Live To Be 100!--Enhancing Longevity in "Perfect" Health
Centenarians are the most rapidly increasing demographic group--people who live to be 100, or more. Most increases in life span are due to better nutrition, modern public health measures and advances in Medicine.
It is now known that we can affect our aging, within genetic limits, by consistent, small changes in our daily lives, that produce major effects on our health. Our goal should be to enhance our longevity, to approach our genetic maximum, to live to be 100 or more, in good health, with full faculties and without disease, infirmities or disablity.
A plan to do that should include a foundation for good health, with a diet that promotes fat loss, low insulin levels and maintains muscle. Exercise is a literal "Fountain of Youth," with many beneficial effects, including an increased BMR (basal metabolic rate), lower insulin levels, and an enhanced immune system. Most of this you already know, but you have to DO it.
Our diet should be low refined carbohydrate (low glycemic index), with plenty of fresh vegetables and some fruits, high in lean protein (preferably grass-fed), with low to moderate fat, incraesed fiber and plenty of water, or seltzer and NO sodas, diet or regular.
Exercise is a true "Fountain of Youth," with many beneficial effects on serum lipid balance, lower insulin levels, reduced weight, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease, increased lung capacity, improved mood and cognition, enhanced health and an optimized immune system. A little exercise every day is recommended, beginning with walking and later adding resistance exercise (body weight, free weights, or machines) and for optimal benefits, interval training, like hill sprints, which cause rapid fat loss, lower blood pressure and blood lipids (triglycerides and cholesterol) and increased cardiac and pulmonary reserve.
Sleep is important for optimal health, mood and cognition and should be about 8 hours a night. Beware of sleep apnea, which can lead to erosion of mental powers, pulmonary hypertension and strokes. Periods of rest and stress reduction are also important, as are yearly physical examination by a physician, appropriate screening for cancers and lab tests. Early detection can enhance survival, in the event of a serious disease.
In addition to this sensible foundation for a healthy life, awareness of the most frequent causes of death, identification of their associated causes and conscious behavior to avoid those factors may help you reduce your risk, or, should you be affected by one of them, to survive.
These include (in ascending order) Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes Type 2, Accidental Death (chiefly motor vehicle accidents), Lower Respiratory Diseases, Strokes, Cancer and Heart Disease (coronary artery disease), the number one cause of death. Many of these can be avoided and their risks reduced by adherence to the fundamental plan of sensible diet, adequate exercise, sufficient rest and supplementation with vitamins, antioxidants and pharmaceutical grade fish oil.
By using these common sense measures consistently, it is possible to enhance your health and extend your lifespan, to the maximum your genetics will allow.
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Fish Oil--The Pharmaceutical Grade Advantage For Your Heart, Brain and Joints
It is now well established that fish oil and the omega 3 fatty acids it contains are very beneficial for optimal health. The long chain omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, found mainly in fish body oil, have a number of properties that have been shown in multiple scientific studies to reduce the risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, reduce serum levels of triglycerides, reduce cholesterol (when taken with garlic, or other substances, that produce a net cholesterol lowering effect), lower blood pressure, reduce platelet adhesiveness (thereby producing an anticoagulant effect and a prolonged bleeding time, which minimize the risk of abnormal blood clotting) and a natural anti-inflammatory effect, which reduces joint pain swelling and tenderness in arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.
In addition, fish oil may reduce the risk of certain kinds of strokes (ischemic and thrombotic), may improve mood and certain cognitive disorders of the brain, improve arterial functioning and reduce (perhaps even reverse) arterial plaque deposition (atherosclerosis), slow resting heart rate, reduce the risk of certain cancers (breast, colon, prostate), improve skin condition and enhance longevity. DHA is a major constituent of brain substance, making up about 30% of the brain, by weight.
The American Heart Association has recommended that we all increase our consumption of fish, for its recognized heart healthy properties. However, there are two problems. First, you simply cannot eat enough fish to consume adequate amounts of EPA and DHA to have a biological effect. And second, many fish, especially larger predator fish, higher in the food chain, may be contaminated by environmental pollutants, like heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, etc.), dioxins, PCB's, furans, pesticides and other toxins. They become progressively more concentrated with each move up the food chain, due to the phenomenon of biomagnification. And they are a risk in food grade fish oils, available on most store shelves, which may be contaminated.
Fortunately, the solution is pharmaceutical grade fish oil. This is a superior quality oil, available only through licensed health care practitioners and physicians, which has been purified by a vacuum molecular distillation process, to remove virtually all impurities and toxins. This produces a crystal clear, mild tasting oil with no fishy taste, which is highly concentrated, providing the most EPA and DHA available.
The very highest level enhances that ultra purified fish oil even more, with an enteric coating, which prevents release of the fish oil in the stomach. The coating is pH sensitive and dissolves not in the acidic stomach, but only in the higher pH, alkaline upper intestines, once it has passed beyond the sphincter valve of the stomach. This virtually ensures that there will be no fishy aftertaste, or "fish burps."
The best example of this level of pharmaceutical grade fish oil is my own brand, Dr. Bill's Powerhouse Omega Formula, available here at: http://www.favoriteformulas.com/. Though you must start slowly, with one capsule a day, to avoid diarrhea (which can result from too much, too fast), you may add another capsule every few days to a week, as tolerated. I recommend that you eventually take what I do, personally: 2 capsules, twice a day.
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Omega Oils For Your Heart, Brain and Joints | Podcast #1
Omega 3 fatty acids have many proven benefits for your heart, brain, joints and may enhance immunity and increase longevity, as well. Fish oil is the best concentrated source of the essential, long chain omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Vegetable sources of omega 3 fatty acids including flaxseed (linseed) oil, and walnuts, contain a shorter chain omega 3, alpha linolenic acid, or ALA.
Benefits of EPA and DHA have been documented in large epidemiological studies from around the world. These include lowering of serum triglyceride levels, reduced risk for heart attacks (fatal and non-fatal) and sudden death, small reductions in blood pressure, reduced plaque deposition in arteries and natural anti-inflammatory properties, with reduced stiffness and joint tenderness in rheumatoid arthritis.
In the natural diet, the ratio between omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids should be between 1:1 and 4:1, maximum. However, the Western diet has far too much of the omega 6 fatty acids, like arachidonic acid, a potent precursor of prostaglandins and other chemical compounds, which promote inflammation and stimulate pain nerves within tissues. Fast foods, grain-fed meats and vegetable oils overwhelm the omega 3's distorting the desired, natural ratio range so that the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio often exceed 10:1 and may even run as high as 30:1. This distortion of the omega 6 to omega 3 ratio promotes plaque formation, with increased risk of heart attacks and strokes and many other health issues, even certain cancers.
The use of fish oil is an excellent way to restore the desired balance and avoid these disease states and enhance optimal health.
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