Can we delay aging?

Increased exercise can increase telomere length and longer telomeres has been associated with longer life (see July 2007 post on meditation and telomere length).
Telomeres are found on the tips of chromosomes and they shorten as people age. In this study published in Archives of Internal Medicine (Jan 28, 2008) those subjects who exercised the most had the longest telomeres.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18227361

Some With MS Put Their Hopes in a Diet

Gluten free/ casein free, rich in essential fatty acids particularly omega 3, and let's not forget to check Vitamin D levels...

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: March 11, 2008
What you are about to read is not an endorsement of any particular diet as a therapy for multiple sclerosis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/health/11brod.html?ex=1362974400&en=8a7f446917534132&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Drugs found in drinking water

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs — or combinations of drugs — may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.

Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.

Many concerns about chronic low-level exposure focus on certain drug classes: chemotherapy that can act as a powerful poison; hormones that can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy that can damage the brain or change behavior; antibiotics that can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms; pain relievers and blood-pressure diuretics.

For several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated contaminants — pesticides, lead, PCBs — which are present in higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.

However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.

"These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects," says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080310/ap_on_re_us/pharmawater_i

NYC: Traces of sedatives in NYC water - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080310/ap_on_re_us/pharmawater_nyc_water

VIDEO: Pharmaceuticals found in drinking water
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/256.0/popup/index.php?cl=6888171

Concern in Europe on Cellphone Ads for Children

Technology
Concern in Europe on Cellphone Ads for Children
By DOREEN CARVAJAL
Published: March 8, 2008

Driven in part by a lack of knowledge over the long-term health effects of mobile phone use, parent groups in Europe have called for a ban on marketing to children.

While there is no specific evidence that mobile telephones pose a health threat to young users, researchers worry that there is still only scanty scientific information about the long-term impact of radio frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile telephones on the developing brains and tissues of children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/technology/08mobile.html?ex=1362718800&en=14ff8a0964418120&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really.

By MARK BITTMAN
Published: March 2, 2008
The author tries taking a real day off by fully disconnecting himself from his cellphone, land line and computer. A "day of rest" gives him his life back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/fashion/02sabbath.html?ex=1362114000&en=74ad7f9264b36784&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Cholesterol Myth

Does lowering cholesterol really reduce CVD mortality? Listen to Dr. Hyman's videoblog.

http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/medical-industrial-complex

Consumption of Meat, Fried Foods, and Diet Soda May Increase the Risk of Developing the Metabolic Syndrome

In a prospective study involving 9,514 subjects between the ages of 45 and 64 years, consumption of a "Western" dietary pattern, including meat, fried foods, and diet soda, was found to be associated with the development of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetSyn). Food-frequency questionnaires were used to assess subjects' dietary intakes, from which "Western" and "prudent" dietary patterns were derived. 3,782 cases of MetSyn were reported over the course of a 9 year follow-up. After adjusting for various potentially confounding factors, adherence to a Western dietary pattern was found to be associated with development of MetSyn. Further analysis of individual food groups found that meat, fried foods, and diet soda were each independently associated with the MetSyn. Dairy consumption, on the other hand, was found to have a beneficial effect. The authors conclude, "These prospective findings suggest that consumption of a Western dietary pattern, meat, and fried foods promotes the incidence of MetSyn, whereas dairy consumption provides some protection. The diet soda association was not hypothesized and deserves further study."

Lutsey, P.L., Steffen, L.M., Stevens, J. (2008). Dietary intake and the development of the metabolic syndrome: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Circulation, 117 (6): 754-61.