Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 4/20/05

Tea May Help Prevent Diabetes And Cataracts - Science Daily, 4/19/05 - "At levels that would be equivalent to less than five cups of tea per day for a human, both teas significantly inhibited cataract formation relative to a control group which did not get tea, they say. The researchers found that both teas decreased glucose levels, which in turn affects other biochemical pathways that accelerate diabetic complications such as cataracts" - See iHerb green tea products (15% discount code "qc")

Green Tea May Prevent Prostate Cancer in Men at Risk - Medscape, 4/19/05 - "oral administration of green tea catechins (GTCs) may prevent the development of prostate cancer in men with high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN)"

Selenomethionine has superior bioavailability, suggests study - Nutra USA, 4/19/05 - "selenomethionine is twice as bioavailabile as selenium in the form of selenite"

Vitamin D Helps Fight Lung Cancer - ABC News, 4/19/05 - "the lung cancer patients with high intake who had surgery during the summer were more than twice as likely to be alive five years later than those with low levels who had operations in winter"

Skipping Exercise Makes Fat a Bigger Problem - WebMD, 4/19/05 - "Just five hours after exercise stopped, the rat's abdominal fat cells started to send off chemical signals that made them start to swell. After two days of no exercise, the fat cells got 19% larger -- and the rats' stomach fat got 48% heavier"

FDA Public Health Advisory About Elidel (Pimecrolimus) Cream and Protopic (Tacrolimus) Ointment - Doctor's Guide, 4/19/05 - "The FDA has issued a public health advisory to inform healthcare providers and patients about a potential cancer risk from use of Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus), products that are applied to the skin"

Calcium Blocker/ACE Inhibitor Regimen Superior to Beta-Blocker/Diuretic Regimen - Medscape, 4/18/05 - "a calcium antagonist/ACE inhibitor strategy was superior to a beta-blocker/thiazide diuretic strategy for control of blood pressure and reduction in morbidity and mortality. Additionally, fewer adverse effects, such as new-onset diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, were noted in the calcium antagonist/ACE inhibitor arm"

Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 4/18/05 - "Compared with men who didn't take cholesterol-lowering drugs, those who did take them had nearly one-half the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer. Risk decreased with increasing duration of use ... looked at 450 men and women with early stage non-small-cell lung cancer ... The high-vitamin D group was more than twice as likely to be alive five years later ... long-term use of calcium supplements protects against the development of potentially precancerous colon polyps for years after you stop taking them"

Chocolate compound stops cancer cell cycle in lab - Nutra USA, 4/18/05 - "the breast cancer cells stopped dividing when treated with pentamer and that all four proteins were inactivated ... the novel aspect here is that a pattern of several regulatory proteins are jointly deactivated, probably greatly enhancing the inhibitory effect compared to targeting any one of the proteins singly"

Both Beer, Red Wine Raise Blood Pressure - WebMD, 4/18/05 - "Compared with the men who did not drink any alcohol, the red wine drinkers had a nearly a 2.5 point jump in their systolic blood pressure. Beer drinkers' blood pressure rose nearly two points"

Metformin and Lifestyle Intervention May Help Prevent Metabolic Syndrome - Medscape, 4/18/05 - "metformin therapy (850 mg twice daily) ... Compared with placebo, the lifestyle group had 41% lower incidence of the MS (P < .001), and the metformin group had 17% lower incidence" - See Metformin at IAS.

Big Waist + High Blood Fats = Heart Danger - WebMD, 4/18/05 - "heart deaths concentrate in women with just two factors -- high levels of triglycerides and a 34 2/3-inch waist or larger"

ACE Inhibitors or ARBs for Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials - Medscape, 4/18/05 - "the use of valsartan reduced the incidence of new-onset type 2 diabetes by 23%"

Study Questions Safety of OTC Painkillers - ABC News, 3/18/05 - "The findings add to the suspicion that the heart risk extends beyond the so-called cox-2 drugs Bextra, Vioxx and Celebrex to the larger family of medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, which include naproxen, ibuprofen and virtually all other over-the-counter pain relievers except acetaminophen or Tylenol"

Fatty Acids DHA and ARA Significantly Aid Infant Development, Two New Studies Show - Doctor's Guide, 4/15/05 - "The groups receiving supplemental DHA and ARA also had higher mental and psychomotor development scores at 118 weeks ... women who are breastfeeding can take a DHA dietary supplement to ensure adequate levels of DHA in their breast milk. This is particularly important because pregnant and nursing women in the U.S. do not typically receive enough DHA through their diets to pass on the necessary amount to their developing infants" - See iHerb docosahexaenoic products (15% discount code "qc")

Two-Drug Combo May Best Replace Bextra, Vioxx - HealthDay, 4/15/05 - "a non-cox-2 pain reliever like Aleve, Advil or Motrin and a gastro-protective medicine like Prilosec or Nexium -- may be the best solution for a majority of arthritis patients" - See drugstore.com Aleve products.

The Effects of Losartan Compared to Atenolol on Stroke - Medscape, 4/14/05 - "these data suggest that losartan-based treatment reduces CV complications, primarily stroke, when compared to atenolol-based treatment for patients with ISH and high CV risk"

Bigger waist size linked to diabetes risk - MSNBC, 4/14/05 - "They found that waist size was a strong predictor of insulin resistance"

A Few Good Carbs: The New Glycemic Index Diet - ABC News, 4/14/05 - "Begun as a diet to help people control their diabetes, the general rule of the GI diet is: the higher the glycemic index, the faster a food is metabolized by the body. If a food is digested and broken down by the body quickly, your blood glucose (commonly referred to as blood sugar) levels rise rapidly, leading to a quick insulin response, making you feel tired and hungry sooner. Foods with low GI are metabolized slower, meaning they sit in your digestive track longer and are gradually absorbed by the body. This leads to a more gradual blood glucose increase, keeping your hunger satiated longer"

Soy protein could protect against breast cancer, say researchers - Nutra USA, 4/13/05 - "Eating soy protein on a regular basis may reduce a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by up to 22 percent"

Folate and Vitamin B12 Prevent Hip Fracture in Stroke Patients - Medscape, 3/25/05 - "The magnitude of benefit is similar to that found in trials of alendronate and raloxifene, with considerably less potential risk. The fact that BMD did not change suggests the benefit derives from quality, rather than quantity, of bone"

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

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