Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/4/05

Why apple-shaped women face more heart risk - MSNBC, 5/3/05 - "because the women are no longer producing estrogen, a natural antioxidant, they begin to suffer from artery disease ... When the postmenopausal women were given ascorbic acid, elasticity in their carotid arteries improved by about 26 percent ... the effects of the vitamin C are temporary and that the body quickly excretes the high levels used in her study ... What it may show is that estrogen therapy may help prevent some of this damage, if used before it happens"

Depression Raises Men's Heart Risks - HealthDay, 5/3/05 - "the average blood level of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein was 46 percent higher in depressed men than in other men. The study also found that levels of the inflammatory markers interleukin-6 and adhesion cellular molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were an average of 16 percent and 10 percent higher, respectively, in depressed men"

Vitamin B-6 May Help People Avoid Colon Cancer - WebMD, 5/3/05 - "The risk of colorectal cancer was 44% lower for the women with the highest blood level of vitamin B-6 compared with women with the lowest level of vitamin B-6"

Overload of Fatty Foods Can Park in Liver - HealthDay, 5/3/05 - "The bottom line is this is a clear implication that if one eats too much fat, as in the film Super Size Me, fat becomes deposited in the liver. This leads to a kind of liver toxicity that would be good to avoid"

Combination Therapy The Next Wave For Diabetic Dyslipidemia - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/05 - "Ezetimibe and prolonged-release nicotinic acid show the most promise so far when combined with a statin ... extended-release form of nicotinic acid (Niaspan) ... taking 1000 mg or 1500 mg per day experienced increases in serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels of 19% and 24%"

Study links good carbs to healthier hearts - MSNBC, 5/2/05 - "the CRP levels of women whose diets consisted primarily of refined grains were 10 percent higher than women who consumed a lot of good carbs such as fiber-rich whole grains, fruits and vegetables"

Fatty acids may help kids' behavior problems - Reuters, 5/2/05 - "Dietary supplementation with omega-3 and other fatty acids appears to reduce the educational and behavioral problems of children with a condition termed developmental coordination disorder (DCD)"

Study: Only Broiled, Baked Fish Help Heart - ABC News, 5/2/05 - "Fish sticks don't count"

Vytorin (Ezetimibe/Simvastatin) Improves Markers of Cardiovascular Risk - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/05 - "Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) is more effective than atorvastatin for reducing the level of atherogenic particles in serum above and beyond its effect on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol"

Statins Urged for Diabetic Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/05 - "diabetics who are older than 40 years of age whose total cholesterol exceeds 3.5 mmol/L (135 mg/dL) should be placed on statin therapy to achieve a 30% to 40% reduction in LDL level, regardless of their baseline LDL level and even if they do not have overt cardiovascular disease"

Plastics Compound May Cause Prostate Abnormalities - HealthDay, 5/2/05 - "Even very low levels of a chemical found in plastic containers and tin cans boosts risks for prostate abnormalities in mice"

Amino Acid May Harm Memory and More - HealthDay, 5/1/05 - "The amino acid homocysteine may damage the brain ... One possible explanation for this, they said, is that homocysteine has a direct neurotoxic effect on the brain" - Related article:

• Treatment With Folate to Lower Homocysteine - Medscape, 7/29/04 - "For patients with known cardiovascular disease, it is generally recommended to treat with folic acid (1 mg/day), vitamin B6 (10 mg/day), and vitamin B12 (0.4 mg/day). Folic acid can be increased up to 5 mg/day to reach a goal of lowering homocysteine levels below 15 mmol/L"

7-Keto DHEA The Fat-Burning Metabolite of DHEA - Life Extension Magazine, 5/05 - "By offering many of the advantages of DHEA supplementation without conversion to estrogen and testosterone, 7-Keto affords older adults the opportunity to further promote their health and longevity even when their levels of the so-called “downstream” hormones are already optimal. Moreover, considering 7-Keto’s demonstrated ability to improve body composition, it is highly likely that this DHEA metabolite will become a staple supplement for many aging adults"

Eat Right To Keep Healthy Skin - CBS 2 Chicago, 4/30/05 - "Clinical studies have found that eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and omega-3 fatty acids can help skin retain its healthy glow and look youthful ... foods for healthy skin include those rich in lycopene. That's a pigment that gives many fruits and vegetables their red color. It's a proven antioxidant, and antioxidants are important because they reduce the risk of several types of cancer and they prevent the formation of harmful byproducts of metabolism called free radicals"

Too Little Magnesium Tied to Artery Troubles - HealthDay, 4/30/05 - "dietary magnesium intake was inversely related to coronary artery calcium levels ... Previous research found that changes in fat metabolism caused by magnesium deficiency are linked to the development of atherosclerosis and that magnesium intake is an important factor in controlling fat metabolism in the walls of arteries"

Fiber Supplements May Lower Cardiovascular Risk In Type 2 Diabetics - Science Daily, 4/30/05 - "Study participants received 10g to 15g of BiosLife 2, an over-the-counter fiber supplement ... total cholesterol had dropped from 215 mg/dL to 184 mg/dL, a 14.4 percent decrease. Triglycerides also improved, dropping from 299 mg/dL to 257 mg/dL, a 14 percent decrease ... LDL decreased from 129 mg/dL to 92 mg/dL -- a 28.7 percent improvement. HDL rose from 43 mg/dL to 55 mg/dL -- a 21.8 percent increase" [WebMD] - Related article:

• Ispaghula Husk [psyllium] Nearly As Effective As Simvastatin For Hyperlipidemia - Doctor's Guide, 12/24/02 - "One group received 3.5 grams of ispaghula husk twice a day and the second group received 20 milligrams of simvastatin each day ... total cholesterol decreased by 15.8 percent and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol decreased by 22.97 percent among patients taking ispaghula husk ... Triglycerides decreased by 20.89 percent and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol increased by 10.69 percent in these patients ... Among patients taking simvastatin, total cholesterol decreased by 24.15 percent, LDL cholesterol decreased by 36.08 percent, triglycerides decreased by 20.47 percent and HDL cholesterol increased by 11.4 percent" - See psyllium husk at Amazon.com.  3.5 grams is about one wafer (3.4 grams psyllium/wafer).

Low-Salt Diets May Harm Heart, Study Says - HealthDay, 4/30/05 - "the intake of less than 2,400 mg of salt a day was associated with a 50 percent higher risk of heart disease"

Breast-cancer Risk Linked To Exposure To Traffic Emissions At Menarche, First Birth - Science Daily, 4/30/05 - "higher exposure around the time of first menstruation to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), potential carcinogens found in traffic emissions, was associated with increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer"

Choosing among the many cooking oils - MSNBC, 4/29/05 - "The newest cooking and salad oil, Enova oil, is made from soybean and canola oils. Its manufacturer claims it helps reduce body fat ... This type of oil is digested and absorbed just like other fats, but the body handles it differently because of its unique structure. Instead of circulating through the body, DAGs seem to go directly to the liver to be burned for energy"

Midlife Obesity Linked to Late-Life Dementia - WebMD, 4/28/05 - "For those with an obese BMI (30 or higher) in middle age, the risk of dementia in old age was 74% higher than for those with normal BMI. For those who were overweight (BMI of 25-29.9), late-life dementia risk was 35% higher than those with normal BMI" - Related article:

• Obesity May Lead to Brain Loss - WebMD, 11/22/04 - "women who were obese throughout their adult lives were more likely to lose brain tissue, a condition known as brain atrophy that has been linked to impaired brain function and dementia"

HRT Poses Yet Another Health Dilemma - HealthDay, 4/28/05 - "Women who took only estrogen had a higher risk of endometrial cancer than women who did not take replacement therapy ... There was no increase in endometrial cancer for women who took a combination of estrogen and progesterone. But a 2003 report on the Million Women Study said that that combination increased the risk of breast cancer"

Steady Diet of Soy Cuts Breast Cancer Risk - HealthDay, 4/27/05 - "Regular consumption of soy protein may reduce breast cancer risk by as much as 22 percent"

Fatty Acid Changes May Correlate With Dementia - Doctor's Guide, 4/27/05 - "Many of the degenerative diseases associated with aging, like cardiovascular disease, involve disturbances in fatty acid metabolism, the investigators explained. The higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids and lower concentrations of polyunsaturated fats seen in the nursing-home patients in this study might be markers of worsening cardiovascular atherogenicity, disability, and dementia"

Celadrin for Inflammation - Dr. Murray, 4/27/05 - "As consumers are searching for alternatives to Vioxx, Celebrex, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, one product seems to be attracting the most attention. This product, Celadrin®, is an all-natural matrix of special cetylated, esterifed fatty acids" - See iHerb Celadrin products (15% discount code "qc").

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

Failure of High-Dose Ergocalciferol to Correct Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis - Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Apr 28 - "In the 33 CF adults who also completed the recommended second course of 800,000 IU of ergocalciferol over two months, none demonstrated correction of their deficiency" - I threw this in because ergocalciferol is vitamin D(2), with is not absorbed as well as vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol).  If your taking supplements containing the D(2), you might want to change.  See:

• Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5387-91 - "Vitamin D(2) potency is less than one third that of vitamin D(3). Physicians resorting to use of vitamin D(2) should be aware of its markedly lower potency and shorter duration of action relative to vitamin D(3)"

Intensive Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin on Inflammation and Coagulation in Participants With Impaired Glucose Tolerance - Diabetes. 2005 May;54(5):1566-1572 - "In men, the median changes in CRP from baseline to 1 year were -33% in the lifestyle group, -7% in the metformin group, and +5% in the placebo group. In women, the changes in CRP from baseline to follow-up were -29% in the lifestyle group, -14% in the metformin group, and 0% in the placebo group"

Fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitive decline in aging women - Ann Neurol 2005;57:713-720 - "Fruits were not associated with cognition or cognitive decline. However, total vegetable intake was significantly associated with less decline. Specifically, on a global score combining all tests, women in the highest quintile of cruciferous vegetables declined slower (by 0.04 unit; 95% confidence interval, 0.003, 0.07; p trend = 0.1) compared with the lowest quintile. Women consuming the most green leafy vegetables also experienced slower decline than women consuming the least amount (by 0.05 unit; 95% confidence interval, 0.02, 0.09; p trend < 0.001). These mean differences were equivalent to those observed for women about 1 to 2 years apart in age"

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