Health & Life Extension

It’s one thing to read all the studies, to keep informed through breaking news and research about natural health, but it’s another to hear it from the people who put it into practice. When you can combine the practical applications of natural health with the scientific background, the evidence can be awfully convincing. This is where Johns Hopkins medical oncologist Dr. Saraswati Sukumar comes in, explaining how you can get the most out of the amazing spice turmeric.

Dr. Sukumar is a cancer doctor, but she is also a frequent user of turmeric. She knows first-hand how curcumin (the active component in turmeric) can provide health benefits and how it can easily be incorporated into your daily life. She uses it daily in her kitchen and has built a good portion of her professional reputation on touting the benefits of this powerful root.

“The health benefits are many, many. For example, for those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, who have painful swelling in the knees, turmeric is a great way to suppress the inflammation,” says Dr. Sukumar. “A Woman’s Journey.”“We have close to 300 publications (that cite turmeric) for its anti-cancer effects. Many diseases, such as colon cancer and other types of cancer, are being traced to inflammation.”

She can point to the research that shows how curcumin can not only regulate inflammation which leads to certain types of cancer, but also the other types of cancer where curcumin “actually seeks out malignany cancer cells and alters the regulation of DNA in order to kill them,” as stated by Natural News.

As Dr. Sukumar said, the benefits of turmeric are many—from inflammation of the joints as is common in arthritis, to reduced cancer risk and the treatment of diabetes. But, not all sources of curcumin are equal. As Dr. Sukumar points out, your body can get the most benefits when you add it to your cooking.

“The problem with the pill is that it is very insoluble in water,” said Dr. Sukumar. “The better way to take it, I feel, is to use it in your cooking very extensively. If you have any sauté, just sprinkle it in. The moment you heat oil and add turmeric to it, it now becomes completely bio-available to you.”

A recent investigational study published by Koeth et al. in the journal Nature Medicine1 examined levels of a compound called trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) in relationship to microbial metabolism of carnitine in the gut. The researchers cite very recent, limited research suggesting TMAO may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. They then provocatively propose that carnitine consumption may increase cardiovascular risk in some individuals due to increasing TMAO levels following microbial metabolism of the compound. 

The authors report the intestinal bacterial flora of people who consume red meat, a source of dietary carnitine, was conducive to TMAO production in the presence of carnitine, whereas vegetarians produced little to no TMAO under the same circumstances. They concluded that alterations in the intestinal microbiota associated with meat consumption may promote the formation of TMAO from dietary carnitine, and therefore suggested that the carnitine content of red meat may be one of the reasons it is linked to heart disease.

Following publication of this study, mainstream media outlets propagated misleading headlines blaming carnitine for heart disease without explaining that these findings were very preliminary and that red meat consumption was required for the observed effect. Life Extension® members are well aware of the potential health threats associated with red meat consumption, such as exposure to saturated fats and advanced glycation end products,4 and many already consume a heart-healthy, plant-based diet such as the Mediterranean diet.

These deceptive media headlines have generated concern that supplemental forms of L-carnitine may be detrimental to heart health. This notion flies in the face of numerous published, peer-reviewed studies showing L-carnitine promotescardiovascular health in a variety of ways. The media's effort to generate headlines has undermined decades of scientific research on the heart-health benefits of carnitine.

New Mayo Clinic Meta-Analysis: Carnitine Improves Outcomes in Heart Attack Patients

Ironically, days after publication of the Koethe et al. carnitine article, a new meta-analysis of the research on carnitine and heart health was published by researchers from Mayo Clinic. This large systematic review provides strong evidence for carnitine's benefits in heart health. This article examined 13 controlled trials that enrolled, collectively, 3629 participants, representing the largest, most powerful scientific review of carnitine's cardiovascular benefits to date.2

The authors of the Mayo Clinic study found carnitine supplementation was associated with a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 65% reduction in ventricular arrhythmias, and a 40% reduction in angina symptoms in patients who had experienced a heart attack. These effects were thought to occur through multiple mechanisms, including improved energy metabolism in the mitochondria, decreased ischemia, and enhanced left ventricle function.2

The authors describe carnitine as an inexpensive therapy with an "excellent safety profile" which could potentially be used in patients with angina or who are at risk for angina after suffering from a heart attack. Based on the results of this meta-analysis, the authors suggest L-carnitine as a potential future therapy for heart attack and secondary coronary prevention and treatment, including angina. The scientists state: "Further study with large randomized controlled trials of this inexpensive and safe therapy in the modern era is warranted." Unfortunately they also note:"However, a large trial may never be performed because L-carnitine is an over-the-counter supplement available to the public, which decreases the potential revenue compared with a synthesized [pharmaceutical] product."2

Carnitine's benefits are well-established and Life Extension® has written about them at length over the years.  The next several paragraphs describe some of the key health benefits associated with carnitine.

President Obama on Tuesday will announce a research initiative, starting with $100 million in 2014, to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain.

On October 17, 2005, the FDA sent out warning letters to cherry growers insisting that they cease making substantiated health claims that specific chemicals found in cherries could reduce pain and inflammation.1,2

The FDA wanted cherry growers to stop citing published scientific studies showing that cherries are packed with unique anthocyanins and other compounds that naturally mediate the inflammatory process.3-6 These compounds deliver comparable anti-inflammatory activity to ibuprofen (Advil®) and naproxen (Aleve®)7—but without the significant side effects!

Standard treatment for muscle pain and inflammation has been with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. With over 111 million prescriptions and accounting for around 60% of over-the-counter pain reliever sales in the USA alone, these are some of the most commonly used types of medications.8 But because they can have deadly side effects, including gastric bleeding, heart attack, and kidney failure, the search for natural agents that could prove more beneficial and safer has gained increased attention.9,10

The compounds found in cherries modulate numerous pathways to protect against other conditions associated with inflammation—including cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease.11-14 For example, tart cherry constituents can switch critical genes off and on;15,16 modulate cell-signaling molecules like tumor necrosis factor;17 and target multiple cardiovascular factors—producing, in one study model, an astounding 65% reduction in early mortality!18

In this article, you will learn of the multiple benefits found in cherries that the FDA did not want to be publicized.

/PRNewswire/ -- If you think you're losing your youthful beauty, or want to look years younger than your age, then take the new YouBeauty.com Look Young Longer Quiz sponsored by Life Extension® to get the answers.

Located at http://www.youbeauty.com/quizzes/look-young-longer, you'll learn your beauty age, your projected aging trajectory (i.e. how you'll look in 10, 20 or 30 years), and how your lifestyle habits may be accelerating or slowing how fast you age. You'll also get personalized action steps that can help you stay looking—and feeling—younger longer.  In addition to the quiz, Life Extension, known as the anti-aging experts, created a series of 16 sponsored beauty health tips that includes dietary supplements and offers specially created interactive reports.

Male pattern baldness, the kind that starts at the top or back of the head, may indicate an increased risk for coronary heart disease, according to a new analysis.

JERUSALEM-- Observant Jews in Israel craving a smoke during the week-long Passover holiday that starts at sundown Monday can now enjoy a rabbi-approved puff.

It's the first time cigarettes have joined the long list of goods stringently checked to ensure they comply with Passover rules on what items are allowed, or kosher for the holiday — meaning they have not come in contact with grains or other forbidden ingredients.

 The stamp of approval came from the Beit Yosef private rabbinic group, which certifies foods as compliant with Jewish dietary restrictions. Last month, Beit Yosef approved three local cigarette brands for smoking during Passover. The chief rabbinate in Israel, however, disapproved of the measure, saying cigarettes are life-threatening and should not be approved by rabbis.

"Poison is not kosher. For all days of the year, not just Passover," said the chief rabbinate's spokesman Ziv Maor.

But Rabbi Igal Ben Ezra, Beit Yosef's chief supervisor, said the certification was meant for Israeli smokers who only buy products marked as "kosher for Passover" and who might be concerned about buying cigarettes without such a label. It's "mostly for people who have doubts on this subject," said Ben Ezra.