Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/11/02:

Vitamins C, E May Prevent Artery Damage - ABC News, 9/11/02 - "Both vitamins C and E, taken alone, may prevent a type of oxidative damage tied to cardiovascular disease. However, taking the two vitamins together doesn't seem to give an added benefit ... investigators found that taking either vitamin C or E reduced the oxidation of blood fats called lipids. Oxidation is a normal chemical reaction in the body, but the process can also damage cells. Lipid oxidation is believed to play a key role in the development of the artery-clogging disease atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack or stroke ... Over 2 months, participants followed one of four daily regimens: 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C alone; 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E alone; both vitamins together; or placebo (inactive) pills" - I'm not a doctor yet I feel that they use too low of a dose in these studies.  I take 4,000 mg/day of vitamin C (Body Wise Beta-C).  According to the book "Stop Aging Now", Linus Pauling took 18,000 mg/day [he died at 93 1/2] and Dr. Klatz (president of the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine) takes 2,000 to 12,000 mg/day of vitamin C.  It doesn't say which form of vitamin E they used.  Like I've been saying, taking only the alpha form of vitamin E can lower the gamma form. - Ben - See:

• Paleolithic Nutrition: Your Future Is In Your Dietary Past - The Nutrition Reporter - "This theory regarding how our evolutionary ancestors lost their ability to produce vitamin C is generally accepted by scientists, Stone's other theory is more controversial. He contended that people never lost the need for large amounts of vitamin C, even though they lost the ability to make it. Based on animal data, he estimated that people might require 1.8-13 grams of vitamin C daily."

Similar Effect on Platelet Aggregation Seen With Policosanol at 20 and 40 Mg - Doctor's Guide, 9/11/02 - "After 30 days, policosanol reduced low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 15.9 and 17.0 percent at 20 and 40 mg daily respectively. Total cholesterol declined by 12.4 and 12.3 per cent, respectively. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol rose by 5 per cent in both groups" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost policosanol products.  Here's a study at a much lower dose but carried to 12 weeks:

• Effects of policosanol in older patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and high coronary risk J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2001 Mar;56(3):M186-92 - "After 6 weeks on a lipid-lowering diet, 179 patients randomly received a placebo or policosanol at doses of 5 followed by 10 mg per day for successive 12-week periods of each dose. Policosanol (5 and 10 mg/d) significantly (p < .001) reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; 16.9% and 24.4%, respectively) and total cholesterol (TC; 12.8% and 16.2%, respectively), while significantly (p < .01) increasing (p < .001) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) by 14.6% and 29.1%, respectively"

Acidic Water Linked to Type 1 Diabetes - WebMD, 9/11/02 - "Acidic water was associated with a four times greater risk of type 1 diabetes ... The researchers say acidity alone probably isn't to blame in this link with type 1 diabetes. They suspect it may be a marker of another factor, such as harmful microorganisms, which survive better in more acidic water"

Plant Compounds Keep Disease Away - ABC News, 9/10/02 - "In a study of more than 10,000 men and women, individuals who consumed more of plant compounds called flavonoids--especially one type that is most abundant in apples--were less likely to die from heart disease or develop a variety of chronic diseases, including lung cancer, asthma, stroke and diabetes ... Compared to other fruits and vegetables, apples "showed the strongest and most consistent effects," ... Flavonoids, which are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as in tea and red wine, are thought to boost health in part by combating oxidation, a process in which cell-damaging substances called free radicals accumulate ... Most of the benefits seemed to stem from quercetin, a powerful antioxidant that is plentiful in apples" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost quercetin products.

Record Number of Japanese Live to 100 or More - ABC News, 9/10/02 - "Researchers have said the warm climate, healthy diet and tight-knit social networks in southern Japan may contribute to longevity in the area"

Estrogen Therapy Appears Safe For Women With Early Breast Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 9/10/02 - "Estrogen replacement therapy does not appear to increase risk of recurrence or death in women with early breast cancer"

Vitamin E May Help Keep Arteries Clear in Women - ABC News, 9/9/02 - "Their study found that women with the greatest intake of vitamin E had the least plaque at the carotid bifurcation--a Y-shaped branch in the arteries in the neck where plaque build-up usually begins. This build-up, known as atherosclerosis, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke"

Paediatric Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Data Available - Doctor's Guide, 9/9/02 - "They define non-HDL cholesterol as total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol ... non-HDL cholesterol is a better screening tool than low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol for assessing CAD risk in adults because it includes all classes of atherogenic lipoproteins" - See my HDL page for ways to increase it.  I feel that inositol hexanicotinate gives the best results without the niacin flush.

EPA Useful Add-on Therapy in Schizophrenia - Medscape, 9/9/02 - "After 12 weeks of treatment, the EPA group had significantly greater reduction of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores and of dyskinesia scores than the placebo group ... We regard these results as remarkable, considering the refractory nature of schizophrenia in the subjects" - See TwinLab TwinEPA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost.  Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) are all omega-3 fatty acids.  See my omega-3 page for other articles on omega-3 and mental health.  For example:

• Experiments Strengthen Link Between Fish Oil, Mental Problems - Intelihealth, 4/18/02 - "Harvard researchers gave two groups of persons who had recently been hospitalized with depression diets that were high in omega-3 and omega-6, respectively. The results were so dramatic that after three months, the scientists were directed by a research oversight committee to stop the experiment and allow all the subjects to take omega-3"

CoQ10, the Wonder Nutrient - Vitacost, 9/6/02 - "It was found that the concentrations of CoQ10 were significantly decreased in both plasma and whole blood of asthmatic sufferers compared with that of the healthy volunteers. The researchers speculated that sub-optimal concentrations of CoQ10 may play a possible contribution in patients with asthma"

Diet Report Calls for More Exercise - ABC News, 9/5/02 - "The committee recommended at least one hour of moderate physical activity daily, such as walking, slow swimming, leisurely bicycle riding or golfing without a cart ... The guidelines suggest getting 45 percent to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates (sugars and starches found in such foods as fruit and bread); 20 percent to 35 percent from fat (meat, dairy products and oils); and 10 percent to 35 percent from protein (available from meat, eggs, dairy products and some vegetables) ... the report urges eating at least 130 grams of carbohydrates daily to ensure that the brain has enough glucose to function properly ... For adults under age 50 the report recommends a daily intake of 38 grams of fiber for men and 25 grams for women. Over age 50 the recommendations are 30 grams for men and 21 grams for women"

Dopamine Extinguishes Smoking - ABC News, 9/5/02 - "Overall, these results imply that smoking behavior can be manipulated within the same subjects in opposite directions by alternately stimulating and blocking dopamine, which strongly suggests the importance of dopamine in reinforcement from cigarette smoking" - See my dopamine page better ways to increase dopamine.

Poor Response To Fluoxetine Antidepressant Therapy Appears Linked To High Serum Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 9/5/02 - "patients with elevated cholesterol levels were significantly more likely to be nonresponders to fluoxetine therapy than were patients with nonelevated cholesterol levels"

Natural Remedy for Erectile Dysfunction - New Hope Natural Media, 9/5/02 - "received three separate treatments for two weeks each, in random order: (1) 3.25 grams of arginine plus 6 mg of yohimbine, (2) yohimbine alone and (3) placebo ... Combination treatment was considered successful by 40% of the participants, compared with 28.9% with yohimbine alone and 17.8% with placebo ... Arginine is available in health food stores without a prescription, but yohimbine can be obtained only with a doctor's prescription. Although the herb yohimbe is sold in health food stores, it contains much less yohimbine than the amount used in the new study" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacostarginine products.  I take 2 grams of the Jarrow pharmaceutical grade free base arginine per day.

Treating & Preventing Osteoporosis - Life Extension Magazine, 9/02 - "From systematic research the best external evidence is available for a supplementation with calcium and vitamin D and a therapy with the bisphosphonates alendronate or risedronate, as well as the selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene (Evista)."

The Bias is Overwhelming - Vitacost, 8/21/02 - "It is rather appalling that the news media has been giving so much attention to this ridiculously short term negative study on ginkgo. It is even more appalling that some media sources come up with catchy phrases like “Forget the ginkgo”. Six weeks is not enough time for any supplement or drug to work when it comes to memory"

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