Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 3/21/07.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Grasping at strands for baldness remedies - USA Today, 3/18/07 - "So where does the laser comb fit in? Leavitt points to the six-month study reviewed by the FDA that shows men who used the comb grew an average of 19 more "terminal" (thick, rather than thin) hairs per square centimeter than those who used sham devices. That's a "medically significant" amount, he says, though the average healthy scalp has 160 to 260 hairs per square centimeter" - See the HairMax at drugstore.com or Amazon.com.

Dietary Soy May Improve Features of Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women - Medscape, 3/19/07 - "Fasting plasma glucose level decreased more on soy-nut diet vs soy-protein diet (-5.3%; P < .01) vs control ... LDL cholesterol level decreased more on soy-nut diet vs soy-protein diet (-5.0%; P < .01) vs control (-9.5%"

Inflammation May Play Role In Metastasis Of Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 3/18/07 - "inflammation associated with the progression of tumors actually plays a key role in the metastasis of prostate cancer"

Grape and Berry Juices: Elixers for Long Life? - ABC News, 3/17/07 - "purple grape juice is now your best bet for preventing heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and a host of other chronic ailments ... volunteers who drank three or more glasses of juice a week could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by 76 percent, compared with those who drank juice less than once a week"

Most New Drugs Tapped From Nature - WebMD, 3/16/07 - "Thirty percent of the new drugs were totally synthetic in origin. The other 70% were derived from or similar to chemicals found in nature"

Blood Pressure Drug Shrinks Lung Cancer Tumors In Mice - Science Daily, 3/15/07 - "The study may explain the molecular mechanism for a decreased risk of lung cancers in patients with high blood pressure taking ACE inhibitors"

Soy Found Protective Against Localized Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 3/15/07 - "intake of genistein, daidzein, miso soup and soy food had no overall link to diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, they calculated that the risk of developing localized prostate cancer was 50 percent lower in men who ate the most isoflavones compared to men who ate the least meaning that men in the top category ate between two and three times as much isoflavone-rich food"

Apple Consumers Reap Heart-health Benefits Thanks To Flavonoid Content - Science Daily, 3/15/07 - "flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women"

High-Fiber Diets, Fiber Supplements Reduce CRP Levels - Medscape, 3/14/07 - "The participants were then randomized to either the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), high-fiber diet (mean intake, nearly 28 g of fiber per day), or to a fiber supplement (psyllium) on top of their regular diet (mean intake, totaling 27 g/day). After 3 weeks on one diet, participants crossed over to the other fiber diet ... Overall, the mean CRP level changed from 4.4 to 3.8 mg/L (-13.7%; P = .046) in the high-fiber DASH diet group and to 3.6 mg/L (-18.1%) in the fiber-supplemented diet group (P = .02)"

Beta-Carotene Pills May Not Help Aging Eyes - WebMD, 3/14/07 -  "The difference between the two groups was so small that it could have been due to chance" - Note:  Beta-carotene is just one of over 600 carotenoids and many believe that taking mega-doses of just one carotenoid can cause a deficiency of the others.  I get my carotenoids from food, dunaliella salina algae (Body Wise), Jarrow Lyco-Sorb (contains Lyco-O-Mato), Biolut™ Marigold extract and Nature's Way, Multi-Carotene Anti-oxidant.

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

Coffee consumption and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus - Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2007;86(2):161-6 - "Women who reported moderate pre-pregnancy caffeinated coffee intake had a significantly reduced risk of GDM (adjusted RR 0.50; 95% CI 0.29-0.85) compared with non-consumers. No risk reduction was associated with decaffeinated coffee intake"

Effects of telmisartan on fat distribution in individuals with the metabolic syndrome - J Hypertens. 2007 Apr;25(4):841-8 - "Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were decreased in both groups to a comparable level. However, insulin and glucose levels during an oral 75 g glucose loading were decreased only in the telmisartan group. The visceral fat area, determined by abdominal computed tomography scan, was reduced in the telmisartan group after 24 weeks' treatment, but the subcutaneous fat area did not change in either group" - Note:  Telmisartan is an ARB.  Click here for why I feel that telmisartan (an ARB should be the first line treatment for hypertension if alternative measures are insufficient.

Effect of losartan, compared with atenolol, on endothelial function and oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension - J Hypertens. 2007 Apr;25(4):785-791 - "losartan significantly improved endothelial function in type 2 diabetes patients with hypertension compared with atenolol. This must be independent of the blood pressure-lowering effect of losartan and is probably caused by an antioxidative effect of the angiotensin receptor blocker" - Note:  Losartan is an ARB and atenolol is a beta-blocker.

Effect of a High-Fiber Diet vs a Fiber-Supplemented Diet on C-Reactive Protein Level - Arch Intern Med. 2007 Mar 12;167(5):502-6 - "Overall, the mean C-reactive protein (CRP) level changed from 4.4 to 3.8 mg/L (-13.7%; P = .046) in the high-fiber DASH diet group and to 3.6 mg/L (-18.1%) in the fiber-supplemented diet group ... fiber intake of about 30 g/d) from a diet naturally rich in fiber or from a supplement can reduce levels of CRP"

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