Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/18/06.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Aspirin Benefit Differs for Men, Women - WebMD, 1/17/06 - "Aspirin cut men's risk of heart attack by 32%, but not their risk of stroke. Aspirin cut women's risk of stroke by 17%, but not their risk of heart attack" - See Drugstore.com aspirin products.

Household Insecticides Associated With Increased Risk of Childhood Leukaemia - Doctor's Guide, 1/17/06 - "The risk of developing acute leukaemia was almost twice as likely in children whose mothers said that they had used insecticides in the home while pregnant and long after the birth"

Research shows exercise protects against Parkinson's - USA Today, 1/17/06 - "men who said they jogged, played basketball or did some other sweat-breaking activity at least twice a week as young adults reduced their risk of getting Parkinson's later by 60%"

Working out may help prevent colds, flu - MSNBC, 1/17/06 - "moderate amounts of aerobic exercise such as jogging, brisk walking and cycling during the cold and flu season boost the body’s defenses against viruses and bacteria"

Impotence drugs linked to eye damage risk - MSNBC, 1/17/06 - "Impotence drugs such as Viagra and Cialis can increase the risk of eye damage in men who have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure"

Study Could Lead To A Novel Strategy For Treating Obesity - Science Daily, 1/16/06 - "Their results suggest that restoring fatty-acid levels in the brain may be a promising way to treat obesity"

Staying active helps keep the mind sharp - MSNBC, 1/16/06 - "healthy people who reported exercising regularly had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of dementia"

Common painkillers linked to cancer risk - MSNBC, 1/16/06 - "women who used any NSAID — i.e., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or naproxen — in the preceding 5 years were 28 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than were nonusers. The risk reduction was strongest with aspirin — 37 percent"

Three-week Diet-Exercise Study Shows 50 Percent Reversal In Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes - Science Daily, 1/16/06 - "The study shows, contrary to common belief, that Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome can be reversed solely through lifestyle changes ... Participants did lose two to three pounds per week, but they were still obese after the 3-week study ... The daily diet was low fat (12-15% of calories), moderate protein (15-20% of calories), and high in unrefined carbohydrates (65-70% of calories) and fiber (more than 40 grams) ... Natural foods -- whole grains (five or more servings daily), vegetables (four or more servings), and fruits (three or more servings) -- were the main source of daily carbohydrates ... Aside from meat and dairy, the study participants could eat as much as they wanted"

Soy Phytoestrogens May Block Estrogen Effects - Science Daily, 1/16/06 - "the addition of high levels of dietary soy isoflavones tended to block estrogen effects in breast tissue. This finding suggests that postmenopausal women with higher levels of estrogen may derive the greatest benefit from soy"

Curry And Cauliflower Could Halt Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 1/15/06 - "The bottom line is that PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in laboratory mice, and the combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in treating established prostate cancers"

Caffeine Limits Blood Flow to Heart Muscle During Exercise - Doctor's Guide, 1/13/06 - "the blood flow measurements taken immediately after exercise were significantly lower after the participants had taken caffeine tablets ... Although caffeine is a stimulant, these results also indicate that coffee may not necessarily boost athletic performance"

Thiamin Deficiency Common in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 1/13/06 - "Among patients hospitalized with heart failure, about one in three has deficient levels of thiamin ... a relatively small dose of thiamin from a multi-vitamin was protective against developing thiamin deficiency"

Caloric Restriction Appears to Prevent Primary Aging in the Heart - Doctor's Guide, 1/12/06 - "This decline in diastolic function is a marker of primary aging ... Diastolic function declines in most people as they get older, but in this study we found that diastolic function in calorie-restricted people resembled diastolic function in individuals about 15 years younger ... Our hypothesis is that low-grade, chronic inflammation is mediating primary aging"

Wholegrains ease metabolic syndrome in older people - Nutra USA, 1/12/06 - "Volunteers in the highest wholegrain intake group (3 servings per day) were statistically half as likely to develop MetS as those who consumed less than half a serving per day"

Aggressive Blood Pressure Lowering: Is It the Only Approach? An Expert Interview With Matthew R Weir, MD - Medscape, 1/12/06 - "It is sometimes said that ARBs and ACE inhibitors don't lower BP quite as much as the other classes of antihypertensive drugs -- is that correct? ... within the full dosing range within the package insert, large population studies clearly show that they are all the same in their antihypertensive effects. When intermediate doses of individual drugs are chosen, often there is less BP reduction. Using the recommended doses in large populations, you will see very similar degrees of BP reduction whether you are using a thiazide-type diuretic, a beta-blocker, an ARB, an ACE inhibitor, an alpha-blocker, or a CCB" - Note:  I'm not a doctor but from what I've read and from my own experience, ARBs and ACE inhibitors are the way to go if you want to avoid side effects.  See the summary at the top of my hypertension page.

Key Sugar Sweetens Athletic Performance - HealthDay, 1/12/06 - "The women were tracked on how they performed on 2,000-meter rowing time trials over eight weeks ... The women who took the dextrose drink showed a median improvement of 15.2 seconds over eight weeks, compared to a median improvement of 5.2 seconds among the women who took the ribose drink" [WebMD] [Medscape] - See Dextrose products at iHerb.  By my calculations, 10 grams would be 3.125 teaspoons or about a tablespoon and would be 37.5 calories.  It's worth a try to see if it makes my jogging a swimming easier. - Ben

Tomato extract helps reduce blood pressure - Nutra USA, 1/12/06 - "a daily intake of the commercial encapsulated tomato extract Lyc-O-Mato, made by Israel-based LycoRed, was linked to a drop in systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of ten and four points after eight weeks of supplementation of a normal diet" - Se eJarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato) at iHerb.  Related article:

• Tomatoes May Help Fight High Blood Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 5/20/01 - "patients were treated with a placebo for four weeks and then tomato extract (Lyc-O-Mato, LycoRed Natural Products Industries, Ltd.), for eight weeks ... Results showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, from 144 mm Hg to 135 mm Hg, representing a mean 9 mm Hg reduction. Additionally, some favorable effects on diastolic blood pressure, blood lipids, lipoproteins, and oxidative stress markers were noted"

Carbohydrate-rich diets may improve insulin control - Nutra USA, 1/11/06 - "Although an increasing body of evidence would suggest merit in adopting high-carbohydrate, low-GI diets, the charge that high-GI diets result in insulin resistance is unproven on the basis of current experimental data"

One in Five Patients on Commonly Prescribed Diuretics Have Abnormal Sodium and Potassium Levels - Doctor's Guide, 1/11/06 - "In milder cases they can make people feel below par, cause general weakness and tiredness and sometimes interfere with the normal rhythm of the heart ... Severe loss of sodium can make it difficult for people to maintain their blood pressure at a normal level, causing dizziness, confusion and an increased risk of falls in older people"

How Carnosine Protects Against Age-Related Disease - Life Extension Magazine, 1/06 - "By preventing the formation of dangerous AGEs, carnosine may help the body’s proteins retain their youthful vigor and function. Moreover, studies demonstrate that carnosine is also a powerful antioxidant. Carnosine’s age-defying effects make this critical nutrient an essential cornerstone of every anti-aging program" - See iHerb or Vitacost carnosine products.

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

The impact of rosiglitazone on cardiovascular responses and endurance during isometric exercise in patients with Type 2 Diabetes - Med Sci Monit. 2005 Dec 19;12(1):CR21-26 - "Microcirculatory damage in diabetes impairs exercise performance and recovery and can be partially reversed after rosiglitazone administration"

Intake of Fish and n3 Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Japanese. The Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC) Study Cohort I - Circulation. 2006 Jan 9 - "Compared with a modest fish intake of once a week or approximately 20 g/d, a higher intake was associated with substantially reduced risk of coronary heart disease, primarily nonfatal cardiac events, among middle-aged persons" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb or Vitacost.

Catalytic amounts of fructose may improve glucose tolerance in subjects with uncontrolled non-insulin-dependent diabetes - Clin Nutr. 2006 Jan 3 - "were assigned to either fructose or maltodextrin supplementation (7.5g) tri-daily after each main meal ... After 1 month fructosamin levels decreased in the fructose-supplemented group but not in the maltodextrin-supplemented group (P<0.052). Hgb(A1C) levels decreased with time in both groups but were significantly lower at 2 months in the fructose group as compared to the maltodextrin group" - See Fructose products at iHerb.

Prescribed vitamin D and calcium preparations in patients treated with bone remodelling agents in primary care: a report of a pilot study - Curr Med Res Opin. 2006 Jan;22(1):131-7 - "Strategies should be adopted to increase physician awareness of widespread vitamin D inadequacy"

Prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in osteoporotic hip fracture patients in London - Curr Med Res Opin. 2005 Dec;21(12):1891-4 - "This study confirms almost universal vitamin D inadequacy among 103 patients admitted to hospital with hip fracture in London, although the prevalence of inadequacy is slightly lower than that seen in a similar study carried out in Glasgow"

Supplementation with mixed tocopherols increases serum and blood cell {gamma}-tocopherol but does not alter biomarkers of platelet activation in subjects with type 2 diabetes - Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jan;83(1):95-102 - "Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol decreased red blood cell gamma-tocopherol, whereas mixed tocopherols increased both serum alpha-tocopherol and serum and cellular gamma-tocopherol"

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