Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/11/09.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

I finally updated that really old picture with one taken 1/30/09. I've always been going to get a portrait but ended up just cropping a picture instead. 59, September 5, 1949, if you're wondering. Harry Truman was President (Harry who?).  That's old.  Click on the picture and a large version comes up with all the wrinkles.  I blame that on a year and a half in Vietnam, spraying agent orange that was so strong it made me cough (click here for a pix, tell me there weren't some serious free radicals in that stuff) and living in a hot dipsy dumpster for years that someone kept hitting with a sledge hammer.  That’s the way I describe the rooms on an aircraft carrier, the sledge being the catapult.  I remember I came home on leave from Vietnam after 12 months before retuning for another 6 and my mom said "Ben, you look a  lot older".  I didn't want to scare her but Duh!  About 30% of army helo pilots came back in a coffin.  Stress can age you fast.  I think the previous picture was when I was 38.

February 8th was the four year anniversary for my neck cancer surgery. With a 25% chance with surgery and radiation and with my refusing the radiation I thought for sure I was a goner as did about seven doctors at Balboa Navy Hospital but now my odds are approaching as if I never had it.

Vitamin D Tied To Muscle Power In Adolescent Girls - Science Daily, 2/10/09 - "Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls ... Vitamin D affects the various ways muscles work and we've seen from this study that there may be no visible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Vitamin B12 identified As An Effective Canker Sore Therapy, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 2/10/09 - "a nightly dose of vitamin B12 is a simple, effective and low risk therapy to prevent Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS), better known as "canker sores." ... received either a dose of 1,000 mcg of B12 by mouth at bedtime or a placebo ... the duration of outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain were reduced significantly at five and six months of treatment with vitamin B12, regardless of initial vitamin B12 levels in the blood. During the last month of treatment a significant number of participants in the intervention group reached 'no aphthous ulcers status' (74.1% vs 32.0%; P < .01)." - See vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.

What Ages Us Most? It's Called Life - Time Magazine, 2/10/09 - "The bottom line is that if you care mostly about a young-looking face, don't smoke, don't go into the sun without protection, and try not to get into a bad relationship that will make you depressed"

Mediterranean Diet May Preserve Memory - WebMD, 2/9/09 - "The Mediterranean diet consists of larger doses of fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, and unsaturated fatty acids; low amounts of dairy products, meat, and saturated fats; and a moderate amount of alcohol ... average 4.5 year follow-up period. Those in the top one-third of Mediterranean diet scores had a 28% lower risk (compared to those in the bottom third) of developing a cognitive impairment"

Marijuana testicular cancer link - BBC News, 2/9/09 - "being a regular marijuana user doubled the risk compared to those who never smoked it"

Marijuana Use Linked To Increased Risk Of Testicular Cancer - Science Daily, 2/9/09 - "being a marijuana smoker at the time of diagnosis was associated with a 70 percent increased risk of testicular cancer. The risk was particularly elevated (about twice that of those who never smoked marijuana) for those who used marijuana at least weekly and/or who had long-term exposure to the substance beginning in adolescence"

Smokers Have Rapid Aging Defect - Science Daily, 2/6/09 - "Smoking speeds the aging process, causing smokers to die about 10 years before their time ... cigarette smoke extract decreased the cell's WRN production -- and made the cells age more quickly"

Novel Benefits Of Fatty Acids In Arteries Shown - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "Now, a CUMC research team led by Richard J. Deckelbaum, M.D., Director of the Columbia Institute of Human Nutrition, has found that a diet rich in fish oils can prevent the accumulation of fat in the aorta, the main artery leaving the heart. The beneficial actions of fish oil that block cholesterol buildup in arteries are even found at high fat intakes" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Found To Stimulate A Protein That Inhibits The Growth Of Breast Cancer Cells - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "Calcitrol, the active form of vitamin D, has been found to induce a tumor suppressing protein that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Help To Combat Breast Cancer - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "this study confirms the potentiality of polyphenols to inhibit HER2 activity and to promote its degradation"

Genetic Study Shows Direct Link Between Vitamin D And MS Susceptibility 'Gene' - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "The research suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life"

Arginine Discovery Could Help Fight Human Obesity - Science Daily, 2/4/09 - "arginine, an amino acid, reduces fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and could help fight human obesity ... dietary arginine supplementation shifts nutrient partitioning to promote skeletal-muscle gain ... arginine supplementation for a 12-week period decreased the body fat gains of low-fat and high-fat fed rats by 65 percent and 63 percent, respectively. The long-term arginine treatment did not have any adverse effects on either group" - See arginine at Amazon.com.

Talking And Treating Erectile Dysfunction - Science Daily, 2/4/09 - "Stop smoking ... Control cholesterol ... Cut back on fat"

Zinc Supplements During Pregnancy May Counteract Damage From Early Alcohol Exposure - Science Daily, 2/2/09 - "Animal research has shown that binge drinking – even just once – during early pregnancy can cause numerous problems for the fetus, including early postnatal death. Fetal zinc deficiency may explain some of the birth defects and neurodevelopmental abnormalities associated with alcohol exposure. New rodent findings are the first to show that dietary zinc supplements throughout pregnancy can reduce some alcohol-related birth defects"

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):

HemoglobinA1c level in healthy Thai adults: reference interval and fasting plasma glucose - Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2009 Feb;83(2):e43-6. Epub 2009 Jan 8 - "Reference interval of HbA1c IFCC was 2.90-4.90%" - Note:  I saw this abstract last month and deleted it and have been thinking about it ever since so I did a medline search of "hba1c thailand" and found it again.  The point is that the range of hba1c was 2.90-4.90% in non-diabetics in Thailand.  Mine is 4.97% and I had two doctors tell me that was great.  In my opinion, and I'm not a doctor (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering), American doctors are so used to seeing a high hba1c that they've lost track of what's normal.

Telmisartan induces proliferation of human endothelial progenitor cells via PPARgamma-dependent PI3K/Akt pathway - Atherosclerosis. 2008 Dec 31 - "since endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are thought to play a critical role in ischemic diseases, we investigated effects of telmisartan on proliferation of EPCs ... These findings suggest that telmisartan might contribute to endothelial integrity and vasculogenesis in ischemic regions by increasing numbers of EPCs" - Click here for why I feel that telmisartan should be considered as a first line treatment for hypertension.  See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.

Dietary Green Tea Extract Lowers Plasma and Hepatic Triglyceride and Decreases the Expression of Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein-1c mRNA and Its Responsive Genes in Fructose-Fed Ovariectomized Rats - J Nutr. 2009 Feb 4 - "Fructose elevated plasma TG and cholesterol compared with the S group. GT at 0.5 and 1.0% markedly lowered plasma and liver TG. Fructose increased the expression of SREBP-1c, fatty acid synthase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 mRNAs in the liver, whereas GT decreased the expression of these lipogenic genes. Similarly, fructose increased the abundance of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase mRNA, whereas GT significantly decreased its expression ... the lipid-lowering effect of GT is mediated partly by its inhibition of hepatic lipogenesis involving SREBP-1c and its responsive genes without affecting lipoprotein assembly" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Effects of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) on hot flashes and quality of life in perimenopausal women: a randomized pilot trial - Menopause. 2009 Feb 3 - "After 3 months of treatment, compared with the placebo group, women in the St. John's wort group reported significantly better menopause-specific quality of life (P = 0.01) and significantly fewer sleep problems (P = 0.05) ... Hypericum perforatum may improve quality of life in ways that are important to symptomatic perimenopausal women" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.

Safety and efficacy of the simultaneous administration of udenafil and an alpha-blocker in men with erectile dysfunction concomitant with BPH/LUTS - Int J Impot Res. 2009 Feb 5 - "The coadministration of udenafil and an alpha-blocker in patients with comorbid BPH and ED was safe and gave significant improvements in both LUTS and ED" - Note:  Udenafil isn't available in the U.S. but it would seem that the results would be the same with the competition.

Neat Tech Stuff:

Like I mentioned before, I’m always joining affiliate programs for products I believe in even though I rarely get sales. No one ever buys from Amazon.com through me for some reason. The latest is mozy.com for online backup. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t have something like that and this company seems to have the best ratings. For example, it was Walter S. Mossberg’s choice (tech writer for the WSJ) who said “Of the two products, I prefer Mozy”. The cost for one personal computer with unlimited backup is $4.95 per month or $103.95 for two years. You signup and download their software, select the directories that you want to back up and it’s all automatic from there on.

Personally, I’ve got about $5000 in karaoke songs, about $1000 in music files, about a 1000 pictures, all my tax data and receipts and over a hundred decrypted movies for my TiVo that I would lose in a fire or computer virus. The cost of mozy.com for the rest of my life would pay for itself if I were to lose all that data just once not counting all the work, email addresses, emails, etc. that I would lose. For hard copy backups, a .pdf scanner is the way to go. It saves all your hard copies to .pdf files on your hard drive and then the mozy.com software will pick it up and back them up in cyberspace.

Supplement Focus (Silymarin (Silybum marianum)/Milk Thistle):

Silymarin News & Research:

• silymarin at Amazon.com
• SILIPHOS™: Nature's Potent Liver Remedy - Dr. Murray
• I have seen artichoke extract and milk thistle extract being promoted as liver remedies. Which one is better? - Dr. Murray
• Silymarin, Might Help in Insulin Resistance, Cancer - thenutritionreporter.com
• Scientific Evidence Of The Significant Anti-cancer Effect Of Milk Thistle - Science Daily, 11/14/07 - "Their research results indicate that silibinin can be used to prevent the development of liver cancer, one of the most common cancers worldwide"
• Milk Thistle Supplements review - ConsumerLab.com, 6/13/07 - "our tests showed one supplement to have only 20% of the expected amount of silymarin compounds — the key active components of milk thistle. Four other products provided no more than two-thirds of their expected amounts. Another fell short by 16%. And one supplement failed to identify the part of milk thistle used — a FDA labeling requirement"
• Milk Thistle May Help Treat Diabetes - WebMD, 10/31/06 - "At the study's start, the patients had similar blood sugar levels and blood sugar control ... But after taking the tablets for four months, the milk thistle group showed better blood sugar control and cholesterol and triglyceride levels"
• Milk thistle extract could help diabetes control - Nutra USA, 10/30/06 - "fasting glucose levels of the supplementation group decreased from 156 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL) of blood to 133 mg/dL, while the placebo group's fasting glucose levels increased from 167 to 188 mg/dL" - See iHerb or Vitacost silymarin products.
• Milk Thistle May Slow Lung Cancer  - WebMD, 6/20/06 - "They found smaller lung tumors in the mice with silibinin in their diets, compared with those consuming no silibinin. They also had fewer large lung tumors"
• Misinformed about Milk Thistle? - Dr. Weil, 5/1/06
• Milk Thistle May Not Cut Liver Disease - WebMD, 12/27/05
• A New Weapon to Fight Prostate Cancer - Life Extension Magazine, 11/05 - "Scientists have shown that milk thistle extracts possess anti-cancer actions on human prostate carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Many of the mechanisms by which silymarin compounds interfere with prostate cancer progression have been identified. The scientists who conducted the most recent study stated that, in addition to isosilybin B, there might be other silymarin compounds that are effective as well"
• Milk thistle "does not" lower mortality - Nutra USA, 5/3/05
• Milk Thistle Supplements review - ConsumerLab.com, 10/28/04
• Silibinin: The Herbal Extract that Protects the Liver - Life Extension Magazine, 12/03 - "The extract from the seeds of milk thistle contains silibinin, a substance with powerful liver-protection effects. In addition, silibinin can help reduce inflammation, diminish oxidation and free radical damage and enhance health in other ways"
• Can I take silymarin for my liver continuously, or do I need to take breaks as with some other herbs? - drjanson.com, 3/03
• Silybin-Beta-Cyclodextrin Reduces Glucose, Triglyceride Levels In Diabetes With Liver Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/02 - "Fasting blood glucose levels decreased by 14.7 percent from baseline in patients receiving silybin-beta-cyclodextrin ... Plasma triglycerides concentrations dropped from a mean 186 to 111 mg/dl at six months in those that received silybin-beta-cyclodextrin" - See iHerb or Vitacost silymarin products.
• Pharmacology of Silymarin - Medscape, 1/02
• Liver And Kidney Protection - Courtesy of Silibinin - Life Extension Magazine, 6/00 - "We live in an age of toxic overload. Silibinin, the chief active ingredient in milk thistle extract, is one of our best defenses against this constant chemical assault. Silibinin is highly effective at protecting the liver, the pancreas and the kidneys from toxic damage, an ever-increasing danger due to our exposure to harmful chemicals. In addition, silibinin has been shown to have various other health benefits, including cancer prevention. The right dosage is extremely important for effectiveness. People who complain that herb products do not deliver as promised typically use products that contain only ineffective, miniscule doses of the main active ingredient. Fortunately, more and more herbal extracts, including silibinin, are now available in guaranteed potency form, and in sufficient dosage to produce results."
• Can Silibinin Arrest Cancer Cells Growth? - Life Extension Magazine, 6/00 - "It has been established that silibinin is an effective scavenger of various free radicals, including hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals, and the hypochlorite ion that originates in neutrophils (Mira 1994). While it constitutes an important antibacterial defense, the hypochlorite radical is also extremely damaging to normal cells, and must be quickly "disarmed." Unchecked, the hypochlorite ion can even chlorinate DNA bases. In the presence of iron, it creates the hydroxyl radical, which can also directly attack DNA ... Silibinin has been found to protect red blood vessels and stabilize their membranes through inhibition of lipid peroxidation. In addition, silibinin increases the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase in human red blood cells (Altorjay 1992). Another study found that silymarin normalized low SOD activity and altered immunoreactivity in the lymphocytes (a common type of white blood cell) of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis"
• Milk Thistle - Compiled by Chad Bradshaw, Pharm.D
• The Prediabetic Epidemic - Nutrition Science News, 3/01 - "Supplements to Regulate Glucose and Insulin ... Alpha-Lipoic Acid ... Vitamin E ... Vitamin C ... Chromium ... Silymarin is an antioxidant extract of the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum). It has been shown to reduce all of the major indicators of diabetes, including blood sugar, insulin, glycosuria, and glycosylated hemoglobin. Researchers achieved these results with 800 mg daily of a standardized silymarin extract given for one year. The benefits appeared consistently after about 60 days, and all diabetic signs improved further over the course of a year. However, lower doses are probably sufficient in combination with other supplements ... Supplement tips: With other supplements, 200­400 mg/day of a standardized extract of silymarin should help maintain normal glucose levels"
• Milk Thistle's Liver-Protective Properties - Nutrition Science News, 10/99
• Milk Thistle Fruit - Nutrition Science News, 10/99
• Can Cirrhosis be Prevented? - Nutrition Science News, 1/99
• Artichoke Family Shows Promise in Preventing Skin Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 4/27/97 - "Only 25% of the silymarin-treated mice developed tumors compared to 100% of the control group mice"

Silymarin Abstracts:

• The Effect of a Silybin-Vitamin E-Phospholipid Complex on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study - Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 5 - "silybin conjugated with vitamin E and phospholipids could be used as a complementary approach to the treatment of patients with chronic liver damage"