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
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.
However, those that had more catalase levels in the nucleus and cytoplasm lived only a little longer than normal mice.
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)."