Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey, believes aging is a preventable phenomenon, much like a disease, stating that aging is merely a side effect of being alive.
He explains his belief that humans could live for centuries, if only we approach the aging process as “an engineering problem.” He outlines how to solve the basic ways people age. And if we get to work now, he says, humans alive today could live to be 1,000.
According to de Grey, if you want to take advantage of the advances in this new science you will need to follow healthy lifestyle principles. Probably the most important is normalizing your insulin and leptin levels. There is no way you will age slowly with elevated insulin or leptin levels.
• Keep your insulin levels low -- Elevated insulin levels are one of your key physical influences that contribute to rapid aging, and there is no question that optimizing your insulin levels is an absolute necessity if you want to slow down your aging process. Consuming sugar and grains will increase your insulin level, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your aging accelerator. There’s simply no more potent way to accelerate aging than eating sugar and grains.
• Eat a healthy diet based on your nutritional type – My nutrition plan, based on natural whole foods, is your first step toward increasing your chances of living a longer, healthier life. The heart of my program is the elimination, or at the very least, drastic reduction of grains and sugar in your diet, which is a far simpler way of restricting your calorie intake naturally, without suffering.
• Take your omega-3 fats – Krill or fish oil is a strong factor in helping people live longer, and many experts believe that it is likely the predominant reason why the Japanese are the longest lived race on the planet.
• Get your antioxidants from foods – Antioxidants have been shown to have anti-aging effects. Good sources include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, beans, and artichokes.
• Switch to coconut oil – Another excellent anti-aging food is coconut oil. In fact, it’s doubly beneficial because it can be both eaten and applied directly to your skin. Coconut oil can be used in place of other oils, margarine, butter, or shortening, and can be used for all your cooking needs. It can help you lose weight, or maintain your already good weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, and lower your cholesterol, among other things.
• Get your resveratrol naturally – Resveratrol is one of the forerunners in the anti-aging pill race, but more than likely, by the time they’ve manipulated it into a synthetic pill, it won’t be healthy for you. Although resveratrol is the antioxidant found in red wine, I can’t recommend drinking wine in the hopes of extending your life because alcohol is a neurotoxin that can poison your brain and harm your body’s delicate hormonal balance. Instead, get your resveratrol from natural sources, such as whole grape skins and seeds, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts.
• Get plenty of exercise -- Studies repeatedly show that regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help prevent or delay your onset of hypertension, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and the falls that lead to hip fracture. Although a lifetime of regular exercise is ideal, it’s never too late to start. It’s been shown that even individuals in their 70’s can substantially increase both strength and endurance with exercise.
• Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible – This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives.
• Avoid pharmaceutical drugs – Pharmaceutical drugs kill thousands of people prematurely every year – as an expected side effect of the action of the drug. And, if you adhere to a healthy lifestyle, you most likely will never need any of them in the first place.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Scientists Show How Certain Vegetables Combat Cancer
While it has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, can help prevent breast cancer, the mechanism by which the active substances in these vegetables inhibit cell proliferation was unknown — until now.
Scientists in the UC Santa Barbara laboratories of Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, and Mary Ann Jordan, adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, have shown how the healing power of these vegetables works at the cellular level. Their research was published in the journal Carcinogenesis.
"Breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, can be protected against by eating cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and near relatives of cabbage such as broccoli and cauliflower," said first author Olga Azarenko, who is a graduate student at UCSB. "These vegetables contain compounds called isothiocyanates which we believe to be responsible for the cancer-preventive and anti-carcinogenic activities in these vegetables. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts have the highest amount of the isothiocyanates.
"Our paper focuses on the anti-cancer activity of one of these compounds, called sulforaphane, or SFN," Azarenko added. "It has already been shown to reduce the incidence and rate of chemically induced mammary tumors in animals. It inhibits the growth of cultured human breast cancer cells, leading to cell death."
Other studies have confirmed the protective benefits of these vegetables for other types of cancer as well, such as:
Bladder cancer – Researchers found that the higher the intake of cruciferous vegetables, the lower the risk of bladder cancer in men
Lung cancer – Researchers found that men with detectable amounts of isothiocyanates in their bodies had a 36 percent lower chance of developing lung cancer over 10 years
Prostate cancer – This study, published in PLoS ONE in 2008, discovered that just a few additional portions of broccoli each week could protect men from prostate cancer
How Many Vegetables Do You Have to Eat to Reap These Benefits?
Previous studies have indicated that people who consume more than one portion of cruciferous vegetables per week are at lower risk of prostate cancer. In the PLoS study, the participants ate four extra servings of broccoli per week for one year.
The researchers collected tissue samples over the course of the study and found that the men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of beneficial changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer!
That’s pretty impressive. What’s even more impressive is the fact that you don’t have to make that drastic of a change to reap the benefits. After all, one serving of broccoli equates to about two spears. So we’re only talking approximately 10 spears a week. That’s it!
Sources:
Science Blog December 23, 2008
Carcinogenesis December 2008; 29(12):2360-8
Scientists in the UC Santa Barbara laboratories of Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, and Mary Ann Jordan, adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, have shown how the healing power of these vegetables works at the cellular level. Their research was published in the journal Carcinogenesis.
"Breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, can be protected against by eating cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and near relatives of cabbage such as broccoli and cauliflower," said first author Olga Azarenko, who is a graduate student at UCSB. "These vegetables contain compounds called isothiocyanates which we believe to be responsible for the cancer-preventive and anti-carcinogenic activities in these vegetables. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts have the highest amount of the isothiocyanates.
"Our paper focuses on the anti-cancer activity of one of these compounds, called sulforaphane, or SFN," Azarenko added. "It has already been shown to reduce the incidence and rate of chemically induced mammary tumors in animals. It inhibits the growth of cultured human breast cancer cells, leading to cell death."
Other studies have confirmed the protective benefits of these vegetables for other types of cancer as well, such as:
Bladder cancer – Researchers found that the higher the intake of cruciferous vegetables, the lower the risk of bladder cancer in men
Lung cancer – Researchers found that men with detectable amounts of isothiocyanates in their bodies had a 36 percent lower chance of developing lung cancer over 10 years
Prostate cancer – This study, published in PLoS ONE in 2008, discovered that just a few additional portions of broccoli each week could protect men from prostate cancer
How Many Vegetables Do You Have to Eat to Reap These Benefits?
Previous studies have indicated that people who consume more than one portion of cruciferous vegetables per week are at lower risk of prostate cancer. In the PLoS study, the participants ate four extra servings of broccoli per week for one year.
The researchers collected tissue samples over the course of the study and found that the men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of beneficial changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer!
That’s pretty impressive. What’s even more impressive is the fact that you don’t have to make that drastic of a change to reap the benefits. After all, one serving of broccoli equates to about two spears. So we’re only talking approximately 10 spears a week. That’s it!
Sources:
Science Blog December 23, 2008
Carcinogenesis December 2008; 29(12):2360-8
Saturday, February 27, 2010
How Common Spices Can Protect Against Heart Disease and the Ravages of Aging
Herbs and spices are rich in antioxidants, and they are also potent inhibitors of tissue damage and inflammation caused by high levels of blood sugar.
When researchers tested extracts from 24 common herbs and spices, they found a direct correlation between antioxidant phenol content and the ability of the extracts to block the formation of compounds that contribute to damage caused by diabetes and aging.
Spices such as cloves and cinnamon have phenol levels that are 30 percent and 18 percent of dry weight, respectively, while herbs such as oregano and sage are 8 and 6 percent phenol by dry weight. Blueberries, which are widely touted for their antioxidant capabilities, contain roughly 5 percent phenol by dry weight.
This study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Foods, found a strong and direct correlation between the phenol content of common herbs and spices and their ability to inhibit glycation and the formation of AGE compounds, making them potent preventers of heart disease and premature aging.
The top 10 most potent herbs and spices are:
Cloves (ground)
Cinnamon (ground)
Jamaican allspice (ground)
Apple pie spice (mixture)
Oregano (ground)
Pumpkin pie spice (mixture)
Marjoram
Sage
Thyme
Gourmet Italian spice
This is not the first time scientists have declared culinary herbs and spices as potent anti-diabetic alternatives. As a matter of fact, cinnamon was found to increase glucose metabolism 20-fold, in one such study! Interestingly, cinnamon lowers your blood sugar by acting on several different levels. It slows the emptying of your stomach to reduce sharp rises in blood sugar following meals, and improves the effectiveness, or sensitivity, of insulin. It also enhances your antioxidant defenses.
Researchers have even gone so far as to say cinnamon could play the role of an insulin substitute in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Sources:
Journal of Medicinal Foods June 2008; 11(2):275-81
When researchers tested extracts from 24 common herbs and spices, they found a direct correlation between antioxidant phenol content and the ability of the extracts to block the formation of compounds that contribute to damage caused by diabetes and aging.
Spices such as cloves and cinnamon have phenol levels that are 30 percent and 18 percent of dry weight, respectively, while herbs such as oregano and sage are 8 and 6 percent phenol by dry weight. Blueberries, which are widely touted for their antioxidant capabilities, contain roughly 5 percent phenol by dry weight.
This study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Foods, found a strong and direct correlation between the phenol content of common herbs and spices and their ability to inhibit glycation and the formation of AGE compounds, making them potent preventers of heart disease and premature aging.
The top 10 most potent herbs and spices are:
Cloves (ground)
Cinnamon (ground)
Jamaican allspice (ground)
Apple pie spice (mixture)
Oregano (ground)
Pumpkin pie spice (mixture)
Marjoram
Sage
Thyme
Gourmet Italian spice
This is not the first time scientists have declared culinary herbs and spices as potent anti-diabetic alternatives. As a matter of fact, cinnamon was found to increase glucose metabolism 20-fold, in one such study! Interestingly, cinnamon lowers your blood sugar by acting on several different levels. It slows the emptying of your stomach to reduce sharp rises in blood sugar following meals, and improves the effectiveness, or sensitivity, of insulin. It also enhances your antioxidant defenses.
Researchers have even gone so far as to say cinnamon could play the role of an insulin substitute in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Sources:
Journal of Medicinal Foods June 2008; 11(2):275-81
Thursday, February 25, 2010
How to heal a cold sore
Lysine, a protein, has proven helpful in healing and preventing cold sores. Lysine does this by replacing some of the arginine in the cells, thus reducing or preventing the cells ability to create clones of the virus. Basically, if the herpes virus gets to the surface and cannot find enough arginine in the cells, it often retreats. Many people eat high lysine foods prior to or during a cold sore event, and avoid high arginine foods.
1. Begin by taking 1,000 milligrams to 3,000 milligrams of lysine in capsule supplements during an outbreak.
2. High lysine foods to eat are most meats and dairy products. Cheese, milk and yogurt are excellent.
3. High arginine foods to avoid would be nuts, seeds, grains, and chocolate.
4. The cold sore virus needs a warm, moist environment. Applying ice as soon as you feel that first tingle or itch will greatly reduce or delay the cold sore.
5. The herpes virus prefers an acid environment. When in tip-top health, your pH balance should be around 7.4, which is slightly alkaline. When it drops below 7 on the pH scale, then your system is turning acid. Any stress, flu, colds, or too much sun will cause your body to move toward the acid side of normal. Avoid eating acid foods, such as tomatoes, citrus, carbonated soda or anything with vinegar if it will touch the cold sore area.
6. Clean the wound with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide
1. Begin by taking 1,000 milligrams to 3,000 milligrams of lysine in capsule supplements during an outbreak.
2. High lysine foods to eat are most meats and dairy products. Cheese, milk and yogurt are excellent.
3. High arginine foods to avoid would be nuts, seeds, grains, and chocolate.
4. The cold sore virus needs a warm, moist environment. Applying ice as soon as you feel that first tingle or itch will greatly reduce or delay the cold sore.
5. The herpes virus prefers an acid environment. When in tip-top health, your pH balance should be around 7.4, which is slightly alkaline. When it drops below 7 on the pH scale, then your system is turning acid. Any stress, flu, colds, or too much sun will cause your body to move toward the acid side of normal. Avoid eating acid foods, such as tomatoes, citrus, carbonated soda or anything with vinegar if it will touch the cold sore area.
6. Clean the wound with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide
Broccoli Reverses Diabetes Damage
Eating broccoli could reverse the damage that diabetes inflicts on heart blood vessels. The key is most likely a compound in the vegetable called sulforaphane.Sulforaphane encourages production of enzymes that protect the blood vessels, and reduces the number of molecules that cause cell damage -- known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) -- by up to 73 percent.People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes -- both of which are linked to damaged blood vessels.
Sources:
Diabetes August 4, 2008
BBC News August 5, 2008
Sources:
Diabetes August 4, 2008
BBC News August 5, 2008
The One Vitamin That is Vital for Your Heart
A lack of vitamin D, a nutrient that is generated primarily through exposure to sunlight, helps boost the risk of heart attacks and strokes.Experts estimate that up to half of adults and 30 percent of children and teenagers in the United States are vitamin D-deficient. There is a wide array of studies linking increased cardiovascular risk with vitamin D deficiency. For example, recent data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study indicated that someone with vitamin D levels below 15 nanograms per milliliter of blood is twice as likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problem within two years compared to those with higher levels.
Vitamin D is well known as the "sunshine vitamin" because human skin makes the nutrient upon exposure to sunlight.
Sources:
U.S. News & World Report December 1, 2008
Journal of the American College of Cardiology December 9, 2008; 52:1949-1956
Vitamin D is well known as the "sunshine vitamin" because human skin makes the nutrient upon exposure to sunlight.
Sources:
U.S. News & World Report December 1, 2008
Journal of the American College of Cardiology December 9, 2008; 52:1949-1956
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