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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 6/1/11.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Rise of Throat Cancer in Men Linked to Human Papillomavirus - WSJ.com, 5/31/11 - "Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. ... More than half of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives ... About 20 million Americans are currently infected and about six million more get infected each year ... HPV can cause cervical cancer in women, which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women world-wide ... HPV is linked to a four- to five-fold increase in certain oral cancers, especially in men; about 25% of mouth and 35% of throat cancers are caused by HPV ... There are more than 100 different types of HPV virus. Some are low-risk while highrisk types can cause several cancers, including head and neck cancer, which is becoming more prevalent ... those with HPV-positive oral cancers have a disease survival rate of 85% to 90% over five years, higher than those with oral cancers that aren't linked to HPV, but are more commonly linked to alcohol use, tobacco, and radiation exposure" - Note:  I'm not sure if that survival rate is valid if it has spread to the lymph nodes.  See:

Cocoa extracts may benefit cholesterol levels: Study - Nutra USA, 5/31/11 - "recruited 42 volunteers with a mean age of 70 to participate in their randomized, crossover feeding trial. All the participants received 500 mL of skimmed milk/day with or without 40g of cocoa powder for 4 weeks. The 40 grams of cocoa powder provided 495.2 milligrams of polyphenols and 425.7 milligrams of proanthocyanidins ... At the end of the study the researchers found that milk plus cocoa was associated with a 5 percent increase in HDL cholesterol levels, compared to only milk ... In addition, cocoa plus milk was associated with a 14 percent reduction in oxidized LDL cholesterol levels, compared to milk only ... the polyphenols in cocoa may bind to LDL particles and therefore prevent them from being oxidized ... Concerning the increase in HDL, they note that the mechanism remains to be elucidated, but it may be related to polyphenols boosting the production of a molecule called apolipoprotein (Apo) A1, which is the main protein component of HDL" - [Abstract]

Strong Evidence Links Meat to Higher Risk for Colon Cancer - Medscape, 5/30/11 - "For red and processed meat, the findings from 10 new studies were added to the 14 studies that were evaluated in the 2007 report. From these 24 studies, the panel confirmed that there is convincing evidence that both red and processed meat can increase the risk for colorectal cancer ... The WCRF/AICR recommend that the consumption of red meat be limited to 500 g/week, which is roughly the equivalent of 5 or 6 medium portions of beef, lamb, or pork. They also recommend that processed meat be avoided ... According to their data, if 3.5 ounces of red meat are consumed every day (24.5 ounces per week), the risk for colorectal cancer will be 17% higher than if no red meat is consumed. If the amount of red meat consumed is doubled (7.0 ounces every day; 49 ounces per week), the risk is 34% higher. However, the evidence found that there was very little increase in risk for individuals who ate less than 18 ounces of red meat per week ... The cancer risk associated with processed meat, which includes ham, bacon, pastrami, hot dogs, and sausages, was much higher. Consuming 3.5 ounces every day (24.5 ounces per week) was associated with a risk that is 36% higher than the risk of consuming no processed meat. As with red meat, the higher the rate of consumption, the higher the risk for colorectal cancer"

Obesity greater risk for fatty liver than moderate amounts of alcohol, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/30/11 - "It turned out that the amount of fat in the liver was linked with obesity and insulin resistance and was almost not at all affected by the red wine. Specifically, after three months, none of the the wine drinkers had developed fatty liver or elevated liver transaminases"

Protean Manifestations of Vitamin D Deficiency, Part 2 (printer-friendly) - Medscape, 5/30/11 - "An association of vitamin D deficiency with autoimmune disease (particularly multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes) is well established, and vitamin D supplementation has the potential to avoid the development of type 1 diabetes. Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with infection and allergy and correction of vitamin D deficiency may improve the manifestations of asthma. Because 1-25-OH-vitamin D is anti-proliferative and promotes differention as well as inhibiting apoptosis and angiogenesis, vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple cancers including colon, breast and prostate cancers and is associated with a worsened prognosis from these cancers. Through an effect on insulin resistance and insulin release vitamin D deficiency is associated with type 2 diabetes and may also be associated with diabetic complications" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Simple sugar, lactate, is like 'candy for cancer cells': Cancer cells accelerate aging and inflammation in the body to drive tumor growth - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "lactate is like "candy" for cancer cells. And cancer cells are addicted to this supply of "candy." ... We've essentially shown for the first time that there is lactate shuttle in human tumors ... If lethal cancer is a disease of "accelerated aging" in the tumor's connective tissue, then cancer patients may benefit from therapy with strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatory drugs ... Antioxidant therapy will "cut off the fuel supply" for cancer cells." Antioxidants also have a natural anti-inflammatory action"

Go ahead, shake it? We may be wrong about salt - Health - Diet and nutrition - MSNBC, 5/26/11 - "A study published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association came to the surprising conclusion that too much salt might not raise the risk of cardiovascular disease complications after all. Making matters even more confusing, death rates appeared to be higher in those with lower sodium levels ... For the most part, the problem with salt is the setting in which you find it. The vast majority of “processed” or convenience foods are high in both fat and salt. It’s the fat that’s the big problem. As for the benefits of reducing salt, only about 5 percent of people have a salt sensitivity that is the primary cause of their hypertension. The major contributors to hypertension are obesity and diabetes"

Niacin doesn't stop heart attacks, major study finds - Health - Heart health - msnbc.com - MSNBC, 5/26/11 - "The newest study tested Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan, an extended-release form of niacin that is a far higher dose than is found in dietary supplements ... the Niaspan users saw their HDL levels rise, and their levels of risky triglycerides drop, more than people who took a statin alone. But the combination treatment didn't reduce heart attacks, strokes or the need for artery-clearing procedures such as angioplasty ... That finding "is unexpected and a striking contrast to the results of previous trials," ... Also, there was a small increase in strokes in the high-dose niacin users — 28 among those 1,718 people given Niaspan compared with 12 among the 1,696 placebo users. The NIH said it was not clear if that small difference was merely a coincidence, as previous studies have shown no stroke risk from niacin. In fact, some of the strokes occurred after the Niaspan users quit taking that drug" - See my niacin and HDL pages for many more studies.  For one thing, there are waaaay more arguments for raising HDL than just heart disease.  Things such as centurions having unusually high HDL, prostate cancer, bowel cancer, impotence, Alzheimer's, etc., not to mention that it conflicts with other studies.

Naturally occurring plant alkaloids could slow down Alzheimer's disease, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Beta-carboline alkaloids could potentially be used in therapeutic drugs to stop, or at least slow down, the progressively debilitating effects of Alzheimer's ... Beta-carboline alkaloids are found in a number of medicinal plants. They have antioxidant properties, and have been shown to protect brain cells from excessive stimulation of neurotransmitters. "(They) are natural occurring compounds in some plant species that affect multiple central nervous system targets,""

Fish oil may have positive effects on mood, alcohol craving, new study shows - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have found at a molecular level a potential therapeutic benefit from these dietary supplements for treating alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorders ... In a multi-year study, researchers showed conclusive behavioral and molecular benefits for omega 3 fatty acid given to mice models of bipolar disorder. The fatty acid DHA, which is one of the main active ingredients in fish oil, "normalized their behavior," ... The mice that were given DHA normalized their behavior, they are not depressed and when subjected to stress, they do not become manic ... When we looked into their brains, using comprehensive gene expression studies, we were surprised to see that genes that are known targets of psychiatric medications were modulated and normalized by DHA ... These bipolar mice, like some bipolar patients, love alcohol. The mice on DHA drank much less; it curtailed their alcohol abusive behavior ... There is now substantial evidence at the molecular level that omega-3 fatty acids work on the brain in ways similar to psychiatric drug ... Omega 3 fatty acids are known to be good for one's health, good for one's brain, and lack major side-effects, as opposed to some psychiatric medications" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Stress may increase risk for Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Fewer than ten percent of Alzheimer cases have a genetic basis. The factors that contribute to the rest of the cases are largely unknown ... life events (stress) may be one trigger ... stress, and the hormones released during stress, can accelerate the development of Alzheimer disease-like biochemical and behavioural pathology"

High risk of Parkinson's disease for people exposed to pesticides near workplace: Pesticide ziram implicated as possible cause for disease - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "a follow-up study adds two new twists. Once again the researchers returned to California's fertile Central Valley, and for the first time have implicated a third pesticide, ziram, in the pathology of Parkinson's disease. Second, instead of looking just at whether people lived near fields that were sprayed, they looked at where people worked, including teachers, firefighters and clerks who worked near, but not in, the fields ... They found that the combined exposure to ziram, maneb and paraquat near any workplace increased the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) threefold, while combined exposure to ziram and paraquat alone was associated with an 80 percent increase in risk"

Folic acid given to mother rats protects offspring from colon cancer - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Folic acid supplements given to pregnant and breast-feeding rats reduced the rate of colon cancer in their offspring by 64 per cent" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com.

Prebiotics may keep students healthy during stressful periods - Nutra USA, 5/26/11 - "A daily dose of 5.0 grams of the commercially available Purimmune prebiotic product from GTC Nutrition was associated with a 40 percent reduction in the number of days with cold or flu, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ... In addition, the prebiotic supplement – based on galactooligosaccharides – was also associated with a reduction in the occurrence of gut upsets in students around the time of fall final exams" - [Abstract] - See galactooligosaccharide products at iHerb (see the abstract).  I could have used that in college.  I remember that it worked out that I had two or three finals on the same day and I was up late studying for all three and got a stomach ache so bad I had to go to the campus nurse.  I never got much studying done but made it through the exams OK.

Protein drinks after exercise help maintain aging muscles/a> - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "protein drinks after aerobic activity increases the training effect after six weeks, when compared to carbohydrate drinks. Additionally, this study suggests that this effect can be seen using as little as 20 grams of protein"

Lower Diabetes Incidence in Patients Treated With ACEIs and ARBs - Medscape, 5/25/11 - "Over an average follow-up of 4.0 +/- 1.0 years, there were 1284 (8.5%) incident cases of diabetes in active-treated and 1411 (9.3%) cases in placebo-treated patients in the ACE inhibitor trials, and there were 2330 (12.4%) cases in active-treated and 2669 (14.2%) cases in placebo-treated patients in the ARB trials. Overall, active therapy reduced diabetes incidence compared with placebo (odds ratio [OR], 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8-0.9; P < .01). ARBs significantly reduced diabetes incidence (OR, 0.8; CI, 0.8-0.9; P < .01). Incidence was also lower for ACEIs (OR, 0.8; CI, 0.7-1.0) but was only marginally significant (P = .07)"

Chlorine and childhood cancer - Science Daily, 5/25/11 - "A significant positive association between the risk of childhood leukemia and levels of chlorine-containing chemicals in the atmosphere has been found by researchers in Portugal ... potential emissions from paper-related industry, forest fires, pesticides manufacturing, heavy chemical industry and fossil fuel power stations may lead to higher levels of chlorine-containing carcinogens in the air ... lichens have been used as accurate biomarkers of pollution levels since the 1970s. Lichens are excellent biomonitors because they depend largely on atmospheric depositions for their nutrient supply, thus showing elemental compositions which reflect the gaseous, dissolved and/or particulate elements in the atmosphere, the team explains"

Women who start prenatal vitamins early are less likely to have children with autism, study finds - Science Daily, 5/25/11 - "Women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder as women who did take the supplements -- and the associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with a high-risk genetic make-up ... The authors postulate that folic acid, the synthetic form of folate or vitamin B9, and the other B vitamins in prenatal supplements, likely protect against deficits in early fetal brain development. Folate is known to be critical to neurodevelopment and studies have found that supplemental folic acid has the potential to prevent up to 70 percent of neural tube defects, the authors said"

Vitamin D increases speed of sperm cells, researchers discover - Science Daily, 5/25/11 - "A new study conducted in 300 normal men showed a positive correlation between the percentage of motile sperm and serum vitamin D levels. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction, and showed additionally that stimulation of human spermatooza in the laboratory with activated vitamin D can increase their forward movement" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Healthy gut flora could prevent obesity, rat study suggests - Science Daily, 5/25/11 - "Poor gut flora is believed to trigger obesity. In the same way, healthy gut flora could reduce the risk. This has shown to be the case in tests on rats. Daily intake of a lactic acid bacteria, which has been given the name Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL19, appears to be able to prevent obesity and reduce the body's low-level inflammation ... Rats who were given this specific lactic acid bacterium from their time in the uterus up to adult age put on significantly less weight than other rats. Both groups ate the same amount of high-energy food ... A third group of rats were given the inflammation-causing Escherichia coli bacteria in their drinking water, in addition to the same high-energy food as the other rats. The E. coli supplement led to changes in gut flora and increased body fat ... A healthy gut flora at an early stage appears to play a part in children's wellbeing later in life" - See probiotics at Amazon.com.

Pioglitazone to Prevent Progression to Diabetes: Abstract and Introduction - Medscape,5/25/11 - "More placebo recipients (17%) than pioglitazone recipients (5%) progressed to diabetes. Mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels rose by 0.2% in the placebo group and remained unchanged in the pioglitazone group" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.

Increasing daily calcium will not reduce the risk of fractures in later life, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/24/11 - "women had the lowest risk of having a fracture when they consumed around 750 mg a day of calcium. However, the fracture risk in women who started to increase their calcium intake over time did not decrease ... while low levels of calcium intake (less than 700 mg per day) increase the risk of fractures and osteoporosis, there is no need to start increasing calcium intake above the amount. Increases did not further reduce the fracture and osteoporosis risk"

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):

Similar effects of leucine rich and regular dairy products on muscle mass and functions of older polymyalgia rheumatica patients: a randomized crossover trial - J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(6):462-7 - "Patients performed as many stand ups as possible twice a day after which they ingested a regular (Control) or a whey protein enriched dairy product with high leucine content (Test). The 8-week intervention periods were separated by a 4-week wash-out ... The 16-week home-based post-exercise supplementation resulted in a 1.8% increase (p = 0.052) in lower limb muscle mass. Walking speed (+5.3%, p = 0.007) and chair stand test performance (-12.2 %, p < 0.001) were also improved. Furthermore, a tendency for increased jump power (+3.0%, p = 0.084) was observed. However, significant and consistent differences were not found in the changes of muscle mass indices or muscle functions between supplements, but the test supplement tended to prevent accumulation of body fat. Conclusion: A low intensity home based exercise program combined with post-exercise milk protein supplementation is feasible despite some gastrointestinal complaints and seems effective in improving the muscle mass and functions of older persons with a inflammatory disease. Further studies are needed to establish, whether and to what extent the use of leucine-enriched whey products prevent or treat age-associated sarcopenia and whether they are superior to the present commercial milk products"

B vitamin status, dietary intake and length of stay in a sample of elderly rehabilitation patients - J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(6):485-9 - "The age was 80 +/- 8 year (mean +/- SD), BMI 26.4 +/- 6.8 kg/m2 and MNA score 22 +/- 3 indicating some risk of malnutrition. Deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12 and folate were found in 30, 22 and 5 subjects respectively. Length of stay was positively correlated with age and MMA (Spearman's correlation 0.4, p<0.01 and 0.28, p<0.05 respectively) and negatively correlated with albumin, vitamin B6 and MNA score (Spearman's correlation -0.35, -0.33 and -0.29, p<0.05). After adjustment for age and sex, ln vitamin B6 and ln MMA concentrations were significant in predicting ln LOS (p=0.006 and p=0.014 respectively). Conclusion: The study indicates a high risk of vitamin B deficiencies in the elderly and suggests that deficiencies of vitamins B6 and B12 are associated with length of stay. This is concerning as B vitamin status is rarely fully assessed"

Clinical Assessment of a Supplement of Pycnogenol® and l-arginine in Japanese Patients with Mild to Moderate Erectile Dysfunction - Phytother Res. 2011 May 27 - "Subjects were instructed to take a supplement (Pycnogenol® 60 mg/day, l-arginine 690 mg/day and aspartic acid 552 mg/day) or an identical placebo for 8 weeks, and the results were assessed using the five-item erectile domain (IIEF-5) of the International Index of Erectile Function. Additionally, blood biochemistry, urinalysis and salivary testosterone were measured. Eight weeks of supplement intake improved the total score of the IIEF-5. In particular, a marked improvement was observed in 'hardness of erection' and 'satisfaction with sexual intercourse'. A decrease in blood pressure, aspartate transaminase and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP), and a slight increase in salivary testosterone were observed in the supplement group. No adverse reactions were observed during the study period. In conclusion, Pycnogenol® in combination with l-arginine as a dietary supplement is effective and safe in Japanese patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction" - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com, L-arginine products at Amazon.com and l-aspartic acid at Amazon.com.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are associated with prevalence of metabolic syndrome and various cardiometabolic risk factors in US children and adolescents based on assay-adjusted serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D data from NHANES 2001-2006 - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "The likelihood of having MetSyn was significantly higher in the first tertile of serum 25(OH)D than in the third tertile of 25(OH)D (odds ratio: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.65; P < 0.01). Waist circumference (P < 0.0001), systolic blood pressure (P = 0.01), and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance index (P = 0.001) were inversely related and HDL cholesterol (P < 0.0001) was directly related with serum 25(OH)D. No association was observed between 25(OH)D and C-reactive protein (P = 0.18) ... On the basis of assay-adjusted data, serum 25(OH)D was significantly associated with several cardiometabolic risk factors regardless of obesity. In children, given the negative outcomes associated with poor vitamin D status and MetSyn, consideration of vitamin D supplementation in reversing cardiometabolic risk factors appears to be warranted" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Association between yogurt, milk, and cheese consumption and common carotid artery intima-media thickness and cardiovascular disease risk factors in elderly women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "Total dairy product, milk, and cheese consumption was not associated with CCA-IMT (P > 0.05), whereas yogurt consumption was negatively associated with CCA-IMT (unadjusted standardized β = -0.081, P = 0.008; baseline risk factor-adjusted standardized β = -0.075, P = 0.015). Participants who consumed >100 g yogurt/d had a significantly lower CCA-IMT than did participants with lower consumption (unadjusted = -0.024 mm, P = 0.002). This relation remained significant after adjustment for baseline, dietary, and lifestyle risk factors (multivariable analysis = -0.023 mm, P = 0.003) ... Increased consumption of yogurt, but not of other dairy products, is associated with a lower CCA-IMT, independent of other risk factors" - See my yogurt recipe.

Alternative Healthy Eating Index and mortality over 18 y of follow-up: results from the Whitehall II cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "Indexes of diet quality have been shown to be associated with decreased risk of mortality in several countries. It remains unclear if the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), designed to provide dietary guidelines to combat major chronic diseases, is related to mortality risk. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the AHEI and cause-specific mortality over 18 y of follow-up in a British working population. Design: Analyses are based on 7319 participants (mean age: 49.5 y; range: 39-63 y; 30.3% women) from the Whitehall II Study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to analyze associations of the AHEI (scored on the basis of intake of 9 components: vegetables, fruit, nuts and soy, white or red meat, trans fat, polyunsaturated or saturated fat, fiber, multivitamin use, and alcohol) with mortality risk. Results: After potential confounders were controlled for, participants in the top compared with the bottom third of the AHEI score showed 25% lower all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 0.76; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.95] and >40% lower mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.91). Consumption of nuts and soy and moderate alcohol intake appeared to be the most important independent contributors to decreased mortality risk. The AHEI was not associated with cancer mortality or noncancer/non-CVD mortality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the encouragement of adherence to the AHEI dietary recommendations constitutes a valid and clear public health recommendation that would decrease the risk of premature death from CVD" - Note:  So let me get this right, soy, which some websites are calling poison, actually decreases mortality.  I get so many emails with links to some study that claims this or that is poison.  I try to go with the overall average or consensus of all the studies.  I'm convinced that if you searched the internet on any supplement or food you'd be able to find articles or studies claiming it's great and other articles or studies claiming claiming that that same supplement or food will kill you.

Fruits and Vegetables Consumption and Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Case-Control Study - Nutr Cancer. 2011 May 24:1 - "A protective independent effect was observed for the highest tertile of total fruit consumption (OR: 0.13, CI: 0.04-0.45, P value = 0.001). Within the group of fruits, a significant inverse association was observed for bananas and kiwis (P for trends: 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). The risk of SCC decreased monotonically with increasing intake frequency of oranges (P value for trend = 0.01). The effect of total vegetable consumption on esophageal SCC was not significant, although a reduction in risk was observed in the highest tertile of intake (OR: 0.66, CI: 0.23-1.87, P value = 0.43). The results of the present study suggest a reasonable association between fruit consumption and esophageal SCC in a Middle Eastern high-risk population"

Dietary Intake of Cholesterol Is Positively and Use of Cholesterol-Lowering Medication Is Negatively Associated with Prevalent Age-Related Hearing Loss - J Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "After multivariable adjustment, the likelihood of prevalent hearing loss increased from the lowest (reference) to the highest quartile of dietary cholesterol intake (P-trend = 0.04). Among persons self-reporting statin use (n = 274), a 48% reduced odds of prevalent hearing loss was observed after multivariable adjustment [OR = 0.52 (95% CI = 0.29-0.93)]. Participants in the second and 3rd quartiles of dietary monounsaturated fat intake compared with those in the first quartile (reference) had a significantly reduced risk of hearing loss progression 5 y later [multivariable-adjusted OR = 0.39 (95% CI = 0.21-0.71)] and [OR = 0.51 (95% CI = 0.29-0.91)], respectively. Our results suggest that a diet high in cholesterol could have adverse influences on hearing, whereas treatment with statins and consumption of monounsaturated fats may have a beneficial influence"

  • Monounsaturated fat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "Monounsaturated fats are found along with saturated fat in natural foods such as red meat, whole milk products, nuts and high fat fruits such as olives and avocados. Olive oil is about 75% monounsaturated fat while tea seed oil is commonly over 80% monounsaturated fat. Canola oil and Cashews are both about 58% monounsaturated fat. Tallow (beef fat) is about 50% monounsaturated fat and lard is about 40% monounsaturated fat. Other sources include macadamia nut oil, grapeseed oil, groundnut oil (peanut oil), sesame oil, corn oil, popcorn, whole grain wheat, cereal, oatmeal, safflower oil, sunflower oil, tea-oil Camellia, and avocado oil"

Mortality and Morbidity in Cushing's Syndrome in New Zealand - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2011 May 24 - "36 patients died during follow-up compared with 8.8 expected deaths (SMR 4.1, 95%CI 2.9-5.6) ... CS is associated with both high mortality and a high prevalence of co-morbidities, even when biochemical cure rates are between 80-90"

Yogurt consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in the italian EPIC cohort - Int J Cancer. 2011 May 23 - "Yogurt intake was inversely associated with CRC risk. For the energy-adjusted model, HR for CRC in the highest vs. lowest tertile of yogurt intake was 0.62 (95%CI, 0.46-0.83). In the full model adjusted for energy, simple sugar, calcium, fiber, animal fat, alcohol, and red meat intake, as well as body mass index, smoking, education and physical activity, HR was 0.65 (95%CI, 0.48-0.89) in the highest vs. lowest tertile. The protective effect of yogurt was evident in the entire cohort, but was stronger in men, although there was no interaction of sex with the yogurt-CRC association (P-interaction 0.20, fully-adjusted model). In this prospective study, high yogurt intake was significantly associated with decreased CRC risk, suggesting that yogurt should be part of a diet to prevent the disease" - Note:  I started a web page on just yoghurt instead of putting the yoghurt articles on my Pro-biotics page.  I also put my yoghurt recipe there.  I nearly live on that stuff because I have trouble swallowing after my neck cancer surgery six and a half years ago.

Update to my olive oil mayonnaise recipe:

A plastic tip that’s required for the micro switch on my Cuisinart broke. While I was procrastinating finding the part I saw the Mini Cuisinart at Costco. I modified my olive oil mayonnaise recipe for it.  The reason for the videos on homemade mayonnaise is that if you add the oil too quickly or if you over blend you end up with something with the consistency of pea soup.  The videos give you a feel for the speed.  Also the ingredients must be at room temperature plus I'm convinced that humid days can cause bad results. Here’s the video:

Click here for a larger video

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

Health Focus (Silymarin/Milk Thistle):

Specific Recommendations:

News & Research:

  • Milk thistle herb protects cancer patients from chemotherapy-associated liver toxicity - Science Daily, 12/27/09 - "Fifty children with ALL were enrolled in the study and were randomized to receive milk thistle or placebo for 28 days. At the start of the study, all of the children had evidence of liver inflammation as measured by elevations in blood levels of the liver enzymes, aspartate amino transferase (AST) and amino alanine transferase (ALT). When the investigators performed liver function tests on the children at day 56 (28 days after receiving the herb or placebo), children receiving milk thistle had improvements in their liver enzymes compared with children receiving a placebo. Specifically, the group that took milk thistle had significantly lower levels of AST and a trend towards significantly lower levels of ALT. Taking milk thistle also seemed to help keep fewer patients from having to lower the dose of their medications: chemotherapy doses were reduced in 61 percent of the group receiving milk thistle, compared with 72 percent of the placebo group. In addition, milk thistle appeared to be safe for consumption"
  • Herb May Treat Chemotherapy Liver Damage - WebMD, 12/14/09 - "The youths who took milk thistle had significantly lower levels of AST and a trend toward significant lower levels of ALT, the researchers say ... Milk thistle also seemed to help keep fewer patients from having to lower the dose of their chemotherapy drugs ... Chemotherapy doses were reduced in 61% of those on milk thistle, compared to 72% in the placebo group. Milk thistle appeared to be safe for consumption, the researchers write"
  • 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 Vitacosticon 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 Vitacosticon 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"

Abstracts:

  • Silibinin prevents amyloid beta peptide-induced memory impairment and oxidative stress in mice - Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 22 - "Silibinin (silybin), a flavonoid derived from the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum), has been shown to have antioxidative properties; however, it remains unclear whether silibinin improves Abeta-induced neurotoxicity ... Silibinin prevented the memory impairment induced by Abeta(25-35) in the Y-maze and novel object recognition tests. Repeated treatment with silibinin attenuated the Abeta(25-35)-induced accumulation of malondialdehyde and depletion of glutathione in the hippocampus ... Silibinin prevents memory impairment and oxidative damage induced by Abeta(25-35) and may be a potential therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease"
  • 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"

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