Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/4/04:

Nightime Melatonin Supplementation May Be Useful in the Treatment of Essential Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 2/4/04 - "2.5 mg/day ... mean sleep systolic blood pressure decreased by 6 mm Hg and mean sleep diastolic blood pressure decreased by 4 mm Hg ... Repeated melatonin significantly increased sleep efficiency from 80% to 85% and increased actual sleep time from 5.6 to 6.1 hours. Melatonin therapy also reduced sleep latency from 33 to 22 minutes" - iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost melatonin products.

HCA, better than ephedra? - Nutra USA, 2/4/04 - "study’s principal investigator, Dr Harry Preuss of Georgetown University Medical Center ... Super CitriMax performed a function not noted in ephedra however - it significantly increased serum serotonin levels (a mechanism of appetite control and eating behavior) and lowered serum leptin levels, a biomarker of the gene that regulates obesity" - See Super CitriMax at iHerb (5% discount code "qc")

Link Found Between High C-Reactive Protein Levels and Subsequent Colon Cancer Development - Doctor's Guide, 2/3/04 - "Elevated plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) appear to increase the risk of developing colon cancer" - [WebMD] - See my C-reactive protein page for ways to reduce it.

High-Glycemic Foods Linked to Colon Cancer - WebMD, 2/3/04 - "the future risk of colorectal cancers is nearly three times higher in women who eat the most high glycemic-load foods compared with those who eat lesser amounts"

Aspirin Use May Prevent Colon Cancer - WebMD, 2/2/04 - "Regularly taking aspirin -- more than two tablets a week -- reduced the risks of polyps by 25% ... while higher doses of aspirin (325 milligrams per day) may be necessary for optimal prevention of polyps, the risk of severe gastrointestinal bleeding remains a serious concern" - See Drugstore.com aspirin products.

Too Little Testosterone Can Lead to Depression - HealthDay, 2/2/04 - "men with hypogonadism were 4.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression" - [Abstract] [WebMD]

Scientists Eye Pills To Unclog Arteries - Intelihealth, 2/2/04 - "HDL scoops up cholesterol from the arteries and carries it back to the liver for disposal ... men's average HDL is about 45 and women's is 55. HDL under 40 is an especially bad sign, while anything over 60 is considered good. Those with HDL over 75 may even be blessed with what's called the "longevity syndrome." ... many specialists recommend more use of the HDL booster already on the market, the vitamin niacin" - See iHerb inositol hexanicotinate products.

Policosonal: Nature's Cholesterol Balancer - Vitamin Research News, 2/04 - "Statin drugs are also known to cause male impotence" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") or Vitacost policosanol products.  Related article:

• Simvastatin and impotence - BMJ 1997;315:31 (5 July) - "Simvastatin may affect the central nervous system directly by passing through the blood-brain barrier or it may interact with other agents that might cause impotence"

Stress and Cortisol Levels - Vitamin Research News, 2/04 - "I want to reduce cortisol levels in my body ... Phosphatidylserine, 300 mg per day, is a good choice"

Coenzyme Q10 May Play Positive Role in Treatment of Male Infertility - Medscape, 1/30/04 - "Patients underwent oral administration of CoQ10, 200 mg/day twice daily for six months ... After treatment, CoQ10 levels increased in seminal plasma; the mean value rising significantly from 42.0 +/- 5.1 ng/mL at baseline to 127.1 +/- 1.9 ng/mL after six months of CoQ10 administration" - See iHerb or Vitacost coenzyme Q10 products.

Fish Can Keep Mental Decline at Bay - HealthDay, 1/30/04 - "people who ate lots of foods rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and consumed lots of fatty fish generally had a lower risk for impaired brain functioning (19 percent less) and speed (28 percent less), compared to those who didn't follow a similar diet ... those with diets high in cholesterol were found at a "significantly" increased risk of impaired memory (27 percent higher) and flexibility (26 higher)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb

Milk: It Does a Health Care System Good - WebMD, 1/29/04 - "estimated the health benefits and health care cost savings involved if all Americans increased their daily intake of calcium to the recommended level. For most adults, the recommended intake ranges from 1,000-1,500 mg per day ... Fractures due to osteoporosis would be reduced by 20% in a year ... High blood pressure would be reduced by 40% in one year"

Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Has Direct Effect on Glucose and Protein Metabolism in Type 1 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/04 - "circulating IGF-I may act in concert with insulin to control glucose and protein metabolism" - Note:  Growth hormone increases IGF-I.

Dieters Decrease Heart Risk on Moderate Fat Program - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/04 - "Over the course of the study, the low-fat diet group experienced a 12 percent decrease in HDL ("good") cholesterol but the moderate-fat diet group had no change. This indicates that a moderate-fat diet blunts the decrease in HDL ("good") cholesterol during weight loss"

The Focus on HDL-C: Synergistic Effects With Aggressive Lipid Lowering - Medscape, 1/29/04 - "a 1-mg decrease in LDL reduces coronary heart disease (CHD) risk by 1%. Based on primarily epidemiological data and some clinical trial data, a 1-mg increase in HDL reduces CHD risk by approximately 3%"

Is Fish Oil Safe? - NPI Center, 1/28/04 - "Ensuring the purity of its oils and consumer safety are main concerns at Bioriginal Food & Science Corp., the world’s largest essential fatty acid supplier and a key North American distributor of high-quality marine-based products. Bioriginal’s fish oil partner, located in Norway, adheres to the highest manufacturing standards, which include processing all fish oils to remove potentially harmful environmental contaminants such as PCBs, dioxins and heavy metals"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics:

Antioxidants and physical performance in elderly persons: the Invecchiare in Chianti (InCHIANTI) study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Feb;79(2):289-294 - "Higher dietary intakes of most antioxidants, especially vitamin C, appear to be associated with higher skeletal muscular strength in elderly persons"

The effects of phytoestrogen isoflavones on bone density in women: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Feb;79(2):326-33 - "These data suggest that, through attenuation of bone loss, isoflavones have a potentially protective effect on the lumbar spine in women"

Fruit and vegetable consumption and LDL cholesterol: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Feb;79(2):213-7 - "Consumption of fruit and vegetables is inversely related to LDL in men and women"

Effect of an omega-3 fatty acid containing lipid emulsion alone and in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on growth of the colon cancer cell line Caco-2 - Eur J Nutr. 2003 Dec;42(6):324-31 - "FO has a potent antiproliferative effect on Caco-2 cells"

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