Hang
in There: The
25-Year Wait for Immortality
By Ker Than
Special to LiveScience
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050411_aubrey_interview.html
"I think it’s reasonable to suppose that one could oscillate
between being biologically 20 and biologically 25 indefinitely."
-- Aubrey de Grey
Time may indeed be on your side. If you can just last another quarter
century.
By then, people will start lives that could last 1,000 years or more. Our
human genomes will be modified to include the genetic material of
microorganisms that live in the soil, enabling us to break down the junk
proteins that our cells amass over time and which they can’t digest on
their own. People will have the option of looking and feeling the way they
did at 20 for the rest of their lives, or opt for an older look if they
get bored. Of course, everyone will be required to go in for age
rejuvenation therapy once every decade or so, but that will be a small
price to pay for near-immortality.
This may sound like science fiction, but Aubrey de Grey thinks this could
be our reality in as little as 25 years. Other scientists caution that it
is far from clear whether and for how long science can stall the
inevitable.
De Grey, a Cambridge University researcher, heads the Strategies for
Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) project, in which he has defined
seven causes of aging, all of which he thinks can be dealt with.
(Senescence is scientific jargon for aging.)
De Grey also runs the Methuselah Mouse prize for breakthroughs in extended
aging in mice. The purse of the M Prize, as it is called, recently grew
beyond $3 million.
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Soil Samples Needed
From your neighborhood for research in the fight for Longevity:
Click
Here to learn more
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Calorie restriction may prevent Alzheimer's
Public release date: 14-Jun-200
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/tmsh-crm061406.php
Calorie restriction may prevent Alzheimer's through promotion of longevity program in the brain.
For the first time researchers show how restricting caloric intake triggers activity in the brain associated with longevity
New York, New York – A recent study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that experimental dietary regimens might calm or even reverse symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The study, which appears in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is the first to show that restricting caloric intake, specifically carbohydrates, may prevent AD by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity.
More
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New study supports anti-aging benefits of cutting calories
Posted on Fri, Jun. 02, 2006
By Tina Hesman Saey
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
ST. LOUIS - Washington University researchers have found another reason that cutting calories lengthens life.
A recent study reported that eating a high-nutrition low-calorie diet could reverse signs of aging in the heart.
Now scientists, led by Dr. Luigi Fontana, have discovered that cutting calories also can cut levels of body chemicals associated with aging.
Fontana and his colleagues studied three groups of 28 people each. The first group consisted of people on calorie-restricted diets. The people built highly individualized diets from fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins, dairy products and whole grains. Calorie consumption ranged from 1,112 calories per day to 2,260 calories per day with an average intake of 1,779 calories per day. People in the group had followed the restricted diet for an average of six years but were sedentary.
The second group consisted of endurance runners who logged an average of 48 miles per week. The runners ate an average of 2,811 calories each day. Both the exercisers and dieters had very low body fat.
A third group consisted of sedentary people who ate a standard Western diet. The sedentary group consumed, on average, 2,433 calories in a day.
All of the groups were composed of healthy non-smokers who had stable weights and weren't taking medicines or dietary supplements that might interfere with the results.
The researchers reported that the calorie-cutters, but not the runners or non-dieters, had lower levels of a thyroid hormone called T3 in their blood. The hormone is associated with metabolism, body temperature and the production of free-radicals, chemicals linked to cancer and aging. The calorie restriction group also had lower levels of an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha.) Inflammation is thought to cause damage that promotes aging.
The fact that the runners had low body fat similar to the calorie restriction group, but didn't have lower levels of aging-related chemicals, means that just being lean isn't enough to fight aging, Fontana said. Only lowering energy intake seems to change the factors that contribute to aging.
The results of the new study were reported last week in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
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Written by : Kavindra Rani | Published on : 16:48:00 EST Mon, 20 Feb 2006
http://www.whatistheword.com/story/Lifestyle_683.html
The World must get ready for longevity
The next few decades will see a significant rise in life expectancy.
Radical policy changes like increase in the age of retirement would be
needed to cope with the challenges posed due to increased lifespan. The
next few decades will see a significant rise in life expectancy. Radical
policy changes like increase in the age of retirement would be needed to
cope with the challenges posed due to increased lifespan.
According to a study by Dr. Shripad Tuljapurkar of Stanford University,
due to the developments in the field of anti-ageing technologies, the
average life expectancy in the industrialized counties would increase one
year every year for the next twenty years. “People are going to do
things they didn't get round to in their working lives. Current
institutions are really not equipped at the moment to deal with such long
lives,” said Dr. Tuljapurkar addressing the annual gathering of American
Association for the Advancement of Science in St Louis, Missouri.
In his study, Dr. Tuljapurkar analyzed the past data and trends on ageing
and population growth of four countries – USA, Sweden, India and China.
Dr. Tuljapurkar said that the increased cost of living would put a huge
burden on the economies of these countries. He emphasized the need for
governments to plan ahead. “There are conflicts here between government
analysts, who have recognized the problem, and the short-term nature of
political decision-making,” said the Professor. “Politicians tend to
want to roll this problem over until after their terms of office, and the
more this gets rolled over the worse it is going to get.”
Dr. Tuljapurkar said that countries like the US will have to spend huge
sums on social security if the current retirement age is continued. In
order to strike a balance, countries will have to increase the retirement
age to 85 years. People should be ready for many other changes in their
lifestyle and the society. “It might be possible to go through two
mortgages, for example, or even have 50-year or 75-year mortgages,”
elucidated the researcher.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-22-longevity-usat_x.htm
The secrets to longevity
By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY
Waldo McBurney ran the 100-meter dash at the World Masters Athletics
Championships in Puerto Rico in July: He came in last.
Of course, at his age McBurney was lucky to compete at all — he was 100
at the time.
McBurney, now 101, thinks he's too slow to run in the next World Masters
race. But who knows? McBurney never let his age stop him.
"I took up distance running when I was 65," he says.
McBurney is part of a study trying to unravel the secrets of extreme old
age. Findings from the New England Centenarian Study in Boston suggest
that longevity does run in families — the sibling of a centenarian is
four times more likely to live past 90 than the general population.
But good genes are just part of the story.
Research from this study and others suggest that lifestyle habits play a
huge role in keeping the body and mind in top shape well into the eighth
and ninth decade of life, says Thomas Perls, an aging expert at Boston
University School of Medicine and study director.
Many of the centenarians in this study blew the top off the common
assumption that old age must be filled with pain and disability.
"I started to slow down in my late 80s," McBurney says. Slowing
down for him still includes a daily mile-long walk to his office in
Quinter, Kan., where he runs a business that produces about 7,000 pounds
of honey each year. He drives a car, works in his garden, and he's still
tending about 100 colonies of bees.
Perls found that many of the super-agers in his study had lived well past
90 without the disabling symptoms of heart disease, diabetes or even
Alzheimer's. Of course, researchers can offer no guarantee that people who
make lifestyle changes will live to age 100. But this study's findings
suggest that most people can live well past 65.
Lose weight
Or if you're at an ideal body weight now, stay there. Extra weight puts a
strain on your heart and other crucial body systems and puts people at
risk of heart attacks, diabetes, cancer and other diseases that can
shorten life, says Robert Butler, director of the International Longevity
Center-USA in New York. Most Americans simply eat too much: The experts
recommend cutting back on calories, a step that will help trim the
waistline and, if drastic enough, might even extend life. New research
suggests animals that are fed far fewer calories live longer — about 40%
longer.
Learn something new
Take up ballroom dancing, chess, a language or photography. "Any time
you have to work at something new you're probably doing good things for
your brain," says Gene Cohen, director of the Center on Aging at the
George Washington University in Washington, D.C. People who learn new
skills or information probably build new brain cells and make connections
between existing neurons, he says.
Shape up
Research suggests that regular exercise can help prevent or delay a
laundry list of diseases, including heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes
and even Alzheimer's. The experts say most Americans should aim for at
least 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise 5 days a week or more. And
it's never too late to start a fitness program, says Richard Hodes,
director of the National Institute on Aging. Even seniors who've never
been active before can work up to a fitness routine that will help keep
them strong for years to come. Walking, swimming, dancing — even
gardening and housework — can help people stay in shape, he says.
And here's one area where people can start to turn back the clock:
Research shows most people lose 22% of their muscle mass by age 70, a
process that leaves them prone to deadly falls. But Perls says people can
reverse that aspect of aging with simple, daily strength exercises.
If you smoke, stop
In the USA alone, tobacco-related diseases cause more than 400,000 deaths
a year. Yet nearly 50 million Americans still smoke.
Socialize
Go to a party, join a movie club, help out at a church picnic. Research
suggests that people who build and maintain friendships and family
relationships often are healthier and seem to recover from illness faster,
Cohen says. Social connections may ward off depression and seem to boost
the body's immune system, which helps fight infection.
Reduce stress
Take a walk, pray, meditate or have lunch with a friend. Scientists say
that people who build stress-busting habits into their daily routine gain
a big health benefit. Unhealthy stress puts people at risk of getting sick
or developing chronic diseases that can cut life short, Perls says.
Adopt a can-do attitude
Research shows that people who live to be 100 often take an optimistic
approach to life's setbacks. Super-agers either are born with a
happy-go-lucky personality that helps them through the inevitable stress
that life brings or they develop coping mechanisms that help them weather
upsets like a death or a divorce, Perls says.
Eat a healthy diet.
Diets that include at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
might help prevent age-related damage to cells. Fruits and veggies, the
more colorful the better, contain protective substances that might help
ward off diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Most longevity experts recommend cutting down on fatty, salty foods. Go
for lean meats, poultry and fish, as well as a wide variety of fresh
fruits, veggies and whole grain foods.
Get a good night's sleep
New research shows that sleep deprivation can lead to memory lapses,
depression and immune system problems. Scientists say that sleep
deprivation may not be a natural part of aging.
Get regular checkups
Find a good doctor and make good health a priority, says Christine Cassel,
the president of the American Board of Internal Medicine and an aging
expert in Philadelphia. Many diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure,
heart disease and others can be treated or even prevented if caught early
enough, she says.
If you want to live to be 100, go to this Web site, www.agingresearch.org
, and take the quiz. It's never too late to start changing bad habits,
habits that can shave years off your life, says Daniel Perry of the
Alliance for Aging Research of Washington, D.C., a non-profit group that
developed the online quiz based on research conducted by the New England
Centenarian Study.
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Toxicity
“Air pollution and water pollution
are only a small part of the toxicity story. There are thousands of
harmful environmental toxins, some of which we’re aware of -- such as
pesticides, chemicals, household cleansers, fertilizers -- and others,
which seem perfectly innocent, such as those ubiquitous plastic water
bottles, styrene cups, dental fillings, and plastic wrap. These are just a
few small examples of the alarming amount of harmful toxins our bodies are
absorbing every day.”
--Dr. Sherry Rogers, author of the best selling book Detoxify or Die
http://hightechhealth.com/html/toxic.htm
Studies show that most of us have between
400 and 800 chemical residues stored in our cells. EPA studies reveal that
100% of people tested have dioxins, PCBs, dichchlorobenzene, and xylene in
their fat cells, and carcinogenic benzene (89%) and percholoethlylene
(93%) in their exhaled breath. These are just small examples of an
epidemic problem.
Unable to be excreted from the body, chemicals find their way into our
liver, and then migrate to fat cells in organs throughout the body where
they are stored. When our bodies exceed the limit for toxins we can
excrete, those too are stored. Chemicals and heavy metals make up our
"total toxic burden". This bioaccumulation compromises our
physiological and psychological health and leads to chronic disease.
Early warning signs of toxic overload include headaches, skin conditions,
inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue, and more. For a
list of conditions that indicate over-toxicity, take our Are You Toxic?
Survey.
Detoxification - The Only Solution
Our level of toxic exposure and contamination is much greater than our
body’s elimination mechanisms can handle. It therefore is essential to
aid the body in the removal of these harmful and potentially deadly waste
products.
The solution is to detoxify the body and to reduce the future accumulation
of toxins. Far infrared sauna therapy accomplishes the first by assisting
and restoring the body's own elimination mechanism. There currently is no
known better method for detoxification. Drinking clean high quality water
such as that from the Ionizer Plus contributes to this process not only by
reducing the accumulation of new toxins consumed from tap water, but also
provides a source of anti-oxidants. These methods are recommended by
thousands of doctors including Dr. Sherry Rogers, world-renown
environmental medicine expert.
Common Sources of Toxins
We have been perpetually exposed to toxins every day since we were born.
As the quantity that accumulates in the body reaches high enough levels,
the affect on our health can vary from annoying chronic symptoms to death
from heart disease or cancer.
• Plastic wrap and plastic bottles outgas plasticizers (phthalates) that
leach into our food. Phthalates chemically mimic hormones damaging the
endocrine system.
• Pesticide residues are detectable in 50% - 95% of the food consumed in
the U.S. Pesticides can be even more damaging to the endocrine and
glandular systems. The U.S. uses 30x more synthetic pesticides today than
in 1945.
• "Silver" dental fillings contain mercury (a cause of
Parkinson's disease and many other neurological disorders) that leaches
out and is absorbed by the surrounding tissue and lungs.
• The average carpet outgases more than 12 chemicals (such as benzene, a
known cause of leukemia) all of which can cause disease.
ARE YOU TOXIC?
Do You Have Any of the Following Symptoms?
Fibrolmyalgia Chemical Sensitivities
Chronic Fatigue Rashes
Chronic Headaches Allergies
Migraine Headaches Tremors
Brain Fog/Poor Concentration Frequent Colds or Flu
Anxiety Joint Pain
Cold Hands & Feet Mood Swings
Night Sweats Cellulite
Depression Acne
Dark Circles Under the Eyes Burning Skin
Candida Poor Dexterity
Metallic Taste in the Mouth Memory Loss
Digestive Problems Muscle and Joint Pain
Inability to Gain/Lose Weight General Malaise
Insomnia Feeling Sick All Over
“ It's hard to find safe and nutritious
foods that haven't been laced with chemicals or genetically modified
organisms (GMOs), or contaminated by other toxins...A sauna is the perfect
instrument for opening our sweat pores where toxic metabolites can escape
from our bodies...The sauna that I'm now using is made by High Tech Health
in Boulder, Colorado.”
--Dr. Stephen Sinatra, M.D.
Detoxification suggeston: Drink
Alkaline Water
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