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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 2/6/13.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Low vitamin D levels may increase risk of Type 1 diabetes - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "researchers conducted a prospective case-control study of U.S. military personnel on active duty, using blood samples from the Department of Defense Serum Repository, which contains more than 40 million samples collected from 8 million military personnel since the mid-1980s ... The researchers found that white, non-Hispanic, healthy young adults with higher serum levels (>75 nmol/L) of vitamin D had about half the risk of developing type 1 diabetes than those with the lowest levels of vitamin D (<75 nmol/L) ... The risk of type 1 diabetes appears to be increased even at vitamin D levels that are commonly regarded as normal, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the population could benefit from increased vitamin D intake ... Whereas it is premature to recommend universal use of vitamin D supplements for prevention of type 1 diabetes, the possibility that many cases could be prevented by supplementation with 1,000-4,000 IU/day, which is largely considered safe, is enticing" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Beef up: Middle-aged men may need more to maintain muscle mass - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "Canada's Food Guide now suggests that consuming about 3oz (0.80 g/kg/d) of meat per serving is adequate to provide protein at the recommended level ... However, our work shows that the quantity of beef needed to maximize the renewal of new muscle proteins was at least 6oz in middle-aged men. Our findings have clear ramifications for the current recommendations regarding protein to prevent muscle loss in aging"

Calcium Supplements Linked to Mortality Risk in Men, But Not Women - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Compared with individuals who took no calcium, men who consumed 1000 mg or more of supplemental calcium per day had a significant 20% increased risk of CVD death, a risk that was driven by a significant 19% increased risk of heart-disease death ... taken from an analysis of the National Institutes of Health--AARP Diet and Health Study, a study that included 388 229 men and women 50 to 71 years of age from six US states ... mean follow-up of 12 years"

Baby Boomers' Overall Health Worse Than Their Parents - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Despite their longer life expectancy over previous generations, US baby boomers have higher rates of chronic disease, more disability, and lower self-rated health than members of the previous generation at the same age ... As to comparative disability, more than twice as many baby boomers used walking assist devices (6.9% vs 3.3%), more were limited in their work by disability (13.8% vs 10.1%), and 13.5% vs 8.8% were coping with some type of functional limitation ... In addition, more baby boomers are obese compared with the previous generation (38.7% vs 29.4%), and they reported exercising significantly less often (35.0% vs 49.9% exercised >12 times per month) ... Moderate drinking was more common among the boomers compared with the previous generation (67.3% vs 37.2%) ... Hypertension, too, was more common (43.0% vs 36.4%) ... the present study demonstrates a clear need for policies that expand efforts at prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion in the baby boomer generation"

Better Midlife Fitness Linked to Lower Dementia Risk - Medscape, 2/4/13 - "Dementia is the second most feared disease after cancer ... study included 19,458 individuals participating in the Cooper Clinic Longitudinal Study at the Cooper Institute ... followed for an average of 25 years ... participants with the highest fitness level (quintile 5) at midlife had a 36% reduction in risk of developing dementia from any cause during follow-up than those in the lowest fitness category (quintile 1) ... animal studies have suggested that increased fitness and activity correlates with a reduction in brain atrophy and loss of cognition, and changes in amyloid have been seen with regular activity"

Omega-3-Rich Ground Beef Available Soon - Science Daily, 2/4/13 - "The U.S. currently does not have a recommended daily intake of omega-3s, though many doctors and nutritionists recommend between 1,200-1,600 milligrams daily ... A quarter-pound hamburger made of the enriched ground beef has 200 milligrams of omega-3s" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com which has 765 milligrams of omega-3 in one capsule.  So you'd have to eat 3.825 hamburgers to get the omega-3 in one capsule.  At 330 calories per hamburger, that's 1262 calories compared to 10 calories for the capsule.  Plus I'm sure with the mark-up for the designer beef it's not going to be cost effective either.

Excess sugar linked to cancer - Science Daily, 2/1/13 - "Dr Garcia Jimenez's laboratory was studying how cells in the intestine respond to sugars and signal to the pancreas to release insulin, the key hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Sugars in the intestine trigger cells to release a hormone called GIP that enhances insulin release by the pancreas ... the ability of the intestinal cells to secrete GIP is controlled by a protein called β-catenin, and that the activity of β-catenin is strictly dependent on sugar levels ... high (but not normal) sugar levels induce nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and leads to cell proliferation"

Coffee, Tea, and Fatal Oral/Pharyngeal Cancer - Medscape, 2/1/13 - "Intake of >4 cups/day of caffeinated coffee was associated with a 49% lower risk of oral/pharyngeal cancer death relative to no/occasional coffee intake (relative risk = 0.51, 95% confidence interval: 0.40, 0.64) (1 cup/day = 237 ml). A dose-related decline in relative risk was observed with each single cup/day consumed (P trend < 0.001). The association was not modified by sex, smoking status, or alcohol use. An inverse association for >2 cups/day of decaffeinated coffee intake was suggested (relative risk = 0.61, 95% confidence interval: 0.37, 1.01). No association was found for tea drinking. In this large prospective study, caffeinated coffee intake was inversely associated with oral/pharyngeal cancer mortality. Research is needed to elucidate biologic mechanisms whereby coffee might help to protect against these often fatal cancers"

Active duty military personnel prone to sleep disorders and short sleep duration - Science Daily, 1/31/13 - "the majority of participants (85.1 percent) had a clinically relevant sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was the most frequent diagnosis (51.2 percent), followed by insomnia (24.7 percent). Participants' mean self-reported home sleep duration was only 5.74 hours per night, and 41.8 percent reported sleeping five hours or less per night. According to the AASM, individual sleep needs vary; however, most adults need about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well-rested during the day" - Note:  I'm a retired navy pilot (after being an army helo pilot in Vietnam).  The culture in the military seems to be that if you are getting eights hours of sleep then you can't possibly be doing your job.  Maybe they will wake-up and see that it's doing more harm than good.

Men taking long-acting chronic pain meds five times more likely to have low testosterone levels - Science Daily, 1/31/13 - "The study compared the use of short-acting opioids, which immediately release the pain medication and are taken every four to six hours, and long-acting opioids, which slowly release the pain medication and are taken every eight to 12 hours ... A healthy young man should have testosterone levels between 300 and 800 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL); in this study, low testosterone, also known as hypogonadism, was defined as less than 250 ng/dL. Low testosterone levels have been associated with decreases in muscle mass, bone density (osteoporosis or osteopenia), cognition, mood, libido (sex drive) and general quality of life ... the odds of having low testosterone were 4.78 times greater for men taking a long-acting opioid than a short-acting opioid. Dose was not associated with an increased risk of low testosterone"

Silibinin, found in milk thistle, protects against UV-induced skin cancer - Science Daily, 1/30/13 - "A pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center studies published this month show that the milk thistle extract, silibinin, kills skin cells mutated by UVA radiation and protects against damage by UVB radiation -- thus protecting against UV-induced skin cancer and photo-aging ... When you have a cell affected by UV radiation, you either want to repair it or kill it so that it cannot go on to cause cancer. We show that silibinin does both" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

Vegetarians 'cut heart risk by 32% - BBC News, 1/30/13 - "A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease ... vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of "bad" cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight"

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):

Effect of dietary resveratrol on the metabolic profile of nutrients in obese OLETF rats - Lipids Health Dis. 2013 Feb 4;12(1):8 - "the accumulation of abdominal white adipose tissues was markedly prevented in resveratrol diet-fed OLETF rats after 4 weeks of feeding ... Our study demonstrated that dietary resveratrol can prevent obesity through a change in the metabolic profile of nutrients in obese OLETF rats" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.

The effect of vitamin a supplementation on thyroid function in premenopausal women - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Aug;31(4):268-74 - "Serum TSH concentrations in vitamin A-treated subjects were significantly reduced; therefore, vitamin A supplementation might reduce the risk of subclinical hypothyroidism in premenopausal women"

Baker's Yeast Beta-Glucan Supplement Reduces Upper Respiratory Symptoms and Improves Mood State in Stressed Women - J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Aug;31(4):295-300 - "Several studies have shown a baker's yeast beta-1,3/1,6-d-glucan, extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is effective in reducing the incidence of cold and flu symptoms. This study evaluated the effect of a specific beta-glucan supplement (Wellmune) on upper respiratory tract symptoms and psychological well-being in women with moderate levels of psychological stress ... Healthy women (38 +/- 12 years old) prescreened for moderate levels of psychological stress, self-administered a placebo (n = 38) or 250 mg of Wellmune (n = 39) daily for 12 weeks ... Subjects in the Wellmune group reported fewer upper respiratory symptoms compared to placebo (10% vs 29%), better overall well-being (global mood state: 99 +/- 19 vs 108 +/- 23, p < 0.05), and superior mental/physical energy levels (vigor: 19.9 +/- 4.7 vs 15.8 +/- 6.3, p < 0.05)" - See beta-glucan products at iHerb.

Antioxidant effect of manganese on the testis structure and sperm parameters of formalin-treated mice - Andrologia. 2013 Feb 3 - "Manganese inhibits oxidative stress damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role of manganese on testis structure and sperm parameters in adult mice exposed to formaldehyde (FA) ... FA significantly reduced the testicular weight, sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphology compared with control group ... However, manganese improved the testicular structure and sperm parameters in FA-treated mice testes" - See manganese products at iHerb.

Carotenoid intake and risk of colorectal adenomas in a cohort of male health professionals - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Feb 1 - "Among 29,363 men who reported having a lower bowel endoscopy between 1986 and 2006, 3,997 cases of colorectal adenoma were identified in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants completed food frequency questionnaires every 4 years ... Total β-carotene and dietary β-carotene, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin intakes and the total carotenoid score were inversely associated with colorectal adenoma risk. The odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) comparing the highest versus lowest quintile of intake were 0.78 (0.69-0.88) for total β-carotene, 0.72 (0.64-0.81) for dietary β-carotene, 0.83 (0.74-0.93) for lycopene, 0.86 (0.76-0.96) for lutein/zeaxanthin, and 0.87 (0.77-0.97) for the total carotenoid score. Associations for α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin intakes were null" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Effects of Green Tea, Black Tea, and Coffee Consumption on the Risk of Esophageal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):1-16 - "PubMed, ISI -Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese VIP database up to October 2011 were searched and manual search for reference lists of relevant studies were conducted ... The pooled OR of EC was 0.77 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 0.57, 1.04] for highest vs. non/lowest green tea consumption; but it was statistically significant for case-control studies (OR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.96) and for studies conducted in China (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.95). No significant association was observed for the highest vs. non/lowest black tea consumption against EC risk (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.86, 2.11). A borderline significantly inverse association of highest vs. non/lowest coffee consumption against EC risk was found (OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.76, 1.01). In conclusion, our data showed that both green tea and coffee consumption, but not black tea consumption, have protective effects on EC"

Intakes of Fruits, Vegetables, and Related Vitamins and Lung Cancer Risk: Results from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (2002-2009) - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):51-61 - "investigated the association of intakes of fruits, vegetables, dietary vitamins A and C, and folate with lung cancer risk among 61,491 adult Chinese men who were recruited into the Shanghai Men's Health Study, a population-based, prospective cohort study. Baseline dietary intake was assessed through a validated food frequency questionnaire during in-home visits ... median follow-up of 5.5 yr ... Intakes of green leafy vegetables, β-carotene-rich vegetables, watermelon, vitamin A, and carotenoids were inversely associated with lung cancer risk; the corresponding HR (95% CI) comparing the highest with the lowest quartiles were 0.72 (0.53-0.98), 0.69 (0.51-0.94), 0.65 (0.47-0.90), 0.63 (0.44-0.88), and 0.64 (0.46-0.88). Intake of all fruits and vegetables combined was marginally associated with lower risk. Our study suggests that the consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables is inversely associated with lung cancer risk" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Fish Oil-Supplemented Parenteral Nutrition in Patients Following Esophageal Cancer Surgery: Effect on Inflammation and Immune Function - Nutr Cancer. 2013 Jan;65(1):71-75 - "inflammation [serum procalcitonin (PCT) ... PCT level was notably lower and CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio was markedly higher in the ω-3 PUFAs group ... ω-3 PUFAs supplemented PN can reduce inflammation and improve immune function in patients following esophageal cancer surgery" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Supplementation with n3 Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters Increases Large and Small Arterial Elasticity in Obese Adults on a Weight Loss Diet - J Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "carry out a 12-wk randomized, single-blind trial to test the effect of a 25% energy deficit weight loss diet alone (WL) (n = 12) or WL plus 4 g/d Omacor (46% EPA and 38% DHA) supplementation (WL+FAEE) (n = 13) on arterial elasticity in obese adults. Large (C1) and small artery elasticity (C2) were measured ... Supplementation with n3 FAEEs improves C1 and C2 independent of weight loss in obese adults" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "Vegetarians had a 32% lower risk"

Association of vitamin D deficiency with incidence of type 2 diabetes in high-risk Asian subjects - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "tested the hypothesis that baseline 25(OH)D is associated with the incidence of T2D in high-risk subjects for up to 5 y of follow-up, independently of obesity, baseline IR, and β cell function ... Of the participants, 10.5% had a serum 25(OH)D deficiency (<10 ng/mL), 51.6% had an insufficiency (10.0-19.9 ng/mL), and 38.0% had a sufficiency (≥20 ng/mL), and the incidence of T2D at 32.3 +/- 15.6 mo (+/-SD) declined accordingly: 15.9%, 10.2%, and 5.4%, respectively (P < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, blood pressure, lifestyles, family history, season, parathyroid hormone, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, the participants with 25(OH)D deficiency had an increased risk of T2D independently of BMI, HOMA2-IR, and IGI; the HRs were 2.06 for 25(OH)D 10-19.9 ng/mL compared with ≥20 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.22, 3.49) and 3.23 for 25(OH)D <10 ng/mL compared with ≥20 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.66, 6.30)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Consumption of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages and incident type 2 diabetes in the Etude Epidemiologique aupres des femmes de la Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "It has been extensively shown, mainly in US populations, that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but less is known about the effects of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) ... A total of 66,118 women were followed from 1993, and 1369 incident cases of T2D were diagnosed during the follow-up ... Compared with nonconsumers, women in the highest quartiles of SSB and ASB consumers were at increased risk of T2D with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.34 (1.05, 1.71) and 2.21 (1.56, 3.14) for women who consumed >359 and >603 mL/wk of SSBs and ASBs, respectively. Strong positive trends in T2D risk were also observed across quartiles of consumption for both types of beverage (P = 0.0088 and P < 0.0001, respectively) ... No association was observed for 100% fruit juice consumption"

Is there a dose-response relation of dietary glycemic load to risk of type 2 diabetes? Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jan 30 - "24 prospective cohort studies identified by August 2012 ... the GL was positively associated with RR of T2D of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.31, 1.61) for a 100-g increment in GL ... After we accounted for several sources of heterogeneity, findings from prospective cohort studies that related the GL to T2D appear robust and consistently indicate strong and significantly lower T2D risk in persons who consume lower-GL diets"

Statins and colorectal cancer risk: a longitudinal study - Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Jan 30 - "After multivariable adjustment, initiators of statins had a lower incidence rate of CRC as compared to initiators of glaucoma drugs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79; 95 % CI 0.69-0.90]. In sex-stratified analyses we observed a protective effect in men (HR 0.77; 95 % CI 0.67-0.88) but not in women (HR 0.96; 95 % CI 0.82-1.1)"

The association between daily calcium intake and sarcopenia in older, non-obese Korean adults: the fourth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES IV) 2009 - Endocr J. 2013 Jan 26 - "The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between daily calcium intake and sarcopenia. We analyzed data for older adults (over 60 years) from the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted in 2009 ... assessed using a nutrition survey that used a 24-hour recall method ... We found that daily calcium intake was negatively correlated with total body fat percentage and positively correlated with appendicular skeletal mass (p<0.001). Participants with sarcopenia appear to have significantly lower daily calcium intakes than participants without sarcopenia (p<0.001). The unadjusted prevalence of sarcopenia according to daily calcium intake tertiles were 6.3%, 4.3%, and 2.7% in tertiles 1, 2, and 3, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, total energy intake, and lifestyle factors, compared with those in the lowest tertile of daily calcium intake, participants in the highest tertile had an odds ratio for sarcopenia of 0.295 (95% confidence interval, 0.087-0.768; p for trend = 0.014)"

Effect of Pioglitazone Versus Metformin on Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Type 2 Diabetes - Adv Ther. 2013 Jan 22 - "The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect on C-reactive protein (CRP) after a 16-week treatment period with either pioglitazone or metformin ... Pioglitazone treated patients were found to have statistically significantly larger decreases in mean CRP levels (-0.4 mg/dL) compared to those treated with metformin (-0.2 mg/dL) (P = 0.04), as well as greater reductions in levels of mean fasting plasma glucose (-27 vs. -9 mg/dL; P = 0.01), serum insulin (-2 vs. -1.9 mU/L; P = 0.014), homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) (-1.2 vs. -0.9; P = 0.015), and E-selectin (-12.4 vs. +3.4 μg/mL; P = 0.01). Mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels decreased in both treatment groups from baseline to week 16 (-0.4% in the pioglitazone group, -0.2% in the metformin group; P = 0.36). Pioglitazone treatment was also found to be associated with a statistically significant increase in total cholesterol levels (+10 mg/dL in the pioglitazone arm, -3 mg/dL in the metformin arm; P = 0.05) and a decrease in liver enzyme levels" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.

Pycnogenol® Supplementation Improves Health Risk Factors in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome - Phytother Res. 2013 Jan 28 - "In the 6-month study Pycnogenol® supplementation 150 mg/day decreased waist circumference, TG levels, blood pressure and increased the HDL cholesterol levels in subjects. Pycnogenol lowered fasting glucose from baseline 123 +/- 8.6 mg/dl to 106.4 +/- 5.3 after 3 months and to 105.3 +/- 2.5 at the end of the study (p < 0.05 vs controls). Men's waist circumference decreased with Pycnogenol from 106.2 +/- 2.2 cm [41.8 inches] to 98.8 +/- 2.3 cm [38.9 inces] and to 98.3 +/- 2.1 after 3 and 6 months. Women's waist decreased from 90.9 +/- 1.6 cm to 84.6 +/- 2.1 cm and to 83.6 +/- 2.2 cm after 3 and 6 months. Both genders waist circumference reduction was significant as compared to controls at both time points. In addition, plasma free radicals decrease in the Pycnogenol group was more effective than in the control group (-34.6%; p < 0.05)" - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (St. John's Wort):

Related Topics:

Specific Recommendations:

Ze 117 Extract (Not available in the US, Remotiv brand in Germany):

LI 160 Extract (Kira® Brand LI-160 extract in the US, Jarsin 300 brand in Germany):

WS 5572 Extract (Perika Brand in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in Germany):

WS 5570 Extract (contains at least 4% hyperforin but I don't believe it's available)/(Perika Brand  in US, Neuroplant 300 brand in Germany):

STW3-VI Extract:

Other News:

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