We can live a longer life if we would just take the added care to be more serious about our diet and nutrition. We must also increase our physical activity, regardless of our current age.
There are some rules of nature, habitual regimen that must be adhered to if we have any chance at longevity.
1st Habit – if we want to live longer we must start eating less.
Practicing caloric restriction is currently being debated as the only genuine method humans currently have of ensuring their longevity. Studies have proven the theory and animal testing has revealed evidence of not only longer life spans but better overall health and disease prevention. Thanks to living organisms like yeast, fruit flies, worms, rodents and monkies, we know reducing calorie intake dramatically assists longevity.
As difficult as it is to maintain the discipline to reduce calories by up to one third of normal intake, investigations have shown it reduces hypertension, blood glucose levels, cholesterol and more – all conditions that are related to aging. The push is on in the medical research community to come up with a drug that will mimic the effects of calorie restriction.
A concerted effort is being made by more research teams to uncover the science at the molecular level when caloric restriction is practiced and why it slows the advance of aging. The study of CR is leading researchers to look seriously at substances like resveratrol, available in various living organisms that has shown remarkable results in increased life expectancy in fruit flies and yeast.
Resveratrol works in the body as the body experiences stress by intensifying the reaction of the SRT1 molecule. It works on the same principal as caloric restriction, the physiology undergoing stress while it gradually starves, in doing so it sets itself up to ward off any ongoing serious stress that will eventually lead to cells experiencing age progression.
Essentially the cells in our system react in an effort to safeguard themselves from additional failings.
So the heavy thinkers believe that if a pill was available to mimic resveratrol, the body could be fooled into believing it was undergoing caloric restriction. The resulting effect would be for the body to start the protective process and aging would be slowed down. All hypothetical of course but that is the course of the current research effort.
2nd Habit – You need to eat so you might as well eat right!
So many people are doing harm to themselves by eating junk food and the result is a very unhealthy society with skyrocketing health costs. If given the opportunity, most individuals would partake in junk food / fast food for every meal. Eating in restaurants often, regardless of their cuisine, will eventually catch up to a person. The food served may be perfectly healthy – it is the preparation that is the problem. If a restaurant wants to remain profitable they better serve tasty food and that is synonymous with poor diet, for the most part.
When we eat heavily processed food we set ourselves up for eating more, not less. Think about the Chinese food buffet, we could load a plate several times and still feel hungry a few hours later and this is not natural. Refined or processed foods do not have the essential nutrients required to give us proper vitamin intake since the vitamins are water soluble and when refined the heating process of many foods devours the majority of the vitamin content. Many of these essential vitamins cannot be synthesized within our systems and that compounds the problem.
To make matters worse, the preservatives used in many refined foods are toxic to us as humans. Many are converted into harmful metabolites in our bodies and others will apply their toxicity just as they are upon being ingested. When processed food is colored it may make the end product look nicer but the dye used is extremely harmful to our physiology. Many of these additives have not even been approved by worldwide food agencies but still find their way into our food supply.
The prudent among us would be wise to avoid the issues just discussed and live a longer and healthier life by consuming fruits and vegetables for the most part. The reason for this is fruits and veggies are not only great for us from a health perspective but they offer excellent life extension properties due to the phytochemicals they are comprised of.
What Is A Phytochemical?
Certain phytochemicals are often utilized as supplements since research has displayed evidence that these substances are providing us with amazing restorative health benefits and the ability to sustain long life. Their main role is to combat free radicals throughout our body. Free radicals are a quite pernicious variety of molecule which surge within us causing untold damage to our cell structures and tissues.
Some Examples Of Phytochemicals Are:
• Flavonoids – These are innately grown in our citrus fruits, grapes, apples and onions. This variety of phytochemical is thought to be a formidable defense against cancer and degenerative illnesses. There may be something to the “apple a day” adage. When you include oranges and grapes in your diet you not only add some diversity to your diet but enhance the levels of phytochemicals in your system.
• Carotenoids – This is the compound that adds color to your fruit and also what converts A vitamin in your system. In combination with the green vegetable nutrients lycopene, lutheine and zeaxanthine you are well guarded from cataracts, coronary artery disease, muscle degeneration and cancer causing agents. We can never get enough carotenoids!
• Fiber – Comes from eating apples, oranges, grapes and carrots which are all laden with soluble fiber. It becomes gummy in water as it dissolves and it aids in curbing appetite by limiting digestion and we now know what reducing calorie intake does for us. When we increase our fiber intake we augment our odds of preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and hypertension rewarding us with a longer life span.
• Isoflavones – Is a form of plant phytochemical that are able to mimic the female hormone estrogen which is radically reduced in post menopausal women. This particular plant based estrogen is a huge source of the phytochemical known as isoflavones. Whe these are ingested they are known to reduce blood lipid quantities, offer relief from menopausal symptoms and reduce risk for those predisposed to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and cancer of the prostate in men.
Perhaps you have to much fruit and vegetable bounty to choose what is best for you? This may be caused from the number of differing views from various resources on nutrition. What follow should simplify things in the fruit and veggie department for you quite a bit so pay attention.
Drink a glass of juice each morning – this is very important. We need the nutrients it provides. Simple enough but let’s summarize fruits and vegetable consumption. All fruits and vegetables are not created equally so we need to choose our best sources. They can also add calories if we over do it so eat fruits and vegetable in the proper amounts.
One serving of fruits or vegetables are as follows:
• One apple a day;
• Half an average banana;
• 115 grams of blueberries;
• 115 grams of red, green orange or yellow pepper;
• 115 grams of green beans – about a handful;
• 185 ml. of tomato juice
Your daily recommended required servings of fruits and vegetable are five to nine.
If you truly have a desire for longevity and the health to enjoy a longer life you need to make the diet modifications suggested. It requires discipline but the reward is worth the effort.
Required Carbohydrates
We also need carbohydrates in our diet but not as much as one would think. Potatoes are the preferred choice since they do not have any fat, only carbs [note: French fries are not a vegetable]. Potatoes have the type of carbs that can easily be converted into sugar. Include potatoes in your daily diet and prepare them with other vegetables for variety.
Carbohydrate intake should never be more than sixty percent of your entire food requirement. The majority of your carb intake is from grains and cereals. The important carbohydrate is from starch which is the type that is stored and is usually found in plants such as corn but it can also be found in cereals and grain.
Grains And Cereal Requirements
For your daily total grain or cereal intake, you can add 115 grams of either one or equal to a refined grain such as past at 115 grams. Calculate your carbohydrate intake with the following equation:
18 calories X’s your total body weight. This means if you weigh 80 kilograms you would require 1440 calories of carbs each day. Do not exceed eighteen calories for each kilo of body weight in your diet and get the carbs from fruits, vegetables cereals or grains, not potato chips, French fries, hamburger buns and milk shakes!
Your calorie requirements:
• Carbohydrates – 18 calories per kilo of body weight- fifty eight to sixty percent
• Proteins – 3 calories per kilo of body weight – ten to twelve percent
• Fats – 9 calories per kilo of body weight – thirty percent
Some noteworthy medical facts concerning diet:
• Eighty to ninety percent of diabetes cases are connected to diet and lifestyle issues.
• You will greatly improve your chances of avoiding diabetes mellitus [type 2 diabetes] by keeping away from refined or processed foods.
• Consuming fruits, vegetables, dairy products with just a few nuts can aid in reducing hypertension.
It really does not get much simpler than this to maintain a proper controlled diet to sustain your health. It requires a certain amount of discipline for the first several weeks but in no time at all you will be well able to free wheel it with these diet practices for a longer life.
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity
Wed, Jun 2, 2010
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity