Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/29/08.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Grapes And Grape Extracts May Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Review Article Suggests - Science Daily, 10/28/08 - "grape polyphenols work in many different ways to prevent cardiovascular and other "inflammatory-mediated" diseases. Polyphenols are natural antioxidants found in grapes and some other plant foods. Their types and actions vary, depending on where in the grape they are found. Grape seeds, grape skin, and grape juice contain several types of polyphenols, including resveratrol, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and flavonoids" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.

High-fat Diet Could Promote Development Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 10/28/08 - "the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3s"

Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Marker - WebMD, 10/28/08 - "On average, PSA declined by 4.1% after starting a statin ... a bigger decrease was seen in men who started out with the highest PSA levels (2.5 ng/mL or more) -- but only among those who had the greatest decrease in cholesterol. These men had a 17.4% drop in PSA"

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Sleep Apnea Severity - Medscape, 10/28/08 - "Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels were inversely correlated with AHI score" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Doorknobs and TV Remotes Are Germ Hotbeds - InteliHealth, 10/28/08 - "Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer"

Prostate Cancer: Vitamin E, Selenium No Help - WebMD, 10/28/08 - "That evidence included a 1998 Finnish study of whether vitamin E could prevent lung cancer in some 30,000 smokers. It didn't, but men taking vitamin E had 32% fewer prostate cancers ... I am afraid it will be the end of the story for large trials of vitamin E and selenium to prevent prostate cancer" - Note:  Most of the vitamin E studies I've read on prostate cancer indicated that only the gamma-tocopherol worked yet they spent $114 million on this study and used the cheapest synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate form.  How dumb was that?  I don't know what the story on the selenium was.  Some say it's because people in the U.S. aren't deficient in selenium.

• Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) - National Cancer Institute, 10/27/08 - "The amount of vitamin E (provided as dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate) was 400 milligrams (mg), which is equivalent to 400 International Units (IU) per day" - This was the above study.
• Previous studies:
  • Vitamin E: Which Type Best for Prostate Cancer? - WebMD, 3/1/05 - "the men with the highest blood levels of alpha and gamma tocopherol had lower prostate cancer risk. Men with the highest levels of both forms of the vitamin were 30%-40% less likely to develop prostate cancer as those with the lowest levels"
  • Vitamin E In Plant Seeds Could Halt Prostate, Lung Cancer, Says Purdue Scientist - Science Daily, 12/30/04 - "gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells"
  • Vitamin E in Food May Fight Cancer - WebMD, 12/15/04 - "Most supplements provide a different form of the vitamin, alpha-tocopherol ... Gamma-tocopherol aced its lab tests. It inhibited the spread of prostate and lung cancer cells without hurting the healthy cells ... Mixing several forms of vitamin E -- including gamma-tocopherol -- was even better at blocking cancer's spread"
  • Supplemental and dietary vitamin e intakes and risk of prostate cancer in a large prospective study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Jun;16(6):1128-35 - "dietary gamma-tocopherol, the most commonly consumed form of vitamin E in the United States, was significantly inversely related to the risk of advanced prostate cancer (for highest versus lowest quintile: RR, 0.68"
  • Association between alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, selenium, and subsequent prostate cancer - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Dec 20;92(24):2018-23 - "For gamma-tocopherol, men in the highest fifth of the distribution had a fivefold reduction in the risk of developing prostate cancer than men in the lowest fifth"
  • gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention - Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Dec;74(6):714-22 - "Both gamma-tocopherol and gamma-CEHC, but not alpha-tocopherol, inhibit cyclooxygenase activity and, thus, possess antiinflammatory properties. Some human and animal studies indicate that plasma concentrations of gamma-tocopherol are inversely associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. These distinguishing features of gamma-tocopherol and its metabolite suggest that gamma-tocopherol may contribute significantly to human health in ways not recognized previously. This possibility should be further evaluated, especially considering that high doses of alpha-tocopherol deplete plasma and tissue gamma-tocopherol, in contrast with supplementation with gamma-tocopherol, which increases both"
  • Supplemental and dietary vitamin e intakes and risk of prostate cancer in a large prospective study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Jun;16(6):1128-35 - "dietary gamma-tocopherol, the most commonly consumed form of vitamin E in the United States, was significantly inversely related to the risk of advanced prostate cancer (for highest versus lowest quintile: RR, 0.68"
  • Effect of oral supplementation with D-alpha-tocopherol on the vitamin E content of human low density lipoproteins and resistance to oxidation - J Lipid Res. 1991 Aug;32(8):1325-32 - "gamma-Tocopherol significantly decreased in plasma and LDL during vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation"
  • Diet And Medications May Assist Prevention Of Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 9/24/07 - "dutasteride, has reduced by 50 percent the number of cancerous biopsies among men with benign prostatic hypertrophy ... In one study of selenium, the incidence of prostate cancer was reduced by 49 percent over ten years ... Data already suggests novel uses of statins, commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering agents, and insulin modulating drugs, such as metformin or the glitazones" - See dutasteride at OffshoreRx1.com.
  • See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family) at Amazon.com.

Do Diabetes Drugs Affect Heart Health? - WebMD, 10/27/08 - "metformin seemed to be associated with a decrease in heart disease and heart-related deaths ... researchers point to metformin as a drug that is "moderately protective" and Avandia as "possibly harmful." ... Avandia, which works well to reduce blood sugar, was associated with a higher risk of heart attack. However, researchers in that case also acknowledged that their conclusions were limited by a lack of access to original clinical data"

Eating Whole Grains Lowers Heart Failure Risk, According To New Study - Science Daily, 10/27/08 - "whole grain consumption lowered HF risk, while egg and high-fat dairy consumption raised risk. Other food groups did not directly affect HF risk"

Businesses Wary of Details in Obama Health Plan - NYTimes.com, 10/26/08 - “To all of a sudden whack 6 to 7 percent of payroll costs, forget it,” he said. “If they do that, prices go up and employment goes down because nobody can absorb that.”

Green Tea May Delay Onset Of Type 1 Diabetes - Science Daily, 10/23/08 - "EGCG modulates several important genes, so it suppresses the abnormality at the molecular level in the salivary gland. It also significantly lowered the serum autoantibodies, reducing the severity of Sjogren's syndrome-like symptoms ... Autoantibodies are antibodies the body makes against itself ... Both type 1 diabetes and Sjogren's syndrome are autoimmune diseases, which cause the body to attack itself" - See green tea extract at Amazon.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):

Omega-3 as well as caloric restriction prevent the age-related modifications of cholesterol metabolism - Mech Ageing Dev. 2008 Sep 26 - "both caloric restriction and Omega-3 supplemented diets are able to prevent hypercholesterolemia, by regulating HMG-CoAR activation state by controlling ROS production and p38 phosphorylation. Moreover also the age-dependent loss of LDLr membrane exposition is prevented" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Glycemic Index, Retinal Vascular Caliber, and Stroke Mortality - Stroke. 2008 Oct 23 - "high glycemic index (GI) and low cereal fiber (CF) ... Persons consuming food in the highest GI tertile and lowest CF tertile had a 5-fold increased risk of stroke death ... High-GI and low-CF diets predict greater stroke mortality and wider retinal venular caliber. The association between a high-GI diet and stroke death was partly explained by GI effects on retinal venular caliber, suggesting that a high-GI diet may produce deleterious anatomic changes in the microvasculature"

Role of vitamin D treatment in glucose metabolism in polycystic ovary syndrome - Fertil Steril. 2008 Oct 16 - "Treatment with the vitamin D(3) analogue (alphacalcidol) could be of value in the management of PCOS"

Vitamin D and glucose metabolism in chronic kidney disease - Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2008 Nov;17(6):566-72 - "Vitamin D therapy holds promise for improving health outcomes in chronic kidney disease. Improved glucose metabolism is one potential mechanism through which vitamin D may exert beneficial effects" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Role of Acetyl-L-Carnitine in the Treatment of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (November) - Ann Pharmacother. 2008 Oct 21 - "acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) ... Data on treatment of DPN with ALC support its use. It should be recommended to patients early in the disease process to provide maximal benefit. Further studies should be conducted to determine the effectiveness of ALC in the treatment and prevention of the worsening symptoms of DPN" - See acetyl l-carnitine products at Amazon.com.

Green Tea Protects Rats against Autoimmune Arthritis by Modulating Disease-Related Immune Events - J Nutr. 2008 Nov;138(11):2111-2116 - "polyphenolic compounds from green tea (PGT) possess antiinflammatory properties ... Interestingly, PGT-fed rats had a lower concentration of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-17 but a greater concentration of the immunoregulatory cytokine IL-10 than controls. PGT feeding also suppressed the anti-Bhsp65 antibody response. Thus, green tea induced changes in arthritis-related immune responses. We suggest further systematic exploration of dietary supplementation with PGT as an adjunct nutritional strategy for the management of RA" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Chronic Green Tea Consumption Decreases Body Mass, Induces Aromatase Expression, and Changes Proliferation and Apoptosis in Adult Male Rat Adipose Tissue - J Nutr. 2008 Nov;138(11):2156-2163 - "Green tea (GT) ... These results suggest new mechanisms for GT on body weight and highlight its potential benefit to prevent or treat obesity and the metabolic syndrome" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff (more yoghurt recommendations):

• On the yoghurt maker last week, I forgot to mention, it takes 12 hours not 5 hours as in the directions.  I've been mixing two cups of the Nido and two cups for the non-fat Carnation and top it off with water for two quarts.  You can go one and three to cut down on the fat.  There is no timer on that yoghurt maker.  I use my wake-up call service (https://snoozester.com/). I've been sweetening the yoghurt with Simply Fruit® which is sweetened with fruit juice instead of refined sugar.

Supplement Focus (Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA)):

Specific GLA Recommendations:

• borage oil at Amazon.com
• black currant oil at Amazon.com
• primrose oil at Amazon.com

GLA News & Research:

• GLA (Gamma-Linolenic Acid) - The Natural Pharmacist
• Flax and borage oil may boost skin health from within - 10/3/08 - "the researchers noted a significant decrease in reddening of the skin in the flaxseed and borage oil groups of 45 and 35 per cent, respectively, compared to baseline values. No differences were recorded in the placebo group ... blood flow to the in skin also decreased in the oil groups ... Measurements of water loss from the skin showed that the oil supplements were associated with decreases of about 10 per cent after six weeks, with only the flaxseed oil group showing further decreases at the end of 12 weeks (25 per cent) ... The roughness and scaling – dry peeling skin – was also decreased significantly after 12 weeks of flaxseed and borage oil supplementation, with no differences in the placebo group" - [Abstract]
• Affecting the Balance Between Omega-3 and Omega-6? - Dr. Weil, 5/16/08 - "Borage oil, black currant oil (and evening primrose oil) are natural sources of a fatty acid called GLA (gammalinolenic acid), an omega-6 fat that is very hard to come by in the diet. However, the omega-6 provided by these supplements is insignificant compared to the amounts we obtain from dietary sources, and shouldn't affect your omega-6/omega-3 balance. GLA is an effective anti-inflammatory agent that I recommend for arthritis, autoimmune disorders, premenstrual syndrome and for healthy growth of skin, hair, and nails. (By the way, I usually do not recommend borage oil, because it might contain pyrroldizidine alkaloids, compounds that can damage the liver.) The dose of evening primrose oil or black currant oil is 500 mg twice a day"
• Black Currant, Borage, Evening Primrose, and Flaxseed Oils: Sources of ALA and GLA (Omega-3 and -6 Fatty Acids) review - ConsumerLab.com, 12/11/07
• A diet enriched in eicosapentanoic acid, gamma-linolenic acid and antioxidants in the prevention of new pressure ulcer formation in critically ill patients with acute lung injury: A randomized, prospective, controlled study - Clin Nutr. 2007 Oct 12 - "A diet enriched with EPA, GLA and vitamins A, C and E is associated with a significantly lower occurrence of new pressure ulcers in critically ill patients with acute lung injury"
• Primrose Oil Component Cuts Levels Of Cancer-causing Gene Her-2/neu - Science Daily, 11/4/05 - "Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a substance in evening primrose oil and several other plant oils used in herbal medicine, inhibits action of Her-2/neu, a cancer gene that is responsible for almost 30 percent of all breast cancers"
• Plant oil 'acts like cancer drug' - BBC News, 11/2/05 - "It is down to a substance in the oil called gamma-linolenic acid that acts on the same receptor in tumours as the powerful breast cancer drug Herceptin"
• Inflammation Syndrome a Red-Hot Topic - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 9/03 - "What are some of the key anti-inflammatory supplements? ... At the top of the list are omega-3 fish oils, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fat that behaves more like an omega-3) and vitamin E"
• GLA: One Nutrient - Multiple Benefits - Vitacost, 1/16/03
• GLA: The Right Remedy for Eczema? - Dr. Weil, 11/21/02 - "It has specific nourishing effects on skin, hair, and nails that are not duplicated by omega–3 fatty acids ... It is true that a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the diet promotes inflammation by favoring synthesis of pro-inflammatory hormones (prostaglandins). But the amount of GLA needed to treat eczema and other skin conditions (500 milligrams twice a day) is too small to affect that ratio significantly"
• Can I Stop My Hair from Thinning? - Dr. Weil, 9/13/02 - "Make sure you’re getting enough omega-3 fatty acids ... supplement your diet with GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) in the form of black currant oil or evening primrose oil"
• Essential Fatty Acids Improve Thought Process and Behavior in Children with ADHD - New Hope Natural Media Online, 6/13/02 - "ADHD is characterized by impulsive behavior, lack of concentration, restlessness and, in some cases, learning disabilities ... The children were given either a supplement containing 186 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 480 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 96 mg of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), 864 mg of linoleic acid, and 60 IU of vitamin E per day, or a placebo ... the children who took the essential fatty acid supplement had significant improvement in symptom scores related to learning and behavior"
• Antiaging Products for Skin, Hair and Nails - Nutrition Science News, 10/00
• GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid): The Good Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acid - Total Health for Longevity Magazine, 9/00
• Polyunsaturated Fats and Neurological Disorders - Nutrition Science News, 9/00