Posts Tagged ‘Cancer’
Another Longevity Gene Activator?
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The longevity that results from caloric restrictions in diet have been studied for about seventy years. Caloric restrictions really extend longevity in all forms of life. Except for the difficult issue of trying to eat like folks at a monastery, this would be good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health. It turns out that the folks who research new nutrients have discovered a set of nutrients that can safely stimulate the effects of caloric restriction. These nutrients mimic the the effects of caloric restriction. In addition to the previously known caloric restriction mimetics of resveratrol, pterostilbene, grape seed extracts, quercitin and black tea, researchers have discovered the flavonoid fisetin which is found in strawberries.
The flavonoid fisetin in a somewhat rare nutrient found in very small quantities in plants. In terms of benefiting senior health it is fosters senior health in a least six ways. It maintains healthy levels of the our cells’ internal antioxidant, glutathione. Fisetin is the only polyphenol that induces antioxidant activity with a two-fold benefit, because it protects against cancer and cardiovascular disease. It inhibits glycation in humans that would over the long term can result in Alzheimer’s disease and other types of cognitive deterioration. Among the flavanoids, fisetin holds a very high rank in terms of preventing DNA damage. Fisetin very effectively suppresses inflammatory responses that would otherwise open the door to cancer proliferation. Finally, fisetin provides mitochondrial support to the cells of our bodies and protects them against oxidative stress. This is very good news for seniors who are seeking preemptive aging information to promote their cardiovascular health and avoid cancer, because all of these nutrients are currently available in supplement form.
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The Big Four Lifestyle Changes for Senior Health
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Now that the Federal Government has passed Health Care Reform legislation this would be an appropriate time to take take a serious look at what each one of us can do to reform our individual health care practices. Seniors need to be particularly attentive to taking care of our senior health by the choices that we make in terms of the foods we consume, supplements that we take, and the exercise schedule that we follow. When you get right down to the nittygritty there is a lot that seniors and boomers can do to prevent or preempt diseases from ever getting started. This becomes more serious for folks the older we get, because of the special issues that affect senior health. We can choose our lifestyle so that we head in a direction with a high probability of attaining greater health or in an opposite direction with an equal probability of coming down with one of the big three diseases.
The big three killer diseases are cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. A small number of lifestyle changes can reduce the probability of seniors contracting one of the big three by 80%. Instead of raising your health insurance premiums these lifestyle changes will very likely keep them steady and in some cases may actually lower them. These lifestyle changes are attainable by most folks, but they do require sincere commitment. The alternatives for not embracing these changes are higher health insurance premiums for everyone, seriously degraded quality of life and early death. The big lifestyle changes can be reduced to four. They include eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. As one motivation coach put it, “Where attention goes, energy flows, and the result shows”. Practicing the healthy four lifestyle changes will help seniors preempt cancer, promote cardiovascular health, and avoid diabetes.
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Why Is Topical Vitamin D Needed by Seniors?
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Recently the health reports in the media have contained a number of articles that promoted the benefits of vitamin D3 for seniors, because it contributes to inhibiting something like 27 age-related diseases. The preemptive aging benefits of vitamin D3 have been highlighted particularly for their ability to reduce the risk of disease such as cardiovascular disease and a number of age-related cancers particularly the hormonal based ones. As we age the ability of our skin to synthesize vitamin D3 from sunlight decreases so that by age 70 we only synthesize about 25% of the amount we did when we were in our 20’s. Fortunately seniors can access vitamin D3 in supplement form to make up the difference. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about their senior health.
Seniors who supplement with vitamin D3 can restore their blood levels of D3 to their youthful levels, but there is a problem. The vitamin D3 that is taken in supplement form is used by our bodies to help build and maintain strong bones. Our skin is the last organ to receive the vitamin D3 which is taken in supplement form. Fortunately for seniors there is good news to report on this matter. Vitamin D3 is available in topical form, so that it can be applied directly to the skin. Applied in topical form vitamin D3 will contribute to skin cell repair, growth and metabolism. It will help to destroy free radicals and stimulate the skin’s immune system. Applying vitamin D3 topically may provide a rejuvenating effect on aging skin.
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What Does Black Tea Provide for Senior Health?
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Green tea has been getting all the good press about its multiple health benefits which are especially supportive of senior health. Recent research has discovered that black tea provides compounds called theaflavins that complement the health benefits of the polyphenols in green tea. The theaflavins in black tea have grabbed the attention of the folks performing research on human longevity. The theaflavins help regulate the genes that produce inflammatory cytokines which have been implicated in promoting degenerative disease and aging. By interferring with inflammation at its initial stages, theaflavins provide a new way to block inflammation related diseases that include cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Beyond blocking inflammation, researchers have found that the theaflavins can contribute to reversing the effects of coronary artery disease. Additional research uncovered the mechanism by which the theaflavins operate to prevent the blood platelets from sticking together which is the first step in the process of cardiovascular disease. There is good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive measures to foster their senior health against inflammation induced degenerative diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Highly concentrated and purified theaflavins are currently available in supplement form for use by seniors as part of their preemptive aging regime.
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Can NAC Provide Cancer Chemoprevention?
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NAC is the acronym for N-Acetyl Cysteine which is a double-barreled health promoting compound. It has been known for forty years, but its multiple health benefits have only recently been identified and reported. It regulates the expression of scores of genes in those pathways that link oxidative stress with inflammation. In NAC’s second barrel it supports raising the level of an important antioxidant known as glutathione (GSH) which is particularly important for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. With these dual effects NAC can provide a special role in the treatment and prevention of many common diseases. NAC can provide protection against avian and seasonal flu, improve insulin sensitivity in folks with metabolic disorders, battle the stomach infection Heliobacter, and block cancer development at nearly every step in the process.
Today the knowledge that there are strong links between oxidative stress and inflammation that lead to cancer make NAC an obvious choice for a compound that will provide cancer chemoprevention. NAC has many anti-cancer activities which aim at multiple targets resulting in layers of cancer protection against myriad cancers. It turns out that NAC is now available in supplement form. This information is very good news for seniors who are searching for preemptive means to promote their senior health by avoiding cancer in any form.
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Are Onions Really a Super Healthy Food?
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Onions and their close cousin garlic have been used since ancient Egyptian times as an integral part of healthy diets and natural medicine. During World War II British and Russian soldiers in the field regularly used onions to heal wounds, because of their reported antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Today we know more details about the health benefits of onions, because many of the phytonutrients have been recognized for their value in the prevention and management of conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Two of the most important chemicals in onions are flavanoids and organosulfur compounds. The organosulfur compounds provide the strongs flavors and the flavanoids color the onions red, yellow, or brown. An outstanding property of onions is their ability to aid in the prevention and management of a number of cancers including prostate cancer.
Another important health benefit provided by consuming onions is they contribute a rich source of bioavailable quercetin. Quercetin is a flavanoid that may be very beneficial for cardiovascular health. Research results suggest that quercetin may contribute to preventing the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) thereby protecting against a major contributor of artherosclerosis. Recent research suggests that onions may protect against high blood pressure which is an important predictor of heart attack. This is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health.
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Can Green Tea Block Cancer?
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In Asia where folks frequently consume green tea researchers have discovered that the rates of many cancers are much lower than in parts of the world where folks do not consume a lot of green tea. The researchers were pleasantly surprised to discover this link between heavy green tea consumption and low rates of cancers. The lower hormonal cancer rates in Asia for breast cancer and prostate cancer are well documented. In addition to these demographic results, labs tests have zeroed in on the apparent compounds in green tea that are responsible for blocking cancer. The research in the lab identified the extracts from green tea known as polyphenols as the compounds that stopped cancer cells from growing in the lab tests.
In terms of particular cancers, a noted British news source reported that consuming green tea may block lung cancer. In Asia a researcher reported that people who did not drink green tea were at least five times more likely to get lung cancer compared with green tea drinkers. This report indicated that the results of avoiding lung cancer applied to smokers and non-smokers alike; green tea drinkers were five times less likely to get lung cancer. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about finding preemptive steps they can take to reduce their risk of age-related cancers and foster their senior health.
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What Makes Sweet Potatoes A Super Food?
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For many folks sweet potatoes are a food for the Thanksgiving season and usually no other time. It turns out that sweet potatoes provide an impressive array of nutrients, despite the fact that they are not really potatoes. They are members of the Convolvulaceae family which are plants with trumpet shaped flowers. Sweet potatoes come in 400 different varieties and range in skin color from white to yellow to orange to red to purple. The typical sweet potato has orange flesh and is sometimes called a yam. Folks have been consuming sweet potatoes for about 8,000 years. They were introduced in Europe by Christopher Columbus when he returned from the New World after 1492.
The good news for seniors is that sweet potatoes provide large amounts of the vitamins A and C and the minerals potassium and manganese. To top it off they deliver lots of fiber. Additional nutrients found in sweet potatoes include beta-carotene, copper, and vitamin B-6. Sweet potatoes hold special interest for senior men who need to supplement with beta-carotene, because consuming them on a regular basis may support cognitive function. Sweet potatoes have shown to provide significant support in reeling in some of the markers for diabetes, particularly improved insulin resistance. Finally in a cancer risk study that compared folks in Asia with those in North America and Northern Europe, the folks in Asia who regularly consumed sweet potatoes had a much lower risk of cancer compared with the folks in Northern Europe and North America who did not. For all these good healthy results that come from consuming sweet potatoes the conclusion for senior health is that sweet potatoes really are a super food.
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Boost Immune System With This Fish Oil
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Less than 15 years ago a compound discovered in a particular fish liver oil was identified as providing an immune system boost. The physicians who researched this compound were seeking a way to boost their patients immune system against a particular cancer. The compounds that were identified as building immune system against the cancer were identified as alkylglycerols. These alkylglycerols were obtained from the livers of coldwater sharks such as the Greenland shark. The fact that cancer is very rare in sharks may be due to the presence of alkylglycerols in their livers. The researchers found that the biologic effects of shark liver oil include stimulation of blood leukocyte and thrombocyte production as well as the activation of macrophage and anti-tumor activity.
Put another way, alkylglycerols led to lowered cancer cell reproduction and a reduced ability of the cancer cells to invade healthy cells. The authors concluded that alkylglycerols possess both cancer preventative properties, as well as cancer treatment effects. Alkylglycerols are beneficial against other enemies of our health, because they are known to increase the production of certain cytokines that attack viruses. According to some researchers, viral infections such as influenza or the common cold, can be prevented or reduced significantly by the addition of shark liver oil, taken at the first sign of symptoms. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health with an immune system boost.
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Try Mediterranean Diet for Longevity
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For seniors who are looking for a longevity diet the Mediterranean diet is a sure fire answer. It has been used to preempt aging in the Mediterranean world for centuries. Recent European studies have confirmed what the ancients already knew and practiced successfully. A US-based study has confirmed the proven life-extension benefits that were known in the ancient world and confirmed by the recent European studies. The US researchers were from a cancer institute, but they tracked the diets of over 375,000 men and women between the ages of 50 to 71. The researchers particularly tracked who would die from cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The folks who scored 66% or higher on a nine point system based on the elements of the Mediterranean diet had a much greater chance of living over ten years after the start of the study compared with those who scored below 44%. The elements in the Mediterranean diet included fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes, nuts and seeds, fats such as olive and canola oil, small amounts of red meat and alcohol. The study did not measure any dairy products, but the Mediterranean diet usually includes small amounts of dairy products typically cheese and yogurt.
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