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Cut Sugar and Supplements -- and Live 15 Years Longer?

Restricting the simple sugar glucose from your diet, while avoiding vitamin supplements, may extend your lifespan, according to German researchers.

While your body needs glucose, a sugar found in high amounts in sweets, too much of it is harmful.

When the researchers used a chemical to block worms’ ability to process glucose, their lifespan was extended by up to 25 percent, which is equal to 15 human years.

The beneficial effect came from an unlikely source: free radicals. Typically, free radicals are thought to cause damage to your body, and many consume antioxidants and vitamins to fight them.

However, when the worms were unable to use glucose for energy, they increased energy power from other cells -- a process that generated more free radicals than normal.

In response, the worms generated enzymes that fought the free radicals and strengthened their long-term protection against the damaging molecules.

The study also points to a reason why antioxidants may not be beneficial in the long run.

When some of the worms were given antioxidants, the free radicals were neutralized. However, this also prevented the worms from generating the beneficial, long-term defenses.

Cell Metabolism October 2007, Vol 6, 280-293, 03
 

Reuters October 2, 2007



Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Even though this study was conducted on worms, and therefore may not translate directly to people, it still reveals some interesting points to consider.

First, limiting glucose (sugar) in your diet is a well-known key to longevity. In worms, cutting down on this one element increased their lifespan the equivalent of 15 human years, which is a major improvement.

If you avoid glucose in your diet, does this mean that you’ll live for another 15 years? It’s impossible to say, but what I can say is that you may very likely live quite a bit longer.

Your blood glucose levels actually rise slightly every time you eat. This is natural. What is not natural is that, with the average American now eating about 2.5 pounds of sugar every week, your blood glucose levels may very likely become excessively elevated, then stay that way.

It is a well proven fact that sugar increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones. This can lead to:
  • High blood pressure and high cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Weight gain
  • Premature aging
The problem lies in the vast amounts of processed sweets, such as soda -- which is now the number one source of calories in the United States -- that Americans are now consuming, along with the large amount of refined carbohydrates.

When you eat these low-quality carb foods -- things like white bread, sugar, pasta, pastries, cookies, and candy -- your blood sugar levels rise. This, in turn, causes your insulin and leptin levels to rise as well, which will accelerate the effects of aging.

Avoiding sugar, on the other hand, helps you to control your insulin and leptin levels, which will help you to feel and look younger for longer.

If you’re having trouble with the notion of giving up your favorite sweet treats and refined carbs, The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the best solutions I know of for this challenge. EFT is an energy psychology tool that includes a marvelous technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped tens of thousands of people kick the sugar habit.

Also, instead of focusing on what you will be losing (negative focus), it helps to look at all the things you will be gaining, such as increased energy and a lower risk of many diseases. Meanwhile, you can enjoy healthy foods that are in-line with your nutritional type, such as meats, dairy products, fresh veggies, nuts and seeds, and much more.

Are Supplements Healthy or Harmful?

The above study also raised an interesting point about free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that steal electrons from the first thing they encounter, such as a cell wall, or a strand of DNA. The loss of an electron, in turn, oxidizes these cells, which makes them unstable and easily breakable.

As this free-radical damage continues, your cells can no longer perform properly, and hence, tissues begin to degrade and disease sets in.

An interesting point to consider is that it is not unusual that in trying to do a good thing, some supplements could actually harm you. Depending on your clinical circumstances, suppression of free radicals may actually be harmful. It all depends on your specific circumstances. So the key here is to realize that fact.

It seems that, once again, your body may have far more intelligence in knowing the appropriate actions to take for you.

No matter what, you still need a certain level of free radicals, as your body uses the chain reaction of the free radicals to turn air and food into chemical energy. They also play a vital role in your immune response, attacking foreign invaders and bacteria.

It is certainly possible that taking some antioxidants may actually prevent some free radicals from doing the job they were designed to do. Playing doctor with using supplements as drugs can clearly cause complications, so don’t play with them lightly or use them willy nilly. You need to have expert counsel or carefully study the literature before you embark on a supplement regimen.

So it turns out that it may not be wise to drastically cut back on these natural free radicals in your body (even breathing produces free radicals).

That said, it’s not wise to let them get out of control, either.

If you eat a lot of junk food and sugar, don’t sleep enough, are stressed, and are exposed to a lot of environmental pollution, your body could easily become overwhelmed by free radicals, and be unable to neutralize them on its own.

Your ticket to keeping free radicals in check, and to leading a long, healthy life, remains leading a balanced lifestyle that includes antioxidants and vitamins from fresh, whole foods, with a minimum of artificial interventions.


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (58)
 
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

Vitamins?  Oh yes, I take plenty of them ever day.  The only prescription med I take is 10 mg of Prednisone, and have for 35 years with no side effects. I will be 80 Halloween and work every day.  Even though I had back surgery that left my left side numb with little control over it, it hasn't stopped me from working, just slowed me down.  My wife is 52 years old and we work side by side.  She cooks only healthy foods for our family.  I drive a bull dozer, backhoe, tractor, and just about anything I can get upon.  Work?  I live to work and really enjoy life here on this 307 acre farm.  I have a sawmill and cut our own lumber for everything we want to build.  My suggestion if you want to live long, eat the right food, work hard, don't sit on your "buttski" and be married to the right woman.  I do take "EpiCor" and "Taurox" which has helped me a lot.  This may not fit in with the "worm" bit, but just wanted to let everyone know, that you don't have to die young.  I have better health than my kids.  2 to 3 beers a day, and can still "cut the mustard"  LOL

and now, I have to get "atterit"  as they say down here.  "Get after it"  Work, that is!   LOL

Good health to everyone and live a long life.  I promised my better half another 20 years of hard work.

love and not hate also helps.


 
dozer-man
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 7/2007
dozer-man  
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Libreni
Novice User Novice User Joined On 5/2007
Libreni  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

you rock!  Happy 80th!!



Health 1
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2007
Health 1  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

What a touching testimony of good health dozer-man.  Thank you so much! :)))

God bless you

Dr. Trudy



WellnessMom
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
WellnessMom  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

Happy 80th dozer-man! You're a great inspiration to anyone who may think there is nothing to really live for! Here's to many more happy years for you, your wife and your health : )



kare4u
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 11/2006
kare4u  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

Happy 80th birthday dozer-man and I wish you many, many more!!!!



swelpy
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
swelpy  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

Better watchout dozer-man I'm only 3 years behind you and catching up fast and may I just reiterate Dr Trudy.

Good onya! Thanks once again.

Oh and have all you good people got around to reading "Anastasia" at the website

"ringingcedarsofrussia"

I think you will see more than a link with the life style of dozer-man.

Alex



dressagefreak
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 12/2006
dressagefreak  
 
Posted On Oct 19, 2007

I second what "Health 1" said. You are truly an inspiration. I'm only 20, but I hope I'm as active and vibrant as you are when I'm 80+!


 
 
 
Posted On Oct 03, 2007
In 1905 (first marginal records kept on the subject in the USA) the average consumption of total sweeteners per capita was about 6 pounds per year (primary cane sugar or molasses if refined, otherwise nature fruit, honey or other naturally occurring sources).

The heavily politically sandbagged number, from USDA, for 2006, is about 152 pounds per year per capita, of total sweeteners consumption per capita per annum in the USA, but the real number is closer to 183 pounds per year per person. 

For those counting, that's, at the very least, a 146 pound per year per person increase in refined saccharide intake in 102 years!!!

Of this massively increase total sweetener number, 84 pounds per year per person in the USA is High Fructose Corn Syrup which is automatically converted to triglycerides or brown adipose tissue (body fat) in metabolization.  HFCS did not exist in the American food or beverage chain until 1971.

Yes, the food and beverage chain in the USA is SATURATED with refined sweetener sources, that are harming health from CAUSING insulin resistance, hyper or hypo insulinism, hypoglycemia, syndrome X, diabetes, cardio vascular disease, many forms of cancer, and obesity, as a direct result of over consumption of refined sweeteners in the typical daily caloric intake in the USA.

Read Dr. Mercola's SWEET DECEPTION, if you have not yet and recommend it to your family, friends and associates.


 
Russ Bianchi
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 9/2006
Russ Bianchi  
 
 
 
Posted On Oct 05, 2007
First, they compare us with monkeys.  Now, they compare us with worms??!  How much lower will they go?

 
curlilox
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 8/2007
curlilox  
 
 
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

As a European living in England, I can say that sugar intake and obesity levels in this country are just as bad as in the States...It is frightening how many fat people, whether young or middle aged, live here and eat high amounts of junk food and sugar.  As someone who has always eaten my greens, works out regularly, and avoids processed foods, it saddens me to see how they are destroying their health through ignorance and laziness, but...!  

With all the bad things out there, I have to take exception to the fact that Durum Wheat pasta, ie the "ordinary" one, always gets lumped in with the foods one should avoid...

I have eaten pasta all of my life, whether ordinary or whole wheat, have never had insulin or diabetic problems, have a low LDL and very high HDL levels (must be all that red wine at dinner!), am 5"7 and weight 127 pounds, so definitely not overweight, and I've also been known to have a few desserts here and there - All this at the tender age of 40!  

Most of my slim Italian friends eat a lot of pasta as well!  

So, the moral of the story is that there is no one size fits all....We can only do the best we can, eat moderately, try and avoid sugar, don't eat carbohydrates with protein, take a good multivitamin, and keep fit!  

Pasta lovers of the world, unite!  GC


 
gc_3
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 7/2007
gc_3  
Replied

healthnutmom
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2007
healthnutmom  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

As a third generation Italian my family NEVER had a meal (no matter what it was) without a bowl of pasta, semolina bread with butter and a glass of red wine (even the children).  On the other hand, everyone also ate lots of greens, artichokes, beans - all smothered in garlic and virgin olive oil.  My grandparents are now 98(grandma) and 99(grandpa).  Neither have diabetes or high cholesterol, both are slim and are sharp as tacks.  Nobody believes they are older than 70!  My mom is 65, very slim and looks 40. Both my great-grandparents lived to be over 100 - great-grandpa drove until he was 89.  I always ask myself how this could be.  Is it genes, the food or what?  Does anybody have a theory?  None of them jogged or went to a gym or took a vitamin.  Oh, and every meal ended with coffee and cake and grandpa would not go to bed without his bowl of chocolate ice cream with Bosco chocolate sauce drizzled over it every night.  They all think I am a radical nut because I exercise, don't eat sugar, don't purchase pre-packaged foods, make my own wheat-free bread, etc. They say "look at us, we are very healthy, eat like we do!" Does anybody else have a family like this? I really don't know what is right.  



Health 1
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2007
Health 1  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

It's been my experience in twenty three years of practice, that Durum and or other wheat is not suitable for everyone, for biochemically, we are all different. Dr. Mercola often speaks of the adverse effects of gluten in one's diet. This has become clear in my work time and time again.

You seem to be an individual who can tolerate pasta made with Durum Wheat and you mention regular pasta as well, which are carbs and will be treated as such by the body... not to mention the often produced mucous up against the intestinal wall, thus potentially disallowing enzymes needed activity for the break down of nutrients to be impaired.

You however are enjoying good health due to avoidance of refined white sugar and work outs etc.and carefully chosen nutrient intake... Good for you.:)))!

Blessings

Dr. Trudy  



Health 1
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2007
Health 1  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

healthnutmom...I suspect this may well have to do with biochemical individuality. What works for one person may be poison to another. However, there is no such thing as a small amount of poison. The body either utilises the charged and ionised nutrients, or fermention and or putrification takes place, causing free radical acitivty and oxidative stress.

Wonderful that your family is as well as they are with the dietary protocol they are practicing. My husband's mother who is ninety is much like that. Her dietary habits are freightening a times, yet she still drives, exercises and line dances. We are all unique and quite different.

Blessings

Dr. Trudy



JGC
Novice User Novice User Joined On 10/2007
JGC  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

I am third generation Italian, my wife is second generation Italian. In the past we had many many meals without pasta or rice. Our pasta was either stuffed with meat and cheese or with meat sauce. We had some pizza and a lot of fruits as well.

After my former family doctor talked me into going into a low-fat diet I cut down on the meats and stepped up on the pasta, rice and pizza. Soon after that my weight went from 160 to over 180lbs (I am 5'8") and my blood sugar went through the roof. Then I cut off all grains and fruits and within a month my weight went down to 160lbs and blood sugar normalized.

It definitely has something to do each persons metabolism, one size does not fit all.



kfarias_203
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2006
kfarias_203  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

I would say this has a lot to do with genetics, longevity runs in families.  I know people that eat like that and have heart problems and diabetes.  I think some of this is pretty relative.  you know, don't eat a lot of sugar, stay away from junk, sleep, laugh, love and eat well.  Some will live longer others will not.



APhotoWizard
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
APhotoWizard  
 
Posted On Oct 18, 2007

Healthnutmom - I suspect the difference is in where the food they ate came from.  Your grandparents, and parents likely ate food grown locally.  It was picked fresh and ripe then eaten or preserved for later use with all nutrients intact.  The farmers understood how to rotate crops and carefully added back to the soil anything they took out.  Today the mega farms grow the same thing over and over in the same place.  They add oil based fertilizer with only 3 nutrients, then they spray it with weed killer and pesticides.  It is picked green and ripens while it is shipped all over the world and when processed, high fructose corn syrup is added to give it some taste.   While it makes a pretty display in the market, some US studies say that the nutrient value of food has dropped by as much as 80% from what it was in 1940.  I suspect the same is true across the pond as well.  Thus we must take vitamins just to get what is no longer in our food.  Do a little research and see if you don't agree that it is likely that one cause of our weight gain as a society is our body making us eat more and more of the food, trying to get the minerals etc. that it needs, but are no longer present in the food.  In the process it takes in massive a number of calories that our sedentary life style just doesn't burn off.    - Jerry



Pat Ormsby
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
Pat Ormsby  
 
Posted On Oct 19, 2007

I agree with Jerry.  I think there are factors affecting many people now that were not a problem before.  Changes in our foods or environment may be destroying many people's ability to utilize carbs and may be causing allergies or intolerances.  My grandparents' generation would scoff at the efforts I am forced to undertake in order to avoid gross weight gain and serious disease.  I am clearly gluten intolerant and may have been slightly intolerant as a child but able to get by until about 40 when I was finally forced to seek out the causes of my declining health.



chirojenn_203
Novice User Novice User Joined On 8/2007
chirojenn_203  
 
Posted On Oct 19, 2007

I'm wondering if anyone did a study on how you feel about food affects you biochemically?  My feeling is that, although I'm considered the "food nazi" to most of my friends and patients, we (Americans) have a bad relationship with food.  Food is essentially a "four letter word" and restriction is what we practice.  In other cultures food is a form of self-expression, a way to relax and reconnect with friends and family.  Time is taken to not only prepare, but enjoy the fruits of that labor.  Whether it be at the dinner table at home or at a restaurant, scarfing down our food and quickly going onto the next task is what we do.  I live by the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time I eat for my body, 20% of the time I eat for my soul.  I don't do any heavy exercise, but I do meditate every morning and take a yoga class 1-2 times per week.  I'm 5'7" and weigh 125 lbs. I don't have a lot of time to cook as I have a busy Chiropractic practice and a very busy 2-year old.  Being a mom has definitly increased my resilience when it comes to being healthy.  But, having a good relationship with food means never having guilt run through my brain when I take a big bite of chocolate cake!!!


 
 
 
Posted On Oct 04, 2007
This title is entirely misleading.

The study was done with worms.

The recommendation to avoid vitamins is misleading & irresponsible.  First of all, all (real) foods contain vitamins.  I assume they were not talking about food-produced vitamins.  So what were they feeding these worms?  Most likely a synthetically produced vitamin, which likely does have negative effects.  But most people are not going to know that.  They probably didn't even specify the type of vitamin used.  Natural, food derived vitamins are vital for life.

 
Katee Roux
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 7/2007
Katee Roux  
Replied

jeremy_3
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
jeremy_3  
 
Posted On Oct 04, 2007
Good post Katee..

And not to worry Dr. Mercola will equally blast the articles downfalls as well; when he posts his comments for the Newsletter!!

 
 
 
 
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