| Is
A Low Carb Diet Part Of Your Anti Aging Strategy?
by Gene D. Millen
"It ain't fun getting'
old... but it beats the alternative." Surprising
new research indicates that a low carb diet may
help us live longer. Since some of my friends
have been so rude as to suggest that I'm "older
than dirt" I thought it would be a good idea
to learn more about aging... especially how to
slow it down.
"The Anti-Aging Solution"
seminar featured Vincent Giampapa, M.D. cofounder
of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine,
which now has more than 2,000 physician members.
The seminar included the usual anti-aging strategies
that we are familiar with but don't always practice,
such as reducing stress, eating the right foods,
taking natural health supplements, heart vitamins
and of course getting enough exercise.
Then it started to get real
interesting. Doctor Giampapa and his associates
have taken these strategies to a new level by
showing how our genes are affected by our lifestyle.
Since I a proponent of the low carb eating approach,
the role that sugar and other refined carbohydrates
play in prematurely aging us was especially fascinating.
The typical American diet of white flour products,
snacks and fast foods quickly turns into glucose
creating a domino effect, which plays havoc with
our healthy heart goals.
Although the clinical studies
showing the connection between low carb diets
and longevity are recent, the evidence is very
compelling. Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, a noted anti aging
researcher at U.C. San Francisco, has conducted
an amazing experiment. Dr. Kenyon turned down
the activity on a single gene in lowly earthworms
and extended their
life by an astounding 600%.
What is so interesting about
this gene is that the human counterpart is a critical
network of genes known as the insulin gene pathway
which influences aging, fat storage and metabolism.
Here's how it works. Sugar
is toxic to cells, (as a sweet-o-holic it pains
me to write this) and this glucose overload causes
the cells to become insulin resistant over time.
When this happens you develop diabetes and are
susceptible to a host of other life threatening
diseases. Medical researchers tell us that the
vast majority of overweight people suffer from
insulin resistance.
"High carb diets are
lethal because they produce high levels of insulin
and prevent your body from burning fat,"
says Jonny Bowden, a certified nutrition specialist
and author of the book, "Living the Low-Carb
Life."
Research data consistently
finds three common factors in people who are mentally
and physically fit and live to be at least 100
years old. The first is low triglycerides, the
second is high levels of HDL cholesterol (the
good cholesterol), and the third is a low level
of fasting insulin.
"A low-carb diet improves
all these variables," says Bowden. "So
bingo, you just hit your three longevity bull's-eyes.
Add exercise and sleep, which are proved to raise
HDL, and you've got it made!"
Sounds like a good plan to
me. Take advantage of these strategies to slow
aging and improve your heart health for life!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The cardiologist looked up
from the treadmill report and grimly stated, "You
are a walking time bomb. You need to go to the
hospital immediately." Two days later a heart
surgeon sawed open Gene Millen's chest and stitched
in bypasses to six clogged arteries.
"A six way heart bypass
isn't a record" said Gene, "but it's
not bad for a skinny 59 year old with normal cholesterol
and blood pressure. The villains and heroes in
the heart attack melodrama may surprise you as
they have me."
Gene Millen
reviews new research on heart
attack risks that are more dangerous than
high cholesterol... and how natural supplements
and heart
vitamins can send them packing! Check out
The Heart Health website at http://www.heart-health-for-life.com
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