In a message dated 9/20/02 8:28:40 AM, Paleogal <[log in to unmask]
writes:

<< Parasites May Help Explain Gender Longevity Gap
Thu Sep 19, 5:47 PM ET
By Merritt McKinney

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's no secret that women tend to live longer
than men, but it may not be just that men drive too fast and take other
risks, new research suggests. Parasites could be to blame, at least in part,
according to a study from the UK.

In an article in the September 20th issue of the journal Science, Drs. Sarah
L. Moore and Kenneth Wilson of the University of Stirling report evidence
that male mammals are more susceptible than females to parasites, which are
a common cause of death in wild animals.

And there is some evidence, according to an editorial that accompanies the
study, that parasites could affect sex differences in death rates among
people, too, since men are more likely than women to harbor parasites.

Exactly why parasites seem to have it in for men is uncertain, but size
might have something to do with it, study co-author Wilson told Reuters
Health. . . >>

In the Eades book, The Protein Power LifePlan, there is an entire chapter on
the perils of iron over load. The Eades ask the question, that if excess iron
is so dangerous to the body, (especially as a promoter of heart disease) why
does it tend to accumulate? One possible explanation, they go on to
postulate, is that our ancestors tended to harbor many parasites which would
deplete iron stores, and now that we live such "clean" lives without
parasites, the iron will pile up since it's no longer being drained by these
parasites.

That is one of the theories about why women lag some 10 years or so behind
men in developing heart disease- i.e., monthly blood loss drains excess iron
until this ceases with the onset of menopause. So it looks like you poor men
will die sooner than women anyway, either from heart disease caused by too
much iron, or from parasites, which deplete it! All joking aside, the number
one cause of death for women is still heart disease; but women live longer
than men because it takes some 10 years or so to catch up to their rates of
heart disease.

Now I don't know if male mammals in the wild tend to accumulate iron as
readily as human males do, but if so, perhaps the acquisition of parasites
acts as some sort of built-in control mechanism? Could the body become more
susceptible to parasites when the iron stores (food for the parasites) become
too high?

Could the size difference issue be just a cofactor rather than the causative
factor?

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY