Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/27/08.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

2/8/08 was the three year anniversary of my neck cancer.  It was cancer of the tonsil that spread to a lymph node in the neck.  The lymph node one was the size of a golf ball.  The doctor said it had to be more than one lymph node to be that big but it wasn't.  They said my chances of survival was 25% if I got surgery and radiation and almost nill if I didn't get the radiation.  I refused the radiation anyway and it looks like I still beat it.

Magnesium linked to fewer gallstones - Nutra USA, 2/26/08 - "After adjusting the results to account for age differences, which may affect the results, Tsai and co-workers calculated that men with the highest levels of magnesium intake (454 mg/d) were 28 per cent less likely to develop gallstones, compared to men with the lowest average intake (262 mg/d)" - I have it on my calendar to check for the abstract on Monday.  See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Midnight Meals - New York Times, 2/26/08 - "If the calories are exactly the same, it shouldn’t make a difference, but my clinical impression is that people who eat late at night eat more ... They may be eating “an extra meal, if you will, ‘the fourth meal,’ as one ad put it"

Anti-depressants 'of little use' - BBC News, 2/26/08 - "the drugs helped only a small group of the most severely depressed, and in most cases had no more effect than taking a dummy pill ... even the positive effects seen on severely depressed patients were relatively small, and open to interpretation"

Hormone Therapy May Skew Mammograms - WebMD, 2/26/08 - "Women who take combined hormone therapy, even for a short time, are at significantly increased risk of having suspicious mammograms and undergoing breast biopsies as a result"

Whole Grains Fight Belly Fat - WebMD, 2/25/08 - "Both groups experienced a decrease in body fat, but the whole-grain group lost significantly more body fat from the abdominal region than the refined-grain group. Excessive fat around the midsection is linked to an increased risk of heart disease ... The whole-grain group experienced other benefits. For example, CRP levels dropped by 38% among those who followed a whole-grain diet"

Black tea may slash Parkinson's disease risk - Nutra USA, 2/22/08 - "Drinking at least 23 cups of black tea a month, or about three-quarters of a cup a day, may slash the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by a whopping 71 per cent ... Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea ... A key difference between black tea and green tea lies in the types and amounts of flavonoids. Green teas contain more of the simple flavonoids called catechins. But when black tea is made, the catechins undergo oxidation resulting in the generation of more complex varieties, called thearubigins and theaflavins" - [Abstract]

Magnesium Intake May Cut Risk of Gallstones - Medscape, 2/22/08 - "Magnesium deficiency is known to cause elevated triglyceride levels and decreased HDL cholesterol levels, both of which may raise the risk of gallstones ... Compared with the lowest quintile of total magnesium intake (median 262 mg/day), the highest quintile of intake (454 mg/day) reduced the risk of gallstone disease by 33%" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Ingredient In Yellow Curry Can Reduce Heart Enlargement And May Prevent Heart Failure - Science Daily, 2/21/08 - "Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Consumption of fish/fish oil associated with specific heart-rate variability parameters - theheart.org, 2/21/08 - "fish and omega-3 fatty-acid consumption are associated with "more optimal" values of various heart-rate variability (HRV) indices" - [Abstract] - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

FDA approves combination niacin and simvastatin - theheart.org, 2/19/08 - "The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a fixed-dose combination of extended-release niacin (Niaspan, Abbot) and simvastatin ... known as Simcor ... compared with simvastatin 20 mg, the fixed-dose combination reduced triglyceride levels an additional 27%"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Lipoic acid significantly restores, in rats, the age-related decline in vasomotion - Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Feb 25 - "In old animals, endothelium-dependent relaxation in aortic rings was decreased, GSH levels and its redox state in aortic endothelia were over 30% lower and nSMase activity and endothelial ceramide levels were three-fold increased, relative to young (2-4 mo) rats. LA treatment of old animals improved relaxation in aortic rings, reversed the changes in endothelial GSH, in nSMase activities and in ceramide levels. Similar effects on GSH levels and nSMase activity in old rats were also induced by treatment with GSH monoethylester. Activation (by phosphorylation) of eNOS was decreased by about 50% in old rats and this age-related decrease was partially reversed by LA treatment" - See alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.

R-alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L: -carnitine complementarily promote mitochondrial biogenesis in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes - Diabetologia. 2008 Jan;51(1):165-74 - "Treatments with the combination of LA and ALC at concentrations of 0.1, 1 and 10 mumol/l for 24 h significantly increased mitochondrial mass, expression of mitochondrial DNA, mitochondrial complexes, oxygen consumption and fatty acid oxidation in 3T3L1 adipocytes. These changes were accompanied by an increase in expression of Pparg, Ppara and Cpt1a mRNA, as well as increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a), mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) and nuclear respiratory factors 1 and 2 (Nrf1 and Nrf2). However, the treatments with LA or ALC alone at the same concentrations showed little effect on mitochondrial function and biogenesis" - See alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com and acetyl l-carnitine at Amazon.com.

Differential Effects of Black versus Green Tea on Risk of Parkinson's Disease in the Singapore Chinese Health Study - Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Dec 20 - "Black tea, a caffeine-containing beverage, showed an inverse association with Parkinson's disease risk that was not confounded by total caffeine intake or tobacco smoking (p for trend = 0.0006; adjusted relative risk for the highest vs. lowest tertile of intake = 0.29"

Dietary Fish and {omega}-3 Fatty Acid Consumption and Heart Rate Variability in US Adults - Circulation. 2008 Feb 19 - "Habitual tuna/other fish and marine omega-3 consumption are associated with specific HRV components in older adults, particularly indices of vagal activity, baroreceptor responses, and sinoatrial node function" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.

Reducing exercise-induced muscular injury in kendo athletes with supplementation of coenzyme Q10 - Br J Nutr. 2008 Feb 20;:1-7 - "These results indicate that CoQ10 supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscular injury in athletes" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com or ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.

Neat Gadgets:

• Jabra SP5050 Portable Bluetooth car kit. Includes speakerphone, clip for visor and VPA if they are sold out, try Jabra SP5050 Portable Bluetooth car kit. Includes speakerphone, clip for visor and VPA.  Using a cell phone while driving will become illegal in California on 7/1/08 unless the driver uses a hands-free device and is already illegal in many states.  Most Bluetooth speaker phones have terrible sound.  This one has a background noise reduction system.  It got five stars at Amazon.com, something you hardly ever see unless it is just one review.  There is a cheaper one.  See Virtual Reality Sound Labs Bluetooth Speaker Car Kit but it's not rated as good plus you usually get what you pay for.  Motorola has three.  See Motorola T305 Bluetooth Hands-Free Speaker (rated almost 5 stars and only $53 with free shipping) and Motorola HF850 Deluxe Bluetooth Car Kit (professional installation is required).  Also see BlueAnt Supertooth Light Bluetooth Handsfree Speakerphone, Black but I didn't like the reviews.  Parrot has a couple, see Parrot CK3100 LCD Bluetooth Car Kit (rated very high also plus it dials) and Parrot CK3200 LS Color Bluetooth Car Kit.  The Jabra got the best reviews though but one person out of 15 reviewers (between the two sellers) didn't think the volume was loud enough.  Maybe it was signal from the cell phone he was using.  Here is what CNET said about that Sprint HTC phone he was using "Some elements of the Mogul's hardware as well as speakerphone volume and quality is sub-par".  So it sounds like he is blaming the Jabra for his sub-par cell phone.
• I still can't believe what a good deal the magicJack is.  See my review in last week's newsletter.  I just wish they would hurry up with the option to transfer your current home phone number to magicJack.  For $19.95 per year (which comes to $1.66 per month), magicJack has all the options that are bringing my current phone bill to $40 per month.  Switching would save $38.34 per month ($40 minus $1.66).  Add the savings on long distance and it's a lot more than that.  Yeah, if you transfer you current number you'll have to forward your phone to your cell phone or the magicJack voice mail when the computer is off but that's no problem at all for me.

Health Focus (Procyanidolic Oligomers/Grape Seed Extract/Pine Bark/Pycnogenol):

Note:  Some say that grape seed extract is the same as Pycnogenol((R)) without the patent markup.  I have moved the information on resveratrol to http://qualitycounts.com/fpresveratrol.htm.

Specific Grape Seed Recommendations:

• Pycnogenol at Amazon.com
• grape seed extract at Amazon.com
• grape seed extract at Amazon.com
• Vitacost grape seed extracts
• Drugstore.com/GNC grape seed products

Grape Seed News & Research:

• Proanthocyanidins - Vitacost Health Library
• Resveratrol - Vitacost Health Library
• Grape Seed Extract - The Natural Pharmacist
• Grape Seed - Compiled by Chad Bradshaw, Pharm.D
• Winemaking Waste Proves Effective Against Disease-causing Bacteria In Early Studies - Science Daily, 1/2/08 - "specific polyphenols, present in large amounts in fermented seeds and skins cast away after grapes are pressed, interfere with the ability of bacteria to contribute to tooth decay. Beyond cavities, the action of the wine grape-based chemicals may also hold clues for new ways to lessen the ability of bacteria to cause life-threatening, systemic infections"
• Grape OPCs linked to preventing LDL cholesterol - Nutra USA, 11/23/07 - "The results of the first phase of the project are extremely promising, because they indicate that OPCs, at levels found in circulation after oral intake, are capable of protecting LDL from oxidation, and appear to be more effective protectors than vitamin E" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Pine bark extract shows arthritis benefits - Nutra USA, 11/20/07 - "after 90 days of Pycnogenol supplementation the WOMAC scores for self-reported pain, stiffness, and physical function were reduced by 43, 35, and 52, respectively"
• Grape Powder Blocks Genes Linked To Colon Cancer - Science Daily, 11/14/07 - "The Wnt pathway has been linked to more than 85 percent of sporadic colon cancers, which is the most common form of colon cancer ... Wnt signaling in the patients taking 80 grams of grape powder was significantly reduced ... Eighty grams of grape powder equal a half glass of wine or 1 pound of grapes, which is equivalent to three dietary servings of grapes, according to the USDA"
• Chemical In Red Wine, Fruits And Vegetables May Stop Cancer, Heart Disease, Depending On The Dose - Science Daily, 10/30/07 - "very high doses of antioxidant polyphenols shut down and prevent cancerous tumors by cutting off the formation of new blood vessels needed for tumor growth ... the same polyphenols play a beneficial role for those with diseased hearts and circulatory systems by facilitating blood vessel growth ... the amount of polyphenols necessary to obtain an anti-cancer effect is the equivalent of drinking about a bottle of red wine each day"
• Pine bark extract boost for blood flow and heart health - Nutra USA, 10/18/07 - "Acetylcholine stimulates the cells of arteries to produce NO from L-arginine faster ... In turn, the NO causes the muscle surrounding arteries to relax, which results in an increase of blood vessel diameters. When subjects had taken Pycnogenol the relaxation of arteries was increased by 42 per cent as compared to the group taking placebo tablets" - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com and citicholine at Amazon.com.
• Red Wine And Grape Juice Help Defend Against Food-borne Diseases, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 10/11/07
• Proanthocyanidin from grape seeds inactivates the PI3-kinase/PKB pathway and induces apoptosis in a colon cancer cell line - Cancer Lett. 2007 Oct 6 - "grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) ... GSPE (10-100mug/ml) significantly inhibited cell viability and increased apoptosis in CaCo2 cells, but did not alter viability in the normal colon cell line (NCM460). The increased apoptosis observed in GSPE-treated CaCo2 cells correlated with an attenuation of PI3-kinase (p110 and p85 subunits) and decreased PKB Ser(473) phosphorylation. GSPE might thus exert its beneficial effects by means of increased apoptosis and suppression of the important PI3-kinase survival-related pathway"
• Red Wine Protects The Prostate - Science Daily, 5/25/07 - "men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine ... when white wine was compared with red, red had the most benefit ... But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals—including various flavonoids and resveratrol—missing from other alcoholic beverages"
• Pine bark extract shows promise against heart failure - Nutra USA, 5/18/07
• Resveratrol Content Varies Among Red Wines - Science Daily, 4/19/07
• Grape seed extract may protect against skin cancer - Nutra USA, 3/27/07
• More evidence for Pycnogenol endometriosis benefit - Nutra USA, 3/9/07
• Review Article: Resveratrol - Consumerlab.com, 11/30/06
• Pine bark extract shows promise for slowing sugar uptake - Nutra USA, 2/9/07 - "Extracts from French maritime pine bark may inhibit an enzyme linked to glucose absorption 190 times more than a synthetic medication, says new research from Germany that could offer significant benefits for diabetics if the results can be translated from the lab to humans"
• Life-extending compound may be great news -- for mice - CNN, 12/21/06 - "In one study, scientists provided mice a high-calorie, high-fat diet and then gave half of the animals resveratrol. At 114 weeks -- old age for mice -- less than a third of the mice taking resveratrol died. More than half of the mice who did not take resveratrol died. In another study, mice who took resveratrol lost weight, increased metabolism and doubled their exercise endurance"
• Resveratrol could counter metabolic diseases, animal study - Nutra USA, 12/15/06
• Red Wine Ingredient Increases Endurance, Study Shows - New York Times, 11/16/06 - "Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training"
• Flavonoid-Rich Grapeseed Extracts: for Cardiovascular Patients - Medscape, 11/9/06 - "The antioxidant and vascular protective aspects of flavonoid-rich products such as GSE, when combined with the potential hypolipidaemic and anti-platelet effects make a strong case for its potential in preventing and treating diseases associated with endothelial injury, oxidative damage and inflammation; chief among which are type 2 DM and atherosclerotic vascular disease ... the use of GSE in such patients may demonstrate concomitant improvements in insulin resistance, endothelial function, inflammation in high-risk patient groups and ultimately cardiovascular outcome"
• Healthy Life Prolonged in Mice - Medscape, 11/3/06 - "In addition to extending their lives, resveratrol also kept the mice fit and healthy in their old age"
• Wine Ingredient May Nix Fat's Effects - WebMD, 11/1/06 - "A new study shows obese, middle-aged mice fed a fatty diet supplemented with resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, seemed to be spared most of the unhealthy effects of their extra weight and lived longer than those fed the same fat-laden diet without resveratrol"
• One for the Ages: A Prescription That May Extend Life - New York Times, 10/31/06 - "One leading candidate, a newly synthesized form of resveratrol — an antioxidant present in large amounts in red wine — is already being tested in patients. It may eventually be the first of a new class of anti-aging drugs. Extrapolating from recent animal findings, Dr. Richard A. Miller, a pathologist at the University of Michigan, estimated that a pill mimicking the effects of calorie restriction might increase human life span to about 112 healthy years"
• Grape Seed Extract Halts Cell Cycle, Checking Growth Of Colorectal Tumors In Mice - Science Daily, 10/29/06 - "documented a 44 percent reduction of advanced colorectal tumors in the animals, and also revealed, for the first time, the molecular mechanism by which grape seed extract works to inhibit cancer growth"
• Grape seed extracts could improve skin from within - Nutra USA, 10/27/06 - "looked at the effect of a OPC dietary supplement on skin reddening (erythema) induced by exposure to UV radiation ... the subjects receiving the dietary supplement of OPCs had 13 per cent less erythema than those receiving no supplement ... Levels of skin hydration were also said to be higher in the group taking the dietary supplement"
• Red Wine vs. Colon Cancer - WebMD, 10/24/06 - "3% of red wine drinkers had such abnormal growths, compared with nearly 9% of white wine drinkers and almost 10% of teetotalers ... they suggest that a compound found in grapes and red wine – the antioxidant resveratrol -- may cut the odds of getting abnormal colon growths that can become cancerous"
• Resveratrol in red wine could cut colorectal cancer risk - Nutra USA, 10/23/06 - "Drinking more than three glasses of red wine a week could cut the risk of colorectal cancer by almost 70 per cent ... the active component in wine that may be behind the apparent benefits is most likely resveratrol"
• Grape Seed Extract vs. Colon Cancer - WebMD, 10/19/06 - "The cancer cells treated with grape seed extract were more likely to halt their normal growth cycle and die, compared to those not treated with the extract"
• Pine bark extract could improve diabetic microangiopathy - Nutra USA, 10/6/06
• Longevity Genes and Caloric restriction - Life Extension Magazine, 7/06 - "Humans seeking to slow aging and reduce degenerative disease risk may consider reducing food intake and ingesting 20-40 mg of resveratrol and 250-850 mg of metformin each day"
• Pine Bark Extract May Effectively Treat ADHD in Boys - Medscape, 6/23/06 - "61 children with ADHD were randomized 2:1 to receive 1 mg/kg/day pine bark extract or placebo for 4 weeks. Average age was 9.5 years ... The pine bark extract group had a significant reduction in hyperactivity and improved attention, visual-motor coordination, and concentration, whereas there were no positive effects noted in the placebo group"
• Pycnogenol May Help Reduce Muscular Cramps and Pain - Medscape, 6/20/06 - "While analog measurements of muscular cramping and pain remained stable in the placebo group during the treatment phase, Pycnogenol significantly improved symptoms"
• Pine bark extract may prevent inflammation - Nutra USA, 4/27/06
• Grape Seed Extract for Blood Pressure? - WebMD, 3/27/06
• Study Shows Grape Seed Extract May Be Effective In Reducing Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 3/27/06 - "The first group received a placebo, while the second and third groups received 150 milligrams and 300 milligrams, respectively, of a new grape seed extract ... Participants in the two groups receiving grape seed extract experienced an equal degree of reduced blood pressure. The average drop in systolic pressure was 12 millimeters. The average drop in diastolic pressure was 8 millimeters" - See iHerb or Vitacost grape seed extracts.
• More support for grape seed extract’s health benefits - Nutra USA, 3/21/06
• 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 or Vitacost resveratrol products.
• Natural Compound Prolongs Lifespan And Delays Onset Of Aging-related Traits In A Short-lived Vertebrate - Science Daily, 2/7/06 - "The researchers added resveratrol to daily fish food and found that this treatment increased longevity and also retarded the onset of aging-related decays in memory and muscular performance" - See iHerb or Vitacost resveratrol products.
• Pycnogenol reduces osteoarthritis pain, study - Nutra USA, 2/6/06 - "300 mg pine bark extract supplements ... Thirty minutes after taking the supplement, the mean inhibition of COX-1 and COX-2 was 22.5 and 15 per cent"
• Compound In Wine Reduces Levels Of Alzheimer's Disease-causing Peptides - Science Daily, 11/4/05 - "resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine, lowers the levels of the amyloid-beta peptides which cause the telltale senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease ... Resveratrol in grapes may never reach the concentrations required to obtain the effect observed in our studies"
• Pine Bark Extract May Prevent Leg Clots - WebMD, 8/12/05 - "After the flight those not treated with Pycnogenol had almost double the ankle-swelling score of those who received Pycnogenol"
• Broad-Spectrum Effects of Grape Seed Extract - Life Extension Magazine, 7/05
• Grapeseed extract may stop arteries from hardening - Nutra USA, 6/23/05 - "grapeseed extract stopped cholesterol from building up in the arteries of guinea pigs, which in turn leads to the thickening and hardening of the vessels and the resulting condition, atherosclerosis"
• Resveratrol could prevent ‘flu epidemics - Nutra USA, 5/24/05
• Grape juice may lower BP by relaxing arteries - Nutra USA, 4/5/05
• O Christmas Tree: Your Bark May Fight Arthritis - Science Daily, 12/28/04
• Red Wine Lovers, Take Heart: More Evidence Points To The Drink's Cardiac Health Benefits - Science Daily, 12/10/04 - "a well-known antioxidant found in red wine, called resveratrol, may benefit heart tissue by limiting the effects of a condition called cardiac fibrosis"
• Red Wine Mist? Resveratrol Shows Potential Effects Against COPD, Asthma, Arthritis - Science Daily, 11/1/04 - "their research group had "looked at the over-the-counter" versions of resveratrol and found that "it's not very pure and probably wouldn't be worth taking." The major problem is bioavailability. The compound dissolves only in certain solvents, including alcohol"
• Daily Glass of Red Wine May Cut Risk of Developing Prostate Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/04 - "men who consumed four or more glasses of red wine per week reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 50 percent ... That compound, Stanford and colleagues believe, may be an antioxidant called resveratrol, which is abundant in the skins of red grapes but much less so in the skins of white grapes"
• Red Wine Protects Prostate - WebMD, 9/23/04 - "red wine drinkers who had between four and seven 4 ounce glasses of red wine per week had a 48% lower risk of prostate cancer"
• Grapes May Cut Cholesterol and Blood Fats - WebMD, 8/27/04
• Resveratrol linked to longer life - Nutra USA, 7/19/04 - "resveratrol activated proteins called sirtuins in fruitflies and worms, extending their lifespan without reducing fertility"
• Study Identifies Genetics Of Fat Metabolism, Red Wine Link - Science Daily, 7/9/04 - "When cells were exposed to resveratrol, our studies showed a pretty dramatic reduction in the conversion to fat cells and a lesser but still significant increase in the mobilization of existing fat, or the rate at which the cells metabolized stored fat" - See iHerb or Vitacost resveratrol products.
• Scientists question power of resveratrol supplements - Nutra USA, 4/22/04
• Cancer Claims for Red Wine Supplement Suspect - WebMD, 4/21/04 - "resveratrol, an antioxidant found in grape skins, wine, and peanuts, barely enters the human bloodstream when taken by mouth"
• Weight loss with grape extract - Nutra USA, 4/5/04
• Resveratrol, Powerful Protection Against Prostate Cancer - Life Extension Magazine, 4/04 - "Resveratrol works through more than a dozen different anticancer mechanisms and selectively targets cancer cells. This single supplement modulates hormones, has several mechanisms that stop cancer cells from multiplying, and even has the ability to destroy cancer cells"
• Pycnogenol for diabetes control - Nutra USA, 3/22/04 - "the patients were able to significantly lower their glucose levels when they supplemented with 50-200 mg of the supplement ... Studies have found Pycnogenol reduces high blood pressure, platelet aggregation, LDL (bad)-cholesterol and enhances circulation" - See iHerb or Vitacost Pycnogenol products.
• Antioxidant May Help Lower Blood Pressure - WebMD, 2/20/04 - "people with high blood pressure who took the supplement, called Pycnogenol, were able to lower their daily dose of blood pressure-lowering medications by more than 30% ... researchers looked at the effects of daily supplementation with 100 milligrams of Pycnogenol" - Some claim that grape seed extract is identical to Pycnogenol without the patent mark-up.  See iHerb or Vitacost grape seed extracts.
• Pycnogenol reduces need for hypertension drugs - Nutra USA, 2/19/04 - "supplementation with 100mg Pycnogenol over a period of 12 weeks helped to reduce patients’ dose of the calcium antagonist nifedipine in a statistically significant manner" - Some claim that grape seed extract is identical to Pycnogenol without the patent mark-up.
• Recent Vintage, No Bouquet - Time Magazine, 2/16/04 - "Packed into each Longevinex capsule is an active ingredient roughly equivalent to between 5 and 15 glasses of red wine or unfermented grape juice. The key compound is an antioxidant called resveratrol, which has been shown to play a role in longevity — at least for one-cell organisms"
• Fruits Offer Powerful Protection From Skin Cancer - Intelihealth, 10/30/03 - "Resveratrol significantly inhibited UVB-mediated increases in skin thickness and edema; epidermal cyclooxygenase (COX-2); ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) enzyme and protein levels; and protein levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), all of which are established markers of tumor promotion. Resveratrol also further stimulated a UVB-mediated increase in p53 protein levels and was found to inhibit UVB exposure-mediated increases in cell cycle promoting signals including the activation of cell division"
• Red Wine Ingredient May Fight COPD - WebMD, 10/27/03 - "resveratrol, a compound found in the skins of red fruits such as grapes, may slow down the inflammatory process involved in the lung disease COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)"
• “Grape Expectations”: Lengthen Lifetime with Red Wine? - Physician's Weekly, 9/15/03 - "Resveratrol, a molecule that exists naturally in grapes and red wine, was shown to extend the life span of yeast cells (polyphenols) by up to 80%. The researchers plan to examine resveratrol's effect in multi-cellular organisms such as worms, fruit flies, and eventually humans"
• New Healthy Ingredient Found in Red Wine - WebMD, 9/9/03 - "red wines are a significant source of saponins, which are believed to promote heart health by binding to cholesterol and preventing the absorption of cholesterol in the blood. The plant compounds are also thought to play a role in inflammation, which could have beneficial effects in reducing heart disease and cancer risks ... Of the wines tested, red zinfandel had the highest saponin levels"
• Red Wine Counteracts Cigarette Smoking - WebMD, 9/4/03 - "Drinking two glasses of red wine for every cigarette smoked is not a wise idea ... However, red wine contains antioxidants -- phenols -- so powerful that they can counteract something so harmful as smoking. That's his message" - See iHerb or Vitacost grape seed extracts.
• Drinking Red Wine May Slow Aging - WebMD, 8/25/03 - "resveratrol mimics calorie restriction in yeast -- activating enzymes that slow aging, increasing the stability of DNA, hence extending lifespan by as much as 70% ... Researchers now hope to eventually test how resveratrol works in other subjects, including humans" - See iHerb or Vitacost resveratrol products.
• Grape Seed Extract May Be A Useful Supplement To Blunt Hypertension In Postmenopausal Women - Intelihealth, 4/10/03 - "a diet moderately high in grape seed extract can blunt salt (sodium chloride)-sensitive hypertension to about the same extent as treatment with either plant estrogens or 17ß-estradiol. This suggests that mechanisms other than the estrogen receptor activation actually provides the beneficial effects of estrogen therapy and that grape seed extract may be a useful supplement to blunt hypertension and other cardiovascular symptoms in postmenopausal women" - See iHerb or Vitacost grape seed extract products.
• Pycnogenol® Effective for Vein Disorder - New Hope Natural Media, 10/24/02
• Pycnogenol Helps Hypertension - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 8/02 - "researchers gave 200 mg Pycnogenol to 11 mildly hypertensive patients (average age 50 years) for eight weeks. Patients were in Stage 1 hypertension—a systolic blood pressure range of 140­159 mmHg, and/or diastolic blood pressure range of 90 to 99 mmHg ... Pycnogenol reduced the systolic blood pressure to 134 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure to 94 mmHg in study participants ... Our research demonstrates Pycnogenol's ability to elevate the production of nitric oxide in the vessel walls to reduce blood pressure and help decrease hypertensive morbidity and mortality" - See iHerb and Vitacost grape seed extract/Pycnogenol products.  Note:  Pycnogenol is a patented product from pine bark.  Grape seed extract is the same compound without the patent markup.
• The Lungs Favor White Wine - WebMD, 5/20/02 - "those studies have shown that a daily dose of 1 to 3 glasses of red wine can improve cardiovascular health ... We found that white wine intake was strongly associated with better [lung] function ... One glass of wine per day equaled a 1.5% higher lung function, adding one or two more years to the person's lifetime; 3 glasses a day improved lung capacity by 3% ... He speculates that white wine drinkers have higher levels of vitamin antioxidants in their blood" - Also see flavonoids.
• Pycnogenol Helps Hypertension - Nutrition Science News, Spring '02 - "A new study conducted at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson shows that pycnogenol, an extract of French maritime pine bark (Pinus maritima) may lower blood pressure in mildly hypertensive patients"
• Pycnogenol - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 3/02 - "Subjects taking pycnogenol experienced a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, although there was no statistical significance in diastolic blood pressure when compared to placebo"
• The Wizard is Oz - Life Extension Magazine, 11/01 - "Best-selling author and nutritional guru to the rich and famous, Oz Garcia is singing the praises of the Life Extension Foundation and its products in his newest book, The Healthy High Tech Body, published in September 2001 ... Supplements at the top of Garcia's list of recommendations ... DHA ... NADH ... Alpah Lipoic Acid ... Acetyl-L-Carnitine ... An expanded list of his recommendations includes lycopene, gamma tocopherol, vinpocetine, SAMe, folic acid, carnosine, glutathione, DMAE, Huperzine A, probiotics, MSM, secretagogues, arginine pyroglutamate, IP-6, bioflavonoid formulas and grape skin/seed extracts"
• Wine, Women, and Stroke, A Little of the Grape May Lower Stroke Risk in Young Women - WebMD, 1/4/01
• Proanthocyanidin Power - Nutrition Science News, 6/00 - "Grape seeds can have 7 to 15 percent more OPCs than pine bark and can be more potent as well as more economical."
• Blueberries: New Thrills for Those Over the Hill - National Institute of Health, 9/15/99
• Red wine substitute tough pill to swallow - CNN, 8/27/99
• Alternative therapies gain ground among allergy sufferers - CNN, 4/16/99
• Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Damage May Be Thwarted By Grape Seed Extract - Doctor's Guide, 4/13/98
• Study, Antioxidant More Potent than C, E and Beta-Carotene - Doctor's Guide, 4/8/97
• Study: Grapes inhibit cancer growth - CNN, 1/10/97

Grape Seed Abstracts:

• Pycnogenol((R)), French maritime pine bark extract, augments endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans - Hypertens Res. 2007 Sep;30(9):775-80 - "These findings suggest that Pycnogenol((R)) augments endothelium-dependent vasodilation by increasing in NO production. Pycnogenol((R)) would be useful for treating various diseases whose pathogeneses involve endothelial dysfunction"
• Resveratrol inhibits expression and binding activity of the monocyte chemotactic protein-1 receptor, CCR2, on THP-1 monocytes - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 11 - "Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and its receptor, CCR2, play a key role in atherosclerosis ... These inhibitory effects of resveratrol on chemokine receptor binding and expression may contribute, in part, to its cardiovascular protective activity in vivo"
• Flavonoid-rich grapeseed extracts: a new approach in high cardiovascular risk patients? - Int J Clin Pract. 2006 Nov;60(11):1484-92 - "Flavonoids have been a major focus of attention since the days of the French paradox and the presence of high quantity of flavonoids in grapeseed extracts has prompted research looking at its effects on novel markers of vascular risk"
• Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol - Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 Sep;15(6):329-35 - "1-month Pycnogenol administration caused a significant reduction of hyperactivity, improves attention and visual-motoric coordination and concentration of children with ADHD. In the placebo group no positive effects were found. One month after termination of Pycnogenol administration a relapse of symptoms was noted. Our results point to an option to use Pycnogenol as a natural supplement to relieve ADHD symptoms of children"
• Quality Assessment of Commercial Dietary Antioxidant Products From Vitis vinifera L. Grape Seeds - Nutr Cancer. 2005;53(2):244-54 - "oxygen radical absorbance capacity, ORAC ... The ORAC value of the different brands of commercial products studied (n = 16) varied from 2.71 to 26.4 mumol Trolox equivalents/mg ( asymptotically equal to10-fold difference)"
• The combination of vitamin C and grape-seed polyphenols increases blood pressure: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - J Hypertens. 2005 Feb;23(2):427-434 - "Vitamin C alone reduced systolic BP versus placebo ... However, treatment with the combination of vitamin C and polyphenols increased systolic BP (4.8 +/- 0.9 mmHg versus placebo ... and diastolic BP (2.7 +/- 0.6 mmHg, P < 0.0001 versus placebo"
• The effect of grape-seed extract on 24 h energy intake in humans - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;58(4):667-73 - "These findings suggest that grape seed could be effective in reducing 24 h EI [energy intake] in normal to overweight dietary unrestrained subjects, and could, therefore, play a significant role in body-weight management"
• The cancer preventative agent resveratrol is converted to the anticancer agent piceatannol by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1B1 - Br J Cancer 2002 Mar 4;86(5):774-8 - "This observation provides a novel explanation for the cancer preventative properties of resveratrol. It demonstrates that a natural dietary cancer preventative agent can be converted to a compound with known anticancer activity by an enzyme that is found in human tumours"

Affiliates (I could sure use some sales.  You can drag the links onto your desktop and use them so that I get credit for the sale.  Click here for more stores):