A Harvard study published this year in The New England Journal of Medicine followed 1,095 men (median age: 65) who underwent surgery for prostate cancer over a 13-year period. The men had had their prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels checked six to 12 months before, and then immediately prior to, their diagnosis of cancer.

If you're taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol, also consider coenzyme QlO, or CoQlO. Essential to energy

production within the heart (and the rest of the body), this antioxidant is depleted by statin medications, so people taking statin drugs should take 100 mg of . CoQlO daily.

Because this coenzyme improves blood flow and helps prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, it's important for overall heart protection (50 :0 100 mg is wise for anyone with high cholesterol). But if you're taking a blood thinner such as Coumadin, talk with your healthcare provider before supplementing. Adapted from GREENWISE

As an herb, coneflower's root goes by its Latin first name, Echinacea (the second name varies depending upon species). For centuries Native Americans have treated everything from toothache and upset stomach to sore throat and coughs with Echinacea root.

In the late 1800s, a group of American physicians began to study Echinacea, contributing to its popularity in this country. By the 1930s the herb had attracted the attention of European doctors, who imported it from the U.S. Considerable research has been done on both sides of the Atlantic since that time

The immune system has two ways of dealing with bacteria and viruses that invade the body. While they work very differently, these two strategies pull together to 'fight off infectious disease:

One recognizes a foreign invader and tailors the immune response to it; the other destroys the invading organism by fever and the creation of antiviral proteins and special immune cells that attack .the invaders. Echinacea stimulates the second response.

If you take powdered Echinacea root in capsule form, the recommended dosages range from 900 mg to 4.5 grams per day. In liquid extract form, 3 to 9 milliliters a day is recommended.

Except for some reported allergic reactions (this herb is kin to ragweed), none of which was serious, Echinacea appears to be relatively safe, according to herbalist Roy Upton and researcher Alison Graff, PhD.

But Echinacea’s safety in pregnancy and breast feeding has not been determined. If you are expecting or nursing a child, check with your healthcare provider about using this antiviral herb.

ELDERBERRY. Called "nature's medicine chest" in England, where it has been used as a cold and flu remedy for centuries, elderberry contains an ingredient that prevents certain flu viruses from infecting human cells. One study found that people who took elderberry recovered from the flu in just three days, as opposed to six days for people taking a placebo.

GARLIC. Not just the star of Italian cooking, garlic is also a potent herb that boosts the immune system and acts as a natural antibiotic. Use it liberally in cooking, or take in capsule form.

GINGER. When you are in the chills-and fever stage of a cold, you can get relief from head congestion and the chills by drinking ginger tea. (Make your own by mixing one-third of a teaspoon of powdered ginger into a cup of hot water.)

GOLDENSEAL. Popular Native American herb goldenseal boasts infection fighting and antibacterial properties. Used orally, it treats respiratory tract infections, and as a gargle, goldenseal is recommended for conditions including pharyngitis, laryngitis, and tonsillitis.

But don't take goldenseal if you're pregnant or nursing, and don't use it internally on a daily basis for more than one week at a time. Adapted from GREENWISE

You don't need to wonder what's in the peanut butter when you make your own. This recipe is great-tasting,, healthy and nutritious. Soybeans and peanuts help control blood sugar and contain antioxidants, as do olive oil and honey.

2 cups roasted peanuts

1'/, cups unsalted soy nuts

(roasted soybeans)

3 Tbs. honey

5 to 7 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor with the knife blade; process 3 to 4 minutes. Add more oil for a smoother spread, less for a crunchier spread. Makes 2 cups.

FIRM RECALLS 10,000 AED’S Access Cardio Systems Inc. of Massachusetts is recalling 10,000 automated external defibrillators because they didn't work properly and, at times, turned them selves on automatically. They are used by fire departments and hospitals around the nation.

"They're no longer in business. They can't correct the product. They can't service it. And they can't replace it," said Susan ,Liner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Although no patients have died, the defibrillators failed one of two ways: Its shock delivery circuit experienced "catastrophic failure," making it impossible to deliver defibrillation shocks, or they mysteriously turned them selves on, and the on-off button stopped working. .

Two research groups recently reported lowering blood levels of a protein that promotes artery inflammation is just as important as reducing bad cholesterol for preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Their conclusions that contrary to public perception, while bad cholesterol, or LDL, is the primary villain in heart disease, levels of C-reactive protein also must be reduced to halt the disease's progression, researchers said. In that simple assertion lies the seed of a major debate among heart specialists. Revised just last year, current treatment guidelines reflect what studies then showed: the importance of lowering LDL to below 70 milligrams per deciliter of blood in high-risk patients.

But most doctors don't track CRP as they do cholesterol or prescribe drugs to reduce it, such as Lipitor and other potent statins..If doctors are to provide quality care, the researchers said, that will have to change. The inexpensive CRP test ($10 to $15) is widely available and can be done as part. of other blood tests. "If we think only about cholesterol, we now have hard evidence that we're not doing the best we can for our patients," said the lead author of one of the papers, Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, and lead author of the second study, agrees: "Our studies suggest that the 'higher your level of CRP, the more your coronary artery disease progresses." , But Scott Grundy of the University of Texas in Dallas, and author of the current guidelines, challenged the findings. "I agree lowering LDL only reduces heart attack risk by one-third. You've got two-thirds of the risk remaining. CRP is responsible for some of that risk, but there are other factors in, volved too." Still, Nissen predicted the study will generate interest in other drugs that reduce CRP, including the experimental anti smoking, anti -obesity drug rimonabant and some diabetes drugs. . Adapted from FLORIDA TODAY

More than 350 scientific studies have focused on garlic’s effects on several risk factors for heart disease. It has been found to reduce:

PLATELET ADHESION by 35% to

58%

LDL CHOLESTEROL by 5% to 12%

TOTOL SERUM CHOLESTEROL by 6% to 31%

TRIGLYCERIDES by 10% to 19%

BLOOD PRESSURE by 6% to 8%

HOMOCYSTEINE by 24 to 35 %

LDL OXIDATION by 35 to 51%

SMOKING OXIDATIVE DAMAGE by 20% to 48%. So what if your friends don’t want to be near you---you can live to be 120! Adapted from GREENWISE

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Americans in every age group are getting bigger and bigger . The number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 doubled between 1980 and 2000, and tripled among adolescents ages 12 to 17. Even the elderly are getting fat. The latest statistics show that 70% of Americans between the ages of 55 and 74 are overweigh, twice the percentage of 30 years ago.

The medical consequences of carrying around all this excess weight were made clear by a study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. A survey of 73,000 adults conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle showed that being overweight significantly increases the risk of a long list of medical complaints, including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, depression, deep-vein thrombosis, osteoarthritis, fatigue, insomnia, indigestion, impotence and hip- and knee replacement surgery.

So, what can we do about it? A good place to start is to cut back on sugary sodas and fruit drinks. A separate study reported that women who drank less than one sweetened beverage a month not only were thinner but also had a 40% smaller risk of developing diabetes than women who had at least one sugary drink every day. Adapted from TIME