This site is supported by commissions from my affiliates.  If you could, please place orders directly via the links on my site.

iHerb.Com

Vitamin Shoppe.com

Click here for the web based version Home

Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 3/19/03:

Whole-Grain Breakfast May Cut Men's Mortality Risk - Yahoo, 3/19/03 - "The more whole-grain cereal a man reported consuming, the less likely he was to die from any cause or from heart or blood vessel disease such as heart attack or stroke, even after the investigators accounted for risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity"

High Estrogen/Progestin Levels May Reduce Asthma Severity - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/03 - "women's lung function and asthma symptoms improve when estrogen and progesterone levels are raised, both naturally during certain times in the menstrual cycle and with the administration of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy"

Selegiline Transdermal System Shows Modest But Significant Antidepressant Effect - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/03 - "Use of a selegiline transdermal system offers modest but statistically significant antidepressant benefit in outpatients with major depressive disorder" - Selegiline (deprenyl) has been recommended by many anti-aging people for years.

Light Drinking May Keep Dementia Away - HealthScout News, 3/18/03 - "Those who consumed one to six drinks a week had the lowest odds of developing dementia -- a 54 percent lower risk than those who abstained. Those who had between zero and one drink a week had a 35 percent lower risk; those who consumed seven to 13 drinks a week a 31 percent lower risk; and those who consumed 14 to 21 drinks a week a 22 percent greater risk ... The exact biological mechanisms are still unclear, although there is speculation. Previous work has shown that light and moderate drinkers had fewer white matter lesions, which scientists think might be linked to blood vessel blockages"

HRT Minus Java May Keep Parkinson's at Bay - HealthScout News, 3/18/03 - "Women who take hormone therapy and consume little or no caffeine may have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson's disease"

NSAIDs May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk - Medscape, 3/18/03 - "using NSAIDs at least three times weekly for at least one year decreased risk of lung carcinoma by 32%, regardless of histology ... Aspirin had similar smoking-specific risk estimates to those for all NSAIDs, but the association of reduced lung cancer risk was found only in men and not in women ... Although it is unclear why the protective effect of NSAIDs was limited to smokers, the authors suggest that smoking might induce cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression. Cigarette tar extracts increase COX activity in rat lung cells, and COX-2 activity is higher in lung cancer tissue of smokers than in nonsmokers" - [WebMD] - See drugstore.com NSAID and aspirin products.

Higher Pulse Pressure Tied To Dementia Risks - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/03 - "Higher pulse pressure in older adults is linked with increased risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia, which is probably caused by artery stiffness and severe atherosclerosis" - Note:  Pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic (high number) and diastolic (low number).

High-Protein Diets May Adversely Affect Kidney Function - Medscape, 3/17/03 - "Although high protein intake does not seem to affect the renal function of people without baseline impairment, "about 27% of the US population meet criteria for mild renal insufficiency," so there are important public health implications" [WebMD] - Related articles:

• 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"
• Calcium & Milk: Nutrition Source - Harvard School of Public Health - "Avoid too much protein. Getting too much protein can leach calcium from your bones. As your body digests protein, it releases acids into the bloodstream, which the body neutralizes by drawing calcium from the bones. Animal protein seems to cause more of this calcium leaching than vegetable protein does"
• Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets: Are They Safe? - New Hope Natural Media, 12/5/02 - "consuming these diets can result in the depletion of minerals such as potassium and magnesium, which are needed to maintain a normal heart rhythm. This mineral-losing effect may be compounded when the daily calorie intake is restricted"

Red Grapes Shown to Inhibit Cancer in Lab - KFMB, 3/17/03 - "Researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center say they have found a chemical in grapes that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the laboratory ... Resveratrol has been shown to have not only anti-inflammatory properties, but it also has anti-cancer properties" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") resveratrol products.  Related article:

• The cancer preventative agent resveratrol is converted to the anticancer agent piceatannol by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1B1 - Br J Cancer 2002 Mar 4;86(5):774-8 - "This observation provides a novel explanation for the cancer preventative properties of resveratrol. It demonstrates that a natural dietary cancer preventative agent can be converted to a compound with known anticancer activity by an enzyme that is found in human tumours"

Popular Weight Loss Supplement May Damage DNA - Yahoo, 3/17/03 - "Consumption of the supplement [chromium picolinate] led to lethal genetic mutations and sterility in fruit flies, according to a study published in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" - Body Wise has been arguing that point for years and recommending the form in their supplements.  In the book Optimum Sports Nutrition (page 202-203), Dr. Colgan says "chromium is one of the most deficient minerals in the American food supply.  Because chromium is rapidly depleted by exercise and is so important to optimal performance, needs of athletes are discussed in more detail in Chapter 29".  The following has been on my chromium page since the start of my web site:

• Chromium Picolinate is Dangerous! -Dr. Allen - "Chromium picolinate was found to cause significant chromosome damage at a non-toxic dose ... Chromium nicotinate and CrCl3 (chloride) did not cause  chromosome damage at equivalent doses"

Combo HRT Doesn't Improve Quality of Life - HealthScout News, 3/17/03 - "Some 2,000 women reported moderate to severe symptoms when they started the study. Those in the treatment arm experienced an overall improvement in symptoms of about 77 percent. This sounds good until you compare it with the 52 percent improvement in symptoms experienced by the placebo group. The remaining 25 percent difference may also reflect "the natural history of menopause," Hays says. "If you can wait it out, you will get better." - That last part doesn't make sense to me.  The placebo group didn't have the natural history of menopause," also? - Ben

Progestin-Estrogen Therapy Debate Cools - WebMD, 3/17/03 - "Many women refused to be enrolled in the WHI study because they wanted to keep taking their hormones" - That puts into question the validity of the study. - Ben - Plus, food for thought:

Anti-estrogenic Effects of Hormonal Therapy May Impair Verbal Memory in Breast Cancer Patients - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/03 - "the women from the ATAC trial were significantly impaired on measures of verbal memory and processing speed, as compared with the controls. "And when hormone-replacement therapy in each group was accounted for, the deficits [in the ATAC patients] remained significant," ... animal studies show that estrogen levels affect the structure and function of the hippocampus and frontal lobes of the cortex, which are important for consolidating new memories. And some studies examining the effects of hormone replacement therapy in healthy postmenopausal women show it improves verbal memory and attention"

New warnings about mercury tell seafood buyers to beware - US News & World Report, 3/17/03 - "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers mercury levels below 1 part per million acceptable ... Environmental Protection Agency has a lower threshold, about 0.2 ppm ... Fish mercury (parts per million) ... Tilefish: 1.45 ... Swordfish: 1.00 ... Shark: 0.96 ... King mackerel: 0.73 ... Largemouth bass: 0.52 ... Tuna (fresh or frozen): 0.32 ... Tuna (canned): 0.17 ... Salmon: 0"

Remember Sodium? We're Still Getting Too Much - Intelihealth, 3/14/03 - "The average American consumes 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day, far exceeding the maximum of 2,400 milligrams recommended ... only an estimated 25 percent of daily sodium intake is added at the table. The remainder is unseen, consumed in restaurant and processed foods ... A Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen entree may be low in fat and calories, but it's not so light in sodium ... a Burger King Broiler Chicken Sandwich has 1,110 milligrams of sodium ... about 90 percent of the population is diagnosed with hypertension by the age of 80. People with high blood pressure have an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. High sodium levels also raise the risk of osteoporosis and kidney problems ... In the case of osteoporosis, potassium appears to offset calcium losses from excessive sodium ... postmenopausal women with diets high in salt lost higher amounts of bone mineral. Eating potassium-rich foods such as bananas, tomatoes and orange juice helped stem the calcium loss"

FDA Approves Lower Dose Prempro (Conjugated Estrogens/ Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) - Doctor's Guide, 3/13/03 - "Low dose Prempro, containing 0.45 mg CE and 1.5 mg MPA, provides favorable tolerability and an efficacy profile comparable to the most frequently prescribed strength of Prempro, with 28 percent less estrogen and 40 percent less progestin"

Sustained Reduced Sleep Can Have Serious Consequences - Doctor's Guide, 3/13/03 - "subjects who slept four to six hours a night for fourteen consecutive nights showed significant deficits in cognitive performance equivalent to going without sleep for up to three days in a row. Yet these subjects reported feeling only slightly sleepy and were unaware of how impaired they were"

Beta-Carotene and Other Carotenoids Protect Skin from Ultraviolet Damage - New Hope Natural Media, 3/13/03 - "36 adults between the ages of 22 and 55 were assigned to receive one of the following: (1) 24 mg per day of beta-carotene, (2) a mixed carotenoid supplement containing 8 mg per day each of beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene, or (3) a placebo for 12 weeks. Skin redness before and 24 hours after irradiation with UV light was measured initially and after 6 and 12 weeks of supplementation ... Both groups that took the nutritional supplements containing carotenoids had a significant decrease in UV light-induced redness of the skin after 12 weeks of treatment ... since lutein and lycopene are found in high amounts in other organs, the health benefits of these substances may go beyond just protecting the skin" - [Abstract]

Lutein for Cataract Sufferers - New Hope Natural Media, 3/13/03 - "15 individuals with age-related cataracts were randomly assigned to receive either 15 mg of lutein, 100 IU of vitamin E, or a placebo three times per week for up to two years. Visual acuity improved significantly in the lutein group, whereas no change was seen in the vitamin E and placebo groups"

The following was in the 3/7/03 IAS Newsletter.  They also had a good article titled Theories of Aging.

Cross-link Breakers and Inhibitors - International Anti-Aging Systems - "Carnosine has been hailed as one of the most promising cross-link inhibitors ... Carnosine is one of the few cross-link inhibitors that is not only active against protein-to-protein cross-linking but also against protein-to-DNA cross-linking ... Carnosine has a direct antioxidant action ... Metformin lowers cholesterol, reduces body fat, stimulates antioxidant defenses (10) and it is also an effective inhibitor of glycation" -  Metformin is the one that may reduce the chances of getting diabetes by 31%.  See:

• Diabetes Prevention Efforts Achieving Good Results - Doctor's Guide, 2/17/03 - "Strategies that may prevent progression to diabetes include weight reduction, exercise, insulin secretagogues, metformin, glucosidase inhibitors and thiazolidinedione ... Diabetes risk was reduced by 31% among patients who were treated with metformin (which tends to restrain weight gain) and by 58% for patients who improved their lifestyle ... Losing even 5 to 7 kg [11 to 15.4 pounds] "has an enormous benefit" that was also apparent in cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factor reductions"
• Carnosine is available at iHerb.  The best price I could find on Metformin #1 Drugstore.  Check with a doctor first.

Melatonin Appears Safe for Child Insomniacs - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/03 - "Melatonin appears to be a safe and effective treatment for children with insomnia ... The average age of the patients was 9.6 years ... Dr. Ivanenko, who is a child psychiatrist at the University of Louisville (Ky.), said she typically starts children at 1-5 mg of melatonin and titrates up to as much as 8-10 mg in adolescents" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost melatonin products.

On last weeks information on spam, I forgot to mention that if you use SpamCop with Outlook, the way to go is with Spam Deputy.  That way to report the few spams that get through, you just click on the spam, then click on Spam Deputy and it reports the spam to both Spam Recyclers and SpamCop.  The setup in SpamCop is something like http://username%40spamcop.net:password@mailsc.spamcop.net/.  That small info will save you a lot of time.

Affiliates (I could sure use some sales.  Click here for more stores):

Life Extension Foundation / iHerb - use this link to receive a 5% discount (discount code "qc") plus free shipping on orders over $60 / Vitacost.com / VitaminShoppe / Gerovital / Free Shipping at drugstore.com / GNC / Bare Necessities (everyone needs underwear) / Body Wise International / DiabetesStore.Com (syringes for hGH) / Gero Vita International / DermaDoctor / Dr. Whitaker / Online Prescriptions / Body by Jake / Love Scents Pheromones / Mass Quantities / Netrition.com / Road Runner Sports / Amazon.com / Office Depot / The Sports Authority / J & R Appliance Store / Dell Computer / Buy.com / Lands' End / Walmart / Tupperware / REI / Verizon Wireless!

Life Extension Foundation buyers club Life Extension "Mix

iHerb policosanol products - use this link to receive a 5% discount (discount code "qc") plus free shipping on orders over $60 - see policosanol

Anti-aging Recommendations

Past newsletters

Disclaimer: These products and all information contained on this website is for educational purposes only. These products must be used in conjunction with any and all local, state and federal laws. It is up to the end user to comply with all legal guidelines, thus we are not and will not be held responsible for any misuse of this product or any damages that it may cause.