For the secret of a long, healthy life, look no further than your family tree.
In a study of 444 families in which at least one member lived to be 100 or older, siblings of centenarians had about half the risk of dying throughout their lives compared with people who did not have a long-living brother or sister. Compared with the general population, brothers of centenarians were at least 17 times more likely to make it to 100 themselves and sisters were at least 8 times more likely to live at least a century.
Exceptional longevity does run in families. Of course, most of us are not lucky enough to come from exceptionally long-living families, but studying centenarians and their families may lead to life-extending therapies.
A person's genes, environment and behavior are all thought to influence the odds of surviving to old age, but the individual effect of each factor is uncertain. If genes do play an important role in determining how long a person lives, then it stands to reason that the relatives of people who live to 100 would be more likely to live long lives, too.
So even though the study does not reveal the precise impact that genes have on longevity, the findings do suggest that heredity plays an important role.
Some families may be more likely to live longer because they lack certain versions of genes that increase the risk of disease. Such families may also carry gene variations that somehow slow down the aging process.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 11, 2002;99:8442-8447
Anti-aging medicine has never been a major interest of mine. I have heard of calorie restriction as a potent way to slow down the aging process, but I never paid much attention to this type of research.
However, Dr. Ron Rosedale helped me understand the importance of grain restriction five years ago. Then, in July of last year, I had the privilege of attending one of his lectures at BoulderFest in which he opened my eyes once again. He is convinced that most disease is an artifact of the RATE at which we age. There appear to be two major influences on this aging rate:
A low grain, no sugar eating plan is one of the most effective ways to lower one's insulin level. This is especially effective if combined with an aerobic exercise program which increases the heart rate to about 75% of its maximum and maintains it there for 45 minutes, five times a week. I have been monitoring insulin levels for the past few months in my patients and I am now convinced that exercise is a potent method to reduce one's insulin levels.
The other major perspective shift I learned from Dr. Rosedale is that it is healthy to fast occasionally. Many of us are faced with trying to follow the eating plan while at a party or restaurant and there just are no good choices. Your other option is not to eat anything. It is healthier to fast at the moment and wait until there is a smart food choice, than to eat something that is not optimizing your body.
I have applied this a number of times, especially when I am traveling and there are just no healthy options.
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