Causes of Aging and how to prevent them
1. EXESS FREE IGF-1 & OVEREXPRESSION OF mTOR:
-plant-based foods, calorie restriction and fasting lower free IGF-1 in serum and suppress mTOR
-green & white tea and turmeric suppress mTOR
2. TELOMERE SHORTENING:
- astragalus extrcts
- milk thistle
- exercise
3. GLYCATION:
-raw Food Die
- low-GI-foods
- L-carnosine
- resveratrol
4. OXIDATION:
- SOD ( chaga, reishi )
- catalase ( wheatgrass)
- glutathione,GSH (milk thistle )
5. INFLAMMATION:
- turmeric
- ginger
- garlic
- olive oil
6. POOR METHYLATION:
-methyl groups: TMG
-catalysts: Vitamin B group, Nutritional yeast
***
3. GLYCATION ( MAILLARD REACTION )
What is Glycation?
Glycation is one of four key process which lead to aging by damaging cells. The evidence is strong that glycation is closely involved in most if not all degenerative diseases and in aging. Glycation is a reaction by which sugars become attached to proteins without the assistance of an enzyme. Glycated tissue is tough and inflexible, leading to wrinkling not only of the skin, but also of important internal organs. Furthermore, glycated tissues then produce Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), which further compound the problem by producing large numbers of damaging free radicals. Glycation must be dramatically reduced if aging is to be minimized.
What Problems Does Glycation Cause?
Glycation causes tough, wrinkled connective tissue. This is most visible on the skin as wrinkles. However, it occurs all through the body. Tough, inelastic connective tissue is very damaging to organs where flexibility is vital. This is especially important in the heart, kidneys, brain, eyes and pancreas. The lack of flexibility in the important organs leads to reduced functionality and early death. The reason diabetics suffer from organ ailments earlier than most people is that their raised blood sugar level produce greater glycation.
How Can We Reduce Glycation?
Glycation cannot be stopped completely neither can it be reversed, currently. However, it can be reduced considerably by making changes in lifestyle and diet.
There are two main causes of glycation;
A. High blood glucose level ( from carbohydrates )
B. Eating cooked food.
A. High Blood Glucose
Continually high blood glucose promotes glycation, as well as other aging processes and degenerative diseases. If glycation is to be reduced, then so must the intake of sugar from the diet. Dietary sugar comes from the obvious sugary sources but it also comes from starchy food, many of which are close to 100% sugar. These high sugar foods include potatoes, rice, pasta, and all grains, including bread. To reduce glycation, all these foods should be reduced to a minimum. This is most easily done by cutting them out of the diet when eating at home, and eating minimal amounts when visiting or eating out.
B. Cooked food
Cooking produces glycation which, when eaten, causes glycation in our own tissues. Cooked food promotes glycation.
Avoiding high-glycemic load foods and sugar can substantially reduce chronic inflammation.
4. OXIDATION
What is Oxidation?
Oxidation is the loss of an electron by an atom or molecule. If an important molecule loses an electron – say a vital protein or an enzyme – this can easily cause serious damage. This oxidation is caused by FREE RADICALS ( ROS ), powerful oxidising agents. ANTI-OXIDANTS will immediately immobilize free radicals.
Why Does Oxidation Lead to Aging?
If there are not enough anti-oxidants to make safe the number of free radicals, the free radicals start to disrupt the body’s healthy cells. Many body processes can easily be disrupted in this way, leading to widespread damage and aging.
How Can We Avoid Oxidation
There are two approaches to avoiding oxidation:
A. Making changes to reduce free radicals
B. Maximising antioxidants.
A. Reducing Free Radicals
We can help to reduce the number of free radicals the body produces by:
- Eating raw & low-glycemic foods ( AGEs in tissues increase the rate of free radical production to 50-times the rate of free-radical production by unglycated proteins )
- Reduce exposures to toxins: avoid, cigarette smoke, avoid other chemicals and fumes in the air, eat organic foods to avoid chemicals, remove toxins from drinking water,
- avoiding anything but moderate exposure to sun, (direct sunlight on the skin produces large numbers of free radicals)
- reduce stress, avoiding low-grade inflammation, which generates many free radicals
Two additional things which increase oxidation are the process of aging and extreme exercise. As we age, we need more antioxidants to mop up free radicals. So older people have more of a need to supplement their antioxidant intake. Similarly, athletes have an increased need for antioxidants, because of the extra free radicals extreme exercise caus
B. Maximising antioxidants
Antioxidants are are obtained from food and are made within the body.
Antioxidants From Food
These include vitamin C, vitamin D, beta-carotene and selenium. These are present in raw vegetables and in fruit. Green tea contains valuable antioxidants called catechins. Green tea is highly recommended as a regular regular drink. Supplement your diet with a top quality multi-mineral vitamin supplement.
Antioxidants Made Within The Body
These include coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid [ALA] and N-acetylcysteine [NAC]. These are available to take in supplement form if desired.
More Antioxidants = Live Longer and Stay Healthier
Oxidation – loss of an electron – is a natural part of life. So are the presence of free radicals, those elements which steal these electrons. W maye greatly benefit from keeping oxidation to a minimum.
This is where we can act: to keep to a minimum those situations which cause free radicals to be formed; and to take foods and supplements which maximise our supply of anti-oxidants.
5. INFLAMMATION
Low-level inflammation causes millions to die every year. This type of inflammation can easily be identified with a simple blood test. Usually, it can easily be treated with a combination of all herbs and nutrients. In years to come it will be measured routinely, because it is such an effective predictor of disease.
What Is Low Level Inflammation?
We generally know when we have an inflammation, because it is characterized by the classic indications of heat, swelling, redness and pain. However when there is low-level inflammation there are no obvious external signs. But what is certain is that this low level inflammation is an accurate predictor of many serious diseases.
What Problems Does It Create?
There is very clear data showing that low-level inflammation makes heart and artery disease much more likely. This has been confirmed by analyzing the results of major studies. By itself, this is a very important factor in health and aging. Ofter all, half the population of Western countries die of heart and artery disease. Low-level inflammation is also an accurate predictor of many other degenerative diseases, including alzheimer’s disease, arthritis & rheumatism, and cancers.
How Can It Be Measured?
The actual causative factors of inflammation – inflammatory cytokines – can be measured but this is expensive. It is better first to measure two blood components which indicate the presence or absence of inflammation; then home in on the cytokines only if necessary.
These two blood components, which accompany inflammation, are easily and (fairly) cheaply measured. They are c-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen. If these two are very high and there is no obvious inflammation present (such as an infection), then some sort of low level inflammation is present. This inflammation will be wearing out body tissues and certainly leading us towards degenerative diseases.
The level of CRP you are aiming for is less than 1 mg/L (milligram per litre) for men, and less than 1.5 mg/L for women (Philip Miller, 2005, p184 – see end of next paragraph). Over 2 mg/L for men and 3.5 mg/L for women leads to significant additional risk for heart disease, and other degenerative diseases.
How Can Inflammation Be Treated?
Low-level inflammation can be treated through diet and by using supplements:
1. RAW FOOD DIET
2. Reduce to a minimum carbohydrates like potatoes, pasta, bread and rice.
3. Reduce all types of sugar to a minimum
4. Moderate amounts of fruit, mainly berries, eaten whole and not as juice.
5. Choose foods low on the glycemic index.
6. Eat healthy fats. Apart from trans fats and saturated fats, which should obviously be avoided, Omega 6 fatty acids promote inflammation. These are present in most oils except olive oil, and in meat and dairy products as well as in grains. Grass-fed meat is lower in Omega 6 fats than grain-fed meat. Omega 3 fatty acids on the other hand, are anti-inflammatory. They are found in olive oil, nuts ( walnut ) seeds and fish and in vegetables in small amounts.
Other anti-inflammatory supplements include bromelain – from pineapple, the hormone DHEA and vitamin K.
Herbs which can counteract low-level inflammation include natural, ginger, turmeric and ginkgo.
6. POOR METHYLATION
What is Methylation?
Methylation is a fundamental detox process occuring constatly in every cell, without which it could not function. This process removes toxins within the cell, repair damaged DNA and create new cells.
Methylation is the process of moving a methyl group ( CH3 ) around in a cycle. For this to happen, there has to be:
1. a source for the required raw material, methyl groups: TMG (trimethylglycine) and SAM-e (S-adenosyl-methionine)
2. catalysts present (B2, B6, B12 and folic acid) to enable the cycle to happen.
A lack of either raw material or the required catalysts causes a blockage to the cycle leading to serious health issues.
What Problems Does Poor Methylation Cause?
If the cycle of methylation is not working well a dangerous substance called homocysteine accumulates in the blood. High homocysteine levels cause serious damage to the cells and the DNA. This leads to premature aging – and premature death. High homocysteine is closely involved in heart and artery disease, diabetes, alzheimer’s disease, various types of cancer, depression, parkinson’s disease, low thyroid function, IBS (inflammatory bowel syndrome), ME (Myalgic encephalitis) and other serious degenerative diseases.A raised homocysteine level can easily double or even quadruple the chances of atherosclerosis and other artery problems, leading to serious illness or death.
What Causes Poor Methylation?
Poor methylation is due either to an insufficient supply of methyl groups necessary to the process; or a deficiency of the nutrients which facilitate the process. The main nutrients required are B2, B6, B12 and folic acid.
The Heart And Arteries And Homocysteine
It is well known that cholesterol can contribute to heart and artery disease. What is not generally known, is that before cholesterol can accumulate in the arteries damage must already be present. This arterial damage can be caused by a high level of homocysteine in the blood. In fact, the level of blood homocysteine is a much more accurate indicator of heart and artery disease than cholesterol.
How Can I Lower Homocysteine?
To improve methylation and thus reduce homocysteine there are two approaches. A combination may be needed. The two approaches are:
To increase the elements in the blood, which supply the necessary methyl groups – primarily TMG (trimethylglycine) and SAM-e (S-adenosyl-methionine), and:
To make sure the nutrients, which enable methylation to take place all present in sufficient quantities – these are B2, B6, B12, folic acid and zinc.
The amount of these nutrients to be taken is determined by a blood test indicating the level of homocysteine and an assessments of the deficiencies present. Professional help is an advantage, if it can be found.
What Level Should Homocysteine Be?
The target level of homocysteine in the blood is 6.3 µmol per liter of blood or less. If as high as 15 µmol per liter – and this level is not rare – the risk of coronary artery disease is quadrupled. A simple blood test will show the level of homocysteine present. Measuring homocysteine is very important. If it is high it means you have a much higher chance of serious ill health than otherwise. This measure of the effectiveness of methylation in your body should be checked annually.
