Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 5/11/05

Diabetes Medication Pioglitazone HCl May Significantly Improve Predictors of Cardiovascular Risk - Doctor's Guide, 5/10/05 - "the diabetes medication pioglitazone HCl reduced carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). Patients taking pioglitazone also experienced significant reductions in insulin resistance, C-reactive protein (a marker for inflammation) and blood pressure, all of which contribute to the overall risk for cardiovascular disease" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.  Related articles:

• Pioglitazone Associated With Substantial Regression in Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Diabetic Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/10/04
• Caution Urged With Diabetes Drugs - Doctor's Guide, 12/8/03

A Drink A Day May Help Protect Kidneys - HealthDay, 5/10/05 - "men who consumed at least seven drinks per week were at a 30 percent lower risk of elevated levels of a compound called creatinine in the blood, compared to men who had one or no drinks per week. High blood creatinine levels are a strong indiator of kidney dysfunction"

New Fat Is Needed To Clear Old Fat From The System - Science Daily, 5/10/05 - "developed genetically engineered mice missing an important fat synthesizing enzyme in the liver ... When we took dietary fat away from the FASKOL mice, their livers quickly filled with fat"

Vitamin D Does Prevent Fractures in Elderly - HealthDay, 5/10/05 - "If someone did not have a fracture yet, I would recommend 700 to 800 International Units (IU) of vitamin D a day, with at least 700 milligrams of calcium ... If you have had a fracture, you should discuss with your physician whether you may need more. The National Science Foundation says the safe upper limit is 2,000 units a day, so you can go to 1,500 units or higher, especially if you live in a country like the United Kingdom, where you have little exposure to sunlight"

Flax lignans: a cure for hair loss? - Nutra USA, 5/9/05 - "Ten male sufferers of androgenetic alopecia aged between 20- and 70- years received a 50mg daily dose of SDG in the form of one 250 mg capsule of Acatris’ LinumLife Extra ... eight of the participants reported a modest improvement in their hair loss condition, one reported a great improvement and one reported no effect at all" - See Flax Essence at iHerb (15% discount code "qc").

Consumer Reports Rates Diet Plans - WebMD, 5/9/05 - "Weight Watchers got the highest rating. On the 1 to 5 rating scale -- where 5 is best and 1 is worst -- Weight Watchers scored a 4"

Exercise May Fight Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 5/9/05 - "men over age 65 who engaged in at least three hours of vigorous physical activity, such as running, biking, or swimming, per week had a nearly 70% lower risk of being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer or dying from the disease"

Magnesium Deficiency in Obese Children May Be Linked to Insulin Resistance - Medscape, 5/9/05 - "Magnesium deficiency in obese children is associated with the development of insulin resistance"

Next Alzheimer's Disease Drug: Lipitor? - WebMD, 5/9/05 - "How could Lipitor help Alzheimer's patients? Excess cholesterol in the brain seems to play a role in Alzheimer's disease progression"

Study suggests antioxidants help prolong life - MSNBC, 5/6/05 - "The researchers used genetically engineered mice that made extra amounts of catalase, an antioxidant enzyme that helps break down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen ... The mice that made more catalase in the mitochondria lived about 20 percent longer -- about five months"

Eat less for a healthier life - MSNBC, 5/6/05 - "Laboratory studies show that calorie restriction can lead to fewer and smaller breast cancers. It also appears to inhibit all cancers by slowing down the development of cancer cells, increasing their self-destruction and reducing DNA damage"

Testosterone Use in Menopause - Medscape, 5/6/05 - "Her emotional and cognitive well-being, energy, and overall quality of life have improved. Her libido was restored with perineal testosterone, but the topical therapy was abandoned because of excessive scalp hair loss"

Reheating Vegetable Oil Releases Toxin: Study - HealthDay, 5/6/05 - "if a person is concerned about the health aspects of HNE, then my recommendations would be to never heat any oil to the point of smoking and, as far as cooking at home goes, just use the oil one time. And avoid eating fried foods in restaurants"

Study: Metabolic Syndrome Brings Big Costs - ABC News, 5/6/05 - "Metabolic syndrome is caused by the body's inability to use insulin efficiently, and the hallmark of the condition is excessive abdominal fat"

Fatty Acid Supplementation May Be Helpful in Developmental Coordination Disorder - Medscape, 5/6/05 - "117 children with DCD were randomized to dietary supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids or placebo for three months in parallel groups, followed by a one-way crossover from placebo to active treatment for an additional three months ... there were significant improvements for active treatment versus placebo in reading, spelling, and behavior for three months of treatment in parallel groups"

Do Antioxidants Lengthen Life? - WebMD, 5/5/05 - "Heart disease, cataract development, and other signs of age-related damage were delayed or reduced"

Is There a Link Between Macronutrient Intake and Prostate - Medscape, 5/5/05 - "In this sample of Italian men, intake of monounsaturated fatty acids and starch was directly related to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Polyunsaturated fatty acid consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of the disease"

Ten Best Foods For Women - CBS 2 Chicago, 5/5/05 - "fish keeps arteries clean and prevents inflammation ... Testosterone is responsible in women not only for sex drive, but energy levels and that edge ..."

Three-Drug Combo May Best Protect Heart - HealthDay, 5/5/05 - "The study of more than 13,000 patients diagnosed with ischemic heart disease between 1996 and 2003 ... the combination of statins, aspirin and beta-blockers resulted in an 83 percent reduction in deaths among these patients"

Moderate Red Wine Drinking Reduces Risk for Cataract - Medscape, 5/5/05 - "Five-year incidence of cataract was 22% in drinkers and 32.2% in nondrinkers. Based on alcohol consumption, cataracts occurred in 23% of beer drinkers, 19% of spirit drinkers, and 13% of wine drinkers"

Fish Oil Nutrient Boosts Ailing Hearts - HealthDay, 5/4/05 - "Following surgery, postoperative atrial fibrillation -- a potentially lethal form of irregular heartbeat -- developed in 12 of the patients (15.2 percent) who received omega-3 fatty acids, compared to 27 of the patients (33.3 percent) in the control group. The patients treated with omega-3 fatty acids were also hospitalized for significantly fewer days following surgery than those in the control group"

Get vitamin D from supplements not sunshine - Nutra USA, 5/4/05 - "Their conclusion was reached after data on the relationship between sunlight, tanning booths and vitamin D was reviewed at a conference convened by the American Academy of Dermatology Association" - Related article:

• Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels indicative of vitamin d sufficiency: implications for establishing a new effective dietary intake recommendation for vitamin d - J Nutr. 2005 Feb;135(2):317-22 - "The current adult recommendations for vitamin D, 200-600 IU/d, are very inadequate when one considers that a 10-15 min whole-body exposure to peak summer sun will generate and release up to 20,000 IU vitamin D-3 into the circulation ... Recent studies reveal that current dietary recommendations for adults are not sufficient to maintain circulating 25(OH)D levels at or above this level, especially in pregnancy and lactation"

Omega-3 Boosts Mood Throughout Pregnancy - Clinical Psychiatry News, 5/05 - "In a small, open-label, flexible-dose study of 15 patients using doses up to 2.8 g/day of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, patients showed a mean decrease on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) of 39% and a mean decrease of 34% on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com (15% discount code "qc")

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Depression - Clinical Psychiatry News, 5/05 - "English investigators conducted a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of EPA doses of 1,000, 2,000, or 4,000 mg/day in addition to unchanged standard treatment in 70 patients with persistent depression. The 1,000-mg group showed a significant decrease in depression as compared with placebo, but the other groups showed little evidence of efficacy ... The bulk of evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is effective in treating depression in patients with low omega-3 diets" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com (15% discount code "qc")

New Findings on Fiber - Life Extension Magazine, 5/05 - "Incorporating increased fiber intake into a daily plan for healthy living can help you lower your risk of heart attack and cancer, as well as prevent or manage such common conditions as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Moreover, fiber is a valuable tool in achieving optimal weight"

19 Key Bone Building Nutrients Chart - betterbones.com

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

Vitamin D and calcium deficits predispose for multiple chronic diseases - Eur J Clin Invest. 2005 May;35(5):290-304 - "calcium and vitamin D deficits increase the risk of malignancies, particularly of colon, breast and prostate gland, of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (e.g. insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis), as well as of metabolic disorders (metabolic syndrome, hypertension)"

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