Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/26/05

Omega-3s to enter weight loss category? - Nutra USA, 1/25/05 - "The fish oil concentrates not only caused weight reduction in the mice but they also appeared to stop the animals from gaining weight when given free access to food"

Cases: A Pill's Surprises, for Patient and Doctor Alike - NY Times, 1/25/05 - "That Wellbutrin can enhance sexual pleasure isn't surprising: it increases the activity of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter in the brain's reward pathway"

Exercising Has Great Mental Health Benefits - CBS 2 Chicago, 1/25/05 - "This is the first study that looks at exercise alone for treating mild to moderate depression. It found most symptoms were reduced almost in half by people who did some type of aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes, three to five times a week"

Good Fat vs. Bad Fat - WebMD, 1/24/05 - "middle-aged men who substituted more good fat -- such as omega fatty acids (linoleic acids) and polyunsaturated fats - were 60% less likely to die early of heart disease than men who ate the least amounts of these good fats in their diets"

Healthy Midlife Heart Lowers Dementia Risk - WebMD, 1/24/05 - "Middle-aged people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are 20%-40% more likely to develop dementia in old age"

Baked or Broiled Fish May Help Reduce the Risk of Stroke - Doctor's Guide, 1/24/05 - "The consumption of tuna or other broiled or baked fish is associated with a lower risk of stroke in the elderly, while eating fried fish or fish sandwiches is linked to a higher risk"

Obesity May Affect Accuracy Of Prostate Screening - Doctor's Guide, 1/24/05 - "as BMI increased, PSA linearly decreased ... These findings, the authors conclude, may explain "the recent reports of inferior outcomes of prostate cancer treatment in obese men" in that they "may be caused by delayed detection" rather than biological differences in the tumor"

Veggie Diet May Lower High Blood Pressure - HealthDay, 1/21/05 - "vegetarians have about half the prevalence of hypertension compared to non-vegetarian Adventists. When hypertensives were defined as those taking medication intended to reduce their blood pressure, a nearly threefold difference in the prevalence of hypertension was seen between the groups"

Green tea for a healthy prostate? - MSNBC, 1/21/05 - "phytochemicals called polyphenols attack growth factors and proteins, interrupting processes that increase the size of tumors, thus preventing them from spreading to other parts of the body ... green tea in mice with an aggressive form of cancer can decrease the spread or metastasis of prostate cancer to liver, bone and other sites ... the phytochemicals in green tea could inhibit the early stages of prostate cancer development" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea products.

Tea Extract More Benefit Than the Brew - Reuters, 1/20/05 - "while volunteers consumed equal antioxidant doses from the teas and the extract, the latter got more of the antioxidants into their blood"

UT Southwestern Researchers Find Calcium Intake Contributing Factor In Formation Of Kidney Stones - Science Daily, 1/19/05 - "Individuals with either calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate kidney stones should not take extra calcium on their own as suggested by previous research, but should check with their doctors to determine the dietary guidelines that work best for them"

Elevated Glucose Levels And Diabetes Are Associated With Increased Risk For Cancer - Science Daily, 1/19/05 - "the group with the highest fasting serum glucose (140 mg/dL or greater [7.8 mmol/L or greater]) had a higher death rates from all cancers combined (29 percent higher for men; 23 percent higher for women) compared with the group with the lowest level (less than 90 mg/dL [less than 5.0 mmol/L])"

The Effects of Niacin on Lipoprotein Subclass Distribution - Medscape, 1/19/05 - "the combination of niacin and a statin may be among the best available treatment options for many patients with complex forms of dyslipidemia ... Niacin effectively modifies all major lipids and lipoproteins with respect to both their quantity and quality. It is the most effective agent currently available for raising low levels of HDL cholesterol"

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

Dietary Fiber and Blood Pressure - Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:150-156 - "Fiber supplementation (average dose, 11.5 g/d) changed systolic BP by –1.13 mm Hg ... and diastolic BP by –1.26 mm Hg"

The combination of vitamin C and grape-seed polyphenols increases blood pressure: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - J Hypertens. 2005 Feb;23(2):427-434 - "Vitamin C alone reduced systolic BP versus placebo ... However, treatment with the combination of vitamin C and polyphenols increased systolic BP (4.8 +/- 0.9 mmHg versus placebo ... and diastolic BP (2.7 +/- 0.6 mmHg, P < 0.0001 versus placebo"

The effect of aspirin and high fibre diet on colorectal carcinoma: a comparative experimental study - Tech Coloproctol. 2004 Nov;8 Suppl 1:s59-61 - "high fibre diet and aspirin suppress experimental colon carcinogenesis and the protective effect of aspirin is dose related"

Anaemia as a symptom of right colon cancer - Tech Coloproctol. 2004 Nov;8 Suppl 1:s62-4 - "Iron deficiency anaemia is a common symptom of right colon cancer"

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