Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/15/06.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Prostate Cancer: No Antioxidant Help? - WebMD, 2/14/06 - "Vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene consumption didn't appear to affect prostate cancer risk, the study shows"

Study: Estrogen-Only Hormone Therapy Is Safe - ABC News, 2/13/06 - "Estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy probably won't help women's hearts, but it might not harm them, either"

New Study Suggests Artificial Sweetener Causes Cancer In Rats At Levels Currently Approved For Humans - Science Daily, 2/13/06 - "aspartame is a multipotential carcinogenic compound whose carcinogenic effects are also evident at a daily dose of 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg), notably less than the current acceptable daily intake for humans"

BP Reduction in the Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 2/13/06 - "Beta blockers are now widely regarded as having worse outcomes than other major classes of antihypertensive agents, though this view is heavily influenced by a single drug, atenolol.[29] Furthermore, the thiazide/beta blocker combination has been associated with an increased risk of the emergence of new-onset diabetes.[30] This has been strongly reinforced by the ASCOT trial, where the likelihood of new diabetes was 30% greater in the thiazide/beta blocker patients as compared to those taking calcium channel blockers with an ACE inhibitor.[31] Conversely, a very recent meta-analysis has shown that overall ACE inhibitors and ARBs reduce the risk of diabetes by about 25%"

More support for soy's protection against prostate cancer - Nutra USA, 2/13/06 - "High intake of food items rich in phytoestrogens was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. The odds ratio (OR) [the risk compared to a standard of 1.00] comparing the highest to the lowest quartile of intake was 0.74"

How to keep trans fats under control - MSNBC, 2/10/06 - "But the Daily Value for saturated fat is high for two reasons. It overestimates the amount needed by people who should have less than 1,800 calories per day because they are sedentary or overweight. It also overestimates how much the average person with high blood cholesterol should have. Their saturated fat should be below seven percent of their calorie total"

Whole grains good for the diabetic heart - Reuters, 2/10/06 - "women who reported eating more whole grains, bran, and cereal fiber tended to have lower levels of two markers of blood vessel inflammation that have been linked to heart disease -- CRP and TNF-R2"

Red Wine Ingredient May Delay Aging - WebMD, 2/10/06 - "Researchers found adding resveratrol, an organic compound found in grapes and particularly in red wine, to the daily diet of short-lived fish prolonged their lifespan and delayed the onset of age-related memory and other problems" - See iHerb resveratrol products.

Does Growth Hormone Cause Cancer? - Medscape, 2/9/06 - "Finally, even if GH/IGF-1 therapy does result in a small increase in cancer risk compared with untreated patients with GH deficiency, it is likely that the eventual risk will be the same as the general population"

Magnesium Prevents Osteoporosis - Healthwell, 2/9/06 - "a higher magnesium intake was associated with greater whole-body bone mineral density, after adjusting for calcium and vitamin D intake, level of exercise, use of estrogen medication, and other factors known to be related to bone health"

Vitamin D Inhibits Progression Of Some Prostate Cancers - Science Daily, 2/8/06 - "vitamin D significantly limits the ability of prostate cancer cells to invade healthy cells by reducing the activity of two enzymes -- proteases called matrix metalloproteinase and cathepsin" [WebMD] - See iHerb vitamin D products.

Study Questions Use of Popular Prostate Treatment - ABC News, 2/8/06 - "At the end of one year, the men taking saw palmetto showed no significant improvement in their symptoms ... It's possible that other preparations of saw palmetto might be effective, even though the one used in this study was not"

Nearly Half Of People Who Need Cholesterol Treatment Don't Get It - Science Daily, 2/8/06 - "Even though treatment for cholesterol disorders can reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease by about 30 percent over five years, many at-risk people aren't getting adequate treatment"

Study: 20% Of Women 16-49 Have High Mercury Levels - cbs2chicago.com, 2/8/06 - "Twenty percent of women ages 16 to 49 have mercury levels that exceed the EPA's recommended limit ... the greatest single factor influencing mercury exposure was the frequency of fish consumption"

Large Study Shows Low-Fat Diet Has Little Effect on Reducing Risk of Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, or Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 2/8/06 - "Among postmenopausal women, a low-fat dietary pattern did not result in a statistically significant reduction in invasive breast cancer risk over an 8.1 year average follow-up period. However, the nonsignificant trends observed suggesting reduced risk associated with a low-fat dietary pattern indicate that longer, planned, nonintervention follow-up may yield a more definitive comparison"

Dietary Factors May Affect Risk for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - Medscape, 2/7/06 - "Citrus fruit, but not total fruit, consumption was associated with a significantly reduced risk for BPH"

Rhodiola - The Cellular Energy-Boosting Herb - Life Extension Magazine, 2/06 - "With its ability to increase mental energy and physical endurance, rhodiola has tremendous potential to counteract many negative effects of the aging process. Studies show that rhodiola can favorably support the body’s stress reaction, both mentally and physically. In research trials, rhodiola has been shown to boost brain function and have anti-cancer effects" - See iHerb rhodiola products.

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

Depression and long chain n-3 fatty acids in adipose tissue in adults from Crete - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb 8 - "The inverse relationship between adipose DHA and depression in adults, replicates findings of a previous study. This relationship indicates that a low long-term dietary intake of DHA is associated with an increased risk for depression in adults" - See iHerb DHA products.  My favorite is Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Benefits of Niacin in Patients With Versus Without the Metabolic Syndrome and Healed Myocardial Infarction (from the Coronary Drug Project) - Am J Cardiol. 2006 Feb 15;97(4):477-9 - "Niacin decreased the occurrence of 6-year MI and 15-year total mortality similarly among patients with or without the MS. For example, in the total population, 15-year total mortality rates were 60% and 64% (hazard ratio 0.86) in patients with the MS treated with niacin and placebo, respectively, and 50% and 57% (hazard ratio 0.86) in those without the MS ... these results support the use of niacin in postinfarction patients with and without the MS"

Cortisol correlates with metabolic disturbances in a population study of type 2 diabetic patients - Eur J Endocrinol. 2006 Feb;154(2):325-31 - "The degree of severity of several clinical measures of type 2 diabetes correlates with cortisol concentrations. Moreover, the results provide evidence for a positive relationship between metabolic disturbances and cortisol concentrations that are within the accepted normal range"