How to Stay Young
The December 2008 issue of "Nutrition Action" reveals the latest in research that supports the lifestyle of the members of our Senior Tennis League and the Badminton Club of Greater Buffalo.
The regimen in my book, "Make Eating A Lifestyle Change" and this blog site represent an attempt to combat "obesity and the improper dietary habits of the American people." My physician, Ralph J. Argen, M.D. recognized these factors as important and insisted I write a book and spread the word. And so my quest began in October of 2003. The evidence grew as more and more people reported success-- losing hundreds of pounds of excessive weight and improved cholesterol, triglyceride levels and others halted diabetes type II.
The new question may be, "How are your mitochondria?" Some day that question may be as common as asking a person’s cholesterol or blood pressure. Can you increase and strengthen your mitochondria? Can you recapture the mitochondria of your youth? Researchers have uncovered some intriguing clues. " Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells," says Simon Melov, director of Genomics Core at the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, California. "They convert food into energy, which the body uses to live." Prior to this article, all indicators were that the battle was one of the antioxidants vs free radicals.
Most cells in the human body contain somewhere between 500 to 2,000 mitochondria (pronounced MY-toe-CON-dree-ah). In fact, mitochondria account for as much as 60 percent of the volume of muscle cells and 40 percent of the volume of heart cells.
In my late 60s, fellow tennis players would ask me how I maintained such muscle definition. I simply replied that it was not due to a diet of carrots and celery. Now we begin to get research on the importance of mitochondria which links it to almost every essential process in cells. Rafael de Cabo, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore explains that you can trace almost any condition that has to do with energy balance, like diabetes or sarcopenia, which is muscle wasting with age— at least in part, to problems with mitochondria.
That’s no surprise since mitochondria sits at ground zero, the place within the cell where carbohydrate, fat, and protein are burned, or oxidized, for energy. Unfortunately, the process generates free radicals—rogue molecules that can damage mitochondria’s DNA and membranes.
"It’s possible that weakened mitochondria leave people more susceptible to Parkinson’s disease or accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease," notes Mark Mattson, chief of the Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences Section of the National Institute on Aging. Can you protect—or restore—your mitochondria? Here’s what the latest research shows.
Exercise:
"Aerobic exercise can increase the number of mitochondria in your muscle cells by 40 to 50 percent in six weeks," says David Hood, Canada Research Chair in Cell Physiology at York University in Toronto. Researchers have known that—from studies in animals and humans—for more than 30 years.
To get the benefit though, you need to run, cycle, swim, walk briskly, or do other exercises to at least half of your maximum capacity for at least 15 - 20 minutes a day, three to four times a week. "You’ll notice less fatigue, lower perceived exertion, and more endurance," says Hood. That’s because mitochondria are efficiently burning more fat, rather than carbohydrate for energy.
In 2006, Elizabeth Menshikova and her colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine got eight overweight and sedentary men and women in their late 60s to walk outdoors or use treadmills or stationary bicycles four to six days a week for 30 - 40 minutes each time. After 12 weeks, the mitochondria in their quadriceps (thigh muscles increased by about 50 percent.
"Mitochondria have been called the Achilles’ heel of the cell in aging."
In a 2007 study, the genes in the quadriceps muscles of 14 healthy older men and women (average age: 70) were much less active than the genes in the quadriceps of 16 younger adults (average age: 26).
But after twice weekly strength-training sessions for six months, "there was a remarkable reversal of the older people’s genetic profile to more-youthful levels," says the Buck Institute’s Simon Melov. In other words, their quadriceps genes—many of which contain the instructions for making mitochondria—had become more active.
"Any exercise, including aerobic and strength training will improve mitochondrial content and the endurance of older, less-active individuals," notes Hood.
Mitochondria may also help explain why people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. ("When people are resistant, their insulin can’t efficiently move blood sugar into cells). What’s more, exercise may be able to prevent diabetes by boosting mitochondria. "If we could get them to do aerobic exercise regularly, it would put off or prevent them from developing diabetes."
In December of 1981, I was told that I had less than two years before I would be unable to walk. Determined to fight that sentence led me to biking, tennis, badminton, swimming and walking. The source of Lance Armstrong’s healthy energy rely on those same principles. Besides leading a healthy lifestyle, he claimed the source of his healthy energy to be quercetin (pronounced: KWAIR-sit-in), which occurs in foods, including apples, onions, and grapes. These foods together with oatmeal with diced apples, cinnamon and raisins are part of the regimen that has carried me this far (27 years) in my personal battle with rheumatoid arthritis. Patrick Swayze appears to have had the same kind of success in fighting pancreatic cancer. His rigorous aerobic exercise has enabled him to go far beyond the expectations of his physicians. Both Lance Armstrong and Patrick Swayze are role models for those who wish to fight battles against diseases believed to be fatal and incurable.
Researchers have also completed a trial to see if quecetin raises the number of mitochondria in humans. The results are expected next year. "For those who know something about mitochondria, the implications are huge," says Davis. "Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease all involve the mitochondria in some way."
In all of these studies, researchers used a high-purity quercetin called QU995. That’s the kind that’s also in FRS energy drinks, mixes and chews as well as in RealFX Q-Plus Chews.
The regimen in my book, "Make Eating A Lifestyle Change" and this blog site represent an attempt to combat "obesity and the improper dietary habits of the American people." My physician, Ralph J. Argen, M.D. recognized these factors as important and insisted I write a book and spread the word. And so my quest began in October of 2003. The evidence grew as more and more people reported success-- losing hundreds of pounds of excessive weight and improved cholesterol, triglyceride levels and others halted diabetes type II.
The new question may be, "How are your mitochondria?" Some day that question may be as common as asking a person’s cholesterol or blood pressure. Can you increase and strengthen your mitochondria? Can you recapture the mitochondria of your youth? Researchers have uncovered some intriguing clues. " Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells," says Simon Melov, director of Genomics Core at the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, California. "They convert food into energy, which the body uses to live." Prior to this article, all indicators were that the battle was one of the antioxidants vs free radicals.
Most cells in the human body contain somewhere between 500 to 2,000 mitochondria (pronounced MY-toe-CON-dree-ah). In fact, mitochondria account for as much as 60 percent of the volume of muscle cells and 40 percent of the volume of heart cells.
In my late 60s, fellow tennis players would ask me how I maintained such muscle definition. I simply replied that it was not due to a diet of carrots and celery. Now we begin to get research on the importance of mitochondria which links it to almost every essential process in cells. Rafael de Cabo, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore explains that you can trace almost any condition that has to do with energy balance, like diabetes or sarcopenia, which is muscle wasting with age— at least in part, to problems with mitochondria.
That’s no surprise since mitochondria sits at ground zero, the place within the cell where carbohydrate, fat, and protein are burned, or oxidized, for energy. Unfortunately, the process generates free radicals—rogue molecules that can damage mitochondria’s DNA and membranes.
"It’s possible that weakened mitochondria leave people more susceptible to Parkinson’s disease or accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease," notes Mark Mattson, chief of the Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences Section of the National Institute on Aging. Can you protect—or restore—your mitochondria? Here’s what the latest research shows.
Exercise:
"Aerobic exercise can increase the number of mitochondria in your muscle cells by 40 to 50 percent in six weeks," says David Hood, Canada Research Chair in Cell Physiology at York University in Toronto. Researchers have known that—from studies in animals and humans—for more than 30 years.
To get the benefit though, you need to run, cycle, swim, walk briskly, or do other exercises to at least half of your maximum capacity for at least 15 - 20 minutes a day, three to four times a week. "You’ll notice less fatigue, lower perceived exertion, and more endurance," says Hood. That’s because mitochondria are efficiently burning more fat, rather than carbohydrate for energy.
In 2006, Elizabeth Menshikova and her colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine got eight overweight and sedentary men and women in their late 60s to walk outdoors or use treadmills or stationary bicycles four to six days a week for 30 - 40 minutes each time. After 12 weeks, the mitochondria in their quadriceps (thigh muscles increased by about 50 percent.
"Mitochondria have been called the Achilles’ heel of the cell in aging."
In a 2007 study, the genes in the quadriceps muscles of 14 healthy older men and women (average age: 70) were much less active than the genes in the quadriceps of 16 younger adults (average age: 26).
But after twice weekly strength-training sessions for six months, "there was a remarkable reversal of the older people’s genetic profile to more-youthful levels," says the Buck Institute’s Simon Melov. In other words, their quadriceps genes—many of which contain the instructions for making mitochondria—had become more active.
"Any exercise, including aerobic and strength training will improve mitochondrial content and the endurance of older, less-active individuals," notes Hood.
Mitochondria may also help explain why people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. ("When people are resistant, their insulin can’t efficiently move blood sugar into cells). What’s more, exercise may be able to prevent diabetes by boosting mitochondria. "If we could get them to do aerobic exercise regularly, it would put off or prevent them from developing diabetes."
In December of 1981, I was told that I had less than two years before I would be unable to walk. Determined to fight that sentence led me to biking, tennis, badminton, swimming and walking. The source of Lance Armstrong’s healthy energy rely on those same principles. Besides leading a healthy lifestyle, he claimed the source of his healthy energy to be quercetin (pronounced: KWAIR-sit-in), which occurs in foods, including apples, onions, and grapes. These foods together with oatmeal with diced apples, cinnamon and raisins are part of the regimen that has carried me this far (27 years) in my personal battle with rheumatoid arthritis. Patrick Swayze appears to have had the same kind of success in fighting pancreatic cancer. His rigorous aerobic exercise has enabled him to go far beyond the expectations of his physicians. Both Lance Armstrong and Patrick Swayze are role models for those who wish to fight battles against diseases believed to be fatal and incurable.
Researchers have also completed a trial to see if quecetin raises the number of mitochondria in humans. The results are expected next year. "For those who know something about mitochondria, the implications are huge," says Davis. "Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease all involve the mitochondria in some way."
In all of these studies, researchers used a high-purity quercetin called QU995. That’s the kind that’s also in FRS energy drinks, mixes and chews as well as in RealFX Q-Plus Chews.
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