Stop Aging Now!

Millions of people are suffering from what is called degenerative disease. This includes such ailments as arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's. And why do the same individuals suffer from so many seemingly unrelated disorders? Although we are living longer, we are not immune to very painful and fatal diseases that make our later years unbearable. Why is this so? What is causing so many of us to have to suffer under the burden of such mass illness? Well, researchers may have come up with the answer. According to the Life Extension Foundation, chronic inflammation may be the reason we are aging and suffering.

In the January 2002 issue of Life Extension, William Faloon writes that “In what will soon become a medical breakthrough, Life Extension has identified a reversible culprit (systemic inflammation) that is involved in the development of age-related diseases.” This can be great news for all of us. We all have experienced the onset of pain and general deterioration of organic function as we age. When we report these pains and malfunctions to our doctors we are usually told that we have to accept the fact that we are aging. Maybe that’s not good enough advice anymore. Maybe there is another reason and just maybe there is something we can all do to stop the degenerative process. Let’s take a look.

Aging and Inflammation

According to Fallon, inflammation causes untold problems in our bodies and has been ignored by mainstream medicine. New research is indicating that aging and our epidemic of age related diseases may be caused by an “increase of inflammatory cytokines (destructive cell-signaling chemicals) that contribute to many degenerative diseases.” Fallon uses the example of rheumatoid arthritis as the classic autoimmune disease in which high levels of cytokines contribute directly to the inflammatory process. Arteriosclerosis, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart dysfunction all have increased and chronic inflammation in common. When blood profiles are taken of people suffering from the above mentioned diseases it is found that nearly all have elevated levels of cytokines. The cytokine C-reactive protein has recently been directly implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. What this means is that beneath all of these diseases is an inflammatory process that causes continued degeneration if left untreated.

Fallon offers some scientific evidence to back up his assertions. Several studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001 regarding heart disease demonstrating “that blood indicators of inflammation are strong indicators for determining who will suffer a heart attack. One of these studies indicated that people with “high levels of C-reactive protein were almost three times as likely to die from a heart attack.” Fallon concludes by saying that “A growing consensus amongst scientists is that common disorders such as atheriosclerosis, colon cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are all caused by a chronic inflammatory syndrome.”

Besides cytokine elevation there is another inflammatory pathway that causes us trouble. The over production of “pro-inflammatory hormone-like “messengers” (such as prostaglandin E2) and under-production of anti-inflammatory “messengers” (such as prostaglandin E1 and E3)” can cause problems similar to that of cytokine elevation.

What to do

Blood tests are the quickest way of determining cytokine levels. But the Cytokine Profile is extremely expensive and out of the reach of most of us. You can speak to your physician to find out if your insurance company will cover the tests. The cytokines you want to have tested are Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-a), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1), Leukotriene B(4) LTB(4). These tests will indicate to you if your cytokine levels are elevated.

If you can not afford the blood tests or just wish to protect yourself from the ravages of chronic inflammation there are many things you can do right now to make sure you don’t live your later years disabled and in constant pain. The basic and most fundamental way to protect yourself is through dietary changes.

The Anti-inflammatory Diet

The diet recommended to reduce inflammation is similar to Gary Null’s Alkaline Diet used to combat cancer that can be found in his The Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing. Stay away from foods that produce acids. This includes fatty meats, white bread products (white bread, pasta, etc.), high glycemic carbohydrates (fruit juices, rice, especially rice cakes), etc. Eat foods with a low glycemic index most fresh vegetables, (especially avocado and guacamol), Salmon and other fish, oatmeal, nuts, olives and olive oil. What you eat can significantly affect the level of inflammation you experience. By eating fresh, natural, alkaline foods the chemical pathways that produce cytokines will not be activated. Moreover, by eating low glycemic foods you will assist the body in producing the anti-inflammatory prostaglandins you need to reduce chronic, systemic inflammation.

Supplementing your diet with specific nutrients can also be helpful. Along with a general regimen of supplementation that you have learned about from reading the articles posted on this site you need to entertain a few targeted supplements. The nutrients most helpful to you will be the hormone DHEA, vitamin K, and fish oils. All three of these items have been found to successfully reduce the production of dangerous and destructive cytokines. Vitamin E and n-acetyl-cysteine have also been found to reduce pro-inflammatory elements.

If you take the time to make the simple and affective changes recommended you may find a clear improvement in your overall health profile but especially in the area of inflammation and degenerative diseases. Give it a try. You can only feel better.

To learn more about the theory of inflammation you can access the Life Extension Foundation at http://www.lef.org.

Peace and Health,

Bob Oliva, CSW