Reverse the aging process
THE IDEA that aging inevitably means gaining weight and having high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high cholesterol levels, and arthritis is widely accepted. Since so many people have these problems, we think of them as normal. Even doctors are likely to say that when you get to be a certain age, these conditions are to be expected and since they are irreversible, accepted.
Fortunately, research over the last decade has given as a better understanding of the causes of aging; in particular, several theories had led to new therapies offering older people opportunities not only to improve their health but to actually slow down the aging process. We now know that it’s possible to live to 100 and beyond and to stay healthy throughout our life spans this rectangularizing the aging curve. I believed that we need to have optimum energy as we grow old and not accept the diminishment many find encroaching as they grow older. We should be prepare now to strengthen our body before the time comes on where we are too old and get sick. I would like to cite joint disease as an example of a condition that medicine has accepted as inevitable, a condition that is reversible. There is now an epidemic of joint disease in the whole world. The majority of people over 60 have early, moderate, or late osteoarthritis. Conventional doctors call osteoarthritis, a wear and tear disease, as if the joints wore out like the parts of a car. That sounds believable but it is nonsense. The disease is a product of deficiencies and occurs when the joint is not being nourished. A nourished joint will remain healthy. I have seen runners in their 70s and 80s who use their joints 10 fold or even 50 fold more than a normal person does, yet their joints remain robust.
What causes aging?
Free radical damage. It is widely accepted that aging and degenerative diseases are the result of cellular damage brought on by free radicals, molecules that have become unstable after losing one of their orbiting electrons. The unpaired electrons of these molecules make the molecules highly reactive and in an attempt to restore balance, a free radical will steal electrons from other molecules, causing cellular damage and destruction.
Free radicals are produced through normal metabolism in the body, but increase with exposure to animal fat, alcohol, cigarettes, and other toxic chemicals. Let’s give an example of how this damage can occur. Free radicals generated by cigarette smoke are huge in number. They steal healthy electrons from the lining of the lungs, thereby oxidizing lung tissue. When lung tissue oxidized, cells break down and die. As hundreds of thousands of cells become oxidized and damaged, tissues and organs throughout the body are affected. Aging and disease are magnified.
Low thyroid function. Low thyroid functioning can prompt diseases associated with aging. Most of the basic research on the thyroid was done before World War II. Pharmaceutical companies came in after the war with what they thought was the latest word in understanding the thyroid. It turns out they were wrong. It was found out that too much cholesterol in the blood, insomnia, emphysema, arthritis and failure of the immune system causes low thyroid function. Many conditions now considered mysterious diseases were recognized as traits of low thyroid. Very often these conditions would simply disappear when thyroid supplements were given.
When the thyroid is low we have to rely on emergency systems such as the production of adrenaline and cortisone to adapt stress. Cortisone and adrenaline are now recognized as factors that cause damage, setting degenerative diseases in motion and causing damage to the lining of blood vessels and brain cells but very often people don’t realize that it is the thyroid that keeps us from relying excessively on these stress hormones.
Biological clock. Another theory holds that the body has a built-in-cellular “biological clock” that is set so that cells self-destruct after a certain amount of time. That since the theory was first propounded, the proposed upper limits for the clocks running time have increased. Scientists say there is a feeling that the top limit is pushing 140 years. Individual have actually lived to that age and even longer.
Shrinking thymus gland. Another theory relates aging to atrophy of the thymus gland which plays a role in maintaining a healthy immune system and fighting infection. When we are born, this gland covers our entire chest. It’s huge. As we grow older, it diminishes in size, a process known as thymic involution. One of the theories of aging is that if we could stop thymic shrinking we could stop the aging process altogether.
Symptoms
A wide variety of gradual bodily changes are associated with aging such as an increased susceptibility to weight gain and fatigue. But there is no physiological reason why most people should become obese or get tired more easily as they grow older: these are society’s, not nature’s norms. It can be just as natural for example for people to eat and sleep a little less as they grow older, compensating for any slowing down of metabolic processes and thus maintaining stable weight and energy levels.
Typical signs of aging also include changes in skin, hair, nails and connective tissue. Decrease in memory, concentration and sharpness may also
accompany aging. Again, it is not inevitable that these changes take place. As people age, they may suffer from elevated blood sugar, an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides, and other chemical
imbalances. The risk of contracting degenerative
diseases such as cancer and heart disease and
suffering from thyroid dysfunction, musculoskeletal problems, and gastrointestinal disorders, also typically increase with age.
Anti-aging diet
A basic healthy diet will vastly improve the quality of life and reduce the aging process in people of all ages. This diet should consist of high-quality organic foods, emphasizing complex carbohydrates such as beans and whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Adolescents who are still growing may need more of certain nutrients, and in people in specific age groups may have specific requirements that can be addressed through supplements.
Anti-aging diets certain few, if any, animal based proteins: Fats are minimized and high-fiber foods are emphasized. High fiber diets help prevent common afflictions associated with aging, such as constipation, hemorrhoids, pressure in the intestines, ulcer, high blood pressure, colorectal cancer, and overall body toxemia. One of the principles of longevity is eating to the point of being not quite full. As we get older, it is advisable to eat small servings more frequently.
Uneaten portions can be frozen for later use.
At least eight ounce glasses of water should be drunk daily. Many senior citizens suffer from dehydration because of their intake of fluid is inadequate. Dehydration adversely affects the body’s electrolytes which carry electricity and are important for normal functioning of the nervous system. Additionally, fresh juices, which are high in enzymes should be a regular part of the diet. Recommended intake is two to three 6-ounce glasses of fresh, organic mixed vegetable juice per day, with 1-2 milligrams of buffered vitamin C added to each glass or up to bawel tolerance.
Vegetarian diets. A number of doctors stress the benefits of a healthy vegetarian diet. It was really proven that people who are on a vegetarian diet are doing better in lowering their cholesterol level. People who are vegetarian are not dependent on taking cholesterol drug. Drugs are expensive and have side effects especially on long term use.
Supplements. The first thing to look as a means of reversing the symptoms of aging is supplements. Most people do not understand the effective use of vitamins and minerals as dietary supplements. Basically, you must follow the law of compensation. If you smoked, used sugar, caffeine, or alcohol, if you were an angry person who held in your anger, if you have not honored the life force, if you have not
exercised, if you have felt unfulfilled, you must work to compensate for these deficiencies.
One-a-day supplements are the easy way out. I have met people who say, “I eat meat. I eat sugar. But it’s all right because I take my one-a-day vitamin.” Wrong reasoning that does not work. The body cannot be lied. After 30 or 50 years of the body’s being neglected by an unhealthy lifestyle and environment, a little pill will not do the trick. You need to detoxify and cleanse the body. The reason that supplements are even more crucial as we get older is that as we age, certain fatty acids, amino acids, and members of the main groups of nutrients are lost.
Exercise
When we exercise we detoxify as we sweat through our skin and exhale from our lungs. Some good exercises include jogging or daily brisk walks, yoga stretches, strength training and jumping on a mini-trampoline, which exercises every cell in the body. Exercise slows down the aging process
because it stimulates detoxification. Exercise
increases people’s life spans. Most major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease are stress related and exercise reduces stress.
