Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 3/11/09.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Folic Acid May Raise Prostate Cancer Risk - WebMD, 3/10/09 - "Men in the study who took high doses of the vitamin had a more than twofold increase in prostate cancer risk, compared to men who did not take folic acid supplements"

Teenage Boys Who Eat Fish At Least Once A Week Achieve Higher Intelligence Scores - Science Daily, 3/9/09 - "Eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of six per cent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 per cent" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Heart Disease Tied to Depression, Anger - WebMD, 3/9/09 - "Chronically angry or hostile adults with no history of heart disease may be 19% more likely than their peers to develop heart disease"

Vitamin C May Help Prevent Gout - WebMD, 3/9/09 - "men who had the highest vitamin C intake from supplements and food were up to 45% less likely to develop the painful condition than those who had the lowest ... the results suggest that taking vitamin C supplements at the levels in the study (less than 2,000 milligrams per day) may be a safe and effective way to prevent gout" - See vitamin C products at Amazon.com.

Not So Sweet: Over-consumption Of Sugar Linked To Aging - Science Daily, 3/9/09 - "We know that lifespan can be extended in animals by restricting calories such as sugar intake ...it's not sugar itself that is important in this process but the ability of cells to sense its presence ... the lifespan of yeast cells increased when glucose was decreased from their diet. They then asked whether the increase in lifespan was due to cells decreasing their ability to produce energy or to the decrease in signal to the cells by the glucose sensor ... cells unable to consume glucose as energy source are still sensitive to the pro-aging effects of glucose. Conversely, obliterating the sensor that measures the levels of glucose significantly increased lifespan"

How Cranberry Products Prevent Urinary Tract Infections - Science Daily, 5/9/08 - "Chemicals present in cranberries—and not the acidity of cranberry juice, as previously thought—prevent infection-causing bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the urinary tract ... Chemicals found in cranberry products called proanthocyanidins (PACs) prevent E. coli, which is the cause of about 85% of UTIs and 90% of cases of acute pyelonephritis, from adhering to these urinary tract epithelial cells by affecting the surface properties of the bacteria" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.com.

Omega-3 DHA boost for heart health in high-risk men: Study - Nutra USA, 3/6/09 - "supplementation with DHA for 45 days resulted in decreased levels of the number of circulating white blood cells (neutrophils) by 11.7 per cent, and these reductions were maintained until the end of the 90-day study (10.5 per cent reduction) ... levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) had decreased by 15 per cent, and IL-6 had decreased by 23 per cent ... Furthermore, levels of the anti-inflammatory matrix metalloproteinase-2 rose by 7 per cent ... In conclusion, DHA may lessen the inflammatory response by altering blood lipids and their fatty acid composition" - [Abstract] - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Turmeric Ingredient Makes Membranes Behave For Better Health - Science Daily, 3/6/09 - "curcumin acts as a disciplinarian, inserting itself into cell membranes and making them more orderly, a move that improves cells' resistance to infection and malignancy ... The membrane goes from being crazy and floppy to being more disciplined and ordered, so that information flow through it can be controlled" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Drink Green Tea For Healthy Teeth And Gums - Science Daily, 3/5/09 - "those who regularly drank green tea had superior periodontal health than subjects that consumed less green tea ... Green tea's ability to help reduce symptoms of periodontal disease may be due to the presence of the antioxidant catechin. Previous research has demonstrated antioxidants' ability to reduce inflammation in the body, and the indicators of periodontal disease measured in this study, PD, CAL and BOP, suggest the existence of an inflammatory response to periodontal bacteria in the mouth" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Statin study: Lower cholesterol, diminished joy of sex linked - USA Today, 3/5/09 - "In the study, sexual pleasure sank along with LDL levels ... Some studies have found that statins improve sexual function, probably because the pills can improve blood flow to the genital area, Golomb says. But she says the drugs also may reduce Coenzyme Q10, a nutrient that helps cells convert oxygen, blood and glucose into energy. "Orgasm is a high-energy activity," so losing the nutrient could weaken sexual pleasure, she says" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.

Support For Adjunctive Vitamin C Treatment In Cancer - Science Daily, 3/5/09 - "Challem points out two main problems with the study: the oxidized form of vitamin C (dehydroascorbic acid) and not actual vitamin C (ascorbic acid) was used; and in the mouse experiments, the animals were given toxic doses of dehydroascorbic acid, a compound that is not used as a dietary supplement in humans ... This study and the subsequent headlines [it generated] were a grievous disservice to physicians and patients with cancer ... considerable positive research…has shown striking benefits from high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in cancer cells and animals—and in actual human beings"

Vitamin D Deficiency Prevalent in Children With Chronic Kidney Disease - Medscape, 3/5/09 - "The prevalence of deficiency in this contemporary study group was 39%"

Diabetes Linked To Cognitive Deterioration - Science Daily, 3/5/09 - "people with diabetes were 1.5 more likely to experience cognitive decline, and 1.6 more likely to suffer from dementia than people without diabetes ... suggests that higher-than-average levels of blood glucose (blood sugar) may have a role in this relationship ... in people with type 2 diabetes, higher levels of haemoglobin A1C (a measure of average blood glucose) are significantly associated with poorer performance on three cognitive tasks which require memory, speed and ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time. A higher A1C level was also associated with a lower score on a test of global cognitive function ... lowering A1C levels could slow the accelerated rate of cognitive decline experienced by people with diabetes"

Grape Extracts May Be Effective Against Harmful Gut Bacteria - Science Daily, 3/4/09 - "H. pylori is the bacterial agent most commonly associated with peptic ulcers, gastritis, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric cancer ... The antibacterial effects of extracts from red, white, black and muscadine grapes as well as the pure compounds resveratrol, ellagic acid, and myricetin were tested for anti-H. pylori activity using agar dilution, laser scanning microscopy and cell proliferation. Following 24 hour treatment, results showed that muscadine grape skin extract had the highest anti-H. pylori effect, followed by muscadine grape synergy and seed extract. Additionally, two of the three compounds, resveratrol and ellagic acid, also inhibited H. pylori" - See OPC + 95 products at iHerb and Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb.

Green, Black Tea Can Reduce Stroke Risk, Research Suggests - Science Daily, 3/4/09 - "By drinking three cups of tea a day, the risk of a stroke was reduced by 21 percent. It didn't matter if it was green or black tea ... the effect appears to be linear ... researchers have speculated that the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) or the amino acid theanine may be what helps. Antioxidants are believed to help prevent coronary artery disease ... we do know that theanine is nearly 100-percent absorbed .... It gets across the blood-brain barrier and it looks a lot like a molecule that's very similar to glutamate, and glutamate release is associated with stroke" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com and theanine 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):

Coffee consumption and risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality among women with type 2 diabetes - Diabetologia. 2009 Mar 6 - "After adjustment for age, smoking and other cardiovascular risk factors, the relative risks were 0.76 (95% CI 0.50-1.14) for cardiovascular diseases (p trend = 0.09) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.55-1.14) for all-cause mortality (p trend = 0.05) for the consumption of >/=4 cups/day of caffeinated coffee compared with non-drinkers. Similarly, multivariable RRs were 0.96 (95% CI 0.66-1.38) for cardiovascular diseases (p trend = 0.84) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.54-1.07) for all-cause mortality (p trend = 0.08) for the consumption of >/=2 cups/day of decaffeinated coffee compared with non-drinkers. Higher decaffeinated coffee consumption was associated with lower concentrations of HbA(1c) (6.2% for >/=2 cups/day versus 6.7% for <1 cup/month; p trend = 0.02)"

Catechin prevents endothelial dysfunction in the prediabetic stage of OLETF rats by reducing vascular NADPH oxidase activity and expression - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Feb 3 - "studies have indicated that regular intake of green tea reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This study examined whether catechin prevents endothelial dysfunction and hyperglycemia in the prediabetic stage of a type 2 diabetic (T2D) rat ... Catechin significantly reduced blood pressure (OLETF vs. Catechin-OLETF; 138+/-16mmHg vs. 126+/-16mmHg, p=0.013), fasting sugar (129+/-11mg/dL vs. 118+/-9mg/dL, p=0.02) and the insulin level (2.13+/-1.29ng/mL vs. 0.53+/-0.27ng/mL, p=0.004). In the aorta of Catechin-OLETF at 25 weeks, endothelium-dependent relaxations were significantly improved and NADPH oxidase activity in aortic rings was markedly decreased compared with those of OLETF. Catechin reduced vascular reactive oxygen species formation in the aorta and suppressed the expression of p22phox and p47phox NADPH oxidase subunits" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Citicoline affects appetite and cortico-limbic responses to images of high-calorie foods - Int J Eat Disord. 2009 Mar 3 - "Cytidine-5'-diphosphocholine (citicoline) has a variety of cognitive enhancing, neuroprotective, and neuroregenerative properties. In cocaine-addicted individuals, citicoline has been shown to increase brain dopamine levels and reduce cravings ... After 6 weeks, there was no significant change in weight status, although significant declines in appetite ratings were observed for the 2,000 mg/day group. The higher dose group also showed significant increases in functional brain responses to food stimuli within the amygdala, insula, and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Increased activation in these regions correlated with declines in appetite ratings ...These preliminary findings suggest a potential usefulness of citicoline in modulating appetite, but further research is warranted" - See citicholine at Amazon.com.

DHA supplementation decreases Serum C-reactive protein and other markers of inflammation in hypertriglyceridemic men - J Nutr. 2009 Mar;139(3):495-501 - "received either 7.5 g/d DHA oil (3 g DHA/d) or olive oil (placebo) for the last 90 d ... DHA supplementation for 45 and 91 d decreased the number of circulating neutrophils by 11.7 and 10.5%, respectively ... at 91 d it reduced (P < 0.05) concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) by 15%, interleukin-6 by 23%, and granulocyte monocyte-colony stimulating factor by 21% and DHA increased the concentration of antiinflammatory matrix metalloproteinase-2 by 7%" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Resveratrol inhibits fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis in rat hepatocytes - Eur J Clin Invest. 2009 Mar;39(3):211-8 - "Results here reported show that in isolated hepatocytes from normal rats a resveratrol-induced short-term inhibition of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis occurs. This finding may represent a potential mechanism contributing to the reported hypolipidemic effect of resveratrol" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

Adiponectin Regulates Arterial Calcification - J Bone Miner Res. 2009 Mar 3 - "adiponectin inhibited osteoblastic differentiation of CVSMCs via AdipoR1/p38 signaling pathway ... Our findings firstly demonstrated that Adiponectin(-/-) mice developed arterial calcification, and this could be attributed to the loss of inhibitory action of adiponectin on osteoblastic differentiation of CVSMCs. It suggested that adiponectin play a protective role against arterial calcification"

More to worry about:

• In my 5/14/08 and 5/21/08 newsletters I mentioned that there was enough deuterium in the ocean to provide energy for another 150 billion years if we could master fusion and that man wouldn’t be around that long because we’d be hit by an asteroid before then. I was almost proven right on 3/4/09. See: Phew! Asteroid's Passing Was a Cosmic Near-Miss - ABC News, 3/4/09.  That was close. It was one fifth the distance to the moon. They said on the news that it would have been the equivalent of a 20 megaton nuke which is 1000 times the size dropped on Nagasaki. It would have leveled 800 square miles.
• People aren’t paying attention to the significance of this (Iran has access to enough uranium to make 50 nuclear bombs and might be able to produce the first within a year):  3/4/09 Iran nukes within a year - 1:17

Supplement Focus (Choline):

News & Research:

• citicholine at Amazon.com
• Choline - The Natural Pharmacist
• 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.
• 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.
• 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"
• Choline Effective in Mouse Model of Allergic Asthma - Medscape, 10/11/07 - "Treatment with choline chloride has significant anti-inflammatory activity in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation"
• The association between betaine and choline intakes and the plasma concentrations of homocysteine in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Oct;86(4):1073-1081 - "Total choline + betaine intake was inversely associated with tHcy, as was choline from 2 water-soluble choline-containing compounds. Remethylation of tHcy may be more dependent on the betaine pathway when methyl sources are low as a result of either inadequate folate intake or heavier alcohol consumption"
• Choline May Promote Colon Polyps - WebMD, 8/7/07 - "that doesn't mean that choline caused those polyps -- or that avoiding choline prevents polyps. Observational studies such as this one don't prove cause and effect"
• Need More Choline? - Dr. Weil, 7/3/07
• Nutritional Supplement Given After Birth Improves Learning And Behavior In Rats Exposed To Alcohol During Development - Science Daily, 3/1/07 - "Choline plays a number of roles in brain development. It is also a precursor to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in learning and cognition, among other functions ... giving choline to rat pups exposed to alcohol during the equivalent of the third trimester, when there's a spurt in brain growth, significantly reduced the severity of alcohol-related over-activity and spatial learning deficits. The benefits lasted months after choline treatment, suggesting that choline's effects are long-lasting"
• Increased choline intake could cut CVD risk, suggests study - Nutra USA, 6/22/06
• MIT Research Offers New Hope For Alzheimer's Patients - Science Daily, 4/27/06 - "The three compounds in the treatment cocktail - omega-3 fatty acids, uridine and choline - are all needed by brain neurons to make phospholipids, the primary component of cell membranes"
• Memory enhancer named best new ingredient - Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 4/04 - "Citicoline is a form of choline that helps replenish the brain with phosphatidylserine ... In a double-blind trial of 84 elderly patients with mild to moderate memory loss, subjects who took 1000mg of citicoline daily for six weeks showed improvement in the acquisition of new information and its recall and improvement in global memory efficiency"
• Research Links Nutrient in Eggs to Improved Memory - WebMD, 3/12/04 - "has been studying choline in animals for more than a decade and is also four years into a study examining the effects of choline deficiency in humans. He says those studies show that the current recommended intake of half a gram a day -- the amount gotten by eating two large eggs -- is probably not enough for some groups, especially young men"
• Enhancing Cognitive Function - Life Extension Magazine, 5/00
• How to Have a Smarter Child - WebMD, 10/8/01 - "When Swartzwelder gave pregnant rats a diet containing three times the usual amount of choline, their offspring did better on maze-learning and similar tests of spatial memory. They also had improved function in the brain region known as the hippocampus, which is vital for memory and learning"
• Putting On Einstein's Thinking Cap - Life Enhancement Magazine, 8/99
• Be All That You Can Be - Life Enhancement Magazine, 7/99

Abstracts:

• Citicoline affects appetite and cortico-limbic responses to images of high-calorie foods - Int J Eat Disord. 2009 Mar 3 - "Cytidine-5'-diphosphocholine (citicoline) has a variety of cognitive enhancing, neuroprotective, and neuroregenerative properties. In cocaine-addicted individuals, citicoline has been shown to increase brain dopamine levels and reduce cravings ... After 6 weeks, there was no significant change in weight status, although significant declines in appetite ratings were observed for the 2,000 mg/day group. The higher dose group also showed significant increases in functional brain responses to food stimuli within the amygdala, insula, and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Increased activation in these regions correlated with declines in appetite ratings ...These preliminary findings suggest a potential usefulness of citicoline in modulating appetite, but further research is warranted"
• Dietary choline and betaine intakes in relation to concentrations of inflammatory markers in healthy adults: the ATTICA study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Feb;87(2):424-30 - "Compared with the lowest tertile of choline intake (<250 mg/d), participants who consumed >310 mg/d had, on average, 22% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein (P < 0.05), 26% lower concentrations of interleukin-6 (P < 0.05), and 6% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha"