NeuroTalk Support Groups - Anti-aging article from Discover Magazine

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Anti-aging article from Discover Magazine

This is from Discover Magazine online, December 4, 2007 . I think this article says a lot about what ultimately causes most PN, and is fertile ground for a discussion of ways to reduce PN symptoms and help heal our nerves..

Quote:

Can We Cure Aging?

12.04.2007 Controlling inflammation could be the key to a healthy old age.

by Kathleen McGowan

Jim Hammond is an elite athlete. He works out two hours a day with a trainer, pushing himself through sprints, runs, and strength-building exercises. His resting heart rate is below 50. He’s won three gold medals and one silver in amateur competitions this year alone, running races from 100 to 800 meters. In his division, he’s broken four national racing records. But perhaps the most elite thing about Hammond is his age.

He is 93. And really, there’s nothing much wrong with him, aside from the fact that he doesn’t see very well. He takes no drugs and has no complaints, although his hair long ago turned white and his skin is no longer taut.

His secret? He doesn’t have one. Hammond never took exceptional measures during his long life to preserve his health. He did not exercise regularly until his fifties and didn’t get serious about it until his eighties, when he began training for the Georgia Golden Olympics. “I love nothing better than winning,” he says. “It’s been a wonderful thing for me.” Hammond is aging, certainly, but somehow he isn’t getting old—at least, not in the way we usually think about it.

They say aging is one of the only certain things in life. But it turns out they were wrong. In recent years, gerontologists have overturned much of the conventional wisdom about getting old. Aging is not the simple result of the passage of time. According to a provocative new view, it is actually something our own bodies create, a side effect of the essential inflammatory system that protects us against infectious disease. As we fight off invaders, we inflict massive collateral damage on ourselves, poisoning our own organs and breaking down our own tissues. We are our own worst enemy.

This paradox is transforming the way we understand aging. It is also changing our understanding of what diseases are and where they come from. Inflammation seems to underlie not just senescence but all the chronic illnesses that often come along with it: diabetes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s, heart attack. “Inflammatory factors predict virtually all bad outcomes in humans,” says Russell Tracy, a professor of pathology and biochemistry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, whose pioneering research helped demonstrate the role of inflammation in heart disease. “It predicts having heart attacks, having heart failure, becoming diabetic; predicts becoming fragile in old age; predicts cognitive function decline, even cancer to a certain extent.”

The idea that chronic diseases might be caused by persistent inflammation has been kicking around since the 19th century. Only in the past few years, though, have modern biochemistry and the emerging field of systems biology made it possible to grasp the convoluted chemical interactions involved in body wide responses like inflammation. Over a lifetime, this essential set of defensive mechanisms runs out of bounds and gradually damages organs throughout the body.

When you start to think about aging as a consequence of inflammation, as Tracy and many prominent gerontologists now do, you start to see old age in a different, much more hopeful light. If decrepitude is driven by an overactive immune system, then it is treatable. And if many chronic diseases share this underlying cause, they might all be remedied in a similar way. The right anti-inflammatory drug could be a panacea, treating diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and even cancer. Such a wonder drug might allow us to live longer, but more to the point, it would almost surely allow us to live better, increasing the odds that we could all spend our old age feeling like Jim Hammond: healthy, vibrant, and vital. And unlike science fiction visions of an immortality pill, a successful anti-inflammatory treatment could actually happen within our lifetime.

For the last century and a half, the average life span in wealthy countries has increased steadily, climbing from about 45 to more than 80 years. There is no good reason to think this increase will suddenly stop. But longer life today often simply means taking longer to die—slowly, expensively, and with more disease and disability. “If you talk to many old people, what they are really desperate about is not the fact that they’re going to die but that they are going to be sick, dependent, have to rely on others,” says Luigi Ferrucci, chief of the longitudinal studies section at the National Institute on Aging and director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, the nation’s longest-running study of old age.

Biologists have known for a while that inflammation increases with age, but until recently, given everything else that slumps, spikes, or goes off the rails as we get old, it didn’t seem especially important. Some researchers on aging still think that way.

But a big clue linking inflammation with aging came in the late 1990s, when Tracy and his colleagues showed that C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory protein, is an amazingly accurate predictor of a future heart attack—as good as or better than high blood pressure or high cholesterol. At least in heart disease, inflammation isn’t just a bystander. What’s more, we could do something to decrease it. Aspirin, which was already known to help people with heart disease, seems to work primarily by reducing inflammation.

So why should our own immune system rely on such an apparently dangerous mechanism? The answer lies in the fact that infectious disease has historically been the number one killer of human beings, and responding to this threat has profoundly shaped our biology. Possessing a fierce and ferocious immune response primed to keep us alive long enough to reproduce was an evolutionary no-brainer.

Inflammation is what gives us that response. It serves as all-purpose protection against invaders and traumatic damage. To take a simple scenario, suppose you are bitten by a cat. First, coagulation factors promote clotting in order to stanch bleeding and prevent germs from spreading from the wound site. A menagerie of phagocytes, which swallow and destroy pathogens, surge out of the bloodstream and squeeze into the affected tissue, engulfing bacteria and secreting cytokines—messenger proteins that send out the call for more responders. The phagocytes also generate reactive oxygen species, unstable compounds that chew up bacteria as well as damaged human tissue.

At the same time, other switches get flipped throughout the body, modifying everything from metabolism to cell growth, via other cytokines, such as IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor–a, and things like CRP, which mark bacteria for destruction. The specialized adaptive immune response eliminates any remaining germs.

So far, so good. But the inflammation response can kick in even when there’s no invader. Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a classic example. In response to fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries, a type of phagocyte called a macrophage identifies the growing lesions as trouble spots and infiltrates them, swelling and destabilizing the deposits. Those lesions can then break open, resulting in the formation of a blood clot that can clog blood vessels and cause heart attacks. The more active the macrophages are, the more CRP is in the bloodstream, and the more likely the lesions will break open, block your arteries, and kill you.

The evidence that inflammation is behind other diseases is indirect, but it is mounting. Researchers have long known that in patients with Alzheimer’s, the areas of the human brain clogged with senility-associated plaques also bristle with inflammatory cells and cytokines. Modern research has found that cytokines block memory formation in mice. In diabetes, inflammation and insulin resistance apparently track together, and drugs that effectively restore insulin sensitivity also appear to reduce inflammatory factors like IL-6 and CRP. Inflammation is also being investigated by a group at Leiden University in the Netherlands as a culprit in declining lung function, in osteoporosis, and in old-age depression. Even the weakness of old age may have an inflammatory cause: Ferrucci has found that inflammatory activity breaks down skeletal muscle, leading to the loss of lean muscle mass. Being fat makes all these diseases strike earlier, and that seems to be at least in part because fat cells spur more inflammation.

These findings have provided researchers with a totally new appreciation of how subtly inflammation can work and how wildly awry it can go over time. It’s not about “a massive infection or a welt the size of an egg because you got hit in the head with a two-by-four,” Tracy says. “Inflammation also goes on at a much lower level.” As it simmers in the background, over years and decades, collateral damage accumulates—in the heart, in the brain, everywhere. Harvey Jay Cohen, chairman of the department of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Aging at Duke University Medical Center, likens inflammation to “little waves lapping on the shore. It’s a relatively low level of activity, one that sustained over time wears away at the beach and stimulates other bad events.”

Evolution has designed into us a cruel trade-off: What saves us in the short term kills us over the long haul. As we get older, acute episodes of inflammation tend to turn into chronic ones, perhaps because the regulation of the immune system becomes less efficient. Inflammatory factors in the blood can increase two- to fourfold. Chronic infections may be partly to blame. Although we usually don’t know it, nearly all adults are infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, and at least 60 percent of us with cytomegalovirus. These two pathogens can stay in our bodies in a latent state, hiding out in our cells. But Ronald Glaser, a viral immunologist at Ohio State University Medical Center and his research partner (and wife), psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, think that these viruses are not fully dormant. They’ve found evidence (pdf) that with age, antibodies to these viruses increase, indicating a reawakened virus and an active immune response.

Early experiences may also influence the way that inflammation affects an individual’s aging, says Caleb Finch, a neurobiologist and gerontologist at the University of Southern California. Analyzing historical birth and death records from 19th-century Europe, he and Eileen Crimmins, a gerontologist and sociologist at the University of Southern California, found that longevity is directly related to exposure to childhood disease. Children born during years of high neonatal mortality who survived to adulthood didn’t live as long as those born in healthier years. The reason, he says, is inflammation: A high infectious burden in childhood results in a high inflammatory burden in adulthood, which results in a shorter, sicker life. Conversely, Finch believes that people in affluent countries now live so long because their childhoods are free from diseases like measles, typhoid, malaria, whooping cough, and worms. Without these diseases, people grow bigger and stronger—and live much longer.

Looking beyond provocative findings like those in Finch’s study, Tracy and other researchers on aging say that it may be too simplistic to think of inflammation in terms of straightforward cause and effect. Instead we must think of human biology as a group of interdependent systems. “Is inflammation a response to aging, or is it causing aging or disease?” Tracy asks. “My answer is: Yep, yep, yep. It does all those things. There’s no other way to think about it—it’s both cause and response to what’s going on.”

Inflammation is not uncontested as a theory of aging. There are many competing hypotheses. Yet inflammation reinforces some more than others, potentially establishing a plausible constellation of mechanisms responsible for aging.

For example, according to the “free radical” hypothesis of aging, we get older because of constant cellular damage caused by reactive oxygen compounds that are a natural product of metabolism. Inflammation can partly explain how this might work. Macrophages, as part of the inflammatory response, produce reactive oxygen species in order to attack bacteria. Oxidative stress and inflammation clearly egg each other on, and calming one can inhibit the other.

To take another prominent example, a low-calorie diet is known to increase the life spans of creatures ranging from flatworms to rats, but no one knows why, or whether it will help humans live longer. Inflammation provides a clue: Dietary restriction sharply inhibits the inflammatory response, and that may be part of why it promotes longevity at the same time that it reduces insulin resistance and slows dementia. Yet another widely discussed theory of why we age blames the shortening of telomeres, chromosomal structures that, in most cells, dwindle with each division and may ultimately limit the number of times any cell can divide. It is possible that inflammation could play a role here, too, because it prompts the faster turnover of cells in the immune system and other tissues.

Still, nobody thinks that there is a single root cause of aging—different species may age in different ways, and multiple mechanisms are probably at work. “I think it would be a mistake to suggest that inflammation is the cause of aging, or that all theories of aging must be tied to it,” Cohen says. Then again it may not ultimately matter whether inflammation is the most significant cause of our decay. More important is that inflammation offers an unparalleled opportunity to do something about it.

Some ways to reduce inflammation are elementary. It is impossible to know exactly what is going on in Jim Hammond’s body, but all the aspects of his regimen—healthy food, exercise, and a good attitude—reduce systemic inflammation. Those of us without his tenacity can turn to drug companies, which are exploring new anti-inflammatory drugs like flavonoids.

Researchers are also looking at new uses for old drugs—trying to prevent Alzheimer’s using ibuprofen, for example. “The research is really to prevent the chronic debilitating diseases of aging,” says Nir Barzilai, a molecular geneticist and director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “But if I develop a drug, it will have a side effect, which is that you will live longer.”

Some of this research stretches the boundaries of what we know. Rudi Westendorp, head of the department of gerontology and geriatrics at the Leiden University Medical Center, is trying to treat old-age depression with drugs that are currently used for autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Harvard University researchers are considering a vaccine against atherosclerosis, which may provoke a reaction that suppresses inflammation.

The caveat with these experiments is that by modifying inflammation, we are playing with fire. After all, fighting off infection is an absolutely essential bodily function. “The danger of monkeying around in a system like that is that you may do more harm than good,” Cohen says. But humans appear willing to renegotiate the ancient evolutionary bargain that traded robust reproductive health for frail old age.

Think of Jim Hammond if you have any doubts. In his blog, he describes running the 800-meter race in the 2007 National Senior Olympics games. “I won in a photo finish, and I broke the national record,” he wrote. The crowd went nuts. At the age of 93, Hammond had the most exhilarating experience of his entire life.

Want to know what I'd like to do??

Get a transfusion from this Jim Hammond guy!!!! Then go running with him.

I LOVED the article.

I read about telomeres a long long time ago!!

Thank God, I eat fish, and take my vitamin C, and my B-12 methyl.

If I can beat Father Time for a few more years, I'm going to do it.

Thanks so much for this article. Makes me want to go and do pushups. Too bad I have scoliosis. lol

mel

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelodyL (Post 175465)

Melody, reading your posting, I had a flash that inflammation is one of the effects of diabetes. It looks like this is another piece of the puzzle.

Take care. For many years I used to be as active as you are in the forum, and still lurk occasionally. It's good to see such great people helping each other cope, support each other in many ways, and learn.

Thanks David for an interesting read, makes me wonder about the long term benefits of taking fish oil supplements, i believe it has really good anti inflammatory qualities as well as many other good benefits as well, i think it is much better to use natural substance [if possible], rather than taking NSAIDs drugs.

Brian :)

There are those who take this to the logical theoretical extreme--

--and posit that all disease is an autoimmune reaction gone awry.

Interesting read. The body functions as a set of interconnected systems, and certainly imbalances in one area will be felt in others. It really does seem as if many of these systems (inflammatory, cholesterol, insulin) have an "optimal functioning range"--too much or too little is not a good thing.

(Good to see you post again, too.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian (Post 175507)

Later I'll post an even longer article on reducing inflammation. Fish oil is one of the main strategies. I take 4 capsules a day.

As a bonus, my cats are far more affectionate now, though they have started biting me occasionally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenntaj (Post 175510)

Good points. I agree that there are no magic cures, and we should beware of relying on the latest and greatest to cure us, while neglecting other aspects of our bodies and minds. Even a large amount of, let's say, fish oil will have little healing effect if we continue to be sedentary, overweight, eat gobs of fat and sugar, and walk around angry, self pitying, and resentful.

If I took 4 fish oil capsules every day, I WOULD NEVER GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM. This stuff does a number on my stomach like you would never believe.

I believe, if we do the best we can, if have a good support system, keep our weight as normalized as possible (and not sit in front of a tv and vegetate), but be like those people who volunteer to do the meals on wheels, or visit older neighbors and say "do you need anything, what can I go and get for you", etc. etc.

I mean if we try to be the best we can be, with whatever hand we are dealt with, and more important, if we can reduce the stress from our existence (which is probably quite impossible), but if we at least try and see the glass as half full instead of half empty, well we are least one point ahead of everybody else.

But if we put crap into our bodies, if we don't move our bodies, if we sit and vegetate and look at the world and say 'bah humbug", well, I think we're doomed before we have begun.

I realize that this can't apply to everybody because many people are dealt hands at birth that we have no control over and we do the best we can, but if we are dealt a healthy body, a healthy immune system, and if we don't do all that we can do to maintain it, and give back to the community, then, well, we end up like my son, (who sits in front of a tv or a computer all day long, and does absolutely nothing with his life). Not only does he see the glass as half empty, he sees every glass as half empty.

People who don't see the good in life, who can't appreciate smelling a beautiful flower, or appreciate a beautiful sunrise, or sunset, who don't appreciate the touch of another person's hand on their face, well, they lose a lot in life. And when they don't feel that they can bring anything to the table, and just take and take, then inevitably, their bodies will go along with it and say "hey, just keep giving me pizza and soda and vegetate".

I truly believe the mind and body play in harmony together. (and methyl b-12 and the other stuff can't hurt).

But we are spiritual beings. We need to reach out and touch someone, to care. I find it amazing that all I have to do is open a newspaper and I can see that many young people today have stopped caring.

I don't understand this. Maybe it's all this technology. I mean, it has it's place, but it can never replace sitting outside on the porch with a nice person and just having a chat. My son will never understand my way of thinking and I'll never understand his.

But then again, my way of thinking and action, got me to lose over 100 lbs, reverse the diabetes in my eyes and make my doctor proud of me.

I have worked hard to get to this place. I should have done it 30 years ago but I was not ready. So I'm working on the brain and the body, trying to make it all in sync.

Right now, I'm learning how to convert video files from avi files to mpg files.

Who would have thought a 60 year old woman would be making videos and uploading to google and youtube??? Not me!!!

There's always someone worse off than we are. I watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition and the seriously ill kids on that show make me want to hit myself in the head and go "and I think I have it bad?"

No, we have to get out of our comfort zones and, if we are able I mean, just live our life the best we can. We only get one pass in this world. (We might come back in another form), but for right now, this is what we have.

I aim to make the best of it. And I realize that there are many people who have such pain that they don't want to go on. Alan was in just such a place 5 years ago. But look at him now.

The other day, Alan's IVIG nurse brought her 9 year old with her.

I had an absolute ball with this kid on the computer. I haven't seen the world through a nine year old's eyes in a long time.

We were sitting at his my-space page when he politely asks me "would you help me pimp my skin?" I just looked at him thinking "okay, I'm supposed to know what he's talking about, just play along". I said 'of course I will, why don't you start". Then he puts the mouse to a link which says "pimp your skin".

Want to know what that means??? "It means "change the background of your myspace page". I never would have thought of that. I never laughed so hard.

These kids today are smart as whips. They are our future.

I just hope I live long enough to see what they accomplish in 20 or 30 years.

We'll be flying around in our personal helicopters by then!!!!! lol

Great article Wings, and great philosophy Mel.

It makes me want to sign up for another sprint triathlon....my plan was to win an AARP one...I did my last one at 50 and didn't make it to the AARP ones. I have my doubts I will ever do another one...but hope springs eternal. My first ever bike race done at 36....I passed a man who was....87. I felt guilty passing him...but I had a medal to earn, LOL. (I'm a jerk.):cool: Now I just want to get my ever enlarging butt on the bike seat....forget the medals...

The inflammation theory makes one want to eat an entire bottle of ibuprophen.

I do want to say as much as I preach on my genealogy....what I did find was an amazing longevity in my Swedish line....my lord, many lived to their
80's-90's back in the 1600-1700's. Plus many women bore children in their mid 40's....and the kids lived as long as their parents. I think TB, influenza etc took the most lives back then. Today in Sweden, their average life span is 10 years longer than ours.

Aging has been associated with telomere disintegration, which probably is that self destruct inflammatory process.

I had every infection as a kid but mumps....I had to get a mumps shot as an adult. I remember having the measles...wow I was sick...then the chicken pox, german measles (rubella)...ah yes, the good old days. Yet....I show no visible signs of inflammation...what an enigma.

Oh well, I might as well enjoy my gingerbread bears made with American grown wheat, US molasses, Wisconsin organic butter, and 100 other ingredients from who knows where...if their premise holds true...I am toast.

I will pass on pimping the skin....just because it can be done doesn't mean I have to do it. I gave up on climbing Everest too.

Two things are certain, death and taxes. Alert me if that changes soon.

I once read that the average life expectancy (in 1900) was 40 years of age.

Then I read that Rose Kennedy (the President's mother), lived to be almost 105. And Queen Elizabeth's mother, (the Queen MUM), well I believe she was over 100, right??

So, how come all these people can reach 100??

mel

Good genes and resilience....often people with difficult lives live to be quite old too...so it can't be cushy lives.

People from long ago did live long lives IF they survived the biggest killer back then. Infectious disease. TB, typhoid, influenza, diptheria, tetanus, botulism, measles, mumps, rubella, small pox and the variety of plagues.

We have to look at how statistics are gathered. There is the 'mean' which means average. One person living to 100 will skew it to old age...Infant mortality was high back then, so infants, kids under 5 died in droves, so the mean got skewed to the younger age of death. The mean is an average.

If you survived to 5 your chances were a lot better. For women if you survived childbearing years, your life span chances were improved. If men survived war, they had a shot at growing old.

If we look at the 'median' it takes out the skewing factor of the very young or very old deaths. It is a better statistic. Median is like an average, but with the skews taken out.

The 'mode' gives you the best info...Mode is the breakdown or block of numbers dying in an age range. You would see a big block of death from brith to age 5. Then another one in females around childbearing ages...and men in war related death. If you hit 40, you had a good shot at 70.

Obesity was less common, so we had less of that, so probably less cardiac, diabetes, stroke. I wonder about cancer...we really don't know if cancer rates are any different, as cancer wasn't always diagnosed.

People ate less, and worked more, had family and community support systems right around them.

I have read that most people live well into their 70's barring accidents or hereditary disease. Infection is much less of a concern now, except for resistant 'germs'. I have read that the potential life span of man could be 120....who knows it could be even longer. I wonder how selfish I should be at times.

In my line of work, I have witnessed a lot of early death, worked with parents of SIDS babies, dying kids, young moms with terminal cancer, young dads, accident victims, it was heart wrenching. I also worked with older people dying, most died with dignity, in peace, with family or caring folks with them...but it is never easy. It has never been easy. Doing a genealogy was remarkable, as these 'ancestors' came to life with names, dates of marriage. One couple was married on Valentines Day in the 1700s, another on the day after Christmas. They were so much like us, and yet so different.

I think how well we live, how much we contribute to the world is more important than how long we live...knowing you....I think you would be the first to agree. Some people who have died early, have contributed more than I could have in 5 life times.

There is some quote I cannot remember the whole thing....something like this:

Sing as if no one is listening
Dance as if no one is watching
Love as if....

OK some one finish that for me....I can't remember, but it it a great quote.

I am off to hit the pillow.

"Sing as if no one is listening, dance as if no one is watching, and love as if you have never been hurt."

I plan to live as long as I can. sing as long as my voice holds out, Dance in my living room until my knees don't work any more, and love ... well, as long as I don't hit Alan upside his head!!!!! lol

My Dr. put me on fish oil in 1981 smart family Dr. It has helped but like
Mel can only take so much and hmmm tummy...I would like to hear
anymore you have..The only bike i could get on now is a recumbent bike,
not sure if I could get off it,perhaps fall.ouch.. That's for you C.

There was just a thing on tv about what makes people live past 100. Of course genetics but also a low stress life style. I guess I'm doomed on the stress issue. Has anyone gotten there body age tested? Like what your bodies aging is vs your real age? I know its hard to really know but I saw it on Oprah. You know my outside looks so young but the inside is so old.Oy vey!

In my humble opinion, the only person who can't have any stress is Paris Hilton. Not only does she have her own money, but she has THE HILTON MONEY. And she has trusts funds. And she's young and beautiful.

So she has to run away from the flashbulbs!!!! That's stress???

Don't think so. I'd take her existence any time.

Can you imagine having all the money you need, your health, and a body to die for??

oh my god.

Paris Hilton would die if she had our stress.....

Sue---recumbents are looking better all the time, LOL....it is just, I bought a beautiful sky blue '4 figure bike' two years ago (what was I thinking??), and I have to get on it! I just have too. I did get aero bars so my numb hands don't figure in....using my elbows to steer. But alas, we shall see what happens...numb and weak below the knees lately, so that is not a good thing. Last summer I caused such a sore tail bone...I could relate to Silverlady...I had to have an MRI. I could not move for 3 weeks....I still can't figure out if the bike did that....it never did before...but then again that day, some hotshot guys passed me and I had to 'catch their wheel' and hang on for as long as the old bod would do it--(not long) :cool: (not)....hence 3 weeks in bed. :o Hubby told me I would regret it. Alas he is usually reasonable.

The cartoon Mel posted was sooooo appropriate.

Mel-the humor works for me....I emailed that clip to a ton of people....THAT was hysterical.....I wonder if it will make it thru my hubby's work email! If it does it will be all over....:D

I like to laugh. Nothing hurts when I laugh.

I'm finding it hard to find stuff to laugh about during this time of season, but I still do try!!!!

Today I saw something that I will go out and buy tomorrow. Have any of you seen the tv ad for Reynolds Handi-Vac???

It's a little gizmo that obliterates freezer burn.

First I went to the store and saw how much it was. $8.50 for the handi-vac unit and $3 bucks and change for a package of bags. Then I went home, went on Ebay and saw that it's up on Ebay for $19.99 plus $8.50 shipping and handling. Some prices were as high as $34.99.

So tomorrow I go back to the store and buy it.

Then I'll start to freeze all my turkey burgers, my chicken. EVERYTHING!!!!

What a nifty invention.

This is how to tell when a woman gets OLD!!!! She gets excited about Reynolds Handi-Vac stuff.

Oh My God. Shame on me!!!!!

Here is the text of the FULL article

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec...tart:int=2&-C=

No offense David, but what you left out was equally interesting, if not more provocative. Good article in it's entirety. - j

Mel, I've got a 'vac' thingie that I got over 20 years ago! You want it? Used it about 10-20 times and gave up on it...don't remember why, guess it was the intervention of freezer zip-loc bags- much easier. HUMMMM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dahlek (Post 176112)

????
I thought I had cut and pasted the entire article, less the pictures. I had read the article in the actual magazine, and didn't read it online again.

If I left something out, sorry. How upsetting. That's the first mistake I've made since 1962 (voting for Lyndon Johnson). That last sentence is the second mistake, and all in this one little thread.;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiney sue (Post 175933)

As Mrsd explained, fish oil is initially very irritating to the stomach lining if your body has been deficient in the omega3 oils. After a week or two, the omega3 oils in the fish oil actually help the stomach to heal, so that your stomach no longer gets so easily upset. Less obviously, it also helps your body heal and deal with stress better.

We recently put down the last of our three large dogs at 16 years old. Like the two 17 yr. olds before her, she was active until a week before the end, and her coat looked great. We gave all the dogs one fish oil capsule in the A.M. and one in the P.M., along with glucosamine - condroytin - msm, and walked them for miles every day (ignoring my PN pain). They lived a long long time in almost perfect health until the very end.

Most of us on this board aren't as hairy as the dogs were, but would probably respond in a similar manner to a similar regimen.

I have occassionally--

--been mistaken for a graying Newfoundland.

What I want to know is if I can rotate the crop. I have luxuriant hair almost every place that is not the top of my head. :D

Wings:
Thanks anyway!!!

You take out your vacuum thingee and you start freezing everything that you can freeze. You see, the zip-lock bags, while great, still allow air in the bags.

Yours is probably the old Seal a Meal thingee.

This handly little gadget (you hold it in your hand and you just press it on some little hole thingee in the bag, and it sucks out all the air. What you have is a really good tight fit, that doesn't allow any freezer burn.

You can leave stuff in the freezer much longer. You can even freeze fresh berries (Hey, think about the muffins I can make doing that).

I can't wait to go to the store this afternoon (during a blizzard we are supposed to get), and pick up this dandy little item. I mean $8.50 or so. You can't beat that.

I've got fish to freeze, and turkey burgers to prepare and freeze.

Wait till I get my hands on some fresh basil!!!!!

God, I've got to get a life. I sound like Grandma Moses.

mel

I read both articles, I think they are different version by the same author....one is from Discover Online, could the other be from the hard copy of Discover?

A few things do seem to be missing from the online version that are present in the second version....one seems abreviated.

That said, I think it is an explanation in sophiticated layman's terms about what is cutting edge research on 'aging', which happens to all creatures on earth. No creature has survived the cycle of aging and moved on to earthly immortality. If we do, this will certainly change the paradigm of how we live. We don't think all that much about the day we cease to exist in the present form. We all have our different beliefs and theories on what follows...Ironically, we fight wars over this! How many people have lost their lives in all of time, over some ideological theory regarding how we should live so as to make it to some specific afterlife.

There are a lot of things correlated with longevity.

First is genetics. If you have family members who live a long life, your chances barring an accident or infectious process that elludes treatment, you are more likely to live long.

Next, comes the things we can do to help ourselves live long, active lives: don't smoke, don't drink alcohol too much, stay away from drugs, yes this includes many prescribed ones, that are far to cavalierly given out without consideration of the effects on the organism as a whole. If one knows much about pharmacology, one knows that many drugs, 'targeted' for certain problems such as urinary urgency....are really anticholinergics, that affect the entire body...same as gastrointestinal stimulants such as dopamine antagonists. These drugs will do as promised, but they do more. Consider the 'more' factor before taking any drug.

Drugs in some cases are taken as there is no better option to remain alive...well, I would take a drug if it were a matter of life or death....or a matter of having no quality of life versus a more productive life. This is a decision we all make.

When you have idiopathic conditions, such as I have, it really doesn't make sense to take something to cure or mitigate my condition until I know what is causing it. I can only take reasonable steps to prolong the length and quality of my life.

I have been an older age competitive athlete and would gnaw off my arm to do it again....I hope to do it again, however, I do have some idea, that to exercise to the level of competition, is likely going to cause damage to the nerves in my legs and my spine, not to mention potential bone trauma, that is likely detrimental to me.

We all love the 90 year old who gives that 5Ker some inspiration. I was referred to as a kid by a few of those 'old folks' when I was competing as a 50 year old.

Thing is, that kind of exercise produces inflammation. Muscle develops by tearing it apart, and rebuilding...bones remodel, etc. As we grow older it gets very tough to do this the 'right' way. I suspect genetics plays a huge role in the 93 year old's ability to run the 800. I have coached a lot of folks, besides being an RN, I was also a trainer....a good one...I have a few pros as proteges.

I have seen some people over come odds that they technically should not have overcome, myself included. That is motivation.

Motivation plays a role...our psychologial state plays a role in how long we live. A sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. A niche in the world, a reason to fight for life.....these are all factors in longevity.

There are factors which we can do nothing about such as genetics (well, at least right now we can't do much, but that is changing due to bright young minds who can as Melody said, 'pimp their skin') They will build on research that our generation has started, and hopefully come up with new premises, concepts we never imagined.

There are factors that we can do something about.

Diet-low calorie, high value foods, which are as pure and close to the source as possible. Very hard to do these days. I grew a ton of my own food this year, buy meat from as organic sources as possible, buy wheat from American growers, make my own yogurt etc....but hey....I love rum balls, peanut butter cups and gingerbread too. I am not sure I want to spend my life portioning out brown rice and confining myself to leafy greens that I scrubbed for hours on which I plop tofu and call it a day. Plus many days, I am too darn sick to cook. Kudo's to those who can follow this regimen.

A lot of our food has been stripped down and then vitamins added....go figure. Some folks need help here with supplements, but the evidence is not all in on that....really our bodies should function quite well with the diets our ancestors lived on....again...I am not going out to shoot my game and gather berries....nor am I going to take vitamins made in China with their polluted water and lack of oversight.

Exercise-as we age or as we get sick, our exercise had to change too. That 93 year old was not doing the Iron Man. I know plenty of folks getting up there in age, that feel that the Iron Man is reasonable. I can not even manage the sprint triathlon, which is a quarter mile swim, 15-20 mile bike and 5K (3.1 mile run). Not anymore, and I don't think my doc is going to recommend I train for one.....That is devstating to me. My whole psyche was geared towards the social aspects of sports....you are either in or out. Right now-I am out. So I need to realign my mindset to a reasonable exercise goal. When I accomplish that successfully, I will be better off. First, some additional testing for my muscles is being done....yes we know I have idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, but is there myopathy....is some myopathic condition associated with this neuropathy? Passive and active exercise, the aerobic and strength, and the stretching such as in yoga. When my testing results come in, I will realign my routine and my attitude.

Social Connections-We need social ties. Without family or friends in which we can confide, depend on and have fun with, our lives become dismal. Cyberfriends are good, but realtime bodies are needed. I am working very hard on this....I had some tough breaks in the last 5 years.

Spiritual-We all need some basic philosophy of life....the meaning of our existance. You can be an atheist or agnostic and still have a very balanced view on life....or you can be deeply religious and entrenched in a faith...if it works, do it. Meditation is great...meditation can be prayer...or just having your mind sit in your favorite vacation spot for 20 minutes. I am working on this too....And there is NO one right answer!!! It is a matter of finding our place in this universe of possibilities....without stepping all over some one else's right to believe what they believe.

Intellectual stimulation-curiosity is highly linked to remaining cognitively intact in older age. Learn a foreign language, do Sudoko, do genealogy, take a class, etc.

Good medical care-we need to search out reasonably good docs, ones who are not burned out. Ones who have some pride in their professional performance.

I am sure I missed some stuff....I would love to make the Senior Olympics...I was planning on it...but it may not happen, and it isn't for lack of trying.....that 93 year old guy has some phenomenal way of dealing with the inflammation that all athletic training causes. I would love to leaf thru the branches of his family tree.:D

I know what I missed......a good sex life. Recently they had something on the news about 'sex' improving health........hmm...you think that 93 year old guy knows something we don't? (I wonder if HE needs viagra!):D

Then again, there is no way sex doesn't cause inflammation....a mere kiss causes an exchange of 'germs'.:eek:

Better stick to :hug:

Oh but none of this :grouphug:

I am not going to worry about any of this, lest life get too:(:confused::mad:

I am with 'Green Day'....'have the time of your life'

Cycle:

You said: "Social Connections-We need social ties. Without family or friends in which we can confide, depend on and have fun with, our lives become dismal"

How I wish I could get my son to understand what you wrote. His view on life is "I want to be alone, I like my solitude, I don't need anyone, you and dad are no longer priorities in my life, we are living in a technical society, and believe me, in a short time, people will be living in virtual realities far more than real realities".

His words exactly. Can you believe that a person as outgoing, as social and empathetic as I am, well, that I have a son who thinks like this??? He doesn't use drugs (recreational I mean), he doesn't drink). Gambling is his thing. And going in Second Life. No work, no job. Just existing... without any social interaction.

I will never understand how people can be happiest being by themselves. Boy, the day someone finds a reasonable explanation for this kind of thinking, well, he'll win the jackpot. I guess, until that day happens, it will continue to be called "Aspergers Disorder".

Anyway, not wanting to stray off topic or anything like that, it is now snowing, hailing, sleeting and just plain awful outside, slippery as all get-out.

So where's Alan??. Why, he went out. I tell him "It's slippery, stay home". his response. "stop acting like my mother".

Oh brother!!!! lol

Mel,

Some things are best learned by people, by their own experience. Perhaps your son will learn, eventually, that a virutal society is not a substitute for a real life, real time person. Again consider that your son has a disorder and things in his brain may not be firing correctly. I am sure it is difficult with you being so outgoing, to have a child who doesn't crave human contact.

He probably doesn't comprehend the world you live in, as much as we can't comprehend the world he lives in. Aspergers is on the autism spectrum of diseases, which are disorders of empathy....or the ability to empathize or relate to others in the usual ways. You know my personal experience with this disorder, so you know I speak from the heart, as one who has lived with an individual with this disorder.

There are somethings in life we can not change, and must simply accept. Perhaps in time, something good will grow from it all. That is the hope that I cling to....in the mean time....my life goes on.

BTW Allan may learn, by experience, about the wisdom of venturing out in this weather.....we had what you are getting....and now the wind is kicking up. As hard as it is to do....I stayed home. I do not need a broken bone or concussion. I have managed to find things to do, like clean my fish bowl and water my plants and work on my genealogy. Oh and if Allen does learn a lesson by personal experience....I have challenged myself to not say, "I told you so"....it seldom works and I have to slip it in there somewhere...but it is fun to see just how long it takes before you can no longer contain yourself and blurt it out. LOL.

sending you a pm

thanks much.
mel

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenntaj (Post 176196)

--been mistaken for a graying Newfoundland.

What I want to know is if I can rotate the crop. I have luxuriant hair almost every place that is not the top of my head. :D

Me too. I think that gravity cause the hair to move from the top of our heads, down to where we don't want it. It's an example of "intelligent design".

Hey, as long as its not all coming out your ears!

--I seem to have that gene, which I believe is inherited on the same allele as the ability to curl one's tongue upward aroung a midline axis and the ability to taste phenylalenine.

Seriously, I have hair on my arms that exceeds two inches in length. I've found chest hairs longer that that--and in different colors along the same shaft. :eek: (Robin Williams has nothing on me.)

My body seems to put a lot of metabolic effort into growing this stuff. Makes me wonder if it wouldn't be possible to direct some of that energy into other realms such as nerve regeneration.

I think you said your son Melody struggles with addictions. I know from my past that it makes you want to be alone. You are married so to speak to your problems and it pushes out family,friends,etc. I used to want to be alone due to my depression and eating disorder. I feared so much. When I recovered I began wanting to have a full life with friends,family,hobbies.
Kmeb that is funny about the ears. I thought a lot of men though get hair ear when aging.
I do know that when your body is trying to protect areas it can grow hair in places. I may be wrong though.