The Role of CRP in Heart Disease

People with normal cholesterol levels may feel like heart disease is not a condition they need to worry about. But new research suggests that, when figuring out their risk for heart attack, people also need to consider their levels of a substance called C-reactive protein (CRP).

Two new studies, published January 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that lowering blood levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation in the body, may help prevent heart attacks and heart-related deaths in people with heart disease.

"This gives us evidence for the first time that CRP is not a bystander," says Steven E. Nissen, MD, a Cleveland Clinic Foundation cardiologist who led one of the studies. "CRP is not just associated with the disease, there appears to be a cause-and-effect relationship."

Dr. Grossman's Comments: Chapter 12 of Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever addresses the problems of silent inflammation. In this chapter, we try to present evidence for why it’s so important to measure the level of inflammation in the body and keep it low. The test we recommend: the highly sensitive CRP as mentioned in the New England Journal of Medicine article cited here. For heart disease (and Alzheimer’s and stroke) prevention, lowering your cholesterol ... while important ... isn’t enough. You also need to make sure you keep inflammation down. Fish oil (EPA/DHA) and curcumin are important natural inflammatory agents. For some people, low-dose aspirin may be appropriate as well.

Read more... Protein Power: The Role of CRP in Heart Disease

Embryonic Stem Cell Research President Bush Could Live With

A reproductive research team in Chicago could have an answer to the ethical and scientific conundrums presented by the pursuit of stem-cell treatments.

That's no small task considering it's a question the top minds in science and bioethics have been racking their brains to solve. Scientists at the Reproductive Genetics Institute, or RGI, believe they can derive high-quality embryonic stem cells from an early embryo without killing it.

The approach would involve removing one cell from a very early embryo that has developed to about eight cells (called a morula), and deriving stem cells from that single cell. The embryo would still have the potential to develop into a human if implanted into a womb. The only thing preventing the scientists from trying the process is money, said Dr. Yury Verlinsky, director of RGI.

Dr. Grossman's Comments: Stem cell research is here to stay and it appears that embryonic stem cells may possess certain unique advantages over stem cells derived from more mature and differentiated tissues like umbilical cord blood stem cells or adult stem cells. President Bush has ordered that no federal money be spent on embryonic stem cell research because some believe research involving the destruction of the embryo is akin to murder. Scientists at the Reproductive Genetics Institute have developed a technique for harvesting embryonic stem cells without killing the embryo. This should allow researchers in the U.S. to proceed with embryonic stem cell research without objection and WITH federal monies.

Read more... Stem-Cell Method May Cheat Death

Raised glucose concentrations and diabetes are associated with cancer risk

High fasting serum glucose concentrations and diabetes are associated with increased risk of death from several cancers, according to a Korean follow up study of more than one million people.

The Korean cancer prevention study included all of the 829,770 men and 468,615 women aged 30 to 95 years receiving health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation who had had a health check every two years during 1992-95. Fasting serum glucose measurements were taken during these health checks. For the follow up study the researchers collected cancer mortality and cancer incidence data from the national cancer registry and hospital records.

Overall, 20,566 men and 5,907 women died from cancer in the 10 years of follow up, which was measured from the time of the first recorded serum glucose measurement. People in the group with the highest fasting serum glucose value (7.8 mmol/l) had higher death rates from all cancers combined (29% [95% confidence interval 22% to 37%] higher for men; 23% [9% to 39%] higher for women) than those with the lowest concentration (<5.0 mmol/l), after smoking and alcohol use were controlled for.

Cancer incidence reflected a similar pattern. Risks for cancer incidence and mortality were generally greater in people with diabetes than in those without.

Results showed the strongest association between raised glucose concentrations and cancer for pancreatic cancer. Men with the highest glucose concentrations had a relative risk of 1.91 (1.52 to 2.41) compared with men with the lowest. For women with the highest concentrations, the relative risk was 2.05 (1.43 to 2.93) compared with those with the lowest.

Significant associations were also found for cancers of the oesophagus, liver.

Dr. Grossman's Comments: In the 1930s, Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize for demonstrating that cancer cells have a different metabolism than normal cells. Cancer cells can only utilize glucose (sugar) for fuel. One of the main pieces of nutritional advice we offer our cancer patients at Frontier Medical Institute is to avoid sugary foods and high-glycemic foods that raise blood sugar significantly. This study is not surprising. Having high blood sugar significantly increases cancer risk. Please refer to Chapter 9 of Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever .

Read more... British Medical Journal Jan 15 2005 vol 330 no. 111

Using Genetic Testing to Determine Diet

Nutritional genomics has tremendous potential to change the future of dietary guidelines and personal recommendations. Nutrigenetics will provide the basis for personalized dietary recommendations based on the individual's genetic make up.

This approach has been used for decades for certain monogenic diseases; however, the challenge is to implement a similar concept for common multifactorial disorders and to develop tools to detect genetic predisposition and to prevent common disorders decades before their manifestation.

The preliminary results involving gene-diet interactions for cardiovascular diseases and cancer are promising, but mostly inconclusive. Success in this area will require the integration of different disciplines and investigators working on large population studies designed to adequately investigate gene-environment interactions.

Despite the current difficulties, preliminary evidence strongly suggests that the concept should work and that we will be able to harness the information contained in our genomes to achieve successful aging using behavioral changes; nutrition will be the cornerstone of this endeavor.

Read more... Nutritional Genomics

Longevity Evaluations Available at Frontier Medical Institute

We are entering a new frontier of medicine wherein you can now take control of your health, discover your genetic tendencies, and make INDIVIDUALIZED lifestyle choices that will extend your life. Dr. Grossman, our medical director, developed our longevity program after working with thousands of patients from all over the world during the past 10 years.

By undergoing one of our Longevity Evaluations, you will join individuals who have come to visit us from all parts of the U.S. and around the world to gain the knowledge and tools to live longer, healthier, and younger lives. You will accomplish this by undergoing a comprehensive series of the latest medical tests available.

Read more... Longevity Evaluations at Frontier Medical

Parkinson's Drug May Help Smokers Quit

After 8 weeks of treatment, 45 percent of participants receiving SEL had quit smoking tobacco compared to 15 percent of those receiving placebo. During the last 4 weeks of the study, 30 percent of participants receiving SEL reported that they had completely abstained from smoking compared to 5 percent of those receiving placebo. At the 6-month follow-up, smoking cessation rates were 20 percent for those that received SEL and 5 percent for placebo. Cravings for nicotine were not affected by SEL.

Read more... Parkinson's Drug May Help Smokers Quit

Peanuts - The Latest Health Food?

Not only do peanuts contain the so-called “good” kind of fat, but University of Florida researchers have found they also are high in a wide variety of helpful antioxidants, rivaling the fruits often sought out by health-conscious consumers.

“When it comes to antioxidant content, peanuts are right up there with strawberries,” said Steve Talcott, an assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “We expected a fairly high antioxidant content in peanuts, but we were a bit shocked to find that they’re as rich in antioxidants as many kinds of fruit.”

Talcott and other UF researchers tested the antioxidant content of a dozen different peanut varieties in a study published recently in an issue of the journal Food Chemistry dated May 2005.

Antioxidants are chemicals that block the aging effects of free radicals – unstable molecules naturally occurring in the human body that damage living cells. The damage caused by free radicals has been linked to heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and macular degeneration of the eye.

The growing reputation of antioxidants has led an increasing number of people to include more fruits in their diets, particularly those that are orange or red in color, because such foods have been found to be rich in the health-promoting chemicals. Vitamins A, C, and E are recognized as antioxidants, and polyphenols – a family of chemicals commonly found in foods – also have strong antioxidant properties. Peanuts are a good source of Vitamin E, but in the past they typically have not been considered an antioxidant-rich food, largely because of a lack of data on their polyphenol content.

Now UF researchers have found that peanuts contain high concentrations of polyphenols– chiefly a compound called p-coumaric acid. And they found that roasting can increase the level of p-coumaric acid in peanuts, boosting their overall antioxidant content by as much as 22 percent.

“If you compare them (peanuts) to other foods people think of as rich in antioxidants – mostly fruits and berries – peanuts come out somewhere in the middle,” Talcott said. “They’re no match for the foods at the top of the scale, such as pomegranate, but they do rival other foods that people eat just for their antioxidant content.”

Talcott said roasted peanuts are about as rich in antioxidants as blackberries or strawberries, and are far richer in the chemicals than fruits such as apples, carrots or beets.

The findings add to the growing reputation peanuts are getting for their healthy benefits.

“We already know from previous studies that including peanuts and peanut butter in a healthful diet can lower cholesterol, help people lose weight and prevent type 2 diabetes,” said Kristen Ciuba, a nutritionist for the Peanut Institute, a nonprofit organization in Albany, Ga., funded by the peanut industry.

The UF researchers’ findings were part of a broader study designed to measure the nutritional differences between traditional peanut breeds and the growing number of high oleic peanuts now available to peanut growers.

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat, part of a family of chemicals sometimes referred to as “good” fat. A diet rich in oleic acid is believed to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the chance of heart disease. In recent years, UF and a handful of other universities have bred new peanut varieties that have higher-than-average levels of oleic acid.

High-oleic peanuts also have a far longer shelf life than other peanuts, largely because oleic acid doesn’t oxidize as rapidly as other kinds of fat. Talcott and his fellow researchers thought that the peanuts’ high antioxidant content might be responsible for that effect, but their tests showed no significant differences in antioxidant content between high-oleic and traditional peanuts.

Agronomy professor Dan Gorbet, who heads UF’s peanut-breeding program, said it should be possible to breed the nuts with high antioxidant levels in mind.

“It’s certainly worth looking into further,” said Gorbet, a co-author of the study. “The big question is not whether it can be done – the question is whether the demand is there. So far, people haven’t been seeking out peanuts for their antioxidant content, but maybe in the future they will be.”

Dr. Grossman's Comments: These are intriguing findings about the health benefits of eating peanuts, but some caveats are in order. Most peanuts are grown in warm, damp climates (like Georgia). Peanuts grown in this environment are easily colonized by a highly toxic fungus (mold) known as aspergillus, which creates aflatoxin, a well-known carcinogen. There is a variety of peanut that grows in warm, DRY climates – the Valencia variety, and Valencia peanuts are much less likely to be contaminated with aflatoxin. So be sure to eat Valencia peanuts and peanut butter. And while you’re at it, be sure your peanut butter is not sweetened with sugar or other sweeteners. Why take a healthy food and ruin it like that?

Read more... Peanuts - The Latest Health Food?

Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and risk of dementia in late life.
by Whitmer RA, Sidney S, Selby J, Johnston

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if midlife cardiovascular risk factors are associated with risk of late-life dementia in a large, diverse cohort. METHOD: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of 8,845 participants of a health maintenance organization who underwent health evaluations from 1964 to 1973 when they were between the ages of 40 and 44. Midlife cardiovascular risk factors included total cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking. Diagnoses of dementia were ascertained by medical records from January 1994 to April 2003. RESULTS: The authors identified 721 participants (8.2%) with dementia. Smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes at midlife were each associated with a 20 to 40% increase in risk of dementia (fully adjusted Cox proportional hazards model: HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.48 for hypertension, HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.47 for smoking, HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.66 for high cholesterol, and HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.79 for diabetes). A composite cardiovascular risk score was created using all four risk factors and was associated with dementia in a dose-dependent fashion. Compared with participants having no risk factors, the risk for dementia increased from 1.27 for having one risk factor to 2.37 for having all four risk factors (fully adjusted model: HR 2.37, 95% CI 1.10 to 5.10). CONCLUSION: The presence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors at midlife substantially increases risk of late-life dementia in a dose dependent manner.

Dr. Grossman's Comments: We are rapidly approaching a unified theory for what constitutes a healthful lifestyle. There appears to be increasingly confirmatory evidence that there are commeon pathways for the development of our main killers: cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke and Alzheimer’s. Since the same risk factors seem to lead to development of these diseases, a uniform set of lifestyle choices may significantly reduce the risk of their development.

Read more... Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and risk of dementia in late life

Bead 'slashes mobile radiation'

Radiation from hands-free mobile phones can be reduced to virtually zero by a simple tiny magnetic bead which costs a few pence, a government adviser says.

Professor Lawrie Challis said clipping a ferrite bead on kits stops the radio waves travelling up the wire and into the head.

He called on the mobile phone industry to start using them "as standard".

The beads, which often measure less than 1cm in diameter, are commonly used to stop data interference in computers.

Professor Challis, who is chairman of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, told BBC News: "There is no evidence yet that mobile phones are harmful to health but people have not been using them long enough for us to be sure."

Dr. Grossman's Comments: Cell phones can cause significant electromagnetic radiation exposure. The long-term health effects of holding a cell phone directly adjacent to your head for hundreds or even thousands of hours a year remain unknown. In an attempt to reduce EM exposure while using their cell phones, many people use hands-free sets with a built-in microphone and ear bud. Since this allows the cellular phone to be located a few feet from the head, they think they are reducing the radiation coming from the phone. However, the wire traveling to your ear can actually act as an antenna, so your ear and brain may receive an even more concentrated dose of radiation under some conditions.

The inexpenaive device mentioned in this article would cost a few pennies and would reduce the radiation coming from an ear bud to a minimum. Unfortunately, the cell phone industry's reluctance to spend those pennies isn't based on their unwillingness to improve the safety of their phones. It is something much more sinister.

By doing ANYTHING to make cell phones safer, the multi-billion dollar cell phone industry would need to take the important step of acknowledging that cell phone use might be somehow unsafe -- an admission that the industry has been unwilling to make. They are making bland comments instead, such as, "There isn't conclusive evidence yet that using mobile phones is harmful, but people have not been using them long enough for us to be certain."

It's a similar story to the one the tobacco companies used to tell. They knew smoking was terribly unsafe, but refused to acknowledge this publicly and hid the research proving how harmful it was for decades. That decision cost the tobacco companies hundreds of billions of dollars as a result of class action lawsuits. Is it wise to wait for someone to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that cell phones can cause seizures, migraines, brain cancer, and so on? Don't you thing it would be in your best health interests to take preventative action now?

The cell phone companies do not have either you or you children's best interests at heart. You can make your cellphone use safer by using Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth headsets reduces the radiation drawn to your head by cellphones and some headsets to a small fraction of what it would be normally. Another excellent option is using a ferrite bead as mentioned in this BBC article or by using a ferrite choke (available from Radio Shack) as discussed on page 187 of Fantastic Voyage.

Read more... Bead 'slashes mobile radiation'

A Chocholate Shake That Tastes Good and Is Good For You (and your kids)

Over 60% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. One popular way to control calories without sacrificing nutrition is using low calorie meal replacement beverages.

The problem is that most of the products on the market are loaded with ingredients that are anything but healthy ... such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives. Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman spent over a year developing Ray & Terry's Deep Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake, a product that is not only delicious ... it is blended with ingredients just the way nature gave them to us.

Ray & Terry’s Deep Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake is intended for use as a complete meal replacement, using healthy, natural, non-artificial ingredients to fill you up and inhibit your need for additional food for several hours. It also provides a high source of vitamins, minerals, fibers and proteins to create a nutritionally balanced diet as part of a weight control and maintenance program.

Each of the ingredients contained in Ray & Terry’s Deep Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake is natural -- and the formulation contains no artificial ingredients (e.g., colors, sweeteners, etc.)

One serving of the meal replacement composition provides:

• 10 g of carbohydrates of which 7 g are fiber for a net carbohydrate yield of 3 g
• 4 g of fat of which 0 g are trans fats and 1.5 g are saturated fat
• 18 g of protein

• 200 mg of sodium
• Total calories are 117 of which 35 calories (30%) are from fat

Read more... Ray & Terry's Meal Repalcement Shake