Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/22/04:

Mediterranean Diet Improves Survival in Elderly - Medscape, 9/21/04 - "Among 70- to 90-year-olds, adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle is associated with a more than 50% lower rate of all-cause and cause-specific mortality"

New Ingredient For Sleep Targets Primary Cause of Sleeplessness - NPI Center, 9/21/04 - "the leading cause of sleeplessness in otherwise healthy adults is an overactive central nervous system with associated elevation of stress hormones such as cortisol"

Death Risk Rises With Blood Sugar - WebMD, 9/20/04 - "As your blood sugar level goes up, so does your risk of death and heart disease - even if you don't have diabetes ... we should be concerned about blood glucose elevations even in people who do not have diabetes" - Related articles:

• Solving Syndrome X - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 7/21/04 - "PGX lowers after meal blood sugar levels by approximately 20 to 40% and also lowers insulin secretion by approximately 40% producing a whole body insulin sensitivity index improvement of nearly 60%"  - See iHerb PGX products.
• Redefining Impaired Fasting Glucose - Physician's Weekly, 11/24/03 - "the cut point for IFG should be reduced to 100 mg/dl from the current 110 mg/dl"
• What You Don’t Know About Blood Sugar - Life Extension Magazine, 1/04 - "it now appears that optimal fasting blood glucose levels should probably be under 86 mg/dL ... Chromium supplements have been shown to reduce blood glucose significantly.70-74 The dose used in human studies ranges from 200 to 1000 mcg of elemental chromium a day" - See iHerb or Vitacost chromium products.
• Cross-link Breakers and Inhibitors - International Anti-Aging Systems - "metformin has a dual effect. It lowers blood glucose, (a well-known and established activity) plus, as new research is revealing, it is an effective inhibitor of cross-linking" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
• See Accu-Check monitor D, lancets D, test strips D and Panasonic blood pressure monitor D at Amazon.com (D is drugstore.com).

High C-Reactive Protein Levels May Signal Fast-Moving Heart Disease - WebMD, 9/20/04 - "Researchers found four markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein, neopterin, MMP-9, and sICAM, predicted rapid artery blockage ... People who had C-reactive protein levels in the middle range had three times the risk of progression than those with the lowest levels" - Related articles:

• Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values "
• Vitamin C supplement to beat diabetes and heart disease - Nutra USA, 4/14/04 - "Researchers at the University of California say that participants who took about 500 milligrams of vitamin C supplements per day saw a 24 per cent drop in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after two months" - See iHerb or Vitacost vitamin C products.
• Dietary Changes Can Reduce Cholesterol and C-Reactive Protein as Much as Medication - New Hope Natural Media, 9/18/03 - "CRP levels decreased 10% in the placebo group, 33% in the statin group and 28% in the modified-diet group"
• Inflammation Syndrome a Red-Hot Topic - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 9/03 - "Several studies have shown that natural vitamin E supplements lower CRP levels by 30 percent to 50 percent"

Longevity May Have Roots In Childhood - Science Daily, 9/20/04 - "Infectious diseases cause chronic inflammation in the blood that, decades later, leads to heart attacks, strokes and cancers – the classic killers of old age"

New Use Suggested For St. John's Wort - Psychiatric News, 9/17/04 - "St. John's wort "may be a useful therapeutic alternative in the acute treatment of mildly to moderately severe somatoform disorder." ... The St. John's wort used in this study is from a specific company, Lichtwer, with a long history of outstanding quality control and a consistent approach to the processing of St. John's wort. Individuals going to health food stores and purchasing St. John's wort are not likely to find the same consistency in the quality of the product" - Lichtwer is the LI-160 extract sold under the band name Kira® in the U.S.

Supplements Lessen Damage of Extended Bed Rest - HealthDay, 9/17/04 - "The volunteers who received the supplements retained all of their original muscle mass while those on the placebo lost on average of about a pound of leg muscle. Those on the supplements lost about half as much leg strength as those on the placebo"

High-Fish Diet Slows Heart Disease in Seniors - WebMD, 9/17/04 - "those who ate two or more servings of tuna or dark fish each week had less progression compared with women eating less fish per week" - See Vital Choice Seafood.

Wine Eases Blood Pressure Risks - WebMD, 9/17/04 - "moderate wine drinkers at every level of blood pressure were significantly less likely to die from any cause during a 13- to 21-year follow-up period ... more than 60 grams of alcohol a day from wine or a combination of wine and beer was not associated with any reduction in death risks"

Inflammatory Protein May Point to Vessel Blockage - HealthDay, 9/17/04 - "high CRP is a sign that plaques likely are being formed in the arteries, even if the person feels healthy"

Silica for Bone Strength? - Dr. Weil, 9/16/04 - "I recommend calcium citrate, which is better absorbed than other types of calcium"

Vitamin D May Help Aging Muscles Stay Strong - WebMD, 9/16/04 - "older men and women with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were an average of 0.27 seconds, or 5.6% faster in completing the walk test compared with those with the lowest levels"

Statin Use Protects Heart Failure Patients Against Mortality Regardless of Cholesterol Levels - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/04 - "As possible mechanisms for this benefit, it has been suggested that statins help improve endothelial function, including increasing endothelial nitric oxide expression, they appear to improve autonomic nervous system function and reduce cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling"

Vegetables Help Fight Breast Cancer - HealthDay, 9/16/04 - "The anticancer compound sulforaphane, found in vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and kale, blocks the growth of late-stage breast cancer cells"

Elevated Depressive Symptoms and Inflammation Seen in Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 9/16/04 - "Activation of proinflammatory cytokines that occurs as a result of depression may promote the progression of heart failure and result in mortality in these patients"

Relieve Common Men’s Condition with Saw Palmetto Extract - Healthwell Exchange Daily News, 9/16/04 - "Comparison trials found its effects to be similar to those of finasteride and tamsulosin ... however, while some men using the standard medications experienced sexual dysfunction as a side effect, men using the herbal extract did not" - See iHerb or Vitacost saw palmetto products.

The Advantage of Single Daily Dosages of Herbal Medicines - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 9/15/04 - "Based upon the clinical research over the last 30 years and the pharmacokinetics of immediate-release alpha-lipoic acid, it appears to be obviously superior to the timed-release product ... The typical dosage [of saw palmetto] has been 160 mg twice daily, however a one-year study demonstrated no difference in therapeutic efficacy or safety comparing this dosage with a single dosage of 320 mg daily.6 Both dosage schedules produced significant improvements in signs and symptoms of BPH"

A few beers lower cholesterol - Medline Plus, 9/15/04 - "One beer offers the same antioxidant benefit as drinking a glass of red wine because of polyphenols in the barley used to make beer ... But any more than three beers and one's blood becomes pro-oxidant and can increase the risk of disease"

More Guidelines, CCBs, ACEs, and ARBs, and Novel Predictors - Medscape, 9/14/04 - "spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) demonstrate detectable erectile dysfunction (ED) before the onset of hypertension This may be due to earlier manifestation of the effects of endothelial dysfunction and tissue remodeling in erectile tissue compared with vascular tissue"

Magnesium in Hypertension Prevention and Control - Life Extension Magazine, 9/04 - "Magnesium is one of the body’s most important minerals. ... Magnesium is a major factor in relaxing the smooth muscles within the blood vessels, thereby reducing peripheral vascular resistance and blood pressure.11-13 In addition, magnesium reduces nerve and muscle excitability, stabilizes cardiac conductivity, and influences neurochemical transmission.11,13,14 Magnesium also affects circulating levels of norepinephrine and the synthesis of serotonin and nitric oxide ... taking 600 mg of magnesium daily reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.6 mm Hg and diastolic pressure by an average of 3.8 mm Hg" - Related article:

• The Miracle of Magnesium - Dr. Mercola, 8/7/04 - "Up to 80 Percent of Americans are Magnesium-Deficient"

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

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