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Wednesday, November 6, 2024
THE BIBLE STORY— GOSPELS #40— JESUS ON TRIAL #2
Chapter Forty:
Jesus on Trial - part two
JESUS BEFORE PILATE And they took Jesus from the palace of Caiaphas the High Priest to the palace (called "praetorium" in John's Gospel) that Herod the Great built for himself, and which became the palace that the governor of Judea resided in when on duty in the Holy Land. The governor at this time in history, over the area, was Pilate, who had risen in the ranks of the Roman Empire, and for his faithful dedication to the world power of Rome, was appointed governor of Judea by Tiberius in 26 A.D. The governor of Judea usually resided in Caesarea, but Pilate moved his headquarters and army to Jerusalem. He was there quite often, and especially it was the custom for the governor of Judea to be at Jerusalem, when the feasts of the Jews were being celebrated, to make sure peace and order was preserved. It was very early in the morning of the 14th day of the first month, which corresponds to our March/April. They brought Jesus before Pilate. The Jews themselves would not enter the palace of a Gentile, or anyone they considered a Roman Gentile, especially just hours before they would partake of the Passover which they held, by traditions from the Pharisees, on the 15th of the first month, which was actually the first day of the seven day feast of Unleavened Bread. For them to have entered this palace would have been a religious "defilement" and would have kept them from the Passover they were to observe in about twelve hours. It was Pilate who first came out to them, probably not pleased at all that Jews had got him up so early in the morning, concerning what he would have thought as "their religious problems." "You have brought this man before me, for what reason? What is he accused of? Pilate said to the Jews. They answered, "If this man was not an evil doer, we would not have brought him to you." "Why don't you take him yourself and judge him by your laws of Moses?" returned Pilate in a straight crisp tone of voice. The Jews replied, "It is not lawful under Roman law for us to put a man to death." The Jews made various accusation against Jesus, and Pilate somewhat listened to them. Jesus did not try to defend Himself against their accusing vicious remarks. After a while Pilate told the Jews to be quiet, and turning to Jesus said, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? Are you not going to defend yourself and answer them?" But Jesus made no attempt to answer the Jewish Sanhedrin members. And Pilate was greatly impressed, and was amazed at Jesus' cool composure, under the onslaught of Jewish accusations. The Jews then said to Pilate, "We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is a king." Now Pilate pricked up his ears and stood tall, when this was said about the man they had brought before him. Pilate would now want to speak in a private manner to the man called Jesus. He entered the palace and called to have Jesus come before him, and then asked this question to Christ, "Are you indeed the King of the Jews? Do you claim to be a KING?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others, like those Jews outside, say this about me, and put this idea in your mind? Pilate replied, "Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests have handed you over to me as a criminal; what have you done?" Jesus replied, "My Kingdom is not of this age and time, you have nothing to fear. If my Kingdom was of this age and time, then would my servants fight, that I would not be handed over to the Jews so they could have me put to death. My Kingdom and Kingship is not of this world and age." "So you are a King then?" Pilate said to Jesus. "You have said it, that I am a King," Jesus said, "For this reason I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the TRUTH. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice," Pilate looked at Jesus in wonderment, and said, "Well, what indeed is truth?" The governor Pilate, spent some years in the British Isles under the schooling of the famous Druids, who were quite well respected by Rome. The Druids were well known for asking the question "What is truth?" They would spend much time in debating that question. So when Jesus said He had come to bear witness to the truth, it was very natural for Pilate to have replied with "What is truth?" We know from Jesus' own words as He prayed to the Father earlier that night, that truth is the WORD of God. Jesus had said, "Your word is truth" (John 17: 17). Pilate was very impressed and somewhat awe struck by this man called Jesus. He walked back outside to the chief priests and the other Jews, and said, "I find no fault in this man!" That is NOT what the Jews wanted to hear. Those were the last words they wanted Pilate to say. And so they were more urgent and pressing in their words to Pilate, saying such things as, "This Jesus, stirs up the people, teaching throughout all of Judea, from Galilee even to this city." When Pilate heard the word "Galilee" he asked if Jesus was from Galilee. And on hearing that He belonged to the jurisdiction of Herod, he immediately saw a way out from the problem before him, a way out so he thought. He would send Jesus over to Herod, who just happened to be in Jerusalem at this time (Mat.27: 2, 11-14; Mark 15: 1-5; Luke 23: 1-5; John 18: 28-38). JESUS BEFORE HEROD Herod was delighted to meet Jesus, for he had heard about Him for a long time, and was hoping to see some kind of miracle performed by Jesus. Herod questioned Him at some length, but Jesus made no answer, which then upset Herod, for the chief priests and scribes and others from the Sanhedrin stood by, vehemently accusing Him. Herod was displeased with the whole scene, but especially with Jesus, after waiting for so long a time to meet Him. Herod and his soldiers finally treated Jesus with contempt and mocking laughter, then, putting on Him some very expensive apparel (mocking Him as a King) they sent Him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate that day became very good friends, whereas before that day they were at enmity and had disdain for each other (Luke 23: 6-12). JUDAS HANGS HIMSELF Judas saw all that was going on, first with Pilate, then with Herod, and now back with Pilate. Deep remorse and sorrow filled his heart. Satan had by this time left him. He brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying to them, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." Things just did not go the way Judas expected. Jesus was not defending Himself or using His mighty power to crush His enemies. The chief priests and elders said to Judas, when he returned the money and declared Jesus to be innocent, "What do we care about what you say. See if you can do anything about it now! It's too late!" And so throwing down the pieces of silver Judas departed from the Temple, and straight away went and committed suicide by hanging himself. The chief priests and elders now had the thirty pieces of silver. What would they do with them was the big question. One of them said, "It is not within our law to put this money into the Temple treasury, since it is now 'blood money'." They sat with each other to figure what to do. They decided to use the money to buy a no good piece of land called "the potters field" in which strangers were buried, people who no one knew where they were from, or who were their relatives. Somewhat like what we today call "homeless" or "street" people. That piece of land then became known as "The field of blood." All this was done that the words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah might be fulfilled, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's filed, as the Lord directed me." Jeremiah never wrote down those words. They are not contained in the Old Testament book called Jeremiah. They are words that Jeremiah must have said at one time, and others took note of them and one way or another had preserved them and handed them down from generation to generation (Mat.27: 3-10). BACK BEFORE PILATE Jesus is now back before Pilate at the palace built by Herod the Great. Jesus is inside being questioned again by Pilate. The Jews are outside, not going in lest they be "religiously" defiled (entering the palace of a Gentile) and would not be able to observe the Passover which they kept on the 15th day of this first month. Pilate goes out to the Jews, and says to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and after examining him, I find this man not guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to me. There is nothing done by this man that is worthy of death. There is no crime done by this Jesus. I will chastise him some, and then release him." The Jewish leaders, now supported by many people who had become disgruntled and impatient with Jesus (because He had not brought them together and used His mighty power to overthrow the Roman armies), immediately, upon hearing Pilate's words, began to shout and cry out at the top of their voices, that they wanted Jesus condemned to death. Pilate was shocked at their reaction, was speechless for a moment, then an idea flashed into his mind, that he hoped would spare the innocent Jesus. It was the custom at Passover time that the governor release a prisoner, one of their own choosing. In prison at this time was a notorious fellow by the name of Barabbas. He had killed people in an insurrection or uprising against Rome. He was also a robber of some fame. "Whom do you want me to release for you? Shall it be Barabbas or shall it be Jesus who is called the Christ?" Pilate called out to the Jews. Now he knew very well that they had delivered Jesus up to himself because they were envious of Him. Then, besides that, while he had been sitting on the judgment seat, questioning Jesus, his wife had sent word to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream." The chief priests and elders had already persuaded the people to demand that Jesus be destroyed and Barabbas released. They knew that Pilate might resort to this tactic, so they were prepared for it. Pilate once more shouted out to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you." He himself was hoping they would say it was Jesus they wanted to have released. But the crowd shouted back, "Release to us Barabbas!" Pilate then said to them, "Well, what shall I then do with Jesus who is called the Christ?" All with one voice loudly proclaimed, "Let him be crucified!" Pilate could not believe what he had heard, "Why crucify him, what evil has he done? I have found nothing in him worthy of death," he replied to the crowd. The crowd ignored his question and shout even more loudly, "Let him be crucified!" When Pilate saw that he was gathering no ground, but rather that a riot could well break out, he took a water bowl and washed his hands before them all, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this man; see to it yourselves." And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children." (Mat.27: 15-26; Mark 15: 6-15; Luke 23: 13-25; John 18: 38-40). And so it was that Barabbas was released to the Jews, while Jesus was handed over to them, to be crucified. And Jesus' blood was indeed upon them and their children. That generation with their children, did not repent as a whole from the sin they committed, and their attitude led them into huge troubles with the Roman authorities over the next 40 years. It finally culminated in the Roman general Titus bringing his armies against Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and destroying most of the city, and the people therein. CONCLUSION OF JESUS' TRIAL Pilate told his soldiers to take Jesus into the palace. He then called for all the whole battalion of soldiers to come and be present while Jesus would be "scourged." The scourging that Roman soldiers did was often VERY brutal, so brutal at times that many people did not live passed being scourged. They used a whip that had little bones attached to the long thong strips of the whip. These little sharp bones would tear the skin apart on the back and around the sides of the person being scourged. It was most brutal a whipping, was the Roman scourging, and there was no limit as to how many whip lashes could be inflicted. |
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
REAL AGE— #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
Calculating RealAge
TAKE THE REALAGE TEST: WHAT'S YOUR REALAGE?
How old are you now? How young could you be? Learn how to calculate your RealAge. You can do it either by using the charts provided in this book, which will give you a good approximation of your RealAge, or by going on-line to the RealAge Web site and calculating your biologic age more accurately using the RealAge computer database. By answering easy questions about 125 health factors, habits, and behaviors, you can determine whether you are ageing more quickly or more slowly than your contemporaries. Once you know your RealAge, you will have the information you need to start getting younger. By choosing from the recommendations in this book or in your computer printout, you can develop a step-by-step Age Reduction Plan customized to your needs and lifestyle.
Now that you understand the principle of RealAge—that you can get younger—you may be wondering how you can calculate a number that accurately describes your 'true' physiologic age. How can I say that some people are
[The RealAge effects specified in all chapters other than this chapter calculate the effects of the factor being considered individually. Let's take the example of blood pressure. Many factors contribute to your blood pressure reading, such as sodium intake and potassium levels, so that some of the effects attributed to blood pressure are attributable to other things as well. For example, exercise lowers blood pressure: three of the twelve years difference in RealAge between a fifty-year-old man who has the ideal blood pressure... and one who has a high blood pressure... is attributable to the stamina exercise component. The changes in RealAge described in all chapters except this chapter do not take into account the covariance or interaction between factors. Please refer to the tables in this chapter or the RealAge Web site at www.RealAge.com.]
THIS WEBSITE MAY NOT BE IN SERVICE NOW FROM THE YEAR 2000 WHEN THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED, BUT WHAT I PRESENT TO YOU FROM THIS BOOK, WILL INDEED SERVE TO HELP YOU STAY YOUNGER THAN YOUR BIRTH AGE - Keith Hunt
younger and others are older when their calendar ages are the same? People are so different from each other. For all those who get cancer from smoking, there is always one diehard who has smoked a pack a day since he was twelve and is going strong at ninety. So, how can I say that quitting a pack-a-day smoking habit will make you seven years younger? Or that taking an aspirin a day can make you not fifty-five, but fifty-three and a half?
For a long time, researchers saw ageing as a linear and roughly equal process. Most researchers considered all seventy-year-olds to be the same. This assumption was good for census bureau statisticians, but made for an inaccurate representation of reality. When you look at the population, it is apparent that all seventy-years-olds are not alike. Many are mobile, full of life, and living as young as fifty-year-olds. Others are homebound, bedridden, or suffering from a wide range of health complications. Not everyone ages equally.
YOUR AGEING IN THE NORMAL PERSON IS DETERMINED BY ALL THE MANY HEALTH LAWS, THAT GOD SET IN MOTION. KEEPING IN HARMONY WITH THEM, WILL MEAN YOU WILL STAY YOUNGER THAN YOUR BIRTH AGE - Keith Hunt
The Nuts and Bolts of RealAge: The Science Behind the Numbers
If you chart the health, longevity, and, ultimately, youth of a 'population age cohort,' a group of people all born in the same year, you will find that with few exceptions, people age at a similar rate until they reach their late twenties or mid-thirties. With the exception of those who have inherited rare genetic disorders or have been in serious accidents, everyone is basically healthy and able. Men reach the peak of their performance curve in their late twenties, and women, in their mid-thirties. Our bodies have fully matured, and we are at our strongest and most mentally acute. Then, somewhere between twenty-eight and thirty-six years of age, most people reach a turning point—a transition from 'growing' into 'ageing.'
If you examine the population as a whole and track any one biologic function—whether kidney function or cognitive ability—performance declines as we age. In general, each biologic function decreases 3-6 percent per decade after age thirty-five. That decrease is a measure of the average for the population as a whole. Although these types of measurements have been the standards used by scientists to calculate the rate of ageing, these averages don't take into account the variation among individuals. For older populations, the variation is so great that it is often meaningless to calculate an average at all because averages are statistically meaningful only if the people or things being measured actually congregate around a midpoint. With ageing, this does not happen. In fact, if you really look at the numbers, there is so much variation among individuals that the 'average' obscures more than it shows. Rather than gathering around a mean (the center), there are people in every age group who fit into every category of function— some showing dramatic decline, others showing virtually none.
The variations in the ability to function cover the entire range of possibility. For every seventy-year-old who's debilitated from cardiovascular disease, there's another who's running road races or traveling the globe. You can see this variation. If a horizontal line were drawn across the three lines representing the rapid, average, and slow rates of ageing, you would find that people of different calendar ages fall at the same place on the curve representing ageing.
In fact, for certain functions, such as mental acuity and IQ, some people show almost no decline and even improve as they progress from calendar age thirty-five to seventy-five. The question is how can you be one of those people who stay at the top of the curve, as young at seventy-five as you were at thirty-five? And that means not just living longer, but living better, suffering less illness and disability. Studies have repeatedly shown that making your RealAge younger means that you live longer and healthier.
To understand how the numbers work, consider a real-life example—the impact of smoking on life expectancy. Statistics show that the average life expectancy is seventy-seven years for men and eighty-three years for women. These numbers include everyone who dies prematurely from smoking. If you eliminate the data for smokers from the data for the general population, life expectancy goes up substantially. Thus, we can say that smokers have shorter lives and more medical problems than nonsmokers. We can also say that non-smokers have longer lives. In our equations, the RealAge team calculate a person's RealAge with respect to smoking by contrasting the ten-year survival rate, a calculation of life expectancy, of the smoker to that of the nonsmoker. By calculating the degree of risk and prorating it to the average ten-year survival rate for that person's chronologic age group, we found the number of years that smoking can subtract from one's life and that not smoking can add to one's life. We apply this process to a whole range of behaviors and conditions, using a complex routine of statistical techniques to blend them and arrive at a number that reflects your biologic age.
A fifty-two-year-old woman who smokes twenty-four cigarettes a day has an 88 percent probability of living for the next ten years. Likewise, the sixty-year-old woman who doesn't smoke also has an 88 percent probability of living ten years. Although eight calendar years separate these two individuals, their risk of dying within the next ten years is exactly the same: 12 percent. In other words, the smoker is the same physiologic 'age' as the nonsmoker who is eight calendar years older. RealAge is a calculation of your relative risk of dying versus that of the population as a whole, based on the law of averages. If your relative risk matches that of the average person who is ten years younger, that is the same thing as saying that your RealAge is ten years younger. You are at the same risk of suffering severe ageing or a major health problem as someone that much younger. Physiologically, you are equal.
This risk-analysis calculation is the clearest measure we have for determining the rate at which you are ageing. We draw data from clinical studies calculating the risk of death for a variety of factors and integrate them into survival-table analyses (Kaplan-Meier curves). We have derived these curves to evaluate individual conditions, habits, and other factors that tend to affect physiologic age. Our computer-based equations use the most up-to-date and reliable medical information available, which is then modeled by statisticians using the best and most subtle statistical formulations for multivariate equations.
In our calculations, we start with the most general statistic: average life expectancy for American men and women. We then break each category into smaller and smaller categories. For example, we consider weight-to-height ratios.
We calculate the long-term effects of smoking. We evaluate the benefit that people get from taking aspirin regularly, exercising, or managing health problems effectively. Each breakdown allows us to refine our measurement and to consider how much of an impact each action has on the ageing process. Finally, we consider all these categories together, calculating a multivariable equation in which we are able to weigh these multiple and diverse factors together and develop a unique RealAge calculation especially tailored to each person. We integrate the risk calculations for 125 factors and arrive at a number uniquely descriptive of you.
Sounds complicated? It is. But don't worry. To participate, all you have to do is answer a set of questions that allows us to calculate your RealAge. We do the rest.
The Studies That Provide the Data: Where Do the Numbers Come From?
RealAge is an information system. Instead of providing new scientific data, it is a way of reinterpreting already published results. We use data from the most up-to-date studies done by the leaders in each field of medical research, so you are getting the best information the medical community has to offer. What we do is unify all that information: We are able to integrate specific recommendations from hundreds of studies into a general framework, so you can understand how the recommendations relate to you. Whereas most medical researchers have calculated their statistics in relation to 'risk of disease,' we have used then-data and recalculated them to determine 'risk of ageing.' RealAge translates currendy available research into information you can use—something you can integrate into your own life.
I, in conjunction with the four other medical experts who form the RealAge scientific advisory team, have pored over more than 25,000 medical studies, evaluating what they tell us about ageing, and, more important, what they tell us about the prevention of ageing. Our calculations are based on data from more than 800 of the 25,000 studies and have been checked against a very large proprietary database. Our formulas are constantly being updated as new research becomes available. As statistics relating to these and other factors change, we recalculate our equations to accommodate the change. (Our on-line computerized RealAge program is updated whenever new and important research appears. For example, because Americans are becoming progressively heavier, we have modified our weight-to-height ratios to reflect these expanding waistlines.)
Although my colleagues and I rely on all kinds of scientific information for our calculations, let me describe our major sources of data. We predominately use clinical studies of two types: large-scale, risk-factor epidemiology studies and smaller-scale randomized trials. The large-scale studies look at many people, sometimes more than 100,000 individuals, and in one instance (the Mr. FIT study), as many as 350,000. The researchers who coordinate these studies track huge populations for a certain period, looking at one behavior or testable factor, such as blood pressure, and evaluate risks associated with that behavior or factor. These studies give statistics for a large population, more accurately reflecting variations within the study sample. The drawback is that these studies do not provide very detailed information and are not controlled studies. The researchers are not able to regulate with any kind of reliability who takes a specific drug or engages in a specific behavior. That is why scientists also do smaller controlled studies. In a randomized controlled study, a study population of a few hundred to 10,000 people is randomly divided, and each group is assigned a certain task. For example, half the group may be told to take the vitamin folic acid and half may be told to take placebos (harmless sugar pills). Each participant is then tracked for a long period, and his or her health conditions are recorded. At the end of the study, the researchers compare the groups and evaluate the effect of a particular behavior or condition on the overall health of the groups.
We select only factors that have been shown to make a quantifiable difference in the profile of risk (in other words, ageing) in at least three peer-reviewed studies. We integrate and compare the various studies that have pertained to a certain isstie; calculate what each study tells us about ageing; and, finally, come up with a RealAge number that tells you in one easy-to-under-stand number—years—what the impact of each behavior is on you.
What's Your RealAge?
There are two ways you can estimate your RealAge: by taking the RealAge survey on computer or by using the charts included in this chapter. The computer program is customized to you, whereas the charts provide accurate but more general approximations of your RealAge. In the RealAge questionnaire—both the one offered here and the on-line version—we ask you detailed questions about a variety of behaviors that are known to relate to ageing. What do you eat? How often do you exercise? Do you floss your teeth? Do you own a dog? How many close relationships do you have? How long did your parents live? Indeed, we ask you questions about 125 factors that affect your health and your youth. Your answers to these questions are the raw data needed to calculate your RealAge.
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TO BE CONTINUED
Developing an Age Reduction Plan
Dr. Michael F. Roizen
.......Begin by adopting just two or three strategies. Trying to do too much at once can be overwhelming. A common problem with all health initiatives— whether diets or exercise regimens—is that we take on too much at once. Then, after a few days of playing superhero, we give up on everything, never to return to the initial plan. The patients of mine who have been the most successful at age reduction have begun by choosing only two or three strategies. They followed those strategies for three months, and after they successfully incorporated them into their daily routines, they added two or three more, and so on. They frequently go back and recalculate their RealAge and modify and update their Age Reduction Plans. One patient calls me every Monday morning. 'Mike,' she says, 'I've done such and such. What's my RealAge now?'
By adopting the steps from the Quick Fix category first, you can begin reducing your RealAge in just a few days or months with little effort. Reducing your RealAge further requires more resolve. Most of the choices are not that difficult; you just need practice. What better payoff than adding high-quality years to your life?
Losing weight, adopting a three-tiered physical activity program, quitting smoking, managing stress, managing a chronic disease, and controlling blood pressure are the decisions that require the most commitment. But the payoff is huge. The RealAge difference between two people who have the same chronologic age but different blood pressure readings can be as much as twenty-five years. Likewise, a person who has developed strategies for stress management— including a strong support network of friends and family—can have, in times of crisis, a RealAge as much as thirty years younger than a person of the same age facing a similar crisis who does not have a support network. Remember to prioritize your plan. Which steps are easy? Which steps are difficult but important? Which are less important? Deciding that you will floss your teeth every night requires only that you buy dental floss and use it. Other decisions involve more work.
Decide what kind of a load you can handle. If you have two Age Reduction goals that are in the 'most difficult' category, you probably won't want to adopt both at the same time. Pick one Age Reduction strategy and follow it, and once you have the hang of it, pick another. Don't, for example, try to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time. Choose one, and once you have succeeded with it, adopt the other.
Break a large task into parts. If you are trying to lose weight, first begin by eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and fibers. Then work on cutting back the amount of saturated and trans fats you eat. Don't worry about watching pounds right away; start by developing healthy eating habits. You may be surprised that the pounds come off on their own. Once you have eating under control, start to cut back on calories or begin to integrate exercise into your life. The most important thing about Age Reduction strategies is not that you start them, but that you continue them. Exercise, for example, gives no benefit once you stop. To get the years-younger benefit, you have to stay physically active for the rest of your life.
Put your Age Reduction Plan somewhere where you can easily see it. Tape it to the bathroom mirror. Look at it often and remember what you can do to get younger. Recalculate your RealAge every few months, or whenever you adopt a new Age Reduction strategy. That way you'll know just how young you have become.
Personal Age Reduction Plan
.
What behaviors could I adopt to make myself younger?
The Difference Between RealAge
Maximums and RealAge Interactions:
The Impact on You
As you read this book and review the choices that will help you reduce your RealAge, remember that the RealAge numbers presented in these chapters are the maximum possible effects. They presume only that a single behavior is affecting age reduction and do not take into account the interactions between the effects of several behaviors. Therefore, the numbers are not cumulative. This method has the benefit of allowing you to compare the relative value of health choices, but has the drawback of not accounting for multiple interactions.
Let's consider an example. The chapter on vitamins states that taking vitamins C and E (in food or supplements) can make you six years younger. The impact is astounding. Is it true? Yes. Is it true for you? Not necessarily. Although a person who does nothing else to protect himself or herself from ageing may well have a RealAge benefit of as much as six years simply by taking these two vitamins, most of us make many other health decisions as well. The vitamin choice is mediated by other choices, such as exercising, smoking, and eating a vegetable- and fruit-laden diet.
Indeed, none of us has only one factor affecting his or her rate of ageing. We all have multiple factors. You cannot simply add up all the years of benefits that certain behaviors provide and subtract those from your calendar age. Let's say you floss your teeth regularly (6.4 years younger), have low blood pressure (12 years younger), own a dog (1 year younger), exercise (9 years younger), and have a low weight (8 years younger). You cannot simply total these years and subtract them, to say you are 36.4 years younger than your calendar age. The RealAge concept would be meaningless as you worked your way back into childhood, even into negative years! Rather, the beauty of the RealAge calculation process .... is that it is able to consider the interrelationship between the range of behaviors and determine the impact of these interactions for you.
When you calculate your RealAge, the effect of any one behavior will depend on the other health behaviors and choices you follow. These involve complex equations and complex mathematics, which is why modern computers are required. But these complex calculations are now possible and can inform you of the relative and absolute value of your choices. This is what makes RealAge so revolutionary: It gives us the ability to calculate the effect of complex and multiple behaviors on ageing all at once. It places a value on the effects that different behaviors will have on you, providing the information you need to make informed choices about the way in which you are going to age.
RealAge Means Informed Choices
Read the rest of the book to find out why and how behaviors as diverse as taking vitamin E and enrolling in a continuing education class can help you make your RealAge younger. I will go over the studies and discuss the biologic impact of forty-four health and behavior choices. I will show you which ones help keep you young longer and provide suggestions and strategies for incorporating these changes into your life. I begin with the big three: ageing of the arteries, ageing of the immune system, and environmental ageing, showing how each one contributes to the overall ageing equation. In subsequent chapters, I explain how specific factors, such as taking the right vitamins in the proper doses, diet and weight management, physical activity and exercise, healthy everyday habits, proper medical management, and stress reduction can help you become and stay younger.
By keeping your RealAge young, you help to keep your calendar age from making you feel 'old.' What could be better than making it all the way to ninety with the youth and vigor of someone twenty-five years younger? This book gives you the value system for understanding your health choices, teaching you how to live more high-quality years with as little ageing of your mind or body as possible. I give you the information you need. You make the choices about how you want to grow old. Or stay young.
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TO BE CONTINUED
Arterial Ageing
It's this simple: Nothing ages you faster than mistreating your heart and arteries. And nothing keeps you younger than keeping your cardiovascular system healthy. More Americans—both men and women—die from cardiovascular disease than from any other cause. Current statistics predict that 50 percent of us will be seriously afflicted by cardiovascular disease and more than 40 percent of us "will die from it. Heart attacks, strokes, many types of kidney disease, and even Alzheimer's disease are largely caused by ageing of the circulatory system.
(THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 2000, BUT SADLY THE FACTS REMAIN, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IS STILL ONE ON THE VERY TOP KILLERS; MANY IN THEIR 40s and 50s ARE DYING OF HEART ATTACKS, WHICH WAS PRACTICALLY UNHEARD OF 60 OR MORE YEARS AGO - Keith Hunt)
Most of the premature ageing your arterial system undergoes is self-inflicted. You age yourself by not taking proper care of yourself. The bad news is that most of us are not motivated enough to change our behaviors to protect ourselves from arterial ageing. The good news is that you can start right now.
Your cardiovascular system is the primary system that ties your body together. Because arteries connect to every cell in the body, their health affects your health. Although we hear a lot about heart attacks and strokes, these are only the most dramatic manifestations of arterial disease. By the time a heart attack or stroke occurs, a person's arteries are almost always severely damaged; that is, they've gotten old.
Think of the cardiovascular system as a highway system. If roadways are the infrastructure of the city, the conduits that get us from here to there, then our circulatory system is the infrastructure of our bodies. Our blood vessels carry nutrients and oxygen to our cells and then carry carbon dioxide and other by-products away from our cells. Our arteries, just like streets and highways, wear down. They become clogged with fatty buildup, called plaque, or narrowed from swelling and inflammation. The older and more congested our arteries get, the more subject they are to the body's version of traffic jams— blood clots. This reduction in blood flow means that our cells are not getting the nutrients they need and suffer buildup of metabolic by-products. The heart has to work harder to get the blood where it's supposed to go, increasing blood pressure and stressing the arteries even more. Indeed, just as a major traffic jam can affect a whole city, cardiovascular disease can stress your whole body.
If you look at blood under a microscope, you will see that it consists of not just liquid, but many different kinds of cells—red cells, white cells, and platelets. It is the platelets—and sometimes white cells—that we have to watch out for when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Platelets are covered by an enzyme that, when activated, causes them to stick to other platelets and form a clot. Generally, clotting is a good thing; it is an important function that prevents excessive bleeding. As you age, however, you can develop blood clots where you don't want them—namely, on the walls of your arteries. Over the years, fat builds up on the walls of your arteries, slowing the flow of blood and causing platelet pileups—blood-vessel traffic jams— that further slow the flow of blood. These platelet pileups can form small clots in the arteries. If a clot gets too big, it can fill the entire artery, and blood can't get through at all, causing the tissue supplied by that artery to be at risk of dying. Likewise, when your arterial system comes under stress, the walls of your arteries can become inflamed and swollen, again closing off the flow of blood. In this case, oxygen and essential nutrients don't get to your organs as they used to, causing them to age more rapidly.
How can you prevent arterial ageing?
You probably know quite a few good habits that make a difference: eating a diet low in saturated fat, exercising, and avoiding stress. Conversely, bad behaviors, like being sedentary, can cause our cardiovascular system to age unnecessarily, and bad habits tend to reinforce each other. The worse our food choices, the more likely we are to be overweight. The more overweight we are, the less likely we are to exercise, and so on. Even mild forms of cardiovascular disease can slow us down and make us feel old fast.
The most important step in your antiageing plan is to protect your heart and arteries. That is why almost every chapter in this book addresses the problem of arterial ageing. In this chapter, I show you the basics. I show you how to think about cardiac health as a conglomerate of health decisions that intersect with every aspect of your life. You will need to learn to think of cardiac health holistically: Everything you do contributes to or detracts from it. For example .... drinking a glass of red wine with dinner, and taking the right vitamins in the proper amounts are quick, easy, and painless ways to make your cardiovascular system healthier.
Blood Pressure: Lower It!
Blood pressure readings are measurements of the overall health and well-being of our hearts and arteries. That is why monitoring your blood pressure is one of the best ways of gauging your RealAge. For example, the difference between having low blood pressure rather than high blood pressure can mean a RealAge difference of more than twenty years!
Do you know how high your blood pressure is? Chances are it's too high. Eighty-nine percent of Americans have blood pressure higher than the ideal for preventing ageing..... More to the point, high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is one of the leading causes of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney failure. High blood pressure has no symptoms. Most of us live with it and feel fine. As a result, it is hard for patients to take high blood pressure seriously or to see it as an indicator of a serious health risk.
(ONE REASON THIS BOOK IS NO LONGER IN PRINT IS BECAUSE, THE AUTHOR GIVES BLOOD-PRESSURE READINGS WHICH ARE TODAY IN 2014 OUT-OF-DATE. SEE THE INTERNET FOR UP-TO-DATE SCIENCE ON WHAT IS NOW CONSIDERED "NORMAL" BLOOD PRESSURE - Keith Hunt)
In fact, I have patients who, even though they know about the devastating effects of high blood pressure..... Here's one story. Roger V., a longtime associate at the University of Chicago, had, over the years, asked me for medical advice. One day, he called me about his father-in-law, Jake. Jake had just retired from a lifetime career as an engineer. A World War II veteran, and proud of the fact that he' d never been sick a day in his life, he was never one to go to the doctor. When Jake had his retirement physical, it was the first time he had seen a doctor since leaving the service some forty years earlier in 1946. Jake reported that his doctor told him he had a 'touch' of high blood pressure—..... more than a 'touch' by anyone's standards. But Jake steadfastly refused to go on any medicine or even to return to the doctor.
Jake and his wife, Sara, bought a motor home. For three years, they took trips, went to art museums and cultural events, and meandered around the country just enjoying their free time. After forty years of working hard, they were finally reaping the benefits. Jake called it the 'great life.' He told Roger and his daughter, Joyce (Roger's wife), 'Don't worry about my blood pressure. Now that I'm not working, I'm not under any stress. My blood pressure's sure to have dropped.'
Since nothing 'seemed' wrong, no one paid too much attention. Then it happened. Jake had a stroke. The stroke left him partially paralyzed and impaired his speech. He needed a walker to get around. In a matter of minutes, he had lost the 'great life' he had worked all his life to enjoy.....
Finally, his kidneys started to fail, a side effect of hypertension. Roger and Joyce brought him to see me.
Giving him the 'cold, hard facts,' I finally convinced Jake to accept blood pressure treatment. With medication, his blood pressure dropped and his kidney function improved. Indeed, he managed to live a fairly good life, remaining relatively independent for another decade, until his kidneys finally gave out entirely. Although his poststroke life was adequate and he made the best of it, it was not the life he had dreamed about. And it didn't have to happen.
(NO THERE ARE MANY NATURAL WAYS TO BEAT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.....YOUR DIET, AND EXERCISE, ARE TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT - Keith Hunt)
What Is Blood Pressure, and How Is It Measured?
Most of us have had our blood pressure taken every single time we've visited a doctor since we were children. But what exactly does blood pressure measure? What does blood pressure tell us about our overall health?
Blood pressure is the amount of force exerted by blood on the walls of the arteries as blood flows through them. The higher your blood pressure, the more stress and strain you are putting on your body. In RealAge terms, you are burning away years faster than you need to.
The only way to measure your blood pressure is to perform a quick, painless test using an instrument called a sphygmomanometer—the rubber cuff and gauge that they strap on you the minute you walk into a doctor's office. When your blood pressure is measured, make sure to ask what it is and to write it down. Keep track of your blood pressure and how it varies over time. Your blood pressure is not always at the same level. It is often elevated when you are anxious, upset, or in a hurry. Just being in a doctor's office can raise your blood pressure ('white-coat hypertension'). When your blood pressure is measured, make sure you've had enough time to calm down, are sitting and relaxed, and aren't talking to someone about an issue you feel passionately about. If your blood pressure is high or higher than you'd like, go to your local pharmacist and buy a sphygmomanometer. Either your doctor or the pharmacist can show you how to use it. Monitor your blood pressure regularly, keeping track of any fluctuations. You will keep far more vigilant watch over your own blood pressure than anyone else will. After all, it's your body, and you have the most to lose.
(I HAVE A SPHYGMOMANOMETER: BLOOD PRESSURE SHOULD BE TAKEN [A NUMBER OF TIMES OVER SAY 15 MINUTES] IN THE MORNING AND EVENING. WHEN RELAXED - Keith Hunt)
Blood pressure is always presented as a fraction..... The top number in the fraction is called the systolic blood pressure, the pressure exerted on the artery walls when the heart beats. The bottom number, the diastolic blood pressure, is the pressure exerted when the heart is at rest, between beats......
As you age, systolic blood pressure (and sometimes also diastolic blood pressure) tends to increase. Why? As you age, the walls of your arteries become atherosclerotic—less elastic and clogged with buildup from fats and lipids. This arterial hardening forces the heart to work harder. The heart becomes enlarged, and the arteries become scarred and damaged. It is a vicious cycle: The more damaged the arteries become, the harder the heart has pump......
In less than 5 percent of these cases is high blood pressure caused by some underlying medical condition. In these instances, when the root cause is corrected, blood pressure returns to normal. In more than 95 percent of the cases, there is no specific cause of high blood pressure; many times it is the result of the poor care we've given our arteries over the years.
(YES THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT ALL COMES DOWN TO HOW WE HAVE PHYSICALLY LIVED; HOW WELL AND HEALTHILY WE HAVE EATEN, EXERCISED, SLEPT, AND KEPT OUR EMOTIONS IN GOOD ORDER - LITTLE STRESS IN OTHER WORDS - Keith Hunt)
How Do You Achieve Ideal Blood Pressure?
What should you do if your blood pressure is higher.....
(TODAY THE BENCH MARK OF BLOOD PRESSURE IS NOT THE BENCH MARK OF 2000 WHEN THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN. GO ON THE INTERNET FOR THYE UP-TO-DATE SCIENCE ON BLOOD PRESSURE - Keith Hunt)
Eat a more nutritious diet that is low in saturated fat.
Get more exercise.
Lose weight.
Stop smoking.
Cut your sodium intake to less than 1,600 mg a day.
Increase your potassium, calcium, and magnesium intake.
Avoid stress and consider strategies to reduce stress, such as increasing social connections or using relaxation therapy, biofeedback methods, or yoga.
Because nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction are important components of ageing, this book has chapters devoted to each (see Chapters 8, 9, and 11). If you have higher-than-ideal blood pressure, pay special attention to the recommendations in these chapters. If your family has a history of cardiovascular disease, pay extra attention. These chapters show you how easy it is to incorporate heart-healthy eating and exercise habits into your life. Lowering your blood pressure is not an impossible task.
Talk to your doctor. He or she can help you formulate a blood pressure-reduction plan that fits you, with special consideration for your particular needs and concerns. Your doctor can help you decide if you should be on medicine for hypertension. If so, he or she can work with you to choose the medication that works best for you. Remember, there are several kinds of treatments, and some may suit you better than others, so you should ask about all of them. If you experience side effects or don't feel as good as you think you should, don't discontinue your medicine—doing so can provoke a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about possible alternative treatments.
(THE FIRST THING SHOULD BE A SERIOUS LIFE-STYLE CHANGE, IF YOU ARE ALWAYS OVER THE TOP IN WHAT THE LATEST SCIENCE TELLS YOU IS "NORMAL" BLOOD PRESSURE - USE THE INTERNET - Keith Hunt)
In addition, your doctor can tell you whether your high blood pressure is 'sodium sensitive.' Many people are sensitive to sodium; that is, their blood pressure responds to the amount of sodium they ingest. If you think that you are salt sensitive, you should cut back on foods containing salt. And if you think that getting rid of your salt shaker will do it, think again. Most of the sodium we ingest comes not from salt we add to foods, but from sodium added by manufacturers to packaged foods. There are high levels of sodium in everything from soda pop to most breakfast cereals. Learn to be a label reader. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead of processed food to avoid sodium.
Reducing blood pressure requires more commitment than most of the RealAge Age Reduction strategies that we talk about in this book. When you start to think it's too much work, remember that your RealAge will become 1.5 years younger for every two-point drop in systolic blood pressure and every three-point drop in diastolic blood pressure. What could be better than that?
Stopping Atherosclerosis: Open Up Your Arteries!
The second most significant sign of arterial ageing is atherosclerosis, the buildup of fats and lipids along the walls of the arteries. This narrowing of the arteries can lead to the formation of clots, which can, in extreme cases, cause heart attacks and strokes. Indeed, atherosclerosis is a primary cause of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is often the first sign that the arteries are starting to harden. The higher blood pressure rises, the more quickly fats build up, causing even more atherosclerotic ageing, and so on. It's a vicious cycle. What causes fats to build up? We're not sure. Scientists postulate that either inflammation of the blood vessel walls or an excessive and accelerated bombardment of blood against the arterial walls—the very same conditions high blood pressure causes—triggers this process. Moreover, the higher your total blood cholesterol—specifically, the higher your LDL cholesterol—the worse the problem becomes. There are two common types of cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). I always remember L for 'lousy' and H for 'healthy' because LDL cholesterol accelerates fatty buildup in the arteries, whereas HDL cholesterol actually helps inhibit such buildup. That's why you want to have a low LDL reading and a high HDL reading. If you have a high total cholesterol reading, have your doctor determine the levels of each.
Men are more likely to suffer from arterial ageing than women and at an earlier age. Women usually don't undergo arterial ageing until after menopause. Also, some population groups and families are more prone to arterial ageing than others. For example, if you are a man and a number of close relatives (a father, a brother, or an uncle) have had heart attacks or strokes, especially under age sixty-five, you, too, could be at risk of atherosclerosis at an early age. You will need to pay particular attention to arterial ageing. The same would be true of people who are significantly overweight; those who have high LDL cholesterol readings; and, of course, those who have high blood pressure.
All of us can do simple things that will help keep our arteries young..... In Chapter 7, learn how vitamins C and E protect your arteries. Taking both of these substances in the recommended doses can reduce your RealAge by more than six years. Be sure to read the section on folate because taking folate regularly will help keep lipids from building up in your arteries. Note in the section on ageing of the immune system that you should be careful to brush and floss your teeth to avoid periodontal disease. The bacteria that cause periodontal disease are believed to trigger an immune response that, in turn, causes inflammation, or swelling, of the arteries. An area can then form along the arterial wall, creating a niche in which fats can accumulate, causing the arteries to become atherosclerotic.
When it comes to arterial youth, there are the additional big three: nutrition, exercise, and stress. These are so important that a chapter is devoted to each. Think of them as being interrelated. By eating a diet that is rich in nutrients and low in saturated fats, you will be able to reduce your RealAge by more than ten years. By exercising regularly (it's not that hard!), you can reduce your RealAge by more than eight years. Pay particular attention to Chapter 11, which gives tips for managing stress, because stress and emotional upheaval can cause significant arterial ageing.
Now let us consider two factors that can specifically keep your arteries free from clots—taking an aspirin a day and hormone replacement therapy.
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I'M NOT INCLUDING HERE WHAT IS SAID ABOUT ASPIRIN AND HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY.
THERE IS A LOT OF PROS AND CONS ON BOTH SIDES. YOU SHOULD TRY EVERYTHING ELSE FIRST, BEFORE RESORTING TO ANY KIND OF DRUGS. SORRY TO SAY BUT OFTEN DRUGS ARE USED BY MANY AS A QUICK ANSWER, TO AN UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE MANY LIFESTYLE CHANGES, THAT WOULD SOLVE THE HIGH BLOOD-PRESSURE PROBLEM.
NOW HERE IS ONE INEXPENSIVE WAY THAT HELPS KEEP YOUR ARTERIES CLEAN. WHEN MY DAD RETIRED AT 63 AND CAME TO CANADA; THE FIRST YEAR HERE, HE READ AN ARTICLE IN A LOCAL PAPER BY SOME DOCTOR, WHO SAID IF YOU TAKE ONE LECITHIN TABLET A DAY, IT WILL KEEP YOUR ARTERIES CLEAN. MY DAD STARTED TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY. AND HE STILL DOES AT AGE 94 COME AUGUST 2014.
HE PACKED UP AND WENT BACK TO WALES AT AGE 85, THINKING HE'D FINISH HIS DAYS IN THE VILLAGE WHERE WE ARE FROM. HE WAS IN A CLINIC GETTING A HEALTH TEST. THERE WERE PEOPLE LAYING ON SMALL BEDS WITH TUBES IN THEM. THEY TOOK A BLOOD SAMPLE. THEY CAME OUT AND ASKED HIM IF HE HAD EVER HAD A "WASH OUT" - HE REPLIED NO. THEY CAME AGAIN THE SECOND TIME AND ASKED HIM THE SAME QUESTION. HE AGAIN REPLIED NO. THEY CAME OUT THE THIRD TIME AND ASKED HIM, "ARE YOU SURE MR. HUNT YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A WASH OUT?" MY DAD'S REPLY WAS "IS THIS WHAT THESE PEOPLE ARE HAVING LYING HERE WITH TUBES IN THEM?" THE NURSE SAID YES.
"I HAVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS EVER."
"WELL MR. HUNT," SAID THE NURSE, "WE HAVE NEVER EVER SEEN ANYONE YOUR AGE WITH SUCH CLEAN ARTERIES. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?"
I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU WHAT HE HAD BEEN DOING SINCE HE WAS 63 YEARS OLD.
HE RETURNED TO CANADA.
MY DAD HAS ALWAYS BEEN HEALTH MINDED; ATE A BASIC GOOD DIET [OVERDID SOME THINGS BECAUSE HE GAINED A BELLY ON HIM THAT WAS TOO LARGE]; DID REGULAR EXERCISE IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS; AND WAS WITHOUT MUCH STRESS ALL OF HIS LIFE.
HIS TOO LARGE A BELLY, FINALLY CAUGHT UP ON HIM, BUT NOT UNTIL HE WAS 90 YEARS OLD; THEN HAD A MINOR STROKE, WHICH HAS LEFT HIM IN A WHEEL CHAIR, AND A SHORT TIME MEMORY THAT IS ALL OVER THE MAP. HE IS NOW IN A 24/7 CARE FACILITY. I MAKE SURE HE GETS HIS VITAMINS AND MINERALS, AND INDEED HIS LECITHIN TABLET. HE HAS LOST HIS BELLY, AND SO FAR DOING FINE. SURE IN YOUR 90s YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP, BUT SO FAR HE TELLS ME HE'D LIKE TO LIVE TO BE 100. I TELL HIM HE MAY JUST DO SO.
Keith Hunt
TO BE CONTINUED
Immune to the Years #1
SLOWING AGEING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND PREVENTING CANCER
As you age, so does your immune system, the system that protects you from diseases. Keeping your immune system young and strong helps keep cancer at bay. Cancer is the second leading killer in the United States and may soon surpass heart disease as number one. It is far easier to prevent cancer than to cure it. This chapter explains how cancer works and discusses strategies for prevention. A normally functioning immune system also helps prevent arthritis and even heart disease. Protecting your immune system can make your RealAge as much as six years younger.
• Prostate cancer kills more men than anything but heart disease and lung
cancer: 250,000 new cases are diagnosed a year, and 40,000 men die from
prostate cancer annually. Yet, in the war against prostate cancer, tomato
paste—yes, that red stuff on pizza and pasta—and green tea may be a
winning combination. These two simple substances can make your
RealAge as much as 0.8 years younger.
(Remember the stats are from the year 2000 when this book was published - KEITH HUNT)
Difficulty rating: Moderately easy
• Although we read all the time about the risk of cancer from sun exposure,
that doesn't mean we should avoid the sun altogether. To produce an
adequate amount of vitamin D, we need to spend some time catching rays
(or, as suggested in Chapter 7, taking vitamin D as a supplement). Vitamin
D appears to strengthen the immune response and helps prevent certain
kinds of cancers. Learn how to strike a balance between too much sun and
not enough. Just taking simple precautions can make your RealAge 1.7
years younger.
Difficulty rating: Moderately easy
If you thought taking care of your teeth was just cosmetic, think again. By avoiding periodontal disease, you can make your RealAge 6.4 years younger. In contrast, people with acute periodontal disease are 3.4 years older than their chronologic age. Why? Because the bacteria that cause periodontal disease appear to trigger an immune response that causes inflammation, throughout the body. A side effect seems to be inflammation of the arteries, a major precursor to heart disease. Although the exact cause and effect are not well understood yet, people who floss may live younger longer.
Difficulty rating: Quick fix
Now that you've read about how to prevent arterial ageing, I know the next question you're going to ask. I hear it every time I give a lecture. 'If we prevent arterial ageing and lower our risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease, won't we just die from something worse?' The Big C? Cancer? We've all got to die from something, don't we?
Yes. We will all die sometime. But then again, why invite it? Although most of us feel that we are helpless in the face of cancer, just remember that 80 to 90 percent of cancers are linked to environmental causes. That means cancer isn't just fate, but something you can do a lot to prevent. How? By controlling your environment. Despite the recent stir about cancer genes, fewer than 10 percent of all cancers are linked to genetic inheritance. Although I can't say that 80 to 90 percent of cancer can be prevented, I can guarantee that by making yourself younger, you can stave off your risk of cancer by as much as twenty RealAge years. By controlling your environment, you can minimize the ageing of the immune system, making your RealAge younger. Think of it this way: Although all of us have to die of something, there is no reason not to reduce your risk of getting cancer at calendar age fifty to that of the typical forty-year-old. You can choose to keep your immune system youthful and, by doing so, greatly reduce your risk of getting a life-threatening cancer or other disorder of the immune system.
If the cardiovascular system is the body's transportation system, the immune system is its security system. The immune system protects the body from outside invasion by locating and destroying potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. It protects the body against insurrection from within by rooting out cells that have become abnormal or malignant. As we age, our immune system begins to fail us. There are two fundamental ways in which your immune system can fail. It can become negligent, allowing abnormal cells— either infectious agents or cancer cells—to grow unchecked. Or it can become overzealous, turning on the body and attacking normal tissues, as occurs in such autoimmune diseases as many forms of arthritis, connective tissue diseases, and allergies. Since the immune system is so complex, it can go in both directions at once. Your immune system can be negligent—as in cancer—and overactive—as in arthritis—at the same time.
Protecting our cardiovascular system is relatively straightforward, but keeping our immune system in working order is more complex. The immune system is made up of millions of free-floating cells that roam the body in search of abnormalities. All these cells need to coordinate with each other to provide adequate protection. And the state of our immune system—the youth of our immune system—depends greatly on how well we care for it.
For example, we know that people who exercise have higher concentrations of certain immune system cells that identify and destroy potentially hazardous toxins and invading organisms. We know that taking antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, helps improve the immune response. We also know that hazardous chemicals, too much sun, and radioactivity can age your immune system and increase your risk of cancer. Stress clearly weakens our immune response—the death of a loved one, for example, measurably decreases the number of T cells in a person's bloodstream for as long as a year after the event. And, of course, there is AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), a disease that directly attacks the immune system. Throughout the following chapters, there will be sections that address ageing of the immune system. Pay attention to the sections on this subject in the chapters on environmental hazards (Chapter 6), vitamins and supplements (Chapter 7), food and nutrition (Chapter 8), exercise (Chapter 9), and stress (Chapter 11) and learn how to make your RealAge younger by keeping your immune system younger.
Cancer: An Ounce of Prevention Is Better Than a Whole Lot of Cure
Cancer is the most ironic of diseases. Except in rare cases, it is not caused by an invasion of some external agent, such as a bacterium or virus. Nor is it caused by wear and tear on the body or by parts breaking down. Rather, it is a disease of one's own body gone awry. Cancer begins with one cell that, instead of keeping in line with the cells around it, suddenly begins growing, dividing, and dividing again, forming a mass of malignant cells—a tumor. If the tumor gets large enough or spreads (metastasizes), it can be fatal. Cells are usually subsumed to the good of the organism, but when a cancer appears, the organism becomes subsumed to the cell.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 22 percent of all mortalities annually. More than a million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year, and more than half a million die from cancer. Another 800,000 develop small situ (noninvading) cancers and various mild kinds of skin cancers; both types, for the most part, do not spread and can be easily removed. These in situ cancers are not generally counted in the annual cancer statistics, but are cancers nonetheless. For women aged thirty-five to seventy-four, cancer is the leading cause of death. For men of the same age range, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death. Despite the high incidence of cancer and the enormous amount of effort put into fighting it, cancer remains one of the most pernicious human diseases.
(THE LATEST STATS AS OF 2014 IS THAT CANCER IS SPREADING WORLDWIDE - WE ARE LOOSING THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER, IN THE OVERALL - Keith Hunt)
Even though newfound cancer genes have been the subject of much speculation, most cancers arise from our interactions with the world around us. Astoundingly, almost one-third of all cancers diagnosed in Europe and in the United States can be linked to tobacco use and account for more than 150,000 deaths in the United States each year. Food choices are thought to contribute to another third of cancers, especially stomach and colon cancers. People who eat diets that are low in saturated fats and rich in nutrients have a significantly lower incidence of cancer. Thinner people are at lower risk of breast, prostate, and uterine cancer, perhaps because such cancers are linked—at least some scientists postulate—to high exposure to the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone, and these hormones are stored in fat. People who drink excessively have higher levels of mouth and liver cancer. And people who have spent too much time in the sun, especially before age thirty, are more likely to develop skin cancer. Occupational hazards—exposure to such toxins in the workplace as asbestos and formaldehyde—account for about 5 percent of all cancers.
In the early 1970s, President Nixon announced a 'War on Cancer,' hoping that a big monetary investment and a redoubled effort by America's scientists would lead to the cure. Twenty-five years later, we are still not much closer to that cure. If a tumor is found early and can be removed surgically, it will not regrow in about 50 percent of the cases. Much of the time, treatment delays the spread of a cancer. Once a cancer has metastasized, the likelihood that radiation or chemotherapy will actually stop the disease is only about 10 percent—not especially promising. Although several new gene-targeting drugs and drugs targeted to stop the blood vessel growth that is necessary for the growth of tumors appear promising in stopping the spread of cancer, they are still in development and years away from being a standard treatment procedure. Indeed, the key words in cancer therapy today are avoidance and early detection. And 'early detection' by no means compares with 'cancer-free.' Although someday there may actually be a cure that works, at present, the best way to fight cancer is to avoid getting it in the first place.
How are we to keep cancer at bay? There are two ways. First, by avoiding exposure to known cancer-causing agents, you can reduce the odds that a cancer will ever develop. Second, by taking steps to strengthen your immune system, you can better prepare your body to fight off any early cancer that does develop, destroying it before it even gets started.
Understanding Cancer: What It Is and How It Works
One of the reasons scientists haven't yet found a cure for cancer is that the causes are often extremely complex. In fact, the term cancer describes the phenomenon—the growth of tumors—and defines a general category that contains a broad range of diseases. Cancers can be caused by radiation, viruses, carcinogens, random mistakes in the cell cycle, an inherited genetic predisposition, or just plain chance. In many cases, cancers can develop because of a combination of factors. For example, although no one doubts that smoking increases the incidence of lung cancer—nearly 90 percent of lung cancers are linked to cigarette smoking—some smokers appear to be even more susceptible to cancer than other smokers. Some people appear to produce higher levels of the enzyme that makes smoke carcinogenic; thus, their genetic predisposition, combined with their behavioral choices, contributes to an even greater risk of lung cancer. This effect is a good example of how cancers can be caused by both environmental factors and inherited tendencies.
The risk posed by smoking can be compounded by other factors as well. For example, asbestos and radon are known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). Smoking greatly amplifies the risk of either, since smokers have significantly higher sensitivity levels than nonsmokers to these carcinogens. Although nonsmokers exposed to asbestos are five times more likely to develop lung cancer, smokers exposed to asbestos are ninety times more likely to develop lung cancer! Cigarettes and heavy drinking are another volatile combination, causing more cancers and more ageing when used together than either cause alone.
Now that I have told you that most cancers are brought about by environmental causes, I am going to seem to contradict that statement: All cancers are genetic. When I say that, I do not mean that they are hereditary, although they sometimes are. Five to 10 percent of all cancers are thought to stem from a strong predisposition to the disease inherited in our genes. The other 90 percent are caused by genetic mistakes that develop spontaneously over the course of a lifetime. Although a person can inherit a genetic tendency for a specific kind of cancer, the vast majority of cancers occur because of mutations in our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that occur after we are born. We do not inherit these mutations, we accumulate them.
Cancer is a disease of our DNA, the substance that regulates the growth of the body, and that is contained in every cell we have. Think of DNA as your body's instruction book. It contains information that guides all your growth and physiologic changes from the time you are born until the day you die. Your DNA determines what color eyes you will have, how tall you will be, that you will have an arm where you are supposed to have an arm, and even that you will have arms instead of wings. You inherit your initial set of DNA from your parents—half from your mother and half from your father—when the egg and sperm fuse. Since each of our cells contains an identical set of DNA, as we grow, this DNA is duplicated with every single cell division. Each of us starts out as a single cell, but by the time we are adults, our bodies contain 75 trillion cells. That means trillions and trillions of cell divisions during your lifetime.
Cells fall into one of two basic types: germ line cells and somatic cells. Germ line cells are our reproductive cells—eggs in the female and sperm in the male. All the other cells in the body are somatic cells, which form more than 99 percent of the feody. The somatic cells are living, changing cells; they grow, divide, die. As long as you are alive, your body replaces these cells continuously. During your lifetime, you replace virtually all the somatic cells in your body, except brain and nerve cells, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of times. Your stomach lining, for example, is in an almost continual state of cell division, making new cells every day. Most cancers stem from mutations of somatic cells.
When a cell divides, the DNA in that cell is copied and passed on to the new cell. But the DNA in any one cell can become damaged. Pieces of the instructions on the genes can get knocked out or changed—mutated. If the mutation occurs in the wrong place—in an active gene, for instance—it can disrupt the function of the cell, causing it to die. Or it can cause the cell to begin dividing wildly, becoming a cancer.
We get mutations in two ways. First, mutations can arise through mistakes in the cell-division process. Second, mutations can occur when the DNA in a cell is damaged by an irritant like radiation or free radicals. In either case, these mutations, if they do not kill the cell, get passed on when a cell divides. How many of these mutations will you undergo in your lifetime? Probably millions.
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TO BE CONTINUED
REALAGE - IMMUNE SYSTEM AND CANCER #2
If you consider the vast number of divisions necessary to maintain 75 trillion living cells, the chances are that sometime, somewhere, something will go wrong. And it does. Sometimes the DNA contained in each cell, which must replicate itself completely before each cell division, becomes damaged. Sometimes it doesn't copy correctly. When the cell divides, the new daughter cells can contain this error, a mutation.
Luckily, most of these mutations do not matter. They do not occur in sections of the DNA in which there are active genes or do not disturb the action of a gene. The body doesn't even notice them. In contrast, lethal mutations are so significant that they kill the cell right away, at which point the mutation disappears and is not passed on. Probably 99.9 percent of all the mutations you undergo belong to one of these two classes.
Between the harmless and the lethal mutations is a third class of mutations, a tumor-causing mutation. These are the rare cancer-causing mutations that tell the cell to begin growing and dividing uncontrollably. Your body has a regulatory system that keeps the number of cells in your body at a more or less constant level. The genes that regulate this process are known as cell-cycle genes because they tell the cell when to divide, to grow, and to divide again. Some of these cell-cycle genes are known as 'proofreader' genes: they scan the DNA when it replicates, ensuring that no mutations have been acquired. If a mutation has occurred, the proofreaders either fix it or kill the cell. A few of these cell-cycle and proofreader genes are also known as oncogenes (cancer genes) because mutations in these genes are tied to the development of cancers. If a gene that is supposed to tell a cell to stop growing stops working— that is, mutates—then the cell grows uncontrollably, dividing faster than it should. Moreover, its daughter cells also inherit the mutation and grow out of control themselves. The effect multiplies, and soon there is a mass of rapidly dividing, quickly growing cells, a tumor, 'the Big C.'
Generally, your body is able to recognize abnormal cells and destroy them before they cause harm. By means of the proofreader genes and other anticancer genes, most abnormal cells are rooted out and excised. The general immune system also destroys many precancerous and early cancer cells. The exact mechanisms of this response are poorly understood: the immune system is not always able to recognize the differences between cancer cells and normal cells. However, it has long been known that people with healthier immune systems are less likely to develop cancers and that precancerous cells are often rooted out by the body. Research is increasingly showing the role that the general immune system plays in cancer prevention. Hence, your body prevents cancer by a double mechanism—one genetic, one immunologic. Cancers— the life-threatening kind—occur when a mutation develops, coupled with a failure of both protective systems, when each has 'aged' too much to stop the cell from taking over as a cancer.
The longer you live—that is, the more divisions your cells undergo—the more likely it is that you will undergo a mutation in a cell-cycle gene. It's the law of averages. A mutation assaults your first line of defense—the line of defense within the cell that protects the body. By exposing your body to harmful chemicals, radiation, or the buildup of free radicals, you increase your rate of mutation exponentially. The odds that you will undergo a mutation in the wrong place increase dramatically.
As you age, your second line of defense, your immune system, tends to be less vigilant and does not as readily detect and destroy these abnormalities. The weaker your immune system, the more likely that it will not provide the necessary backup. The longer you live, the more likely that you will get improper cell divisions, the more likely that the DNA in a specific cell will contain a mutation, and the more likely that your immune system won't be there to catch a mistake. The most important thing to remember is this: You can slow, and even reverse, the rate of ageing of the immune system.
The RealAge strategy for keeping your immune system young and avoiding cancer is twofold: (1) decrease your exposure to factors that increase DNA damage in your cells and (2) adopt behaviors that strengthen your immune response. You keep your RealAge young by avoiding exposure to factors that cause mutations and by boosting your immune system so it scavenges those mutations as well as possible. Doing all the things you can do to keep your immune system youthful can make your RealAge over twenty years younger.
Cancer Genes: What Do They Mean to You?
Although the vast majority of cancers are thought to stem from environmental causes, it is worth considering those people who have an inherited genetic predisposition to the disease. Almost every week a major news story reports the discovery of a new cancer gene. 'Researchers have identified the breast cancer gene.' 'Scientists announce the discovery of the colon cancer gene.' Most of these genes—or, more precisely, genetic mutations—run in families, isolated populations, or ethnic enclaves. They are mutations that lie in the germ line cells—that is, in the egg and sperm—and that get passed down from parent to child. They are often identified in populations that are endogamous, that is, in which people marry within the same group. The propensity for these specific genetic mutations occurs in such populations because the more closely related people are, the less their genetic variation. Since many of these mutations are recessive, appearing only when both parents are carriers, the trait is more likely to show up when both parents have a similar genetic background. Also, it is easier for researchers to trace genetic predisposition to a disease when they can trace a cultural and historical context, linking family histories with biologic events.
If you belong to a population that is at risk of a genetically linked cancer, the discovery of a gene can have an immediate impact. You can be tested for the gene to learn whether you have inherited it. Although this sounds ominous, and getting such tests can be frightening, there is a more positive way of thinking about it. By getting tested, you will know whether you have the gene. If you don't have it, you can quit worrying. If you do have it, you can minimize the risks and the ageing it can cause.
If you do not belong to the group at risk, the news about cancer genes is less immediate but no less important. By identifying mutated forms of a gene, researchers are better able to understand what a gene does when it functions normally and they are better able to target specific gene pathways that are implicated in specific forms of cancer. By understanding the biochemical processes by which a cancer grows, scientists get closer to understanding how we might prevent such cancers. Because all cancers are genetic—whether they are caused by an inherited mutation or an acquired one—the more we learn about the genetics involved in the development of cancers, the better prepared we will be to treat all cancers—and to prevent them.
Another thing: Inheriting a cancer gene does not mean that you will get cancer—it means that you have an increased risk of getting that particular type of cancer. People who inherit a form of a gene that causes cancer in 100 percent of the cases rarely survive childhood. When scientists say that they have 'found' a cancer gene, they mean that they have found a gene that, when mutated, increases a person's risk. For example, even though scientists refer to the recendy discovered BRCA-1 gene as the breast cancer gene, they are not being accurate. No woman really has a breast cancer gene—a gene whose function is to cause cancer. Instead, she may have inherited a copy of a gene that contains a specific mutation affecting the ability of that gene to function properly. The side effect is to increase her predisposition toward breast cancer.
Many of the so-called cancer genes are two-hit genes. Because we inherit chromosomes (DNA) from each parent, in many instances we have two working copies of a particular gene. If one doesn't work, the other covers for it. In many genetically linked cancers, a person inherits a working copy of the gene from one parent and a nonworking copy from the other. The odds of that person getting an acquired mutation in the one working copy in a particular cell of the body are much higher than the odds for people who have two working copies of the gene. People with two working copies would need to get two acquired mutations—a mutation in each copy of the gene in the same cell—to develop the same cancer. Other cancers require two mutations in two different genes, or the same copy of a gene. One mutation usually won't cause the cancer, but two will. This is true, for example, with certain eye cancers called retinoblastomas. Because there are millions of cells in the eye, the chances of an acquired mutation occurring in any one cell is relatively high. The chances of two acquired mutations occurring in exactly the right places is relatively low. However, we know that certain people are born with one of the mutations already. Hence, the odds of their developing another mutation over their lifetimes are extremely high, making them genetically predisposed to developing this type of cancer.
Recently, inherited links have been discovered for certain types of breast and colon cancers, allowing us to identify people who are predisposed to developing each of these diseases. Such mutations account for a minority of all such cancers. For example, in breast cancer, genetic predisposition is thought to account for less than 4 percent of all cases. However, genetic predisposition is implicated in nearly a third of all breast cancers that develop in women under age forty, showing just how much having one of these genes can affect one's risk.
Testing positive for a cancer gene can make your RealAge dramatically older, as you would then have the same likelihood of developing cancer as a much older person. For example, a thirty-five-year-old woman who tests positive for the BRCA-1 breast cancer gene and whose mother and sister both developed breast cancer before age forty has a RealAge that is seventeen years older. That is, her RealAge would be fifty-two. By knowing she has the gene, she can make choices that make her RealAge younger. The dilemmas involved in this scenario are extremely complex, and individual counseling is recommended.
Identifying cancer genes is a big step for science. Unfortunately, this research is still in the beginning stages. The more we understand about genetically inherited cancers, the more we will understand about cancers in general. For example, the recent identification of a specific mutation in a gene linked to an increased risk of colon cancer among Ashkenazi Jews has helped researchers identify a gene pathway that is believed to be implicated in as many as 90 percent of all cases of colon cancer. That discovery opens numerous doorways for treatment and prevention. There are numerous other examples. The more we learn, the better prepared we will be to stave off the ageing that cancer can cause.
What If You Get Cancer?
How Does It Affect Your RealAge?
No doubt some of you are cancer survivors and most of us know someone who is. How much effect does a positive diagnosis have on a person's RealAge? Well, that depends. Clearly, some cancers are much more harmful than others. They attack the body much more quickly and aggressively. On the other hand, some cancers grow slowly, resulting in little damage. The removal of a tumor, chemotherapy, radiation, and other therapies can often stop the spread of a cancer throughout the body. Some people have a tumor removed in their thirties and live until their eighties. The effect of the disease on your ageing depends on the type of cancer you have, how it is treated, and how long you are free from cancer after treatment.
Let's use the breast cancer example again. A fifty-eight-year-old woman who has had a malignant lump removed from her breast without indication of significant spreading in the lymph nodes has a RealAge of sixty-five. If that same woman undergoes chemotherapy and still shows no signs of tumor growth in the next five years, her RealAge will shift from being seven years older to being only two years older. In general, the longer a person goes disease-free after treatment, the less effect a cancer diagnosis has on his or her RealAge.
The best thing, of course, is to avoid cancer altogether, and that means avoiding cancer-causing substances and strengthening the immune system so it can act as it did in your youth and effectively scavenge early cancers. By becoming as young as you can be, your immune system will be in better condition and more able to wipe out any possible cancer cells in your body. Fortunately, there are foods, supplements, and behaviors that can help you keep your immune system young.
Let's consider some of those elements. Diet, vitamins, exercise, and preventing stress are all key ways of slowing ageing of the immune system. In fact, these are so important, I have devoted whole chapters to those topics. Here, though, let's consider three examples of immune system ageing— prostate cancer, skin cancer, and periodontal disease. As diverse as they are, they have something in common—the failure of the immune system.
Let's start with prostate cancer. Here are two things that may help men prevent it.
Just for Men: Tomato Paste and Green Tea Help to Keep You Cancer-Free
Ask any man what he fears most about ageing, and he may tell you heart disease or cancer, but, in his heart of hearts, what he fears most is impotence. Impotence is psychologically and emotionally devastating. Since virility is a sign of youthful manhood, losing the ability to perform is something that makes men feel most acutely that their bodies are failing and that they are getting old. There are four major causes of impotence: arterial disease, stress, psychological upsets, and prostate problems. Of the four, prostate enlargement and cancers are by far the most common—and predictable—reasons for the loss of sexual function.
The prostate is a small gland at the base of the penis. As men age, the prostate tends to become enlarged and often cancerous. In fact, most older men show signs of having microscopic cancers in their prostates. The enlargement, from cancers and other causes (called benign prostate hypertrophy when it is not associated with cancer), can be painful and uncomfortable. A swollen prostate cuts off urine flow, increases the need to urinate, and often makes urination painful. Sexual performance can become limited. And that ages us—physiologically and psychologically. Although drugs can be given to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate, they are not especially effective and have side effects, such as impotence or an increased risk of cancer. Fortunately, there are ways of preventing prostate cancer and the ageing it causes.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men. Some 250,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and it causes 40,000 deaths annually— second only to lung cancer among cancer fatalities for men. More than 60 percent of men over age eighty will develop cancerous prostate cells. For those of us who plan to live into our eighties—healthily, heartily, vibrantly, and as young as sixty-year-olds—we need to be especially careful to protect ourselves from this kind of cancer. The best weapon against prostate cancer, or any cancer, is to avoid getting it in the first place.
Treatments for prostate cancer—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation— are just as devastating as all cancer treatments but have an added side effect: Almost all the therapies are associated with a significant loss of sexual function in more than 50 percent of the cases. Despite this grim news, there is something that can give us hope—the tomato.
Tomatoes and Lycopenes
Studies have shown that the risk of developing prostate cancer is as much as one-third lower among men who frequendy eat foods containing tomatoes or tomato paste than among men who rarely eat such foods. Men who eat tomato products ten or more times a week have significandy lower levels of prostate cancer—a 34 percent reduction in severe metastatic prostate cancers—than do men who eat tomatoes less than twice a week.
The reason appears to be the antioxidant power of tomatoes. A substance found in tomatoes—lycopene—apparendy helps retard or reverse the ageing of cells in the prostate that can promote cancer growth. Lycopene is one of several kinds of carotenoids that are known for their antioxidant properties (see Chapter 8). Carotenoids, pigments found primarily in yellow, orange, and red fruits or vegetables, are similar to vitamins in that they help facilitate specific chemical reactions. Unlike vitamins, we do not require them to survive. A key function that carotenoids perform is to attach to free radicals, packaging them so they can be washed out of the body and preventing them from damaging our cells and chromosomes. Since the prostate is especially vulnerable to damage from environmental factors, it is especially vulnerable to damage from free radicals. Hence, the importance of the antioxidant powers of lycopene.
A study investigating a wide range of populations in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Milan, New York, Chicago, and Albuquerque, found that the incidence of microscopic prostate cancer was the same for all groups, no matter their geographic location or genetic heritage. The chances that these microscopic cancers would develop into full-blown prostate cancer varied wildly across locations, with the number of fatalities due to prostate cancer differing significantly. The areas of the world with the lowest levels of severe, or metastatic, prostate cancer are Mediterranean countries, especially Greece and Italy—where tomato-based foods are central to the diet. In areas where tomato-based foods are not common, the risk of cancer increased markedly.
A long-running question about prostate cancer has concerned the increased risk of the disease for African American men. It is interesting to note that studies have found that African Americans are less likely to eat tomato-based foods. Although no studies have been undertaken to show with certainty that dietary differences account for the higher incidence of prostate cancer for this population group, the data suggest that such could be the case.
Tomato paste, raw tomatoes, and cooked tomatoes all contain lots of lycopene. Our bodies, however, cannot absorb lycopenes except in the presence of fat. Drinking a glass of tomato juice by itself or eating slices of raw tomato without salad dressing does not provide us with lycopene. Some experts question whether we can absorb lycopene from raw tomatoes even in the presence of fat. Tomatoes cooked lightly in oil—as in tomato paste or pasta sauces—result in a two - to threefold rise in lycopene concentrations in the bloodstream the day after ingestion. In contrast, people who drink lots of tomato juice do not show this rise in lycopene-levels because the juice lacks the fats that help the body absorb the nutrients. Although slight cooking appears best, raw tomatoes with a little olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, and probably even tomato juice eaten with a bit of cheese or other fat may also increase lycopene levels.
Studies have found that most men get their lycopene from tomato sauce on pizza. Although that is certainly one way of getting lycopene, pizza with cheese, not to mention pepperoni and sausage, tends to be extremely high in saturated fats. Ways of getting tomato products without so much fat include eating tomato sauces on pasta, eating a roasted tomato with a drizzle of olive oil as a salad, eating tomato-based soups, putting salsa on meats or salads, and even eating ketchup.
For Women
A diet rich in carotenoids—the antioxidants found in tomatoes and other red, yellow, and orange vegetables—has many beneficial effects for everyone. Therefore, even though women cannot receive the lycopene benefit for prostate cancer, they should still eat a diet heavy in carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables.
Lycopene appears to have other benefits as well. A 1997 reanalysis of the data gathered in the historic EURAMIC study found that men and women with the highest levels of lycopene in their bodies had the lowest risk of arterial ageing. Although there has only been one study to date, the reduction in mortality from atherosclerosis was 65 percent. Translated into RealAge terms, that would make ten helpings a week of tomato paste produce more than a five-year younger benefit for the average fifty-five-year-old man.
If you are trying to build up lycopene levels in your blood, do not eat potato chips or other foods containing the new fat substitute olestra (brand name, Olean). This fat 'fake' leaches fat-soluble vitamins, such as D and E, from your system and dramatically reduces the amount of lycopene in the body. One study found that eating just six olestra chips every day for a month reduced the amount of lycopene in the body by 40 percent, and eating sixteen chips a day reduced lycopene by as much as 60 percent.
Green Tea: A Cure for Prostate Cancer?
Another substance that appears promising in the prevention of prostate cancer is green tea. Several East Asian studies found that men who consume large amounts of green tea appear to have lower rates of prostate cancer. Studies at the University of Chicago have isolated the hydroxy '8' molecule in green tea that retards prostate cancer in laboratory animals. This molecule is reputed to be one of the most powerful antioxidants yet discovered, even more powerful than vitamins E and C. However, the green-tea molecule is notoriously fragile. The freezing and dehydration processes that imported green tea must undergo destroy the chemical compound that is linked to the reduction of the growth of prostate cancer cells. Unfortunately, to get any benefit from green tea, a person must drink as much as fifty cups a day. So far, there are no commercially available pills containing the green-tea extract in its proper form. While doubt remains, green-tea extract may well be an aid in preventing prostate cancer. Keep your eyes open for any new information on the subject. An extract supplement may be available soon if the studies continue to show promising results. Other preliminary research indicates that green tea—and black tea, too—may have other cancer-fighting abilities.
In both examples of the prevention of prostate cancer, a nutrient in our diet can affect our risk of getting cancer. Eating is one way we interact with our environment and one way we can lessen the impact of environmental factors on our risk of developing cancer. Another environmental cause is, as most of us know, sunshine. How exactly does the sun age you?
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TO BE CONTINUED
REALAGE
Sunny Skin: How Much Sun Is Too Much?
There is no temptation like the sun. Although that tan may look great now, we all know that in the long run, it can cause wrinkling and, worse, skin cancers. Wrinkles not only make you look and feel older than you want to be, but are actually signs of skin damage and ageing. Wrinkles show that your skin, one of your most important organs, is losing the elastin that keeps it young and healthy. Some forms of skin cancer make your RealAge significantly older very fast.
Everyone needs some sun each day. Sun allows our bodies to turn specific kinds of food-derived cholesterols into vitamin D, an important nutrient that helps decrease ageing of the cardiovascular and immune systems. In turn, the liver and kidneys convert vitamin D into vitamin D3, the active form of the vitamin. In fact, ten to twenty minutes of sunlight a day appears to be the optimal amount of exposure to the sun that each of us needs and can make your RealAge 0.7 years younger. If you do not get some sun every day, substitute vitamin D daily. Studies on mood elevation show that sunlight and exposure to broad-spectrum light help improve our mood. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other types of depression can be improved by exposure to sunlight. So, some sun is good, but how much sun is too much?
In general, your risk of skin cancer is determined by how much sun exposure you received in your youth. People who had severe sunburns as children are at much higher risk of skin cancers than those who never burned. Since most skin cancers are slow to develop, the sun exposure you get later in life is less damaging than the exposure you get in childhood. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. If you plan to be in the sun for more than ten or twenty minutes a day, you should take precautions.
Exposure to ultraviolet light not only ages your skin by destroying elastin and promoting wrinkles, but also damages the chromosomes in your skin cells. Chromosomes are the strands of DNA contained in each cell in your body. If you look through a microscope at sun-damaged skin cells, you can see actual breaks in the chromosomes where they have been damaged by solar radiation. This chromosomal damage can lead to cancers. Amazingly, the sun can even damage the chromosomes in cells not directly exposed to sunlight.
There are essentially three major kinds of skin cancers: basal cell cancers, squamous cell cancers, and malignant melanomas. Ninety percent of the roughly 400,000 reported cases of skin cancers each year are either basal or squamous cell cancers. Although these forms are rarely fatal and can usually be removed surgically without major repercussions, they are often disfiguring. In contrast, malignant melanomas are very serious and can be fatal. Approximately 34,000 cases of malignant melanomas are reported each year. Although Caucasians suffer skin cancers at somewhat higher rates than Asians, Hispanics, or African Americans, anyone can get skin cancers. More important, skin cancer rates are increasing annually among all population groups.
People who are at a particular risk are those with a family history of skin cancers and those who were excessively exposed to the sun, especially those who had severe burns, during childhood. If you have moles or a family history of moles, you need to be especially attentive to skin cancers. Look for changes in the color, size, or shape of moles. If you note any changes, see your doctor immediately. A mole that looks irregular, has variable colors, or is larger than a quarter of an inch in diameter should be examined by your doctor. Do self-examinations regularly. And have a family member, spouse, or friend check the places that are hard for you to see for any suspicious moles or changes in moles.
Use sunscreen. If you plan to be in the sun for more than twenty minutes, you should use a sunscreen of at least SPF-15. SPF stands for 'sun protection factor,' and the number fifteen means that you get fifteen times the level of protection that you would get if you wore no sunscreen at all. Everyone under the age of thirty should use at least that level of protection, no matter how long he or she is in the sun. Likewise, SPF-30 means you get thirty times the protection. But SPF is only the beginning. More important, you need broad-spectrum protection.
There are three kinds of ultraviolet (UV) rays. Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays, the rays with the longest wavelength, are the rays that cause you to tan. They are the safest of the ultraviolet rays but can cause cancers and definitely promote wrinkles. Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are somewhat more dangerous and are the most common cause of sunburn and skin cancers. Ultraviolet C (UVC) rays—those with the shortest wavelength—are the most dangerous, causing high rates of cancers. Luckily, the ozone layer blocks out most of these UVC rays, although in such Southern Hemisphere countries as Australia and New Zealand, where the ozone layer is damaged, you need to be particularly careful and use sunscreen that protects against exposure to UVC.
Different sunscreens use different chemicals to block out rays. Some use PABA; others use benophenones or parisol 1789. Each composition is better than the others at blocking a particular type of UV ray. Studies on albino rats show that mixing all three—thus getting protection from all the kinds of UV rays—provides the best overall protection. Consider using two or three different sunscreens at once, a PABA-based one, a benophenone-based one, and a parsol 1789-based one. If you are going to be out a long time, you should also use zinc oxide on areas particularly vulnerable to skin cancers, like the lips and nose. If you are planning on exercising or being in the water, make sure to apply water-resistant products or, better yet, waterproof products. Finally, apply products liberally and often. The consistent use of sunscreen helps preserve your skin, preventing skin cancers and wrinkling.
Don't think that you need to cover only your face. Skin cancers can appear anywhere on the body, even on areas that have not had excessive exposure to the sun. Although cancers are more likely to occur in areas that the sun has reached, it has recently been shown that too much sun can cause cancers anywhere on the body. For example, construction workers who get tan only on their necks and arms can develop skin cancers on parts of their bodies that have never been exposed to the son.
Finally, avoid tanning beds, which emit a lot of UVA rays. Remember that UVA rays cause wrinkling. If you decide to use a tanning bed, do not expose yourself for more than ten minutes a day and wear a physical block sunscreen like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide on such vulnerable areas as the lips, nose, ears, and shoulders. If you insist on having a tan, consider using the no-sun tanning cream dihydroxyacetone. It poses no known risks, and most experts believe that it is safer than baking in the sun.
So, remember, some sun is good. It helps to promote the production of vitamin D and to prevent certain kinds of depression. Just be careful about getting too much sun. Overexposure can make your RealAge 0.9 years older. Also, don't neglect to take vitamin D supplements and to eat a diet rich in vitamin D because the sun probably won't give you enough.
(PREVENTING WRINKLES: COMMON SENSE SHOULD TELL YOU THAT AIR, WIND, SUN, AND WASHING, DRIES OUT THE SKIN. YOU NEED TO PUT BACK MOISTURE BY USING A SKIN CREAM, AT LEAST TWICE A DAY, MORNING AND EVENING. IT HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN VIA TV "INVESTIGATIVE PROGRAMS" THAT SPENDING MORE THAN $25 FOR SKIN CREAM, IS THROWING YOUR MONEY DOWN THE TOILET - Keith Hunt)
Now that we've talked about cancers and environmental risk, let's consider other kinds of immune system ageing. Did you know that flossing your teeth is one of the best and easiest ways to keep your immune system young?
Keep Smiling:
Keeping Your Teeth—
and Heart—Young
If I asked you to list things that mark the transition to old age, I bet that the word dentures would be near the top of the list. In all the cartoons and stereotypes, the typical 'old' person wears dentures. Tooth loss, through cavities and disease, makes us feel and look old like almost nothing else. But it's not just our vanity that's at stake. Dental disease and tooth loss don't just make us look older, they make us older. Indeed, periodontal disease can make our RealAge more than 3.4 years older.
Two major studies and another smaller study confirm that the presence or absence of cavities doesn't seem to make a difference in your overall health or longevity, although cavities do lead to dentures faster. The presence of gum disease, called gingivitis, or diseases that destroy the underlying jawbone, called periodontal diseases, do affect the rate of ageing. These studies show that the presence of periodontal diseases, diseases most common in people with tooth loss, actually affects longevity. The best of these studies, done at Emory University in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control, indicated that people with gingivitis and periodontitis have a mortality rate that is 23 percent to 46 percent higher than those who don't. When translated into RealAge terms, these dental diseases make you more than 3.4 years older.
Why? They are linked to increased rates of cardiovascular disease and strokes, as well as to an increase in mortality from other causes, such as infections. Conversely, the absence of periodontal diseases makes you 6.4 years younger than the median person.
When I first read these studies, I couldn't believe the findings. Why would dental health affect arterial health? I've never been one to savor a visit to the dentist, and I had always regarded dental health as primarily a cosmetic issue. We want healthy teeth because a nice white smile looks good. I assumed that the correlation between dental disease and higher death rates was due to confounding factors: I assumed that people with other bad health habits—smoking, overeating, too much alcohol consumption—would also be more likely to develop dental disease. But I was wrong, very wrong. Flossing your teeth daily can make your arteries younger. The probable reason: Flossing helps keep your immune system young. For example, men under age fifty who have advanced periodontal disease are 2.6 times more likely to die prematurely and three times more likely to die from heart disease than are those who have healthy teeth and gums. Why would this be so?
Although the data remain sketchy, a plausible hypothesis is that the same bacteria that cause periodontal disease also trigger an immune response, inflammation, that causes the arteries to swell. The swelling of the arterial walls results in a constriction of blood flow that can lead to a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. Inflammation and constriction cause a buildup of lipid deposits along the arterial walls. Furthermore, this inflammation destabilizes already existing plaques. Indeed, a bacterial strain commonly found in tooth plaque has also been found in the fatty deposits that can clog your arteries. Other studies have shown that periodontal disease leads to a higher white blood cell count, which is an indicator that the immune system is under increased stress.
Hence, it appears that the same plaque that causes tooth decay—the sticky coating of bacteria, salvia, and food deposits—also needlessly ages both your immune system and your arteries. Whether the arterial-swelling theory is true, my 'confounding-factors' theory was disproved. All the major studies done on dental disease and longevity had adjusted for the very confounding factors I was worried about, such as smoking, alcohol, and cholesterol levels, and still found a distinct relationship between the incidence of periodontal disease and a shortened life span. Poor oral hygiene and particularly increased tooth loss are important indicators of your risk. (The fewer teeth you have, the greater your risk of gum infections.)
What should you do to prevent this unnecessary ageing? Do the things you already know you should do. Brush your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste several times a day, especially after eating. (Some studies suggest that it may be more effective to brush with no toothpaste, but these findings are still preliminary.) If you cannot brush after a meal, chew sugarless gum instead. When you brush, make sure to brush your tongue, to get rid of bacteria that can cause gum disease and bad breath. Also, floss every day. Flossing is perhaps the most important thing you can do to prevent periodontal disease and the element of our daily routine that we are most likely to skip.
Other factors that appear to increase the incidence of periodontal disease are smoking and stress. So there's yet another incentive to quit smoking and to learn to manage stress. Finally, go to the dentist at least once, but preferably twice, a year to have your teeth cleaned and examined. And keep smiling, because each time you floss, you are making yourself younger.
(MY DAD USED TO BRUSH HIS TEETH AFTER EVERY MEAL [TOOK A TOOTH BRUSH WITH HIM TO WORK]. HIS DENTIST ON ONE VISIT SAID TO HIM, "YOU ARE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH TOO MUCH, YOU ARE BRUSHING AWAY THE ENAMEL." TOOTH AND GUM AND JAW BONE STRENGTH IS FROM YOUR DIET AND GETTING PLENTY OF CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D. AN OVERALL HEALTHY BODY MEANS YOU WILL HAVE HEALTHY GUMS. MY DAD WOULD ALSO WASH HIS MOUTH OUT WITH "LISTERENE" OR SIMILAR MOUTH WASH, ONCE A DAY - Keith Hunt)
The Immune System:
The Final Word—
Or Just the Beginning
This chapter has been an introduction to the immune system. The rest of the book tells you even more about the ageing of the immune system and, more important, what you can do to prevent it. More and more, we are learning that our choices and behaviors change this rate of ageing. All of us can do things to keep our immune systems strong and young, and there's no better way to prevent cancer and the myriad other autoimmune diseases that age us.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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