DIET Your diet has to be lower in calories if
you want to live longer. There is no question about
it You have to burn all the food you take in. If you
take in more food than you need, there is an excess
of calories to burn up which produces free radicals,
and all the biological systems are then overtaxed to
overcome the free radicals. Whenever you overtax the
body, the albumin levels go down and the
immunoglobulins go up. When you reduce calories,
the albumin level goes up. The albumin is the
transporter protein in the blood which carries all
the nutrients and hormones. The albumin levels are
just as important as the HDL, the triglycerides and
the cholesterol. The average albumin levels range
between 35 and 50 g/L of blood. The closer it is to
50, the healthier you are. The albumin levels will
predict longevity and survival in prostate cancer
more accurately than the extent and duration of the
disease. So lowering the calories increases
longevity. Everybody understands that. Research done
at U.C.L.A. has proven it over and over in animals.
In rats, they can increase the maximum life span
sometimes by 50%.
EXERCISE Exercise is probably the single most
powerful longevity drug available. Exercise
increases the albumin level, increases the
lean muscle mass and decreases the fat. Exercise
maintains the maximum oxygen retention. Like a low
calorie diet, it takes discipline, focus and
determination to keep it up, but it works.
HORMONE REPLACEMENT: DHEA AND PREGNENOLONE The
two hormones, DHEA and pregnenolone
(precursors of progesterone, estrogen and
testosterone), are produced in the adrenal gland
and also in the brain. We can replace them with
hormonal supplements. Low levels of DHEA and
pregnenolone are associated with disease profiles
and age-related characteristics more than any other
hormones. If you look at DHEA blood levels in
populations of 60 to 80 years, those who are in
nursing homes are in the lower 25% of DHEA blood
levels. Those in the upper 25% are never in nursing
homes. They are caring for themselves. So you can
stratify who is in nursing homes based upon the DHEA
blood levels. Research has shown that when you
replace DHEA in men and women, men had a 79%
increase in the sense of well-being, and women had a
67% increase. When you increase the sense of well
being in a 75 year old, then that person will groom
and take care of himself and be more active in
society, so the quality of life of that individual
will improve. Low DHEA levels are more predictive of
a heart attack than is a high cholesterol level.
Those with low DHEA levels are more prone to heart
attacks, cancer and other problems. What are the
side effects of DHEA supplements? There aren't any
that I know of. Most research on DHEA was done back
in the 40's when it was used as a treatment for
arthritis. Pregnenolone was used in the same way. In
the U.S. both DHEA and Pregnenolone are available
over the counter, but they are only available by
prescription in Canada. I have been prescribing DHEA
as a physician for about 12 years. We test blood
levels before and after, and find that the
supplements increase DHEA blood levels. So this type
of hormone replacement is a rational definable
precise strategy for longevity which can be
utilized. It is not dangerous. It is simply
physiological supplementation.
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