Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 7/16/08.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Vitamin D: Builds Bones And Much More - Science Daily, 7/14/08 - "Recently, researchers have found that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of other diseases ... Fall prevention: ... Cancer prevention: ... Chronic pain prevention: ... Protection against autoimmune diseases: ... Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Exercise May Prevent Brain Shrinkage In Early Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 7/14/08 - "People with early Alzheimer's disease who were less physically fit had four times more brain shrinkage when compared to normal older adults than those who were more physically fit"

Tea Drinking May Help Protect Against Cognitive Impairment and Decline - Medscape, 7/14/08 - "Independent of other risk factors, total tea intake was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment, defined as an MMSE score of 23 or less. Compared with ORs for rare or no tea intake, ORs for low, medium, and high levels of tea intake were 0.56 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40 - 0.78), 0.45 (95% CI, 0.27 - 0.72), and 0.37 (95% CI, 0.14 - 0.98), respectively"

Vitamin D Levels Tied to Colorectal Cancer Survival - Medscape, 7/14/08 - "Compared with patients with the lowest levels, those with the highest had an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.52 for overall mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Magnolia Compound Hits Elusive Target In Cancer Cells - Science Daily, 7/11/08 - "A natural compound from magnolia cones blocks a pathway for cancer growth that was previously considered "undruggable," ... has been studying the compound honokiol ... We found that it is particularly potent against tumors with activated Ras" - See honokiol at Amazon.com.

Nutrient cocktail may boost memory and learning: study - Nutra USA, 7/10/08 - "It may be possible to use this [combination] to partially restore brain function in people with diseases that decrease the number of brain neurons, including, for example, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, strokes and brain injuries. Of course, such speculations have to be tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials ... supplemented the diets of gerbils with uridine (in its monophosphate form, 0.5 per cent) and choline (0.1 per cent), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 300 mg/kg/day) for four weeks ... At the end of the study, significant increases in phospholipid levels in the brain were observed when the compounds were given together, while administration of only DHA or UMP or UMP plus choline produced smaller increases" - [Abstract] - See citicholine at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Truvia, a new, natural, zero-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant, is making its debut online and in certain supermarkets in New York - WebMD, 7/10/08 - "Truvia, a new, natural, zero-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant, is making its debut online and in certain supermarkets in New York"

Scientists Learn How Food Affects The Brain: Omega 3 Especially Important - Science Daily, 7/9/08 - "Omega-3 fatty acids support synaptic plasticity and seem to positively affect the expression of several molecules related to learning and memory that are found on synapses ... Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function ... Children who had increased amounts of omega-3 fatty acids performed better in school, in reading and in spelling and had fewer behavioral problems ... Scientists are learning which omega-3 fatty acids seem to be especially important. One is docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which is abundant in salmon. DHA, which reduces oxidative stress and enhances synaptic plasticity and learning and memory, is the most abundant omega-3 fatty acid in cell membranes in the brain" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Alpha-linolenic acid reduces risk of nonfatal MI - theheart.org, 7/9/08 - "ALA is an intermediate-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is often overshadowed by the more famous long-chain members of the n-3 family, namely EPA and DHA acids that are found in fish oils ... ALA intake, g/day ... 1.79 ... Relative risk of MI ... 0.43 ... The relationship between ALA and myocardial infarction was nonlinear ... We see a dose effect, but only up to about 0.7% of adipose tissue, which corresponds to about 1.8 g/day. Increasing intake further was not associated with increased protection" - See flax seed at Amazon.com.

Metformin May Enhance Weight Loss in Female Adolescents - Medscape, 7/8/08 - "a significant decrease in body mass index was seen in females receiving metformin but not in those taking placebo. Sixty percent of participants who were metformin-adherent and who decreased food portion sizes had a decrease in body mass index of more than 5%" - See metformin at OffshoreRx1.com.

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):

Tea consumption and cognitive impairment and decline in older Chinese adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):224-31 - "Total tea intake was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment, independent of other risk factors. Compared with the ORs for rare or no tea intake, the ORs for low, medium, and high levels of tea intake were 0.56 (95% CI: 0.40, 0.78), 0.45 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.72), and 0.37 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.98), respectively (P for trend < 0.001). For cognitive decline, the corresponding ORs were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.54, 1.00), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.55, 1.11), and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.32, 1.03), respectively (P for trend = 0.042). These effects were most evident for black (fermented) and oolong (semi-fermented) teas, the predominant types consumed by this population"

Phylloquinone intake, insulin sensitivity, and glycemic status in men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):210-5 - "Limited evidence suggests that vitamin K may have a beneficial role in glucose homeostasis ... Higher phylloquinone intake was associated with greater insulin sensitivity and glycemic status, as measured by 2-h post-OGTT insulin and glucose and ISI(0,120), after adjustment for age, sex, waist circumference, lifestyle characteristics, and diet quality [2-h post-OGTT insulin: lowest and highest quintile, 81.0 and 72.7 microU/mL, respectively (P for trend = 0.003); 2-h post-OGTT glucose: 106.3 and 101.9 mg/dL, respectively" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.

Dietary uridine enhances the improvement in learning and memory produced by administering DHA to gerbils - FASEB J. 2008 Jul 7 - "These findings demonstrate that a treatment that increases synaptic membrane content can enhance cognitive functions in normal animals" - See citicholine at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Long-term effects of resveratrol supplementation on suppression of atherogenic lesion formation and cholesterol synthesis in apo E-deficient mice - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Jul 5 - "The concentration of total-cholesterol (total-C) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) in plasma was significantly lower in the resveratrol-supplemented groups compare to the control group over the entire experimental period. The plasma HDL-C concentration was significantly elevated, and the ratio of HDL-C/total-C was significantly higher in the CF and RV groups than in the control group. Plasma paraoxonase (PON) activity was significantly higher in the 0.06% resveratrol group. The hepatic HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) activity was significantly lower in the clofibrate and resveratrol groups than in the control group. Resveratrol supplements attenuated the presence of atherosclerotic lesions and periarterial fat deposition in the apo E(-/-) mice. The presence of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in atherosclerotic vessels was diminished in the resveratrol-supplemented apo E(-/-) mice. These results provide new insight into the anti-atherogenic and hypocholesterolemic properties of resveratrol in apo E(-/-) mice that were fed a normal diet" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff :

• I ordered the iPhone today and also made an album for it.  They said it will be about three weeks (backlog).  Plus my version of Vista has Remote Desktop and there is a iPhone app for $25 that allows you to access my home computer from my iPhone.  TomTom is coming out with an app for the iPhone GPS.  The way it is now, the GPS maps have to download from the Internet so they are slow.  I already have a Garmin but with this it will always be with me.  Plus I have 360 iTune songs with the copy protection removed from it (http://www.qualitycounts.com/ipod/, http://www.tune4win.com/ to remove protection) plus I removed the copy protection from my movies (AnyDVD / http://www.slysoft.com/en/ ) and converted them to iPod (http://www.1clickdvdcopy.com/).  The songs will play via my car stereo with the iPod jack.  You can also get an FM transmitter for the iPod/iPhone if you don’t have an iPod jack and it plays via the radio.

Supplement Focus (red yeast rice):

Red Yeast Rice News:

• Lowering Blood Cholesterol With Fish Oil And Red Yeast Rice Instead Of Statins - Science Daily, 7/8/08 - "The alternative treatment group participants received daily fish oil and red yeast rice supplements ... The statin group participants received 40 milligrams (mg) of Zocor (simvastatin) daily ... The researchers noted that there was a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels in both groups. The alternative treatment group experienced a 42.4 percent reduction, and the statin group experienced a 39.6 percent reduction. Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and lost more weight" - See red yeast rice at Amazon.com and Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Red yeast extract reduces major coronary events in large, randomized clinical trial - theheart.org, 6/12/08
• Chinese Red Yeast Rice Is Good For Your Heart, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds"
• Controlling Cholesterol? - Dr. Weil, 3/16/07 - "Of all the natural supplements available to help lower cholesterol, red rice yeast extracts are by far the most effective"
• Are Statins the New Wonder Drugs? - Dr. Weil, 6/21/04 - "For moderately elevated cholesterol, I recommend non-prescription red rice yeast, a natural source of statins with fewer side effects" - See red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
• Cholesterol-Lowering Supplements (Guggulsterones, Policosanol, Sterols) review - ConsumerLab.com, 8/1/03
• Controlling Cholesterol Naturally - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 8/03 - "When you take the recommended amount of red yeast rice, which is 1,200 mg a day [divided into two doses], it is equivalent to taking 5 mg of a statin drug"
• Cholesterol Drugs May Prevent Cancer - WebMD, 6/2/03 - "Overall, taking statins reduces risk of developing cancer by 20%, but that protection increases to 36% for people who take statins for four years or more ... But the benefit stops about six months after the patient stops taking the drug" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
• Statins Appear To Have Favourable Impact On Psychological Conditions - Doctor's Guide, 4/2/03 - "the longer people are on the statins the more their symptoms of depression, anxiety and hostility decrease ... When people stop taking statins or can not tolerate the medicine, their depression, anxiety and hostility returns to pre-statin levels" - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin but you should still check with your physician. 
• Chinese Cholesterol Control? - Dr. Weil, 10/1/02 - "And it contains seven different statins, not just lovastatin. In my experience, the natural mixture of compounds is less toxic (to the liver and muscles) than isolated lovastatin ... Other brands of red rice yeast extract are still available in the U.S., although they haven’t been clinically proven as was Cholestin, and may not be as effective"
• Dr. Julian M. Whitaker Petitions FDA to Include CoQ10 Use Recommendation in All Statin Drug Labeling - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "On May 23, 2002, Dr. Julian M. Whitaker filed two citizens petitions with the Food and Drug Administration. The petitions call on the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to change the labeling of all HMG CoA reductase inhibitor drugs (the so-called statin drugs), and to issue a Medication Guide, warning consumers of the need to take coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) whenever they take a statin drug" - I stuck this in because red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin. - Ben
• Statins May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 4/16/02
• Statin Drugs May Fight Alzheimer's, Too - WebMD, 4/9/02 - "Statins block the vasoconstrictive [blood-vessel narrowing] effect of the A-beta protein -- a critical protein involved in Alzheimer's disease ... These drugs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, independent of their benefit in lowering cholesterol, that may help protect against dementia" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.
• Possible red yeast rice alternative: A Natural Anti-Cholesterol Dietary Supplement, Policosanol - Life Extension Magazine, 6/01 - "policosanol lowered LDL cholesterol 20% in 6 to 12 weeks at 10 mg/day. Total cholesterol was reduced 15%, and HDL increased 7%-28%. Taking 20 mg/day reduced LDL about 28%, total cholesterol about 20%, and elevated HDL 7%-10%"
• Lovastatin Holds Promise For Treatment In Head And Neck, Cervical Cancers - Doctor's Guide, 11/1/01 - "five of 20 patients who were administered lovastatin after other therapies failed to control their disease were able to achieve long-term stable disease" - Note:  Lavostatin is the active ingredient in red yeast rice.
• Evaluation of the Antihyperlipidemic Properties of Dietary Supplements - Medscape, 4/1/01
• Statins May Reduce Dementia Risk By 70 Percent - Doctor's Guide, 11/10/00 - "People over the age of 50 who are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may reduce by 70 percent their risk of developing dementia."
• Court Rules FDA Can Regulate Supplement Marketed for Cholesterol - WebMD, 7/26/03 - "The court then ordered the FDA to lift its ban on the importation of red yeast rice, from which Cholestin's active ingredient is derived ... This is not a natural form of red yeast rice, it is a product modified to achieve the same benefits"
• Studies: Chemical in some Chinese cuisine can lower cholesterol - CNN, 3/25/99 - "Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, increased by 15 percent. Levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, decreased by 21 percent." 
• Court Reverses FDA Decision to Ban Import of Red Yeast Rice Product Cholestin™ - Herb World News Online, 6/17/98

Red Yeast Rice Abstracts:

• An analysis of nine proprietary Chinese red yeast rice dietary supplements: implications of variability in chemical profile and contents - J Altern Complement Med 2001 Apr;7(2):133-9
• Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement - Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;69(2):231-6