Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/26/04:

Aspirin May Protect Against Breast Cancer - WebMD, 5/25/04 - "taking aspirin at least once a week for six months or longer reduced the risk of breast cancer by 20%, compared with women who never took aspirin. Taking a daily aspirin reduced risk by more than 25%"

Maximum Dose of Valsartan Appears More Effective than Telmisartan in Lowering Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Pulse Pressure Over 24 hours - Doctor's Guide, 5/25/04 - "the blood pressure reduction in the 24-hour mean was significantly larger for valsartan 160 mg (18.6 and 12.1 mm Hg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively) than for telmisartan 80 mg (10.8 and 8.4 mm Hg" - Related ARB article:

• Atacand (Candesartan Cilexetil) Appears More Effective Than Cozaar (Losartan) at Lowering Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 5/10/04 - "Candesartan was shown to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 2 to 3 mm Hg on average more than losartan potassium when measured at the time of either peak or trough effect"

Brown rice may act against onset of Alzheimer’s - Nutra USA, 5/25/04 - "Pre-germinated brown rice, high in levels of the nutrient GABA, significantly improved levels of spatial learning in mice" - See iHerb or Vitacost GABA products.  - Related GABA article:

• Chemical helps aging brains feel younger - MSNBC, 5/1/03 - "in old primates, both human and monkey, there is a decline in the levels of GABA, a chemical that inhibits neuron signals in the brain. Without enough of that control, he said, the brain is distracted and overwhelmed by stray signals, in the same way the ear is overwhelmed when trying to hear a whisper at a rock concert ... When minute quantities of GABA were injected directly into neurons, the brains of the older monkeys responded just like those of the young animals ... Added GABA appeared to have no effect on the young"

Vitamins enhance benefits of exercise for heart - Nutra USA, 5/25/04 - "Exercise alone has been shown to increase nitric oxide in the body ... But adding the amino acid L-arginine and the antioxidants vitamins C and E to the mix significantly magnified the effect" [WebMD] - More on nitric oxide.

• Erectile Dysfunction - Healthwell.com - "Dilation of blood vessels necessary for a normal erection depends on a substance called nitric oxide"

CLA: The New Miracle Weight Loss Pill? - WebMD, 5/24/04 - "Both CLA groups lost weight -- about 4 pounds; the placebo group stayed the same ... The CLA syrup group had a 9% body fat loss; the CLA pill group had 7% loss; the placebo group had no body fat loss ... The increased lipoprotein levels may be a byproduct of fat loss, says Gaullier. "The body does show inflammation caused by the process of eliminating fat. We think this is what is happening, but we don't know for certain."" - See iHerb or Vitacost CLA products.

Salt Getting Overlooked In Health Craze - Intelihealth, 5/24/04 - "On average we take in about twice the recommended amount ... Although the recommended government guideline for a healthy American adult is no more than 2.4 grams of sodium a day, or about one teaspoon of salt, several studies suggest much lower amounts"

Green Tea Helps Keep Arteries Clear - HealthDay, 5/24/04 - "Examination of the arteries after three and six weeks showed that the formation of new plaque in mice who got EGCG was reduced significantly, while plaques continued to form in the mice that did not get the antioxidant"- See iHerb or Vitacost EGCG products.  Related EGCG article:

• Green Tea Boosts Metabolism Without Increasing Heart Rate - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/04 - "Patients took two 375-mg capsules twice daily, for a total daily epigallocatechin gallate dose of 270 mg ... By week 12, body weight decreased by a mean of 4.6% and waist circumference by 4.48%"

Supplement Use in Sickness and in Health - WebMD, 5/24/04 - "Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory [that] prevents soft tissue swelling, and decreases various markers of pain and inflammation ... In one study of 74 boxers, 80% of minor injuries from bruising and swelling cleared in just four days in those boxers who took bromelain supplements after a big fight, compared with only 14% clearing of minor injuries in those who took placebo" - See iHerb or Vitacost bromelain products.  I've heard of at least one plastic surgeon recommending bromelain after cosmetic surgery to reduce swelling.

Job Strain and Marital Stress Can Raise Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 5/24/04 - "Job strain was significantly associated with higher 24-hour systolic blood pressure compared to those without job strain, resulting in an average 5 mm Hg elevation in blood pressure"

Vitamin D deficiency called major health risk - MSNBC, 5/21/04 - "Pediatricians scattered around the country have been surprised to see children suffering from rickets ... A few doctors have come across adults who were disabled by severe muscle weakness and pain, sometimes for years, until they were treated for undiagnosed vitamin D deficiency ... a dearth of vitamin D may be associated with an array of more serious illnesses"

Insulin Could Hold The Key To Colon Cancer - Intelihealth, 5/19/04 - "Evidence increasingly points to excess insulin"

Specific Plasma Lipids Appear Associated with Vascular Dementia but Not With Alzheimer Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/04 - "Lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and higher levels of non-HDL-C and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with an increased risk of vascular dementia"

Multivitamin review - ConsumerLab.com, 5/13/04 - "Too many products failed our tests — 13 in all or almost 33%. The problems ranged from being short on some ingredients to having too high a dosage, from failing to dissolve properly to lead contamination"

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

Breast Cancer Risk in Premenopausal Women Is Inversely Associated with Consumption of Broccoli, a Source of Isothiocyanates, but Is Not Modified by GST Genotype - J Nutr. 2004 May;134(5):1134-1138 - "These data indicate that cruciferous vegetables may play an important role in decreasing the risk of premenopausal breast cancer"

A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial - Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77 - "Compared with a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet program had better participant retention and greater weight loss. During active weight loss, serum triglyceride levels decreased more and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased more with the low-carbohydrate diet than with the low-fat diet"

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