Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 6/2/04:

Oats keep arteries clear - Nutra USA, 6/2/04 - "compounds in oats hinder the ability of cholesterol to stick to artery walls, thereby preventing the build-up of plaques that block arteries and endanger heart health"

S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) - A Very Important Natural Product - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 6/2/04 - "SAMe is perhaps the most effective natural antidepressant (although a strong argument could be made for the extract of St. John's wort standardized to contain 0.3% hypericin)" - See iHerb or Vitacost SAMe products.  Related article:

• Supplement SAM-e Helps Beat Depression - WebMD, 5/5/04 - "When SAM-e was added to their usual medication, half of the patients improved and 43% went into remission, Alpert reports. "These are quite strong responses and remission rates for a population that failed traditional therapy.""

Moderate Alcohol May Improve Diabetes - WebMD, 6/1/04 - "alcohol improves the body's resistance to insulin -- the hallmark of type 2 diabetes ... the evidence from large-population studies is fairly consistent and shows a reduction in risk of 30% to 40% associated with moderate drinking"

Too Few Women Take Aspirin to Protect Heart - WebMD, 6/1/04 - "Regardless of their heart disease risk, women were far less likely than men to take aspirin. Just 46% of the high-risk women took aspirin regularly for their hearts, compared with 59% of high-risk men"

A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away - WebMD, 6/1/04 - "Like other dark chocolate bars with high-cocoa content, this one is loaded with something called epicatechin. Epicatechin is a particularly active member of a group of compounds called plant flavinoids. Flavinoids keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots, and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries"

Buccal Testosterone Delivery System Better Than Transdermal - Medscape, 5/28/04 - "Mean serum testosterone concentration during the 24-hour treatment period was 18.74 +/- 5.90 nmol/L in the buccal system group and 12.15 +/- 5.55 nmol/L in the transdermal patch group (P < .01). In the buccal system group, 97% of patients had average steady-state testosterone concentrations within the physiological range (10.41 - 36.44 nmol/L) compared with 56% in the transdermal patch group ... Striant was approved by the FDA in June 2003"

Lots of Soy Lessens Endometrial Cancer Risk - WebMD, 5/27/04 - "Regular intake of soya foods is associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer"

Hormone Replacement Therapy May Still Pan Out - HealthDay, 5/28/04 - "A patch does not affect the liver ... The average age of the women was 63, and most had never had hormone therapy. Considering the average age of menopause is 51, the women were without hormones for 10 years or so"

Food Additives Associated With ADHD Symptoms - Medscape, 5/27/04 - "Food additives are associated with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ... The investigators suggest removing these from the diet of all children"

Prostate Cancer in 15% of Men With Normal PSA - WebMD, 5/26/04 - "Fifteen out of every 100 older men with a normal PSA test actually has prostate cancer"

Benicar (Olmesartan Medoxomil) and Benicar HCT (Olmesartan Medoxomil/Hydrochlorothiazide) Therapies Achieve Blood Pressure Goals in Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 5/26/04 - "at the usual recommended starting doses, approximately twice as many patients treated with Benicar achieved goal blood pressure of less than 140/90 mm Hg compared to Cozaar®(losartan potassium) and Diovan® (valsartan), the two most commonly prescribed angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)" - See Benicar (olmesartan) at drugstore.com products.

DNA damage could be a start to aging, study suggests - USA Today, 5/26/04 - "the results are also consistent with the theory that so-called "free radicals" play a role in aging"

The Role of Cortisol and Depression: Exploring New Opportunities for Treatments - Psychiatric Times, 5/04 - "Although glucocorticoid production is essential for survival, overproduction is associated with a significant disruption of cellular functioning, which, in turn, leads to widespread physiological dysfunction ... Cortisol, a glucocorticoid released from the adrenal cortex, is the end product of the HPA axis ... The physiological function of DHEA and its sulphated metabolite (DHEA-S) is unclear, but these circulating corticosteroids have been shown to possess antiglucocorticoid properties, and high cortisol/DHEA ratios are reported to be associated with persistent depression"

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

The role of fish oil/omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of IgA nephropathy - Semin Nephrol. 2004 May;24(3):225-43 - "treatment for 2 years with a daily dose of 1.8 g of EPA and 1.2 g of DHA slowed the progression of renal disease in high-risk patients" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

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

Increased n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids do not attenuate the effects of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on insulin sensitivity or triacylglycerol reduction in Indian Asians - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;79(6):983-991 - "were supplemented with 4.0 g fish oil/d (2.5 g eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid) ... After the 6-wk period of fish oil supplementation, fasting and postprandial plasma triacylglycerol concentrations decreased significantly" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.

Low plasma vitamin B-6 concentrations and modulation of coronary artery disease risk - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;79(6):992-8 - "Low concentrations of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP), the active metabolite of vitamin B-6, are associated with high C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations"

Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation for 1 y reduces body fat mass in healthy overweight humans - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;79(6):1118-25 - "Mean (+/- SD) BFM in the CLA-triacylglycerol and CLA-FFA groups was 8.7 +/- 9.1% and 6.9 +/- 9.1%, respectively, lower than that in the placebo group ... Long-term supplementation with CLA-FFA or CLA-triacylglycerol reduces BFM in healthy overweight adults" - See iHerb or Vitacost CLA products.