Friday, April 04, 2008

Can you dramatically extend your health span with diet and supplementation?

Could the right diet along with supplementation possibly take 20 years off the biological age of your brain, make middle aged cells function much younger, improve memory & cognitive performance, double your energy and dramatically reduce your chances of getting cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and neurological conditions?
Too good to be true... If research done on mice extends to humans, which we feel it does, then perhaps yes... In fact, recent studies on humans have already been done with amazing results.

Life extension is a hot topic these days, with baby boomers aging and wanting to stay active and young. More than life extension, health span is what most of us really want. The ability to live a long life with comparatively good health and vigor, free from degenerative disease, until very near death. Researchers say the best way to accomplish that has everything to do with diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle habits and micro nutrient intake. I recommend what I call The Ideal Diet, which is a diet that mimics what our ancestors ate and is anti-inflammatory in nature. In addition to that diet, I take a powerful combination of the nutrients discussed below everyday for nutritional insurance. Take some time and read the following studies. Prevention is so much cheaper than treatment, and a by product of this protection is, quality of life.

cw


Lipoic Acid Explored As Anti-aging Compound...
Researchers announced they have identified the mechanism of action of lipoic acid, a remarkable compound that in animal experiments appears to slow down the process of aging, improve blood flow, enhance immune function and perform many other functions. "Our studies have shown that mice supplemented with lipoic acid have a cognitive ability, behavior, and genetic expression of almost 100 detoxification and antioxidant genes that are comparable to that of young animals," Hagen said. "They aren't just living longer, they are living better -- and that's the goal we're after."
What the OSU researchers now believe is that the role of lipoic acid is not so much a direct one to benefit cells, but rather an indirect aid that "kick starts" declining function in cells and helps them recover the functions that came more easily and naturally in young animals.
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Compounds Rejuvenate Rats, May Aid Humans...
Researchers in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and the University of California at Berkeley have identified a combination of dietary supplements that dramatically improves both the activity, energy level and cognitive function of old rats. The studies were done with a combination of two compounds that occur naturally, acetyl-l-carnitine and an antioxidant, alpha-lipoic acid. Previous work has shown that either of these compounds may have value in addressing some of the physical and mental deterioration associated with aging, but the newest research suggested a combination of the two works far better than either one separately.
"After just a month, older rats whose diet was supplemented with these two compounds were about twice as active as our control rats, which remained largely inactive," said Tory Hagen, an assistant professor in OSU's Linus Pauling Institute. "They also had a much better memory and cognitive performance, measured by their ability to remember objects and spatial orientation."
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Broad-Spectrum Effects of Grape Seed Extract...
It is clear that France gave us the Statue of Liberty to protect us and french fries to kill us.
They themselves are not harmed by their fatty food, but we Americans are. Despite high blood pressure and cholesterol, a Frenchman’s risk of dying from heart disease is the lowest of any Western industrialized nation—up to 50% lower than in America and parts of Europe. The “French paradox” has become a cottage industry all unto itself. The most consistent explanation is that wine contains factors that keep the French from having heart attacks. Some have argued that it is the alcohol itself, and there is support for this argument. But the strongest evidence for what is behind the heart-protective effects of wine centers around the non-alcoholic part. In this respect, red wine is the winner, but white wine also is a contender. Both contain powerful antioxidants and other factors that protect the heart and vascular system. Grapevines contain dozens of different phytocompounds that have different effects on different areas of the human body. The most studied of these phytocompounds are quercetin, resveratrol, proanthocyanidins (from seeds), and anthocyanins (which give purple and red grapes their color). All of these phytocompounds are classified as polyphenols. The seeds of grapes contain many good things. First are the antioxidants, more rightly called super-antioxidants. They’re not only more powerful than standard antioxidants like vitamin E, but also more diverse. The factors contained in grape seed go way beyond the ordinary. Running the gambit from vaporizing the effects of environmental stress to intercepting free radicals created by food, the compounds in grape seed extract provide broad-spectrum antioxidant protection. Scientific studies document multiple effects, including antibiotic, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcer, pro-heart and arteries, and anti-brain aging. Proanthocyanidins are the main active ingredients in grape seed extract that go after “molecular sharks” otherwise known as free radicals. They make up about 90% of grape seed extract. Various versions are all united by a similar chemical structure and possess powerful antioxidant activity15—20 times stronger than that of vitamin E and 50 times stronger than that of vitamin C. The “super-antioxidant” effects are neatly summed up in a study showing that pretreatment with grape seed extract reduces DNA fragmentation in the brain by a whopping 50% and in the liver by 47% after exposure to a strong chemical. Proanthocyanidins, along with resveratrol and quercetin, are some of the healthy factors in wine.
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Green Tea Boosts Production Of Detox Enzymes, Rendering Cancerous Chemicals Harmless...
Concentrated chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins, according to researchers at Arizona Cancer Center. These findings, published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that a green tea concentrate might help some people strengthen their metabolic defense against toxins capable of causing cancer.
In a study of 42 people, the concentrate -- composed of chemicals known as green tea catechins in amounts equal to that found in 8-16 cups of green tea -- boosted production of the enzymes, which belong to the glutathione S-transferase (GST) family, by as much as 80 percent in some participants. Green tea has long been of interest to researchers given studies that have shown populations in which it is often consumed, such as the Chinese and Japanese, generally have lower rates of cancer. To find out if green tea can protect against cancer, the NCI has sponsored a number of rigorous scientific studies testing capsules of the extract, Polyphenon E, that have been prepared in Japan to meet exact specifications. These pills contain epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a catechin known for its potent antioxidant activity, and are currently being tested against a variety of cancers in clinical trials. "This is the first clinical study to show proof that chemicals in green tea can increase detoxification enzymes in humans," Chow said. "There may be other mechanism in play by which green tea may protect against cancer development, but this is a good place to start."
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Vitamin D deficiency linked to cancer...
Recent research shows up to 50 percent of kids and adults in America are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency.
A lack of vitamin D has been linked to a whole host of diseases, including cancer.
Dr. Donald Trump, who treats prostate cancer, has noticed a disturbing link "Seventy percent of my patients have vitamin D deficiency," he said.
The sunshine vitamin is new area for cancer research. A study in post-menopausal women shows high doses of vitamin D cut the risk of cancer by 60 percent. Another recent study shows vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent.
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Vitamin K may reverse arterial calcification - study...
Arterial calcification, a process of hardening of the arteries, may be inhibited and even reversed with supplementation with high-dose vitamin K, suggests an animal study. Atherosclerosis, known as hardening or furring of the arteries is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the cause of over 50 per cent of deaths in Europe and the US and estimated to cost the economy …"Given that arterial calcifications are predictive of cardiovascular events, regression of arterial calcification may help to reduce the risk of death in people with chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease," wrote lead author Leon Schurgers from VitaK at Maastricht University.
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OM Extend



Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.
President
Forever Changes, Inc.
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" The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."- Albert Einstein