Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/12/05

High Blood Sugar Raises Cancer Risk - WebMD, 1/11/05 - "the men in the study with the highest fasting blood sugar levels (those greater than 140 mg/dl) were 29% more likely to die of cancer than men with the lowest levels (those less than 90 mg/dl). The difference among women with the highest and lowest blood sugar levels was 23%"

Bran in Diet Seen to Lower Risk of Heart Disease - ABC News, 1/11/05 - "men with the highest intake of whole grains had an 18 percent lower risk of heart disease compared with those who ate the least. And those who consumed the most grams of added bran had a 30 percent lower risk than those who ate no added bran"

Red-Meat Eaters Risk Colon Cancer - WebMD, 1/11/05 - "Those who eat the most red meat -- beef and/or pork and/or processed meat products -- get colon cancer 30% to 40% more often than those who eat these foods only once in a while"

Less Sleep Could Mean More Weight - WebMD, 1/10/05 - "Total sleep times tended to decrease as body weight increased ... The difference in total sleep time between patients who were normal weight and those who weren't was only 16 minutes per day"

Weight, Fitness and Lifestyle Identified as Important Factors Contributing to Metabolic Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 1/10/05 - "Fatness, fitness, and lifestyle are important determinants of the metabolic syndrome in young adults ... these associations were independent of each other and, therefore, represent separate potential targets for the prevention of metabolic syndrome"

Oleic acid key to olive oil’s anti-cancer effect - MSNBC, 1/10/05 - "oleic acid blocks the action of a cancer-causing oncogene called HER-2/neu which is found in about 30 percent of breast cancer patients"

Cholesterol Drugs May Lower Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 1/10/05 - "long-term use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs may help reduce risk of memory-robbing deposits and Alzheimer's disease"

Riverside Professor Receives First Age-Reversal Prize - Science Daily, 1/7/05 - "According to Spindler's research, the fewer calories an animal consumes - provided malnutrition is avoided - the slower an animal ages and the lower the death rate from cancer, heart disease and diabetes" - Some theorize that calorie restriction slows aging because it keeps insulin level low (there are other ways that may keep insulin low such as PGX, metformin, chromium, etc).  See:

• Insulin plays central role in aging, explains benefits of calorie reduction - Nutra USA, 6/3/05 - "if insulin levels remain low, cells are stronger and can ward off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke"

Chamomile Tea May Fight Colds, Menstrual Cramps - WebMD, 1/7/05 - "chamomile tea contains compounds that may help fight infections due to colds and relieve menstrual cramp"

Benefit of Ribose in a Patient With Fibromyalgia - Medscape, 1/7/05 - "Ribose is a naturally occurring carbohydrate with documented medical benefits in patients with cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report to suggest its potential benefit in a patient with fibromyalgia, who had had suboptimal results with conventional therapies"

Screw Tops Are Wine Bottles Of The Future - CBS Chicago, 1/7/05 - "Roughly one in every 20 bottles of wine is ruined because of a tainted cork. Bacteria in the cork can pass into the wine and spoil the aroma and flavor"

Common Nutrient May Ease Diabetic Pain - WebMD, 1/6/05 - "a 1,000 milligrams three times a day of acetyl-L-carnitine was effective in relieving pain caused by nerve damage associated with the condition"

Blood Test Could Help Prevent Heart Deaths - WebMD, 1/5/05 - "We now know that it is not just cholesterol that drives the plaque buildup in the arteries. It is also C-reactive protein" - Related articles:

• Reduction of Both C-Reactive Protein and Cholesterol Required to Control Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 1/6/05 - "intensive therapy with atorvastatin reduced CRP levels 36 percent, while the more moderate pravastatin regimen reduced CRP by 5 percent"
• 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 (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis"
• 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"
• 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"

SAMe - A Natural Compound that Offers Safe, Effective Relief from Depression, Osteoarthritis, and Liver Disease - Life Extension Magazine, 1/05 - "SAMe offers arthritis relief without the side effects associated with NSAIDs. Given its safety and tolerability record, SAMe supplementation is recommended for anyone interested in maintaining optimal liver function. Finally, SAMe is a valuable and effective tool for managing depression, offering a safe, effective alternative to prescription medications"

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

C-reactive protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy - N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 6;352(1):20-8 - "Strategies to lower cardiovascular risk with statins should include monitoring CRP as well as cholesterol"

Statin therapy, LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and coronary artery disease - N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 6;352(1):29-38 - "For patients with coronary artery disease, the reduced rate of progression of atherosclerosis associated with intensive statin treatment, as compared with moderate statin treatment, is significantly related to greater reductions in the levels of both atherogenic lipoproteins and CRP"

Lutein absorption is facilitated with cosupplementation of ascorbic acid in young adults - J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Jan;105(1):114-8 - "Cosupplementation with another antioxidant may facilitate absorption"

Magnesium intake in relation to risk of colorectal cancer in women - JAMA. 2005 Jan 5;293(1):86-9 - "a high magnesium intake may reduce the occurrence of colorectal cancer in women"

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