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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/16/02:

I did a lot of research to clear up the confusion with essential fatty acids (EFA) and summed it up on my  EFA page.  Most people don't have time to do a lot of reading and that page should clear things up with about a minute of your time.  It also has tables listing omega content of various foods and supplements.  I feel it's the best snapshot of EFAs on the Internet.  There is evidence that low omega 3 status can contribute to or increased omega 3 may improve heart disease^1,3, stroke¹⁹, breast cancer¹, prostate cancer^1,18, lung cancer¹, colon cancer¹, arthritis¹, schizophrenia^1,3, bipolar disorder³, depression^1,10,17,21, anxiety¹, attention deficit^1,3, hair loss⁸, diabetes¹, Raynaud's phenomenon³, asthma¹, hypertriglyceridemia^1,13, hyperlipidemia^10,13, lupus³, IgA nephropathy^1,3, kidney stones^3,12, chronic fatigue syndrome^3,15, cystic fibrosis^1,3,20, dyslexia³, eye diseases¹, hypertension^9,14, cognitive impairment³ and dementia³. All refs at x.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Theory, Clinical Trials and Safety Issues - Psychiatric Times, 10/02 - "Other researchers have hypothesized that chronic deficiencies in dietary EFAs can result in an increased incidence of several diseases, including multiple sclerosis, arthritis, enteritis, immune system dysfunction, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder ... Linoleic acid (LA; 18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) are true EFAs. They must be consumed in the diet because humans lack the ability to synthesize them ... Overall, six of the 10 patients assigned to the E-EPA group showed a 50% reduction in HAM-D scores compared to only one of 10 patients in the placebo group. The researchers found that E-EPA had a significant effect on several core depressive symptoms, including feelings of guilt, worthlessness and insomnia" - See my table of omega-3 supplements.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Early Death - WebMD, 10/15/02 - "Rheumatoid arthritis increases the risk of premature death -- maybe to the same extent as having high blood pressure or heart disease -- a large study suggests"

• Arthritis: Exploring the Alternatives - The Saturday Evening Post - "Hormones that may have tremendous therapeutic potential include DHEA and testosterone ... There are so-called friendly bacteria (or probiotics), such as bifidus and lactobacillus, that actually release chemicals to help maintain the balance of our immune system and support hepatic detoxification ... We also look at the nutritional status of such things as essential fatty acids and amino acids"

beta-Blocker Therapy and Depression - JAMA, 10/16/02 - "Existing studies about the risk of depressive symptoms in beta-blockers yield conflicting results. This inconsistent relationship suggests that some beta-blockers may improve depression, others may worsen it, and yet others may have little effect"

Supplement Co-Q10 Promising For Parkinson's - ABC News, 10/15/02 - "A study published in the journal Archives of Neurology suggests that coenzyme Q10 may be able to accomplish what current treatments for Parkinson's disease cannot; slow its progression ... Coenzyme Q10 is a naturally occurring compound produced by the body that works by neutralizing molecules known as free radicals. Free radicals are present in high levels in the energy-producing components of cells and can cause cell damage and death" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost coenzyme Q10 products.

Ginkgo May Improve Memory of Dementia Patients - ABC News, 10/14/02 - "Many of the early trials used unsatisfactory methods, were small, and we cannot exclude publication bias. But overall there is promising evidence of improvement in cognition and function associated with Ginkgo ... Ginkgo contains a number of organic biologically active components ... The medicinal effects of Ginkgo are believed to be gained by causing blood vessels to dilate, improving blood flow to the brain, and through thinning the blood and making it less likely to clot ... Ginkgo probably also has some antioxidant effects, protecting nerve cells against biological 'rusting.'" -  See iHerb (discount code "qc") and Vitacost Ginkgo products.

Beer, Wine May Influence Dementia Risk - ABC News, 10/14/02 - "people who drank beer--even as infrequently as once per month--were more than twice as likely as non-beer drinkers to experience a deterioration in mental functioning, known as dementia, after age 65. In contrast, people who drank wine weekly were 70% less likely than wine-abstainers to develop dementia after age 65 ... The study cannot prove that wine intake prevents dementia--some other lifestyle factor could be responsible for the association. However, Truelsen explained in an interview that red wine contains substances known as flavonoids, antioxidants that help protect blood vessels from harmful substances called free radicals. Free radicals are naturally occurring particles that have been linked to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, a type of dementia that results from a reduction in the supply of blood to the brain"

Glucosamine Sulfate Use and Delay of Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis: A 3-Year, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-blind Study - Archives of Internal Medicine, 10/14/02 - "Symptoms improved modestly with placebo use but as much as 20% to 25% with glucosamine sulfate use, with significant final differences on the Lequesne index and the WOMAC total index and pain, function, and stiffness subscales" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost glucosamine products. 

Toxins in 20% of U.S. Food Supply - WebMD, 10/14/02 - "About 20% of the entire U.S. food supply is contaminated with toxins from pesticide residue, and a recent study by an anti-pesticide group estimates that the average American receives about 68 "exposures" to these substances each day ... We really don't know the effects of exposure to all the pesticides, but we do know that the incidence of certain diseases and conditions is increasing for unexplained reasons ... This includes childhood leukemias, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and certain types of breast cancer"

Blood Pressure Drugs Keep Brain Healthy - KGTV.com, 10/14/02 - "the continuous use of medications to lower blood pressure reduced the risk of memory loss by more than one-third"

Another link between diet, cancer - MSNBC, 10/11/02 - "Recently published reports say that high blood levels of a substance called homocysteine, a clear risk factor for heart disease and possibly linked to Alzheimer’s, also signal metabolic abnormalities associated with a greater risk of cancer. But research suggests a diet rich in B vitamins may help lower homocysteine levels"

Researchers Halt Successful Study On Cholesterol, Blood Pressure - Intelihealth, 10/11/02 - "Researchers in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes trial were giving the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin to patients who have normal or low levels of cholesterol but are at a risk of a heart attack or stroke because they have high blood pressure or other risk factors ... patients taking the prescription drug had significantly fewer strokes and heart attacks than those taking a placebo" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See VitaminShoppe red yeast rice products.

Half Of Clinically Depressed Not Diagnosed - Intelihealth, 10/10/02 - "If you were depressed, you'd certainly know it, right? ... Well, maybe not ... Experts estimate that about half of the 20 million Americans who are clinically depressed, and could benefit from treatment" - I once read the the main reason most people take supplements is for increased energy.  I take them because I feel the anti-oxidants slow aging but I feel that a lot of those that are tired are really suffering from depression and don't realize it and therefore supplements aren't going to help much with there energy level.

Symptoms Of Mental Health Disorders - Intelihealth, 10/10/02 - "Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities ... Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue ... Inability to sleep, or oversleeping ... Unexplained aches and pains"

Expert Panel Finds SAMe Promising - WebMD, 10/10/02 - "As a treatment for depression, SAMe was shown to be as effective as antidepressants, and more effective than placebo. SAMe also had fewer side effects when compared with standard antidepressants ... As a treatment for osteoarthritis, SAMe had fewer digestive side effects than anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, yet was effective in relieving pain ... SAMe is a natural substance for the body, it's not a designer drug, and therefore can be carried in, absorbed into pathways," ... The L-dopa medication that patients take for Parkinson's makes them unusually SAMe-deficient "because L-dopa consumes vast quantities of SAMe, like a sponge, it mops up all the SAMe in the body." - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost SAMe products.

Nonoral HRT May Be Safer Alternative - WebMD, 10/10/02 - "Investigators conducting a small European study in which HRT was given in the form of estrogen skin patches and vaginally administered natural progesterone say these methods may be free of the cardiovascular risks that have recently been associated with oral hormone therapy. As an added benefit, postmenopausal women who were on the regimen for one year lost weight, lowered their blood pressure, and had less vaginal bleeding ... the weight loss and the decreases in blood pressure may have been associated with the use of natural progesterone in the HRT regimen, rather than the synthetic form of the hormone that is commonly used"

Curry Spice Takes Burn Out of Radiation - WebMD, 10/10/02 - "The study showed that curcumin, the substance in turmeric that gives it and the dishes it flavors a characteristic yellow color, is a natural anti-inflammatory compound. It works in ways similar to the popular Cox-2 inhibiting drugs, including aspirin and Celebrex" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost curcumin products.

New Research Suggests Early Treatment With Lorenzo's Oil, Low-Fat Diet Can Delay Onset Of ALD - Intelihealth, 10/10/02 - "boys without symptoms of the disease who took the oil and rigidly stuck to a low-fat diet were two-thirds less likely to develop brain abnormalities than those who didn't strictly follow the treatment ... The Odones said their mixture of derivatives of natural cooking oils, like canola and olive oil, stopped the decline of their son and partly reversed it" - Canola oil is 20% omega 6, 10% omega 3 and 62% omega-9.  Olive oil is 10% omega 6, has a trace of omega 3 and is 76% omega-9.  Ref: Canola - the good oil

US Worried by Iron Deficiency in Toddlers, Females - ABC News, 10/10/02 - "Seven percent of children aged 1 to 2 years and between 9 percent and 16 percent of adolescent girls and women aged 12 to 49 suffered from iron deficiency in 1999 and 2000 ... Iron carries oxygen around the body, ensures a healthy immune system and enables food to be transformed into energy. It is lost during periods of physical activity and as a result of blood loss, including menstruation"

Extending Healthspan: Hormones, Supplements, Diet and Exercise - Life Extension Magazine, 10/02 - "Finally, the authors note that testosterone is an excellent antidepressant. It restores good mood, self-confidence and sociability, often making antidepressants such as Prozac no longer necessary. “Grumpy old men” are those with testosterone deficiency" - See Forever Ageless at Amazon.com

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