A Key to Human Longevity
Do People Want to Live Longer? This sounds like a simple question, but ...
I have taken an informal survey of my friends, associates and family over the past few years, and the resounding answers were surprising.
When asked, "would you want to live to 150, 200 or 500 years old?" most people answer, "NO!" Upon additional probing, generally one of two explanations arise.
One, we weren't meant to live twice as long (or forever).
Frankly, I don't really believe this answer.
In Classical Greece and Rome, the average life expectancy was about 25 years old.
In the early 1900s, it was 35 - 40 worldwide.
Since the year 1900, human lifespan has increased about 3 months each year.
So over the 100-year century, average lifespan increased 300 months, or 25 years.
Not surprisingly, I don't find many people volunteering to take 25 years off of their own lives.
In fact, just the opposite is true.
People will do almost anything to live longer.
Pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patients and their families have demonstrated that if a cancer drug can increase the lifespan of a terminally ill person by only 6 - 12 months, the drug will sell over $1 Billion per year.
Given the acceleration of medical and nutritional advancements, it is certainly reasonable to assume that humans will have an average lifespan well over 100 years within this century, and lifespan could double in the subsequent century.
The second explanation I hear is more illuminating.
People say, "I wouldn't want to prolong my life if it meant living like many old people I know.
" In other words, they'd only choose to live that much longer if they could live a healthy life.
The Fountain of Youth? Many nutraceutical supplement companies claim that their products or ingredients can increase longevity.
But what's marketing hype? And what's reality? While it is very difficult to perform human testing on longevity, there is growing evidence that both longevity, and healthy longevity can be obtained by eating certain plant compounds, avoiding certain foods and drugs (such as trans fats and cigarettes), coupled with a reasonable level of activity and exercise.
In particular, some scientists are now asking -- can naturally found ingredients from plants and red-wine grapes actually hold the key to a long life, and a long healthy life? Research studies conducted over the past decade point to the possible conclusion that indeed natural ingredients from plants, and specifically from red-wine grapes, may actually hold one key to long life.
What are Scientists Discovering? Scientific studies on a variety of organisms including yeast, worms, flies, mice, rats, and fish point to an increase in lifespan from 10 - 60% when given plant molecules and compounds including Resveratrol, Quercetin and many other plant and red-wine grape polyphenols.
Equally important, scientific studies on obese (fat) mice and other animals have found that while they would normally die young from a variety of diseases, the consumption of polyphenols compounds allowed them to live just as long as "normal" mice.
In other words, they lived longer, and lived longer healthier! - which is precisely what people are seeking.
How is this possible? Back in the 1930s, scientists discovered that calorie restriction indeed extends lifespan by putting the organisms into a "survival mode".
But for humans, living on a near-starvation diet is impractical, unhealthy if not dangerous.
Over the past decade, new studies have revealed that during calorie restriction, there is an increase (or activation) of the sirtuin (or SIRT) genes and enzymes in the human body and cells.
The key to this puzzle was unlocked by Dr.
Joseph Baur and Dr.
David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School in 2006.
They presented strong evidence that SIRT genes could be activated by giving organisms certain Xenohotetic (stressed plant) compounds.
The researchers tested 1,000s of compounds and found 19 plant polyphenols that provide the most significant activation effects.
Seventeen (17) of these polyphenols are found in red wine grapes.
Plant Polyphenols with the greatest effect on the SIRT genes and longevity: Compound Ratio to Control (measure of SIRT activation) Resveratrol 13.
4, Butein 8.
5, Piceatannol 7.
9, Isoliquiritigenin 7.
6, Fisetin 6.
6, Quercetin 4.
6.
Note that while Resveratrol tops the list, it is not the only polyphenol to effect longevity and age-related diseases.
Further research has shown that in fact it is also the combination of polyphenols that is essential, which largely explains why red wine has beneficial health effects, as discovered in the French Paradox.
From all of these, and other scientific studies, it is reasonable to conclude that Resveratrol PLUS red wine grape extracts may in fact be a key to a long, and healthy life.
So, the next time you're discussing longevity with your friends, tell them about these exciting discoveries.
I have taken an informal survey of my friends, associates and family over the past few years, and the resounding answers were surprising.
When asked, "would you want to live to 150, 200 or 500 years old?" most people answer, "NO!" Upon additional probing, generally one of two explanations arise.
One, we weren't meant to live twice as long (or forever).
Frankly, I don't really believe this answer.
In Classical Greece and Rome, the average life expectancy was about 25 years old.
In the early 1900s, it was 35 - 40 worldwide.
Since the year 1900, human lifespan has increased about 3 months each year.
So over the 100-year century, average lifespan increased 300 months, or 25 years.
Not surprisingly, I don't find many people volunteering to take 25 years off of their own lives.
In fact, just the opposite is true.
People will do almost anything to live longer.
Pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patients and their families have demonstrated that if a cancer drug can increase the lifespan of a terminally ill person by only 6 - 12 months, the drug will sell over $1 Billion per year.
Given the acceleration of medical and nutritional advancements, it is certainly reasonable to assume that humans will have an average lifespan well over 100 years within this century, and lifespan could double in the subsequent century.
The second explanation I hear is more illuminating.
People say, "I wouldn't want to prolong my life if it meant living like many old people I know.
" In other words, they'd only choose to live that much longer if they could live a healthy life.
The Fountain of Youth? Many nutraceutical supplement companies claim that their products or ingredients can increase longevity.
But what's marketing hype? And what's reality? While it is very difficult to perform human testing on longevity, there is growing evidence that both longevity, and healthy longevity can be obtained by eating certain plant compounds, avoiding certain foods and drugs (such as trans fats and cigarettes), coupled with a reasonable level of activity and exercise.
In particular, some scientists are now asking -- can naturally found ingredients from plants and red-wine grapes actually hold the key to a long life, and a long healthy life? Research studies conducted over the past decade point to the possible conclusion that indeed natural ingredients from plants, and specifically from red-wine grapes, may actually hold one key to long life.
What are Scientists Discovering? Scientific studies on a variety of organisms including yeast, worms, flies, mice, rats, and fish point to an increase in lifespan from 10 - 60% when given plant molecules and compounds including Resveratrol, Quercetin and many other plant and red-wine grape polyphenols.
Equally important, scientific studies on obese (fat) mice and other animals have found that while they would normally die young from a variety of diseases, the consumption of polyphenols compounds allowed them to live just as long as "normal" mice.
In other words, they lived longer, and lived longer healthier! - which is precisely what people are seeking.
How is this possible? Back in the 1930s, scientists discovered that calorie restriction indeed extends lifespan by putting the organisms into a "survival mode".
But for humans, living on a near-starvation diet is impractical, unhealthy if not dangerous.
Over the past decade, new studies have revealed that during calorie restriction, there is an increase (or activation) of the sirtuin (or SIRT) genes and enzymes in the human body and cells.
The key to this puzzle was unlocked by Dr.
Joseph Baur and Dr.
David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School in 2006.
They presented strong evidence that SIRT genes could be activated by giving organisms certain Xenohotetic (stressed plant) compounds.
The researchers tested 1,000s of compounds and found 19 plant polyphenols that provide the most significant activation effects.
Seventeen (17) of these polyphenols are found in red wine grapes.
Plant Polyphenols with the greatest effect on the SIRT genes and longevity: Compound Ratio to Control (measure of SIRT activation) Resveratrol 13.
4, Butein 8.
5, Piceatannol 7.
9, Isoliquiritigenin 7.
6, Fisetin 6.
6, Quercetin 4.
6.
Note that while Resveratrol tops the list, it is not the only polyphenol to effect longevity and age-related diseases.
Further research has shown that in fact it is also the combination of polyphenols that is essential, which largely explains why red wine has beneficial health effects, as discovered in the French Paradox.
From all of these, and other scientific studies, it is reasonable to conclude that Resveratrol PLUS red wine grape extracts may in fact be a key to a long, and healthy life.
So, the next time you're discussing longevity with your friends, tell them about these exciting discoveries.
