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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/22/03:

The Life Extension Foundation annual sale ends the end of 1/31/03.

The Importance of Pharmaceutical Grade Marine Lipids - Dr. Murray's Newsletter, 1/22/03 - "A diet that is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, results in altered cell membranes. Without a healthy membrane, cells lose their ability to hold water, vital nutrients, and electrolytes. They also lose their ability to communicate with other cells and be controlled by regulating hormones. They simply do not function properly. Cell membrane dysfunction is a critical factor in the development of virtually every chronic disease, especially cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease ...RxOmega-3 Factors from Natural Factors is an example of this revolutionary new source of long-chain fatty acids" - See RxOmega-3 Factors at iHerb (5% discount code "qc").

This was in the 1/22/03 Doctor's Guide CME:  Testosterone: Free T or not Free T - labcorp.com, Exp. 11/1/03 - "The rate of testosterone production and the concentration of SHBG affect the concentration of bioavailable testosterone. SHBG levels are sensitive to changes in estrogen and testosterone.1 Decreased serum testosterone levels stimulate the production of SHBG by the liver.3 ... SHBG levels can also be increased in patients with hyperthyroidism and liver disease.1,3 Increased SHBG-bound testosterone can result in total testosterone levels in the normal range, despite a clinical deficiency of bioavailable testosterone. Conversely, SHBG levels tend to be low in androgen excess states, often resulting in total testosterone levels within normal limits and elevated bioavailable testosterone. Measurement of total testosterone alone can be misleading in many clinical situations ... Women with low bioavailable testosterone relative to reference intervals established in women in their 20s and 30s have been found to suffer from symptoms similar to those observed in hypogonadal men. These symptoms include diminished libido and persistent fatigue"

Money colors drug research - USA Today, 1/22/03 - "industry funding makes it 3.6 times more likely that a study result will be favorable to the sponsor"

Web-Savvy Seniors Can Save On Drugs - WebMD, 1/22/03 - "By clicking on the Web site [www.BenefitsCheckUp.Org], families can complete a brief questionnaire to obtain a personalized report with all the programs a person might be eligible for and detailed instructions on how to enroll"

California sues grocers over mercury in fish - MSNBC, 1/22/03 - "California is suing five major grocery chains, demanding they warn customers that tuna, swordfish and shark often contain mercury in higher amounts than other fish ... The swordfish samples “revealed dangerously high levels of methylmercury,” ... the tuna “showed dangerous levels"

Low-Level Lead Exposure Harms Kidneys - Doctor's Guide, 1/22/03 - "the progression of kidney failure was much slower in patients who received chelation therapy compared with those who got the placebo"

Junk Food Diet Brings Scurvy to Modern Age - Yahoo, 1/22/03 - "The young man developed scurvy even though he was eating plenty of calories and had no deficiencies in most other vitamins and minerals ... The student confessed to doctors that he ate no fruits and vegetables, consuming only a few types of foods--namely, cheese, crackers, soda, cookies, chocolate and water"

Doctors Stuck in Time Warp - WebMD, 1/21/03 - "Millions of people with chronic disease are not getting the care they need because of outdated systems ... most doctors work in a system -- the two- or three-doctor medical practice -- that isn't keeping pace with new treatment guidelines ... As a result, many patients end up in emergency rooms for medical crises that could easily have been prevented" - A good reason to take a proactive approach by using my web site. - Ben

Multivitamin Use May Reduce C-Reactive Protein Levels - Medscape, 1/21/03 - "Multivitamin use is associated with a significant reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes ... After adjustment, the mean CRP decline was -0.58 mg/L (p = 0.02). In contrast, a slight increase in CRP levels (+0.18 mg/L) occurred in the placebo group ...Based on recent reports, I think the effect was probably due to the vitamin B6 and C present"

Weighing In on Diet Plans - ABC News, 1/21/03 - "body fat loss is not any faster on the high-protein diets. There is a little more rapid water weight loss, loss you see on the scale ... Frank suggests a sensible eating plan, also recommended by other experts, that includes a diet of 50 percent to 55 percent carbohydrates (such as fruits and vegetables), up to 30 percent fat, and about 15 percent to 20 percent protein (including meat and fish) -- along with plenty of exercise to speed weight loss ... Your brain absolutely needs carbs ... If you have a history of depression in your family, a low-carb diet can be bad news" - I feel that the high protein diets will cause you to age before your time in that it lacks antioxidants. Also, it may accelerate osteoporosis:

• Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets Increase Risk Of Kidney Stones And May Raise Bone Loss Risk - Doctor's Guide, 8/1/02 - "acid excretion - a marker for the acid load in the blood - increased as much as 90 percent while subjects were on diets that severely restricted carbohydrates. Levels of urinary citrate, which inhibits kidney stones, fell by almost 25 percent in the group during the six-week study ... People may lose weight on this diet, but this study shows that this is not a healthy way to lose weight ... there was an increased risk of developing kidney stones and a possible increase in the risk of bone loss"

At-Risk Women Not Getting Heart Drugs - WebMD, 1/21/03 - "Established drugs for prevention -- including aspirin, beta-blockers, and cholesterol-lowering drugs are "underused in these women,""

Dental Health Associated With Nutritional Status In Older Adults - Doctor's Guide, 1/20/03 - "individuals with no posterior occluding pairs, one to four pairs or complete dentures had consistently lower scores on the [Healthy Eating Index] HEI than individuals with five to eight posterior occluding pairs of teeth ... Those with impaired dentition also ate fewer servings of fruit and had lower serum values of beta carotene and ascorbic acid ... Dietary intake levels of vitamin A, carotene, folic acid and vitamin C were poorer in individuals with impaired dentition, as were HEI scores for diet variety, cholesterol and sodium"

Ezetimibe Plus Simvastatin Safely Improves Lipid Profile - Doctor's Guide, 1/17/03 - "Ezetimibe and simvastatin given together reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 44 to 57%, reduced triglycerides by 20 to 28% and raised high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 8 to 11%, depending on the simvastatin dose" - Ezetimibe is a cholesterol absorption inhibitor, simvastatin is a statin.  See Ezetimibe at Drugstore.com.

SSRIs May Increase Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding - Medscape, 1/17/03 - "Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, especially when combined with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)" - Examples of SSRIs are Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.

Fish Oil Soothes Personality Disorder - WebMD, 1/17/03 - "a new study shows daily fish oil supplementation can significantly reduce their symptoms without the negative side effects associated with other treatments" - See TwinLab Mega Twin EPA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost.

BPD Patients Respond To Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Psychiatric News, 1/17/03 - "recruited women for their study through ads placed in Boston newspapers. The ads asked questions such as, "Are you extremely moody? Do you often feel out of control? Are your relationships painful and difficult?" ... In an eight-week study period, 20 of the 30 subjects received daily two 500 mg capsules of an omega-3 fatty acid called E-EPA (ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid). The remaining 10 subjects received a placebo daily—two capsules containing mineral oil ... They found that while depression and aggression levels had declined in the placebo group from the start of the study to the end, they had dropped even more so in the treatment group ... the omega-3 fatty acid used—E-EPA—"may be a safe and effective form of monotherapy for women with moderately severe borderline personality disorder." ... Perhaps it works, at least in part, through its ability to lead to [cell] membrane stabilization [in the brain] ... the brain is made up of at least 60 percent lipids"

Oxidative Stress Linked to Cataract Formation in Diabetics - Doctor's Guide, 1/16/03 - "Whole blood glutathione levels and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activities were lower, while plasma levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were higher in patients with cataracts compared to controls ... The authors suggest that their findings underscore the vital role of glutathione as a lens antioxidant" - Related Article:

• Getting More Glutathione? - Dr. Weil, 8/29/02 - "To my knowledge, the only supplement that effectively raises glutathione levels in the body is N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). My colleague Kathleen Johnson, a dietician here at the Program in Integrative Medicine, tells me that other glutathione supplements are ineffective because they’re digested before they can get into the bloodstream" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost NAC products.

Depression And Chronic Pain Linked, May Influence Diagnosis, Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 1/16/03 - "A new study finds that people who have major depression are more than twice as likely to have chronic pain when compared to people who have no symptoms of depression" - See substance P.

Triglycerides: You've Said a Mouthful - Dr. Whitaker, 1/16/03 - "The form of niacin we use at the Whitaker Wellness Institute, inositol hexaniacinate" - See my inositol hexanicotinate page.

A new look at the French Paradox - MSNBC, 1/16/03 - "Natural antioxidants in wine, which are also found in tea, grapes and other fruits, help keep LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in a less-damaging form ... French consumption of fruits and vegetables (other than potatoes) is almost double compared to that of Americans ... These foods provide fiber, folate (a B vitamin), antioxidants and phytochemicals that boost heart health and help protect against cancer ... The best take-home lessons from France are to eat a greater variety of vegetables and fruit, control portion sizes and get more exercise"

Quality of Probiotic Supplements Questioned: Are You Getting What You Pay For? - New Hope Natural Media, 1/16/02 - "laboratory testing of 12 refrigerated and 8 non-refrigerated, randomly selected probiotic supplements obtained from different health food stores revealed that only one product contained the same bacteria as those listed on the label. Many of the refrigerated products had some beneficial bacteria, but contained fewer species of organisms than the label claimed. More than 30% of all supplements were contaminated with other microorganisms and 50% of the non-refrigerated products were completely dead. Dead probiotics have no impact on improving intestinal function or restoring the balance of normal intestinal flora"

Should Men Get HRT for Heart Health? - WebMD, 1/15/03 - "twice as many men with heart disease have low testosterone levels compared with men without heart disease. In fact, low testosterone is linked to a number of risk factors for heart disease ... if male rabbits have too little testosterone, they develop more atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] than animals with normal testosterone"

Protecting Blood Vessels From Stress - WebMD, 1/15/02 - "vitamins can improve blood flow and prevent the long-term development of atherosclerosis -- or hardening of the arteries -- when given in combination with an amino acid known as L-arginine ... antioxidants might work together with L-arginine to prevent inflammation in the branch areas of blood vessels ... although antioxidants may not reverse or repair pre-existing damage within blood vessels, they may slow the long-term progression of atherosclerosis" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost l-arginine products.  My favorite is the Jarrow Free Base.

Finger Arthritis Predicts Heart Disease - WebMD, 1/15/03 - "Men with osteoarthritis (OA) in any finger joint were 40% more likely to die of heart disease than their counterparts without finger OA. ... While "hardening of the arteries" was once thought to result from a buildup of cholesterol, increasing evidence indicates that it's the result of some type of inflammation of blood vessels"

Grape Seeds Help Wounds Heal Faster - KFMB, 1/15/03 - "the seeds from grapes contain chemicals called free radicals. And in the lab, they proved to be remarkably powerful in healing wounds ... when an extract made from grape seeds was applied to a wound, new blood vessels grew quickly and the wound healed faster and with less scarring" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost grape seed extracts.

CLA for weight loss and diabetes - Life Extension Magazine, 1/03 - "CLA supplementation has been shown to improve the lean mass to body fat ratio, decreasing fat deposition, especially in the abdomen and enhancing muscle growth" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost CLA products.

Wow, You Coulda Had Some Lycopene! - Cancer Decisions Newsletter , 1/7/03 - "Men who received the lycopene supplement had lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and less aggressive tumors than the non-supplemented control group. Their tumors were smaller (80 percent of the tumors were under 4 milliliters (ml) in volume, compared to 45 percent in the control group). Their cancer was much more likely to be within the surgical margins and/or confined to the prostate gland (73 percent, compared to 18 percent of the control group). And the invasion of the prostate gland by cancer-like "PIN" cells was completely prevented in this group, compared to a 33 percent incidence of "PIN" cells in the control group" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost lycopene products.  My favorite is Lyco-Sorb, which has the brand name Lyc-O-Mato.

Studies Weigh Antidepressants Against Herbs and Placebos - Psychiatric Times, 1/03 - "a meta-analysis of 38 placebo-controlled studies of six antidepressants reviewed by the FDA between 1987 and 1999, found that while patients receiving antidepressants achieved a mean 10-point reduction in HAM-D score, patients on placebo did almost as well, achieving an eight-point reduction ... Kirsch et al. argued that the antidepressants may only be responsible for the two-point increment over placebo, rather than the 10-point therapeutic response, and so their effect could be characterized as clinically negligible. This view was shared in some of the commentaries but countered in others"

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