Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/5/05

Curry Spice May Fight Alzheimer's - Reuters, 1/4/05 - "curcumin, a component of the yellow curry spice turmeric, was able to reduce deposits of beta-amyloid proteins in the brains of elderly lab mice that ate curcumin as part of their diets ... curcumin could be capable of both treating Alzheimer's and lowering a person's risk of developing the disease"

4 Diets Face Off: Which Is the Winner? - WebMD, 1/4/05 - "Who lost the most pounds? Those who followed their diets most closely, no matter which of the four plans they followed"

Statin Use May Slightly Impair Brain Function - Reuters, 1/4/05 - "treatment with a cholesterol-lowering statin called simvastatin (Zocor) may have small negative effects on brain function"

DHA Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease? - Physician's Weekly, 1/3/05 - "DHA intake should be considered as a potential neuroprotective strategy for AD" - See iHerb DHA products.

Long-Term Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs May Cause Severe Intestinal Damage - Doctor's Guide, 1/3/05 - "chronic users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have an increased risk of bleeding and visible damage to their small intestine"

Supplemental Carnitine May Be Helpful in Diabetic Neuropathy - Medscape, 1/3/05 - "Pain as the most bothersome symptom significantly improved with ALC"

Only Moderate Drinking Wards Off Stroke - HealthDay, 1/3/05 - "It should be no more than one drink every other day, and the libation of choice should be red wine ... Consuming more alcohol than that will invite cardiovascular trouble ... For men who drink three or more glasses of alcohol a day, the increased risk of stroke reaches almost 45 percent, compared with nondrinkers"

15-Year Study Shows Strong Link Between Fast Food, Obesity and Insulin Resistance - Doctor's Guide, 1/3/05 - "Participants who consumed fast food two or more times a week gained approximately 10 more pounds and had twice as great increase in insulin resistance in the 15-year period than participants who consumed fast food less than once per week"

Study Shows No One Knows Which Diets Work Best - ABC News, 1/3/05 - "Only Weight Watchers had scientific research to back up its simple approach of keeping a food diary and focusing on low-calorie foods, especially vegetables and whole grains"

Green Tea - Life Extension Magazine, 1/05 - "A powerful source of antioxidants, green tea may help to prevent cancer, protect the cardiovascular system, promote healthy blood sugar levels, and alleviate the neurological effects of aging"

Are You Taking the Right Form of Vitamin E? - Mercola.com, 12/31/04 - "there was a 500% decrease in prostate cancer in men that had the highest level of gamma tocopherol" - [Abstract/Full text]

Vitamin D deficiency tied to host of dangers - Boston Globe, 12/30/04 - "adequate vitamin D levels reduce cancer risk by 30 percent ... We absolutely have a huge problem with vitamin D deficiency ... vitamin D is important for muscle performance in older people ... vitamin D researchers such as Dr. Joel Finkelstein of Massachusetts General Hospital suggest people of all ages should get 800 units of vitamin D or more"

Vitamin E In Plant Seeds Could Halt Prostate, Lung Cancer, Says Purdue Scientist - Science Daily, 12/30/04 - "gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells"  - See Gamma E Tocopherol / Tocotrienols at iHerb.

Whole Grains Help Your Heart - WebMD, 12/29/04 - "Eating just 25 grams of whole grains a day reduces the risk of heart disease by about 15%"

Exercise Away Risk of Early Death - WebMD, 12/29/04 - "After six months, 18% of exercisers and 15% of the comparison group no longer had metabolic syndrome. However, 8% of volunteers in the comparison group had developed the syndrome ... Older people can benefit greatly from exercise, especially to reduce their risk for developing metabolic syndrome"

Calcium Intake Contributing Factor In Formation Of Kidney Stones - Doctor's Guide, 12/29/04 - "urinary calcium - the amount of calcium in a person's urine - is an important contributing factor in the formation of both types of kidney stones. Earlier studies had downplayed the significance of calcium when compared to the levels of oxalate in urine, and even encouraged kidney stone patients to increase their dietary intake of calcium"

New Study Shows Early Ritalin May Cause Long-term Effects On The Brain - Science Daily, 12/29/04 - "the animals exposed to Ritalin during pre-adolescence were more prone to express despair-like behaviors in stressful situations (such as swim tests) as adults. Overall, the animals showed more evidence of dysfunctional brain reward systems and depressive-like behaviors in adulthood"

Few Americans Are Aware They Have Chronic Kidney Disease - Science Daily, 12/29/04 - "Kidney disease can be well advanced before it's found with creatinine alone ... People with chronic kidney disease are at high risk for premature death, heart attacks and strokes as well as hypertension, anemia, bone disease and malnutrition"

Vinegar as a Sweet Solution? - Science News, 12/18/04 - "2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal—perhaps, as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal ... vinegar cut their blood-glucose rise in the first hour after a meal by about half ... a 2-pound weight loss, on average, over the 4 weeks in the vinegar group"

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

Cruciferous vegetables, genetic polymorphisms in glutathione s-transferases m1 and t1, and prostate cancer risk - Nutr Cancer. 2004;50(2):206-13 - "two or more servings per month of cruciferous vegetables may reduce risk of prostate cancer"

Acetyl-L-Carnitine Improves Pain, Nerve Regeneration, and Vibratory Perception in Patients With Chronic Diabetic Neuropathy: An analysis of two randomized placebo-controlled trials - Diabetes Care. 2005 Jan;28(1):89-94 - "ALC treatment is efficacious in alleviating symptoms, particularly pain, and improves nerve fiber regeneration and vibration perception in patients with established diabetic neuropathy"

Effect of Olanzapine on Body Composition and Energy Expenditure in Adults With First-Episode Psychosis - Am J Psychiatry 162:118-123, January 2005 - "After approximately 12 weeks of olanzapine therapy, the median increase in body weight was 4.7 kg, a significant increase of 7.3% from first observation ... Olanzapine appears to have induced an increase in central body fat deposition, insulin, and triglyceride levels, suggesting the possible development of insulin resistance. The decrease in fat oxidation may be secondary or predispose patients to olanzapine-induced weight gain"

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