By Khadija Hawkes, Lifestyle Guide Specialist

Skin is the body’s largest organ and arguably the most multifaceted of its systems. Alternately warming, cooling, and protecting, human skin possesses a myriad of attributes and fills many complex roles. This article will examine the make up of skin, as well as how the skin changes throughout the aging process.

Human skin is made up of three layers. They are the epidermis, dermis, and the hypodermis. Each has a distinct and important role.

The epidermis is the topmost layer of skin and the one that most people are familiar with. This layer protects the body from harmful bacteria and chemicals. In addition, the epidermis contains sweat glands which work to cool the body when overheated. Being the visible layer, the epidermis will reflect the visible signs of aging, scars, or burns.

Often though of as a single layer, the epidermis is actually made up of several stacked layers called keratinocytes. The multi-layered consistency is one of the reasons that exfoliation of dead skin is important, allowing the newer layers underneath to present themselves.

The epidermis also acts as a channel to funnel waste and harmful toxins from your body, in addition to the kidneys and liver.

The dermis is the middle layer of skin and the one which houses the body’s collagen and elastin stores, which are responsible for the skins firmness and smoothness. Also contained in the dermis are the sebaceous glands, nerve endings, sweat glands, and hair follicles. The dermis also regulates the amount of heat on the skin’s surface and conserves energy in cold weather.

The third layer of skin is the hypodermis or subcutaneous layer. Made of flat, dead skin cells, this layer provides protection by regulating evaporation and hindering water loss. In addition, the hypodermis contains mechanisms to protect from “ultraviolet radiation, mechanical damage, foreign chemicals and germs”.

All three layers of the skin work in tandem to consistently protect and rejuvenate our largest organ. However, as the body ages, certain natural and environmental agents lessen the effectiveness of this system, ushering in the visible, and not so visible signs of aging.

As we age, the body produces significantly less collagen and elastin-the substances that aid in firm, tight, and elastic skin. The production begins to slow in your twenties, but the impact is negligible at that time. However as you age, the process accelerates. Depending on your inherited genetic makeup, you may show visible signs of aging in your thirties, while others may retain smooth skin well into their fifties.

In addition to collagen and elastin degeneration, there are other factors that accelerate the aging of ones skin.

Sun damage or “Photoaging” is by far the biggest contributor to the premature appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Even for those who bask in the sun conservatively, the impact of being unprotected can lead to premature aging over time.

Sun damage can manifest itself in many ways, including tough leathery skin, age spots, freckles, wrinkles, loose skin, and the potential for skin cancer. Individuals who have lighter skin, which contains less melanin than its darker counterparts, are at a higher risk for photoaging. Being diligent in the use of sunscreen, avoiding being out during peak sunlight hours, and wearing protective hats can help to minimize the impact of the sun on your skin.

Additional contributors to premature aging of the skin include cigarette smoke, repetitive frowning, sleeping on the same place on your face nightly, tanning, and using harsh chemical based personal care products.

Maintaining vibrant skin is possible, even in the advanced years. In this ongoing series, we will explore the many contributors to aging skin and examine a plethora of solutions to preserve your skin as much as possible as you age.

References:

American Academy of Dermatology. Causes of Aging Skin. 2010. http://www.skincarephysicians.com/agingskinnet/basicfacts.html

Dermatology Information System. Skin Structure. 2010. http://skincare.dermis.net/content/e01aufbau/e660/e661/index_eng.html

National Institute of Health. Skin Layers. 2010. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/8912.htm

Posted under: Causes of Aging, LifeStyle Guide, Skin.

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By Michelle Cotroneo, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor

A cataract is a clouding of the lens, the structure that focuses light onto the retina.  The cloudiness is caused by aggregation of lens proteins, and results in a reduction in the amount of light that reaches the retina.  Cataract can result in vision changes such as blurriness, color distortion, sensitivity to glare, reduced night vision, or double vision.  Cataract is the principle cause of blindness worldwide (1).  If vision is severely impaired, the treatment for cataract is surgical removal of the lens, and in some cases, replacement with an implant. 

There are many risk factors for cataract development, including smoking, diabetes, ionizing radiation, eye injury or surgery, excessive UVB exposure, family history, and extended use of steroids.  However, the most important risk factor for cataract development is aging.  It is estimated that approximately 70 percent of Americans over the age of 75 have cataracts that result in impaired vision (Mayo Clinic).  Although the disease is considered “age-related”, it may be present in middle age and be diagnosed later in life when symptoms begin.

Cataract formation during aging

The lens is composed mainly of proteins and water.  The lens retains all its cells for the entire lifespan of the organism, and is completely clear at birth.  Protein turnover in the center of the lens is very slow; therefore, it is composed of very stabile proteins.  The predominant proteins in the lens belong to the crystallin family (alpha, beta and gamma).  Alpha crystallins have “chaperone” functions, which enable them to associate with other proteins.  These associations include binding to unfolded or aberrant proteins to prevent the formation of aggregates.  In the aging lens, chaperone activity of crystallins is decreased, allowing cataractogenesis to occur (2).

During the process of aging, crystallins undergo chemical modifications, such as oxidation.  Once chemically modified, these proteins are broken down into amino acids.  This process is inefficient, resulting in the accumulation of oxidized proteins (3).  Protein modifications can result in inappropriate protein interactions, causing clumping to occur (4).  Aggregates of chemically modified, damaged and partially unfolded crystallins may then form the cataract.  As the cataract enlarges, the light passing through the lens becomes more scattered, resulting in lens opacity and blurring of vision.   

Nutritional prevention studies

There is a great deal of interest in the role of antioxidants in the prevention of age-related diseases.  However, clinical data have shown limited promise thus far.  The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), involving a 6 year treatment with high doses of vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene reported no apparent effect on the development or progression of age-related lens opacities in older, Caucasian American adult subjects (reviewed in 5).  Similarly, no effect was observed on cataract progression with these supplements in study subjects from a region of India with high cataract incidence (6).  The Food and Drug Administration has reviewed the findings of studies using supplementation with the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin and did not find sufficient evidence of prevention of cataract (7).  Despite the negative findings of these large-scale studies and reviews, there are numerous reports that suggest that high dietary antioxidant intake or supplementation is related to delayed progression of cataract (reviewed by the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology).  Discrepancies between study results may be attributed to differences in their design, methods, and subjects.  Despite conflicting reports, all would agree upon the benefits of a healthy diet.

References

1.     Foster A, Johnson GJ, 1990; Int Ophthalmol . 14:135–40.

2.     Kumar PA, Reddy GB, 2009; IUBMB Life 61(5):485-95.

3.     Sharma KK, Santhoshkumar P, 2009; Biochim Biophys Acta. 1790(10):1095-108.

4.     Takemoto L, Sorensen CM, 2008; Exp Eye Res. 87(6):496-501. 

5.     Chiu CJ, Taylor A, 2007; Exp Eye Res. 84(2):229-45.

6.     Gritz  DC, et al., 2006; Br J Ophthalmol. 90(7): 847–851.

7.     Fernandez MM, Afshari NA. 2008; Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 19(1):66-70.

Posted under: Cataract.

Tags: aging, antioxidants, Cataract

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By Michelle S. Cotroneo, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor

Hypertension is commonly referred to as high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the arterial walls. It is measured in millimeters of mercury, and consists of two parts, a top number (systolic) and a bottom number (diastolic). Systolic refers to the pressure during contraction of the heart, where blood is pumped out into the arteries. Diastolic is the pressure when the heart relaxes and fills with blood. Hypertension is usually asymptomatic. If left untreated, it can lead to stroke, heart attack, kidney disease and other problems.

The criteria for a diagnosis of hypertension defined by the Seventh Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure are as follows:

1. Blood pressure readings are taken after the patient has been seated quietly for 5 minutes.

2. The blood pressure cuff is the correct size and the arm is elevated with support to be level with the heart.

3. The patient must refrain from smoking, exercising, or consuming caffeine 30 minutes prior to the measurement.

4. Elevated blood pressure on two readings (average) per visit on two or more visits is suggested for diagnosis of hypertension.

The committee also classified blood pressure readings for adults:

Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension 2003; 42:1206–52.

The likelihood of having hypertension increases with age; it is estimated that more than 50% of people 65 and older have hypertension (American Geriatric Society). There are many contributing factors in the etiology of developing hypertension with aging. Many are due to physiologic changes that occur in the arteries that result in loss of elasticity. These include collagen accumulation and crosslinking, thinning of the elastic vessel components, calcium buildup and a decrease in smooth muscle cells (1). These structural changes are most evident in large arteries, like the aorta (2). The resulting thickening and a loss of elasticity leads to a decreased ability of the artery to respond to changes in blood flow occurring as the heart pumps. The impaired ability of the arteries to expand when blood is pumped out of the heart will elevate systolic blood pressure. Elevations in systolic blood pressure are now thought to be associated with adverse outcomes, such as stroke and heart attack.

Age-related hypertension is also related to salt-sensitivity, which tends to increase in aging. Approximately 60% of individuals with hypertension are physiologically sensitive to sodium intake. These individuals will have an increased blood pressure response to sodium, compared with those who are not sensitive. This is thought to be related to a decrease in the ability of the kidney to clear sodium from the body (3). Excess sodium retention may be due to decreased functioning of cellular sodium-potassium pumps (4) or an increase in substances that inhibit the action of sodium pumps (5). In some individuals, salt sensitivity may be due to inherited gene mutations. In women, decreased estrogen production after menopause is thought to increase salt sensitivity (6).

Hypertension is commonly treated with antihypertensives. However, lifestyle factors can be modified to lower blood pressure in hypertensive people.

1. Dao HH, Essalihi R, Bouvet C, et al. Cardiovasc Res 2005; 66: 307–17.

2. Mitchell GF, Parise H, Benjamin EJ, et al. Hypertension 2004; 43: 1239–45.

3. Epstein M, Hollenberg NK. J Lab Clin Med 1976; 87: 411–7.

4. Zemel MB, Sowers JR. Am J Cardiol 1988; 61(16): 7H–12H.

5. Anderson DE, Fedorova OV, Morrell CH, et al. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2008; 294: R1248–54.

6. Colylewright M, Reckelhoff JE, Ouyang P. Hypertension 2008; 51: 952–9.

Posted under: Cardiovascular diseases, Hypertension.

Tags: aging, high blood pressure, Hypertension

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By Ryan Acosta, Staff Writer

Last year, the whole world was stunned by the sudden outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus. Governments worldwide imposed quarantines and strict preventive measures to curb possible massive outbreaks. Laboratories rushed to produce vaccines. After vaccines were developed and rolled out of laboratories, hordes of apprehensive people lined up in hospitals and clinics to get swine flu shots.

Humans have a primordial fear of infectious diseases. Indeed, highly contagious diseases like swine flu deserved to be taken seriously. However, there are other diseases that cause far more deaths compared to new infectious diseases like swine flu.

Cancer, for instance, takes about 7.4 million lives per year worldwide, about 13% of all deaths according to the World Health Organization. And the majority of these deaths come from one serious type of cancer: breast cancer.

Incidence of Breast Cancer in the Elderly

Breast cancer is indeed one of the most prevalent forms of cancers in the world. In the US alone, about 191,410 women were diagnosed with breast cancer last 2006. And the majority of these breast cancer patients are elderly women.

Breast cancer may affect young women, but it is more common in the elderly. According to the National Cancer Institute, three out of four women aged 60 years old today may get breast cancer by the time they reach 70. Although the most aggressive forms of breast cancer typically affect younger women, breast cancer is still a very serious disease for the elderly. In fact, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in women 65 years old and above.

Treatment

Elderly women with breast cancer can avail of the same treatment available to younger women. Surgery, irradiation, hormonal therapy and use of chemocytotoxic drugs are still the most common form of breast cancer treatments. Treatment generally varies depending on the patient’s breast cancer stage. Sometimes, two or more forms of treatments are prescribed.

The above treatments, however, are not designed to totally prevent or cure breast cancer in the elderly. As with other forms of cancer, there is not yet a definite cure for breast cancer.

A healthy vegetable-and-fruit-based diet along with regular exercise (two and a half hours of physical activity per week) would help in lowering the risks of developing breast cancer in the elderly. Also, limiting alcohol intake and refraining from smoking tobacco would also help minimizing breast cancer risk, especially for post-menopausal women.

On-going Research

As of the moment, there has been no established cause as to why elderly women are much prone to developing breast cancer.

Much of the research that is being conducted right now regarding the development and progression of cancer (including breast cancer) in older women is focused on discovering cellular and molecular mechanisms. For instance, many researchers are focusing on the relationship between cell senescence and cancer.

Despite the current lack of concrete understanding as to the prevalence of breast cancer among elderly women, researchers around the world are doing their best to know more about the relationship between aging and breast cancer.

Time will certainly come when scientists will find the answer that would possibly lead to developments of more effective breast cancer treatments. Help for countless of elderly women suffering from breast cancer will surely come in the future.

References:

American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Facts and Figures: 2005-2006. 2006. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/stt/caff2005brf.pdf.

Horner MJ, Ries LAG, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Howlader N, Altekruse SF, Feuer EJ, Huang L, Mariotto A, Miller BA, Lewis DR, Eisner MP, Stinchcomb DG, Edwards BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2006. National Cancer Institute. 2009. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/results_merged/sect_04_breast.pdf.

Silliman RA, Baeke P. Breast cancer in the Older Woman. In: Balducci L, Ersher WB, Lyman GH. Comprehensive Geriatric Oncology. Amsterdam: Harwood, 1998.

U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2006 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute. 2010.  http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.

World Health Organization. Media Centre: Cancer. 2009. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en.

Posted under: Cancer.

Tags: Breast Cancer in the Elderly

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By Dr. John McDougall, Lifestyle Guide/Scientific Advisor

In my youth, I thought meat meant good health and strength. I reasoned this must be ideal food for my body, because my body is made up of meat; just like the body parts of cows, pigs and chickens; therefore, these foods must contain every nutrient I could possibly require. Logically, could anything be better for building muscle than eating muscle? This kind of faulty reasoning caused me to suffer problems as ordinary as acne and as rare as a stroke by the time I was 18 years old. I am alive and healthy today at 60 because 35 years ago I changed to primarily plants for my foods. (It is not too late for you.)

Meat Is Cat Food—Plants Are People Food

Every animal has an ideal diet. Meat is an ideal food for my pointy-toothed carnivorous cats and my powerful-jawed omnivorous dog. Cows and cockatoos are herbivores, and would soon sicken on a diet of meat. The same happens with people when they consume a meat-centered diet.

Undeniable Evidence That Meat-centered Diets Are Wrong:


Nearly Everyone Who Eats That Way Is Sick


Affluent people can afford to eat a diet with a central focus of beef, pork and/or chicken, and almost all do. Most also have one or more risk factors that predict premature death and illness:¹


*1/3 have elevated cholesterol
*1/3 have hypertension
*More than 30% are obese
*More than 65% are overweight
*10% are diabetic


Diseases of affluence are epidemic among meat-eaters:


*1/2 die prematurely of heart disease
*1/2 of men develop life-threatening cancer
*1/3 of women develop life-threatening cancer
*Over age 60, 30% have gallbladder disease
*One in seven suffers with serious arthritis
*60% complain of bad breath (halitosis)
*Most have GI troubles (indigestion to constipation)

Meat Is Promoted for Its Good Nutrition

According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), “Red meat plays an important role in a healthful diet by providing more than 10 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for protein, iron, zinc, niacin, Vitamins B6 and B12.”² These nutritional facts are accurate for people eating the typical rich diet, and will scare many of them into including generous amounts of meat—unless they consider the fact that nutritional deficiencies due to protein, iron, zinc, niacin, Vitamins B6 and B12 are essentially unheard of in people who have enough of any kind of food to eat. Do you know anyone with “deficiencies diseases” caused from lack of any of these nutrients? (Almost all iron deficiency in people is due to bleeding, not from dietary deficiency.)


National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) also fails to explain in their promotional materials that meat fails to provide sufficient amounts of calcium, dietary fiber, essential fats, and vitamin C to support the health of human beings. Nor do they mention the problems caused by the “excesses” in meat. Have you ever heard of illnesses due too many calories, or too much fat, cholesterol, protein, infectious microbes, and chemical contaminants? With excess lies the problem.


People Don’t Like the Taste of Meat

Meat Has Unhealthy Ingredients


A look at the individual components of meat explains why this is such an undesirable food.


There are no carbohydrates in meat. Carbohydrate is the human body’s primary intended fuel–ask any endurance athlete. Carbohydrate is essential for the brain, red blood cells and kidney cells (glomeruli cells).


Meat is usually high in fat. The fat promotes obessity, type-2 diabetes, artery damage, heart disease, and many forms of cancer.


Meat is usually high in protein. Excess protein over-works and damages the liver and kidneys.


Meat proteins are high in acid. The acid is neutralized by the bones causing bone loss, osteoporosis and calcium-based kidney stones.


Meat proteins are high in sulfur. The sulfur-containing amino acids cause foul-smelling body odor, breath, and flatus, and promote heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and shortened longevity.


There is no dietary fiber in meat. Fiber provides the bulk for the stool, controls blood sugar and cholesterol, and detoxifies cancer causing chemicals.


Cholesterol is only in animal foods. Excess accumulates in our arteries, skin, tendons, and all other tissues.


Meat concentrates environmental contaminates. Toxic chemicals concentrate in food supply as they rise up the food chain.


Infectious agents live in meat. In USA, there are approximately 76 million cases of food-borne illness annually.


Antibiotics are in meat. Antibiotics are used to prevent animal infections and stimulate growth.

Advertisements for Pizza Hut’s Meat Lovers’® Pizza, Arby’s Super Roast Beef Sandwich®, Wendy’s Buffalo Crispy Chicken®, and McDonalds Double Quarter Pounder® could lead us to believe that “the meat” is the main attraction. However, it’s not the slices of tasteless brown beef hidden in the center of the Arby’s sandwich that people want—instead, they salivate over the “green leaf lettuce and ripe tomatoes, all topped with a zesty red sauce on a toasty sesame bun.”


The human tongue has no taste buds for the protein and fat—the ingredients in the beef—but we do have taste buds on our tongue’s tip which are excited by sugar and salt—the ingredients that make up the lettuce, tomato, sauce, and buns—these are what drive repeat sales. My cats would enjoy the meat. They have taste buds for amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) embedded in their tongues’ surfaces; but the garnishes would be wasted on these carnivores.


What’s Meat’s Attraction?


If people have no senses for appreciating the taste of meat, then why is it so popular? Meat’s appeal is driven by money and egos. Until recently, the high cost of meat restricted it to the plates of the wealthy. This is a status symbol—meat-eating enhances class distinction. Consider the Beef Industry’s most famous slogan: Beef—Real Food for Real People. This is known as a bandwagon argument—used to appeal to a person’s desire to be popular, accepted or valued—ignoring evidence and relevant reasoning.³ The message implies that food, other than beef, is not real food, and that people who do not eat beef, are not real people.³


If eating muscle turned into body muscle then most men living in affluent societies would resemble bodybuilders without a noticeable potbelly—no point in arguing the obvious. Scientific research confirms that meat is viewed as a superior masculine food.⁴ If the truth were known, real men would switch to real plant foods overnight. During a man’s reproductive years meat-eating decreases ejaculate volume, lowers sperm count, shortens sperm life, and causes poor sperm motility, genetic damage, and infertility.^5,6 Meat-eaters are likely to become impotent because of damage caused to the artery system that supplies the penis with the blood that causes an erection.⁷ Erectile dysfunction is more often seen in men with elevated cholesterol levels⁸ and high levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol⁹—both conditions are related to habitual meat-eating. Later in life, men who follow a meat-centered diet face prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hypertrophy) and prostate cancer.^{10,11Beef—Real Food for Real Sexual Dysfunction.}

Meat-eating Characterizes a Person


There are four well traveled roads to eating a meatless diet: health, personal appearance, the environment, and animal rights. As a medical doctor, I have mostly traveled the roads of health and appearance for the sake of my patients. That journey would have not been possible if I had not changed my personal diet 35 years ago. People have trouble seeing beyond their own habits—ridding my dinner plate of animal foods has allowed me to become sensitive to equally important issues—the environment and animal rights.


Many people would rather die than give up their meat—and that’s OK with me. But I find it unacceptable that some of these same people would be willing to destroy Planet Earth than give up their meat. According to a report, Livestock’s Long Shadow –Environmental Issues and Options, released in November of 2006 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to every one of the most serious environmental problems.


The killing and suffering of animals for human food might be justified, if meat were necessary for better human health, but the opposite is the case. Informed people should not remain silent about senseless suffering of food-animals.


We stand on the brink of life-ending health and environmental catastrophes. It is time we shed our hypocrisies. Doctors interested in healing patients of dietary diseases must eat a plant-food-based diet themselves. People who profess their love for animals must stop eating them. A true environmentalist will no longer contribute to the major source of planetary destruction by feeding himself and his family with products from the livestock industry. Making meat-eating a social disgrace in this generation, just like we did with cigarette smoking in the last generation, is a fundamental change that must take place in order to advance our society to the next level and ensure our personal survival.

More information can be found on my website.


References:


1.) Mulrow C, Kussmaul W. The middle-aged and older American: wrong prototype for a preventive polypill? Ann Intern Med. 2005 Mar 15;142(6):467-8.


2.)http://www.beefusa.org/newsscientificevidencepointstoimportanceofmeatin-
americandiets4394.aspx


3.) http://www.termpapergenie.com/decision_making.html


4.) Roos G. Men, masculinity and food: interviews with Finnish carpenters and engineers. Appetite. 2001 Aug;37(1):47-56.


5.) Allen NE. Hormones and diet: low insulin-like growth factor-I but normal bioavailable androgens in vegan men. Br J Cancer. 2000 Jul;83(1):95-7.


6.) Rozati R . Role of environmental estrogens in the deterioration of male factor fertility. Fertil Steril. 2002 Dec;78(6):1187-94.


7.) Feldman HA. Erectile dysfunction and coronary risk factors: prospective results from the Massachusetts male aging study. Prev Med. 2000 Apr;30(4):328-38.


8.) Bodie J. Laboratory evaluations of erectile dysfunction: an evidence based approach. J Urol. 2003 Jun;169(6):2262-4.


9.) Walczak MK Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in erectile dysfunction.
J Gend Specif Med. 2002 Nov-Dec;5(6):19-24.


10.) Suzuki S. Intakes of energy and macronutrients and the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Apr;75(4):689-97.


11.) Divisi D, Di Tommaso S, Salvemini S, Garramone M, Crisci R. Diet and cancer. Acta Biomed. 2006 Aug;77(2):118-23.

Posted under: LifeStyle Guide.

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By Ryan Acosta, Staff Writer

“I am the greatest.”

Muhammad Ali used to trumpet that during his heyday. Yet Ali himself conceded that there’s one more boxer who deserved to be called the greatest: Sugar Ray Robinson. The first boxer who earned the title “Sugar,” Robinson fought with unparalleled mastery of the sweet science.

Robinson fought 202 marvelous bouts and won 173 of them—108 coming by knockout. During his stellar career that lasted for three decades, Robinson was able to hold several titles at different weight classes and earned the admiration and respect of millions of people across the globe. Graceful as a butterfly and dangerous as a bee in the ring during his prime, an aged Robinson was unable to outbox one unbeatable foe: Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

A form of dementia, AD is one of the most common diseases that affect the elderly. According to the CDC more than 5 million Americans have AD and the vast majority of these are 65 years of age and older. Basing upon the latest figures, the CDC estimates that 5 percent of men and women between 65 to 74 years old have Alzheimer’s disease and about half of seniors aged 85 years old and above suffer from AD.

Perhaps no other disease can be identified with aging other than Alzheimer’s disease. After all, old people seem to forget things from time to time. However, the manifestations of AD, such as extreme decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities that prevent an individual from performing ordinary daily tasks, are not a normal part of aging. Marked by severe depletion of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and some subcortical regions, AD is a fatal condition. According to the latest estimates of the CDC, AD is now the 7^th leading cause of death in the US.

Burden of AD

Those who suffer from AD comprise not more than 13 percent of the Medicare population, yet the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that they are responsible for 34 percent of Medicare spending. The estimated cost of AD to the economy comes at a staggering $172 billion per year. With the current status of the economy, AD is a cumbersome load to the pockets of American citizens.

What is alarming is that incidence of AD is on the rise. The last Census report predicts that the population of seniors 65 years old and above is steadily increasing and will be doubled to 72 million by 2030.

Research on AD

Understanding underlying mechanisms of a disease is essential as it would lead to formulations of effective treatment. Yet little is known as to what exactly cause Alzheimer’s disease. Considering the current burden that AD is causing, it is essential that research on AD should be stepped up.

Scientists from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) are spearheading the search to find answers that will lead to more understanding of AD. Currently, the NIA is focusing its research to comprehend mechanisms of AD and find more effective treatment. One promising NIA-sponsored research involves the exploration of using anti-oxidant supplementation to prevent cognitive decline.

NIA researchers are also studying the probable positive effects of estrogen on combating AD. Scientists have produced Selective Estrogen-receptor Modulators (SERM) that may be capable of mimicking the ability of estrogen to protect neurons.

Researchers sponsored by the NIA are also exploring the possibilities of developing an anti-Alzheimer’s disease vaccine in the future. AD vaccine experiments involving laboratory mice have yielded positive results but need further refinement.

Aside from the NIA, there are also other institutions and organizations that are conducting research on Alzheimer’s disease. With ample support and funding, scientist will continue to learn more about the nature of Alzheimer’s disease and formulate effective treatment against it.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alzheimer’s Disease. 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain/alzheimers.htm.

CDC. National Vital Statistics Reports. Volume 57, Number 14. April 17, 2009. Deaths: Final Data for 2006. 2006. http://www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf.

He, Wan, Manisha Sengupta, Victoria, Velkoff A., DeBarros, and Kimberly A. Current Population Reports. 65+ in the United States: 2005. 2005. U.S. Census Bureau. 2005. http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf.

National Institute on Aging (NIA). The Search for AD Prevention Strategies. 2009. http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/ADPrevented/strategies.htm.

Plassman, B. L., et al. Prevalence of Dementia in the United States: The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study. Neuroepidemiology. 29 (2007): 125-132.

Posted under: Alzheimer's.

Tags: Alzheimer's

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By Dr. John McDougall, Lifestyle Guide/Scientific Advisor

I love life so much that I would eat a plateful of cardboard to spend another afternoon windsurfing, another hour playing with my grandson Jaysen, or another evening of pleasant conversation with my wife Mary.  About to enter my seventh decade of life, I can hardly believe how young and healthy I feel.  As long as I am functional, comfortable, and content, I want to live to be 100.

Aging is a normal part of life—a process that cannot be stopped or reversed; but age-associated diseases can be prevented and our functional lifespan can be prolonged.  But for how long? The maximum human lifespan is believed to be about 125 years, but so far no one for certain has reached this limit. The oldest person of authentic record was a French woman who lived to be 122 years old.  About 50 people are alive today at 110 years or older—and there are presently 80,000 known centenarians (people who have reached 100 years).¹Interestingly, almost all of these “successful survivors” never saw a doctor until after age 90—obviously their exceptional longevity had nothing to do with medical intervention.¹

Life Expectancy Has Increased

The average life expectancy was 25 years or less during most (99.9%) of human existence.  No prehistoric remains have been found of people older than 50 years.² With few exceptions, war, accidents, starvation or infection ended lives before any of the signs of old age—graying of the hair, wrinkling of the skin, shortened memory, reduced strength, and decreased visual acuity—appeared.  With the development of civilization people learned to control their environment and better protect themselves; with these advances some people then lived to a ripe old age.   Passages from the Bible, written more than 2500 years ago, report that death from old age typically occurred at 70 to 80 years, and predict a maximum lifespan of 120 years.  Since then what has changed is only the number of people who enjoy these later years.

Over the last century the biggest boost in lifespan was due to the introduction of antibiotics, immunizations, and proper sanitation. Life expectancy has increased since the beginning of the 20^th century from age 47 to the current 77 years by effectively stopping infectious diseases that killed people from birth to young adulthood.

Conquer Chronic Diseases for the Next Big Boost

People living in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand eat a rich diet that shortens their life in many ways:

• Fat and cholesterol infiltrate their arteries, eventually causing ruptures and blockages (heart attacks and strokes).
• Inflammatory reactions scar the heart muscle and decrease its function.⁵
• Food-borne environmental chemicals mutate the cells into cancer.
• Excess animal protein causes important loss of kidney function.⁶

Even with all this disease from malnutrition, the average life span for USA women is 79.9 years and 74.5 years for men.³

Observing the health and longevity of people who eat better than Americans provides clues to the potential gains from reducing chronic diseases.  Japanese people who eat a diet based on starches (rice and vegetables) with little meat and no dairy products have an average lifespan of 85.59 years for women and 78.64 years for men—four to five years longer than people following the American diet.⁷ Vegetarian Adventists do even better with women living, on average, to 88.6 years and men to 85.3 years.⁴ In fact, a direct comparison with other white Californians found vegetarian Adventists live an average of 10 years longer.⁴ However, these vigorous vegetarians still include way too much dairy, eggs, soy protein, and vegetable oils in their diets to achieve the full potential of human longevity—leaving the opportunity to add a few more “good” years for people who are fully informed.

The November 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine carried an excellent article, “The Secrets of Living Longer.”  They reported on 3 groups of long-lived people from Okinawa Japan, Sardinia Italy, and Loma Linda California—and all had in common they followed a plant-based diet.  At the very end of this issue there is a one-page “Do It Yourself” article with the subtitle, “Go Vegetarian.”

There is also an excellent presentation on the internet on these people that you can access.  Go to:http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/sights_n_sounds/index.html

The Harms of Rich Foods Are Universally Known Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote in 1776 an interesting comparison of the Native Americans to settlers from England:8 “In them (the Native Americans) the old proverb may well be verified: Natura paucis contenta—nature is satisfied with little—for though this be their daily portion, they still are healthy and lusty…they grow so proportionable and continue so long in their vigor—most of them being fifty before a wrinkled brow or gray hair betray their age…” “The diet of the inhabitants of Philadelphia, during those years, consisted chiefly of animal food.  It was eaten, in some families, three times, and in all, twice a day…Death was…common between the 50th and 60thyears of life from gout, apoplexy, palsy, obstructed livers and dropsies.”

Dietary Restriction—the Real Deal

Since antiquity, overindulgence in foods has been blamed for causing disease and the shortening of useful lives. Beyond common knowledge, dietary restriction is the only life-prolonging means accepted as effective by the scientific community.  In animal experiments a 50% increase in longevity has been observed with a 30% to 60% decrease in calorie intake.

For the first time in 2006, researchers reported similar benefits in people.  The hearts of people who had followed a nutritionally-balanced, lower-calorie diet resembled those of younger people, with better function and fewer tendencies to become inflamed and scarred.⁵ People in the study had averaged only six years on the healthier diet, but their hearts looked 15 years younger.⁹

Recent animal experiments have demonstrated that the benefits of dietary restriction are primarily from reducing intake of fats and proteins rather than simply restricting food and calories.¹¹ These same principals apply to people: food restriction must be coupled with optimal nutrition for increased longevity. Bad food, even if only a little is eaten, still accelerates aging and causes diseases. You have witnessed many very trim people with heart disease and cancer—the results of eating half a hamburger and a small bag of greasy chips, washed down with a regular size diet cola. Furthermore, people who are thin won’t live longer, even if they exercised to make themselves trim, as long as they eat poorly.

Restriction without Punishment

The semi-starvation that is typically recommended for prolonging survival results in constant hunger, slower metabolism, fatigue, reduced libido and sexual inactivity.  Can you live that way? Is it worth the suffering?  Is there an alternative?

The McDougall diet effortlessly restricts calories, fat and protein by its natural composition without requiring hunger.  Switching from meat, dairy products and processed foods to starches, vegetables, and fruits will cause you to consume 400 to 800 fewer calories a day—without consciously restricting the amount of foods that you eat.¹² This reduction in calories spontaneously happens because the foods have relatively few calories and are very satisfying for the appetite.

In addition to the 20% to 40% decrease in calories that occurs with a healthy diet; your fat intake decreases from 50% to 7% and protein from 20% to 12% of calories and you don’t have to ever be hungry—now THAT is a program you can live with.

Youth Preserving Antioxidants

The McDougall diet is also very high in another big player in the aging of our bodies’ tissues–antioxidants.  Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive substances which damage cells and contribute to aging as well as encouraging many serious diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.¹³ Substances with strong antioxidant activity are found in starches, fruits and vegetables.  These include: Vitamin A, B-6, C, E, beta carotene, folic acid and selenium.  (Get your nutrition from foods not pills.  When antioxidants are isolated and concentrated into supplements they actually increase the risk of death and major diseases.¹⁴)

Growth Hormone Promotes Aging

The hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) resembles insulin in its chemical structure and has special actions that accelerate the rate of growth of normal (like bone) and diseased (like cancer) tissues.¹⁵ Animal experiments show that genetic defects in mice which lower IGF-1 levels cause them to live 40% longer.  As these mice get older they look younger, and resist diseases.  The mice are not just longer lived, but healthier—they have good eyes, joints, brains and immunity.¹⁶ Presently, researchers believe our best hope for increasing longevity is by lowering IGF-1 activity.¹⁷

Within a single species of animals, those that are larger have higher levels of IGF-1 activity.  These bigger animals also have shorter life spans. Dogs are a well-recognized example.¹⁶ Big dogs, such as Dobermans and Rottweilers live an average of ten years.  Chihuahuas and small terriers live for 13 years—and have lower levels of IGF-1 than big dogs.¹⁸ People show the same inverse relationship between size and longevity—taller (and heavier) people have shorter lifespans.¹⁹

Easily Reduce Your IGF-1 Activity

Animal foods, and especially cow’s milk, raise IGF-1.^20-22 You should not be surprised by this fact because the purpose of cow’s milk is to accelerate the growth of a cow from 60 to 600 pounds.  Protein is for growth and an excess raises IGF-1 levels. A good example of this effect is seen with the isolated soy proteins used in synthetic foods, from candy bars to burgers.  This concentrated protein is an even more powerful promoter of IGF-1 than is cow’s milk.²³ Lowering your IGF-1 activity is as simple as making sensible food choices and this benefit is seen in people.

A study of 292 British women ages 20 to 70 years found the serum IGF-1 activity was 13% lower in the 92 women who followed a vegan diet, compared to 99 meat-eaters and 101 lacto-ovo-vegetarians.²⁴ Similar effects have been found in men following vegan diets.²⁵

Successful Living Means Graceful Aging

Benjamin Rush in 1797 studied octogenarians and found them of sound mind.  His recommendation for a happy old age, therefore, was not to overcome the laws of nature, but to understand them in order that the aging individuals remain productive members of society.⁸ As is commonly believed, age is not a demeaning disease that destroys the mind and body; but an opportunity to be valuable, useful and creative. We should all seek long lives free of disease and disability, and then die quickly and quietly when we reach the end of the normal lifespan—when we are worn out through our natural processes of aging.  With the elimination of disease a proper death from old age comes peacefully—ideally, one night we simply fall asleep and we pass on.

References:

1)  Coles LS.  Demography of human supercentenarians.  J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004 Jun;59(6):B579-86.

2)  Hayflick L.  “Anti-aging” is an oxymoron.  J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004 Jun;59(6):B573-8.

3)  History of Average Lifespan:  http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus04trend.pdf#027

4)  Fraser GE, Shavlik DJ.  Ten years of life: Is it a matter of choice? Arch Intern Med. 2001 Jul 9;161(13):1645-52.

5)  Meyer T, Kovács S, Ehsani A, Klein S, Holloszy J, Fontana L.  Long-Term Caloric Restriction Ameliorates the Decline in Diastolic Function in Humans. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006; 47: 398-02.

6)  Rowe JW, Andres R, Tobin JD, Norris AH, Shock NW.  The effect of age on creatinine clearance in men: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. J Gerontol. 1976 Mar;31(2):155-63.

7)  Life span Japanese: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn07-2005/nn20050723b2.htm

8)  PHILADELPHIA DOCTOR.  Medical Inquires and Observations, by Dr. Benjamin Rush, 4th edition, was published in Philadelphia in 1815 and reissued in facsimile by Arno Press.

9)  Younger hearts with calorie restriction:  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/wuso-cra011206.php

10)  Luigi Cornaro : http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020105cornaro.html

11)  Mair W, Piper MD, Partridge L.  Calories do not explain extension of life span by dietary restriction in Drosophila.  PLoS Biol. 2005 Jul;3(7):e223. Epub 2005 May 31.

12)  Lissner L, Levitsky DA, Strupp BJ, Kalkwarf HJ, Roe DA.  Dietary fat and the regulation of energy intake in human subjects.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Dec;46(6):886-92.

13)  Yu BP, Kang CM, Han JS, Kim DS.  Can antioxidant supplementation slow the aging process?  Biofactors.1998;7(1-2):93-101.

14)  Lichtenstein AH, Russell RM.  Essential nutrients: food or supplements? Where should the emphasis be?JAMA. 2005 Jul 20;294(3):351-8.

15)  Bartke A, Chandrashekar V, Dominici F, Turyn D, Kinney B, Steger R, Kopchick JJ.  Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and aging: controversies and new insights. Biogerontology. 2003;4(1):1-8.

16)  Miller RA.  Genetic approaches to the study of aging.  J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Sep;53(9 Suppl):S284-6.

17)  Holzenberger M.  The GH/IGF-I axis and longevity.  Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Aug;151 Suppl 1:S23-7.

18) Life expectancy of dogs:  http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-46.htm

19)  Samaras TT, Elrick H, Storms LH.  Is height related to longevity? Life Sci. 2003 Mar 7;72(16):1781-802.

20)  Hoppe C, Molgaard C, Juul A, Michaelsen KF.  High intakes of skimmed milk, but not meat, increase serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in eight-year-old boys.  Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004 Sep;58(9):1211-6.

21)  Cadogan J. Milk intake and bone mineral acquisition in adolescent girls: randomised, controlled intervention trial.BMJ. 1997;315:1255-1260.

22)  Heaney R.  Dietary changes favorably affect bone remodeling in older adults.  J Am Diet Assoc. 99:1228-33, 1999.

23)  Arjmandi BH, Khalil DA, Smith BJ, Lucas EA, Juma S, Payton ME, Wild RA.  Soy protein has a greater effect on bone in postmenopausal women not on hormone replacement therapy, as evidenced by reducing bone resorption and urinary calcium excretion.  J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Mar;88(3):1048-54.

24) Allen NE, Appleby PN, Davey GK, Kaaks R, Rinaldi S, Key TJ.  The associations of diet with serum insulin-like growth factor I and its main binding proteins in 292 women meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Nov;11(11):1441-8.

25)  Allen NE, Appleby PN, Davey GK, Key TJ. Hormones and diet: low insulin-like growth factor-I but normal bioavailable androgens in vegan men.  Br J Cancer. 2000 Jul;83(1):95-7.

26) Larsson SC, Wolk K, Brismar K, Wolk A. Association of diet with serum insulin-like growth factor I in middle-aged and elderly men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 May;81(5):1163-7.

27) Giovannucci E, Pollak M, Liu Y, Platz EA, Majeed N, Rimm EB, Willett WC. Nutritional predictors of insulin-like growth factor I and their relationships to cancer in men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2003 Feb;12(2):84-9.

28) Holmes MD, Pollak MN, Willett WC, Hankinson SE.  Dietary correlates of plasma insulin-like growth factor I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 concentrations.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Sep;11(9):852-61.

29) Nemet D, Cooper DM.  Exercise, diet, and childhood obesity: the GH-IGF-I connection. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2002 May;15 Suppl 2:751-7.

30)  Rattan SI.  Aging intervention, prevention, and therapy through hormesis. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004 Jul;59(7):705-9.

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By Dr. John McDougall, Lifestyle Guide/Scientific Advisor

Begin by telling them, “The fat you eat is the fat you wear,” and remind them that there is nothing attractive about wearing olive, flaxseed, or corn fat.*  For this reason alone, most of your friends and family should steer clear of so-called “healthy oils” derived from plant-foods. Gaining weight can be expected from consuming high-fat whole foods, such as nuts, seeds, avocados and olives, as well as “free oils,” which are usually purchased in bottles. However, the shared propensity for weight gain is where the similarity between unprocessed plant foods and free oils ends.

I consider whole foods, even those with high concentrations of fats, to be health-promoting. However, people interested in losing weight should avoid nuts, nut butters, seeds, seed spreads, avocados, and olives, since they all serve as sources of concentrated, easy to consume, calories. When I was growing up we had nuts in their shells as a special treat for Christmas. Now these same nuts come bare-naked, salted, and sometimes roasted in additional oils—and the twist of the lid of the jar brings effortlessly to your lips (and your hips) handfuls of fat-laden, calorie-concentrated rich food. These same foods, however, may be a welcome addition for growing children and active adults. But they should be used sparingly by most of us.

Chemically speaking, free oils are chains of carbon found in a purified state. Extraction processes have removed all of the other ingredients of the whole food. Thus, free oils are no longer intermixed with the naturally-designed and balanced environment of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and ten thousand other chemicals found originally in the plants. Free-oils are not food—at best these are medications, causing some desirable effects, and at worst; they are serious toxins causing disease.

*The main distinction between fats and oils is whether they’re solid or liquid at room temperature.

Oils Are Essential for Health

The human body can synthesize from raw materials almost all of the organic compounds needed to build and maintain itself. However, there are a few basic elements that it cannot synthesize. These must be obtained from the food, and include 11 vitamins, 8 amino acids, and 2 kinds of fat.  Fortunately, except for two vitamins (vitamin D from the sun and B12 from bacteria), all of these essential nutrients are made by plants and found in abundant quantities in a diet based on whole starches, vegetables, and fruits.

Fats are made of chains of carbon which differ in length, and the number and positions of double bonds (a chemical term for a dual linkage between carbon atoms). Animals cannot create double bonds after the third and sixth carbon on the chain.  Only plants can make this arrangement. The result is that only plants can synthesize omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These are referred to as “essential fats.” We, like all other animals, must get these essential fats directly by eating plants or indirectly by eating animals that ate plants and stored these essential fats in their tissues. For example, fish store the omega-3 fats made by algae—fish cannot synthesize this kind of fat.

Common Fats (fatty acids)
Linoleic acid is from plants and is the most common kind of omega-6 fat consumed by people.
Gamma linolenic acid is an omega-6 fat from plants, and in an isolated form, is used as a medication.
Alpha linolenic acid is from plants and is the most common omega-3 fat consumed.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 fat made by animals, including fish, from alpha linolenic acid.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fat made by animals, including fish, from alpha linolenic acid.

Essential Fat Deficiency Is Essentially Unknown

In our bodies these plant-derived, essential fats are used for many purposes including the formation of all cellular membranes, and the synthesis of powerful hormones, known as eicosanoids (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes). Our requirement is very tiny, and even the most basic diets provide sufficient linoleic acid to meet our requirement, which is estimated to be 1–2% of dietary energy (1). Therefore, in practical terms, a condition of “essential fatty acid deficiency” is essentially unknown in free-living populations.*

Essential fatty acid deficiency is seen when sick patients are fed intravenously by fat-free parenteral nutrition. In these cases, correction of the deficiency can be accomplished by applying small amounts of soybean or safflower oil to their skin—giving you some idea of the small amount of oil we require (2).  Plan on your diet of basic plant-foods supplying an abundance of essential fats delivered in perfectly designed packages, functioning efficiently and safely.

*Some people talk about a “relative deficiency” of essential fats created by a large intake of saturated animal fats, synthetic trans fats (as found in margarine and shortenings), and/or omega-6 fats compared to their intake of omega-3 fats, and they believe many of our common chronic diseases are the result of this imbalance (1). This is quite different from true essential fatty acid deficiency which would result in: loss of hair, scaly dermatitis, capillary fragility, poor wound healing, increased susceptibility to infection, fatty liver, and growth retardation in infants and children (1).

Free Oils as Medications

When the oils are removed from their natural environments—for example, from the seeds of corn, soybeans, safflowers, or flax, or the fruit of an olive or avocado—they are no longer a food. Yes, they do supply concentrated calories—but the rest of the original nutrition found in the plant parts is absent. In this state, the free oils can display powerful pharmacological effects—some beneficial and some harmful. This would be analogous to removing vitamins and minerals from plants and making supplements. I don’t call supplements food, do you? However, the effects of concentrated, isolated oils are usually even more potent than those seen with supplements.

Omega-3 and omega-6 oils inhibit the aggregation of platelets, slowing down the coagulation of the blood—thus these oils “thin the blood.” This well-known property can be beneficial for reducing the risk of a blood clot forming in the heart arteries—the cause of a heart attack. A common practice is to take omega-3 (fish or flaxseed) pills to reduce the risk of heart disease (3).

Omega-3 and omega-6 oils suppress the immune system, reducing inflammation. As medications they have been tried in autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, eczema, and psoriasis (4). Other disorders, such as migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, and PMS have also been treated. The reports of benefits are variable and often questionable; as a result, their use has not been well accepted in most medical practices.

As silly as this may sound, it has been suggested that eating essential fat may cause people to lose weight. However, a 12-week, double-blind evaluation of evening primrose oil as an “anti-obesity agent” on 100 women found no significant difference in the weight loss achieved by those taking primrose oil compared with placebo (5). Fats (and oils) are the metabolic dollar stored for the day when food is no longer available. Even “healthy oils” are moved from the spoon to the flesh with such efficiency that you should assume every drop you eat makes that journey.

Free Oils as Toxins

As with all other medications, there are adverse effects from consuming free oils, when added from a bottle to meals or taken as pills. The most obvious adverse effect is people gain weight when they eat even so-called “healthy oils,” like olive oil. When 54 obese women in a Mediterranean country were studied, these women were found to be following a diet low in carbohydrates (35% of the calories) and high in fats (43% of the calories). Of the total calories from fat, 55% came from olive oil (6). My point: a Mediterranean diet which is loaded with olive oil, rather than fruits and vegetables, will make you fat.
Omega-3 and omega-6 oils thin the blood, which make a person more susceptible to bleeding (7,8).  This side effect from taking essential oils to prevent a heart attack could become fatal after an automobile accident or if an artery in the brain were to rupture, such as occurs in a hemorrhagic stroke.

Do Vegetable Oils Really Prevent Heart Disease?
Common knowledge is vegetable oils are protective against heart disease, but there is evidence that questions the real life benefits:
• Serial angiograms of people’s heart arteries show that all three types of fat—saturated (animal) fat, monounsaturated (olive oil), and polyunsaturated (omega-3 and -6 oils)—were associated with significant increases in new atherosclerotic lesions over one year of study (9).  Only by decreasing the entire fat intake, including poly- and monounsaturated-oils, did the lesions stop growing.
• Dietary polyunsaturated oils, both the omega-3 and omega-6 types, are incorporated into human atherosclerotic plaques; thereby promoting damage to the arteries and the progression of atherosclerosis (10).
• A study in African green monkeys found when saturated fat was replaced with monounsaturated fat (olive oil), the olive oil provided no protection from atherosclerosis (11).
• One of the most important clotting factors predicting the risk of a heart attack is an elevated factor VII. All five fats tested—rapeseed oil (canola), olive oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, and butter—showed similar increases in triglycerides and clotting factor VII (12).
Most likely, the heart benefits of a Mediterranean diet are due to it being a nearly vegetarian diet. The Mediterranean diet is a good diet in spite of the olive oil (13).

Free oils may be toxic to the body tissues. Both omega-3 and omega-6 fats are associated with an increased risk of opacification of the lens of the eye, resulting in cataracts (14).
Omega-3 and omega-6 oils could benefit people with autoimmune disorders. On the other hand, excessive intake of these fats may actually aggravate these disorders (15).  More importantly, we need our immune system functioning at full capacity to fight off infections and cancer. Free oils have been demonstrated to suppress many natural microbe killing mechanisms (with a marked decrease in cytokine, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma). (16)
Research on animals suggests the omega-6 variety of oils is very cancer-promoting and the omega-3 variety may be beneficial for cancer prevention (17).  However, this may not be the case. In one animal experiment on colon cancer, a fish oil diet and a safflower oil diet induced, respectively, 10- and 4-fold more metastases (number) and over 1000- and 500-fold more metastases (size) than were found in the livers of rats on the low-fat diet (18). Other, animal experiments also have shown essential fats to be cancer promoting (19,20). Most importantly, population studies tell us that, worldwide, the lower the total fat intake, the less the risk of common cancers, such as breast, colon and prostate (21-23).

Practical Ways to Eliminate Oils in Cooking
*Don’t add vegetable oils when cooking.
*Use non-stick pots and pans.
*Brown or soften vegetables in water.
*Sauté with non-fat liquids.
*Replace oil in baking with fruit or tofu.
*Use commercial fat-replacers.
*Lighten texture with carbonated water.

The Final Step

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear someone say to me, “My diet is completely vegan, but I am still 40 pounds overweight.” The oily sheen on her face and hair are a clear give away that she hasn’t been willing to stop adding the half cup of extra virgin olive oil to her spaghetti sauce. Many people fall short of their health and appearance goals because they have yet to eliminate all the added vegetable oils from their cooking. Eating out is a major stumbling block. More often than not, even after using the best communication skills with the waiter, the diner plate still glistens with an oil slick. Avoiding free vegetable oils is the last important hurdle for people seeking better health. Take the final step—just say “No” to these really unessential added oils.

References:

1.) Sanders TA. Essential fatty acid requirements of vegetarians in pregnancy, lactation, and infancy. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):555S-559S.
2.) Marcason W. Can cutaneous application of vegetable oil prevent an essential fatty acid deficiency? J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Jul;107(7):1262.
3.) Mozaffarian D. Does alpha-linolenic acid intake reduce the risk of coronary heart disease? A review of the evidence. Altern Ther Health Med. 2005 May-Jun;11(3):24-30;
4.) Namazi MR. The beneficial and detrimental effects of linoleic acid on autoimmune disorders. Autoimmunity.2004 Feb;37(1):73-5.
5.) Haslett C, Douglas JG, Chalmers SR, Weighhill A, Munro JF. A double-blind evaluation of evening primrose oil as an antiobesity agent. Int J Obes. 1983;7(6):549-53.
6.) Calle-Pascual AL, Saavedra A, Benedi A, Martin-Alvarez PJ, Garcia-Honduvilla J, Calle JR, Maranes JP. Changes in nutritional pattern, insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance during weight loss in obese patients from a Mediterranean area. Horm Metab Res. 1995 Nov;27(11):499-502.
7.) Allman MA, Pena MM, Pang D. Supplementation with flaxseed oil versus sunflowerseed oil in healthy young men consuming a low fat diet: effects on platelet composition and function. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Mar;49(3):169-78.
8.) Nordstrom DC, Honkanen VE, Nasu Y, Antila E, Friman C, Konttinen YT. Alpha-linolenic acid in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized study: flaxseed vs. safflower seed.Rheumatol Int. 1995;14(6):231-4.
9.) Blankenhorn DH, Johnson RL, Mack WJ, el Zein HA, Vailas LI. The influence of diet on the appearance of new lesions in human coronary arteries. JAMA. 1990 Mar 23-30;263(12):1646-52.
10.) Felton CV, Crook D, Davies MJ, Oliver MF. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and composition of human aortic plaques. Lancet. 1994 Oct 29;344(8931):1195-6.
11.) Rudel LL, Parks JS, Sawyer JK. Compared with dietary monounsaturated and saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat protects African green monkeys from coronary artery atherosclerosis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1995 Dec;15(12):2101-10.
12.) Larsen LF, Bladbjerg EM, Jespersen J, Marckmann P. Effects of dietary fat quality and quantity on postprandial activation of blood coagulation factor VII. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997 Nov;17(11):2904-9.
13.) Keys A. Mediterranean diet and public health: personal reflections. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Jun;61(6 Suppl):1321S-1323S.
14.) Lu M, Taylor A, Chylack LT Jr, Rogers G, Hankinson SE, Willett WC, Jacques PF. Dietary fat intake and early age-related lens opacities. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Apr;81(4):773-9.
15.) Namazi MR. The beneficial and detrimental effects of linoleic acid on autoimmune disorders.Autoimmunity. 2004 Feb;37(1):73-5.
16.) Purasiri P, Mckechnie A, Heys SD, Eremin O. Modulation in vitro of human natural cytotoxicity, lymphocyte proliferative response to mitogens and cytokine production by essential fatty acids. Immunology. 1997 Oct;92(2):166-72.
17.) Sauer LA, Blask DE, Dauchy RT. Dietary factors and growth and metabolism in experimental tumors. J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Apr 4;
18.) Griffini P. Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids promote colon carcinoma metastasis in rat liver.Cancer Res. 1998 Aug 1;58(15):3312-9.
19.) Coulombe J, Pelletier G, Tremblay P, Mercier G, Oth D. Influence of lipid diets on the number of metastases and ganglioside content of H59 variant tumors. Clin Exp Metastasis. 1997 Jul;15(4):410-7.
20.) Klieveri L. Promotion of colon cancer metastases in rat liver by fish oil diet is not due to reduced stroma formation. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2000;18(5):371-7.
21.) Carroll KK. Experimental evidence of dietary factors and hormone-dependent cancers. Cancer Res. 1975 Nov;35(11 Pt. 2):3374-83.
22.) Rao GN. Influence of diet on tumors of hormonal tissues. Prog Clin Biol Res. 1996;394:41-56.
23.) Weisburger JH. Worldwide prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases based on knowledge of mechanisms. Mutat Res. 1998 Jun 18;402(1-2):331-7.

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By Ryan Acosta, Staff Writer

With relatively beyond normal summer temperatures these days, hordes of Americans prefer to spend more time outdoors instead of confining themselves inside their homes. For some, it’s a respite from the artificial coolness of air conditioners and a somewhat good way to avoid incurring astronomical power bills. But for many people, spending time outdoors during summer days is synonymous to feasting on grilled foods.

Flavorful pork kebabs. Succulent grilled burgers. Heavenly mouth-watering sirloin steaks. Who can resist such tempting delights straight out of good old American barbeque pits? Yet those whose who frequently indulge in gastronomic feasts during summer outdoor barbeque parties should now think twice from downing too much red meat delights.

Among other factors, such as, smoking, alcoholism, poor physical activity, and hereditary inclination, frequent consumption of red meat may increase an individual’s chances of developing colon cancer during his later years.

Prevalence of Colon Cancer

With more than 100,000 men and women diagnosed per year, colon cancer is the third most prevalent kind of cancer in the US. Colon cancer’s fatality risk is quite high. About 53,196 individuals die from colon cancer annually, making it the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths across the country.

In contrast with other forms of cancer that have even age distribution, colon cancer primarily occurs in the elderly. As of the latest, the US Department of Health and Services, CDC, and National Cancer Institute estimate that about 70 percent of colon cancer patients are 75 years old or above.

Treatment

When discovered in its early stage, further progression of colon cancer may be prevented. The matter becomes more difficult in the later stages of the disease. Several alternative medicine gurus say that they have the magic herb for advanced stage colon cancer, but that is a blatant lie. There is no panacea for advanced colon cancer as of now.

Removal of affected regions in the colon to prevent cancer cells from further developing and spreading to other organ parts of the body is the prevalent primary colon cancer treatment. Doctors also recommend chemotherapy to reduce tumor size, impeded tumor growth, or to prevent metastasis of cancer cells. While radiotherapy is a common treatment program on other forms of cancer, it is not used much in colon cancer patients. For one thing, it is very complicated to target particular spots in the colon. Also, radiotherapy may cause patients to develop radiation enteritis.

Need for More Research on Colon Cancer Treatment

According to the US Census Bureau, the graying population of America will continue to grow in forthcoming years. In fact, 20% of the US population by the year 2025 will be composed of seniors 65 years and older. Since age is one of the most dominant risk factors of colon cancer, there is a very great need for increased research on discovery of new and more effective colon cancer treatment.

Because of its relatively high mortality rate, scientists are exploring ways to reduce colon cancer mortality. Scientists conducting research for the National Cancer Institute have discovered that Vitamin D may help in reducing colon cancer mortality.

Another particular exciting colon cancer treatment that is being considered is immunotherapy. Researchers are now exploring several vaccines to treat colon cancer or to prevent its recurrence. Such vaccines aim to help patients develop more robust immune systems so that they can fight colon cancer effectively.

Much, however, is needed to be discovered. A single hand cannot do a lot of work. Similarly, scientists who are working hard to find new and more effective colon cancer treatment will not be able to succeed on their own. They need assistance from each and every one of us.

We at Campaign for Aging Research are dedicated to fighting aging. With your kind and selfless help, we can achieve our goal of securing a healthier life for seniors who suffer from colon cancer and other forms of age-associated illnesses.

References:

Chao, A., Thun, M.J., Connell, C.J., et al. Meat Consumption and Risk of Colorectal Cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association. 293.2 (2005): 172–82.

Freedman, D.M., Looker, A.C., Chang, S.C., and Graubard, B.I. Prospective Study of Serum Vitamin D and Cancer Mortality in the United States. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 99.21 (2007): 1594-602. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/21/1594.

Harrop, R., et. al. Vaccination of Colorectal Cancer Patients with Modified Vaccinia Ankara Encoding the Tumor Antigen 5T4 (TroVax) Given Alongside Chemotherapy Induces Potent Immune Responses. Cancer Immunology. 57.7 (2008): 977-986.

National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Statistics Review: 1975-2001. 2004. http://seer.cancer.gov/cgibin/csr/1975_2001/search.pl.

United States Census Bureau. Population Projections of the United States, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1993-2050. 1993: 5-1104.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2006 Incidence and Mortality. 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.

Posted under: Cancer.

Tags: colon cancer

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By Ryan Acosta, Staff Writer

The novelist Barbara Kingsolver once said that, “What you lose in blindness is the space around you, the place where you are, and without that you might not exist. You could be nowhere at all.”

For many people, the sense of sight is perhaps one of the essences of existence. After all, we mainly judge reality on the basis of what we see. That is why blindness, be it partial or complete, is such a devastating blow for any individual.

While gruesome accidents may cause blindness, the vast majority of people suffer blindness due to diseases like glaucoma. In the United States, glaucoma is the main cause of blindness. It is estimated that more than 2 million Americans suffer from glaucoma.

There are several forms of glaucoma, but open-angle glaucoma (OAG) is by far the most common type and accounts for more than 90 percent of the total glaucoma cases in the US. While OAG may occur in young people, it tends to be more prevalent in the elderly. According to the latest estimates, OAG affects up to 1.86% of the total elderly population. And the number is expected to increase in forthcoming years. By 2020, it is possible that more than 3 million elderly may be affected with OAG.

What Causes OAG?

Open-angle glaucoma results when fluid pressure inside the eyes rises to an abnormal level. High fluid pressure eventually damages the optic nerve. Once the optic nerve is damaged, partial loss of vision and total blindness may follow.

Genetic factors may influence development of OAG. However, there are other reasons why fluid pressure in the eyes abnormally increases. Hypertension is believed to be a prime cause of OAG. Long term use of steroids may also cause a person to develop OAG.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

While many diseases have distinct signs and symptoms that may lead to early diagnosis, OAG is very different. At its early stages, OAG is asymptomatic. There is no pain in the eyes and vision may remain normal. But as the disease further develops, a person may have difficulty seeing objects to the side. If left untreated, loss of side vision will follow. Eventually, an OAG sufferer will also lost the ability to clearly see objects in front of him. Finally, total loss of vision will follow.

There is no standard screening for OAG detection. The disease can only be properly diagnosed through a combination of eye examinations, such as, visual acuity test, dilated eye exam, tonometry, pachymetry, and visual field test.

More Effective OAG Treatment is Imperative

As with other types of glaucoma, there is no known cure for OAG. Current treatments mainly aim to halt further loss of vision. However, it is an unfortunate fact that many OAG patients still suffer blindness even if they avail of proper treatment, such as medications and surgical procedures.

There is a great need for us to find more effective treatment for OAG. The National Eye Institute (NEI) is currently supporting research aimed at finding new ways to effectively treat OAG at its early stages as well as to developing long-term medical and surgical treatments for OAG.

Another exciting research opportunity involves the use of stem cells. For current and future OAG patients, stem cell research may offer one of the most promising hopes. Researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, are now exploring the possibilities of using stem cell therapy to repair damaged optic nerves of OAG patients.

Yet, much is needed to be done. Scientists cannot do it alone. Cooperation from every segment of society is vital in order for promising studies to bear fruit.

Help Campaign for Aging Research combat aging. Through your generous support, we can find a better future for seniors who suffer from debilitating age-related diseases like open-angle glaucoma.

References:

Friedman, D.S., Wolfs, R.C., O’Colmain, B.J., Klein, B.E., Taylor, H.R., West S., Leske, M.C., Mitchell, P., Congdon, N., Kempen, J. Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group. “Prevalence of Open-angle Glaucoma Among Adults in the United States.” Archives of Ophthalmology. 122.4 (2004): 532-38.

Glaucoma Research Foundation. Optic Nerve and Stem Cell Research. 2010. http://www.glaucoma.org/research/optic_nerve_and.php.

National Eye Institute (NEI). Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS). April, 2010. http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/static/study49.asp.

NEI. Facts About Glaucoma. February, 2010. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/glaucoma/glaucoma_facts.asp.

Truck, M.W. and Crick, R. P. The Age Distribution of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. Ophthalmic Epidemiology. 5. 4 (1998): 173-183.

Posted under: Glaucoma.

Tags: Open-angle glaucoma

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