Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 11/19/03:

Buckwheat May Be Beneficial For Managing Diabetes - Intelihealth, 11/18/03 - "extracts of the seed lowered blood glucose levels by 12 percent to 19 percent when fed to diabetic rats ... incorporation of buckwheat into the diet could help provide a safe, easy and inexpensive way to lower glucose levels and reduce the risk of complications associated with the disease, including heart, nerve and kidney problems"

New Buttery Spread Contains Healthy Omega-3s: GFA Brands, Inc. Announces Smart Balance(R) OmegaPlus with Omega-3 from the Sea(TM) and Natural Plant Sterols - NPI Center, 11/17/03 - "SmartBalance(R) OmegaPlus is available in stores across the nation and contains OmegaPure(R), a taste-free, Omega-3-rich fish oil manufactured by Omega Protein Corporation. The buttery spread also contains natural plant sterols with no hydrogenated oils or trans-fats, as well as both important long-chain fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from marine sources and ALA Omega-3s from plant sources" - After reading this, I went out an bought a couple containers.  The taste is about the same as regular SmartBalance except I thought it was saltier.  The Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is 4:1.  A one tablespoon serving contains 550 mg of omega-3.  As a comparison, one capsule of TwinLab Mega Twin EPA contains 840 mg of omega-3.  You could make somewhat healthy cookies for Christmas using the SmartBalance Oatmeal Raisin Recipe but substituting Splenda for the sugars, OmegaPlus for the margarine and whole wheat flour for the white flour.  For reasons why you should get your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio down, see Omega 3: Implications in Human Health and Disease - PowerPak.com, 8/1/01. They recommend a 2.3:1 ratio and claim the average American diet is 10 to 20:1.

Diet Can Alter Risk of Kidney Stones - Doctor's Guide, 11/17/03 - "women who had the highest dietary calcium intake from foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt reduced their risk of kidney stones by 27 percent. Consumption of phytate, a naturally occurring substance found in whole grains and vegetables, lowered the risk of kidney stones by 37 percent, and a higher fluid intake also appeared to reduce the risk of kidney stones ... Sugar increased kidney stone risk in young women by slightly more than 30 percent"

Patients with Erectile Dysfunction Prefer Treatment with Levitra (Vardenafil HCl) - Doctor's Guide, 11/17/03 - "In terms of overall preference, most men rated vardenafil as the preferred option (47%) compared with tadalafil (19%) or sildenafil (34%) at the recommended starting dose. Vardenafil was also the preferred option at the maximum dose (43% compared to 40% taldalafil, 17% sildenafil)" - See online prescriptions.

Nexium (Esomeprazole) Optimal Treatment for Reflux Esophagitis - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/03 - "Nexium® was shown to provide more effective healing of erosive esophagitis and faster symptom control than omeprazole and lansoprazole.,, Nexium® ranks better than all PPIs in the area of acid control"

Fish Oil Clears Airways - HealthDay, 11/14/03 - "When lung function tests were done 15 minutes after exercise, the athletes taking the fish oil capsules showed a 3 percent decrease in lung function compared with a 14.5 percent decrease for those on the placebo" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

Zetia (Ezetimibe) Plus Simvastatin Provided More than Twice the Reduction of C-reactive protein in Patients with High Cholesterol Compared to Simvastatin Alone - Doctor's Guide, 11/13/03 - "CRP is considered an emerging risk marker for CHD ... Zetia with simvastatin reduced levels of the marker CRP by 33.3 percent compared to simvastatin administered alone (14.3 percent ... In addition, patients taking Zetia co-administered with simvastatin experienced an LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction of 45 to 60 percent across the dosage range, compared to a reduction of 31 to 44 percent in patients taking simvastatin alone"

Can C-Reactive Protein Make You Older? - WebMD, 11/13/03 - "Every 1 mg/L increase in C-reactive protein was equivalent to the effect [on exercise duration] of being approximately two years older ... At this point, we're not sure if poor fitness level causes the increase in C-reactive protein or vice versa"

NSAIDs May Help Brain Heal Itself - HealthDay, 11/13/03 - "treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin and other aspirin-like drugs, can restore brain cell (neuron) production and lower levels of beta-amyloid by reducing inflammation" - See drugstore.com ibuprofen products.

High Dose Atorvastatin Stops Progression of Disease in Patients With Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/03 - "After 18 months of treatment, intravascular ultrasound analysis found zero progression in the group treated with atorvastatin, compared with 2.7% progression in the group treated with pravastatin ... atorvastatin stopped plaque progression in each of 22 pre-determined subgroups, while "we were unable to stop progression in any of the subgroups in the pravastatin arm" - Yeah but the way I read the following, Zocor (simvastatin) not only stopped but reversed progression:

• Intravascular Ultrasound Depicts Coronary Artery Plaque Regression With Simvastatin - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/03 - "Lipid-lowering therapy with simvastatin for 12 months is associated with a significant plaque regression ... the plaque regression -- about 6.3% from baseline" - See Zocor at LowPriceMedicine.com but check with your doctor first.
• I was wondering about the dosage in the above Zocor regression study and emailed the doctor in Denmark. They used 40 mg of Zocor (2 patients were 80 mg) to get the 6.3% plaque regression in 12 months. With the Lipitor (a different study), they maxed out at 80 mg to get a 0.4% regression in 18 months. Maybe I'm the only one that pays attention to this stuff but it seems like a 6.3% regression in plaque should have made the headlines or at least outweighed the Lipitor article that made all the news services. Heart disease is still the number one killer in the US. - Ben

Menopause and Midlife Weight Gain - WebMD, 11/12/03 - "monkeys who had their ovaries removed, resulting in a more rapid drop in female hormone levels as oppose to the gradual drops changes seen during the menopausal transition, had an almost immediate and dramatic increase in appetite that led to weight gain"

Herbal and OTC Sleep Remedies: Implications for Psychiatry - Psychiatric Times, 11/03 - "The most widely used herbal treatment for sleep disturbance is Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) ..." - See Valerian Nighttime at iHerb.

Fish And N-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease - Life Extension Foundation, 11/03 - "A new study, from the Rush-Presbyterian, St. Lukes Medical Center, in Chicago, shows that people who consumed at least one serving of fish a week dramatically reduced their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those who rarely or never ate fish. Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids had a similar risk-lowering effect" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

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

Effects of combined administration of vitamins C and E on reactive hyperemia and inflammatory process in chronic smokers - Atherosclerosis. 2003 Oct;170(2):261-7 - "short term administration of vitamins C (2 g/day) and E (800 IU/day) reduces serum levels of IL-1b, IL-6, sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1, and improves forearm vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia in healthy young smokers, while monotherapy with vitamin C alone is ineffective" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin E products.

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