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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 11/20/02:

Contraceptive [Yasmin] Earns Slimming Reputation - ABC News, 11/20/02 - "The talk about Yasmin is it's the pill that helps to reduce weight, and it's the pill that helps reduce PMS ... But health-care providers say not so fast. Despite the buzz, there is little solid evidence to back it up ... What sets Yasmin apart from other oral contraceptives is that it uses a different form of the hormone progestin, called drospironone. This hormone, according to the Yasmin Web site, may "work with your body chemistry by affecting the excess sodium and water in your body.""

Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis" - Remember the following article from last week?  Ask your doctor if doxycyline could be a solution.  I noticed that Drugstore.com, International Anti-aging Systems and several overseas pharmacies sell it.

• Inflammation triggers heart attacks - MSNBC, 11/13/02 - "A landmark study offers the strongest evidence yet that simmering, painless inflammation deep within the body is the single most powerful trigger of heart attacks, worse even than high cholesterol ... Inflammation can be measured with a test that checks for C-reactive protein ... Diet and exercise can lower CRP dramatically. Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins also reduce CRP, as do aspirin and some other medicines" - See my inflammation page for other ways to reduce it.

Raloxifene Halves Cerebrovascular Risk in Postmenopausal Women - Medscape, 11/20/02 - "raloxifene (Evista) reduces the risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in postmenopausal women by 48% over four years"

Fatty acids from fish can ward off heart attacks - Intelihealth, 11/19/02 - "Studies now suggest that components of fish oil, called omega-3 fatty acids, can save the lives of people with heart disease ... The heart association also cited recent research indicating that even people with healthy hearts can benefit from a diet rich in such fish as salmon, bluefish, Arctic char, mackerel and swordfish ... fish can reduce a man's risk of dying from a heart attack by 80% ... omega-3 fatty acids can cut a woman's risk of death by heart attack by 33% ... Fatty fish can contain significant levels of mercury" - Omega-3 is the sum of the EPA and DHA not the total oil.  See TwinLab Mega EPA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost.

Those With Heart Disease Should Eat Fish - Intelihealth, 11/19/02 - "Various studies of fish or supplements showed a 4 percent to 30 percent reduction in triglycerides, but a doctor's care is advised because large doses can present a risk of bleeding in some people ... People can get the recommended 1 gram per day of DHA and EPA combined by eating a 3- to 4-ounce serving of fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, trout or white tuna ... Harris said people who take supplements should read the labels and make sure they are getting at least 1 gram of DHA and EPA. With a typical supplement, you need about three capsules to get this amount"

Supplementation with Fatty Acids Helps Schizophrenic Patients - New Hope Natural Media, 11/14/02 - "E-EPA is a derivative of the dietary fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid, commonly abbreviated as EPA" - I was wondering what the difference between E-EPA and EPA was.  To bad it doesn't tell you what percentage of EPA that E-EPA is so that you could interpolate it to the following study:

• Ethyl-Eicosapentaenoate Could Be Effective In Persistent Depression - Doctor's Guide, 10/31/02 - "They say there were beneficial effects on items rating depression, anxiety, sleep, lassitude, libido and suicidality"
• Note:  I read an article somewhere that claims that the TwinLab Mega EPA gel caps are not impervious to oxygen, and the contents will start to oxidize and start to go rancid once exposed to air.  I figure what will last a day on the kitchen table will last a week in the refrigerator or about six months in the freezer so I started putting them in the freezer.  The oil doesn't freeze at that temperature plus I noticed that when I take them cold like that, even on an empty stomach, I don't have the fish burp.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatories, Acetaminophen Associated With Increased Risk For Hypertension Among Women - Doctor's Guide, 11/19/02 - "A substantial proportion of hypertension in women may be due to the use of acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ... Compared with nonusers, the relative risk of hypertension for women taking NSAIDs at least 22 days a month was 1.86 while the relative risk for those taking acetaminophen at least 22 days a month was 2.00, they reported ... Use of NSAIDs and use of acetaminophen were significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension, but aspirin use was not"

HRT, Vitamins C & E Don't Help Heart - WebMD, 11/19/02 - "New research offers still more evidence that hormone replacement therapy does more harm that good in older women with heart disease, and it also raises doubts about the safety of the antioxidant vitamins E and C" - I've been saying all along that the alpha tocopherol lowers the gamma tocopherol and therefore causes more harm then good.  I obtained the email address of the author of this study from the JAMA abstract and asked "On subject study, what form of vitamin E was used (alpha, gamma, mixed, etc)."  The answer I got was "Good question. I knew at one time but can't remember. It's the regular formulation that BASF sells. You think it makes a difference?"  Then I did a Google search of "BASF vitamin E" and found their page on their vitamin E.  Not only is it not mixed tocopherols or not gamma tocopherol but it's the dl form of the alpha, which Dr. Weil claims "The least useful products are those that give you only synthetic dl-alpha tocopherol and nothing else".  In other words, not only is isolating the d-alpha tocopherol bad but the dl-alpha is even worse.  Plus they used 800 IU of the dl-alpha so if the alpha does lower the gamma as shown in previous studies, that sounds like a high enough amount to have a considerable effect.  Plus, 800 IU confirms that it was the alpha form because according to Life Extension Magazine, "The only form of vitamin E that has a standard conversion formula from milligrams to international units is alpha tocopherol".  Everything I've come across claims you want the gamma for the heart.  See:

• Effect of oral supplementation with D-alpha-tocopherol on the vitamin E content of human low density lipoproteins and resistance to oxidation - Medline, 8/91 - "gamma-Tocopherol significantly decreased in plasma and LDL during vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation"
• What is the best form of vitamin E? - Dr. Murray - "in a study of men with coronary artery disease, it was d-gamma-tocopherol that was low, not d-alpha-tocopherol suggesting that d-gamma- may be more important than d-alpha-tocopherol in preventing heart disease"
• Antioxidants and Risk of Alzheimer Disease - JAMA, 11/13/02 - "To the Editor: Dr Morris and colleagues1 and Dr Engelhart and colleagues2 found an inverse relationship between intake of vitamin E from food, but not from supplements, with risk of Alzheimer disease (AD).3 I would like to suggest a mechanism for this finding. The predominant dietary form of vitamin E, gamma-tocopherol, but not the form found in supplements, alpha-tocopherol, has been demonstrated to inhibit cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) production of prostaglandin E2 in macrophages and epithelial cells.4 Long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and COX-2 inhibition may protect against AD.5 The same mechanism could explain the benefit of foods high in vitamin E." - The way I read that is that it's the gamma that is anti-inflammatory.  Inflammation triggers heart attacks.  See:
  • Inflammation Triggers Heart Attacks - Intelihealth, 11/14/02
• How many international units of vitamin E are in the Gamma E Tocopherol/Tocotrienol product? - Life Extension Magazine, 11/02 - "The only form of vitamin E that has a standard conversion formula from milligrams to international units is alpha tocopherol. The other forms of vitamin E, beta, gamma and delta, do not have a conversion formula and are therefore listed in milligrams on the bottle ... The point to remember is to make sure that your daily total intake of vitamin E contains at least 20% gamma tocopherol. A study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (April 1997) suggests that it could be dangerous to take high doses of alpha tocopherol without also consuming gamma tocopherol. What makes this study interesting is that it showed that high doses of alpha tocopherol displace gamma tocopherol in tissues. While alpha tocopherol inhibits the production of free radicals to some degree, it is gamma tocopherol that is required to trap and neutralize existing free radicals."
• Which Form of Vitamin E Should I Take: Tocotrienols or Tocopherols? - Dr. Weil, 12/11/01 - "The least useful products are those that give you only synthetic dl-alpha tocopherol and nothing else"  [As opposed to the d-alpha]
• Newly Discovered Benefits of Gamma Tocopherol - Life Extension Magazine, 10/02 - "Since taking large doses of alpha tocopherol depletes plasma levels of gamma tocopherol, the health-conscious consumer who takes only alpha tocopherol supplements needs to seriously reconsider this practice ... Likewise, most vitamin E supplements provide only alpha tocopherol. New evidence strongly suggests that this is inadequate supplementation ... men with the highest plasma levels of gamma tocopherol (the top quintile) had only one-fifth the risk of prostate cancer compared with the men with the lowest plasma levels"
• gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention - Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Dec;74(6):714-22 - "Both gamma-tocopherol and gamma-CEHC, but not alpha-tocopherol, inhibit cyclooxygenase activity and, thus, possess antiinflammatory properties. Some human and animal studies indicate that plasma concentrations of gamma-tocopherol are inversely associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. These distinguishing features of gamma-tocopherol and its metabolite suggest that gamma-tocopherol may contribute significantly to human health in ways not recognized previously. This possibility should be further evaluated, especially considering that high doses of alpha-tocopherol deplete plasma and tissue gamma-tocopherol, in contrast with supplementation with gamma-tocopherol, which increases both"
• See Gamma E Tocopherol / Tocotrienols at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") - Body Wise products also used mixed tocopherols.

Hormone Therapy, Alcohol Use Studied - Intelihealth, 11/19/02 - "a postmenopausal woman who has a lifetime breast cancer risk of 4 percent could increase the risk to 8 percent if she drinks and takes hormones"

Atkins diet good for cholesterol - USA Today, 11/18/02 - "After six months, the people on the Atkins diet had lost an average of 31 pounds, compared with 20 pounds on the AHA diet, and more people stuck with the Atkins regimen ... Total cholesterol fell slightly in both groups. However, those on the Atkins diet had an 11% increase in HDL, the good cholesterol, and a 49% drop in triglycerides. On the AHA diet, HDL was unchanged, and triglycerides dropped 22%. High triglycerides may raise the risk of heart disease" - That may be true but what about a diet devoid of anti-oxidants making you old before your time.  Plus, how much of that extra 11 pounds was water loss? - Ben

Coffee Packs More Than a Caffeine Buzz - WebMD, 11/18/02 - "it's not just the caffeine in coffee that gives your heart a buzz ... drinking a triple espresso, with or without caffeine, caused a blood pressure spike and an increase in nervous system activity among occasional coffee drinkers. Habitual coffee drinkers were immune to this immediate blood pressure-raising reaction, although their nervous system showed an increase in activity ... This demonstrates how little we know about the effects of one of our most popular beverages and the most abundantly consumed stimulant worldwide"

Statins Effective in Elderly, Too - WebMD, 11/18/02 - "Pravachol, a statin, is an equal-opportunity drug: The elderly get the same benefit as younger people ... patients who took 40 mg of Pravachol every day had a 20% reduction in heart disease death and non-fatal heart attacks. A reduction in strokes was not seen in this study ... There were, however, two downsides to the study: Patients taking Pravachol were more likely to develop new cancers during the study than patients taking dummy pills, and Pravachol didn't protect against memory and thinking problems associated with aging"

Large Study Supports Use of Aspirin to Reduce Risk of First Heart Attack - Doctor's Guide, 11/18/02 - "An analysis of five studies supports early findings that patients who use aspirin therapy have a 32 percent reduced risk of first heart attack"

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""

Colon Cancer Rise Linked to Beef, Pork - WebMD, 11/15/02 - "a high intake of red meat -- including beef and pork -- doubled the risk of colorectal cancer. No rise was seen for those reporting increased consumption of other meats or seafood. Eating vegetables was associated with a reduction in risk ... People who ate lots of red meat and few vegetables were more than 2.5 times more likely to get colon cancer"

Study Links Frailty in Elderly to Inflammation - Reuters, 11/15/02 - "frail seniors were more likely to have signs of increased inflammation than their more active counterparts ... The frail seniors also tended to show more clotting activity than active elderly people ... other studies have shown that inflammation can lead to loss of muscle fibers" - See my inflammation page for way to reduce it such as turmeric.

Who’s most likely to gain weight? - MSNBC, 11/15/02 - "Those women with an “empty calorie” pattern were the most likely to have become overweight, due to high consumption of sweetened drinks, desserts and high-fat foods ... Research repeatedly shows that people tend to underestimate their portion sizes"

Zinc Gluconate Reduces Cold Duration And Frequency In Children - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/02 - "Subjects taking the zinc gluconate glycine lozenges [Cold-Eeze] showed shorter cold duration than non-users: 7.5 and 9.0 days respectively. Further, 4.1 percent of those taking the lozenge needed concomitant antibiotics compared to 36.2 percent of non-users. Prophylaxis with the lozenge reduced the median annual number of colds from 1.3 in non-users to 0.0 among the lozenge users" - I've got that via my drugstore.com affiliate.  See Cold-Eeze.  Now might be a good time to stock up on Zicam so that you can use it at the first symptoms of a cold.

• Zinc gel may curb common cold - MSNBC, 10/10/00 - "Zicam shortened the duration of the common cold by 75 percent"

Large Male Study Links Anxiety to Development of Parkinson's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/02 - "Anxiety in men appears to be a risk factor for developing Parkinson's disease" - That's interesting because the consensus is that dopamine isn't associated with anxiety yet Parkinson's is lack of dopamine. See:

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs May Protect Against Parkinson's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/02 - "Studies show that NSAIDs can reduce dopaminergic neuron degeneration in Parkinsonian animal models"

C-Reactive Protein Stronger Than LDL-Cholesterol in Predicting Cardiovascular Events - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/02 - "C-reactive protein was superior to LDL cholesterol in predicting the risk of all study end points"

Tips on Lowering Heart Inflammation - ABC News, 11/13/02 - "studies show that vigorous exercise and a strict diet can cut inflammation levels in half in just three months ... moderate alcohol consumption and fish oil are good for inflammation levels. So too are giving up smoking and keeping blood pressure under control ... Statins, the medicines already widely used to lower cholesterol ... Aspirin, a mainstay of treating and preventing heart attacks"

Using Complementary Treatments - PsychiatricTimes.com, 11/15/02 - "Ginseng is known as an adaptogen. Animal studies report a reversal of scopolamine-induced memory deficits in rats, an increase in acetylcholine uptake and improved learning performance. In humans, two randomized, controlled trials reported some improvement in cognitive function over eight and 12 weeks of ginseng use. Another study, looking specifically at 50 elderly subjects, reported improvement over baseline measures ... Research has shown huperzine A to be a selective and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. It also has been shown to lessen neuronal toxicity caused by glutamate. Initial small investigations reported improvement in cognitive functions of subjects with AD ... Phosphatidylserine is active at cell membranes, including synaptic membrane zones. Partial improvement of learning and recall capacity was noted in subjects with age-related cognitive decline" - See my web pages on some of the other supplements he talks about.  It sure seems like he missed several studies.

Compounding Pharmacies Get an F in FDA Tests - Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/02 - "Ten of 29 prescriptions that were obtained in a Food and Drug Administration survey of compounding pharmacies failed assays ... Of the 10 failed samples, 9 were significantly subpotent and 1 contained unacceptable levels of endotoxin"

I took on an affiliation with Bare Necessities.  Everyone needs underwear and it's a great way to support my website.  They've got Calvin Klein and Jockey for men.  I'm not sure what the brand names for women are but I'll bet they have that also.

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