Many people dream of having access to a fountain of youth, a chance
to defy the seemingly unstoppable deterioration of old age; however,
such a reality may not be far off.
According to researchers, boosting your body's levels of natural
antioxidants could be the key to a long life. How? Chemicals known
as free radicals, which have been linked with heart disease, cancer
and other age-related diseases, damage cells by generating a reaction
called oxidation; antioxidants interfere with this chemical reaction.
Studies determined that mice genetically engineered to produce
an abundance of catalase -- a human antioxidant enzyme that helps
break down hydrogen peroxide in water and oxygen -- lived longer
than normal mice. (Hydrogen peroxide is created during metabolism,
and it can be an originator of damaging free radicals.)
Moreover, the mice were designed to produce extra catalase in certain
areas of their bodies: Their cytoplasm, nucleus and mitochondria.
Promising Results
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Mice that made more catalase in the mitochondria, the cell's
power plant, lived about 20 percent -- or about five months
-- longer than normal mice.
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However, those that had more catalase levels in the nucleus
and cytoplasm lived only a little longer than normal mice.
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Mice with catalase in their mitochondria also had healthier
heart muscle tissue -- an indication the chemical helped protect
from age-related heart problems seen typically in normal mice.
These findings highlight the importance of free radicals in the
aging process and support the idea that the mitochondria produce
harmful free radicals as part of everyday metabolism.
Science
May 5, 2005
BBC
News May 6, 2005
Reuters
May 5, 2005
Gary Craig's Comment:
In addition to antioxidants and the many other health promoting
tips below, there is also an important emotional factor that can
have critical effects on our longevity. Here is what Gary Craig
of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) has to say on this vital issue ...
"It is intuitively obvious to most of us that negative
emotions such as fear, anger, trauma, grief and the like have a
way of "showing up" as physical ailments and thus shortening
life spans. This is especially true when they are long standing
and "fester" within our human systems. Through EFT, however,
we can often collapse the emotional stings of these life draining
emotions and replace them with a welcome level of Personal Peace.
This ability is one of the most striking health discoveries in decades.
To this end, almost anyone can learn the EFT basics and apply
our popular Personal Peace Procedure (described
here). The results include better relationships, a more pleasant
experience of life and reduced physical problems. The opening paragraph
for the Personal Peace Procedure points to its value ...
"The Personal Peace Procedure that I'm about to unfold
for you is not just a way to "feel a little more peaceful."
Properly understood, this technique should be the healing centerpiece
for every person on earth. Every physician, therapist, spiritual
counselor and personal performance coach in the world should be
using it as a leading tool for helping others (and themselves)."
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Gary Craig is a pioneering developer of EFT, a profoundly effective
emotional/mental healing approach. I learned it from Gary and have taught
it to patients in my clinic for years, and they have experienced truly
incredible and permanent results with it.
Read
more about Gary Craig's EFT Course.
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