Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 1/6/10.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Pomegranates May Stall Breast Cancer - WebMD, 1/5/10 - "Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice may help prevent and slow the growth of some types of breast cancer ... Researchers say the ellagitannins in pomegranates work by inhibiting aromatase, which is a key enzyme used by the body to make estrogen and plays a key role in breast cancer growth" - See pomegranate at Amazon.com.

10 surprising ways to live longer - MSNBC, 1/5/10 - "Eat omega-3s every day ... Sniff lavender or rosemary ... Don’t be a drama queen ... Stop eating before you’re stuffed ... Stay the weight you were at 18 ... Diversify your workout ... Munch on veggies or fruits every 4 hours ... Floss daily ... Have a standing lunch date ... Donate blood"

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):

l-Carnitine l-tartrate supplementation favorably affects biochemical markers of recovery from physical exertion in middle-aged men and women - Metabolism. 2009 Dec 30 - "Two grams of l-carnitine supplementation had positive effects and significantly (P </= .05) attenuated biochemical markers of purine metabolism (ie, hypoxanthine, xanthine oxidase), free radical formation (malondialdehyde), muscle tissue disruption (myoglobin, creatine kinase), and muscle soreness after physical exertion. However, markers of physical performance (ie, strength, power, get up and go) were not affected by supplementation. These findings support our previous findings of l-carnitine in younger people that such supplementation can reduce chemical damage to tissues after exercise and optimize the processes of muscle tissue repair and remodeling" - See l-carnitine at Amazon.com.

Statins and Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women without Hormone Therapy - Anticancer Res. 2009 Dec;29(12):5143-5148 - "Overall, there was no association between the use of statins and breast cancer risk odds ratio (OR)=1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-2.5). However, risk varied by hormone receptor status. Compared to non-users, obese women who used hydrophobic statins had an elevated risk of progesterone receptor-negative (PR(-)) breast cancer OR=4.0 (95% CI 1.2-13.8), but not of tumors with other hormone receptor profiles. The risk for breast cancer was also significantly increased among overweight women who used hydrophobic statins for less than or equal to 4 years OR=4.1 (95% CI 1.2-14.4). CONCLUSION: This observational study found an increased risk of breast cancer related to duration of statins use and PR(-) among postmenopausal women"

Minerals and vitamins and the risk of bladder cancer: results from the New Hampshire Study - Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Dec 31 - "The ORs (95% CI) for highest quartile versus lowest quartile for total intake of vitamin E was 0.66 (0.36-1.20; p trend = 0.09) and 0.49 (0.21-1.17; p trend = 0.13) for dietary phosphorus. The odds of bladder cancer for heavy smokers with the highest total intake of vitamin E, carotenoids, and niacin were 0.58 (0.34-0.99), 0.62 (0.36-1.09), and 0.66 (0.39-1.14), respectively. Higher total intakes of carotenoids, vitamin D, thiamin, niacin, and vitamin E were inversely related to bladder cancer risk among older individuals"

Intakes of meat, fish, poultry, and eggs and risk of prostate cancer progression - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec 30 - "Intakes of processed and unprocessed red meat, fish, total poultry, and skinless poultry were not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression. Greater consumption of eggs and poultry with skin was associated with 2-fold increases in risk in a comparison of extreme quantiles: eggs [hazard ratio (HR): 2.02; 95% CI: 1.10, 3.72; P for trend = 0.05] and poultry with skin (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.36, 3.76; P for trend = 0.003). An interaction was observed between prognostic risk at diagnosis and poultry. Men with high prognostic risk and a high poultry intake had a 4-fold increased risk of recurrence or progression compared with men with low/intermediate prognostic risk and a low poultry intake (P for interaction = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the postdiagnostic consumption of processed or unprocessed red meat, fish, or skinless poultry is not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression, whereas consumption of eggs and poultry with skin may increase the risk"

Dietary iron intake and risk of endometrial cancer: a population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China - Nutr Cancer. 2010;62(1):40-50 - "Dietary red meat and animal fat have been linked to endometrial cancer (EC) risk, but the impact of bioavailable iron in animal-derived foods has been less well studied ... Animal-derived iron intake was positively associated with EC risk [adjusted OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.4-2.7, P(trend) < 0.01, highest vs. lowest quartile], predominantly after menopause (OR = 2.2; 95%CI = 1.4-3.4, P(trend) < 0.01) and in women with BMI >or= 25 kg/m(2)(OR = 3.2; 95% CI = 1.4-7.5 in postmenopausal obese women, P(trend) < 0.01). Animal-derived fat was also associated with postmenopausal EC risk (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.2-2.5, P(trend) < 0.01). Multiplicative interactions between animal-derived iron and BMI or animal-derived fat intake were not observed. Animal-derived iron intake is associated with increased risk of EC after menopause and among obese women. Avoidance of animal-derived (heme) iron may reduce the risk of EC in these women"

The 10t,12c isomer of conjugated linoleic acid inhibits fatty acid synthase expression and enzyme activity in human breast, colon, and prostate cancer cells - Nutr Cancer. 2010;62(1):116-21 - "We first confirmed and extended the results of others showing that the inhibitory action of CLA on proliferation is dependent on the cell type as well as the structure of the isomer, the 10,12 isomer being a more potent inhibitor than the 9,11 isomer in the concentration range 25-100 microM. By Western analysis, we showed that 10,12 CLA downregulated FAS expression in all of the cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner, but the 9,11 isomer had no effect. Both isomers inhibited FAS enzyme activity, but 10,12 CLA was again more potent than the 9,11 isomer. Our results suggest that downregulation of FAS by 10,12 CLA, but not by the 9,11 isomer, as well as inhibition of FAS enzyme activity by both isomers, may contribute to growth inhibition of cancer cells but only at relatively high concentrations" - Note:  I wish they would state brand names instead of leaving the reader with trying to figure which brand correlates with which isomers.  See conjugated linoleic acid at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff :

• ISY-99i/IR PRO Home Automation Controller with PLM and IR Control - I bought one of these.  You can turn your house lights on or off and adjust your thermostat from anywhere in the world via the Internet or an iPhone app called iLinc Pro (search iPhone apps for it).  I doubt if most could figure the setups though.  Email me if you get one and I can explain it much better than the manual.  Click here for pictures of how it works with the iPhone.  Click here for the entire Insteon line.  I was even tinkering around and set it up to flush the toilet.  Click here for the video.  I've got a Kohler high flush with an electronic flush button so it was easy.  It's the black and blue wires for #1 and black and white wires for #2.

Health Focus (Telomerase):

News and Research:

• Telomere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "it has been hypothesized that there is a trade-off between cancerous tumor suppression and tissue repair capacity, in that lengthening telomeres might slow aging and in exchange increase vulnerability to cancer (Weinstein and Ciszek, 2002)"
• Dolly (sheep) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "A Finn Dorset such as Dolly would have had a life expectancy of around 12 - 15 years, but Dolly only lived to 6 years of age. Some believe the reason for this is because Dolly was actually born genetically 6 years old, the same age as her donor at the time that her genetic data was taken from her"
• Can We Cure Aging? - International Anti-Aging Systems
• Stress Promotes Cell Aging - About.com - "The telomeres of the women suffering from severe stress (those caring for a chronically ill child) had undergone shortening equivalent to about 10 years of additional aging when compared with those of less-stressed women"
• Calorie restriction: Scientists take important step toward 'fountain of youth' - Science Daily, 12/26/09 - "They found that the normal cells lived longer, and many of the precancerous cells died, when given less glucose. Gene activity was also measured under these same conditions. The reduced glucose caused normal cells to have a higher activity of the gene that dictates the level of telomerase, an enzyme that extends their lifespan and lower activity of a gene (p16) that slows their growth. Epigenetic effects (effects not due to gene mutations) were found to be a major cause in changing the activity of these genes as they reacted to decreased glucose levels" - See my Insulin and Aging page.  Insulin controls glucose levels.  Insulin resistance causes high glucose.
• Look Young to Live Longer? - WebMD, 12/15/09 - "Perceived age, the researchers say, adjusted for chronological age and sex, also correlated with physical and cognitive functioning, as well as length of leukocyte telomeres - chromosome tips on DNA of people's white blood cells ... Shorter telomere length is associated with a “host of diseases related to aging and lifestyle factors and has been shown to be associated with mortality,”"
• Long-term physical activity has an anti-aging effect at the cellular level - Science Daily, 12/2/09
• Molecular Proof: Exercise Keeps You Young - WebMD, 12/1/09 - "Compared to people who did not exercise, elite runners in the study had cells that looked much younger under a microscope ... Just as the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces keep the laces from fraying, telomeres protect the chromosomes that carry genes during cell division ... Each time a cell divides, telomeres get shorter. When telomeres get too short, cells can no longer divide and they die ... Researchers now believe telomere shortening is critical to aging, making people more vulnerable to diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer ... That study suggested exercise might trump genes when it comes to keeping people young" - [U.S. News & World Report]
• Longevity Tied To Genes That Preserve Tips Of Chromosomes - Science Daily, 11/11/09
• Tea consumers may have younger biological age - Nutra USA, 8/25/09 - "The study’s findings are based on the telomere lengths of 976 Chinese men and 1,030 Chinese women aged over 65. The participants’ dietary habits were evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire ... Overall, only tea consumption was associated with telomere length. The highest intakes, three cups or 750 millilitres per day, was associated with significantly longer telomere lengths, compared to people who drank 70 millilitres per day or less, said the researchers" - [Abstract] - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Multivitamins linked to younger ‘biological age’: Study - Nutra USA, 5/27/09 - "Compared to non-multivitamin users, the researchers noted that that telomeres were on average 5.1 per cent longer for daily multivitamin users ... Whereas the evidence is not sufficient to conclude that these 2 dietary antioxidants mediated the observed relation, the results are consistent with experimental findings that vitamins C and E protect telomeres in vitro" - [Abstract]
• Shortening Telomeres Linked To Aging In Population Studies, But Original Telomere Length Varies Between Individuals - Science Daily, 2/13/09
• Clean living 'slows cell ageing' - BBC News, 9/15/08 - "Among 24 men asked to adopt healthy lifestyle changes for a US study in The Lancet Oncology, levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average ... Telomerase repairs and lengthens telomeres, which cap and protect the ends of chromosomes housing DNA ... These consisted of a diet high in fruit and vegetables, supplements of vitamins and fish oils, an exercise regimen and classes in stress management, relaxation techniques and breathing exercises"
• Sedentary Lifestyles Associated With Accelerated Aging Process - Science Daily, 1/28/08 - "Telomere length decreased with age, with an average loss of 21 nucleotides (structural units) per year. Men and women who were less physically active in their leisure time had shorter leukocyte telomeres than those who were more active. ... "The mean difference in leukocyte telomere length between the most active [who performed an average of 199 minutes of physical activity per week] and least active [16 minutes of physical activity per week] subjects was 200 nucleotides, which means that the most active subjects had telomeres the same length as sedentary individuals up to 10 years younger, on average."" - I'm must be in fat city on this one.  I must have averaged 60 minutes per day since I've been 18 which comes to 420 minutes per week.  Maybe that's the main reason people claim I look young. Plus I've always taken vitamin D which helps with telomere length also. - Ben
• Live longer with vitamin D, study says - Nutra USA, 11/9/07
• Vitamin D 'may help slow ageing' - BBC News, 11/8/07 - "those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA ...women with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to have longer telomeres in these cells, and vice versa" -  See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Decreased Vitamin D Levels Linked to Shorter Telomeres - Doctor's Guide, 6/5/07 - "Investigators found the difference in TRFL between the highest and lowest tertiles of vitamin D was 92.6 base pairs (P =.006). That result was equivalent to 4.2 years of telomeric aging"
• Biological Aging Predicts Heart Attack - WebMD, 1/11/07 - "People who age fast -- as measured by DNA shortening -- have a higher heart disease risk. Statin drugs may help ... Pravachol -- one of the "statin" family of cholesterol-lowering drugs -- dramatically lowered the heart disease risk of people with shorter telomeres. But the drug seemed to have little effect on heart disease risk in people with the longest telomeres"
• Does Telomere Shortening Predict Dementia? A Critical Review - Doctor's Guide, 4/24/06 - "Telomere lengths in both the dementia and non-dementia patients showed no significant decline with age"
• Tiny Roundworm's Telomeres Help Scientists To Tease Apart Different Types Of Aging - Science Daily, 8/8/05 - "telomeres alone do not dictate aging and lifespan ... For successful aging you have to control both, aging in your dividing cells, which hinges on telomere maintenance, but also aging in your non-dividing cells. We thought that telomeres might play a role in the later but that's clearly not the case ... What is probably playing a role in the other half of aging is the insulin signaling pathway, proper mitochondrial function and dietary restriction"
• Obesity, Smoking Linked to Faster Aging - WebMD, 6/13/05 - "Telomeres are the tips of the chromosomes, which contain DNA. They gradually shorten over a lifetime ... The difference in telomere length between being lean and being obese corresponds to 8.8 years of aging ... Obesity and smoking are important risk factors for many age-related diseases. Both are states of heightened oxidative stress … and inflammation"
• Extra Weight May Age You Faster - WebMD, 5/25/05 - "inflammation burns out white blood cells faster, and the effort of replacing them wears down the telomeres"
• Chronic Stress Makes Cells Age Faster - WebMD, 11/29/04 - "In translating telomere length into years of aging, researchers determined the cells from the highly stressed mothers had aged from nine to 17 additional years compared with the cells from the low-stress mothers"
• Shortened Chromosomes Linked To Early Stages Of Cancer Development - Science Daily, 5/28/04
• Life Span Lives in Length of Chromosomes - WebMD, 1/31/03
• Chromosome Shrinkage May Promote Disease - Intelihealth, 1/31/03
• Chromosome Ends In Elderly Could Show Mortality Risks - Doctor's Guide, 1/31/03
• Telomere Control & Cellular Aging - Life Extension Magazine, 9/02
• Shorter Lifespan Found In Study Of Cloned Mice - Intelihealth, 2/11/02
• Cell-life Extender Linked to Cancer - Nutrition Science News, 9/00
• "Youth" Cells May Promote Cancer - Intelihealth, 6/14/00
• Cloned Cows Cells Stay Young - Intelihealth, 4/28/00
• Science takes cellular approach to explore aging process - CNN, 1/4/00
• The Technology of Immortality - Life Enhancement Magazine, 7/99
• Cloned sheep Dolly has 'old' DNA - CNN, 5/27/99
• 'Turning on' Telomerase To Stop Cell Aging: The Quest for Immortality - Life Extension Magazine, 2/98

Abstracts:

• Higher circulating levels of igf-1 are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in healthy subjects - Mech Ageing Dev. 2009 Nov 10 - "Both IGF-1 and LTL diminished with age (IGF-1, r=-0.601, P<0.001; LTL, r=-0.706, P<0.001). Age-adjusted LTL was positively associated with IGF-1 level throughout the age range of the cohort (r=0.270, P<0.001). IGF-1 accounted for about 10% of the inter-individual variation in LTL over and above the effect of age. Our findings suggest that both circulating IGF-1 and LTL are indices of healthy aging in humans" - Note: hGH increases igf-1.
• Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men - Br J Nutr. 2009 Aug 12:1-7 - "In men, only Chinese tea consumption was significantly associated with TL after adjustment for demographics and lifestyle factors (P = 0.002). Mean difference in TL for those in the highest quartile of Chinese tea consumption (>3 cups/d or >750 ml/d) as compared with those in the lowest quartile of Chinese tea consumption ( </= 0.28 cups/d or </= 70 ml/d) was 0.46 kb, corresponding to approximately a difference of 5 years of life" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Multivitamin use and telomere length in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun;89(6):1857-63 - "After age and other potential confounders were adjusted for, multivitamin use was associated with longer telomeres. Compared with nonusers, the relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was on average 5.1% longer among daily multivitamin users (P for trend = 0.002). In the analysis of micronutrients, higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods were each associated with longer telomeres, even after adjustment for multivitamin use. Furthermore, intakes of both nutrients were associated with telomere length among women who did not take multivitamins"
• Leukocyte telomere length is associated with HDL cholesterol levels: The Bogalusa heart study - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Jan 24 - "Diminished levels of HDL-C are associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis. Shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) also entails an increased atherosclerotic risk ... Multivariate regression analyses showed that LTL was positively associated with HDL-C in childhood (regression coefficient (bp per mg/dL) beta=3.1, p=0.024), adulthood (beta=4.4, p=0.058) and AUC from childhood to adulthood ... A slower rate of LTL shortening per year was associated with higher HDL-C AUC in the total sample (p=0.033), adjusting for baseline LTL ... As HDL-C exerts anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and LTL registers the accruing burden of oxidative stress and inflammation, the association between HDL-C and LTL might be explained by the lifelong status of oxidative stress and inflammation" - Note:  Telomere length is associated with longer lifespan.  Niacin increases HDL.  See niacin at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol reduces endothelial progenitor cells senescence through augmentation of telomerase activity by Akt-dependent mechanisms - Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Jun 30 - "Resveratrol significantly increased telomerase activity and Akt phosphorylation ... Resveratrol delayed the onset of EPC senescence and this effect was accompanied by activation of telomerase through the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. The inhibition of EPCs senescence by resveratrol might protect EPCs against dysfunction induced by pathological factors in vivo and improve EPC functional activities in a way that may be important for cell therapy" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Telomere length and obesity - Acta Paediatr. 2008 Apr 21 - "No difference was found between the TRF lengths of obese and normal children. Obese adults had shorter TRF lengths than adults who were not obese (mean TRF length difference, -884.5; 95% confidence intervals -1727 to -41.8; t= 2.183; df = 17; p < 0.041)"
• Telomere length in white blood cells, buccal cells and brain tissue and its variation with ageing and Alzheimer's disease - Mech Ageing Dev. 2008 Jan 31 - "We observed a significantly lower telomere length in white blood cells (P<0.0001) and buccal cells (P<0.01) in Alzheimer's patients relative to healthy age-matched controls (31.4% and 32.3%, respectively)"
• Telomere length may be associated with hypertension - J Hum Hypertens. 2007 Nov 29
• Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1420-1425 - "Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) ... higher vitamin D concentrations, which are easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation, are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial effects of this hormone on aging and age-related diseases" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Obesity, cigarette smoking, and telomere length in women - Lancet. 2005 Aug 20-26;366(9486):662-4 - "telomere length decreased steadily with age at a mean rate of 27 bp per year. Telomeres of obese women were 240 bp shorter than those of lean women (p=0.026). A dose-dependent relation with smoking was recorded (p=0.017), and each pack-year smoked was equivalent to an additional 5 bp of telomere length lost (18%) compared with the rate in the overall cohort"
• Oxidative stress shortens telomeres - Trends Biochem Sci. 2002 Jul;27(7):339-44 - "oxidative stress accelerates telomere loss, whereas antioxidants decelerate it"

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