Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 8/1/07.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Office printers 'are health risk' - BBC News, 7/31/07 - "Almost one-third were found to emit ultra-tiny particles of toner-like material, so small that they can infiltrate the lungs and cause a range of health problems from respiratory irritation to more chronic illnesses"

Prostate Cancer Prediction Not Skewed by Finasteride - Medscape, 7/30/07 - "with the exception of the approximate reduction of PSA by half with finasteride, the impact of these risk factors is similar to men who do not receive finasteride"

Air Pollution Linked To Early Death - Science Daily, 7/31/07 - "The risk of an early death from respiratory disease rose by almost 4% for every 10 ug/m3 increase in black smoke, and by 13% for every 10 parts per billion increase in sulphur dioxide during 1982-98 ... n 1994-8, the comparable figures were more than 19% and almost 22%, respectively"

Sunshine 'protective' against MS - BBC News, 7/28/07 - "An earlier study found women who took vitamin D supplements were 40% less likely to develop MS ... Depending on the activity, the twin who spent more hours outdoors had up to a 57% reduced risk of developing MS"

Erectile Dysfunction Linked To Smoking - Science Daily, 7/27/07 - "An estimated 22.7 percent of erectile dysfunction cases among Chinese men might be attributable to cigarette smoking"

Study: Marijuana may increase psychosis risk - USA Today, 7/26/07 - "even infrequent use could raise the small but real risk of this serious mental illness by 40% ... The scientists found a more disturbing outlook for "heavy users" of pot, those who used it daily or weekly: Their risk for psychosis jumped to a range of 50% to 200%"

More Fish Oil, Less Vegetable Oil, Better For Your Health - Science Daily, 7/26/07 - "using more fish oil than vegetable oil in the diet decreases the formation of chemicals called prostanoids, which, when produced in excess, increase inflammation in various tissues and organs"

Statins May Cut Colon Cancer Recurrence - Medscape, 7/26/07 - "Just 6 of 89 patients (6.7%) treated with any statin relapsed, as opposed to 43 of 269 (16%) patients with no statin use"

Air Pollution Linked To Clogged Arteries - Science Daily, 7/26/07 - "the diesel particles and oxidized fats had worked in tandem to activate the genes that promote cellular inflammation -- a major risk factor for atherosclerosis"

Older Is Better: Top Ten Comparison Of Diabetes Drugs Give Metformin Top Grade - Science Daily, 7/25/07 - "Metformin was found to lower LDL or bad cholesterol by about 10 milligrams per deciliter of blood, while newer medications studied, such as pioglitazone (Actos) and rosiglitazone (Avandia), or so-called thiazolidinediones, were found to have the opposite effect, increasing levels of the artery-clogging fat by the same amount" - See metformin at OffshoreRx1.com.  I'm not sure that is correct with pioglitazone.  See:

• Pioglitazone Has Cholesterol Advantages Versus Rosiglitazone in Elderly Diabetics - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/06 - "patients receiving pioglitazone showed improvements from baseline compared with rosiglitazone in TG, HDL-C, as well as LCL-C particle concentration and size ... Although both agents increased HDL-C, the increase achieved with pioglitazone was significantly greater"
• PROactive: Pioglitazone Reduces Recurrent Stroke in Patients with Diabetes - Medscape, 9/4/06 - "the risk of recurrent stroke was reduced among patients with a history of stroke for those treated with pioglitazone relative to those not treated, from 10% to about 5% in treated patients, a significant reduction ... Biochemical and diabetic changes from baseline showed a greater reduction in HbA1c, systolic and diastolic BP, and triglycerides, even more of an increase in HDL cholesterol and more of a decrease in the LDL/HDL ratio with pioglitazone treatment"

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Elevated Blood Pressure - Medscape, 7/24/07 - "Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures in subjects in the highest 25OHD quintile (85.7 mmol/L or greater) were 3.0 mm Hg and 1.6 mm Hg lower, respectively, compared with patients in the lowest 25OHD quintile"

Broccoli May Help Cut Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 7/24/07 - "Men who reported eating cauliflower more than once per week were 52% less likely to be diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer than men who reported eating cauliflower less than once a month ... Men who reported eating broccoli more than once per week were 45% less likely to be diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer than men who reported eating broccoli less than once a month" - See indole-3-carbinol at Amazon.com.

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds:

Genistein induces the metastasis suppressor kangai-1 which mediates its anti-invasive effects in TRAMP cancer cells - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Jul 16 - "This work provides the first evidence that genistein treatment may counteract KAI1 downregulation, which is observed in many cancer types and therefore, could be used in anti-metastatic therapies"

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate as therapeutic agents for knee and hip osteoarthritis - Drugs Aging. 2007;24(7):573-80 - "glucosamine sulfate (but not glucosamine hydrochloride) and chondroitin sulfate have small-to-moderate symptomatic efficacy in OA ... glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate may interfere with progression of OA"

Sun exposure, vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma - Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Jul 25 - "Our results suggest that the inverse association between UV exposure and NHL risk may be mediated by the vitamin D pathway"

Serum testosterone level and related metabolic factors in men over 70 years old - J Endocrinol Invest. 2007 Jun;30(6):451-8 - "total testosterone is lower in elderly men with metabolic syndrome"

Plasma carotenoid levels and cognitive performance in an elderly population: results of the EVA Study - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Mar;62(3):308-16 - "participants with the lowest cognitive functioning (<25th percentile) had a higher probability of having low levels of specific plasma carotenoids (<1st quartile): lycopene and zeaxanthin. For zeaxanthin, odds ratios (ORs) were as follows: OR(DSS) = 1.97 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.21-3.20), OR(FTT) = 1.70 (CI = 1.05-2.74), and OR(WFT) = 1.82 (CI = 1.08-3.07); for lycopene, OR(DSS) = 1.93 (CI = 1.20-3.12) and OR(TMTB) = 1.64"

Thiazolidinedione increases serum soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products in type 2 diabetes - Diabetologia. 2007 Jul 18 - "At 6 months, both rosiglitazone and sulfonylurea resulted in a significant reduction in HbA(1c), fasting glucose and AGE"

The effect of thiazolidinediones on adiponectin serum level: a meta-analysis - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 Jul 21 - "The results clearly reveal an increase of endogenous serum adiponectin levels by intake of TZDs and may point to a potential new option to manage obesity-related diseases"

Health Focus (insulin and aging):

1. Note:  I take pioglitazone and metformin to keep my blood sugar on the low side.  See pioglitazone and metformin at OffshoreRx1.com.  I switched from rosiglitazone to pioglitazone because of rosiglitazone's connection with cancer and heart disease.
2. Insulin Plays Central Role In Aging, Brown Scientists Discover - Science Daily, 6/4/04 - "insulin regulates its own production and that it directly regulates tissue aging. The principle: Keep insulin levels low and cells are stronger, staving off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke" - [Abstract] Related articles:
   1. Riverside Professor Receives First Age-Reversal Prize - Science Daily, 1/7/05 - "According to Spindler's research, the fewer calories an animal consumes - provided malnutrition is avoided - the slower an animal ages and the lower the death rate from cancer, heart disease and diabetes" - Some theorize that calorie restriction slows aging because it keeps insulin level low (there are other ways that may keep insulin low such as PGX, chromium, Glucophage (metformin), Actos (pioglitazone), Avandia (rosiglitazone), etc).  See:
      1. Key to a long life -- less insulin in the brain - Reuters, 7/19/07 - "people who live to be 100 or more often have reduced insulin levels and their cells show better insulin sensitivity ... New diabetes drugs that increase insulin sensitivity may help"
      2. Insulin and Aging - Brown University - "Keep insulin levels low and cells are stronger, staving off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke"
      3. Resisting Insulin - USC Health Magazine Cover Story, Fall '06 - "Insulin, according to a slew of new studies, may play a role in everything from cancer to hypertension to cardiovascular disease"
      4. Growth hormone, insulin may be key to longevity - WorldHealth.net, 5/24/06 - "it is reasonable to suggest that treatment(s) causing an improvement in insulin sensitivity combined with modest reduction in insulin release would reduce risk of age-related disease and likely also delay aging"
      5. Insulin plays central role in aging, explains benefits of calorie reduction - Nutra USA, 6/3/04 - "if insulin levels remain low, cells are stronger and can ward off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke"
      6. Insulin and Aging - drlam.com - "there are 3 consistent blood metabolic indicators of all centenarians that are relatively consistent: low sugar, low triglyceride, and low insulin. All three are relatively low for age. Among these three variables, insulin is the common denominator. The level of insulin sensitivity of the cell is one of the most important markers of lifespan"
      7. Does Insulin Regulate the Variability in Life Span? - ezinearticles.com - "But they still have something in common: a low sugar level in their blood, relatively for their age"
      8. Fish Oil and Carb Restriction on the Anti-Aging Front A review of The Anti-Aging Zone - Life Extension Magazine, 3/00 - "individuals with low blood sugar and low insulin have been found to be healthiest and to live the longest ... Insulin is a potent accelerator of aging for many reasons ... That's why Sears calls elevated insulin "your worst aging nightmare"
      9. Calorie Restriction without Hunger! - Life Extension Magazine, 7/06 - "excess insulin functions as a death hormone that devastates virtually every cell and organ system in the body"
      10. An intervention resembling caloric restriction prolongs life span and retards aging in yeast - FASEB J. 2000 Nov;14(14):2135-7 - "this study raises the possibility that reduced glucose alters aging at the cellular level in mammals"
      11. Insulin and aging How you can help your patients - Chiropractic Economics - "Bottom line: A major focus of any anti-aging program is to keep insulin levels in a low normal range"
      12. Popular Anti-Aging Techniques: Find Out Which Ones Work and Which Ones Don't - Mercola.com, 5/19/04 - "I suspect the majority of the benefits from calorie restriction are related to its influence on insulin, as reducing calories also reduces insulin, the major accelerant of aging"
      13. New Clue Into How Diet And Exercise Enhance Longevity - Science Daily, 7/19/07 - "Diet, exercise and lower weight keep your peripheral tissues sensitive to insulin. That reduces the amount and duration of insulin secretion needed to keep your glucose under control when you eat. Therefore, the brain is exposed to less insulin. Since insulin turns on Irs2 in the brain, that means lower Irs2 activity, which we've linked to longer lifespan in the mouse"
3. Metabolic Syndrome: Don't Blame The Belly Fat - Science Daily, 7/19/07 - "insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to alterations in energy storage that set the stage for the metabolic syndrome"
4. High Blood Sugar Raises Cancer Risk - WebMD, 1/11/05 - "the men in the study with the highest fasting blood sugar levels (those greater than 140 mg/dl) were 29% more likely to die of cancer than men with the lowest levels (those less than 90 mg/dl). The difference among women with the highest and lowest blood sugar levels was 23%"
5. Diabetes May Raise Cancer Risk - WebMD, 9/25/06 - "Total cancer risk was found to be 27% higher for men with diabetes than for men without the disease ... It has been suggested that excess insulin in people with type 2 diabetes may promote the growth of pancreatic and liver cancers ... Preventing diabetes can certainly lower your cardiovascular risk, and it appears that the same is true for certain cancers"
6. High Bread Consumption Linked To Higher Risk Of Most Common Kidney Cancer - Science Daily, 10/20/06 - "The association between elevated cereal intake (bread, pasta and rice) "may be due to the high glycemic index of these foods"
7. Insulin Sensitivity, Insulin Secretion, and Abdominal Fat - Medscape, 10/23/03 - "Insulin resistance is associated with overall obesity and particularly abdominal obesity ... In normal individuals, as insulin sensitivity declines, the ß-cells of the pancreas compensate by secreting more insulin"
8. The impact of antidiabetic therapies on cardiovascular disease - Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2005 Feb;7(1):50-7 - "hyperinsulinemia is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease"
9. Prediabetes May Raise Heart Deaths - WebMD, 6/18/07 - "Adults with prediabetes may be more than twice as likely to die of heart disease as people without blood sugar (glucose) problems"
10. Insulin resistance is associated with arterial stiffness independent of obesity in male adolescents - Hypertens Res. 2007 Jan;30(1):5-11 - "insulin resistance (IR) ... IR is a risk factor for the development of early atherosclerosis. Interventions that decrease IR in addition to weight reduction may be necessary to alter the early development of cardiovascular risk"
11. Insulin Resistance May Be an Important Factor in Nondipper Essential Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 12/5/03 - "This may suggest that insulin resistance plays an important role in the aetiology of nondipper essential hypertension"
12. High-normal fasting blood glucose in non-diabetic range is associated with increased coronary artery calcium burden in asymptomatic men - Atherosclerosis. 2007 Jun 30 - "coronary artery calcium (CAC) ... The prevalence of CAC was significantly higher among men with high-normal FBG (4th quartile: 94-125mg/dl) versus normal FBG group (lower three quartiles: 66-93mg/dl) (62% versus 35%, p<0.0001). In age adjusted analyses the odds ratio (OR) for any CAC among men with high-normal FBG versus normal FBG was 2.19"
13. Insulin Resistance May Be a Common Cause of Treatment-Resistant Hypertension - Doctor's Guide, 8/7/03 - "They suggest that hyperinsulinaemia may increase blood pressure by several mechanisms, including stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, increasing renal sodium re-absorption, activating the Na+/H+ countertransport, and enhancing vessel wall cell proliferation and reactivity"
14. Research: Refined Grains Expand Girths - Intelihealth, 6/21/04 - "three years they were tracked ... At the end, the white bread group had three times the fiber group's gain at the gut ... abdominal fat cells may be more sensitive to insulin's effects than other fat cells in the body"
15. Redefining Impaired Fasting Glucose - Physician's Weekly, 11/24/03 - "the cut point for IFG should be reduced to 100 mg/dl from the current 110 mg/dl"
16. What You Don’t Know About Blood Sugar - Life Extension Magazine, 1/04 - "it now appears that optimal fasting blood glucose levels should probably be under 86 mg/dL ... Chromium supplements have been shown to reduce blood glucose significantly.70-74 The dose used in human studies ranges from 200 to 1000 mcg of elemental chromium a day, with best results occurring when 400 mcg or more of chromium is taken daily ... Nondiabetics using metformin may start off at 500 mg a day and gradually build up to 1000-1500 mg a day. The objective is not to take so much metformin as to induce a hypoglycemic state" - See iHerb or Vitacost chromium products.
17. Metformin: The Most Effective Life Extension Drug is Also a Safe, Effective Weight Loss Drug - IAS Bulletin - "Metformin is also one of the most promising anti-aging, life extending drugs available"
18. Supplemental Chromium Picolinate and Biotin Appear to Decrease Blood Glucose and Lipid Levels in Type 2 Diabetics: Presented at ADA - Doctor's Guide, 6/17/05 - "Our most important finding is that chromium picolinate and biotin help to decrease hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] values in poorly controlled diabetics ... 600 mcg chromium picolinate and biotin 2 mg/per day" - See Biotin products at iHerb and Chromium products at iHerb.
    1. Supplement May Lower Diabetes Heart Risks - WebMD, 5/10/04 - "Diachrome contains chromium, in the form of chromium picolinate, and biotin, which is thought to improve insulin's action to improve blood sugars ... After 30 days ... Average fasting blood glucose dropped by 26.2 mg/dL"
    2. Can a Mix of Chromium and Biotin Help Diabetics Control Blood Sugar? - WebMD, 10/15/01 - "when chromium and biotin are present together, they have more of a response than what would be expected by adding their effects separately. "As soon as you put those two together, you get a much greater increase in glucose metabolism,""
    3. Research Affirms the Benefits of Combination of Chromium Picolinate and Biotin for Improving Blood Sugar in People with Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 12/20/06 - "The 30-day study examined 36 overweight or obese poorly controlled patients with type 2 diabetes taking Diachrome who were already receiving oral anti-diabetic drug(s). The results also showed a significantly greater reduction in the total area under the curve for glucose (AUCg) during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for the treatment group (mean change -9.7%) compared with the placebo group (mean change +5.1%)"
    4. Treating Hair Loss Naturally - WebMD - "Daly says he routinely recommends up to 3 mg of biotin daily for his hair loss patients, while Lessman developed a healthy hair, skin, and nails product containing 2 mg of biotin per daily dosage, which he believes is the minimum for healthy hair"
19. Effect of L-carnitine on plasma glycemic and lipidemic profile in patients with type II diabetes mellitus - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Mar 02 - "fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ... FPG in the L-carnitine group decreased significantly from 143+/-35 to 130+/-33 mg/dl (P=0.03) ... after 12 weeks of treatment" - See l-carnitine at Amazon.com.
20. Metabolic Markers May Help Identify Insulin Resistance in Overweight Individuals - Doctor's Guide, 11/24/03 - "the optimal cut-off values for identifying insulin resistance were 1.47 mmol/L for triglycerides, 1.8 in SI units for triglyceride-HDL ratio, and 109 pmol/L for insulin"
21. Low-glycemic-index plan is better than low-fat or low-carb diets, study says - HealthDay, 8/26/04 - "After two to four months, the researchers found that the rats given the high-glycemic-index diet had 71 percent more body fat and 8 percent less lean muscle mass, compared with rats on the low-glycemic-index diet ... the high-glycemic-index group had significantly higher blood sugar and insulin levels and higher triglyceride levels"
22. Death Risk Rises With Blood Sugar - WebMD, 9/20/04 - "As your blood sugar level goes up, so does your risk of death and heart disease - even if you don't have diabetes ... every 1% increase in HbA1c ups the risk of death -- from all causes -- by 24% for men and 28% for women ... These are important studies because they show we should be concerned about blood glucose elevations even in people who do not have diabetes"
23. Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acids Have Positive Effect On Muscle Mass, Study Shows - Science Daily, 5/9/07 - "In mammals, the ability to use nutrients from food and convert them into muscle proteins decreases with age. Though the exact cause of this phenomenon is still unclear, insulin resistance of aging muscle cells has been suggested as a possible answer ... omega-3 fatty acids are known to improve glucose metabolism in people and animals showing insulin resistance ... After five weeks, animals with the marine omega-3 diet showed increased sensitivity to insulin which, in turn, improved protein metabolism" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
24. Prediabetes May Raise Risk for Alzheimer's - Intelihealth, 7/17/06 - "people who had prediabetes at the beginning of the study had a 70% increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's ... doctors tend to ignore the slightly high sugar levels until the levels reach the stage of full-blown diabetes"
25. High Blood Sugar Linked To Lost Memory - Intelihealth, 2/4/03 - "middle-aged and elderly people with high blood sugar actually had a smaller hippocampus"
26. High Insulin Levels Impair Intestinal Metabolic Function - Science Daily, 4/24/07 - "excessive insulin appears to slow the removal of chylomicrons from the blood stream following a fatty meal. Chylomicrons transport dietary fat from the intestine to the rest of the body ... excessive insulin appears to alter the mechanics of blood vessel walls, allowing chylomicrons and cholesterol to build up in them, which, over time, creates blockages in the blood stream, leading to heart problems"
27. Chronically High Blood Sugar Linked To Risk Of Cognitive Impairment - Science Daily, 8/9/06 - "Women with a glycosylated hemoglobin of seven percent or higher at baseline were four times more likely to develop MCI or dementia than women who tested at less than seven percent"
28. Hydroxycitric Acid Slows Glucose Uptake, Cuts Insulin Peaks/Valleys A La South Beach Diet - Science Daily, 5/23/05 - "sugar that is normally absorbed rather quickly -- within about 20 minutes -- took over 2 hours after HCA ingestion. This delay is good because it reduces the high peaks of glucose, which otherwise would require the body to produce a lot of insulin to deal with the 'meal.' ... we don't know how this will translate into humans ... Fast sugar is worse for you; slower is better" - See HCA products at iHerb.
29. Supplementation With Chromium Picolinate Improves Glycemic Control, Attenuates Weight Gain - Doctor's Guide, 8/9/06 - "Blood sugar levels of study participants taking chromium picolinate in combination with the antidiabetic medication dropped significantly compared to the group taking the medication plus placebo ... Study participants taking chromium picolinate also experienced significantly lower abdominal body fat accumulation than the group taking medication and placebo, and experienced less overall weight gain" - See iHerb or Vitacost chromium products.
30. Solving Syndrome X - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 7/21/04 - "PGX lowers after meal blood sugar levels by approximately 20 to 40% and also lowers insulin secretion by approximately 40% producing a whole body insulin sensitivity index improvement of nearly 60%"  - See iHerb or Vitacost PGX products.
31. Novel Fiber Limits Sugar Absorption - Life Extension Magazine, 9/04 - "With the introduction of a new highly viscous fiber blend trademarked under the name PGX™, it may now be possible to achieve the multiple documented benefits of fiber by swallowing only a few capsules before each meal. The longevity potential associated with reducing after-meal glucose and insulin blood levels, lowering total cholesterol and LDL, and losing some weight is enormous"
32. Cross-link Breakers and Inhibitors - International Anti-Aging Systems - "metformin has a dual effect. It lowers blood glucose, (a well-known and established activity) plus, as new research is revealing, it is an effective inhibitor of cross-linking" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.
33. Effects of metformin on the body composition in subjects with risk factors for type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Obes Metab. 2005 Mar;7(2):189-92 - "In the metformin group, there was a decrease in fat weight from 25.9 +/- 9.4 to 20.8 +/- 9.2 kg, p < 0.01, an increase in lean weight from 57.05 +/- 13.6 to 61.9 +/- 16.5 kg, p < 0.01, an increase in basal metabolism from 1735 +/- 413 to 1878 +/- 505 calories/day, p < 0.05 and an increase in body water" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.  Note:  That's a 19.7% decrease in fat (25.9-20.8)/25.9 = 19.7%, a 8.5% increase in lean weight (61.9-57.05)/57.05 = 8.5% and a 8.2% increase in basal metabolism (1878-1735)/1735 = 8.2%. - Ben
34. Adherence to Preventive Medications: Predictors and outcomes in the Diabetes Prevention Program - Diabetes Care. 2006 Sep;29(9):1997-2002 - "There was a 38.2% risk reduction for developing diabetes for those adherent to metformin compared with those adherent to placebo" - See metformin at OffshoreRx1.comor International Anti-aging Systems (Glucophage).
35. Insulin resistance and endothelial function are improved after folate and vitamin B12 therapy in patients with metabolic syndrome: relationship between homocysteine levels and hyperinsulinemia -  Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Oct;151(4):483-9 - "diet plus folic acid (5 mg/day) plus vitamin B12 (500 mg/day) ... A significant decrement was observed for insulin levels (19.9+/-1.7 vs 14.8+/-1.6 mU/ml"
36. Extra Weight May Age You Faster - WebMD, 5/25/05 - "inflammation burns out white blood cells faster, and the effort of replacing them wears down the telomeres ... Insulin resistance and obesity are also associated with free radical damage"
37. Insulin Resistance in Teens Raises High Blood Pressure Risk as Adults - Doctor's Guide, 11/11/04 - "What we're showing is that insulin resistance has an effect on systolic blood pressure that is independent of fatness and obesity"
38. Impaired Fasting Glucose Screening Could Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Presented at ADA - Doctor's Guide, 6/14/06 - "people with impaired fasting glucose have higher rates of cardiovascular disease risk factors than people with normal fasting glucose ... They defined impaired fasting glucose (IFG) as fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125 mg/dL"
39. Exercise in Itself Improves Blood Glucose Control in Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 7/24/06 - "exercise helps regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels, increases the body's sensitivity to insulin, and decreases blood lipids (fats) while also helping to burn body fat ... Participants who exercised had an overall decrease of 0.6% of A1c levels. While that may not sound like much, it represents a 30% improvement towards the goal of attaining an A1c of 7%, and a 20% improvement towards a normal A1c of 6%"
40. High-Sugar Foods May Affect Eyesight - WebMD, 7/13/07 - "People with the diets highest on the glycemic index were the most likely to have advanced AMD in at least one eye"
41. Exercise Lowers Insulin In Breast Cancer Survivors - Science Daily, 6/4/07 - "Studies have found an association between relatively high levels of insulin -- often seen in obese and sedentary people -- and an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence and breast cancer-related death"
42. New Trial Shows Chromium Picolinate Reduces Weight Gain Associated with Diabetes Medication - Doctor's Guide, 6/16/05 - "The study participants who took 1,000 mcg of Chromax(R) chromium picolinate in combination with the antidiabetic medication experienced significantly lower body fat accumulation (0.12%) than the group taking medication and placebo (1.1%), particularly in the abdomen area ... chromium picolinate taken in combination with antidiabetic medication significantly improved both insulin sensitivity ... " - See iHerb or Vitacost chromium products.
43. Some blood pressure medications may help to decrease insulin resistance.  See the First Line Treatment for Hypertension for why I feel that telmisartan may be the best choice for hypertension:
    1. Metabolic Effect of Telmisartan [Micardis] and Losartan [Cozaar] in Hypertensive Patients with Metabolic Syndrome - Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2005 May 15;4(1):6 - "Telmisartan, but not losartan, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced free plasma glucose, free plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and HbAic. Following treatment, plasma glucose and insulin were reduced during the oral glucose tolerance test by telmisartan, but not by losartan. Telmisartan also significantly reduced 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) compared with losartan" - Note: Both telmisartan and losartan are ARBs.  See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.
    2. Valsartan Reduces Chance of Diabetes in High-Risk Hypertensive Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/19/05 - "patients taking valsartan had a 23% lower risk of developing diabetes during the four or more years of the study. The two drugs had previously been shown to be roughly equivalent in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke" - See valsartan at OffshoreRx1.com.
44. Pioglitazone Lowers Blood Pressure in Patients With Diabetes - Medscape, 5/20/05 - "an average change of 2mm Hg will alter the incidence of cardiovascular disease by 17% and ischaemic heart disease by 10% ... Improving insulin sensitivity is associated with a decrease in blood pressure"
45. Sugar intake may hurt liver - Scientific America, 11/1/06 - "fatty liver disease was more common in the group given sugar water, especially when exposed to a type of sugar called fructose ... These data support the hypothesis that high fructose consumption may not only (damage) the liver through over-feeding, but may be directly" toxic"
    1. Diabetes Drug May Treat Fatty Liver - WebMD, 11/30/06 - "during the study, the Actos patients cut their liver fat by 54%; the placebo group had no change in liver fat ... Actos patients also showed a bigger drop in liver inflammation and a greater improvement in insulin response than the placebo group"
    2. Obesity and Fatty Liver disease - MedicineNet.com - "Doctors also are using medications to treat non alcoholic fatty liver disease. For example, insulin-sensitizing agents, such as the thiazolidinediones, pioglitazone (Actos) and rosiglitazone (Avandia), and metformin (Glucophage) not only help to control blood glucose in patients with diabetes, but they also improve enzyme levels in patients with non alcoholic fatty liver disease" - See pioglitazone or rosiglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com, XlPharmacy or International Anti-aging Systems.
    3. Avandia Positively Impacts On Factors Linked With Insulin Resistance - Doctor's Guide, 9/18/00 - "Increased deposits of fat around the internal organs and in the liver are commonly associated with insulin resistance and are found in many type 2 diabetes patients ... Avandia helps prevent accumulation of fat around the internal organs and significantly reduces hepatic fat"
46. Low glycemic diet may help stay slim - MSNBC, 10/27/06 - "normal-weight women who ate a diet with a relatively high glycemic index gained more weight, more fat, and more padding around the middle over a six-year period than women who ate a low glycemic index diet"
47. Insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction: the road map to cardiovascular diseases - Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2006 Nov-Dec;22(6):423-36 - "Much evidence supports the presence of insulin resistance as the fundamental pathophysiologic disturbance responsible for the cluster of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, known collectively as the metabolic syndrome"
48. Lowering Resistance To Insulin May Delay Or Prevent Onset Of Type 2 Diabetes - Science Daily, 6/12/05 - "Type 2 diabetes may be significantly delayed or prevented through medication that takes the load off of the body's delicate insulin-producing cells ... our initial findings for diabetes prevention with troglitazone apply not only to this class of drugs-thiazolidinediones-but to the general mechanisms of reducing stress on beta cells by treating insulin resistance" - Note:  Actos and Avandia are in the thiazolidinedione class.
49. Trial of Coenzyme Q10 in Isolated Systolic Hypertension - Medscape, South Med J 94(11):1112-1117, 2001 - "The mechanisms underlying essential hypertension remain uncertain. A causal role for insulin resistance has been suggested,[35] and high levels of plasma insulin have frequently been found in patients with high blood pressure"
50. Insulin resistance in essential hypertension - N Engl J Med. 1987 Aug 6;317(6):350-7 - "essential hypertension is an insulin-resistant state"
51. Relations of glycemic index and glycemic load with plasma oxidative stress markers - Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):70-6 - "Chronic consumption of high-GI foods may lead to chronically high oxidative stress. A low-GI diet, not a low-carbohydrate diet, appears to be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress"
52. Lifestyle Modification, Metformin Effective Prevention for Type 2 Diabetes - Doctor's Guide, 7/31/03 - "Incidence of diabetes was 58% lower ... in the lifestyle intervention group and 31% lower ... in the metformin group than in the placebo group"
53. Grain Fiber And Magnesium Intake Associated With Lower Risk For Diabetes - Science Daily, 5/14/07 - "those who consumed the most cereal fiber had a 33 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than those who took in the least, while those who consumed the most magnesium had a 23 percent lower risk than those who consumed the least. There was no association between fruit or vegetable fiber and diabetes risk"
54. Clearing up the confusion over carbs - MSNBC, 6/3/05 - "the women who ate low GI foods lost more than twice as much body fat as women eating mainly high GI foods"
55. Low-Glycemic Load Diet Facilitates Weight Loss in Overweight Adults with High Insulin Secretion - Doctor's Guide, 12/7/05 - "The regulation of body weight is, at least in part, influenced by how much insulin a person secretes in response to a load of glucose, as well as by how sensitive that person is to insulin's glucose-lowering effects"
56. Pre-diabetes a Costly Condition for Patients - HealthDay, 6/11/05 - "In 2003, the cut-off point for pre-diabetes was lowered to 100 mg/dL from 110 mg/dL ... patients with normal blood glucose levels had annual costs of $3,799 versus $4,580 for those at the new cut-off point for pre-diabetes, and $4,960 for those at the old cut-off point"
57. Insulin Resistance Associated With Increased Risk for Congestive Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 7/21/05 - "In this community-based sample of elderly men free of CHF and valvular disease at baseline, insulin resistance predicted CHF incidence independently of diabetes and other established risk factors for CHF"
58. Metabolic syndrome - CNN - "Doctors believe that the underlying cause of this cluster of risk factors is resistance to insulin ... Doctors use thiazolidinediones and metformin (Glucophage, Glucophage XR) to decrease insulin resistance in people with diabetes. These medications may help improve insulin metabolism in people with metabolic syndrome" - See Glucophage at SuperSaverMeds.com or OffshoreRx1.com.
59. Hypogonadism and metabolic syndrome:: implications for testosterone therapy - J Urol. 2005 Sep;174(3):827-34 - "Hypogonadism is likely a fundamental component of metabolic syndrome. Testosterone therapy may not only treat hypogonadism, but may also have tremendous potential to slow or halt the progression from metabolic syndrome to overt diabetes or cardiovascular disease via beneficial effects on insulin regulation, lipid profile and blood pressure. Furthermore, the use of testosterone to treat metabolic syndrome may also lead to the prevention of urological complications commonly associated with these chronic disease states, such as neurogenic bladder and erectile dysfunction"
60. Tiny Roundworm's Telomeres Help Scientists To Tease Apart Different Types Of Aging - Science Daily, 8/8/05 - "telomeres alone do not dictate aging and lifespan ... For successful aging you have to control both, aging in your dividing cells, which hinges on telomere maintenance, but also aging in your non-dividing cells. We thought that telomeres might play a role in the later but that's clearly not the case ... What is probably playing a role in the other half of aging is the insulin signaling pathway, proper mitochondrial function and dietary restriction"
61. Strategies to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes - Medscape, 8/8/05 - "Low glycemic load, high fiber diet which contains adequate amounts of mono-unsaturated and omega-3 fats and lean protein can improve satiety and dietary thermo-genesis (basal metabolic rate) and decrease insulin resistance ... Nutrients that have also been associated with worsening insulin sensitivity include trans-fats and saturated fats ... Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and lowers glucose levels both acutely and for up to 48 h after physical activity ... metformin reduced the risk of diabetes by 31% ... Valsartan reduced the incidence of new-onset diabetes by 23% ... Traditional beta-blockers worsen insulin sensitivity and increase the risk of developing new diabetes"
62. Elevated Insulin Levels Appear to Increase Levels of Inflammatory Markers and Beta-Amyloid, Which May Contribute to Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 8/8/05 - "Moderately elevated levels of insulin increase the levels of inflammatory markers and beta-amyloid in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid, and these markers may contribute to Alzheimer's disease"
    1. Obesity Today, Alzheimer's Disease Tomorrow? - WebMD, 8/8/05 - "people with high insulin levels -- long before they get diabetes -- already are on the road to Alzheimer's disease"
63. Effect of Atorvastatin (10 mg/day) on Glucose Metabolism in Patients With the Metabolic Syndrome - Am J Cardiol. 2006 Jul 1;98(1):66-9 - "in insulin-resistant, nondiabetic subjects, 6 weeks of atorvastatin (10 mg/day) resulted in significant improvement in insulin sensitivity"
64. Cause Of Diabetes-related Erectile Dysfunction Is Clarified By Johns Hopkins Researchers - Science Daily, 8/11/05 - "one particular simple sugar, present in increased levels in diabetics, interferes with the chain of events needed to achieve and maintain erection and can lead to permanent penile impairment over time"
65. The Metabolic Syndrome: a Cause of Sexual Dysfunction in Women - Medscape, 5/27/05 - "women with the metabolic syndrome reported significantly lower arousal, orgasm, and lubrication scores"
66. Blood Glucose: A Strong Risk Factor for Mortality - Medscape, 8/19/05 - "BG even in the normal range is a strong independent predictor of mortality in all subjects with CVD" - [Abstract]
67. Vinegar may help dieters eat less - Nutra USA, 9/7/05 - "Both glucose and insulin responses were about 25 per cent lower at 90 minutes when the volunteers had consumed the highest level of vinegar compared to the reference meal ... This level of vinegar is equivalent to about two to three tablespoons" - See Vinegar products at iHerb (1 - 500 mg tablet equals 2 tsb of vinegar.  4.5 tablets equals about 3 tablespoons by my calculations).
68. Androgens, Insulin Resistance and Vascular Disease in Men - Medscape, 9/8/05 - "Studies in healthy men have shown an inverse correlation between testosterone and insulin levels ... physiological testosterone replacement improves insulin sensitivity ... Insulin resistance also plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis and hypertension ... hypotestosteronaemia is associated with insulin resistance in men. Testosterone treatment inhibits the hyperinsulinaemia and thus may delay the onset of diabetes mellitus in men or even improve glycaemic control"
69. Glycemic Control and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Persons With and Without Diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study - Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:1910-1916 - "In adults with diabetes, the relative risk (RR) of CHD was 2.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-3.72) for the highest quintile of HbA1c level compared with the lowest after adjustment for CHD risk factors ... Elevated HbA1c level is an independent risk factor for CHD in persons with and without diabetes"
70. High Blood Sugar Levels a Risk Factor for Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 9/14/05 - "Lowering blood sugar levels could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in both diabetics and non-diabetics ... Non-diabetic persons with HbA1c levels of 6% or higher had almost a two-fold greater heart disease risk compared to persons with an HbA1c level below 4.6%"
71. Normal Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels and Type 2 Diabetes in Young Men - N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 6;353(14):1454-62 - "A multivariate model, adjusted for age, family history of diabetes, body-mass index, physical-activity level, smoking status, and serum triglyceride levels, revealed a progressively increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men with fasting plasma glucose levels of 87 mg per deciliter (4.83 mmol per liter) or more, as compared with those whose levels were in the bottom quintile (less than 81 mg per deciliter"
72. Hypertension and Insulin Resistance in the Metabolic Syndrome - Medscape, 10/10/05 - "As observed in animal studies, insulin-sensitizing medications may play a potential role in the reduction of blood pressure. Metformin treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats decreased blood pressure by 34 mmHg but had no effect on the blood pressure of normotensive rats.[9] Pioglitazone prevents hypertension in the Dahl salt-sensitive rats,[10] and rosiglitazone prevents development of hypertension in insulin-resistant rats"
73. Pancreatic Cancer Tied to Insulin Woes - WebMD, 12/13/05 - "Some of the men's blood samples showed higher levels of blood glucose, insulin resistance, and high insulin levels. Those men were more likely to later develop pancreatic cancer than those without insulin problems"
74. Relation of increased hemoglobin a(1c) levels to severity of peripheral arterial disease in patients with diabetes mellitus - Am J Cardiol. 2007 May 15;99(10):1468-9 - "the higher the hemoglobin A(1c) levels in patients with diabetes with PAD, the higher the prevalence of severe PAD"
75. Diabetics Face Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 11/2/05 - "hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia promote the growth of colorectal cancer"
76. Blood sugar 'boosts cancer risk' - BBC, 3/21/07 - "women in the top 25% range of blood sugar readings after fasting had a 26% higher chance of developing cancer than those in the bottom quarter ... it is possible to reduce your blood sugar levels by eating a healthy balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and maintaining a healthy weight ... 40% of cancer cases can be prevented by this type of healthy lifestyle"
77. Study links diabetes to cancer risk - MSNBC, 1/11/05 - "diabetes can raise the risk of developing and dying from several types of cancer, including digestive-tract tumors"
78. Hyperglycemia Linked to Cancer Risk - Physician's Weekly, 5/7/07 - "Risk of cancer of the pancreas, endometrium, urinary tract, and of malignant melanoma was statistically significantly associated with high fasting glucose with [relative risk ratios] of 2.49, 1.86, 1.69, and 2.16, respectively"
79. High-Glycemic Foods Linked to Colon Cancer - WebMD, 2/3/04 - "the future risk of colorectal cancers is nearly three times higher in women who eat the most high glycemic-load foods compared with those who eat lesser amounts"
80. Link Shown Between Insulin Resistance, Colon And Breast Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 6/12/97 - "Results showed that nearly 27 percent of the women who died from colon cancer had insulin resistance, compared to 3 percent of the controls"
81. How hormones can affect breast cancer risk - MSNBC, 9/9/05 - "Research also consistently links high levels of the hormone insulin and insulin-like growth factors with increased rates of breast cancer, at least after menopause"
82. Hormone Replacement Linked To Insulin Resistance, Regardless Of Adiposity - Doctor's Guide, 1/24/02 - "postmenopausal women taking oral estrogen, with or without progesterone, show a greater degree of insulin resistance than those not taking HRT, even allowing for total and abdominal adiposity"
83. Calories Seen Outweighing Sugar as Diabetes Risk - Vital Choices Newsletter, 1/1/07 - "they found no link between consumption of sweetened beverages and the risk of developing diabetes ... men who drank four or more cups of coffee a day cut their risk of developing type-2 diabetes by more than 23 percent ... while a high sugar intake may not by itself cause diabetes, it can certainly be a major contributing factor to weight gain and obesity: factors that clearly do promote diabetes" - [Abstract / Abstract]
84. See my syndrome X and diabetes page for other ways to reduce insulin.
85. See diabetes monitors at drugstore.com and books on glycemic index at Amazon.com.

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