REAL AGE
Vitamin D: The Strong-Bone, Anticancer Vitamin
There are some pairings where you can't imagine one without the other: Bonnie and Clyde, Abbott and Costello, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The same is true for calcium and its vital partner, vitamin D.
Vitamin D is essential for proper absorption of calcium. Vitamin D helps strengthen bones and prevents the joint deterioration that accompanies arthritis. Vitamin D and its metabolites appear beneficial in reducing certain kinds of breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancers. No one is exactly sure why it works as an anticarcinogen, but both animal studies and one major epidemiologic study on humans showed this to be true. One of the most important vitamins in your Age Reduction Plan might be vitamin D.
Vitamin D may also help protect the body from the onset and ageing effects of arthritis itself, but this finding is still somewhat speculative. Osteoarthritis is a disease that afflicts more than 10 percent of the population sixty-five or older. It is painful, disabling, and ageing. Recent studies from Framingham, Massachusetts, and elsewhere have shown that taking calcium, vitamin C, and particularly vitamin D can retard the progression of arthritis and perhaps even prevent it. These studies found that those who had high levels of vitamin D in their bodies had less joint deterioration and fewer of the painful bone spurs and growths that can accompany arthritis as it worsens. Arthritis patients with low levels of vitamin D and calcium were reported to be three times more likely to suffer the rapid progression of the disease than those who had high levels of these nutrients in their bodies. Arthritis caused them to age faster.
Importantly, vitamin D seems to help prevent cancers. Although no one knows exactly why, and confirming studies are yet to be done, three primary theories try to explain how vitamin D works as a deterrent to cancer. All three have some validity, as evidenced by both animal and test-tube studies, but we still lack confirmation from studies on humans.
The first theory speculates that the D3 form of the vitamin kills cells which contain DNA mutations. Somehow, vitamin D3 is directiy lethal to mutated, possibly cancerous, cells. The second theory suggests that vitamin D3 promotes the death of cancerous cells. The body has an internal mechanism by which it is able to recognize mutated cells, and vitamin D3 is an essential component used in the body's attempt to rid itself of these cells. The final theory proposes that vitamin D3 promotes protein transcription; that is, it helps make proteins from the P53 gene, a gene that is one of the body's cancer watchdogs. Vitamin D appears to be vital for the proper functioning of the P53 gene. This gene helps prevent cancer by regulating the protein production of specific oncogenes—genes that, when mutated, can cause cancers. Indeed, vitamin D not only helps in the proper functioning of the gene but also appears actually to help safeguard the P53 gene from genetic damage.
Although studies still need to be done to confirm the link between vitamin D and cancer prevention, it is very possible that vitamin D does double duty by helping to prevent ageing of not only the skeletal system but also the immune system. When I think of vitamin D, I think of 'defense.' Vitamin D helps you defend yourself.
Most American adults do not get enough vitamin D. Estimates are that 30 to 40 percent of adults are vitamin D-deficient. You get vitamin D from two and only two sources: first, the sun; and second, food and supplements. Let me explain how our bodies produce vitamin D from sunlight.
Vitamin D production is a three-stage process. In the first stage, the body takes in food that contains a kind of cholesterol that is the precursor to vitamin D. Our bodies can't use this cholesterol form of the vitamin without first converting it. Only a few foods, such as cod liver oil and certain fatty fishes (tuna; salmon; sardines; and, to a lesser extent, cod itself) naturally contain vitamin D in the form that can be used by our bodies. For conversion, the second stage, we need sun. Solar radiation is necessary to create the right chemical reaction in our bodies to turn these cholesterols into vitamin D. In the final stage of the process, the liver and kidneys convert that vitamin D into yet another form of the vitamin, vitamin D3, the active form that our bodies can use. As mentioned in the section on sun exposure (see Chapter 5), you need just ten to twenty minutes of sunlight a day to ensure that your body is producing enough vitamin D. Most of us do not get enough sun, particularly in northern climates. In Boston or Seattle, for example, it is almost impossible to produce the necessary levels of vitamin D from sunlight alone from November through February. After we reach our seventies, the precursor to vitamin D generally found in our skin diminishes three or fourfold, making it increasingly difficult for us to produce vitamin D naturally.
The second and less risky way of getting enough vitamin D is through food and supplements. Some foods, mainly fish and shellfish, contain vitamin D naturally. Such foods as milk (the major source of vitamin D in food) and most breakfast cereals contain vitamin D as an additive. These additions, which help prevent rickets (a vitamin D-deficiency disease) in children, are synthetic. When it comes to getting vitamin D, it is no better for us to drink milk than to take a pill. When you drink milk—you get the added benefits of calcium and protein. As I mentioned earlier, most adults do not drink milk in sufficient quantities to get their vitamin D from diet alone.
So how much vitamin D do you need to get the maximum antiageing protection? The RDA of 55 IU only ensures a level of vitamin D that prevents a deficiency disease, such as rickets. I recommend that you consume at least 400 IU of vitamin D a day in a vitamin supplement if you are under seventy years old, and 600 IU if you are older than seventy, unless you are absolutely sure that you are getting enough from your diet. This amount is what I consider the RAO. That means four glasses of milk a day (for 400 IU). Vitamin D overdoses are exceedingly rare among adults. To develop toxic levels of vitamin D in your blood, you would have to consume more than 2,000 IU a day for more than six months.
In addition to the supplement, I recommend getting some sunlight. Ten to twenty minutes a day outside without sunscreen should provide sufficient vitamin D protection, although the farther north you live, the less likely it is that you can produce all the D you need this way. If you are going to be in the sun for more than twenty minutes, put on sunscreen. Note that an SPF 8 sunscreen reduces your vitamin D production by 95 percent, and SPF 30 cuts it to zero. The risk of skin cancer from a little bit of sunlight is probably less than the benefits you gain from having healthy vitamin D levels, especially the older your calendar age. Finally, if you are worried about vitamin D deficiency, you can ask your doctor to test your blood levels. The test will quickly determine whether you are getting enough vitamin D.
Vitamins E and C work as a team. Calcium and vitamin D work as a team. Now let's look at a vitamin that works all on its own—folate, a member of the vitamin B family.
REAL AGE
The Risk of Homocysteine, and the Folate Counterattack
Every time I visit my lawyer, he asks me for a health tip. The last time I went to see him, he asked me, 'So, Mike, what's the latest thing I should be doing to get younger?'
Without hesitation, I said, 'Taking 400 micrograms of folate a day as a supplement.'
'Folate? What for?' he replied.
'To reduce your homocysteine,' I said.
'My what?'
'Homocysteine. It's worse for your arteries than a sixty-four-ounce steak.'
'I thought cholesterol was the worst thing.'
'If cholesterol is petty crime, homocysteine is grand larceny.' Then I gave him some free medical advice in exchange for some paid legal advice. Lawyers!
Homocysteine is an amino acid that is a by-product of various metabolic processes that may build up in the blood. As you age, your homocysteine levels increase. No one is exactly sure what homocysteine does to the arteries, but it is well established that people with high levels of homocysteine have considerably more arterial disease and much higher rates of atherosclerosis than those who don't.
People with high levels of homocysteine in their blood are at a significantly higher risk of the early onset of arterial disease and suffer markedly greater rates of arterial ageing. Elevated homocysteine levels triple the risk of heart attacks and stroke. More than 42 percent of people with cerebrovascular disease, 30 percent of those with cardiovascular disease, and 28 percent of those with peripheral vascular disease have homocysteine levels that are too high. Getting 400 micrograms (meg) of folate a day can reduce homocysteine levels dramatically, essentially removing any excess from your bloodstream and stopping its ageing effect. It's a quick, easy, and painless way to make your arteries younger. By religiously taking 400 meg of folate a day, you can reduce your RealAge by 0.6 years in just three months. If you already have elevated levels of homocysteine, you can reduce your RealAge by three years in just three months.
As I discussed in the chapter on arterial ageing, one of the main causes of arterial ageing is atherosclerosis. For some reason—no one knows for sure— high levels of homocysteine seem to disturb the endothelium, the inner lining of the artery. Some scientists believe that homocysteine causes small openings in the cell layer, leading to deterioration of the arterial wall and the buildup of plaque. There are other hypotheses as well. Homocysteine may decrease the production of relaxing factors that let our blood vessels dilate. It may stimulate blood clots by changing the shape or form of the cells that form the endothelium. Homocysteine might also oxidize low-density lipoproteins (LDL—remember 'L' for lousy—cholesterol), promoting the buildup of plaque along the walls of the arteries.
Although we don't know all the reasons, there is a clearly established link between high homocysteine levels and arterial ageing and a clearly established link between high folate levels and arterial health. One study estimated that if everyone had proper levels of folate, the number of heart attacks in the United States could be reduced by as much as 40,000 to 150,000 cases a year, and this number may be too conservative! The risk-factor statistics predict that a more realistic estimate would be a reduction of one-third in the rate of heart attacks in the United States a year. In other words, perhaps as many as 450,000 heart attacks occur a year because we don't get enough folate.
As folate levels drop, homocysteine levels increase, and vice versa. The two compounds are part of a complex chemical reaction involving many steps, but the end result is that more of one means less of the other. The more folate you take, the lower your homocysteine levels.
Folate (in its natural form)—or folic acid (in supplements)—is part of the B-complex family of vitamins. Folic acid is often prescribed for pregnant women because it is essential for the normal development of the brain and spinal cord of the fetus. Although we tend to think of folate as being essential during infancy, we need it as adults, too. As you age, folate concentrations drop. The most common vitamin deficiency found in older people is a deficiency of folate. More that 50 percent of all Americans do not get enough folate daily. On average, American men consume 281 meg of folate a day and American women, just 271 meg. Older people ingest even less. All are far below the ideal intake of 1,100 meg of folate in food or 675 meg of folic acid in supplements a day.
Lots of foods contain folate. A glass of orange juice has 43 meg of folate, and many breakfast cereals average 100 meg a serving. Still, to get enough folate, you would have to drink about twenty-five glasses of orange juice a day! A slice of white bread has only 6 meg of folate and a green salad, just 2 meg.
Since the average intake of folate is approximately 275 meg from diet, a 400-mcg supplement is what you should take to get the 675-mcg-a-day RAO, the RealAge optimum. If you are trying to get all your folate from your diet, you will have to consume even more—as much as 1,100 meg—since the body will absorb only about half the folate found in food. For example, 700 meg of folate found in food is equivalent to about 400 meg of the folic acid found in supplements. Don't worry about an overdose of folate. Toxicity occurs only when more than 1,500 meg is ingested a day on a regular basis.
You will need to take folate consistently for the rest of your life. Studies show no known side effects of folate consumption. If your kidneys are not working properly, you should probably not only take folic acid supplements, but also eat a low-protein diet. This will help control homocysteine levels, which normally increase with a high protein diet. Vitamin B6 also lowers homocysteine levels, so you may want to consider that option. Consult your physician.
Should you have your homocysteine level cheeked? Probably not. The test is expensive and difficult to perform. It is far easier to try to get adequate folate every day. If homocysteine is high, folate will bring it down. If it is low, folate will help keep it low.
As a medical student, I was taught that high homocysteine levels were associated only with a rare disease. In those days, we 'hotshot' medical students and residents used to laugh at the 'old, out-of-date clinicians' who gave their elderly patients shots of B12 and folate as placebos, often to make them feel better. Perhaps those 'old fogies' knew something we young hotshots didn't. Getting enough folate makes your RealAge at least 1.2 years younger.
By the way, make sure you get adequate B12 (25 meg) and B6 (4 mg) each day, as well. The highest quantities of B6 are found in almost all beef, parsley, many fish (cod, halibut, herring, salmon, sardines, and tuna), bananas, avocados, some fortified cereals, whole grains, eggs, chestnuts, peanuts and sunflower seeds, beans (garbanzo beans, lima beans, green beans, pin beans, and lentils), soybeans, spinach, potatoes, and green peppers. Most of us get this much B6 and B12 from our diets or multivitamin, but vegetarians may need to take supplements of these two vitamins (see Chapter 8).
TO BE CONTINUED
Real Age
Minerals
Besides calcium, a number of other minerals are found in either large or trace amounts in our bodies, all of which are necessary for basic metabolic function. Magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, sulfur, and phosphorus are, like calcium, needed in relatively large quantities. Most people's diets provide sufficient quantities of all these minerals, and, in the case of sodium, we may get far more than we require. People with salt-sensitive high blood pressure, arterial disease, and excess weight gain often need to reduce their sodium intake. Trace minerals that we need include chromium, copper, cobalt, iodine, iron, fluoride, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Our bodies demand these minerals in much smaller amounts, and we generally get them from our diet. Silicon, vanadium, nickel, lithium, cadmium, and boron are other trace minerals we seem to need, but scientists know much less about them. If you are eating a well-balanced diet, you can make sure you're getting enough of all these minerals by taking a multivitamin at least once a week. Do not take extra mineral supplements.
Why? Minerals are insoluble elements that come from the earth's crust. Many of them are heavy metals, which can be toxic in excess amounts. With minerals, you want to make sure to get enough without overloading. Extra minerals can build up in the body. Iron is a perfect example.
Iron
Unless you have been diagnosed with an iron deficiency—a condition seen almost exclusively in premenopausal women, growing children, and occasionally vegetarians—it is more likely that you have to worry more about getting too much iron than not enough. Men and postmenopausal women are at the lowest risk of iron deficiency, and most of us—no matter who we are—get plenty of iron from meats, fortified breakfast cereals, breads, and pastas. In fact, the United States has been criticized for adding too much iron to such foods as breakfast cereals. The critics aren't all wrong; the consequences of taking too much iron can be grave. Iron overload can be life threatening and may make your RealAge older.
Perhaps this news sounds surprising. After all, most of us were raised with cartoon images of Popeye gulping down spinach to revitalize his strength. We all thought we needed iron. Don't get me wrong—spinach is good. It's needless iron in supplements that ages us. Avoid iron unless it is prescribed for you by a physician.
When Jason—a body builder, just twenty-four years old—came to see me, he should have been at the peak of health. Instead he was near death. He suffered from congestive heart failure, unusual for someone so young. A few more months of decline, and he would have needed a heart transplant. Whereas he once had been able to bench-press three hundred fifty pounds, by the time I saw him he could barely get out of a chair. His condition seemed a mystery: A young man to an old one in just three years. Luckily for him, other patients' histories had convinced me of the need to ask everyone about the use of vitamins and supplements, and I learned that Jason was taking 10 grams of iron a day. He thought that it would help him build muscle, but he was wrong. It was killing him. Fortunately, the treatment to remove the excess iron that had built up in his body worked. He recovered completely, his heart intact.
Although iron overload as extreme as Jason's is relatively rare, his story proves a point. Iron stays in the body for a long time and, when present in large amounts, can be toxic. The body rids itself of iron primarily through bleeding, which is why menstruating women are sometimes anemic or deficient in iron. Early symptoms of iron overload include abdominal pain, fatigue, and loss of sex drive. Later symptoms include enlargement of the liver, diabetes, arthritis, and shrinking of the testicles. In severe cases, such as Jason's, iron overload can cause an abnormal heartbeat and even heart failure.
Hemochromatosis—chronic iron overload—is a fairly common affliction, and as many as one of every two hundred fifty people has a genetic predisposition to developing the condition, making hemochromatosis one of the most frequently occurring genetic disorders. Even people who don't carry the gene can develop the disorder, which damages such key organs as the liver and heart and causes needless ageing.
Even slightly excessive levels of iron in the body can be damageing. Too much iron may interfere with our levels of zinc. Studies have linked elevated iron levels with increased rates of cardiovascular disease and cancers. Although in both cases the evidence is somewhat preliminary and more studies are needed to prove the links, taking extra iron is not worth the risk. In RealAge terms, it can increase your ageing.
There are two possible ways that even low levels of iron toxicity can age us. First, iron appears to contribute to arterial ageing. No one knows exactly how, but the theory is that because iron is an oxidant, it increases the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. When LDL cholesterol is oxidized, it becomes especially dangerous, causing atherosclerosis. Some scientists have speculated that one of the reasons menstruating women have lower rates of cardiovascular disease is that they have lower levels of iron in their blood. One Finnish study showed that the rate of heart attacks doubled when the concentration of iron in the blood exceeded 220 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter of blood). This risk was four times higher for patients who had both high iron levels and an LDL cholesterol reading of 190 or higher. Other studies have been unable to confirm this link, and the claims about the connection have been strongly contested. But, why risk it?
Elevated iron levels have also been linked to cancers. The data remain preliminary, and we still don't completely understand the relationship, but two major theories suggest why this may be the case. First, iron is an oxidant. In contrast to antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, that remove free radicals from the body, iron enhances the production of free radicals, which, in turn, is linked to an increased incidence of cancer. Second, cancer cells appear to demand more iron than other cells. When cancers do develop, the increased iron in the body may fuel them to grow at a faster rate. Although neither theory has been proven, studies in the United States and Finland have shown an increased risk of cancers for people with elevated levels of iron.
If you are not iron deficient, make sure that your multivitamin does not contain iron. Eat normally. Take iron only if anemia is a chronic problem and you are specifically directed to do so by a doctor. If you are a vegetarian, be sure to have your red blood cell count checked annually just to ensure that you are not developing an iron deficiency. If you are a vegetarian and are eating a balanced diet, you are probably getting enough iron from other sources. If you are a woman and still menstruating, have your iron levels checked before you decide to take iron. Most menstruating women do not require iron supplements.
Chromium
Chromium, a mineral involved in glucose metabolism, is important for the synthesis of cholesterol, fats, and protein. Health-food gurus advocate chromium—usually in the form of chromium picolinate—for everything from weight loss to cholesterol reduction to the alleviation of depression to treatment for hypoglycemia and diabetes. Chromium has also been said to prevent osteoporosis, to build muscle, and to promote longevity. In light of these claims, should you take chromium as a supplement? Chromium is certainly a necessary mineral, but we generally get enough from our diets to provide for our needs. Chromium is found in many whole grains, meats, and dairy products—even in beer! Clearly, having proper levels of chromium in your body is necessary to metabolize blood sugar, and most of the benefits associated with chromium are tied to the process of proper glucose metabolism. Doctors sometimes advise that people with Type II diabetes take chromium to boost the effect of insulin. Regardless, if you have diabetes, you should not take chromium or any drug without first consulting your doctor.
Most of the longevity claims made for this mineral stem from animal studies and seem to be tied to the already well-known fact that a low body mass index increases life span. Several studies in the 1980s glorified chromium as a wonder nutrient, but the results have largely been disproved. It is still unclear whether taking chromium as a supplement promotes safe weight loss, and some studies have indicated that chromium may even cause weight gain. Indeed, one study linked the intake of chromium picolinate with weight gain among already overweight women. As for other claims, studies have shown little evidence that chromium adds muscle mass. Since we know little about chromium toxicity, we don't have much sense of how much a person can take without causing a negative effect. Too much chromium can cause heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and even psychosis. Animal studies have shown that chromium can cause chromosomal damage and so may pose a risk of cancer as well. I recommend eating a balanced diet and taking a multivitamin as a backup. That should provide all the chromium you need.
Selenium
Recently, there has been a big stir over selenium, which has been heralded for its antioxidant properties. Selenium is one of the trace minerals that our bodies need. We get selenium largely from such plant foods as garlic, which absorb the mineral from the soil they grow in. The soil in different regions of the country varies considerably in selenium content.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported a 50 percent reduction in cancer deaths among diagnosed patients who took 100 meg of selenium twice a day. Yet other research has suggested that selenium may have an immune effect as well, boosting resistance to certain viruses. These findings are still preliminary and have been much criticized by some cancer researchers. Unfortunately, all we have are tantalizing tidbits. The National Cancer Institute is funding at least five studies on the potential benefits of selenium, and we should know considerably more about the role of selenium within the next four years. Of the five primary medical advisers on the ReaLAge team, one thought the data convincing enough that he began taking selenium. The other four chose to wait for more information.
Although we may find that selenium has important antiageing properties, it is a trace mineral that is not easily excreted by the body and can build up to toxic levels, causing needless ageing. The current recommended daily allowances for selenium are 70 meg a day for men and 55 meg a day for women. I recommend that you get this mineral from your diet, rather than from a supplement. That way, you probably won't overdo it. Most Americans who eat a balanced diet should not worry about a deficiency, since selenium is plentiful in many foods: garlic, whole grains, cereals, meats, and some seafood. Since garlic in particular has been thought to provide numerous health benefits, I recommend getting selenium by loading your meals with lots of garlic.
Potassium
Strokes are the major cause of cognitive ageing, or ageing of the brain. Thankfully, strokes can largely be prevented. One easy thing you can do to minimize the risk of stroke and the ageing it can cause is to increase your intake of potassium. If you already eat a normal diet rich in fruits and vegetables, supplementing that diet with three bananas (or their potassium equivalent) a day can make your RealAge as much as 0.6 years younger in just three years.
What makes potassium so important? Potassium is what is known as an electrolyte, an electrically charged particle, an element the body needs for proper cellular functioning. Every time a nerve impulse is conducted or a muscle is contracted, potassium—because it carries an electrical charge— makes that reflex possible. Potassium, in conjunction with other minerals, regulates blood pressure and allows the heart and kidneys to function properly. Four major studies have shown that increased potassium intake is linked to a decrease in the incidence of strokes and may prevent other kinds of arterial ageing, too. How does potassium prevent ageing?
We still don't know, but studies on rats have shown that potassium acts as a counterbalance to sodium intake. Whereas rats fed a high-sodium diet normally had shortened life spans, that effect was mitigated when they were fed a high-potassium diet. In human clinical trials, the Rancho Bernardo study found that people who ate comparatively little potassium had 2.6 to 4.8 times the risk of stroke as those who ate considerably more potassium. Of the 287 people who had high potassium intake, no one had a stroke during the study. Among the 572 people with lower potassium intake, 24 had strokes. Possible explanations? Three studies found that increased dietary potassium intake decreased blood pressure, thus decreasing the rate of arterial ageing, which can cause both heart attacks and strokes. That could not have been the whole story because the decrease in blood pressure does not account for the entire RealAge benefit. Other biological mechanisms that may account for the RealAge effect include stabilization of arterial plaques, decreased oxidation of lipids, and stabilization of nerve cells when they get inadequate oxygen.
There is no RDA standard for potassium, but nutritionists recommend that you consume about 3,000 mg a day. If you eat a balanced diet, you will probably get a little more than half that amount in normal consumption. Bananas and avocados are, ounce for ounce, the richest sources of potassium. One banana contains about 467 mg of potassium, and both Florida and California avocados contain over 1,000 mg of potassium per fruit. Although avocados are highly caloric because they are high in fat, they are rich in monounsaturated fats—the kind of fats that are good for you (see Chapter 8). Potatoes, citrus fruits, tomatoes, spinach, celery, cantaloupes, and honeydew melons are also excellent sources of potassium, having 400 to 500 mg a serving. Even though they are relatively high in calories, dried apricots and peaches provide over 1,500 mg of potassium per cup, which is all the extra potassium you need in a day. Dairy products, lean meats, and such fish as tuna, mackerel, and halibut contain over 500 mg per serving. Sardines are extremely rich in potassium, with over 1,000 mg per serving. Skim milk and low-fat yogurt are excellent sources of potassium (400 mg per serving). To get the RealAge benefit of potassium, try to eat three bananas (or about 1,400 mg of potassium) a day and get the rest from a well-balanced diet, with plenty of fruits and vegetables rich in potassium. By doing so, your total intake would be about 3,000 mg a day.
Under no circumstances should you take potassium supplements unless advised to do so by your doctor, as overdosing can be a problem. Although most of us do not consume the optimal amount of potassium, actual potassium deficiencies are truly rare, except in people with very specific medical conditions. Since certain medications may deplete potassium supplies, supplements may be advised, but they should be taken only under strict medical supervision. Remember, too, that increasing potassium intake can actually cause ageing in people who have kidney disease or are taking certain medications, so talk to your doctor before increasing your potassium intake. For most of us, however, increasing potassium intake through diet is a quick, easy way to make our RealAge 0.6 years younger and to decrease our risk of stroke and the associated cognitive ageing it can cause.
Sodium
Although sodium is a vital mineral for proper functioning of your body, you don't need to worry about getting enough of it. Most Americans consume far more sodium than they need. The minimum amount of sodium you need for good health is 116 mg a day, and the average American consumes more than 4,000 mg.
When we hear the word sodium, we tend to think of table salt (sodium chloride), but the fact is, sodium comes in many other forms. Approximately 75 percent of the sodium you consume comes not from the salt shaker but as an additive to processed food. Table salt is actually only 40 percent sodium.
High consumption of sodium is associated with higher blood pressure in some, and perhaps all, people. Numerous studies have found this to be true.
The most famous study of this kind was the InterSalt study, which evaluated sodium consumption in over 10,000 people in fifty-two study centers. Sodium intake correlated with an increase in blood pressure, and, correspondingly, high blood pressure correlated with an accelerated rate of arterial ageing. For years, doctors have been prescribing low-salt diets to those whose blood pressure showed a particular sensitivity to sodium. Indeed, the first correlation between sodium intake and high blood pressure was made by Ambard and Beaujard in 1904. As a result, early in the century, low-sodium diets were frequently prescribed as a way to successfully lower blood pressure. The development of blood pressure medications encouraged many doctors to move away from this approach, except in rare instances in which it could be shown that an individual was 'sodium sensitive.'
Newer data suggest that perhaps all of us age faster when salt consumption is excessive. The idea of sodium sensitivity is problematic. A chief drawback of the sodium-sensitivity theory is that no one knows who is sodium sensitive until after high blood pressure develops, and by then significant ageing has already begun. Many people's sensitivity to sodium changes with age, as their metabolism undergoes other changes as well. The best choice is to cut back on sodium intake. Sodium chloride (salt) restriction, exercise, and weight control form the triad of behavioral changes that can best help you reduce the likelihood of developing high blood pressure and subsequent arterial ageing.
Although the average American consumes about 4,000 mg of sodium a day, most reputable medical organizations, including the U.S. Surgeon General's Office, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Science's Research Council, and countless experts in the field, suggest that sodium intake should not exceed 2,400 mg (about a teaspoon of salt) a day. I go further and suggest that for the maximum Age Reduction benefit, try to keep sodium consumption at less than 1,600 mg a day. A fifty-five-year-old man who has consistently consumed only 1,600 mg of sodium a day is as much as 2.8 years younger than his counterpart who has paid no attention to sodium intake.
How can you reduce sodium intake? The easiest way is to decrease your consumption of processed and prepackaged foods, since a lot of sodium is used to preserve these products. Most fast foods are also high in sodium—just one more reason not to frequent Burger Heaven. Alternatively, fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh meats and poultry contain little sodium. If these foods form the basis of your diet, you will significantly reduce your sodium consumption without really trying. When you do buy prepackaged or canned foods, read the labels. Foods that you would never describe as 'salty' can have an astounding amount of sodium. Cheese, preserved meats, many condiments, and some shellfish are very high in sodium, so beware. Often similar products have surprisingly different sodium levels; many companies now offer 'no-sodium' and 'low-sodium' variants of their products. Even though you should cut back on table salt, remember, it is the hidden salts in processed foods that account for most of your sodium consumption.
Although sodium deficiencies are virtually unheard of, strenuous exercise on a hot day can lower salt concentrations in the body, a condition that can trigger other complications that age the body. When exercising, drink plenty of water to keep yourself properly hydrated.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that is essential for energy metabolism. Muscle contractions, nerve impulses, and even the most basic processes of cellular energy storage require magnesium. Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is increasingly common. Experts estimate that 40 percent of Americans are getting less than 70 percent of the RDA for magnesium. Life in the modern world seems to be especially hard on our magnesium intake: Stress, sugar, alcohol, and the phosphates commonly found in soft drinks and processed foods all deplete our stores of magnesium. Even exercise, one of the most important factors in preventing ageing, can cause magnesium deficiency because we lose magnesium when we sweat. Moreover, magnesium deficiency often provides no symptoms. The first sign that something is wrong can be a heart attack caused by an abnormal heart rhythm.
A ten-year study of four hundred persons who were at a high risk of coronary disease found that those who ate a magnesium-rich diet had fewer than half as many complications from cardiovascular-related problems as did those who ate only about one-third of the recommended amount of magnesium. Overall mortality rates for people who ate a magnesium-rich diet were lower as well. Although this ten-year study was the first in-depth study of magnesium, if its findings are true, it would mean that eating a magnesium-rich diet would lower your RealAge by as much as 0.9 years.
For now, I cannot say with certainty that eating a magnesium-rich diet will lower your RealAge, although both anecdotal and preliminary evidence suggest that it would. It has been known for some time that heart attacks are less common in areas where the water supplies are rich in magnesium. Magnesium is also known to lower blood pressure; dilate the arteries, and, when given after a heart attack, restore normal heart rhythms. Magnesium is especially important in the regulation of calcium. Since we do know that taking calcium helps reduce RealAge, it is also vital to get enough magnesium to allow for the proper absorption of calcium.
The suggested intake of magnesium is about one-third the intake of calcium, which means that women should get at least 400 mg of magnesium a day, and that men should get at least 333 mg a day. Current studies show that the average intake for Americans is less than 300 mg. People who need to be extra careful to get the right amounts of magnesium include pregnant and lac-tating women, those with kidney disease, diabetics, those on low-calorie diets, and those taking digitalis preparations and diuretics. All these people should consult their physicians before beginning any new regimen.
Magnesium is found largely in whole-grain breads and cereals. Breads made with refined flours unfortunately have little magnesium because most of the mineral is lost during the refining process. Most fortified and whole-grain cereals contain 100 to 200 mg per bowl. Soybeans and lima beans contain 100 mg per serving, and most nuts contain 100 to 300 mg per serving. Such fruits and vegetables as avocados, bananas, beets, raisins, and dates are also good sources of magnesium. When you choose your daily vitamin supplement, check to see that it contains magnesium. If you worry that you are not getting enough magnesium, consider supplementing your diet with 250 to 300 mg daily. As with all Age Reduction behaviors or plans you adopt, check with your doctor first, since those who have kidney problems can accumulate too much magnesium and have serious side effects.
Zinc
Recent claims have linked zinc to antioxidant activity and immune system response. Unless you are a vegetarian or are on a restricted diet, you probably get enough zinc from food. Zinc is most commonly found in animal products but is also found in nuts, legumes, and fortified cereals. Zinc is vital to the synthesis of DNA and RNA (ribonucleic acid) and is therefore important for cell division.
Zinc deficiencies are rare. As with most trace minerals, I do not recommend that you take extra supplements. Although zinc deficiencies may cause various problems, boosting zinc beyond basic levels appears to do no good and may even cause harm. For example, too much zinc may interfere with the workings of another trace mineral you need, copper. As with most minerals, high intake may prove toxic, and too much zinc can damage the immune system. Take no more than 30 mg daily. The RDA is just 15 mg for men and 12 mg for women. More than that can be harmful. For example, taking just 50 to 75 mg a day can actually reduce your HDL (healthy) cholesterol, something you want to avoid.
Recently, zinc has received a lot of attention for its role in fighting colds. One study found that zinc lozenges may help ease cold symptoms; another showed they did not. We still need more information.
Herbs and Miscellaneous Supplements
I have talked about vitamins and minerals, but what about all those other bottles you see lining the shelves of any health-food store? Again, as little as we know about minerals, we know even less about most herbal remedies and food supplements. Drawn from various folk treatments, as well as from traditional Eastern medicine, herbs no doubt can provide some benefits. More scientific studies are being done on such remedies each year. Most of the herbs are probably harmless, but some cause needless ageing. Never, for example, take anything with comfrey in it. This herb is known to cause liver damage. Also, sassafras, chaparral, germander, and pokeroot have been associated with severe and even lethal effects.
If you think you might want to take an herbal remedy or food supplement, find out about it first. Do not simply ask the clerk at the health-food store or rely on a book there. Do research at the local library or on the Internet. With the right search, you can find out about popular claims and the status of that herb in the scientific literature. If you don't have time to do a search yourself or don't have access to the resources, ask your doctor to find more information for you. Sometimes you may decide that you want to try an herb even though its claimed effects remain unproven. As long it is proven harmless, go ahead. It might prevent you from ageing, but you want to make sure that it does not cause ageing.
Here's my review of some of the more popular herbal remedies and food supplements. The list is almost endless and ever changing.
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 has gained popularity recently for alleged benefits in preventing cardiovascular ageing. Found naturally in our organs, it helps stimulate energy pathways at a cellular level, notably in the muscle tissue of the heart. Studies have claimed that coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant that can prevent arterial ageing. It has gained some popularity for therapy of critically ill patients awaiting heart transplants, and the findings of some clinical studies have supported these claims. Our bodies naturally produce Q10 when they are not lacking in vitamin C or any of the B-complex vitamins. There is little information on the effects of the supplemental form of the coenzyme, and there are no guidelines regarding dosage. Currently, the American Heart Association lists it as an experimental drug. Although coenzyme Q10 appears safe and beneficial in some studies, no studies have been done on its possible side effects. I cannot recommend taking coenzyme Q10 as a supplement, as no scientific data suggest that it has greater antiageing benefits than risks. In any case, the group of patients for whom there is a purported benefit—those with severe and life-threatening heart failure—should take a supplement or medication only under the strict supervision of their physicians.
Echinacea
Come cold and flu season, I always see individuals who are taking echinacea, an herbal powder derived from the leaves and stems of the coneflower. A popular folk remedy, echinacea is purported to boost the body's natural immunity. Unfortunately, the very few studies that have been done on this herb, both in Germany and the United States, have produced mixed results. Some found an immune response, others found no effect. At this stage, we really don't have any proof whether it works. In general, echinacea appears harmless. People with allergies to plants in the sunflower family should steer clear of it, and those with autoimmune diseases will want to talk to their doctors before taking this herb. Do not take echinacea for long periods; even fans of the herb recommend taking it for only a few weeks at a time, when cold or flu symptoms set in.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo biloba, an herb that comes from the Chinese ginkgo tree, is purported to have antioxidant properties. It is best known for its supposed enhancement of mental clarity. It is also believed to lower blood pressure and have other antiageing properties. Are these claims true? No one knows. Ginkgo biloba does contain flavonoids and other compounds that are known to scavenge free radicals. Several European studies have indicated possible benefits for Alzheimer's disease, but these studies were not performed using proper clinical-trial design, and so amount to hearsay.
Only one scientifically credible clinical trial on ginkgo biloba has been conducted in the United States. It indicated that the herb may help improve cognitive functioning in people who have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found cognitive improvement in 37 percent of those given the extract, as opposed to 23 percent of those given a placebo. The data offered by the study were preliminary, merely a first-round screening of the supplement. The study relied largely on subjective social indicators—such as whether caregivers of patients suffering from dementia noticed any change in behavior when the patients took the herb—rather than on concrete physiological or psychological tests. More research needs to be done on ginkgo biloba before we know if it really has any effect.
Ginkgo biloba appears to be another of many possible antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. It is unclear whether it has any unique properties that are not found in other antioxidants. Even if its alleged positive effects were proven, it is not as effective in diminishing the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease as are certain known medications currently prescribed. On the other hand, there are no known side effects associated with gingko biloba.
Ginseng
Ginseng is a root that has long been used in Eastern medicine to boost energy. Recently, medical reports have claimed that it can boost immune response and increase white blood cell count. As with most herbs, there have been very few rigorous studies, so most information we have comes from personal testimonials and word of mouth. One study linked ginseng to a reduced incidence of the common cold and flu, but another showed that the immune systems of mice who were fed ginseng were damaged. Ginseng made the mice suffer more illness and get older faster than they would have normally. There are claims that the American variety of ginseng, not the Asian variety, has more active properties. In general, the evidence for a beneficial effect of ginseng is low. Ginseng is known to increase blood pressure and may negatively affect sugar metabolism. Some reports related to these side effects indicate that ginseng should not be used except for discrete periods of two weeks or so. Since there are no proven benefits and there are known side effects, I cannot recommend the use of ginseng.
Thymus Extract
Because of its alleged antiageing benefits, there has recently been a stir about thymus extract. Should you take it? No. Why not? The thymus is a gland that is active during childhood and adolescence. It helps control and modulate the immune system. By age twenty, the thymus begins to dry up, and by age fifty, it has virtually disappeared. The theory behind taking thymus extract as a supplement is that the extract will help stimulate immune functioning and protect you from cancers, arthritis, and other ailments that age you. Since the thymus is active during our youth, it is assumed (wrongfully) to be something that will keep us young. No studies and no data indicate that thymus extract helps in any way. Furthermore, taking the extract has a potential hazard. Thymus extract that is introduced into the body is different from that produced by your own body. Since supplemental thymus extract is a foreign protein, it may trigger an immune reaction, which, in turn, may cause your body to develop antibodies against itself.
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TO BE CONTINUED
Real Age
OVERALL EATING
Eating, next to breathing, is perhaps the most intimate way you interact with the world around you. Yet this contact, unlike breathing, is something you consciously control. The decisions you make about when, where, and what you eat make a difference not only in your weight and health but in how fast you age.
Surveys show that the vast majority of Americans know that they should eat more carefully, watching fat and calorie intake, but the overall American diet is getting worse. More Americans are being classified as overweight than ever before. A poor diet—one that is full of saturated fats and trans fats (I explain these terms in detail later) and laden with calories—accelerates ageing. In contrast, a diet rich in nutrients, full of fiber, and low in calories can slow the pace at which you age. The difference between being on a good diet and a bad one can be as much as twenty-four RealAge years. A bad diet can make you as much as twelve years older than the average American, and good dietary choices can make you twelve years younger. If you like to eat—and who doesn't?—learn how to eat right. It will buy you added years of good meals.
When I went to medical school in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I received just two lectures on nutrition. First, we learned about diseases associated with vitamin and mineral deficiencies, diseases that are rare except under starvation conditions. Second, we learned—big surprise!—that eating too many calories caused people to gain weight and that eating too few caused them to lose weight. Discussion over. Fortunately, the two-lesson-view of nutrition is a thing of the past. Increasingly, studies show that the food you choose can greatly affect your rate of ageing and substantially alter your odds of being stricken with arterial disease, cancer, diabetes, and other disorders.
Why did it take us so long to see the diet-health-youth connection? And what made our attitudes change? I attribute the change to what I call the 'industrialized society' paradox. From the 1940s through the 1960s, modern medicine really came to the fore. The discovery of antibiotics and the development of safe vaccines helped us exert control over the infectious diseases that had ravaged earlier generations, and advancements in surgery and internal medicine lowered the rate of other afflictions. Life expectancy increased dramatically. People in the medical community felt a real exuberance, fostering a 'we-can-conquer-any-disease' mentality. As the ravages of some diseases decreased, other medical problems became endemic. Cardiovascular disease and cancer emerged as the new killers, becoming the number one and two causes of death in most affluent and industrialized societies. These diseases did not fit the old model of disease. Suddenly, such issues as diet and nutrition that had been ignored began to provide some intriguing clues.
When researchers began investigating cardiovascular disease, they discovered something interesting. People who lived in rural Greece and Italy, and even Albania—in communities less 'developed' and less affluent than our own—had significantly lower levels of arterial disease. Certain Asian populations also had slower rates of arterial ageing. If we Americans and northern Europeans were so 'advanced,' why were we so afflicted?
Genetics seemed a clear answer. But studies soon showed that genetic background, though having some impact on the onset of arterial ageing and cancer, certainly could not explain the widespread incidence of these diseases. When individuals moved from their rural villages and emigrated to the United States, they developed the same diseases as those around them. The onset of diseases correlated with lifestyle. One of the most important factors seemed to be diet. Researchers learned that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables— one that was full of fiber, nutrients, and fish but that had a minimum of meat, calories, and fats (especially saturated fats and trans fats)—caused a major postponement in the onset of arterial ageing. In this healthy diet, the primary fat consumed is olive oil, a monounsaturated fat that lowers the LDL-to-HDL ratio (discussed later) while decreasing the amount of harmful LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. Dairy products that are heavy in saturated fats, such as cheese, are consumed in small amounts. These food choices were found in the diets of the Mediterranean region and throughout Asia, and they seemed to correlate with long and healthy lives.
Within the past two decades, medicine and American society have changed. These nutrition studies have been well publicized, and most of us now know that cutting back on fats and boosting vegetable and whole-grain consumption will help us stay healthy longer.
(THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GOOD ORGANIC COW OR GOAT MILK; SO WITH ORGANIC BUTTER; SO WITH ORGANIC CHEESE; SO WITH ORGANIC YOGURT - ALL IN MODERATION OF COURSE. BUT HAVING THEM AS PART OF YOUR REGULAR DIET WILL NOT AGE YOU, WHEN THE REST OF YOUR DIET IS ALSO IN BALANCE - FRUITS, VEGETABLES, PROTEIN - Keith Hunt)
But knowing we should eat healthier and actually doing so are two different things. What guidelines should you follow?
Nutrition Basics
Eat Your Way to Youth?
Many people have a little goblin in their heads that says, 'If it's good for you, it will taste bad.' This is simply not true. You can eat your way to youth and do so deliciously. All it takes is a commitment, which starts with exorcising all those unhealthy ideas about diets.
Eating should be fun. If your diet is like a prison sentence, you will only end up breaking out. Eat sensibly and reasonably. If once in a while you eat something that's not 100 percent healthy, it's not the end of the world. What's important are general habits, not obsessive compliance. How can you eat for youth without sacrificing good taste?
With eating and weight loss, no quick fixes exist. There are only long-term methods. The best eaters—and the ones most likely to have young RealAges because of their food choices—are those who love to eat and who see healthy, tasty eating as a challenge. Become a food connoisseur, searching out the best and freshest ingredients while expanding your food horizons. Along the way, you might be surprised to find that the best-tasting food is often the healthiest food. Now let's consider twenty things you need to know to eat right, so you can shed pounds and years deliciously.
1. Eat a Nutrient Rich, Calorie Poor Diet
Did you know that it takes at least twenty minutes to work off the calories you can eat in about thirty seconds? I'm not talking french fries, but healthy foods like bananas or apples. Whenever you eat, make every calorie count toward getting younger. Make sure the food you eat is full of the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and fiber you need to stay young. Too many Americans waste their meals on empty calories. We end up devouring foods that contain lots of sugar, fats, empty (few nutrients) carbohydrates, and calories without getting the nutrition we need.
As you get older, your dietary requirements change. As you hit middle age, muscle mass declines, as much as 5 percent per decade, contributing to a slowing of metabolism of as much as 30 percent. This change in your body composition increases the ratio of fat to muscle and decreases bone density. As your calendar age increases, you need to be even more careful to eat less fat and fewer calories. At the same time, you need to be even more vigilant about getting the right nutrients. Medications and certain diseases can affect the rate at which you absorb nutrients and your appetite. Some studies find that as many as 60 percent of older individuals have some kind of dietary deficiency.
(SINCE THE AGE OF 40 MY METABOLISM CHANGED - COULD NOT CONSUME AS MUCH FOOD, THE GOOD HEALTHY FOOD I WAS LIVING ON, WITHOUT GAINING WEIGHT - A CUT BACK WAS NEEDED. AT ABOUT AGE 60 IT WAS EVEN MORE SO. HENCE BECAUSE MY FOOD INTAKE IS MUCH LESS THAN BEFORE, I TAKE VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS. AND I MAKE SURE I GET LOTS OF EXERCISE - Keith Hunt)
2. Eat Less Fat, Eat the Right Fats, and Time Them Right
There is clear evidence that eating a diet that is low in fats, particularly saturated fats and trans fats, can help prevent arterial ageing while reducing the risk of plaque buildup, heart attacks, and strokes. Although the evidence is controversial and definitive studies are lacking, such a diet also appears to slow the immune system ageing that is linked to cancer. Estimates run the gamut, with experts claiming that 10-70 percent of all cancers stem from eating a diet high in saturated fats and trans fats and low in fruits and vegetables. A report in the Journal of the American Cancer Institute said that women who ate more than 10 grams of saturated fats a day had a 20 percent greater risk of ovarian cancer. Consuming red meat more than once a week has also been linked to increased ageing from colon cancer, presumably because of the saturated fats contained in red meat.
(NO, NOTHING WRONG WITH CLEAN MEATS [GOD'S LAW OF CLEAN AND UN-CLEAN], IF ORGANIC. EVEN 3 OR 4 TIMES A WEEK - Keith Hunt]
By limiting your consumption of saturated fats and trans fats, you limit your risk of ageing. Stay away from fried foods and don't eat fried fast foods. Be careful about eating too much salad dressing: most contain lots of saturated fats. Try to eat red meat no more than once a week. When eating beef or pork, [ no pork - its un-clean in God's law - Keith Hunt] choose low-fat cuts. For beef, choose 'round' or loin cuts....Avoid all processed meats, such as frankfurters, salami, and other luncheon meats. Stay away from anything containing palm or coconut oil, as these are saturated fats. Dairy products low in fats include fat-free milk, fat-free yogurt, and cottage cheese.
(THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 2000. TODAY'S FACTS SHOW NOTHING WRONG WITH SATURATED FATS. COCONUT OIL IS NOW PROVED VERY HEALTHY FOR YOU. THE IDEA OF "FAT FREE" MILK, YOGURT, CHEESE, IS WAY WRONG AND OUT OF DATE. OUR GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT-GRANDPARENTS ATE NATURAL ORGANIC MILK, YOGURT, CHEESE. ALL VERY HEALTHY FOR YOU IN MODERATION OF COURSE - Keith Hunt)
There are several kinds of fats, and knowing which ones to avoid, which ones to eat, and when to eat them can make a big difference in how they affect your rate of ageing. In fact, this topic is so important, I have devoted an entire section of the chapter to it (pp.191-195).
(AND IF HE HARPS ON ABOUT SATURATED FATS BEING BAD, HE WAS VERY WRONG; NOW PROVED IT IS TRANS-FATS THAT ARE YOUR ENEMY. NATURAL FATS IN ORGANIC MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS ARE JUST FINE. COCONUT OIL IS ONE OF THE VERY BEST OILS YOU CAN USE - Keith Hunt)
3. Keep a Steady Weight
Clearly not all of us are or can be pencil thin. The point is to be the right weight for you. Your aim should be to keep your weight as close to your weight at age eighteen for women or twenty-one for men. Having a low body mass index—or weight-to-height ratio—is one of the things that will help keep you young. Studies of animals have shown that restricting calorie intake can increase longevity. For example, mice that were fed a low-calorie, low-fat diet lived considerably longer than mice fed a more high-calorie, high-fat diet. Low-fat eating, in combination with exercise, is the easiest and quickest way to lose weight and to keep your weight where it should be. The most important point is this: Moderation and balance are the key principles when it comes to eating for youth. Avoid yo-yo weight loss and gain—this is worse for you than simply being overweight. We don't know why, but the data repeatedly confirm this finding. For more information on weight and ageing, see the section on Slimming Down later in this chapter.
4. Diversify Your Diet
Everyone thinks he or she eats a balanced diet, but it's not so. Forty percent of Americans don't eat fruit daily, even though it is recommended that a person eat four servings every day. And 30 percent of Americans don't consume any dairy products regularly. On average, Americans get less than half the 25 to 30 grams of fiber they need a day.
Why is diversity in your diet so important? Choosing a diverse diet can lower your RealAge. If you eat items from all five food groups daily, you can be as much as five years younger than if you eat from only two food groups. (The five groups are breads and cereals, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats and other proteins). It is also important not just to choose one thing from each food group but to eat diversely within each food group. For example, some vegetables contain lots of one nutrient and virtually none of another. Try to eat four servings of fruit, five servings of vegetables, and six servings of breads, cereals, or grains a day. These amounts will give you the vitamins and fiber you need without excess calories. Eat two or three servings of low-fat dairy foods and no more than two servings of protein—nuts, beans, meats, fish, or poultry—daily.
(Wrong on "low fat" dairy once more. Within your normal metabolism, mainly when young, yes you can and should eat as suggested. I certainly did up to age 40, and never gained an ounce. But you may have to adjust even at any age for some, if weight gaining is a problem - Keith Hunt)
5. Eat Your Vegetables
One of the tricks to eating a diet that is low in fat, low in calories, and full of nutrients is to eat lots of vegetables. Since they contain lots of fiber, vegetables help you fill up fast. With only twenty to forty calories a serving, they help you feel full and keep your weight down. They also have loads of vitamins, carotenoids, and flavonoids, many of which have antioxidant properties that will help keep you young. Try to eat five or six servings a day.
Just because you hated vegetables as a kid doesn't mean you won't like them now. Try steaming them with a little lemon juice or lightly sauteing them. Cook green vegetables just until they turn bright green. If they go all the way to gray, you've cooked them way too long. Try to eat some kind of dark green leafy vegetable and one serving of a cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage) each day. Remember, too: Yellow, orange, and red vegetables contain essential vitamins and lots of carotenoids, which are natural antioxidants.
Make vegetables your new snack foods. I buy bags of precut baby carrots and other vegetables and keep them in the refrigerator. When I'm looking around for something to munch on, I start there. Cucumbers, celery, peppers, radishes ....all make great snacks. Eaten raw, they keep all the nutrients and fiber that cooking can deplete.
(If you can eat them raw fine, good. I personally could only eat carrots and peas raw - Keith Hunt)
6. Don't Forget the Fruit
The lengthening of the average life span in America has paralleled the availability of fresh fruits. This is a correlation, not a proven cause-and-effect relationship, but the data suggest that increased fruit consumption may contribute to longevity. Fruits are rich in vitamins and dietary fiber and are loaded with carotenoids and other nutrients.
Carotenoids are vitamin-like substances found in many fruits and vegetables. Over six hundred different types of carotenoids are found in foods, the best known being beta carotene, a substance the body turns into vitamin A (see Chapter 7). For a long time, scientists did not know whether most carotenoids had any nutritional benefit, but it is increasingly clear that many of them have antioxidant—and, hence, antiageing—properties. You can spot carotenoids by the red, orange, and yellow color they impart to foods, such as tomatoes, carrots, and apricots—basically any fruit or vegetable with these hues. Also, carotenoids are plentiful in dark, leafy, green vegetables—spinach, broccoli, kale. Lycopene, a carotenoid found mainly in tomatoes, helps prevent prostate cancer (see Chapter 5). Carotenoids are one of the reasons eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help keep you young. Flavonoids are also present in fruits.
Like carotenoids, flavonoids are an antioxidant found in plants and help protect the body against damage from free radicals. One reason red wine has an antiageing effect is because it is rich in flavonoids. The richest sources of flavonoids are onions, green tea, cranberries, broccoli, celery, apples, and grapes. So flavonoids are another reason a diet rich in fruits and vegetables will help you stay young.
Because most fruits have only thirty-five to sixty calories a serving, they are low-cal alternatives to cookies or candy. Dried fruits contain considerably more calories per mouthful, so be careful. If you are tired of common fruits, such as apples, oranges, and bananas, then diversify. Buy exotic or seasonal fruits. I find it easier to have such bite-size fruits to munch on as grapes, cherries, or small plums. I keep a big fruit bowl in my office. That way, I can grab a piece when I feel hungry, and everyone else in my department can grab a piece, too.
When eating fruit, remember to wash it well but keep the peel on. If you peel an apple or pear, you are throwing away all the fiber. Juices don't have the same fiber content as whole fruit. Although drinking fruit juice provides one or two servings a day, don't make these your only servings of fruit. Try to eat two or three pieces of whole fruit a day and make one of them a citrus fruit. It will give you the added vitamin C that you need to prevent immune system ageing (see Chapter 5).
(NOW it is proved that BLUEBERRIES are one of the very best fruits you can eat, if not THE best. As mentioned this book of 2000 is out of date on some things; a reason it is no longer in print - Keith Hunt)
7. Fruits + Vegetables = Fiber
A key reason that diets high in fruits, vegetables, and grains are good for you is that these foods contain lots of fiber. People who eat diets high in fiber have significantly lower rates of ageing. Eating 25 grams or more of fiber a day can lower a person's RealAge by as much as three years, compared with eating only 12 grams of fiber a day, the national average.
Fiber is found solely in plant foods and is largely indigestible, passing through the digestive tract intact. Since it cannot be digested, fiber contains no calories, but it makes you feel full sooner and helps you control overeating. Fiber seems necessary to keep the digestive tract running smoothly. High-fiber diets speed up digestive processes, adding bulk to stool and helping the body rid itself of waste products more quickly. Thus the exposure time, in the bowel, of potentially carcinogenic substances found in food is significantly reduced. This shorter exposure time appears to help reduce ageing from intestinal disorders and from heart disease. High-fiber diets also correlate with a reduction in colon cancer and probably other cancers as well. For example, one study found a connection between low-fat, high-fiber diets and reduced blood oestrogen levels in women, possibly helping to explain why women on such diets have a lower incidence of breast cancer. In a study of forty-three thousand participants conducted at Northwestern University, a 10-gram increase in the daily intake of cereal fiber decreased the risk of heart attack by 29 percent (making a fifty-five-year-old's RealAge 1.9 years younger). People who eat less fiber also tend to have worse overall diets and to be more sedentary.
Fiber helps regulate metabolism and digestion, stabilizing blood glucose levels and affecting the rate of absorption of nutrients. Fiber clearly helps reduce the risk of diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease, both of which cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. A high-fiber diet also helps reduce the incidence of hemorrhoids, a condition that can be provoked by excess pressure on the bowel walls caused by the forced bowel movements that often accompany a low-fiber diet.
Don't go on a high-fiber diet all at once. Increase your fiber intake gradually. Make sure to drink lots of water, as fiber tends to absorb water. Eat breads and cereals that have whole grains in them. Even healthy-sounding breads made of 'wheat flour' have had their fiber removed by the refinement process. Check the labels on processed foods, which are now required to indicate the overall fiber content.
(DRINKING LOTS OF WATER IS ALSO NOW OUT OF DATE; YOU KNOW THIS "6 TO 8 GLASSES OF WATER DAILY" TALK - OUT OF DATE NOW. IT IS LIQUID THAT YOUR BODY NEEDS, AND THAT CAN COME IN MANY FORMS. ALSO YOUR BODY TELLS YOU WHEN LIQUID IS NEEDED; HENCE IN THE HOT SUN MORE WATER IS NEEDED, AND WATER IS IN THAT SITUATION THE VERY BEST THIRST QUENCHER - Keith Hunt)
8. Watch Excess Protein Consumption
There is much debate about how much protein we should eat. Recently, some nutritionists have advocated high-protein diets. Unless you consume lots of dairy products as a counterbalance, meat proteins can leach calcium from your bones. A high-protein diet places undue strain on your kidneys, which excrete metabolized proteins. Your body uses only the amount of protein it can consume, and much of the excess must be excreted (some excess is turned into sugars and fat). Studies have shown that excess protein consumption does not promote health, weight loss, or the building of muscles.
Although the average American diet consists of 100 grams of protein a day, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) is only half that amount. I recommend restricting protein intake to 20 percent of your daily total calories. Protein content is highest in meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, soybeans, and nuts, all of which have a protein content of 15—40 percent of their total caloric content. Beans, cereals, lentils, and peas have a protein content under 15 percent. Limit your intake of fish, meat, and poultry to five to seven ounces a day (an ounce is 31.1 grams). Since these foods contain only about 40 percent protein, eating this amount will give you plenty of protein without overloading.
If you are getting your protein entirely from vegetable sources, it is important that you choose from a wide array of foods to ensure you get all the essential amino acids. For example, breads and grain cereals lack certain amino acids, and lentils and nuts may have those amino acids but lack others. If you are a strict vegetarian, you should talk to your doctor or a nutritionist about balancing your protein intake. Generally, protein deficiencies are rare in this country.
(A balanced protein would be to have a little for lunch and supper dinner. Protein is in whole milk, so something like whole milk and whole grain cereal in the morning, with maybe some blueberries and banana added, would be a great breakfast meal. I have 100 percent whole oats, whole milk, banana and/or blueberries for breakfast. I was drinking way too much natural fruit juices all day. My doctor said I was too high in sugar [yes fruit contains natural sugar] and told me to cut back to only one glass of natural organic fruit juice per say - it solved the problem - Keith Hunt)
9. Remember, Carbohydrates Were Meant to Be Complex
In a well-balanced diet, 50-60 percent of daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates—preferably complex carbohydrates. Two basic types of carbohydrates exist: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are the sugars—both refined sugars and those found in honey and many fruits. Complex carbohydrates—the kind found in cereals, breads, pasta, vegetables, beans, legumes, and some fruits—are starches that the body breaks down into simple sugars. This leads to two obvious questions: If complex carbohydrates break down into simple sugars, why are they any different from the simple carbohydrates found in sugars? Don't they provide the same amount of energy?
Yes and no. They do provide the same amount of calories per sugar molecule and the same amount of energy. Most complex carbohydrates are found in foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients and high in fiber. The body treats complex carbohydrates differently. They break down more slowly, consuming more metabolic energy in digestion and keeping glucose levels more stable. Since they are not concentrated in form as refined sugars usually are, we eat less complex carbohydrates per ounce of food.
Forget those old diet myths that breads and pasta are fattening. Carbohydrates contain far fewer calories per gram than fats: 4 per gram as opposed to 9 per gram. Eating a diet high in complex carbohydrates—fruits, vegetables, and grains—will help you shed excess pounds and gain extra years of youth.
(INDEED SO. THE LATEST IDEA WITH BOOKS LIKE "WHEAT BELLY" ARE WAY WRONG FOR THE NATURAL METABOLISM BODY. EVERYTHING NORMAL, THERE IS NOTHING BUT GOOD STUFF IN ORGANIC WHEAT, EVEN MORE SO IN ORGANIC BARLEY. YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN IMBALANCE IN YOUR BODY TO STOP EATING HEALTHY WHOLE GRAINS. GOD GAVE TO ANCIENT ISRAEL TWO FIRST HARVESTS - BARLEY WAS FIRST [THE BEST NUTRITION; WHEAT WAS SECOND, THE SECOND BEST]. I HAVE A LITTLE BOOK ON THE SCIENCE OF BARLEY - IT IS AMAZING HOW NUTRITIOUS BARLEY IS. IT'S HARD TO FIND 100 PERCENT BARLEY LOAVES, SO MAKE YOUR OWN - Keith Hunt)
Vegetarianism: Pro or Con?
Only about 5 percent of Americans classify themselves as full-time vegetarians, but increasingly the health conscious are choosing vegetarianusqee diets. Many people have eliminated red meat from their diets, and more are choosing to eliminate poultry and fish as well. This choice may be a good thing. Study after study has shown that a diet low in animal protein and rich in fruits and vegetables does the most to keep a person young. Decreasing the consumption of red meat to once a week or less reduces ageing of both the cardiovascular and immune systems. However, vegetarians need to be careful. They run the risk of not getting the appropriate variety of foods, thereby missing out on proteins and nutrients that are more plentiful in animal products. Anyone who adopts such food choices will need to supplement his or her diet with vitamin B12, which is obtained almost exclusively from animal products. If you do not eat any animal products, make sure to take a vitamin containing adequate amounts of folate, B6, and B12 daily. If you decide to go on a vegetarian diet, I suggest meeting with a nutritionist to go over a sensible food choice plan.
(IF MEATS ARE ORGANIC AND CLEAN UNDER GOD'S LAW, THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR IN EATING THREE OR FOUR MEATS A WEEK. ANCIENT ISRAEL PRIESTS WHEN ON DUTY IN THE TEMPLE ATE MEAT EVERY DAY - IT WAS PURE ORGANIC. I DO NOT HAVE A SOURSE FOR ORGANIC MEATS, SO I EAT LITTLE, HENCE VITAMIN B12 AND B6 I TAKE DAILY - Keith Hunt)
10. Cut Out Excess Sugars
Although the consumption of sugar is not tied to ageing itself, it is linked to weight gain. Simple sugars tend to be more concentrated in foods, meaning that you consume more calories per mouthful. Cutting back on overall sugar intake is a quick and easy way to make extra calories disappear from your diet. Some people think that eating too much sugar is associated with the development of diabetes; this is not true. However, foods containing lots of refined sugar are high in calories, and most of these calories are nutritionally empty. Don't
[If you eat a little fat prior to eating carbohydrates, your stomach doesn't empty its contents into the intestine as quickly. This slowing of stomach emptying has two RealAge Age Reduction effects. First, you feel full faster and stay full longer, so you eat less; and second, since sugars are largely absorbed in the intestine, the amount of sugar in the blood rises slower and peaks at a lower level]
delude yourself: honey and natural sugars are not a healthy substitute for white sugar. In the end, the body breaks them down into the same molecule, and they contain the same number of calories. Finally, though it is not true in all cases, many people find that a diet low in sugar can help provide a more stable blood glucose level. Eating sugar in large doses tends to cause peaks in a person's metabolic level. Eating a little fat first will slow the emptying of the stomach into the intestine, which keeps your stomach fuller and stabilizes your blood sugar levels, so you feel full and eat less. Furthermore, since sugars are largely absorbed in the intestine, delaying the sugar getting to the intestine slows and decreases the rise in the sugar level in the blood (see Figure 8.1). Lots of people find that eating less sugar gives them more energy without after-the-big-meal sleepiness.
(WRONG ON HONEY - GOOD ORGANIC HONEY IS GOOD FOR YOU - CONTAINS ALL KINDS OF THINGS HEALTHY FOR YOUR BODY - THE BIBLE TELLS YOU SO IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. USE PURE ORGANIC HONEY AS YOUR SWEETENER, BUT AGAIN LIKE EVERYTHING, IN MODERATION - Keith Hunt)
11. Eat Fish
Salmon; white fish, such as cod; and other fish contain lots of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat that actually reduces triglyceride levels in the blood and appears to lower blood pressure. Eating fish at least once a week may cut the risk of heart attack in half, making the RealAge of a fifty-five-year-old man more than 2.7 years younger. Although no one knows precisely how omega-3 fatty acids work to prevent heart attacks, some experts believe that these substances prevent the buildup of plaque along arterial walls. Others suggest that omega-3s help stabilize a person's heartbeat, cutting down on the irregular heart rhythms associated with heart attacks. Omega-3s also appear to make platelets less sticky, decreasing the risk of clotting. Recent data showed a 52 percent decrease in sudden death when fish was consumed at least once a week. Omega-3s may also reduce blood pressure. Although you can buy fish-oil supplements at the health-food store, it's best to eat fish itself.
Finally, be careful about eating raw seafood, which is more likely to carry disease-causing germs than cooked seafood.
12. Make Substitutions
Eating habits learned over a lifetime can be hard to break. Learn how to substitute healthy ingredients into recipes that have always been unhealthy. When a recipe calls for butter, ask yourself, 'Does the recipe really need all that saturated fat? Could I use something else? Could I substitute orange juice and ginger? What about a teaspoon of olive oil?' Garlic, ginger, vinegar, and spicy ingredients can often make up for the lack of saturated fat in a dish. My mother used to make mashed potatoes with lots of milk and butter, but I roast a head of garlic and mix the cloves in with the potatoes while mashing them. Roasting gives the garlic a mellow flavor, and the individual cloves take on the consistency of butter. Fruit butters, such as apple butter, contain no fats and are a good substitute for real butter. Use them as a spread for bread or mix them in with other foods.
(AGAIN THIS IDEA ABOUT "BUTTER" IS OFF THE MARK TODAY. GOOD ORGANIC BUTTER IN MODERATION IS GOOD FOR YOU - Keith Hunt)
If you're roasting a chicken or other meat, put it on a rack so all the fat drips down. Cook tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar and add some spices and herbs to make a tasty sauce for everything from chicken breasts to eggplant to pasta. Baste your meats with fruit juice, not drippings from the pan. Make sauces out of vegetable purees or wine instead of cream. Soups can be just as creamy when you substitute potato-chicken broth puree for the cups of whipping cream. Every time you use a recipe that calls for saturated fats or trans fats, ask yourself, 'How can I cook this so I maximize the nutrients and minimize the fats?'
(AGAIN THERE IS NOTHING EVIL ABOUT SATURATED FATS FROM BUTTER OR CREAM. IT IS THE MODERATE EATING, AND ACCORDING TO YOUR METABOLISM, THAT IS THE KEY - Keith Hunt)
13. Be Aware of Hidden Fats and Calories
Most saturated fats, trans fats, and sugars enter the diet in the form of 'hidden' ingredients in many processed foods, and the package labels may provide the clues you need. For example, many commercial brands of cereal and most processed breads contain a great deal of added fats and sugars. In addition, canned soups and vegetables and even granola are often high in both sugars and saturated fats or trans fats. By becoming a label reader, you won't consume needless calories that you didn't know were there.
Remember, 'fat-free' doesn't mean 'not fattening.' Many 'fat-free' products are good for you and will form part of an Age Reduction diet, but that is not always the case. Fat-free cookies and fat-free ice cream may be 'fat-free,' but they are usually full of calories yet low on nutritional value.
(YES MANY THINGS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR PARTICULAR BODY METABOLISM - Keith Hunt)
14. Cut Back on Cholesterol and Salt
Cut dietary cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg a day (see the cholesterol section later in this chapter). Limit sodium intake to 2,400 mg a day, preferably 1,600 mg or about a teaspoon of salt (see Chapter 7).
15. Eat Regularly Throughout the Day
Many people believe they will lose weight if they starve themselves all day, waiting until dinner to eat, at which time they gorge. This habit adversely affects overall body metabolism. More important, most people cheat, sneaking a cookie here or a candy bar there sometime in the mid-afternoon. Make sure to eat regular meals. Many experts recommend 'grazing'—eating a number of small meals throughout the day, rather than just two or three large ones. That way, your body metabolizes food on a regular basis, not going through long periods without fuel, followed by intense periods of excess. See if eating this way helps you eat more nutritious food and lose weight.
16. Don't Forget the Water
Because your body is approximately 80 percent water, you need lots of fluid (at least eight glasses a day) to keep it running right. Water is best, although juices, soups, and skim milk can also rehydrate you. Make sure you drink extra water to keep yourself properly hydrated, especially if you are exercising or the weather is hot. What's the best kind of water? We don't know. But most experts agree that as long as your town treats its water, tap water is just fine.
(NO MOST TAP WATER IS NOT FINE. GET A FILTER, OR BUY STREAM WATER. YET STREAM WATER MAY BE CONTAMINATED TODAY. FILTERED WATER IS SOLD JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE TODAY. IT IS A MYTH, NOW PROVEN INCORRECT, THAT YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING 8 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY. YOUR BODY NEEDS FLUID, AND THERE ARE MANY HEALTHY FLUID DRINKS IN STORES TODAY - Keith Hunt)
17. Think 'Healthy' at the Grocery Store
Think about the control you have over your diet when you go shopping for food. If you don't buy food that's bad for you, you won't eat food that's bad for you. Before you put any item in your cart, ask yourself, first, 'Why am I eating this?* And, second, 'Will it help keep me young?' If the answer to the first question is 'Because it's quick,' and the answer to the second question is 'No,' get it out of your cart. Fast!
Become a label reader. Look out for saturated fats and trans fats and see what you can do to buy foods with the most nutrients. Even similar products may have different ingredients. For example, I remember trying to buy a can of refried beans for a Mexican dish. One brand contained partially hydro-genated oil, while another had canola oil, and the third had no oil at all. Although they all looked the same, their calorie and fat content were very different. The first was unhealthy, the second was moderately healthy, and the third was very healthy. If I hadn't bothered to look, I wouldn't have known.
18. Age Proof Your Kitchen
Get rid of staples that will surreptitiously make you age faster than you want. Then make substitutions. Throw out all those cooking implements—ice cream makers and deep-fat fryers—that will entice you to eat foods that age you. Clear out your recipe files, banishing recipes that call for a lot of cream or butter. While you're at it, throw out any take-out menus for places that serve unhealthy food. Keep the menu from the Vietnamese restaurant and toss the one from the fried chicken joint. That way, you won't be tempted.
(CREAM AND BUTTER - ORGANIC IF POSSIBLE - IS GOOD FOR YOU, IF YOU HAVE IT IN MODERATION - Keith Hunt)
19. Don't Let Situations You Can't Control Stop You from Making Smart Food Choices
At home, it is relatively easy to develop a diet plan and stick with it. When you're out on the town it's a different story. Many people find it hard to keep eating right when they go out for meals or have to travel. Learn how to make the situations in which you have less control more manageable for you. For example, when you go out to eat, look for low-fat options on the menu. If you don't see anything, try to modify an existing dish by asking the waiter to have it baked or broiled without fat. Ask to have sauces served on the side, or request that your omelet be made with just egg whites. Most restaurants prove extremely accommodating. (I remember eating in a restaurant with nutrition expert Dr. Jerry Stamler and being amazed at how he changed the menu, asking the chef to modify dishes to suit his dietary requirements.) The answer is usually YES, and the food delicious.
(AGAIN THIS IDEA OF OMLETS JUST FROM EGG WHITES IS WAY OUT OF DATE. GOOD ORGANIC EGGS, ALL THE EGG, IS GOOD FOR YOU - Keith Hunt)
Also, if you're invited to a party and think that everything's going to be calorie laden and heavy, eat before you arrive and then eat less when you get there. Just smile and say, 'It's fabulous but just so filling.' If you travel frequendy on airplanes, pack your own snacks. Or call ahead to see if you can order a special meal. Most airlines offer vegetarian food or heart-healthy selections, and these meals are generally tastier, more nutritious, and lower in saturated fats and trans fats than their usual entrees. Wherever you are, don't hesitate to take a low-fat snack pack with you when you're on the run—at work or at play. It will help you keep the years away.
(OR WITH YOUR MEAL ON A LONG AIRLINE FLIGHT HAVE A GLASS OF RED WINE WITH IT - Keith Hunt)
20. Finally—and Most Important— Make Healthy Eating Fun
You are making changes for a lifetime—changes for a younger lifetime. This shouldn't be hard work. Healthy eating should be part of enjoying all those years of added youth. Buy a low-fat cookbook. Try out a new recipe three nights a week or every Sunday. If you live with someone who shares cooking, make it a game. See who can make the best-tasting low-fat dishes. Be inventive. If you haven't a clue what to do with that funny new vegetable (like kohlrabi), figure something out. Dare to be bold and adventurous. If you always eat a certain style of food, break the mold. Try new options: Thai food, Italian, or vegetarian. Make low-saturated-fat eating an adventure, not a chore.
(AGAIN THIS LOW FAT IDEA IS OUT OF DATE, UNLESS YOUR BODY METABOLISM IS SUCH THAT YOU NEED TO BE ON A LOW FAT DIET - Keith Hunt)
These are general guidelines for Age Reduction eating. It may take a while to adjust to the changes. Stick with it for a couple of months and see how you do. If you have questions regarding serving sizes or the nutrient content of foods, I suggest you buy a nutritional information book. Many good books list the calories and nutrients in a whole range of foods. (I love the tables in Roy L. Walford's The 120-Year Diet, Pocket Books, 1988.) The better informed you are about what you eat, the better food choices you will make, and the younger you will stay.
(GET THE CHARLES ATLAS HEALTH AND STRENGTH COURSE, STILL AVAILABLE. TYPE IN CHARLES ATLAS IN YOUR WEB BROWSER AND UP IT WILL COME. IF YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH BODY METABOLISM, CHARLES ATLAS STILL HAS THE BEST OVERALL TEACHING ON FOODS. AS HE OFTEN SAID, "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT."
Now let's consider three food concerns we all have and about which you will want more information: fat consumption, cholesterol intake, and weight maintenance.
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REAL AGE
Cholesterol: The Facts Behind the Hype
Remember when almost every health story featured cholesterol as its subject, and everyone you knew was rushing out to have his or her cholesterol levels checked? Even as recently as a few years ago, we thought that having a low cholesterol level ensured long-term arterial health. We now know the story is more complex. Sure, it's generally good to have a low total cholesterol level, but many other factors are more important to ageing than cholesterol. In fact, most people who have cardiovascular disease have cholesterol levels below the 'high' marker of 240 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter). Although high levels of total cholesterol and/or LDL (lousy) cholesterol can contribute to arterial ageing, other factors contribute even more: high blood pressure; cigar, cigarette, or passive smoking; not exercising; high levels of homocysteine; diabetes; and a diet that is heavy in fats and and poor in nutrients. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that high cholesterol levels can affect your rate of ageing.
What Does 'High Cholesterol' Mean?
Cholesterol is a type of lipid (a fat soluble molecule) found in three places: in our cells, in our food ('dietary' cholesterol), and in our blood. As much as we fear cholesterol, it is a vital component of our bodies. Cholesterol is required for the body to manufacture hormones, build cell walls, and produce bile acids, which are essential for the breakdown and digestion of fats. In some areas of the body, cholesterol levels are high. For example, skin cells contain a lot of cholesterol, making them highly water resistant. This water resistance protects the body from dehydration by reducing the evaporation of water. The brain also has high concentrations of cholesterol.
When we measure cholesterol, we measure the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood. Problems develop not from having cholesterol in the blood, but from having too much cholesterol and too much of the wrong type of cholesterol in our blood, where it can cause damage to our arteries. In general, having a high total cholesterol level is bad: Excess cholesterol can promote arterial ageing. However, even among such high-risk populations as middle-aged men, only 9-12 percent of those with total cholesterol readings of over 240 mg/dl will actually have symptomatic cardiovascular disease as a direct result of cholesterol. For each 1 percent increase in the overall cholesterol reading in middle-aged men (for example, for 202 versus 200 mg/dl), the risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases by 2 percent. High cholesterol levels affect different population groups disproportionately. For example, high cholesterol seems to have a significant ageing effect on young and middle-aged men, but a much less significant effect on older men and women of all ages. The female sex hormone oestrogen generally decreases the presence of cholesterol in the blood, whereas androgens—the male sex hormones—increase blood cholesterol. Premenopausal women rarely have to worry about their cholesterol levels.
The Ratio of LDL to HDL
Far more important than a person's total cholesterol reading is the ratio of his or her LDL to HDL. There are three basic types of cholesterol in your body: low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and very-low-derisity lipoproteins (VLDL). Because the VLDL level is rarely measured directly, in general, cholesterol tests measure total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL cholesterol. (LDL is calculated by subtracting HDL from total cholesterol.) LDL cholesterol causes ageing of the arteries; HDL cholesterol prevents it. (Recall that I remember the 'L' of LDL as 'lousy' and the 'H' of HDL as 'healthy.')
In general, a total cholesterol reading of 240 mg/dl is too high and can cause arterial ageing. In the most rigorous study on cholesterol, the Framingham Study, individuals with a cholesterol reading lower than 200 mg/dl had a 10 percent risk of coronary artery disease over a twenty-year period. Those with a total cholesterol reading above 240 mg/dl had about twice as much chance (20 percent) of developing the disease.
Most people who have high cholesterol also have high levels of LDL cholesterol, which causes arterial ageing. LDL molecules deliver cholesterol to the cells in the body. When cholesterol rises, excess LDL molecules in the bloodstream can attach to small ruptures or lesions in the arterial wall, the endothelium, and trigger a process that can lead to the development of arterial plaques and cardiovascular ageing.
It is interesting to note that some people with very high cholesterol levels have arteries that are in better condition than those of other individuals who have low cholesterol levels. These lucky people have high levels of HDL cholesterol and low levels of LDL cholesterol. Since HDL molecules remove excess cholesterol from the arteries, the more HDL you have, the less excess LDL cholesterol you have and the less arterial ageing you will undergo. Unfortunately, these people are the exception, not the rule.
When you get your cholesterol levels tested, make sure to ask not just for your total cholesterol level but for your total/HDL ratio. The lower the ratio, the better. The average ratio for middle-aged Americans is 5. It is calculated by dividing the number for total cholesterol by the number for HDL. For example, if you have a total blood cholesterol of 200 and your HDL is 40, the ratio is 5 (200/40). On the other hand, if your total blood cholesterol is 200 but your HDL is 57, your ratio is 3.5. A fifty-five-year-old man with a ratio of 3.5 would have only about half the risk of arterial ageing as the average man in his age group; his RealAge would be eight years younger. In contrast, if that man had a ratio of 9 (for example, 270 total/30 HDL), he would have more than five times the risk of arterial ageing as the average man in his age group; his RealAge would be twelve years older than average. Similarly, having either high LDL or a high LDL/HDL ratio can cause arterial ageing.
As mentioned, having a total cholesterol of over 240 mg/dl suggests a high risk of ageing. Likewise, a level of LDL cholesterol above 160 mg/dl or an HDL reading below 35 mg/dl correlates with an increased rate of arterial ageing. If your total cholesterol is more than 240, if your LDL cholesterol is higher than 160, or if your HDL cholesterol is lower than 35, you should talk seriously with your doctor about improving your cholesterol levels to retard arterial ageing. Having either high LDL levels or low HDL levels can make your RealAge anywhere from three to six years older. Having both high total LDL and a high LDL-to-HDL ratio can make your RealAge anywhere from six to eighteen years older, depending on the ratio. Even if your cholesterol status is more moderate—LDL levels above 100 but below 160 or HDL levels less than 55 but above 36—you should also consider taking steps to reduce your LDL cholesterol and increase your HDL levels.
Despite all the buzz about cholesterol-free foods, cholesterol is one factor that is largely determined by genetics. Genetics determine whether you have a tendency toward high LDL levels, and genetics largely determine your LDL-to-HDL ratio. That means that genetic factors gready determine how seriously you will be affected by arterial ageing caused by elevated LDL cholesterol levels if you don't adopt Age Reduction activities that are specifically targeted toward preventing arterial ageing. For example, if you are a man with a high LDL cholesterol level or a high LDL-to-HDL ratio and a number of your close male relatives died early from heart disease, you are at a high risk of the premature onset of cardiovascular disease (see Table 8.2).
As I mentioned, an HDL level above 60 mg/dl appears to provide tremendous protection against arterial ageing. Although some medications will help increase HDL levels, drugs are not the most effective way of improving your cholesterol ratio. In fact, no techniques have been proven to work for everyone. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your HDL reading. Women tend to have higher HDL levels than men, and women are able to improve their HDL levels with exercise to a greater extent than men. A recent North Carolina study found that aerobic exercise increased HDL by 20 percent in female patients but by only 5 percent in male patients. Also, a glass of alcohol a night (half a glass for women) may increase your HDL level. For many people, losing excess weight improves their HDL readouts. Although the interaction between weight gain and cholesterol levels is still not well understood, the correlation between the two is strong.
In contrast, if you have low LDL cholesterol, your genetics are protecting you from arterial ageing. Finally, there are a lucky few who have high total
[Soybeans as Youth Beans - Recent studies have linked soy protein to a reduction in levels of LDL cholesterol. People who regularly consume soy products—soy milk, tofu, and soy beans (and that doesn't mean soy sauce!)—have LDL cholesterol levels that are, on average, 13 percent lower than those who don't. Try substituting soy-based products for animal protein in your diet. The consumption of soy products may have a particularly big impact on those with very high cholesterol levels. It is not clearly understood why or how soy protein helps reduce cholesterol levels, although some experts theorize that the soy works as an antioxidant on cholesterol. Others think that soy may interfere with the formation of plaque. To make a substantial difference in cholesterol, you would need 31 to 47 grams of soy protein a day. Soy also contains a natural oestrogen that has been shown to reduce the risk of both breast and prostate cancers and to provide extra protection for ageing of the bones] The very important fact is you have to make sure the soy product is organic and not GM - genetically modified in any way - Keith Hunt
cholesterol and high HDL cholesterol. These people have a genetic trump. All that HDL cholesterol helps protect them from arterial ageing. They can have a RealAge as much as twenty-six years younger than their cohorts.
How to Reduce Cholesterol Levels
Since there has been so much focus in the media on eating a 'low-cholesterol' diet, it is surprising to learn that eating a low-cholesterol diet is not an especially effective way to reduce LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol consumed in food will cause a rise in cholesterol levels for some people and will have no effect on other people. Only 15 percent (one in seven individuals) who try a low-cholesterol diet get a significant antiageing effect from doing so. Again, genetics play a role: Genetic factors largely determine your sensitivity to dietary cholesterol, and people can range from extreme sensitivity to complete insensitivity. A person who has a genetic insensitivity may consume as much as 1,000 mg of cholesterol daily without negative consequences. In general, though, it is recommended that you consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day. People who show a particular sensitivity to dietary cholesterol should eat even less than that to retard or reverse arterial ageing. How do you know your responsiveness to dietary restriction of cholesterol? Only by measuring blood levels before and after restricting dietary cholesterol. A dramatic decline suggests that you are sensitive. A more modest decrease of 10-15 percent suggests that you are not.
For most of us, consumption of fat influences our levels of cholesterol in the blood far more than consumption of cholesterol itself. Unless you are especially sensitive to dietary cholesterol, your body produces almost all the cholesterol that exists in the bloodstream. The liver manufactures cholesterol from the saturated and trans fats you consume. This is yet another reason why it is important to eat a diet low in saturated and trans fats.
The best way to reduce high LDL cholesterol is to choose foods that are low in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat. If you have high LDL cholesterol, you may want to consider taking medicine to reduce those levels. Talk to your doctor about getting a more extensive lipid evaluation and about the pros and cons of medication for improving either your overall cholesterol level or your LDL-to-HDL ratio......
Triglyceride Levels
Triglycerides are lipids (fats) that circulate in the bloodstream. Triglyceride measurements are usually taken after an overnight fast and when cholesterol levels are analyzed. The average fasting triglyceride level is 120-125 mg/dl. Levels above 200 mg/dl are associated with significant arterial ageing, especially with plaque buildup along the arterial wall. Since triglyceride levels fluctuate a fair amount, people with high levels (above 190 mg/dl) will want to have their blood analyzed several times to get an accurate estimate. If your fasting triglyceride level is above 200 mg/dl, reduce total fat intake. Cutting saturated and trans fats to less than 7 percent of your total caloric intake, eating fish rich in omega-3 fish oils at least three times a week or more, and increasing your physical activity are all actions to choose before considering possible drug therapies
Low Cholesterol Levels
With all this talk about high LDL cholesterol, do we have to worry about the other side of the spectrum? Can your cholesterol level dip too low?Apparently, yes, although we know far less about ultra-low cholesterol than high cholesterol, as very few people without an acute disease or chronic malnutrition have cholesterol levels low enough to be of concern. In a few but not all studies, people with low total cholesterol levels appeared to have a higher incidence of cancers and, curious to note, suicides. Although very few studies have been done on this subject, and we still cannot say with any certainty how low 'too low' is, it appears there is some risk. A possible explanation for the relationship to cancer may be that cholesterols are necessary components of vitamin D3, a proven cancer fighter. As for the suicides, no one really knows. Cholesterols are important in the functioning of brain cells and the production of hormones, so an ultra-low level of cholesterol may affect these two functions.
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TO BE CONTINUED
REAL AGE
Slimming Down
How Shedding Pounds Amounts to Shedding Years
Perhaps no health issue is more emotionally charged than weight gain. We need only to look at the plethora of diet books and the news stories about eating disorders to sense the concern. Ironically, in spite of the abundance of information on diet, nutrition, and the health problems associated with being overweight, the American population has been getting progressively heavier.
Being overweight can provoke many conditions that age your body. It causes high blood pressure, inhibits exercise, and promotes chronic diseases like diabetes. Excess weight is associated with accelerated arterial ageing and the onset of cardiovascular disease; ageing of the bones and joints; diseases of ageing, such as gallbladder disease and gout; increased levels of depression; and increased incidence of cancers, especially breast, uterine, and prostate cancers. Being overweight can make your RealAge as much as ten years older.
Fad diets are not the solution. Losing weight—and keeping it off—is no easy trick. The only way to do it is to change behaviors at the most fundamental level: Weight loss and maintenance of the ideal weight are always tied to healthy eating and exercise behaviors that are practiced for a lifetime. Repeatedly losing weight and gaining it back stresses your body and actually accelerates ageing.
The customary way of calculating your ideal weight is to determine your body mass index (BMI), or your weight-to-height ratio. The BMI reading is one of the best tools for assessing whether a person weighs too much because it accounts for variances in body size, giving a standard for evaluating people at a range of heights. (Although BMI is not the best measure of body fat, for most people, it provides a good general estimate and can easily be calculated at home.)
The average BMI for Americans is 26.3 kg/m2 (kilograms per meter' squared). In terms of Age Reduction, the ideal BMI is 23 or less. As long as your weight is not abnormally low because of some health complication, such as a chronic disease, if you have a BMI of 23 or less, you can expect your RealAge to be as much as eight years younger than if your BMI were at the national average of 26.3.
If your BMI is over 25, you will probably want to consider a moderate weight-loss program that includes boosting exercise and cutting caloric intake. If your BMI is over 27, excess weight is causing unnecessary ageing, and, again, you should consider a safe and gradual weight-loss plan involving exercise and cutting calories. People with BMIs over 30 should consult a physician or weight-loss professional before beginning any diet, to establish a safe and practical weight-loss plan.
Despite the well-publicized health problems from obesity, more than 40 percent of all men over age fifty are significantly overweight. That is, they are 20 percent or more above their desirable weight and have a BMI over 27.8. Fifty-two percent of women in their fifties and 41 percent of women age sixty and over are significantly overweight: they are 20 percent or more above their desirable weight and have a BMI over 27.3. In 1960, fewer than one-quarter of all Americans were significantly overweight; now more than one-third are. From 1980 to 1990, the weight (adjusted for height) of the average American increased by eight pounds.
What is the major factor causing this increase in weight? Some scientists argue that obesity stems largely from our food choices. We choose to eat a calorically dense diet, one that is high in saturated fats and trans fats, rich in sugar, and low in both fiber and nutrients. Others argue that we are genetically predisposed to obesity. Yet others believe that in our sedentary society, obesity is due to the abundance, variety, availability, and palatability of the food we can eat. That is, we overeat. I say it's double trouble; even when genetic factors are taken into account, we eat too much, and we eat the wrong things. In addition, we don't get enough exercise, especially strength-building exercise.
The best way to lose weight and to get younger by doing so is to eat less food and get more exercise. Approximately three hundred thousand people die a year because of weight-related illnesses. Indeed, our society's tendency to correlate thinness with beauty has done incredible harm. Instead of learning healthy eating practices, we crash diet to lose pounds and, in the process, do incredible damage to our bodies. Or else we give up, thinking that because we will never be supermodel thin, we may as well not bother losing weight at all.
How to Spot a Fad Diet
Every year there are new diet plans and lots of hype accompanying them. One year it is the grapefruit diet, the next year the cabbage soup diet. Some of these plans contain reasonable and healthful information. Others encourage bad diet habits or contain information that is just plain wrong—information that can either do nothing for you or, in some cases, cause real harm. The Food and Nutrition Science Alliance gives good advice on how to spot a bad diet fad:
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2 .Don't believe in the quick fix. When it comes to food, there are no overnight miracles.
3. Dire warnings—or raves-—-about one ingredient or regimen are not the answer. The all-tofu diet isn't going to keep your weight down.
4. Don't be tricked by simplistic conclusions drawn from complex studies. View what you read with a critical eye. Look for informed commentary in the health-minded press.
5. Recommendations based on single studies should not be believed. Wait for confirmation.
6. Dramatic claims that are disputed by other experts in the field are a clear warning sign. Try to evaluate who is correct.
In most of the discussions about weight, what is forgotten is the relationship between weight maintenance and good health. The point is not to be the skinniest person around, but to be the right weight for your height and build. So far, there are no good and lasting quick fixes. If you are just a bit overweight, you can probably increase your exercise levels or reduce your caloric intake and lose the weight.
Recent studies, such as one just completed at the University of Chicago, have found that the best way to lose weight is to increase exercise. In the University of Chicago's research on overweight women, not only did exercise burn calories, it also boosted the overall metabolic rate. When you exercise regularly, the body burns more calories per minute even when you are not exercising. Strength exercises are especially important because they build muscle, which burns more calories per minute than other kinds of body tissue (see Chapter 9).
New evidence shows that weight gain between the ages of eighteen (for women) or twenty-one (for men) and forty is particularly dangerous. Weight gain during these years can make your RealAge six months to one year older for every 10 percent gain in the BMI. Furthermore every 10 percent increase in relative weight is associated with a 6.5 mm rise in systolic blood pressure, and high blood pressure is one of the major factors affecting ageing.
Why are some people more prone to being overweight than others? Two factors that contribute are genetics and behaviors.
Certainly, one key factor is heredity. Some of us are born thin, and some of us aren't. Our genes determine all kinds of influences on height, body weight, and metabolic rate, and these influences vary widely from person to person. The study of genetic factors affecting weight gain is a burgeoning field, and scientists have already discovered some genes and gene products that are tied to weight gain. For example, in 1994 and 1995, one of the first hormones tied to fat regulation—leptin—was characterized in the now-famous studies of 'fat mice': Mice with genetically caused obesity were given injections of leptin and lost weight! Despite the initial belief that a magical new weight-loss drug had been found, the discovery of leptin proved how complicated the genetics of food metabolism and weight gain are. Subsequent investigations showed that leptin is just one hormone of many involved in a complicated metabolic pathway. Some people with genetically caused weight problems have leptin-related disorders, but-others don't. Weight regulation is a complex genetic trait: Many different genes and proteins interact to determine body size. We are still years from understanding the interactions. Fortunately, heredity isn't everything.
What should you do to shed extra pounds? First, review this chapter, which contains tips on eating an Age Reduction diet. Then read the next chapter, in which you will learn how to develop an Age Reduction physical activity plan.
Second, don't torture yourself. The dieter's mentality of sacrifice and denial leads to failure. Don't punish yourself for occasional slipups. Instead, try to establish good eating behaviors that will last a lifetime. It makes no sense to go oh a diet for six weeks. Instead, you need to establish routines that will help you keep the weight off for the long term. Don't do anything dramatic or extreme. Use common sense and talk to your doctor. Remember, your food choices are for life: You can keep young by choosing to eat well.
Third, don't go it alone. It's too easy to lose your willpower. Find someone who has a common goal and try to lose weight together. Encourage your spouse or partner, friends, and colleagues to support you or join you. Although a diet sounds like the least entertaining thing imaginable, there are ways of making weight loss fun. For eleven years, I had a running bet with a group of friends. We agreed to lose two to three pounds a month—an achievable goal. Once a month we met for a weigh-in. Anyone who weighed in higher than his or her goal had to pay each of the others a hundred dollars for every pound he or she was over the target weight. Having the penalty be that high gave all of us an extra incentive to meet our goal. In eleven years and 132 weigh-ins, only one of us ever missed our target weight.
Fourth, if you're on a diet, reward yourself. When you lose the pounds you want, treat yourself to a new outfit, a night on the town, exercise clothes, a massage, or whatever makes you feel good—anything except an ice cream sundae! If you know a dieter, help celebrate when his or her weight-loss goal is reached.
Finally, you may want to have professional support. Joining a responsible weight-loss clinic or participating in a program such as Weight Watchers can help you lose extra pounds. These diet clinics and programs can teach you simple tricks for eating healthier, choosing foods that are good for you, and consuming fewer calories. They provide handy tips like what to order in a restaurant when no low-fat options are obvious and how to avoid empty-calorie foods. Also, the social environment really appears to pay off. It encourages a 'we're-all-in-this-together' kind of attitude as you leam how to motivate each other and make healthy food choices together. These groups help you celebrate those pounds-off victories.
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REAL AGE
Fit for Youth
AGE REDUCTION EXERCISE MADE EASY
So you think you don't have time to exercise? You don't have time not to. Time spent exercising actually gives you more time. It not only increases longevity, making your RealAge years younger, but it also gives you more energy so that (like other Age Reduction choices) you actually feel years younger, too. By adopting a three-pronged approach for boosting your physical activity, you can reduce your RealAge by 8.1 years. A moderate and balanced exercise routine is an integral piece of your overall Age Reduction Plan, and it's easier than you think to integrate into your everyday life.
• Boost physical activity. You don't have to run marathons to benefit from exercise. Just taking a twenty-minute walk every day can reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke by 15-30 percent in just twenty weeks. And it makes your RealAge one year younger. Make physical activity-—-walking to work, taking an evening stroll, or pedaling the exercise bike while watching the evening news-—part of your daily life, slowly building up to a goal of expending 3,500 kcal (kilocalories) a week. It will make your RealAge 3.2 years younger.
Difficulty rating: Moderately difficult
• Build stamina. Through vigorous exercise-—-whether it's aerobics classes, swimming, jogging, tennis, or anything else that makes you break into a sweat and causes your heart to beat faster—you can reduce your RealAge. Exercise strengthens your heart, arteries, and lungs and delays-—and may even reverse—arterial and immune system ageing. Exercises that cause you to sweat have a double benefit: They not only count toward the sixty minutes of stamina exercise required per week for optimum Age Reduction, but also burn extra calories toward your 3,500-kcal-per-week goal. Stamina exercises can make your RealAge as much as 6.4 years younger.
Difficulty rating: Moderately difficult
Build strength and flexibility. Keeping your body strong and flexible helps fend off the wear and tear that make us older. Doing strength and flexibility exercises three times a week keeps your muscles supple and strong. Stretching, weight lifting, and yoga all promote a younger body. You don't need to invest that much time to benefit: Lifting weights for ten minutes just three times a week makes you 1.7 years younger.
Difficulty rating: Moderately difficult
When it comes to fitness, remember the number three. There are three basic types of physical activity that make you younger-—general physical activity, starmina-building activities, and strength and flexibility exercises-—-and each affects your ageing process differently. To get the maximum Age Reduction effect from your fitness plan, you need all three.
First, there is just general physical activity-—walking, gardening, bringing in the groceries—anything that uses your muscles, no matter what it is. Just boosting your overall activity level—not even breaking a sweat—can earn you 40 percent of the Age Reducing effect normally attributed to exercise. Raising your overall caloric expenditure to 3,500 kcal a week makes your RealAge 3.2 years younger. A kcal is the same amount of energy as a calorie, except that, for some reason, the custom is to use the term calories when we're talking about food and kcal for the same amount of energy when we're talking about exercise. Therefore, a donut is said to contain about 400 calories, and swimming is said to bum 400 to 600 kcal an hour.
Second, there are activities that raise your heart rate—the so-called stamina activities. This is what most of us think of when we think 'exercise'—jogging, biking, swimming, aerobics, a 'workout.' This kind of exercise contributes another 40 percent to the Age Reduction that can be tied to physical fitness.
Third, there are strength and flexibility exercises. Building and strengthening muscles and keeping them in top form through weight lifting, stretching exercises, or other activities contribute just 20 percent to the overall Age Reduction effect of exercise. But don't be fooled; it's a critical 20 percent. These activities provide a kind of insurance policy for the body, helping you to avoid injury and skeletal weakening and allowing you to continue your overall exercise routine without the disruptions caused by pulled muscles or broken bones. Strengthening exercises are especially important for women. To protect bone mass and density, women need to lift weights even more than men. Lifting weights for just thirty minutes a week makes your RealAge 1.7 years younger.
The best fitness plan is one that builds on all three components. One without the other two will provide some, but not the maximum, Age Reduction effect.
Exercise and Longevity: The Basic Facts
How many times have you told yourself, 'I will start exercising'? How many times have you finished that sentence with 'tomorrow'? Although more than 90 percent of Americans agree that exercise is an important part of healthy living, only 15 percent get as much exercise as they should. More than 76 percent fail to do even one vigorous activity a week. Over two hundred fifty thousand deaths a year, 12 percent of the national total, are attributable to the lack of regular physical activity. Despite the sports fashion boom of the 1980s, Americans seem to be exercising less and less. As a nation, our fitness level is declining. Fewer people are fit in the 1990s than they were in the 1980s, and fewer people in the 1980s were fit than in the 1970s. Although Americans spent more than $40 billion on fitness equipment in 1995, much of that equipment is gathering dust in the basement.
Even modest physical activity can make your RealAge younger—substantially younger. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that one of the key reasons Americans don't exercise is the common misconception that a person needs to do taxing and rigorous workouts to reap benefits. That's simply not true. Almost all of us would benefit greatly by just boosting our overall physical activity. In fact, a recent policy statement from the Centers for Disease Control and the American College of Sports Medicine suggested that getting just half an hour a day of moderately intense activity, such as walking, gardening, or housecleaning—-that is, burning just 200 kcal a day (or 1,400 kcal a week) beyond the 'resting metabolic rate'—can provide many of the health benefits attributed to exercise. Even getting just 750 kcal a week of physical activity—that means about two ten-minute walks a day—-makes your RealAge 0.9 to 1.7 years younger than if you did nothing. If you get an hour's worth of physical activity a day—and that includes such things as walking up the stairs or taking a couple often-minute strolls—you can reduce your RealAge two to five years. That doesn't mean hard-sweat exercise, just anything that uses your muscles. In fact, I often don't even use the term exercise, preferring the term physical activity. Physical activity—just boosting your overall activity level—is a key component of Age Reduction.
Who should exercise? Everyone. Who can exercise? Everyone who is not seriously incapacitated. Just two decades ago, many doctors and scientists believed that heredity determined your ability to do exercise and to benefit from it. More recent studies have indicated that choices and habits—-that is, your own desire and resolve to stay in shape—determine, by more than 70 percent, your ability to achieve and maintain physical fitness. The first step is changing your frame of mind.
Even if you have a health problem—especially if you have a health problem—you should integrate exercise into your life. Exercise makes the RealAge of those who are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses disproportionately younger. You get the biggest benefit if you begin exercising before you have a major health problem or, as I like to think of it, an ageing event.
People who start exercising or doing even moderate physical activity in midlife have a decreased rate of ageing. In fact, you are never too old to begin. Fitness researchers have even found that encourageing the frailest nursing home residents—people already in their nineties and even as old as one hundred—-to lift weights actually makes an astounding difference in the quality of their lives, enabling some to move out of their wheelchairs and back on their feet. In fact, I've been told that the nursing home where these studies were done had to close a wing after the studies were finished because so many of their residents got well enough to go back home. No matter what your age or physical condition, exercise almost always makes you younger. What is most important about fitness is that you continue to exercise. Studies have found that within five years of giving up their sports and exercise, college athletes were no more fit—and no younger-—-than those who had never exercised. Exercise keeps you young only as long as you keep doing it.
Exercise and Disease: Lowering Risk, Getting Younger
Exercise is a whole-body phenomenon. It doesn't just make your muscles stronger, it slows down the ageing of your entire body. Exercise affects everything: your cardiovascular system, your immune system, your musculoskeletal system, and your emotional well-being. It affects you all the way down to your cells. Let's consider the scientific research on exercise as it pertains to various health conditions.
Coronary and arterial ageing. People who exercise regularly have significantly less cardiovascular ageing and are at a far lower risk of heart attacks and strokes, regardless of their genetic background. Exercise lowers blood pressure, raises the levels of protective HDL cholesterol, stimulates weight loss, and helps prevent blood clots. The Harvard Alumni Study found that the incidence of heart attack was inversely proportional to the amount of exercise performed: Men who exercised less than 2,000 kcal a week had a 64 percent higher risk of heart attack than those who exercised more than that. Studies have also shown that a three-month period of intensive activity, like that experienced by military recruits, can result in an increase in HDL ('healthy') cholesterol of as much as 33 percent and a decrease in LDL ('lousy') cholesterol of 9 percent. Even moderate amounts of physical activity are shown to lower total cholesterol rates and to lower LDL/HDL ratios, although the results are not as dramatic. Exercise is a-way to control cholesterol without medication and to make your RealAge younger.
Immune system ageing. Physical activity affects you even at the cellular level. It reduces the rate at which your cells age, meaning that you are less likely to develop cancers and that microscopic cancers that do exist are less likely to spread. Exercise also improves the overall functioning of the immune system, increasing the production of 'watchdog' cells that seek and destroy invading disease cells and cancer cells. Those who are physically fit have fewer colds and other illnesses.
Colon cancer. The rate of colon cancer is significantly higher in highly industrialized, affluent societies. Why? Researchers blame our fatty diets and sedentary lifestyles. Several studies have shown that individuals who are physically active have much lower rates of colon cancers; a study in Sweden found that those with low levels of activity were three times more likely to get colon cancer.
Breast cancer. Preliminary studies show that women who exercise regularly have an incidence of breast cancer that is almost one-third lower than that of women who do not exercise regularly. One Norwegian study found that among women who exercised, the risk was reduced by 37 percent. Unfortunately, many questions still exist about the relationship between breast cancer and exercise. Some scientists hypothesize that women who exercise more have lower fat stores and, hence, less long-term exposure to impurities stored in fat cells. Others hypothesize that endurance training helps increase the number of immune system cells that are known to kill off potential cancer cells.
Prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is linked to elevated testosterone levels, and regular vigorous exercise reduces such levels. Men who exercise consistently have much lower rates of prostate cancer. The Harvard Alumni Study found a significantly reduced risk of prostate cancer among men who exercised more than 4,000 kcal a week and an increased risk for men who expended less than 1,000 kcal a week. The risk was nearly 50 percent lower for men over age seventy and more than 80 percent lower for men under age seventy. Although other studies have confirmed the link, there is still debate over the exact relationship between exercise and prostate cancer.
Arthritis. Practically everyone over age sixty-five begins to show some sort of arthritic symptoms. A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who had osteoarthritis can and should exercise. Moderate to vigorous exercise, in conjunction with strengthening exercise, eliminated many of their symptoms and made their joints younger.
Weight management. By burning calories and increasing your metabolic rate, exercise helps you lose weight and replace fat with muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you're not exercising. Strengthening exercises are particularly important because they build muscle.
Diabetes. Exercise helps increase the body's sensitivity to insulin. This increased sensitivity to insulin, in turn, lowers blood sugar levels and decreases insulin production. Active people, even if they have a genetic predisposition to the disease, are much less likely to develop adult-onset (Type H) diabetes. Furthermore, if symptoms do occur, exercise helps diminish their ageing effect.
Osteoporosis and loss of bone density. Any resistance activity—walking up a hill or lifting groceries—-strengthens muscles and, just as important, increases bone density, making bones stronger and less likely to fracture. Indeed, resistance activity actually increases the calcium content of bones. Although strengthening-—or weight-bearing—exercises are the best for improving bone strength, new evidence shows that exercises such as riding a stationary bicycle and water aerobics may also increase bone density. Take note, however: Some new studies warn that people who exercise vigorously need to get proper amounts of calcium—1,000 to 1,200 mg a day-—to ensure that enough calcium is available for the bones to build density. During intense training, large amounts of calcium are lost through perspiration.
Falls and broken bones. Each year, approximately 30 percent of people over age sixty-five fall down, and 15 percent of those who fall suffer serious injuries. More than 6 percent of all medical care dollars spent on people over age sixty-five involve fall-related injuries. Hip fractures and other bone breaks age a person significantly. It's not just the bone breaks that age, but the long periods of immobility that often follow. Studies of the elderly population have found that those who exercised, particularly those who did balance-building exercises, such as tai chi chuan, were much less likely to fall or to sustain fall-related injuries.
Sleep-related disorders. Studies done at both Stanford and Emory Universities found that adults who exercised fell asleep more quickly and slept better than their sedentary counterparts.
Depression and anxiety. Exercise has significant emotional benefits: It helps ease depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders. Depression is a widespread, though often undiagnosed, problem among older people. Doctors have known for years that exercise, particularly when done in a social environment, helps relieve clinical depression. Exercise also reduces anxiety disorders and improves mental health in other ways. Even for those who have not been diagnosed as having a psychological illness, exercise is a known mood lifter, helping them feel happier and more upbeat.
Stress management. Regular exercise decreases the stress response, meaning that you are more relaxed, feel better, and are better prepared to cope with life's stressful events. We all have stresses, but by staying fit, we are better equipped to avoid their ageing effects.
Long-term memory. Exercise helps improve long-term memory and brain function. It helps prevent the arterial ageing that contributes to the early onset of Alzheimer's disease.
Tobacco use. Increasing exercise levels helps people quit smoking. Regular exercise diminishes nicotine cravings.
As this list shows, exercise clearly helps us stay young. But how are we to motivate ourselves to take on a real exercise regimen?
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TO BE CONTINUED
REAL AGE
The Exercise Basics
Cynthia W. was forty-three when she became my patient. At 5 feet 5 inches, she was eighty pounds heavier than she had been at age eighteen. Her body mass index was 38, well over the cutoff point for being considered overweight. The managing editor of a business magazine, she had a high-stress job. She spent every day sleuthing stories, answering phone calls, and making sure that the news got out on time. When deadlines neared, she worked around the clock, living on take-out food. By the time she became my patient, she had had a heart scare that brought her in for an electrocardiogram. She realized it was time to start taking care of herself.
When I tried gently to bring up the matter of her weight, she said, 'Dr. Roizen, don't beat around the bush. I know I need to lose weight. And,' she smiled, 'you're the one who's going to help me do it' After fighting with issues of body image and beauty for a long time, her recent heart scare made Cynthia realize that weight loss wasn't about looking good—it was about being healthy.
She told me, 'All of sudden, I woke up one day, and I was five times the size I always thought I was. I just never made the time to take care of myself. But I don't want to haul all this weight around anymore. Tell me what I can do?
'Eat less and,' I paused, 'exercise.'
'Damn. I thought you'd say that'
'Sorry, but what else can I say? Let's develop a plan you can stick to.'
Cynthia started her first 'workout' that day. She walked from her house to the end of the block and back. That was it: short, sweet and slow. The next day, she did it again. By the end of the next week, she was walking all the way around the block. Within three weeks, she was walking eight city blocks—the equivalent of a mile—each day. Then she began timing herself, increasing her pace a little bit each time. Within three months, she was walking half an hour each day. On weekends she would walk for a full hour. "Mike," she said to me one day, "I never thought I'd say this, but I actually find myself craving my daily walk. Me, the living paperweight actually wanting to exercise! I'll be at the office, the phones will be ringing off the hook, and all I can think is, Gee, I really want to take a walk.''
She had discovered that exercise doesn't have to be painful or exhausting. It can be something to look forward to, a reward. Soon Cynthia set a goal to walk in a five-kilometer walk-run race, just over three miles. And she did it, even jogging part of the way.
Within two years, she has lost more than forty-five pounds. Her blood pressure has dropped, and she feels a whole lot better. "I have more energy, and I actually like the way my body looks and feels," she laughed. Cynthia still hasn't reached her goal of getting back to the weight she was at eighteen, but she's getting closer every day.
Cynthia's doing it the easy way, remembering that health should play an important part of every day. She's working up gradually, aiming to meet her own goal of eight years younger. Cynthia started with the goal of just boosting her overall level of physical activity, aiming to get half an hour a day of moderate activity. Then she moved on to building up stamina, strengthening her heart, lungs, and arteries and to increasing her overall endurance. She has gone from getting less than 500 kcal of activity a week to reaching the ideal goal of 3,500 kcal a week. She still isn't doing lots of vigorous exercise, but she did buy an exercise bike and, on it, she reaches her goal of 65 percent of her maximum heart rate for twenty minutes or so at least three times a week. She is aiming to bring it up to 80 percent of the maximum. She still needs to do some strengthening and flexibility exercises, especially as she builds more stamina, to prevent injuries.
If you want to start exercising, how should you start?
Like Cynthia, you should start slowly. A behavior change that can last a lifetime takes effort. Don't try to fit a year's worth of workouts into the first week. You'll just get discouraged.
The most common reason for not exercising is "I don't have the time." Yet, exercising doesn't use up time; it makes more of it if you invest a little time each day, you will become younger in the here and now. In just ninety days, the effects will be measurable. You will feel better and more energetic, and your body will be healthier and more efficient. When people say they don't have time to exercise, I remember a clearly out-of-shape comedian who said, "All the time I gain from exercising, I spend exercising." Funny but, thankfully, not true. Just twenty minutes a day of physical activity will make your body younger and more efficient for all the other minutes of the day. In fact, most of my patients who have adopted the three-pronged RealAge physical activity plan tell me that they save more than an hour a day when they exercise. They are more energetic and more efficient in all the other things they do. No wonder. They are 8.1 years younger.
Physical Activity: The Antiager
The first goal of any fitness plan is to figure out how to boost your overall level of activity. Most of us lead sedentary lives. We sit at desks all day at work, watch TV when we get home, and drive too much. Future archeologists will label us "The-Sit-Around-and-Get-Round-Society." The decision to get in shape is a big decision, but it's the small steps that really matter. Like deciding to walk to the neighborhood grocery instead of driving. Pedaling an exercise bike while watching the football game. Lifting weights instead of chips during the commercials. Actually walking the dog, instead of just tossing or shoving him out into the backyard. Every movement you make improves your physical fitness level. Housework, gardening, and mowing the lawn—not to mention fun things, like dancing and sex—are all activities that burn extra calories. The point is to get your muscles moving. The more active you are, the younger you are.
At rest, your body burns 1,400 to 1,900 kcal a day. This is your 'resting metabolic rate.' This is the energy your body spends just keeping you alive— the energy it uses to keep your heart beating, to keep your blood flowing, to digest your food, and to breathe. Your resting metabolic rate is approximately 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. (To get your weight in kilograms, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.) If you weigh 132 pounds, or 60 kilograms, you will burn 60. kcal an hour. Then multiply this hourly number by 24 hours to get your expenditure per day. A person weighing 60 kilograms would burn 1,440 kcal a day even doing nothing. Likewise, a person weighing 90 kilograms, just about 200 pounds, would burn 90 kcal an hour and 2,160 kcal a day. Ideally, you should expend 3,500 kcal of energy a week in exercise above and beyond your resting metabolic rate. Getting that much physical activity gives you the maximum health benefit with none of the drawbacks of overexercising. Just as examples, brisk walking bums 300 kcal an hour, and jogging bums 400 to 500 kcal an hour.
Think about your daily routine
How and where can you integrate more activity into your routine? At work, take the stairs instead of the elevator (each flight burns 5 kcal). Take a walk at lunchtime, or ride your bike to work instead of driving. In the middle of the afternoon, take a ten-minute break and, instead of having another coffee, walk around the block. It will give you an energy burst without the caffeine. You can even plan a meeting around a walk. I call it the 'walk-and-talk.' Walking a city block bums up 9 kcal. Walk short distances instead of driving. Instead of spending ten minutes looking for the perfect parking spot, park a bit farther and use those ten minutes to walk to your destination. Buy a stationary bicycle, treadmill, or rowing machine and put it in front of your TV. That way, you can catch the evening news, expand your mind, and burn 300 to 600 kcal in an hour.
Getting just thirty minutes of physical activity a day, done in eight-to-ten-minute bursts, not only leads to measurable changes in physical fitness levels but has positive emotional effects. It makes you feel younger and more vigorous. Exercise provides a 'dose-response' relationship. The more exercise you get, the better you feel. The benefit of exercise reaches its maximum at about 3,500 kcal a week. Above that, the benefit is more or less the same until you reach 6,400 kcal a week, at which point you may be overexercising and causing ageing.
Some good news: Every little bit of physical activity matters. Studies have found that people who begin exercise programs doing several small segments in a day are more likely to stay with the program than those who try to do an extensive workout all at once. If you are now relatively sedentary, burning just 750 kcal a week beyond your daily average can make you one year younger.
Although everyone needs exercise, exercise is even more important for those already at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and other kinds of chronic disease. A famous study done by fitness researcher Steven Blair at the Cooper Center in Dallas showed that people who were physically fit, and even those who achieved physical fitness later in life, had significantly lower death rates no matter what the cause of death and regardless of any other risk factors, such as a family history of cardiovascular disease or previous heart attacks. The Harvard Alumni Study found that people who smoked, had high blood pressure, and didn't exercise had more than seven times the chance of having a heart attack. Having two of these three factors meant that a person's risk was only twice as high as the norm. If you are a smoker, have high blood pressure, or any other major risk factor that ages your arteries, exercise is especially important to retard or reverse ageing.
Family support is an important part of being able to maintain an exercise routine. Talk to your spouse or partner about the need to get in shape and about how important it is for both of you. Each of you should set exercise goals. "When one of you reaches a goal, have the other one cook a special saturated-fat-free celebratory meal or give some other reward. It may be corny, but encouraging someone to stay in shape is the best way to say 'I love you.' It means you want to have that person around for a long time. Use exercise as a way to find time in your busy schedules to get together. You can fill each other in about the day's events just as easily when you're on exercise bikes at the gym as you can in front of the TV at home.
Another problem many of us face when beginning an exercise plan is that we're literally fair-weather friends. Many people begin an exercise regimen in the spring, work out in the summer, reach their fitness peak in the fall, and then give up altogether as winter approaches,. Then they start from scratch all over again the next spring. Instead, plan for the cold weather. Join a gym or a club with an indoor pool. Even shopping malls provide indoor walking routes. More than 3 million Americans over calendar age sixty-five now mall-walk.
Starting to Exercise
Here's how I recommend that my patients start Age Reduction exercising:
Start slowly. Don't overdo it. Just go for five or ten minutes at the beginning. Even a walk around the block is a place to begin.
Do a bit more each week. Try to build your workout by a couple of minutes each week. Aim to increase your workout by 10 percent a week.
Warm up first, then stretch, and stretch again afterward. Save your muscles from pulls and tears and notice how good your body feels when your muscles are warm and stretched.
Visualize. Imagine yourself doing your sport. Make a picture in your mind of hitting the perfect shot or running in perfect form. Imagine how your body would move.
Treat yourself right. If it hurts, slow down. If it feels good, do more than you planned.
Cross-train. Try to plan your workout schedule around a number of different activities, such as walking, biking, and, swimming. Rotate your activities on different days.
Reward yourself. Set goals and when you achieve them, treat yourself. Buy a new pair of shoes or get a massage. Celebrate your Age Reduction!
Drink water. Don't let yourself get dehydrated.
Find an accomplice. Exercise with a friend. You'll encourage each other and push yourselves to meet your goals. Get the whole family involved.
Take a lesson. Even if you don't normally work out with a trainer or a pro, treat yourself to an hour with an expert who can show you how to maximize your workout and avoid needless injuries. It's a great way to get started.
Vary your workout pace. Do more on some days and less on others.
Consider whether you need a pre-exercise medical exam. Most adults do not need to talk to a doctor before beginning an exercise plan of moderate intensity. If you have a chronic disease or some other kind of health problem, you should talk to your doctor. Also, if you are a man over forty or a woman over fifty and are planning to start an intensive fitness program, you might also want to ask your physician to help you design a workout routine. If you don't have a regular doctor, ask your clinic or health maintenance organization (HMO) if anyone on its staff specializes in fitness.
If you really like being outdoors but get stopped cold by winter, learn how to dress for the weather. Wearing the proper gear can mean the difference between suffering through your workout and enjoying it. You can keep running right through the winter if you wear a hat and gloves. The advances in exercise wear in the past ten years have produced new fabrics, such as fleece and Lycra, that make exercise clothing both warm and lightweight. To make the most of the cold weather, learn a winter sport. There are few sports that provide the complete body workout of cross-country skiing. Ice skating, downhill skiing, and snowshoeing are all sports that can turn those gray winter months into something you actually look forward to.
Some people find that they miss their exercise routine when they travel or go on vacation. Plan for exercise. For example, I do a lot of traveling for work, and I always try to stay at hotels that offer fitness facilities. I find it's a great way to unwind after a long day of meetings or to start the morning off right. If I can't find a hotel with a gym, I pack a jump rope (some of my friends pack exercise bands). Twenty minutes of jumping rope—done in the right shoes and on a low-impact surface—is a great workout that you can do anywhere with a little bit of room. The ceilings in most hotel rooms are high enough. I often wonder what the person in the room below me thinks, but I know that I am not letting being way from home get in the way of keeping myself young.
(THE CHARLES ATLAS COURSE [STILL OBTAINABLE] HAS ALL KINDS OF EXERCISES YOU CAN DO ANYWHERE, NOTHING BUT YOURSELF NEEDED - Keith Hunt)
Boosting your physical activity levels should be a starting point. It provides the first 40 percent of the Age Reduction benefit attributable to fitness (see Table 9.2). To get the next 40 percent, you have to move to the second phase: stamina exercise.
Building Stamina: Getting Fit for the Long Run
The second element of any exercise routine should be aerobic (stamina-building) exercises. These are exercises that raise your heart rate and make you sweat. Activities like jogging, swimming, biking, and even brisk walking provide a fundamental piece of your Age Reduction exercise plan. Realistically, if you plan to get 3,500 kcal of activity a week, you will need to do something that really gets you moving.
You will want to start slowly and work your way up. Stamina building is a RealAge 'two-for-one' special: Stamina exercises give you double RealAge credit benefits for boosting your overall physical activity—burning kcalories— plus additional Age Reduction benefits for building stamina and aerobic capacity. In the Harvard Alumni Study of ten thousand subjects, those who expended 3,500 kcal a week had half the rate of ageing for the period studied as the least active people. In RealAge terms, individuals who were fit— those who reached overall activity levels of 3,500 kcal a week and included stamina-building exercises in their weekly routines—were 6.4 years younger than those who were completely unfit.
Aerobic exercise increases the body's uptake of oxygen and boosts your overall metabolic rate, meaning that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn, even when you're sitting still. Elevating your heart rate to 60-90 percent of its maximum for twenty minutes or more three times a week will give you a stronger heart, arterial system, and lungs and will help your body attain a higher resting metabolic rate. You also will reach your 3,500-kcal-a-week goal in half the time.
In contrast to your overall fitness level, the goal of stamina exercises is not the expenditure of kilocalories, but an increase in 'metabolic equivalent units,' or METs—-that is, a change in your metabolic rate, or the amount of oxygen that your muscles consume during exercise. One MET represents your metabolic rate at rest; 10 or 11 METs is the goal you should strive for when doing a vigorous workout. You will want to boost your metabolic rate to ten times its normal rate. Whereas kilocalories measure the total amount of energy burned, METs measure the intensity, or rate, at which you burn that energy. That is, the higher your metabolic rate (the higher your METs), the more kilocalories you burn in a shorter period. The goal of the second prong of your exercise plan-—-the stamina-building prong—should be to reach 10 METs for sixty minutes a week if you are a woman and 11 METs for sixty minutes a week if you are a man.
Now that you know what you're aiming for, how can you measure METs? Unfortunately, you can't, or at least not easily. METs can be measured accurately only at a sports medicine clinic or some other place equipped to monitor METs. There are three good substitute guidelines for measuring your metabolic rate: estimating the kilocalories burned per hour, estimating 'sweat time,' and determining your heart rate. Use these guidelines for measuring the intensity of your workouts. Look at 'calories-per-hour rates' to get a rough guideline for your MET level. If you walk briskly (300 kcal per hour), you will reach a metabolic rate of six to seven METs. If you do something that burns more than 600 kcal an hour, then you are somewhere close to 10 METs. You should try to exercise at this rate for at least twenty minutes three times a week. Another good way to estimate METs is by sweat time—try to sweat for twenty minutes or more three times a week. The amount of time you actually spend sweating is a relatively reliable indication you have reached 70 percent of your maximum heart rate and metabolic rate. The third way to estimate METs is by measuring your heart rate—the number of times your heart beats per minute. During bouts of vigorous exercise, your heart rate should get within 65-80 percent of the maximum.
How many beats per minute is that? First you need to calculate your maximum heart rate (the number of times your heart beats per minute when pushed to the limit). Calculate this by subtracting your calendar age from the number 220. If you are forty, your maximum heart rate should be about 180 beats per minute. If you are sixty, your ideal should be about 160 beats per minute. As I've gotten more fit, I challenge myself by subtracting my RealAge from 220. When you first start on your exercise program, the goal is to raise your heart rate to at least 65 percent of the maximum for twenty consecutive minutes at least three times a week. As you get in better shape, you should try to reach 80 percent of that number. For example, if you are forty, you should try to raise your heart rate to 117 beats a minute for twenty consecutive minutes each time you do a stamina-building exercise. As you progress, try to increase that number to 144 beats a minute. If you are sixty and just beginning to exercise, you should raise your heart rate to 104 beats a minute and subsequently aim for 128 beats a minute.
These are general guidelines that describe ideal heart rates for the average person in a particular age range. Remember, however, that there are individual variations in heart rate.
How do you measure your heart rate? When you are well into your workout, stop your exercise for a few seconds. Place the finger of one hand on your opposite wrist and search for the pulse point. It lies on the spot of your wrist just below the base of your thumb. Feel around for it. Make sure to use a finger, not your thumb, to feel for the pulse, as the thumb itself has a pulse point that can distort your reading. Then count the number of heartbeats in fifteen seconds, subtract one, and multiply by four to get your heart rate for a minute. Remember, a heartbeat has two parts to it—an 'in' and an 'out.' You should feel both. If you find it difficult to get this down, or if you want a more exact measure of your heart rate, buy a heart-rate monitor. These monitors are easily found at sporting goods stores but can be expensive. You can even get watches that have a heart-rate monitor in them.
As you start your new exercise program, begin slowly and build. Do as Cynthia did: Start with slow walks and gradually increase your workout each week by 10 percent. Soon you will start to sweat. When you begin a sport, it is more important to build stamina than intensity. Run farther but at a slower pace. Bike farther, rather than go all out for a short distance. Quantity matters most. Space your workouts during the week. Exercise every other day or switch between sports.
Forget the statement 'No pain, no gain.' Exercise shouldn't be painful. True pain is your body's way of telling you to back off. If you hurt, slow down or try a different regimen. The most common kind of pain you feel when you first start exercising is a slow, burning ache in the muscles and being out of breath. This feeling is normal because you are reaching your anaerobic threshold and are at the limit of your endurance. The pain is caused by the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles, which occurs when your muscles are not getting enough oxygen. This is not an indication of an injury but of reaching your fitness limit. The more you work out, the higher your anaerobic threshold will go, and soon you will be able to work out for longer periods and at a more vigorous rate.
If you feel sore after a workout, especially the next day, don't worry. Unless something really hurts, it will probably go away within a day or two—eventually producing lean muscle where there used to be flab. That's why you should space your workouts and rotate between activities-—-so that different muscle groups are worked on different days, getting a day off in between.
As you do more of your workout, set new goals and try to meet them. Try to increase the length and intensity of your workouts. Start small but be consistent, and you will do wonders. Stamina-building exercise can give you 6.4 years of youth.
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TO BE CONTINUED
SOUNDS SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED. WELL IF YOU ARE IN THE UN-FIT SITUATION, YES START OUT SLOW FOR SURE. IF IN THE FIT CATEGORY, THEN DIFFERENT VARIETIES WITHIN YOUR FITNESS PROGRAM IS A MAJOR KEY TO BEING ABLE TO STICK WITH YOUR OVERALL PROGRAM. HAVE A VARIETY OF THINGS YOU DO TO KEEP YOU FIT.
ONE IMPORTANT RECENTLY NEW DISCOVERY IS THAT "HARD AND FAST" TRAINING WITH RESTS IN-BETWEEN FOR 1/2 AN HOUR DOES WONDERS FOR YOUR BODY.
MY EXAMPLE IS WHEN I'M SWIMMING…..I DO A FAST AS POSSIBLE LAP SWIM, REST, RELAX, 30-60 SECONDS, THEN ANOTHER FAST AS POSSIBLE LAP, AND SO ON. THIS NOT ONLY GETS YOUR MUSCLES WORKING HARDER BUT ALSO YOUR HEART, LUNGS AND ETC.
YES PARK AT THE FAR END OF THE SUPER-MALL PARKING, WHEN GOING SHOPPING AND BRISKLY WALK TO THE SUPER-MALL OR GROCERY STORE.
IF YOU GET THE CHARLES ATLAS HEALTH AND STRENGTH COURSE, YOU'LL BE GIVEN ALL KINDS OF STRENGTH AND STRETCHING EXERCISES, THAT DO WONDERS FOR YOUR BODY, NO GADGETS REQUIRE.
I ALSO HAVE DUMB-BELL WEIGHTS, ONES THAT ADJUST REAL EASY FROM 5 POUNDS TO 50 POUNDS.
I HAVE A BIKE. AND I AM A HORSEMAN WITH MY OWN HORSE.
SO THERE IS MY VARIETY OF EXERCISING ROUTINES IN ANY GIVEN WEEK.
AND I WORK PART TIME AS CARETAKER FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER…..MANY THINGS REQUIRE EXTENDING ENERGY AND MUSCLES.
I DO ALL OF THIS AT A BIRTH CERTIFICATE AGE OF 71 - 72 SEPTEMBER 11TH 2014. PEOPLE THINK AND GUESS MY AGE AT ABOUT 50.
Keith Hunt [June 2014]
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