Recent Longevity News (9/12/01):

Physical Activity Lowers Breast Cancer Risk In Hispanic And Caucasian Women - Doctor's Guide, 9/10/01 - "Vigorous physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in Hispanic and Caucasian women"

Veggies may ward off breast cancer - MSNBC, 9/7/01 - "WOMEN WITH HIGH blood levels of several different carotenoid substances were two times less likely to develop breast cancer than women with lesser levels ... Perhaps the most well-known of these substances is beta-carotene ... Other members of the carotenoid family that were significant in this study include lutein (found in kale, spinach and other cooked greens), alpha-carotene (in carrots and pumpkin) and beta-cryptoxanthin (in oranges, peaches and papayas)"

Air Supply - ABC News/Men's Health, 9/7/01 - "An Australian study says that basketball players who wear shoes with air cells in the heels are 4.3 times more likely to injure their ankles"

Try a New Position - ABC News/Men's Health, 9/7/01 - "regularly sleeping on the same side of your body makes you much more likely to develop kidney stones"

Online Direct to Offer Prescription Drugs in US at Canadian Prices - Medscape, 9/7/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Online Direct Inc., a two-year-old company formed through the consolidation of three Canadian Internet companies, plans to launch a new pharmacy service in January that will enable Americans to buy prescription drugs from Canada at savings of 40% to 70%"

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"

Cholesterol Drug [Lipitor] Studied as Alzheimer's Treatment - ABC News, 9/6/01 - "We believe cholesterol from the blood, over a long period of time, also gets in the brain where it promotes the production of a toxin that causes the disorder ... There is a lot of data from studies in test tubes and animals showing that cholesterol plays an important role in the deposition of amyloid in the brain ... The idea is to make the blood act like a sponge that passively draws out the cholesterol" - That last statement sounds like he is referring to HDL [the good] cholesterol and Lipitor mostly affects LDL [the bad cholesterol] (see table, Lipitor maxed out at 9%, whereas Niaspan maxed out at a 26% rise in HDL).  See my HDL page for other ways to raise HDL. - Ben

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"

DASH Diet May Be Enough to Control Stage 1 Isolated Systolic Hypertension - Medscape, 9/6/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "Overall, blood pressure in the DASH group fell from 146/85 to 134/82 mm Hg"

Dietary Calcium Could Protect Some Men From Colorectal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 9/6/01 - "Dietary calcium may have a modest protective effect on colorectal cancer risk in a subpopulation of men with a high ratio of plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 to IGF-binding protein-3 (IGF-1/IGFBP-3). Their risk may be reduced as much as a 60 percent"

Phytoestrogen Intake of US Women Does Not Reduce Breast Cancer Risk - Medscape, 9/6/01, user=benhess, pwd=asdfgh - "The researchers found no correlation between total phytoestrogen intake and breast cancer risk ... The highest average intake of phytoestrogens in the study population was "only 3 mg/day, a level equivalent to less than one serving of tofu per week," ... "In contrast, the average intake of phytoestrogens in Asian countries has been estimated to range from about 15 to 30 mg/day," ... it is possible that non-Asian US women are not reaching a level of intake that may reduce the risk of breast cancer"

Can You Slim Down on Peanut Butter Diet? - ABC News, 9/5/01 - "Researchers found that a diet that includes foods with high levels of monounsaturated fats like peanut butter can help people lose weight and prevent heart disease ... [The Harvard study] looked at 101 people who weighed about 200 pounds each, and divided them into two groups. One group was put on a traditional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet; the other got richer fare — the so-called peanut butter diet — that allowed them to to get 35 percent of their calories from fat, 50 percent from carbohydrates and 15 percent from protein ... after 18 months, three times as many people on the higher unsaturated-fat diet had stuck with the program and kept the weight off. People in the low-fat diet regained an average of five pounds each" - Note:  Most peanut butters have hydrogenated oils (trans fatty acids).  A brand that doesn't is Smucker's.  On the west coast, it says Laura Scudder's but if you read the fine print, it still says Smucker's on the back.  The one with the green label has 25% less fat.  The Peanut Butter Diet at Amazon.com

Experimental Drug Decreases Age-Related Blood Vessel Stiffening - Doctor's Guide, 9/5/01 - "In a group of older people with vascular stiffening, the drug, ALT-711, significantly reduced arterial pulse pressure, defined as the difference between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. It also improved the blood vessels' ability to stretch by about 14 percent"

Two new studies implying that cortisol is the cause, not the result of depression (one is a repeat from last weeks newsletter):

• Hyper-Secretion of Cortisol Found in Depressed Patients - Doctor's Guide, 8/28/01 - "a dysfunction in 5-HT 1A receptor activity could be due to a hyper-secretion of cortisol" - Ref. for this article:

• Hpa axis dysfunction in major depression: relationship to 5-ht(1a) receptor activity - Neuropsychobiology 2001;44(2):74-77 - "a dysfunction in 5-HT(1A) receptor activity could be due to a hypersecretion of cortisol"

• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Offers Antidepressant Effects - Doctor's Guide, 9/4/01 - Note: It doesn't mention cortisol but the following study it references does:

• The impact of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on pituitary hormone levels and cortisol in healthy subjects - J Affect Disord 2001 Sep;66(1):83-88, - "These changes, in particular the decrease of cortisol levels, might explain in part the efficacy of rTMS"

A Prescription for Alarm - Nutrition Science News, 9/01 - "Three alternative steps could reduce the risk of heart disease at less cost and with greater safety: Increasing consumption of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12, which lower homocysteine levels ... Taking natural vitamin E supplements to reduce levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory compound that increases the risk of heart disease by 4.5 times. Heart disease is increasingly viewed as a disease of blood-vessel inflammation ... Eating a healthy diet"

ACSM Conference Unveils Performance Enhancers - Nutrition Science News, 9/01 - "(HMB) can increase strength and lean body mass ... 3 g/day HMB for four weeks ... Men in the HMB group lowered their LDL from 172 mg/dL to 123 mg/dL and increased their lean mass by 6 percent (35.3 to 37.68 kg) ... strength was significantly increased in all three tested strength exercises //////// Researchers have found that coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10 or ubiquinone) can lower blood pressure in hypertensive people //////// Researchers have shown that using the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps sinensis (Cs-4 CordyMax) for six weeks results in peak oxygen uptake and anaerobic threshold in older humans ... supplementation with 4.5 g/day Cs-4 CordyMax ... Results showed that the supplement prevented increased body weight during training, reduced submaximal heart rate and blood lactate during exercise, and enhanced fat metabolism, thereby sparing muscle glycogen expenditure during prolonged exercise compared to placebo"

Cardiovascular Health - Nutrition Science News, 9/01 - "HDL cholesterol was significantly increased in the intervention [coenzyme Q10] group without affecting total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol"

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