, indicating that EGCG is worthy of further study in aging" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Protective Effect of Quercetin against Gentamicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats - Pharm Bull. 2009 Jan;32(1):61-7 - "Gentamicin (GM) is an antibiotic widely used in treating severe gram-negative infections. However, its clinical use is limited by its nephrotoxicity ... Histopathological examination of GM-treated rats revealed degenerative changes in glomeruli and tubules. On the other hand, simultaneous administration of quercetin plus gentamicin protected kidney tissues against nephrotoxic effects of gentamicin as evidenced from amelioration of histopathological changes and normalization of kidney biochemical parameters" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

Pomegranate polyphenols down-regulate expression of androgen-synthesizing genes in human prostate cancer cells overexpressing the androgen receptor - J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Dec;19(12):848-55 - "A twofold suppression of gene expression was considered statistically significant. Pomegranate polyphenols inhibited gene expression and AR most consistently in the LNCaP-AR cell line (P=.05). Therefore, inhibition by pomegranate polyphenols of gene expression involved in androgen-synthesizing enzymes and the AR may be of particular importance in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells and the subset of human prostate cancers where AR is up-regulated" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.

Addition of 2.5g l-arginine in a fatty meal prevents the lipemia-induced endothelial dysfunction in healthy volunteers - Atherosclerosis. 2008 Nov 6 - "2.5g l-arginine, but not phenyalanine or leucine, is able to prevent the lipemic dysfunction of the endothelium" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com.

Testosterone Gel Monotherapy Improves Sexual Function of Hypogonadal Men Mainly Through Restoring Erection: Evaluation by IIEF Score - Urology. 2008 Dec 30 - "After 3 months of testosterone gel therapy for the hypogonadal men, the most beneficial effect on sexual function was erectile function, with sexual desire and orgasmic satisfaction insignificantly affected. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study have shown that transdermal testosterone gel treatment for hypogonadal patients can improve their sexual dysfunction mainly through restoring erectile function"

Thiazolidinediones inhibit REG Ialpha gene transcription in gastrointestinal cancer cells - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Dec 29 - "TZDs may therefore be a candidate for novel anti-cancer drugs for patients with gastrointestinal cancer expressing both REG Ialpha and PPARgamma" - Note:  I take pioglitazone (a thiazolidinedione) to reduce the chances of getting diabetes (by 81%) among other things.  See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.

High-Dose B Vitamin Supplementation and Progression of Subclinical Atherosclerosis. A Randomized Controlled Trial - Stroke. 2008 Dec 31 - "high-dose B vitamin supplementation (5 mg folic acid+0.4 mg vitamin B12+50 mg vitamin B6) or matching placebo for 3.1 years ... High-dose B vitamin supplementation significantly reduces progression of early-stage subclinical atherosclerosis (carotid artery intima media thickness) in well-nourished healthy B vitamin "replete" individuals at low risk for cardiovascular disease with a fasting tHcy >/=9.1 micromol/L"

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Inhibits Expression of the Spot 14 (THRSP) and Fatty Acid Synthase Genes and Impairs the Growth of Human Breast Cancer and Liposarcoma Cells - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(1):114-22 - "We conclude that as in bovine mammary and mouse adipose cells, CLA suppresses S14 and FAS gene expression in human breast cancer and liposarcoma cells. Rescue from the antiproliferative effect of CLA by palmitic acid indicates that reduced tumor lipogenesis is a major mechanism for the anticancer effects of CLA" - See conjugated linoleic acid at Amazon.com.

Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid for the treatment of psychological distress and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Dec 30 - "Psychological distress (PD) ... To our knowledge, this is the first trial of n-3 supplementation in the treatment of PD and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women. In women with PD without MDE at baseline, the 8-wk changes in PD and depressive scales improved significantly more with E-EPA than with placebo" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

gamma-Tocopherol-enriched mixed tocopherol diet inhibits prostate carcinogenesis in TRAMP mice - Int J Cancer. 2008 Oct 27 - "8 week old TRAMP males were fed 0.1% gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherol diet that contained 20-fold higher levels of gamma-tocopherol, and roughly 3-fold higher levels of alpha-tocopherol ... Treatment with gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherols significantly suppressed the incidence of palpable tumor and Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) development without affecting the expression of the transgene (SV-40) ... gamma-T-enriched mixed tocopherols significantly up-regulated the expression of Nrf2 and its related detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes thereby suppressing PIN and tumor development" - Note:  The following study was done with alpha-tocopherol.  I cannot understand why they did that when the previous research also supported the gamma unless they didn't do any homework at all before planning the study.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.

• Prostate Cancer: Vitamin E, Selenium No Help - WebMD, 10/28/08 - "That evidence included a 1998 Finnish study of whether vitamin E could prevent lung cancer in some 30,000 smokers. It didn't, but men taking vitamin E had 32% fewer prostate cancers ... I am afraid it will be the end of the story for large trials of vitamin E and selenium to prevent prostate cancer"

The effect of vitamin E on the treatment of menstrual migraine - Med Sci Monit. 2009 Jan;15(1):CR16-19 - "Vitamin E is effective in relieving symptoms due to menstrual migraine"

Neat Tech Stuff :

• Fujitsu ScanSnap S510 Sheet-fed Scanner - Great for cleaning out and filing the hard copies of everything in your desk including business cards.  It got five stars at Amazon, something you rarely see.  Click here for Fujitsu specs.  Click here for the video (that link only works with Explorer).  Instead of a messy four inch binder for my business income tax receipts I can put each year including the income tax statements on one CD.  Click here for information on the Rack2-Filer option.  Click here for reviews.  The Rack2 costs an extra $100 if you purchase it bundled with the ScanSnap S510 from the Fujitsu site and $259 if you purchase it separately.  On 1/6/09 it was $455.60 delivered with Rack2 and $409.00 delivered without it but that price constantly changes.

Health Focus (Alcohol):

Related Alcohol Topics:

• wine / alcoholism / hangovers

Other Alcohol News:

• Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Risks Of Alzheimer's Dementia And Cognitive Decline - Science Daily, 12/29/08 - "Alcohol is a two-edged sword ... Too much is bad. But a little might actually be helpful"
• A Little Wine Boosts Omega-3 In The Body: Novel Mechanism For A Healthier Heart Found - Science Daily, 12/5/08 - "moderate alcohol drinking acts like a 'trigger', boosting the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in our body ... the association was stronger between wine drinking and omega-3 fatty acids levels. This suggests that components of wine other than alcohol is associated with omega-3 fatty acids concentration. We may guess this effect can be ascribed to polyphenols"
• Alcohol Abuse Can Damage The Brain By Decreasing Insulin And Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptors - Science Daily, 6/17/08
• Exhaustive Review of the Literature Reveals Even Moderate Alcohol Intake Increases Risk of Cancer - bu.edu, 5/08 - "Alcohol intake of approximately 2 drinks per day increases the risk of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx by 75 percent, the risk of esophageal cancer by 50 percent, and the risk of laryngeal cancer by 40 percent" - Complete 194 study.
• Alzheimer's Starts Earlier For Heavy Drinkers, Smokers - Science Daily, 4/16/08 - "the combination of heavy drinking and heavy smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's disease by six to seven years, making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease"
• Alcohol May Raise Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 4/14/08 - "Compared with teetotalers, women who drank one to two drinks a day were 32% more likely to develop ER+/PR+ breast cancer. Having three or more drinks daily raised the risk of ER+/PR+ tumors by 51%"
• Moderate Alcohol Consumption In Middle Age Can Lower Cardiac Risk, Study Shows - Science Daily, 3/7/08 - "After 4 years of follow-up, new moderate drinkers had a 38% lower chance of developing cardiovascular disease than did their non-drinking counterparts ... When comparing non-drinkers to wine-only drinkers, drinkers of other types of alcohol, and heavy drinkers, the wine-only drinkers had the most significant reduction in cardiovascular events"
• Staying Active And Drinking Moderately Is The Key To A Long Life, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 1/9/08 - "ischaemic heart disease ... People who drank at least one drink a week and were physically active had a 44-50 per cent lower risk of IHD compared to physically inactive non-drinkers"
• No Need For Reduced Alcohol Consumption In Later Life, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 12/18/07
• A Drink To Healthy Aging - Science Daily, 12/13/07 - "survival rates were lower in women who did not consume alcohol"
• Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Conduct Problems: a Clearer Link - Doctor's Guide, 11/5/07
• Energy Drink 'Cocktails' Lead To Increased Injury Risk, Study Shows - Science Daily, 11/4/07
• Drinking Alcohol May Protect Lungs - WebMD, 10/25/07 - "people who drank fewer than two alcoholic drinks per day were 18% less likely to show signs of lung disease than abstainers. Those who drank three to five drinks per day had a 10% lower risk of lung disease, but heavy drinkers who drank more than six drinks per day had a 9% increased risk of lung disease"
• Alcohol Amount, Not Type -- Wine, Beer, Liquor -- Triggers Breast Cancer - Science Daily, 9/27/07 - "women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent compared with light drinkers who drank less than one drink a day. The risk of breast cancer increased by 30 percent in women who drank more than three drinks a day"
• Hazards: Heavy Drinking May Raise Risk of Endometrial Cancer - New York Times, 9/18/07 - "Women who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day double their risk of endometrial cancer compared with those who drink less"
• Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health - Medscape, 9/10/07 - "The cumulative scientific evidence demonstrates concordant J-shaped associations between alcohol intake and a variety of adverse health outcomes. These data suggest that alcohol consumption, like exercise, is most cardioprotective when done daily and in moderation.[29] It is tempting, based on the current wealth of evidence, to recommend small daily doses of alcohol (e.g., 1 drink per day) to nondrinkers with or at high risk for CV disease. Guidelines for sensible drinking developed in the United Kingdom state, "Middle-aged or elderly men and postmenopausal women who drink infrequently or not at all may wish to consider the possibility that light drinking may benefit their health".[42] We occasionally make this recommendation to patients well known to us who have no personal or family history of substance abuse, have no history of depression or bipolar disorder, and are nonsmokers. However, light to moderate drinking cannot be universally recommended to the general public or even patients with CV disease"
• Frequent Alcohol Consumption Increases Cancer Risk In Older Women - Science Daily, 9/7/07
• Increased Alcohol Intake Associated With Decreased Risk Of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis - Science Daily, 6/15/07 - "An increased alcohol (ethanol) consumption of three or more units per week was associated with a decreased risk of developing RA (odds ratio 0.5, 95%; confidence interval 0.4 -- 0.7)"
• Moderate Alcohol Use May Slow Progression to Dementia - Medscape, 5/21/07 - "Moderate drinkers with MCI who consumed 1 or fewer drink per day of wine had a significantly lower rate of progression to dementia than did abstainers (HR, 0.15"
• Alcohol May Help Prevent Kidney Cancer - WebMD, 5/15/07 - "people who reported moderate alcohol consumption were 28% less likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer ... Moderate drinkers consumed at least 15 grams of alcohol per day. That's a little more than one daily drink"
• Drinking Heavy Amounts Of Alcohol Shrinks Your Brain - Science Daily, 5/2/07
• Why Alcohol Consumption Increases Breast Cancer Risk, New Animal Study - Science Daily, 4/29/07
• Alcohol 'makes fruit healthier' - BBC News, 4/20/07 - "having them with alcohol, such as in a daiquiri, boosts these antioxidant properties"
• Alcohol May Lower Heart Attack Risk - WebMD, 1/2/06
• Alcohol 'may prevent arthritis' - BBC News, 12/19/06 - "mice whose water contained 10% alcohol had a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis ... alcohol can increase testosterone and increased testosterone may protect against development of rheumatoid arthritis"
• Drink up for a longer life - MSNBC, 12/12/06
• Moderate Drinking May Help Male Heart - WebMD, 10/23/06 - "men who reported drinking half a drink to two drinks daily were least likely to have had heart attacks"
• Light To Moderate Drinking Reduces Risk Of Cardiac Events, Death - Science Daily, 7/25/06 - "Older adults who consume one to seven alcoholic beverages a week may live longer ... Compared with never or occasional drinkers, those who drank lightly to moderately had a 26 percent lower risk of death overall and an almost 30 percent lower risk of cardiac events, even after controlling for inflammatory markers. In contrast, heavy drinkers were more likely to die or experience a cardiac event than never or occasional drinkers"
• Hearty Drinkers Have Healthy Hearts - WebMD, 5/25/06 - "Over nearly six years, men who drank every day cut their risk of heart disease by 41%. Women who drank at least once a week cut their risk of heart disease by 36% or more ... Women who drank the most -- 14 or more drinks per week -- generally had the lowest risk of heart disease: as much as a 73% decrease in risk"
• Moderate Alcohol Consumption Protects Against Colorectal Adenoma - Doctor's Guide, 5/24/06 - "Non-drinkers had a 40% higher risk of adenoma than those in the moderate (1-2 drinks and 2-6 drinks per week) groups. Those drinking 7 or more alcoholic beverages per week had 150% higher risk of adenoma than the moderate groups"
• Moderate Alcohol Use: Brain Booster? - WebMD, 4/6/06
• Equivalent Of 2-4 Drinks Daily Fuels Blood Vessel Growth, Encourages Cancer Tumors In Mice - Science Daily, 4/4/06 - "the tumors of the mice that ingested alcohol ... were nearly twice as heavy compared to the mice that did not have alcohol ..."
• Alcohol Raises Risk of Specific Breast Cancers - WebMD, 11/1/05
• Why Alcohol May Help Hearts - WebMD, 10/13/05 - "Alcohol may lower the risk of heart disease by acting as a blood thinner"
• Study Refutes Heart Health Benefits of Wine - CBS 2 Chicago, 6/16/05
• Regular Alcohol Intake Ups Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "Women who drank a glass or two a day faced a 21% increased risk of breast cancer ... Those who drank more than two drinks a day were 37% more likely to develop breast cancer ... the risk was much greater in menopausal women"
• Both Beer, Red Wine Raise Blood Pressure - WebMD, 4/18/05 - "Compared with the men who did not drink any alcohol, the red wine drinkers had a nearly a 2.5 point jump in their systolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers' blood pressure rose nearly two points"
• After Dinner Drink Proves Beneficial To Postmenopausal Women - Science Daily, 4/1/05
• One Or Two Drinks A Day May Be Better For Women Than None - Science Daily, 3/29/05 - "women who never drink alcohol are in poorer health than those who have up to two drinks a day ... drinking three or more drinks a day tips the health scales the other way"
• Drinking Alcohol Increases Risk For Cancer - Science Daily, 2/1/05 - "Moderate alcohol drinking, less than 25 grams per day, has a favorable role on cardiovascular disease risk ... "[However] it is associated with increased risk of cancers of the upper digestive tract and larynx, and also of the intestines, liver, and breast"
• One Drink Daily May Drop Risk of Mental Decline - WebMD, 1/19/05
• Alcohol May Fuel Cancer Tumor Growth - WebMD, 12/10/04
• Heavy, Lifetime Alcohol Users May Be Toasting Metabolic Syndrome - Science Daily, 11/18/04 - "drinkers in the highest category of intensity have a 60 percent greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome than those in the lowest category ... The highest quartile category of intensity represented females who consumed an average of four drinks per drinking day and males who consumed an average of six drinks per drinking day"
• Alcohol May Raise Risk of Irregular Heartbeat - WebMD, 10/11/04
• Alcohol May Fight Heart Attack Damage - WebMD, 9/3/04
• Drinking and Dementia: Is There a Link? - WebMD, 9/3/04 - "Drinking alcohol in middle age may increase the risk of late-life dementia in people who are genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer's disease"
• Moderate Drinking Won't Hurt Most People - WebMD, 6/14/04
• Moderate Alcohol May Improve Diabetes - WebMD, 6/1/04 - "alcohol improves the body's resistance to insulin -- the hallmark of type 2 diabetes ... the evidence from large-population studies is fairly consistent and shows a reduction in risk of 30% to 40% associated with moderate drinking"
• Consumption of Beer and Spirits Strongly Associated With Increased Risk of Gout in Men - Doctor's Guide, 4/15/04
• Beer, Spirits Increase Gout Risk - WebMD, 4/15/04
• Heavy Social Drinking Damages Brain - WebMD, 4/15/04
• Cancel Happy Hour: Alcohol Shrinks Brain - WebMD, 12/5/03
• Alcohol May Increase Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 11/18/03
• Heavy Alcohol Use Linked to Colon Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 10/22/03 - "Individuals who drink nine or more drinks made with distilled spirits a week for 10 years or more are about three times more likely to develop significant left-sided colorectal pathology than teetotalers"
• Moderate Drinking May Curb Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 10/8/03
• Light Drinking May Cut Diabetes Risk - Intelihealth, 6/10/03 - "women who had about half a drink to two drinks a day were 58 percent less likely than nondrinkers to develop type 2 diabetes ... those who had more than two drinks of hard liquor a day faced more than double the risk of nondrinkers ... Small amounts of alcohol are believed to help the body make better use of insulin"
• Antioxidants May Protect Against Alcohol Damage - Intelihealth, 6/3/03 - "fed rats a liquid diet containing alcohol for six weeks ... They found a 66 percent decrease in the number of new cells in crucial parts of the brain and an increase in cell death of more than 227 percent ... But in rats that also received injections of the antioxidant ebselen, the damage to developing cells did not occur ... The antioxidant ebselen was used because it is known to have protective effects in the liver and digestive tract and has few side effects in humans"
• One Glass of Wine Per Day Improves Arterial Elasticity - Doctor's Guide, 5/15/03 - "Modest alcohol intake was defined as no more than one glass of wine or beer, or less than 30 mL of hard alcohol daily ... All drinkers, particularly wine drinkers, demonstrated increased elasticity in both small and large arteries, as well as lower heart rates, compared with nondrinkers ... The only negative effect associated with moderate drinking was a slight increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers showed the highest blood-pressure elevations ... moderate wine drinking is associated with higher arterial elasticity, lower pulse rate, and higher stroke volume"
• A Drink a Day Keeps Arteries Healthy - WebMD, 5/15/03 - "moderate drinkers had increased elasticity in both small and large arteries as well as lower heart rates compared with nondrinkers ... Beer drinkers had the highest blood pressure levels, followed by liquor and wine drinkers"
• Alcohol Linked With High Blood Pressure - WebMD, 5/8/03
• Effects Of Alcohol, Lipids And Insulin In Non-Diabetics - Doctor's Guide, 4/3/03 - "In men, increasing alcohol consumption was associated with decreased insulin levels as well as a decline in insulin resistance. However, these effects were not apparent among women ... In men, triglyceride levels and alcohol intake showed a J-shaped relationship. Moderate drinkers, who consumed between 10 and 29 g of alcohol daily, showed the lowest triglyceride levels"
• Insulin Resistance, Alcohol Use Associated With Arterial Stiffness In Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 4/1/03
• One to Six Drinks A Week Associated With Lower Dementia Risk In Older Adults - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/03
• Moderate Alcohol May Prevent Dementia in Older Adults - WebMD, 3/18/03
• Regular Alcohol Consumption Could Lower Cardiovascular Morbidity In Hypertensives - Doctor's Guide, 2/10/03 - "Regular consumption reduces concentrations of serum lipoprotein(a), a powerful predictor of organ damage ... Compared with teetotallers and occasional drinkers, however, median lipoprotein(a) concentrations were 21% lower in light drinkers (those consuming up to 20 grams of ethanol daily), 26% lower in moderate drinkers (21-50 grams daily) and 57% lower in heavy drinkers (over 50 grams daily)"
• Moderate Drinking Decreases Stroke Risk - WebMD, 2/6/03
• What do you think of this new study that shows that drinking any kind of alcohol lowers the risk of heart attack? - Dr. Weil, 1/17/03
• More Booze, Fewer Heart Attacks? - WebMD, 1/8/02 - "men who drank alcohol three to four times or more per week were about 30-40% less likely to have a heart attack during the 12-year period, compared with men who drank less than once a week ... the type of alcohol beverage didn't matter -- beer, wine, or liquor -- they all provided some protection against heart disease, although the strongest association for the reduced risk was with beer and liquor"
• Study finds alcohol may lessen inflammation - USA Today, 11/17/02 - "alcohol exerted the greatest benefit in those with the highest levels of a chemical called C-reactive protein, CRP, which builds up when arteries become inflamed. Some researchers now believe that CRP itself may be a previously unrecognized cause of heart disease ... Although LDL has long been considered the best measure of heart attack risk, about half of people who have heart attacks don't have high cholesterol ... "I think this is a fundamental shift in our thinking about (artery) disease""
• Alcohol Can Help Women's Hearts Too - WebMD, 9/16/02 - "10 men aged 45-64 and nine women aged 49-62 drank either regular beer or non-alcoholic beer for three weeks ... After 10 days of drinking alcohol, HDL cholesterol levels rose by an average of nearly 7% for both men and women ... Previous research suggests that a 1% increase in HDL cholesterol is linked to a 2% reduction in the risk of heart disease"
• Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Increase Atherosclerosis Risk In Diabetics - Doctor's Guide, 8/7/02
• Light Drinking Offers Atherosclerosis Protection In Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 7/10/02
• Beer, Wine, Liquor -- The New Health Drinks? - WebMD, 6/14/02
• Moderate Drinking Increases Insulin Sensitivity In Non-Diabetic, Older Women - Doctor's Guide, 5/16/02 - "Moderate alcohol consumption reduces insulin and triglyceride concentrations and increases insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic, postmenopausal women ... the changes they observed may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in this population of women ... Researchers warn, however, that the alcohol intake significantly increased serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and estrone sulphate, steroid hormones known to be risk factors for breast cancer"
• Alcohol Lowers Diabetes Risk in Women - WebMD, 5/14/02
• Special Harvard Commentary: How Much Alcohol Is Right For You? - Intelihealth, 4/10/02
• A Little Alcohol Keeps Blood Pressure Down - WebMD, 3/11/02
• Should You Drink for Your Health? - Dr. Weil, 3/8/02
• Moderate Alcohol Use Decreases Cardiovascular Risk In Older Women - Doctor's Guide, 3/4/02 - "Moderate alcohol consumption - one or two drinks per day - decreases cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women by up to 13 percent ... Moderate consumption of alcohol decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and triacylglycerol concentrations and increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-1 concentrations in postmenopausal women"
• Study Indicates Moderate Drinking Could Ward Off Dementia - Intelihealth, 1/24/02
• Alcohol Helps Guard Against Dementia - WebMD, 1/24/02 - "One to three drinks a day decreased the chance of developing Alzheimer's disease by more than 30%"
• Moderate Alcohol Use By Seniors May Curb Cognitive Impairment - Doctor's Guide, 1/15/02
• Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Protect Against Silent Stroke/White Matter Disease - Doctor's Guide, 9/7/01 - ""Overall, we found that non-drinkers have the most strokes and white matter disease," ... "Light-to-moderate drinkers have fewer strokes and the least amount of white matter disease, but somewhat greater atrophy. Moderately heavy drinkers have the fewest strokes but more white matter disease and the most atrophy." ... much of alcohol's protective effect against strokes is thought to stem from its ability to raise levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol carrier. In addition, alcohol is known to be a mild blood thinner, so it could offer protection from silent strokes caused by tiny blood clots in the brain ... Brain atrophy and drinking were linked in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that even low levels of alcohol use may contribute to brain shrinkage"
• Alcohol's effect on the brain a 'mixed' bag - USA Today, 9/6/01 - "Moderate drinking may reduce the risk of certain types of stroke and scarring in the core of elderly people's brains, a study found. But alcohol may also promote shrinkage of the brain — a condition seen in Alzheimer's patients"
• Alcohol Abuse Linked To Illness In Old Age - Intelihealth, 8/15/01
• Moderate beer quaffers have less heart disease risk, study shows - Healthscout, 7/16/01 - "A moderate amount apparently improves the blood's balance of blood fats and reduces its tendency to clot ... To squeeze the best effects from wine, spirits or beer, men should drink between one and three one-ounce servings of alcohol a day -- or three drinks -- while women should consume half that amount. The reason for the disparity isn't body weight, but rather differences in the stomach's capacity to break down alcohol"
• Moderate drinking yields heart protection - USA Today, 4/17/01 - "Compared with abstainers, light drinkers (under seven drinks a week) were about 20% less likely to die and moderate drinkers (seven or more drinks a week) were about 30% less likely to die"
• Studies Suggest If You Have a Bum Ticker, a Little Drink May Not Hurt - WebMD, 4/17/01
• A Drink a Day May Keep the Heart Doc Away (If You Have the Right Gene) - WebMD, 2/21/01
• Men Who Drink Moderately Have a Lower Risk of Diabetes - WebMD, 12/3/00
• Wine May Reduce the Risk of Colon Cancer, Even in Smokers - WebMD, 10/16/00
• Here's to Your Health: Wine vs. Beer, Spirits Which Booze Is Most Beneficial? - WebMD, 9/18/00
• A Drink A Day May Keep Memory OK - WebMD, 8/1/00
• More good news about moderate drinking for men - CNN, 8/1/00
• Study: Moderate drinking protects diabetics from heart disease - CNN, 8/1/00
• Study Examines Red Wine Antioxidant - Intelihealth, 6/30/00
• Alcohol Damages the Teen-age Brain - WebMD, 6/6/00
• Cheers! Moderate Drinking May Help Prevent Blood Clots - WebMD, 4/26/00
• Guidelines for alcohol consumption remain controversial - CNN, 3/1/00
• Researchers: Beer, In Moderation, Is Good For You - Intelihealth, 10/6/99
• Low Dose Red Wine Linked To Fewer GI Disturbances - Doctor's Guide, 9/1/99
• Light drinking may help men avoid sudden cardiac death - CNN, 8/30/99
• Will wine help your heart? - CNN, 7/6/99
• Low-fat diet, not wine, fights heart disease in France - CNN, 5/28/99
• Moderate Drinking May Protect Heart By Improving Insulin Resistance - Doctor's Guide, 6/26/98

Alcohol Abstracts:

• Brain Atrophy in Alcoholics: Relationship with Alcohol Intake; Liver Disease; Nutritional Status, and Inflammation - Alcohol Alcohol. 2007 Sep 11 - "Brain atrophy is frequently observed in alcoholics, but relationships with liver function, cytokines, nutritional status, and hormone levels are poor"
• Moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence - Age Ageing. 2007 Mar 12 - "in middle-aged and older men and women, moderate levels of alcohol consumption are associated with better cognitive health than abstinence"
• Shaken, not stirred: bioanalytical study of the antioxidant activities of martinis - BMJ, 12/18/99