Resveratrol (3,5,4 trans-hydroxy stilbene) was discovered about 70 years ago. It's hardly new. You see everyone selling resveratrol, so it must be good stuff, right? If so many people are buying it, then it must work, right?

Cancer Research UK is more forthright in condemning those who hype resveratrol for its cancer- inhibiting properties. "Many vitamin and mineral supplements were believed to be potent cancer fighters until trials and large studies showed they are usually ineffective and can even increase the risk of cancer in some cases," says the charity's Yinka Ebo. "Resveratrol has a few anticancer properties when tested in animals or cells grown in a lab. But, to date, there is no strong evidence that resveratrol supplements can prevent cancer in people."

Read the whole story at Wired

Since an article appeared in "Nature" in 2003 about the potential life-extension capabilities of resveratrol, many people both in and out inside of the life-extension community have been interested in this supplement. Red wine became touted even more as a heath drink due to its (meager) resveratrol content, and people began to have hope in this as a potential CR mimetic. The possibility to obtain the benefits of CR with out the actual calorie restriction made the ears of the nation perk.

By 2006 and 2007, the results from different groups were beginning to conflict. Studies began to indicate that while resveratrol had health benefits in elderly and obese mice, the longevity effects were not consistently observed in ad lib fed mice stared on the supplement midlife. However, a very interesting observation showed that resveratrol could improve insulin and glucose levels in mice on a high-fat (over-consumption) diet, but note that cholesterol and free fatty acid levels did not improve.

Other vitamins and nutrients may get more headlines, but experts say as many as two billion people around the world have diets deficient in zinc – and studies at Oregon State University and elsewhere are raising concerns about the health implications this holds for infectious disease, immune function, DNA damage and cancer.

One new study has found DNA damage in humans caused by only minor zinc deficiency.

Zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world. Even in the United States, about 12 percent of the population is probably at risk for zinc deficiency, and perhaps as many as 40 percent of the elderly, due to inadequate dietary intake and less absorption of this essential nutrient, experts say. Many or most people have never been tested for zinc status, but existing tests are so poor it might not make much difference if they had been.

Colorectal cancer, the third most common type of cancer worldwide, has been linked to an increased prevalence of the Western diet: one high in fat and low in fiber, vitamin D and calcium. Now, a team of scientists led by researchers at Rockefeller University have shown what happens to colon tissue when mice are fed such a diet: an inflammatory response that could be the trigger for carcinogenic processes. Their results are published in the November 2009 issue of The Journal of Nutrition

"There is convincing evidence that increased intake of red meat, processed meat and alcohol can increase risk of colorectal cancer, whereas greater consumption of dietary fiber, milk and calcium might decrease risk," says Peter Holt, a senior research associate in the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism at Rockefeller. "Our findings show that a Western diet induces oxidative stress and alters immune responses in the colon of mice long before tumors occur."

"We'll be the first to bring to the market a storage battery for home use, which can store sufficient electricity for about one week of use," said Fumio Otsubo, president of Panasonic, in a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Stressing that Panasonic and Sanyo have already test-manufactured a storage battery for home use, Otsubo said, "We're positioned closest [among firms] to realizing CO2 emission-free daily life."

By making Sanyo its subsidiary, Panasonic plans to accelerate the development of the storage battery, while planning to sell it together with a system that will enable households to check electricity usage on a home-based TV display

Read the whole article at http://www.physorg.com/news180778009.html

Presented by Steven Wm. Fowkes.

The talk will answer questions like:
1. Which nutrients promote optimal brain function?
2. What nutrients are commonly deficient enough to impair mental performance?
3. How can you get a better nights sleep without Ambien?
4. What nutrients counteract aspects of aging?
5. Is there an alternative to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants?
6. What modern nutrition myths lead us to consume products that sabotage healthy brain function?
7. What tests can you get from your doctor?
8. What nutrients affect appetite, alertness, and tension?
9. What nutrient combo will prevent hangovers 90% of the time?

About Steven Wm. Fowkes
Steven Wm. Fowkes is the Director of the Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute and a co-author of the book Smart Drugs II.

Genescient is the world's first computational biology company founded on the use of artificial biological selection to cure the diseases of aging. Our laboratory animals have been selected for longevity through 750 generations for the equivalent of 15,000 human years. I will describe Genescient's multiple pathways toward accelerating human longevity, with parallel enhancements of vigor and function. Genescient applies 21st century genomic technology to identify, screen and develop benign therapeutic substances at precise doses, to defeat the diseases of aging. Our singular approach addresses the complex genomic networks that underlie aging and aging-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. I shall display some results and our first product, due in 2009.

Venderley AM & Campbell WW. Vegetarian diets : nutritionalconsiderations for athletes. SportsMed 2006; 36(4): 293-305. The quality of vegetarian diets to meet nutritional needs andsupport peak performance among athletes continues to be questioned.Appropriately planned vegetarian diets can provide sufficient energy and anappropriate range of carbohydrate, fat and protein intakes to supportperformance and health. The acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges forcarbohydrate, fat and protein of 45-65%, 20-35% and 10-35%, respectively, areappropriate for vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes alike, especially those whoperform endurance events. Vegetarian athletes can meet their protein needs frompredominantly or exclusively plant-based sources when a variety of these foodsare consumed daily and energy intake is adequate. Muscle creatine stores arelower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians. Creatine supplementation providesergogenic responses in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes, withlimited data supporting greater ergogenic effects on lean body mass accretionand work performance for vegetarians.

A higher daily intake of fruits and vegetables in healthy elderly is associated with an improved antioxidant status in comparison to subjects consuming diets poor in fruits and vegetables, but the impact on cognitive performance is unclear. Healthy community dwellers (45 to 102 years old, n=193) underwent cognitive testing and blood withdrawal for the measurement of antioxidant micronutrients and biomarkers of oxidative stress as well as administration of a food frequency questionnaire to assess the daily intake of fruits and vegetables (high intake HI, low intake LI). Ninety-four subjects of the HI group had significantly higher cognitive test scores, higher levels of carotenoids, alpha- and gamma-tocopherol as well as lower levels of F_{2alpha} isoprostanes than the 99 subjects of the LI group. Cognitive scores were directly correlated with blood levels of alpha-tocopherol and lycopene and negatively correlated with F_{2alpha} isoprostanes and protein carbonyls. The results were independent of age, gender, body mass index, education, total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and albumin.

The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the FASEB Journal, may have implications not only for those eating lots of high-fat foods, but also athletes looking for the optimal diet for training and patients with metabolic disorders.

"We found that rats, when switched to a high-fat diet from their standard low-fat feed, showed a surprisingly quick reduction in their physical performance," says Dr Andrew Murray, who led the work at Oxford University and has now moved to the University of Cambridge. "After just nine days, they were only able to run 50 per cent as far on a treadmill as those that remained on the low-fat feed."

High-fat diets, such as those that are prevalent in Western countries, are known to be harmful in the long term and can lead to problems such as obesity, diabetes and heart failure. They are also known to be associated with a decline in cognitive ability over long time spans. But little attention has been paid to the effect of high-fat diets in the short term.

Findings of observational study warrant further research in controlled clinical trial to clarify the role of these and other possible factors contributing to AD risk >> NEW YORK – Both being more physically active and adhering to a Mediterranean-type diet appears to be associated with reduced Alzheimer's risk, according to a new report in the August 12, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). While previous studies have only investigated the association between either physical activity or diet and Alzheimer's disease risk separately, this new research explored their combined association. "Often times people who exercise also follow a healthy diet and vice versa.

From Illinois - According to research in the journal Psychology and Aging, video games may improve cognitive function in the elderly. In a study of 40 older adults, researchers found that those assigned to play a strategy-based video game for nearly 24 hours, spread out over the course of 4 to 5 weeks, showed improved performance in task switching, working memory, visual short-term memory and reasoning, compared to those who did not play video games.

From Maryland - A panel of FDA advisers has concluded that two types of long-acting beta-2 agonist inhalers carry too high a risk for asthma-related complications. The drugs, Serevent and Foradil, when used without a corticosteroid, were found to have unacceptably high risks among all age groups. While some on the advisory panel disagreed with the ruling concerning adults, the decision was unanimous in regards to children.