Thread: Anti-aging researchers and low-carbing

http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/...IDB?id=ns24171

I had to put this link up. It's an article about on-going research into extending human lifespan, perhaps to 150 years, by tampering with insulin receptors. About 3/4 of the way through the article, the researcher discusses low-carbing.

I find this really interesting stuff. A lot of interesting things are developing right now. There are plenty of surprises in the works.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

Fascinating that a longevity researcher follows this way of eating.

This line of research (insulin/igf question) goes well beyond a couple of studies which found that starvation tends to extend the life span of mice (the studies that, no doubt, impressed Dean Ornish, LOL!). In those studies it was probably the insulin reduction, rather than the starvation, that had the effect. This is a more comprehensive theory, which would encompass a number of other isolated - and seemingly unrelated - studies.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160)/Maintaining nicely (110) ~~ Redhead until further notice!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> In fact, I stopped eating carbohydrates the day we found that putting sugar on the worms' food shortened their lifespans.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, that's good enough for me.

How refreshing to read a testimonial from a scientist, no less, who has no hidden agenda, just believes it makes her healthier.

Thanks, Dr. I. That was a cool article.

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy.
And cooking done with care is an act of love.
- Craig Claiborne

Wow. All the more reason not to feed our loved ones that poison!

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine" to be released in December

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

Immortal Mice huh.

We really will need a better mouse trap.

Rave
232/192/130

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>starvation tends to extend the life span of mice (the studies that, no doubt, impressed Dean Ornish, LOL!). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This article is good to see, but not actually news to me. One of the benefits claimed for the Zone for years has been the anti-aging effect. I'll let you know in about 20-30 years if it's true

By the way, you don't have to starve on a calorie restricted diet, but you have to eat smart.



BC
172/108/108
Zone since 4/98

There's a scientist by the name of Ray Walford (?) who wrote a book some years back suggesting that people should limit their caloric intake, not to lose weight, but to extend lifespan. Caloric restriction extends lifespan in almost all animals, including YEAST. One theory that has been propounded to explain this is that restricting calories slows down metabolism (how many of us don't know THAT by now?) and that a slower metabolism means slower aging.

I've read forums on the net before by people who take this as gospel and are trying to live the Walford plan. Most of them are doing it Ornish-style, or just straight vegan. No low-carbers. It would be nice if a little bit of the same benefits could be obtained without having to eat a (blech...) low-fat diet.

I wonder if that's not what is happening to me. I've grown new hair on my head. I've mentioned this before. This is like a miracle to me, like God reached down and tapped me on my bald spot and said, "You're doing something right for a change, kiddo." There's some debate about whether or not I'm developing less gray hair.

There was another science story some weeks ago about how researchers had extended the lifespan of mice and achieved the same effects as calorie restriction through a gene modification. They are now thinking of making a pill that might achieve the same effect. This has some of the Walford-ites more upset than excited, curiously enough. Understandably, they must hate the idea of having cut their calories so much for so long only to have any loser be able to take a pill and gain the same effect.

But that's just some of the stuff in the works. I think there's a good possibility that in this century, lifespan will be extended well past 120, and not just from what the woman in this New Scientist article wrote about. We might even see the fruits of this research in our lifetimes.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I wonder if that's not what is happening to me. I've grown new hair on my head. I've mentioned this before. This is like a miracle to me, like God reached down and tapped me on my bald spot and said, "You're doing something right for a change, kiddo." There's some debate about whether or not I'm developing less gray hair. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You know, I should probably mention this to my husband. He has a prodigious appetite for candy, ice cream, nuts, chips, nuked popcorn. He doesn't usually gain weight, either (the tvrd!)

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
174/132/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

I developed a new theory about the hair. My nutty brother who is rubbing flax oil on his head claims that it's putting hair back on his head.

This is strange, isn't it? Two men in their 40's in the same house growing new hair on their head. There must be some connection.

I've thought about it. Since I'm doing Atkins, even though he's not, he's eating a lot of the same food that I am, although he still gets his carbs in addition. That means he's eating TONS OF EGGS for breakfast, just like me.

Perhaps it's the large quantity of eggs that we're both eating?

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

...hasn't done anything for my dh! He eats a ton of eggs.

How about the veggie factor. That is one thing I have trouble with my dh: the veggies. He'll eat corn, gr. beans and plain salad. That is about it.

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine" to be released in December

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

I don't think so. I get the veggies pretty much all to myself.

Oh well, maybe it's something they're doing to the water around here.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

doc! I think I know -- you do kefir don't you??

Nope. Other than the vast quantities of diet coke I drink, I keep things simple with things I can buy at the supermarket or fast-food places.

I guess it's a mystery wrapped in an enigma rolled in a steamed cabbage leaf.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

You know, I really don't think it's as simple as "one food" or "one supplement" being the answer. Our bodies are pretty complex systems, to say the least, and the same condition (say thinning hair) can be the result of a number of different causes from genetics to a variety of deficiencies to hormonal issues. Sometimes in changing our diets, we unknowingly correct those deficiencies, sometimes in providing adequate nutrients we give ourselves the building blocks for more normalized hormone production. Adding eggs, or kefir, for example, may be all that is lacking in one person's case. In someone else, it probably would not.

I will say that for low carbers in general, we at least are getting enough protein for growth, repair, hormonal, and neurotransmitter function. And if we're following our plans, we are also probably getting more nutrients than we ever have from veggies and eliminating the negative effects of most transfats, grains and such--and taking our vitamins, maybe for the first time. Just getting adequate nutrition can solve a host of problems, and in some cases reward us with amazing results, like your "new" hair, Dr. I. Congrats. Enjoy!!



BC
172/108/108
Zone since 4/98