Chocolate May Decrease Risk of Heart Attack-A study finds that eating chocolate two or more times a week slashes cardiac death by 66%, and that less frequent consumption is also associated with smaller decreased risks.

Reference: I. Janszky, K. J. Mukamal, R. Ljung, S. Ahnve, A. Ahlbom, J. Hallqvist. "Chocolate consumption and mortality following a first acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program." Journal of Internal Medicine, Volume 266 Issue 3, Pages 248 - 257

Low Vitamin D Levels Raise Risk of Death- The researchers found that women with blood levels of the vitamin lower than 15.3 nanograms per milliliter were more likely to die from causes such as heart disease and cancer, as compared to women with higher levels (above 27 ng/ml).The active form of vitamin D (1,25- dihydroxyvitamin D) is associated with controlling inflammatory compounds, regulating immune health and blood pressure, and reducing arterial hardening.

Reference: Semba RD, Houston DK, Ferrucci L, Cappola AR, Sun K, Guralnik JM, Fried LP. Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are associated with greater all-cause mortality in older community-dwelling women.Nutr Res. 2009 Aug-29(8);525-30.

Elevated Insulin Levels Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer Risk-Men with fasting levels of insulin (fat storing hormone) that are elevated but still within the normal range may be at increased risk of prostate cancer. The researchers warn that: "Elevated fasting levels of serum insulin (but not glucose) within the normal range appear to be associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer."

Reference: Albanes D, Weinstein SJ, Wright ME, Männistö S, Limburg PJ, Snyder K, Virtamo J. "Serum Insulin, Glucose, Indices of Insulin Resistance, and Risk of Prostate Cancer." J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Aug 21. [Epub ahead of print].

Dine at Right Time of Day to Avoid Weight Gain-Fred Turek, from Northwestern University (Illinois, USA), and colleagues have found that eating at irregular times -- the equivalent of the middle of the night for humans, when the body wants to sleep -- influences weight gain. The regulation of energy by the body's circadian rhythms may play a significant role. The study is the first causal evidence linking meal timing and increased weight gain.

Reference: Deanna M. Arble, Joseph Bass, Aaron D. Laposky, Martha H. Vitaterna and Fred W. Turek. Circadian Timing of Food Intake Contributes to Weight Gain. Obesity, 2009; DOI: 10.1038/oby.2009.264

Regular Tea Drinkers May Enjoy Younger Biological Age-Telomeres are the endcaps on chromosomes, and telomeric shortening is thought to govern the number of times a cell can divide. This study showed that only tea consumption was associated with telomere length. The highest intakes of Chinese tea (black or green), at three cups or 750 millilitres per day, was associated with telomeres that were 4.6 kilobases longer than people who drank an average of a quarter of a cup a day. The researchers calculated that this average difference in the telomere length corresponds to "approximately a difference of 5 years of life," and comment that "the antioxidative properties of tea and its constituent nutrients may protect telomeres from oxidative damage in the normal ageing process."

Reference: . Chan, J. Woo, E. Suen, J. Leung, N. Tang. "Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men," British Journal of Nutrition. Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1017/S0007114509991383.

List of Cellphones Emitting Highest Levels of Radiation Released-A September 2009 report from The Environmental Working Group lists the cellphones with the highest emissions of radiation, with smartphones topping the list.

While The Environmental Working Group admits that conclusive scientific evidence does not yet exist to prove that cellphones cause illnesses or diseases in humans, the report does point to research that has shown links between prolonged cellphone use and brain cancer, salivary gland tumors, migraines and vertigo, and decreased male sperm count (from carrying a cellphone in the pocket).

The 10 smartphones with the highest radiation

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (1.55 W/kg) Blackberry Curve 8330 (1.54 W/kg) Palm Treo 600 (1.53 W/kg) T-Mobile Shadow (1.53 W/kg) Palm Treo 650 (1.51 W/kg) Blackberry Curve 8300 (1.51 W/kg) Blackberry Bold 9000 (1.51 W/kg) Sony Ericsson P910a (1.50 W/kg) HTC SMT 5800 (1.49 W/kg) BlackBerry Pearl 8120/8130 (1.48 W/kg)

The 10 smartphones with lowest radiation

Nokia 9300i (0.21 W/kg) Nokia 7710 (0.22 W/kg) T-Mobile MDA Wiza200 (0.28 W/kg) Samsung Impression SGH-a877 (0.35 W/kg) Nokia 9300 (0.44 W/kg) Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627 (0.47 W/kg) Samsung Gravity SGH-t459 (0.49 W/kg) BlackBerry Storm 9530 (0.57 W/kg) Nokia E90 (0.59 W/kg) Nokia N96 (0.68 W/kg)

Other notables, from lowest to highest

HTC Touch Pro (0.91 W/kg) Palm Pre (0.92 W/kg) iPhone (0.97 W/kg) Samsung JACK i637 (1.04 W/kg) T-Mobile's Google G1 (1.11 W/kg) Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 (1.14 W/kg) iPhone 3GS (1.19 W/kg) Samsung BlackJack II SGH-i617 (1.20 W/kg) Motorola MOTO Q 9m (1.30 W/kg) iPhone 3G (1.39 W/kg) BlackBerry Tour 9630 (unknown)

Safety tips

As part of the report, the EWG also provided eight safety tips for cellphone users who are concerned about radiation. Here is a quick list of the tips.

Buy a low-radiation phone

Use a headset or speaker

Listen more, talk less

Hold phone away from your body

Choose texting over talking

Poor signal? Stay off the phone

Limit children's phone use

Skip the "radiation shield"

Link found between common sexual infection and risk of aggressive prostate cancer-A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers has found a strong association between the common sexually transmitted infection, Trichomonas vaginalis, and risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer in men. One potential risk factor is inflammation. Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection, can infect the prostate and could be a source of inflammation. With respect to prostate cancer prevention, it is noteworthy that up to three-quarters of men infected with Trichomonas vaginalis may not realize they are infected, since they may not have any symptoms.The results showed that Trichomonas vaginalis infection was associated with a more than two-fold increase in the risk of prostate cancer that was advanced stage at diagnosis, and a nearly three- fold increase in prostate cancer that would result in death.

Reference:Journal of the National Cancer Institute Stark JR, et al Prospective study of trichomonas vaginalis infection and prostate cancer incidence and mortality: Physicians' Health Study J Natl Cancer Inst 2009

Sleeping 9+ Hours a Day Linked to Increased Dementia Risk-Older adults who sleep nine or more hours a day may be at higher risk of developing dementia than those who sleep eight hours. Prolonged sleep duration (night-time sleep and daytime napping) may be associated with an increased risk of dementia.

Reference:Benito-Leon J, Bermejo-Pareja F, Vega S, Louis ED. "Total daily sleep duration and the risk of dementia: a prospective population-based study." Eur J Neurol. 2009 Sep;16(9):990-7. Epub 2009 Mar 31.

Physical Activity Promotes Longevity, Regardless of Age-The take home message is that even among the very old, it never is too late to start exercising. Walking was the first choice.In addition to the physical benefits, the act of getting outside daily, meeting people, interacting with the outside world and changing seasons are all ingredients of successful aging.The findings included that the benefits of activity were seen with as little as 4 hours a week of gentle activity like walking.

Reference:Stessman J, Hammerman-Rozenberg R, Cohen A, Ein-Mor E, Jacobs JM. "Physical activity, function, and longevity among the very old." Arch Intern Med. 2009 Sep 14;169(16):1476-83.]

Advanced Gum Disease Linked to Increased Head and Neck Cancers-There is substantial evidence which supports an association between chronic inflammation and/or infections with cancers.This study suggests that chronic periodontitis (gum disease) is an independent risk factor for Head and Neck Cancers.

Reference: Tezal M, Sullivan MA, Hyland A, Marshall JR, Stoler D, Reid ME, Loree TR, Rigual NR, Merzianu M, Hauck L, Lillis C, Wactawski-Wende J, Scannapieco FA. "Chronic periodontitis and the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma." Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Sep;18(9):2406-12.

Omega-3 Deficiency Kills 96,000 Americans Annually- Several studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids, found in high concentrations in oily fish such as salmon, play a therapeutic role in maintaining cardiovascular health, cognitive skills, eyesight, and more, as we age. A study by Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA) researchers and sponsored by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Association of Schools of Public Health finds that omega-3 deficiency is the sixth biggest killer of Americans. The team determined that there were 72,000 to 96,000 preventable deaths each year due to omega-3 deficiency. This is more deadly than excess trans fat intake, which claimed 63,000 to 97,000 American lives the same year.

Reference:Public Library of Science Medicine Journal Vol. 6, April, 2009 'The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors' Authors: Goodarz Danaei, Eric L Ding, Dariush Mozaffarian, Ben Taylor, Jurgen Rehm, Christopher J L Murray, Majid Ezzati

Do you think the skin you have right now is the same that you had last month? NO. Your skin cells completely replace themselves every 28 days.

Do you think the bones that you have right now are the same that you had when you were growing up? NO. All of your bone cells are totally renewed every 90 days.

Do you think the cells that make up your lungs now are the same as the ones that you had last year? NO. The lungs replace their cells every 70 days.

Do you think the cells that make up your heart are the same as the ones that you had last month? NO. Every cell of your heart is entirely replaced every 30 days.

IN ONLY ONE YEAR YOUR BODY IS 98 PERCENT RENEWED. That is right- your body recreates itself every year.

And so the human body is a constant miraculous work in progress.

It is NEVER too early or too late to start an Age Management Medicine program- including a nutrient dense, whole food diet and regular exercise.What type of body will you have by the end of this year?

You are constantly building a new body- what you do to your body makes a difference- what you eat and don't eat, whether you exercise or don't exercise, which supportive nutritional supplements you take, what toxins you expose your body to, what thoughts you expose your body to, whether your over 200 hormones are in balance.

Just because you do not yet have symptoms does not mean that you are well.If you already have symptoms of any kind- your body in its infinite wisdom is trying to send you a message.

Your body has the amazing ability to restore, repair and heal itself but it needs your cooperation.This is Age Management Medicine.

You will also be able to download the workshop notes and e-booklets on different topics in Age Management Medicine.

E-Booklets include: An Introduction to Age Management Medicine through an Interview with Dr. Casas;Healthy Heart Aging; Healthy Brain Aging; Healthy Prostate Aging; Top Ten Age Management Medicine Supplements; Optimizing Your Feel Good Hormones/Neurotransmitters; How to Detox, Male Andropause; Nutritional Stress, Female Peri-Menopause and Menopause and many more.

Dr. Casas will regularly add and update the e-booklets in the Member Center to assure that you have the most up- to-date information available.

If you are currently a patient of Dr. Casas, you have COMPLIMENTARY ACCESS to the Member Center. Please e-mail her if you have not received your user name and password.

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