Creatine Monohydrate helps build bone in older men

Twenty-nine older men with an average age of 71 were randomized to receive Creatine Monohydrate supplementation or placebo while participating in a resistance exercise training program for 12 weeks. Whole body and leg bone mineral density increased by 0.5% and 1% respectively in the Creatine and exercise group. The arm bone mineral density improved by 3.2% in the Creatine plus exercise group while the group on placebo plus exercise had a 1% decrease in arm bone mineral density. The study appears in the September-October 2005 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

Do not just depend on medication to lower your cholesterol, focus on diet and nutrition and include plant sterol containing foods or plant sterol containing supplements as part of your daily healthy lifestyle.

Curcumin from Turmeric may work well to decrease the spread of breast cancer to the lung when teamed up with the chemotherapy drug Taxol

Sixty female mice were injected with human breast cancer cells causing the growth of breast cancer tumors. When the tumors reached a large size they were removed surgically. The mice were then split into four groups receiving various combinations of Curcumin; the active ingredients in the spice Turmeric and Taxol; the chemotherapy drug. In a little over a month the researchers checked to see if the cancer had spread into the lungs (advanced breast cancer often spreads to the lungs). Almost all the mice that didn't receive either Taxol or Curcumin had lung cancer. The mice that did the best were those who received a combination of Taxol and Curcumin, where only 28% had visible lung tumors. The study is published in the October 15th, 2005 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Cranberry Polyphenols inhibit human tumor cells

The structure of the proanthocyanidins polyphenols in Cranberry differ significantly from those in Grape Seed structurally. This gives the Cranberry constituents the ability to protect from common urinary tract infections and the ability to stabilize LDL cholesterol. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth found that the active ingredients in Cranberries known as proanthocyanidins inhibited the growth of human lung, colon, and leukemia cells without affecting healthy cells. The cranberry polyphenols may also have the ability to check the spread of cancer. The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.