Diet and Longevity

A quick one. This report came up on Science Daily.
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The study found that a complex dietary supplement powerfully offsets this key symptom of ageing in old mice by increasing the activity of the cellular furnaces that supply energy -- or mitochondria -- and by reducing emissions from these furnaces -- or free radicals -- that are thought to be the basic cause of ageing itself. The abstract follows.

Cancer, Diet, and Angiogenesis

Over the years there have been a multitude of reports on the anti-cancer properties of various foods. There is valuable truth in these reports and it does pay to adopt your diet so as to include a variety of these foods into your lifestyle. For example, it has long been known that a carotenoid found in tomatoes, lycopene, appears to confer protection against prostate cancer. Watermelon also contains good amounts of this carotenoid. However when eating tomatoes at least you really need to cook the tomatoes as this maximises the absorption of lycopene. This study highlights an unusual trend that is appearing in the data. As they state:

"The intake of isolated lycopene does not protect from the development of PCA."

Another Study on Mercury in Fish

This news release from foodconsumer.org reports that some of the top Tuna brands sold in the USA contain levels of mercury that contravene the EPA standards. Mercury levels in some fish species have been rising for decades, the levels are now so high that pregnant women are advised to be very careful in the type of fish they consume. The irony of this is that studies done in Britain have indicated that the consumption of fish and\or fish oil  supplements results in measurable improvements in the cerebral function of their children. We must stop poisoning the planet.