Antiageing – It is really possible?

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This is an article about the exciting world of antiageing and how you now have the chance to not only live longer, but to be healthier as well!

The story behind the story…
This article focuses on something that will be important to some but not everyone hence it is separate and you can choose to read it or not. It is all about ageing and more importantly, how to help prevent it – of the entire body and not just our face…so here goes.
My passion is health and wellness. In 2003 I started studying a postgraduate course in antiageing medicine through the Australasian Academy of Antiageing Medicine, also known as A5M. This course taught health professionals about nutritional medicine, natural hormone replacement and the benefits of diet and exercise along with the dangers of those toxins we all know about such as cigarettes and alcohol. It presented a paradigm shift in how doctors need to think – it was all about wellness medicine rather than sickness medicine. A paradigm I work in today exclusively.
It presented to us the latest in medical research, taught about the benefits of supplementation and as a consequence of the health benefits my patients received from the style of medicine I was practising at the time, I became extremely busy very quickly with my practice. Sadly, I also became sick through the sheer volume of work I was doing and the stress it created – a big no-no for giving disease a chance to flourish! I now try and avoid as much stress as I can, hence my current practice is small and at a pace that leaves me as happy and calm as is possible in today’s busy world. I have not however stopped looking and learning and last month I came across some new information that I want to share with you. Feel free to do with it what you will!
Why and how do we age? 

Ageing is now increasingly thought to be a product of our genes and chromosomes and how they function. At the end of the chromosome is a structure called a telomere, which stops the chromosome from unravelling. As we age these telomeres start to break down and shorten, and in turn our chromosomes and genes start to function less than optimally. This coupled with  what is known as oxidative stress are the current theories as to what can lead to ageing and potential ill health.In 2009, the internationally acclaimed scientific journal Science published an article by Richard Weindruch PhD and Thomas A Prolla PhD from LifeGen Technologies (http://www.lifegentech.com/index.html ), a US based company, about the benefits of caloric restriction. The research found that the lifespan (the quality and longevity of life) of the rhesus monkeys they studied in this research were profoundly positively affected by a reduced calorie intake – something we now know and are learning to appreciate more and more.

Before I progress…. here are some scary facts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website (http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3303.0main+features100002012).
In 2012 in Australia, of a total of 147,000 deaths:
  • 29.6% were due to cancer
  • 29.9% were due to circulatory conditions
  • 7.0 % were due to Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
  • 9.0% were due to respiratory diseases
  • 4.7% were due to nervous system diseases.
The graph on the ABS website referenced above tells the story better than any words I can write.So to continue the story…some of the benefits we now more fully appreciate from caloric restriction include:
  • We live 10-20 years longer
  • 50% reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease
  • Reduced brain atrophy or shrinkage
  • Reduced chronic inflammation
  • Reduced muscle wastage
  • Reduced risk of diabetes
  • Reduced risk of autoimmune disease
So, what else can one do with this goal in mind? 
Well, the talk I went to last week gave me some hope. A new product is launching in Australia this month that has been developed by the 2 researchers I mentioned previously. They have been researching botanical ingredients and testing them using gene chip technology to see if they can influence how genes work and in turn help to lengthen telomeres. After 8 years they have been successful – they have developed a product that contains potent antioxidants and nutritional ingredients that are designed to mimic the benefits of caloric restriction. For me, this is a HUGE WOW! If I can keep my genes healthy and functioning fully, then my chances of staying healthier for longer just increased significantly.For those of you who are now really keen to know more the ingredients are:
  • Co Enzyme Q10
  • Purple Corn Extract
  • Citrus Bioflavonoids
  • EPA
  • DHA
  • Vitamin D
  • Lutein
  • Lycopene
  • Resveratrol
  • Astaxanthin
  • Quercetin
Now you will probably have heard about many of these ingredients and may even be taking some, but there are a couple that are probably new. These products are found in food but very high doses are required for cellular benefit and hence the need to develop a way to deliver high concentrations for easy absorption by the body. LifeGen Technologies have done this including using a new delivery system with a capsule that enables both fat soluble and water soluble ingredients to be together. That alone is pretty amazing if you know anything about nutritional science! I have added a couple of references about these lesser known ingredients for you and many, many more can be found using Google Scholar if you are so inclined.There is so much more to this story but I have tried really hard to keep this short and to the point. Hopefully you have not glazed over just yet but are as excited as I am about the potential for a better quality of life for longer – in other words improving your Lifespan!
So now what? Is there anything I can do?

I will be talking more about the product and the research at a public presentation this Saturday 5th September at 11.00am so if you would like to know more, please RSVP today and come along as my personal guest.If you would like to try the product, you can be one of the first in Australia to do so, along with myself.  There is only a small stock available, so place your order by close of business on September 8th through the Contact Us page.

As you can no doubt sense, I am very excited about this product and the initial reports from those already taking it are very exciting. All I can do is lead by example and take it myself. At worst, I remain healthy doing all my usual things, at best I live to reach 104 like my great grandfather did still able to read the daily paper and contribute to the community!
 

References1. Caloric restriction delays disease onset and mortality in rhesus monkeys.
Colman RJ1, Anderson RM, Johnson SC, Kastman EK, Kosmatka KJ, Beasley TM, Allison DB, Cruzen C, Simmons HA, Kemnitz JW, Weindruch R.
Science. 2009 Jul 10;325(5937):201-4.2. Gene expression profiling of aging in multiple mouse strains: identification of aging biomarkers and impact of dietary antioxidants.
Park SK1, Kim K, Page GP, Allison DB, Weindruch R, Prolla TA.
Aging Cell. 2009 Aug;8(4):484-95.3. Short-term consumption of a resveratrol-containing nutraceutical mixture mimics gene expression of long-term caloric restriction in mouse heart.
Barger JL1, Kayo T, Pugh TD, Prolla TA, Weindruch R.
Exp Gerontol. 2008 Sep; Vol 43(9):859-66.

4. Antimutagenic and Antioxidant Properties of Phenolic Fractions from Andean Purple Corn (Zea mays L.)
Romina Pedreschi and Luis Cisneros-Zevallos
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, Vol 54 (13), pp 4557–4567

5. Purple corn anthocyanins dampened high-glucose-induced mesangial fibrosis and inflammation: possible renoprotective role in diabetic nephropathy
Jing Li, Soon Sung Lim, Jae-Yong Lee, Jin-Kyu Kim, Sang-Wook Kang, Jung-Lye Kim, Young-Hee Kang
The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 2012 April; Vol 23(4), pp 320-331

6. Haematococcus astaxanthin: applications for human health and nutrition
Martin Guerin, Mark E Huntley, Miguel Olaizola
Trends in Biotechnology, 2003 May; Vol 21(5), pp 210–216