My Weight (Loss) Management from 2007-05-28 to 2010-02-28 (weight loss by Calories Restriction With Optimal Nutrition - CRON)

2007-05-28 morning, my weight = 65.0 kg, BMI = 23.588
2007-06-28 morning, my weight = 61.0 kg, BMI = 22.136
2007-07-28 morning, my weight = 59.0 kg, BMI = 21.410
2007-08-28 morning, my weight = 58.7 kg, BMI = 21.302
2007-09-28 morning, my weight = 57.5 kg, BMI = 20.866
2007-10-28 morning, my weight = 57.5 kg, BMI = 20.866
2007-11-28 morning, my weight = 56.2 kg, BMI = 20.394
2007-12-28 morning, my weight = 55.5 kg, BMI = 20.140
2008-01-28 morning, my weight = 54.8 kg, BMI = 19.886
2008-02-28 morning, my weight = 54.8 kg, BMI = 19.886
2008-03-28 morning, my weight = 54.5 kg, BMI = 19.777
2008-04-28 morning, my weight = 54.4 kg, BMI = 19.741
2008-05-28 morning, my weight = 54.1 kg, BMI = 19.632
2008-06-28 morning, my weight = 54.6 kg, BMI = 19.814
2008-07-28 morning, my weight = 54.5 kg, BMI = 19.777
2008-08-28 morning, my weight = 54.3 kg, BMI = 19.705
2008-09-28 morning, my weight = 54.9 kg, BMI = 19.923
2008-10-28 morning, my weight = 55.3 kg, BMI = 20.068
2008-11-28 morning, my weight = 54.5 kg, BMI = 19.777
2008-12-28 morning, my weight = 55.6 kg, BMI = 20.177
2009-01-28 morning, my weight = 54.8 kg, BMI = 19.886
2009-02-28 morning, my weight = 55.9 kg, BMI = 20.285
2009-03-28 morning, my weight = 54.8 kg, BMI = 19.886
2009-04-28 morning, my weight = 55.3 kg, BMI = 20.068
2009-05-28 morning, my weight = 55.4 kg, BMI = 20.104.
2009-06-28 morning, my weight = 55.2 kg, BMI = 20.031
2009-07-28 morning, my weight = 55.1 kg, BMI = 19.995
2009-08-28 morning, my weight = 55.2 kg, BMI = 20.031
2009-09-28 morning, my weight = 56.3 kg, BMI = 20.431
2009-10-28 morning, my weight = 55.8 kg, BMI = 20.249
2009-11-28 morning, my weight = 56.2 kg, BMI = 20.394
2009-12-28 morning, my weight = 56.1 kg, BMI = 20.358
2010-01-28 morning, my weight = 55.6 kg, BMI = 20.177
2010-02-28 morning, my weight = 56.5 kg, BMI = 20.503

Note: From 2010-02-01, Watson weighing scale has replaced Camry, which became faulty. In the past reading of Camry was about 500g more than that of Watson. To maintain consistency, so my weight =Watson reading (in kg) + 500g.

My current BMI is within the healthy range of 18.5 to 22.9. For me, the range of healthy weight is 50.9786 kg (BMI = 18.5) to 63.10324 kg (BMI = 22.9).

People with BMI values of 23 kg/m2 (or 25 kg/m2 according to some sources) and above have been found to be at risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

To be healthy, I must have a healthy weight. Be as lean as possible without being underweight, as recommended by World Cancer Prevention Foundation, United Kingdom.

"He (Loh Yeow Nguan, a fruitarian) eats only fruit and nuts" by April Chong

The following is a report by April Chong in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 25 February 2010, Thursday.
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Vegetarian Society stalwart Loh Yeow Nguan is not just a vegetarian, he is a fruitarian. His daily diet for the last nine years has been just fruit and nuts.

Mr Loh, 48, an avid sportsman who swims, jogs or goes to the gym three to four times a week, sticks to a diet that is a challenge to many.

The executive director of education and outreach at the Vegetarian Society had been a strict vegetarian for 25 years but decided to eat only fruit and nuts in the last decade.

Mr Loh - who is single - made the switch for ethical reasons.

'We take from the tree what the tree wants to give,' he said, so no plants are killed.

His refrigerator is stocked with mangoes and passionfruit, seeds and soaked nuts which are softened and easy to use in blended drinks. He also stockpiles dates in his freezer as good ones are usually available only during Hari Raya.

He eats only some of the fruit, blending the rest into smoothies 80 per cent of the time.

The smoothies are filling because of the high fibre content, he said. A large glass can keep him going for three to four hours, especially if it has high energy ingredients like bananas and nuts.

Otherwise, he carries dried fruit like figs with him in case he gets hungry. Or he just snacks on a banana which he calls 'nature's fast food'.

When asked if his diet is balanced, especially when some types of fruits are known to lack nutrients like iron and calcium, Mr Loh agreed that one should include fruits and nuts that are high in these nutrients.

For example, bananas and apples give him iron while figs are rich in calcium.

He takes vitamin B12 supplements which help maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells.

He said he has not seen a doctor for any ailment since 1995.

While he is happy that more people are cutting down on meat and turning vegetarian, he said that one should not suddenly adopt a fruitarian diet. The body needs time to adjust to the detoxifying effect and any change should be gradual.

To most people, the fruitarian diet does sound like a challenge and Mr Loh believes he is the only Singaporean who follows it.

Note: In the original article Loh Yeow Nguan was spelled as Low Yeow Nguan.

Loh Yeow Nguan is currently The Executive Director of Education of Vegetarian Society (Singapore), VSS

Osteoporosis issue in Vegetarian diet caused by Phytate which binds to Calcium

The following is extracted from a report “The Vegetarian Blend” by April Chong in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 25 February 2010, Thursday.

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Vegans may lack nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids and certain amino acids unless their diets take these into account.

A lack of calcium in the long run, for example, may lead to lower bone mass and osteoporosis, said orthopaedic doctor Khong Kok Sun from Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

In particular, he noted that elderly vegetarians do tend to become osteoporotic.

Dr Khong attributes this not just to the lack of calcium in their diet but, more importantly, to the presence of the compound phytate in many plant-based foods such as grains and legumes.

He explained that phytate binds to calcium and renders it unabsorbable by the body. So vegetarians who take calcium tablets should do so in the morning or at night when their stomachs are relatively empty.

Vegetarian? Beware of deficiencies (by April Chong)

The following is a report by April Chong in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 25 February 2010, Thursday.
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If you are vegetarian, watch out for deficiencies in these nutrients:

· Iron
Iron from plants is not as well absorbed and this can lead to anaemia.
Get it from: Green leafy vegetables, figs, peas and broccoli

· Calcium
Bones get brittle over time if there is a lack of calcium.
Get it from: Calcium-enriched tofu, broccoli, seeds, nuts, kale, bok choy and legumes

· Protein
Plants lack certain essential amino acids, which are important building blocks for the body.
Get it from: Legumes, soya, beans, nuts, seeds and substitute meat products like vegetable burger patties (these are usually made of soya) and soya dogs

· Vitamin B12
Most plant foods lack this vitamin, which is needed for metabolic processes. A lack of vitamin B12 may increase one's risk of dementia.
Get it from: Nutritional supplements

· Omega-3 fatty acids
Helps to reduce the risk of heart problems and cholesterol levels.
Get it from: Walnuts, canola and soya

Information from Madam Koay Saw Lan, head of the department of dietetics and nutrition services at Singapore General Hospital; and Ms Teo Kiok Seng, a nutritionist from Nutrition Network Services

The vegetarian blend (by April Chong)

The following is a report by April Chong in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 25 February 2010, Thursday.
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Mind Your Body takes a look at the different types, from those who take honey and eggs to fruitarians who eat only fruit, nuts and seeds

By April Chong


Buddhists and Hindus have been advocating vegetarianism for centuries.

These days, a growing number of adherents do so for reasons unrelated to these two faiths.
They include people who choose to become vegetarian for ethical or environmental reasons, or some who do so because they think it will benefit their health.

The term 'vegetarian' has in fact become a broad category for different subsets of the practice. It includes those who eat honey, eggs and milk; and vegans, at the other end of the spectrum, who are strictly vegetarian and do not eat any animal products.

Then there are vegetarians who eat only one type of vegetable or fruit, or only those of the same colour, at each meal.

Even within veganism, there are different beliefs, such as fruitarians who eat only fruit, nuts and seeds but no leaves and stems.

With the bad press that fatty meat and processed foods have received, and with chronic diseases on the rise, the vegetarian diet has become a draw for the health-conscious.

Plant food diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.

They also have higher levels of dietary fibre, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals, said Madam Koay Saw Lan, who heads the dietetics and nutrition services at Singapore General Hospital.

Various research findings link these ingredients to a lowered risk for chronic diseases, she added.
For example, a 2004 publication in the Archives Of Internal Medicine by a team of researchers in the United States found that every 10g increase of dietary fibre a day reduced heart diseases by 14 per cent and coronary deaths by 27 per cent.

While the fruit and vegetables in a vegetarian diet do prevent heart disease, it is more important for the diet to be balanced, said cardiology consultant Jack Tan from the National Heart Centre.
This means eating enough of various nutrients. Diet aside, exercise and a healthy body weight are equally important, he added.

Madam Koay said that vegetarians are also less likely to be saddled with conditions like obesity and constipation. The United Kingdom-based World Cancer Research Fund reported in 2007 that fruit and vegetables can protect against various types of cancer like that of the mouth, stomach and lung. It recommends at least five portions of these foods a day.

However, as in all good things, there are always caveats. Dietitians caution that going vegetarian may not always be a good thing, nor is it suitable for everyone.

Problems with some diets

For instance, vegetarians who include milk and egg products in their diet will usually have adequate nutrients but those on a vegan diet may run into problems, said Ms Eliza Resurreccion, a dietitian at The Nutrition Place.

Vegans may lack nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids and certain amino acids unless their diets take these into account.

A lack of calcium in the long run, for example, may lead to lower bone mass and osteoporosis, said orthopaedic doctor Khong Kok Sun from Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

In particular, he noted that elderly vegetarians do tend to become osteoporotic.

Dr Khong attributes this not just to the lack of calcium in their diet but, more importantly, to the presence of the compound phytate in many plant-based foods such as grains and legumes.
He explained that phytate binds to calcium and renders it unabsorbable by the body. So vegetarians who take calcium tablets should do so in the morning or at night when their stomachs are relatively empty.

Children, pregnant or lactating women and the elderly should take extra care of their diets.
For example, pregnant or lactating vegans should get more protein from whole grains and legumes, and calcium from tofu or soya products, said Dr Choo Wan Ling, a consultant gynaecologist at Pacific Healthcare Specialist Centre. These women should eat more plant-based items high in iron, zinc and vitamin B12, or take supplements.

A vegetarian diet has much bulk and the mother's overall calorie intake may be insufficient because she may often feel full. So she should snack on dried fruit like raisins and prunes to bump up the calorie count, said Dr Choo. Otherwise, a vegan diet is generally not a problem for mothers, she said.

The bodyguard (Vitamin C) by GERALDINE LING

The following is a report by GERALDINE LING in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 18 February 2010, Thursday.

The bodyguard

Vitamin C boosts our immune system and protects our cells and tissues from being damaged. GERALDINE LING reports

The body's immune system protects and keeps us healthy every day by waging a seemingly endless war against harmful bacteria, viruses and other body-harming substances.

To keep this defence system working well, it is important to boost it by feeding our body with nutrients such as vitamin C.

As the human body cannot make or store vitamin C, we need to get it from the food we eat.
Fruit and vegetables, particularly oranges, papaya, broccoli and green, leafy vegetables are rich in this power nutrient.

In Singapore, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommends a daily vitamin C intake of 30mg.
A small orange contains 40mg of vitamin C. Half a serving, or 50g, of cooked broccoli contains 30mg of vitamin C.

Vitamin C helps our body's white blood cells - a vital fighting team in the immune system - to do their job properly, said Ms Eliza Resurreccion, a dietitian at The Nutrition Place.

The vitamin is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants work by neutralising free radicals, believed to be associated with ageing and disease.

One study published in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition reported that women who had higher dietary vitamin C intakes tended to have fewer wrinkles.

Said Ms Resurreccion: 'Vitamin C acts like a bodyguard, protecting our cells and tissues from being damaged.'

Besides keeping our immune system strong, vitamin C also helps in wound healing. It is needed to form collagen, an important protein that is used to make skin and scar tissue, said dietitian Natalie Soh from Peaches & Pear Nutrition Consultancy.

Vitamin C also helps in iron absorption. We need iron for energy and for the transport and storage of oxygen in the body.

However, the iron in plant foods - called non-heme iron - is less well absorbed compared to the iron found in meat, poultry and fish, called heme iron.

Non-heme iron is more sensitive than heme iron to inhibitors of iron absorption such as calcium and tannic acid found in tea and coffee. The good news? Vitamin C helps to enhance both heme and non-heme iron absorption, said Ms Soh.

The daily required intake of vitamin C can be easily met through diet alone, if one takes adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, said dietitians.

The HPB recommends taking two servings of fruit and two servings of vegetables daily.
However, not everyone achieves this in their diets every day. For those who cannot manage to include these servings in their diet regimen, supplements may be considered, said Ms Resurreccion.

Pregnant and lactating women who require a higher vitamin C intake of 50mg daily will also benefit from supplements if they are unable to meet this need through their diet, she said.
Most research studies have suggested that a vitamin C supplement of 100 to 300mg a day is generally safe.

However, if you do take supplements, Ms Soh cautions against a daily vitamin C intake that exceeds 1,000mg.

She said: 'Taking large amounts of vitamin C may result in stomach discomfort or diarrhoea.'

Vitamin C supplements of up to 300mg a day are generally safe, studies show.

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Brought to you by Redoxon

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SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR Dementia (Symptoms of dementia)

The following is from a report by GERALDINE LING in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 18 February 2010, Thursday.

SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR

If you are worried that someone you know is showing signs of dementia, use these guidelines to check whether medical help is needed. Dr Philip Yap, a consultant at the department of geriatric medicine at Alexandra Hospital, said that these are some symptoms that may indicate underlying dementia:

· Short-term memory loss: People with dementia may often misplace important items or forget appointments. A useful indicator is the gradual loss of ability to perform what they used to do well.

· Time and place disorientation: People with dementia may lose their way and forget how to return home.

· Poor or decreased judgment: For example, poor decision-making.

· Changes in personality: They may become easily anxious and irritable.

· Decreased interest or ability to perform familiar tasks and hobbies. · Loss of initiative and a tendency to isolate oneself socially.

Not just the elderly -- Dementia (by GERALDINE LING)

The following is a report by GERALDINE LING in Mind Your body of the Straits Times dated 18 February 2010, Thursday.

Not just the elderly
Dementia can hit those who are below 60. GERALDINE LING finds out that there is no cure, although the disease can be slowed down with medication and structured programmes


Young onset Alzheimer's Disease - a form of dementia which strikes people under the age of 60 - creeps up slowly, like a thief in the night.

It can rob an energetic, thoughtful and caring person of his true nature, causing him to be moody, forgetful and withdrawn. He may also start to forget things that had been told to him only minutes earlier.

Gradually, he may find it harder to function at work. He could shout at his colleagues and forget to attend important meetings. Eventually, he may have to resign from his job.

If married, the primary caregiver may be the spouse. If there are young children, a change in the parent's behaviour can puzzle them and cause added stress in the household.

If the person is single and without family, finding a caregiver to look after him as the disease progresses may be hard.

These are some of the typical characteristics of a person with young onset Alzheimer's, said Dr Philip Yap, a consultant at the department of geriatric medicine at Alexandra Hospital.

This condition usually affects older people, but in the case of young onset Alzheimer's, the symptoms become evident even in middle-age.

Of all patients diagnosed with dementia, less than 5 per cent have young onset dementia, said Dr Yap.

Although dementia is common in the elderly, it is not caused by the ageing process alone, said Dr Irwin Chung, the director of medical services at Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital.

In dementia, brain cells die at a faster rate than normal, leading to memory loss and function.

Besides poor short-term memory - patients ask the same questions repeatedly - there may also be personality changes, said Dr Seng Kok Han, a consultant at the department of geriatric psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health.

For example, patients may become irritable or fearful.

In Singapore, the common types of young onset dementia are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia.

Death of brain cells

Alzheimer's is caused by changes to the nerve cells in certain parts of the brain. These alterations result in the death of many brain cells, said Dr Chung.

In vascular dementia, the death of brain cells is caused by a stroke - often minor and unnoticed - or other changes in the brain's circulation.

Frontotemporal dementia is caused by damage to the brain's frontal lobes - responsible for complex thoughts and planning - triggering impaired social behaviour, said Dr Yap.

Patients are likely to display personality and behaviour changes, like laughing at inappropriate things or dancing in the middle of the road.

A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic showed that one of the common causes of young onset dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder, like frontotemporal dementia.

Compared to older patients with dementia, who are often retired, younger patients may face difficulty at work as their symptoms may be mistaken for a lack of diligence or motivation.

They may have to resign from work, which can cause them financial problems.

In older people, the two most common forms of dementia are Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, with the latter being more prevalent in Singapore, said Dr Chung.

'Unfortunately, some can suffer from both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia,' he said.

3 stages of dementia

Dementia patients often go through three stages - early, moderate and late.

In the early stage, most patients appear normal and have no problems with self-care, said Dr Yap. But, already, there is a gradual decline in memory, thinking and behaviour. They are also likely to have problems finding their way around in new and unfamiliar places. They may lose interest in hobbies or find themselves depressed and irritable.

'Often, patients realise this and try to compensate for poor memory by using a diary or jotting down things to do,' said Dr Yap.

In the moderate stage, memory and intellectual lapses are more prominent. Delusions and paranoia will emerge. Family members will start to notice changes in behaviour. Towards the end of this stage, patients will have difficulty coping with self-care, like dressing, bathing and using the toilet, said Dr Yap.

By the late stage, patients will be completely dependent on others for basic needs like feeding. They lose the ability to speak and fail to recognise friends and family. They are also less mobile and may become chair- or bed-bound.

In the bed-bound stage, said Dr Yap, many may develop swallowing problems and become malnourished. Patients are also prone to infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bedsores.

Most eventually die from infections, especially pneumonia.

At present, dementia has no cure.

'But the progression of early and middle-stage dementia can be slowed down by cholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine,' said Dr Seng.

Cholinesterase inhibitors are believed to arrest an enzyme called cholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine, a substance in the brain which has a key role in memory and learning.

Other options may be in the pipeline. Said Dr Yap: 'Apart from medication, there is now evidence that non-pharmacological measures, including structured day activity programmes, can help maintain patients' quality of life.'

What Is Homocysteine? (by American Heart Association )

Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. Epidemiological studies have shown that too much homocysteine in the blood (plasma) is related to a higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.

Other evidence suggests that homocysteine may have an effect on atherosclerosis by damaging the inner lining of arteries and promoting blood clots. However, a direct causal link hasn’t been established.

Plasma homocysteine levels are strongly influenced by diet, as well as by genetic factors. The dietary components with the greatest effects are folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. Folic acid and other B vitamins help break down homocysteine in the body. Several studies have found that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related, at least partly, to lower concentrations of homocysteine. Other recent evidence shows that low blood levels of folic acid are linked with a higher risk of fatal coronary heart disease and stroke.

Several clinical trials are under way to test whether lowering homocysteine will reduce CHD risk. Recent data show that the institution of folate fortification of foods has reduced the average level of homocysteine in the U.S. population.

Recent findings suggest that laboratory testing for plasma homocysteine levels can improve the assessment of risk. It may be particularly useful in patients with a personal or family history of cardiovascular disease, but in whom the well-established risk factors (smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure) do not exist.

Although evidence for the benefit of lowering homocysteine levels is lacking, patients at high risk should be strongly advised to be sure to get enough folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 in their diet. Foods high in folic acid include green, leafy vegetables and grain products fortified with folic acid. But this is just one risk factor. A physician taking any type of nutritional approach to reducing risk should consider a person's overall risk factor profile and total diet.

Info Source: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=535

PREVENTING DEMENTIA (How to prevent Dementia) from Mind Your Body

Note: The labels of this posting was updated on 2013-05-31 because I just added some info on homocysteine in HL123 bog.

The following is from a report by GERALDINE LING in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 18 February 2010, Thursday.


PREVENTING DEMENTIA
The prospect of contracting dementia as we age is depressing. However, there are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of this cognitive disorder, said Dr Irwin Chung, director of medical services at the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital.

Reduce alcohol intake

Large amounts of alcoholic drinks appear to increase the risk of dementia. Although studies have shown that moderate amounts - one drink a day for women and two for men - have a protective effect, alcohol abuse ups your risk of developing the disease.

Maintain a healthy blood pressure level

Blood pressure that is too high or too low can put you at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia.

Reduce cholesterol

High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or 'bad' cholesterol, can significantly increase your risk of developing vascular dementia.

Do not smoke

Smoking is likely to increase your risk of developing dementia because it puts you at a higher risk of atherosclerosis and other types of vascular diseases.

Develop interests or hobbies

Developing and staying involved in activities can help both mind and body to stay healthy.

Engage in physical activityReduce homocysteine blood levels

Elevated blood levels of homocysteine - a type of amino acid produced by your body - may increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.

Your body typically breaks down homocysteine using vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid.
If this is not happening, you may not be metabolising these vitamins well or lacking them in your diet.

Blood tests can determine whether you have elevated homocysteine levels.

Several studies have associated exercise, like walking, with better brain function.

Multi grains (10 grains) in picture

Quick Guide to Healthy Living by healthfinder.gov

Info source: http://www.healthfinder.gov/prevention/

Welcome to the Quick Guide to Healthy Living. Find information and tools to help you and those you care about stay healthy.

Choose a topic area below to get started.

Nutrition and FitnessGet nutrition and fitness tips for the whole family.

HIV and STDsProtect yourself from HIV and other STDs.

Important Screening TestsFind out which screening tests you need.

Cancer Screening and PreventionWorried about cancer? Get answers.

PregnancyGet tips for a healthy pregnancy.

Everyday Health and WellnessAre you doing enough to stay healthy?

For ParentsHelp your kids grow up healthy.

DiabetesDo you have diabetes or pre-diabetes?

Heart HealthDo you have heart disease? Are you at risk?

For WomenHealth tips for women.

Public Health and SafetyHelp keep your family and community safe.

For Older AdultsHealth tips for older adults.

What is financial health?

Financial health is a description of the state of a person or company's finances.

Someone with good financial health usually deals well with their finances, makes their payments on time, and knows how to manage their money.

Someone in poor financial health usually owes a lot of money and isn't making their payments on time.

Info Source: http://www.investorwords.com/6812/financial_health.html

What is Social health?

Part 1

Social health refers to how well you get along with others.

When you are socially healthy, you have loving relationships, respect the rights of others, and give and accept help.

Building healthy relationships with family members, making and keeping friends, and communicating your needs to others are all important for social health.

Info Source:
http://www.mchschool.org/academics/departments/hs/health9/social.htm#What%20is%20Social%20Health?%20Unit%20Description

Part 2 (by IAN MCDOWELL)

The social health of individuals refers to "that dimension of an individual's well-being that concerns how he gets along with other people, how other people react to him, and how he interacts with social institutions and societal mores" (Russell 1973, p. 75).

This definition is broad—it incorporates elements of personality and social skills, reflects social norms, and bears a close relationship to concepts such as "well-being," "adjustment," and "social functioning."

Formal consideration of social health was stimulated in 1947 by its inclusion in the World Health Organization's definition of health, and by the resulting emphasis on treating patients as social beings who live in a complex social context. Social health has also become relevant with the increasing evidence that those who are well integrated into their communities tend to live longer
and recover faster from disease. Conversely, social isolation has been shown to be a risk factor for illness. Hence, social health may be defined in terms of social adjustment and social support—or the ability to perform normal roles in society.

For more info, please visit http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/social-health

Types of health in human life

On 2020-02-15, Monday (11.01 am), I suddenly thought of the types of “health” we talk about in life. I would like to explore on this topic.

Types of health:

1. Physical health
2. Mental Health
3. Spiritual health
4. Financial Health
5. Environmental Health
6. Public Health
7. Personal health
8. Any more ??? Please tell me

You may visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health

I would continue to update this post. Please come back again.

What is Healthy Living? (by the Government of Manitoba, Canada)

On 2010-02-15(1025 am) I came across this web apge:

http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyliving/whatis.html on " What is Healthy Living?"

Healthy Living is about making healthy choices every day; healthy choices that keep us fit physically, mentally and spiritually. Eating well, being physically active and not smoking are three of the best things we can do to stay healthy. By staying healthy we can help prevent chronic diseases and reduce our risk of becoming ill or seriously injured.

Many factors affect the health of Manitobans such as family history, gender, culture, education, employment, income, the environment, our coping skills and social support networks. As individuals and groups, there are many things we can do to positively influence our physical, mental, social and spiritual health and well-being.

Living healthier is a personal choice, but everyone has a role to play. Individuals, families, communities, governments and other organizations can work together to create environments and conditions that support healthy living. Some examples include creating smoke-free public spaces, making nutritious foods easily accessible or developing communities and buildings that promote physical activity.

Need more ideas? Check out Manitoba’s Healthy Living Guide. This new guide offers simple tips, strategies and guidelines for eating healthier and living better.

To get your free guide, download a copy here or call us at 1-866-MANITOBA (1-866-626-4862).

We hope this website will be helpful and provide you with practical information on a variety of healthy living topics. Read on, enjoy, and see if there are some changes you and your family can start making today.

Raw brown rice & vegetable diet (Written by Dr. Mitsuo Koda , 甲田光雄博士)

On 2010-02-14, Sunday, I came across the following article on the internet

Info Source: http://www.geocities.jp/natural_life_nomori/page127.html

Raw brown rice & vegetable diet
Genmai-nama-saisyoku

玄米生菜食

Why raw vegetables?
Both cooked and raw vegetables have benefits but when we think about the prevention and treatment of disease, raw vegetables are far more effective. It's very important to eat plants food raw although scientists haven't solved the reason yet.

Most of us believe that food gets more digestible when it's heated or cooked but, in fact, the body isn't happy with it. Our ancestors lived on raw food over 30 - 40 million years.

Why raw brown rice?
Cutting down carbohydrates a lot is not a good idea because they are essential for the body. There is a food which contains carbohydrate but does not increase glucose. It is raw brown rice. It never heightens a blood-sugar level suddenly.

The best way is to eat sprouted raw brown rice but raw brown rice is good enough.

Vegetables
Some nutritionists recommend eating lots more vegetables and less meat, but nevertheless most people still believe it's necessary to eat meat and continue to do so. By continuing to eat a certain amount of meat, we can't get the full benefit of vegetables just by eating more of them and hope that will make up for the bad effects of meat.

It's enough to eat 250 - 500g of vegetables per day.

How to make raw vegetable juice
Put at least five kinds of vegetables (preferably organic) into a juicer: cabbage, parsley, spinach, chard, radish and carrot etc. plus seasonal vegetables. No celery and cucumber. The ideal green vegetable juice consists of the same quantity of leaf vegetable and root vegetable. Adding an apple is optional. Don't add water.
Drink 180 ml twice a day. If you don't have time to make, use vegetable powder or tinned green or carrot juice.

Certain enzymes in carrots destroy other vegetables' vitamin C, so first make carrot juice and add a few drop of lemon juice or rice vinegar and then green vegetables, or make carrot juice separately.

Fruit
Fruit, like vegetables, contains vitamins, minerals and fibre, but also fruit sugar. Fruit has become much sweeter recently than it was in the old days so be careful. An apple or two mandarin oranges per day is enough but if you don't eat sweets, it's all right to eat more.

Water
Drink unboiled water when the stomach is empty. Drink less during a meal and during the following three hours. Drink 1.5 - 2 litres per day. Instead of breakfast, 500-600 ml of water in the morning is good. Don't count tea, coffee, beer etc as water. Tap water is OK but filter it to remove chlorine. Cold water, under 5 degrees C, is bad for the kidneys.

The secret for health and longevity is to be a small eater.

Essence of diet
The most important thing for a healthy diet is how to cut down on food. The smaller eater we become, the more important it is to eat high quality food.

We can live on much less calories
When you have big meals, you may need to exercise a lot and do keep fit. However the bigger the meals you have, the weaker your stomach and intestines become because of a big load. We can live on far less calories, nevertheless we eat more than we need so we become ill.

Overeating easily
We prefer to be told to eat certain foods for health because of our appetite and find it easier to follow, rather than to be limited, therefore we overeat easily.

Small eating comes from your love and mercy

Plants, fish and animals are living. Life is equal. Even eating vegetables, we're taking life. But animals, especially a mammal, are closer species to human so if we have compassion, we can't kill and eat them. It's cruel.

Eating meat doesn't make you healthy. It's a good idea to become a vegan and destroy life as little as possible. But it doesn't mean you can eat as much vegan food as you want. We are living by taking others' life. When we apply love and mercy to a diet, we become small eating vegans.

More than 800 million people are starving in the world. If we reduce by half the consumption of meat, it could be solved. It's essential to eat less animal products than you usually do for all to be happy.


Small eater & raw vegan
Passage from
食べ方問答―小食のすすめ
(tabekata-mondo. Syousyoku-no-susume; FAQ about diet - becoming a small eater)
Written by Dr. Mitsuo Koda, Sunplaza Nakano /2004

The joy of having big stools again in my bowel movement on 2010-02-14

From 2010-02-06 till 2010-02-13, my stools were either very small or small or medium in size in my daily bowel movements although I have had at least one multi grain rice and a smoothie and about 1.5 litres of water everyday.

Today at about 11.15 am, I got two long and big stools in banana shape when I carried my bowel movement.

It really a joyful occasion much to my relief.

It also shows that our human body is unpredictable but we need to persevere in having a proper and healthy diet.

The differences between "Caloric Restriction with Adquate Nutrition (CARN)" and Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition (CRON)

I came across an article titled "Caloric Restriction with Adquate Nutrition -- An Overview" by Ben Best at http://www.benbest.com/calories/cran95.html.

It will interesting to find out the differences between "Caloric Restriction with Adquate Nutrition (CARN)" and Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition (CRON).

Articles about Caloric (Calorie) Restriction with Adequate Nutrution (CRAN) by Ben Best:

Caloric Restriction with Adequate Nutrition -- Overview (1995)

My Practice of Caloric Restriction with Adequate Nutrition (1998)

Weight Loss for CRAN

Review of "Caloric Restriction and Aging"

Is there a Late Life benefit with Caloric Restriction

Nuts & Bolts of a CRAN Diet -- October 1996

Nuts & Bolts of a CRAN Diet -- November 1996

Hemorrhoids and CRAN

Aspartame for a CRAN diet?

Info Source: http://www.benbest.com/calories/calories.html

This website includes the following message of Beb Best:

"For about 2-and-a-half years I was a frequent contributer to the CR SOCIETY (Caloric Restriction Society) Mailing List. Many of my writings on the subject of CRAN are archived there, so you might want to browse my own writings as well as those of others practicing (or interested in) Caloric Restriction (with Adequate Nutrition, usually).

In October 1997, with 26 Charter Subscribers, I started my own ListServer devoted to the subject of CRAN. Monthly archives of postings to the CRAN list are available on another directory of this website up to May 1998, when I discontinued. "

Anti-aging Research/Recommendations (by qualitycounts.com/ )

I came across the following website today (2010-2-13). This site may be useful to you.

Name: Anti-aging Research/Recommendations

Website: http://qualitycounts.com/

The intoductory message of the site is

"Welcome to the Quality Counts. For those health conscious consumers and medical professionals that are looking to purchase nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbs, learning about medications, losing weight, health food, low carbs, high protein nutrition, and exercise, you have come to the right place.

Quality Counts serves both the medical practitioner and consumer interested in nutritional therapy and alternative medicine.
Anti-aging Research/Recommendations"

Please visit the website for detailed information.

Calorie Restriction (CR) News & Research (From http://qualitycounts.com)

Info Source: http://qualitycounts.com/fpcalorie.html

Fasting and Calorie Restriction - Life Extension Foundation

Overweight Older People Live Longer - WebMD, 1/28/10 - "people who met the criteria for being overweight were 17% less likely to die compared to people of normal weight ... In the newly reported research, overweight study participants in their 70s followed for up to 10 years had a 13% lower risk of death than participants classified as normal weight ... Obese and normal-weight study participants had a similar risk of death over the 10 years of follow-up. Underweight study participants had the highest risk of death, even after the researchers adjusted for the wasting effects of disease"

Calorie restriction: Scientists take important step toward 'fountain of youth' - Science Daily, 12/26/09 - "They found that the normal cells lived longer, and many of the precancerous cells died, when given less glucose. Gene activity was also measured under these same conditions. The reduced glucose caused normal cells to have a higher activity of the gene that dictates the level of telomerase, an enzyme that extends their lifespan and lower activity of a gene (p16) that slows their growth. Epigenetic effects (effects not due to gene mutations) were found to be a major cause in changing the activity of these genes as they reacted to decreased glucose levels" - See my Insulin and Aging page. Insulin controls glucose levels. Insulin resistance causes high glucose.

Scientists find molecular trigger that helps prevent aging and disease - Science Daily, 11/18/09 - "diabetes reduces activation of CBP, leading Dr. Mobbs to conclude that a high-calorie diet that leads to diabetes would have the opposite effect of dietary restriction and would accelerate aging"
Click here of a 10/5/09 news clip (I put it on YouTube) that claims that metformin may provide the same anti-aging benefits as calorie restriction (you won't need to look like a POW). Metformin is another one I take for anti-aging. In addition to the calorie restriction type benefits, see my Insulin and Aging page.

The Way You Eat May Affect Your Risk For Breast Cancer - Science Daily, 8/4/09
Reduced Diet Thwarts Aging, Disease In Monkeys - Science Daily, 7/9/09 - "We observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival ... The incidence of cancerous tumors and cardiovascular disease in animals on a restricted diet was less than half that seen in animals permitted to eat freely. Remarkably, while diabetes or impaired glucose regulation is common in monkeys that can eat all they want, it has yet to be observed in any animal on a restricted diet" Makes you wonder why the next is true:

Study: Overweight People Live Longer - WebMD, 6/25/09 - "There is more evidence that people who are overweight tend to live longer than people who are underweight, normal weight, or obese ... Those classified as underweight were 73% more likely to die ... Those classified as extremely obese with BMI of 35 or greater were 36% more likely to die ... Those classified as obese with BMI 30-34.9 had about the same risk of death ... Those classified as overweight with BMI 25-29.9 were 17% less likely to die"

Glucose-To-Glycerol Conversion In Long-lived Yeast Provides Anti-aging Effects - Science Daily, 5/13/09

Calorie Restriction Causes Temporal Changes In Liver Metabolism - Science Daily, 5/4/09

Not So Sweet: Over-consumption Of Sugar Linked To Aging - Science Daily, 3/9/09 - "We know that lifespan can be extended in animals by restricting calories such as sugar intake ...it's not sugar itself that is important in this process but the ability of cells to sense its presence ... the lifespan of yeast cells increased when glucose was decreased from their diet. They then asked whether the increase in lifespan was due to cells decreasing their ability to produce energy or to the decrease in signal to the cells by the glucose sensor ... cells unable to consume glucose as energy source are still sensitive to the pro-aging effects of glucose. Conversely, obliterating the sensor that measures the levels of glucose significantly increased lifespan"

Slowing Aging: Anti-aging Pathway Enhances Cell Stress Response - Science Daily, 2/19/09 - "The researchers discovered a new molecular relationship critical to keeping cells healthy across a long span of time: a protein called SIRT1, important for caloric restriction and lifespan and activated by resveratrol, regulates heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), keeping it active. HSF1 in turn senses the presence of damaged proteins in the cell and elevates the expression of molecular chaperones to keep a cell's proteins in a folded, functional state. Regulation of this pathway has a direct beneficial effect to cells ... decrease in SIRT1 may help explain why protein misfolding diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and adult-onset diabetes, are diseases of aging" - See Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb .

Fewer Calories, Better Memory? - WebMD, 1/26/09 - "older men and women who follow a restricted-calorie diet score better on verbal memory tests than those who do not make such diet changes"

Eating Less May Not Extend Human Life: Caloric Restriction May Benefit Only Obese Mice - Science Daily, 1/26/09 - "For lean mice – and possibly for lean humans, the authors of a new study predict – the anti-aging strategy known as caloric restriction may be a pointless, frustrating and even dangerous exercise ... Today there are a lot of very healthy people who look like skeletons because they bought into this ... Contrary to what is widely believed, caloric restriction does not extend (the) life span of all strains of mice ... caloric restriction begun in older mice – both in DBA and leaner C57 individuals – actually shortened life span"

Both Major Theories About Human Cellular Aging Supported By New Research - Science Daily, 12/30/08 - "old age is the final stage of a developmental program AND the result of a lifelong accumulation of unrepaired cellular and molecular damage ... When fatty acids build up, yeast cells explode from within, scattering their contents and spreading inflammation to neighboring cells ... In addition to cell death, the accumulation of fatty acids sets off chemical reactions that ultimately produce a lipid called diacylglycerol, which impairs many of the yeast's stress response-related defenses ... Low-calorie diets, which have been shown to increase lifespan and delay age-related disorders in nonhuman primates and other organisms, altered the way fats were processed in the yeast cells"

Why Starving Cells Prolong Life - Science Daily, 10/13/08

Differences Between People And Animals On Calorie Restriction - Science Daily, 9/24/08 - "In the majority of the animal models of longevity, extended lifespan involves pathways related to a growth factor called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is produced primarily in the liver. Production is stimulated by growth hormone and can be reduced by fasting or by insensitivity to growth hormone. In calorie-restricted animals, levels of circulating IGF-1 decline between 30 percent and 40 percent ... For years, we have been following a cohort of people from the CR Society who have been on long-term calorie restriction. We found no difference in IGF-1 levels between people on calorie restriction and those who are not ... The CR Society members, who call themselves CRONies (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition), had been on a calorie-restriction diet for an average of seven years when Fontana did the measurements, but their IGF-1 levels were virtually identical to sedentary people who ate a standard, Western diet ... there are two major influences on IGF-1 levels: calorie intake and protein intake ... His team has been following a population of strict vegans for several years. They tend to eat less protein than the CRONies from the CR Society, so he compared IGF-1 levels between the two groups ... The vegans had significantly less circulating IGF-1 ... The strict vegans took in about 10 percent of their total calories from protein, whereas those on calorie restriction tended to get about 23 or 24 percent of calories from protein ... If our research is on the right track, maybe humans don't need to be so calorie restricted. Limiting protein intake to .7 or .8 grams per kilogram per day might be more effective"

Cutting Calories Could Limit Muscle Wasting In Later Years - Science Daily, 9/16/08 - "The researchers found increasing amounts of iron in the muscle cells of aging rats fed a typical unrestricted diet. The older the rats got, the more iron accumulated in the mitochondria and the more damage was done to its RNA and DNA. Rats of the same ages that were kept on a calorie-restricted diet — about 60 percent of the food typically ingested — seemed to maintain more normal iron levels in mitochondria"

Looking For The Fountain Of Youth? Cut Your Calories, Research Suggests - Science Daily, 7/3/08 - "While scientists do not know how calorie restriction affects the aging process in rodents, one popular hypothesis is that it slows aging by decreasing a thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging" - All the studies I've read seem to support the opposite:

Longer-lived Rodents Have Lower Levels Of Thyroid Hormone - Science Daily, 10/12/06 - "T4 levels varied significantly between all of the groups, with the shorter-lived groups having higher levels of T4 than longer-lived groups ... However, because T3, levels did not differ significantly among all the groups, further research in this area using larger sample sizes (numbers of rodents in each group) is needed"

ACUTE EFFECTS OF TRIIODOTHYRONINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE AND LOW-T3 SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan 2 - "Low-triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome is a predictor of poor outcome in patients with cardiac dysfunction ... dilated cardiomyopathy (DC) ... In DC patients, short-term synthetic L-T3 replacement therapy significantly improved neuroendocrine profile and ventricular performance"

Low triiodothyronine: a strong predictor of outcome in acute stroke patients - Eur J Clin Invest. 2007 Aug;37(8):651-7 - "The 1-year mortality was 27.34% for low T3 and 19.37% for normal T3 cases (P = 0.006). A smaller percentage of patients with low T3 values were independent at 1 year compared to those with normal T3 values [54.2% vs. 68.7%, chi(2) = 12.09, P < 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 0.53"
Natural killer activity and thyroid hormone levels in young and elderly persons - Gerontology 2001 Sep-Oct;47(5):282-8 - "Decreased serum concentrations of total T(3) may contribute to low NK activity in the 'almost healthy' subgroup of the elderly"

Does low tri-iodothyronine independently predict mortality in elderly hospitalised patients? - Int J Clin Pract 2001 Jul-Aug;55(6):409-10 - "Our study shows an association of low serum T3 with patient mortality in elderly hospitalised patients"

Substance In Red Wine, Resveratrol, Found To Keep Hearts Young - Science Daily, 6/4/08 - "Resveratrol is active in much lower doses than previously thought and mimics a significant fraction of the profile of caloric restriction at the gene expression level ... In animals on a restricted diet, 90 percent of those heart genes experienced altered gene expression profiles, while low doses of resveratrol thwarted age-related change in 92 percent. The new findings, say the study's authors, were associated with prevention of the decline in heart function associated with aging" - See Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb .

Low-dose resveratrol may slow ageing: for mice at least - Nutra USA, 6/4/08 - "animals in the calorie-restriction and low-dose resveratrol groups had altered gene expression profiles in 90 and 92 per cent, respectively, in the heart ... In short, a glass of wine or food or supplements that contain even small doses of resveratrol are likely to represent "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac ageing,"" - See Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb .

Red wine may protect heart from aging’s toll - MSNBC. 6/3/08 - "Resveratrol at low doses can retard some aspects of the aging process, including heart aging, and it may do so by mimicking some of the effects of caloric restriction, which is known to retard aging in several tissues and extend life span" - See resveratrol products at iHerb .

When It Comes To Living Longer, It's Better To Go Hungry Than Go Running, Mouse Study Suggests - Science Daily, 5/14/08 - "at least two studies which examined people who engage in high-volume exercise versus people who restricted their calorie intake, had a similar outcome: caloric restriction has physiological benefits that exercise alone does not ... One theory is that exercise places stress on the body, which can result in damage to the tissues and DNA. Another theory is that caloric restriction leads to physiological changes which benefit the body" - I still think it boils down to the ravages of higher insulin and blood sugar which increase advanced glycation end products a major cause of aging.

How Dietary Restriction Slows Down Aging - Science Daily, 4/17/08

Severely restricting calories could lead to longer life - Nutra USA, 10/30/07

Severely Restricted Diet Linked To Physical Fitness Into Old Age - Science Daily, 10/25/07

Eat Less To Live Longer: Calorie Restriction Linked To Long Healthy Lives - Science Daily, 9/20/07

Dietary Restriction Cleans Cells - Science Daily, 8/23/07

Eat Less, Live Longer? Gene Links Calorie Restriction To Longevity - Science Daily, 5/2/07

Dogs Lived 1.8 Years Longer On Low Calorie Diet: Gut Flora May Explain It - Science Daily, 4/19/07

How Eating Less Might Make You Live Longer - Science Daily, 3/5/07 - "even short-term caloric restriction can produce beneficial physiological changes leading to improved health. Whether caloric restriction and the associated health benefits can be sustained over longer term remains to be established in humans"

Body Composition May Be Key Player In Controlling Cancer Risks - Science Daily, 1/3/07 - "This study suggests that body composition, being lean as opposed to being obese, has a greater protective effect against cancer"

Weight Loss From Calorie Restriction Decreases BMD in Older Adults - Medscape, 12/13/06 - "weight loss from calorie restriction produced significant decreases in bone-mineral density (BMD) in older adults"

One for the Ages: A Prescription That May Extend Life - New York Times, 10/31/06 - "One leading candidate, a newly synthesized form of resveratrol — an antioxidant present in large amounts in red wine — is already being tested in patients. It may eventually be the first of a new class of anti-aging drugs. Extrapolating from recent animal findings, Dr. Richard A. Miller, a pathologist at the University of Michigan, estimated that a pill mimicking the effects of calorie restriction might increase human life span to about 112 healthy years ... Some researchers have even described Type 2 diabetes, which is marked by insensitivity to the hormone insulin, as simply an accelerated form of aging"

Calorie Restriction without Hunger! - Life Extension Magazine, 7/06 - "excess insulin functions as a death hormone that devastates virtually every cell and organ system in the body"

Calorie Restriction May Prevent Alzheimer's Through Promotion Of Longevity Program In The Brain - Science Daily, 6/14/06 - "a high caloric intake based on saturated fat promotes AD type beta-amyloidosis, while caloric restriction based on reduced carbohydrate intake is able to prevent it"

Metabolic Benefits of Calorie Restriction - Medscape, 6/12/06 - "A total of 48 overweight but otherwise healthy adults (body-mass index, 25-30 kg/m2; mean age, 38) were assigned to one of four groups: weight maintenance, 25% calorie restriction, 12.5% calorie restriction plus exercise, or very low calorie intake (890 calories daily until weight was reduced by 15%) ... At 6 months, all three intervention groups showed significant weight loss (10%-14% of baseline weight), as well as significant reductions in fasting insulin levels and DNA damage"
Calorie Restriction Appears Better Than Exercise At Slowing Primary Aging - Science Daily, 5/31/06 - "Sedentary rats who ate a standard diet had the shortest average life-spans," Holloszy says. "Those who exercised by running on a wheel lived longer, but animals on calorie restriction lived even longer"

Trim Calories for Healthier Aging? - WebMD, 5/10/06

Cutting Calories Slightly Can Reduce Aging Damage - Science Daily, 5/8/06 - "feeding rats just 8 percent fewer calories a day and moderately increasing the animals' activity extended their average lifespan and significantly overturned the negative effects of cellular aging on liver function and overall health ... the study results support the theory that cell death and aging-related organ damage are caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals and by cellular oxidation and inflammation"

Big Study Looks at Longevity-Low Calorie Link - Intelihealth, 4/26/06
Thinner And Younger - Science Daily, 4/5/06

Calorie Restriction May Improve Biomarkers of Longevity - Medscape, 4/4/06

Cut Calories, Boost Longevity? - WebMD, 4/4/06 - "By the study's end, fasting insulin and DNA damage had dropped for all participants whose calories had been limited, but not for the comparison group"

Starve Yourself to Live Longer? - ABC News, 4/4/06 - "the decreased body temperature and insulin levels are particularly important in this study because they are good indicators of increased longevity and are often referred to as the biomarkers of longevity"

Low-Cal Diet May Slow Heart's Aging - WebMD, 1/17/06

Caloric Restriction Appears to Prevent Primary Aging in the Heart - Doctor's Guide, 1/12/06 - "This decline in diastolic function is a marker of primary aging ... Diastolic function declines in most people as they get older, but in this study we found that diastolic function in calorie-restricted people resembled diastolic function in individuals about 15 years younger ... Our hypothesis is that low-grade, chronic inflammation is mediating primary aging"

Researchers Find Pathways Linking Caloric Restriction To Aging Process - Science Daily, 11/18/05

Bare-minimum diet: Is long life the payoff? - USA Today, 10/23/05 - "very low-calorie diet seems to shield these animals from type 2 diabetes, a common disease of old age ... The average blood pressure for people on the diet was 100/60 — about what is expected for an average 10-year-old ... mice on the diet, which provides food at near-starvation levels, appear cranky. "If you take the lid off the cage, they immediately bite you,""

How Cutting Calories May Increase Longevity - WebMD, 10/13/05 - "mice that were fed 30% to 40% fewer calories produced more nitric oxide than those who followed an unrestricted diet"

Extremely Low-Calorie Diet Won't Extend Life - WebMD, 8/30/05

Caloric Restriction Won't Dramatically Extend Life Span In Humans: UCLA Research - Science Daily, 8/30/05

Eat less for a healthier life - MSNBC, 5/6/05 - "Laboratory studies show that calorie restriction can lead to fewer and smaller breast cancers. It also appears to inhibit all cancers by slowing down the development of cancer cells, increasing their self-destruction and reducing DNA damage"

Do Carbs, Calories Affect Alzheimer's Risk? - WebMD, 1/13/05 - "mice eating fewer calories and carbohydrates than those allowed to eat all they wanted showed no signs of Alzheimer's-like disease, even though they had been bred to have the condition"

Riverside Professor Receives First Age-Reversal Prize - Science Daily, 1/7/05 - "According to Spindler's research, the fewer calories an animal consumes - provided malnutrition is avoided - the slower an animal ages and the lower the death rate from cancer, heart disease and diabetes"

Caloric Restriction and Life Expectancy - Medscape, 12/22/04

Cutting Calories May Cut Parkinson's Risk - Doctor's Guide, 13/13/04

Save Up Your Energy Reserves For A Longer Life! - Science Daily, 12/10/04

Calorie Restriction Lowers Heart Risk - WebMD, 4/19/04

Calorie Restriction Prolongs Life, Even Late - WebMD, 3/23/04

Study: Low-Calorie Diet Extends Life - Intelihealth, 3/23/04

Restricting calories may increase life span - MSNBC, 3/22/04 - "a strict, low-calorie diet increased the life span of aged mice by more than 40 percent ... the new research shows that even 19-month-old mice, about the human equivalent of 60 to 65 years, can have a longer life when eating fewer calories"

Restrict Calories, Live Longer? - WebMD, 12/31/03

Eat Less to Live Longer? - Dr. Weil, 12/29/03

Fasting Benefits Glucose Metabolism, Nerve Cells - Physician's Weekly, 7/28/03 - "skipping meals frequently can help mice maintain healthier glucose and insulin levels ... when mice were given a neurotoxin mimicking the effects of Alzheimer's in humans, the subjects on the intermittent fasting diet were more resistant to nerve damage or death than mice with unlimited or reduced calorie diets ... mice on the fasting regimen were more likely to produce the protein BDNF, which protects the growth and health of nerve cells"

BioMarker Pharmaceuticals Develops Anti-Aging Therapy - Life Extension Magazine, 6/03 - "The BioMarker scientists found that all the glucoregulatory agents reproduced some of the gene expression effects of CR [calorie restriction], but that metformin was the undisputed star of the group, being twice as effective as the others in reproducing the effects of CR"

Skipping Meals Keeps Rodents Healthy - WebMD, 4/28/03

Survival to 90 Years Linked to Low Weight in Young Adulthood and Exercise - Doctor's Guide, 4/8/03 - "baseline height and weight were not associated with mortality. However, a higher weight at age 21 was associated with increased odds of dying before reaching 90 years (OR=1.04 per 5 lb increase, P 0.0001). Those who exercised were 24-31% less likely to die by the age of 90 (OR=0.76, P 0.0001 for less than 1 hour per day, OR=0.69, P 0.0001 for 1 hour or more per day). Similarly, being in the mid tertile of BMI at baseline (22-24 for men, 20-23 for women) was associated with decreased odds of dying before age 90 (OR=0.70, P 0.0001)"

Cut the Calories, Save Your Brain? - WebMD, 1/10/03

Low-Cal Diet Keeps Heart Young - WebMD, 10/29/02

Some Non-Original Thoughts on Diet, Health, and Longevity - University of Colorado

Low-Calorie Diet Keeps Muscles Toned - WebMD, 4/29/02

Moderate Calorie Cutbacks Fight Cancer - WebMD, 4/24/02

Study: Lean diet may mean long life - CNN, 9/3/01 - "It's never too late to cut back on the calories to prolong life, even in your later years ... mice they put on a low-calorie regimen -- even creatures put on the diet for a short period -- exhibited characteristics of slowed aging ... Restricting calories reversed the changes in several genes that were altered in aging animals"

Eat less, and better, to live to 120? - CNN, 9/12/00

Calorie Restriction Appears Better Than Exercise At Slowing Primary Aging (from www.sciencedaily.com)

Infor Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060531164818.htm

ScienceDaily (May 31, 2006) — The researchers also found that calorie restriction (CR) decreases the circulating concentration of a powerful inflammatory molecule called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). They say the combination of lower T3 levels and reduced inflammation may slow the aging process by reducing the body's metabolic rate as well as oxidative damage to cells and tissues.

concentration of a powerful inflammatory molecule called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). They say the combination of lower T3 levels and reduced inflammation may slow the aging process by reducing the body's metabolic rate as well as oxidative damage to cells and tissues.
Previous research on mice and rats has shown that both calorie restriction and endurance exercise protect them against many chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. However, the research has shown that only CR increases the animals' maximum lifespan by up to 50 percent. These animal studies suggest that leanness is a key factor in the prevention of age-associated disease, but reducing caloric intake is needed to slow down aging.

For the new study, researchers examined 28 members of the Calorie Restriction Society who had been eating a CR diet for an average of six years. Although the CR group consumed fewer calories -- averaging only about 1,800 per day -- they consumed at least 100 percent of the recommended daily amounts of protein and micronutrients. A second group of 28 study subjects was sedentary, and they ate a standard Western diet. A third group in the study ate a standard Western diet -- approximately 2,700 calories per day -- but also did endurance training. The researchers found reduced T3 levels -- similar to those seen in animals whose rate of aging is reduced by CR -- only in the people on CR diets.

But their serum concentrations of two other hormones -- thyroxin (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) -- were normal, indicating that those on CR were not suffering from the thyroid disease of clinical hypothyroidism. The findings are published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Interestingly, body fat levels did not affect serum T3 concentrations. The people in the CR group and the endurance athletes had similar amounts and composition of body fat. But although the CR group had lower T3 levels, the exercise group had T3 levels closer to those seen in the sedentary people who ate a standard Western diet.

"The difference in T3 levels between the CR group and the exercise group is exciting because it suggests that CR has some specific anti-aging effects that are due to lower energy intake, rather than to leanness," says first author Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. "These findings suggest that although exercise helps prevent problems that can cut life short -- such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- only CR appears also to have an impact on primary aging."

Primary aging determines maximal length of life. Secondary aging, on the other hand, refers to diseases that can keep a person or an animal from reaching that expected lifespan. Eliminating factors related to secondary aging allows more people to reach their projected length of life. By slowing primary aging, CR may increase maximal lifespan.

In a related study in 1997, co-investigator John O. Holloszy, M.D., professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, reported in the Journal of Applied Physiology that in rats, CR extended life longer than exercise.

"Sedentary rats who ate a standard diet had the shortest average life-spans," Holloszy says. "Those who exercised by running on a wheel lived longer, but animals on calorie restriction lived even longer."

Earlier this year, Fontana's group reported that CR seemed to prevent or delay primary aging in the heart. Ultrasound examinations showed that the hearts of people on calorie restriction were more elastic than those of age- and gender-matched control subjects. Their hearts were able to relax between beats in a way similar to the hearts of younger people.

This latest study targeted another marker of primary aging. The thyroid gland produces critical hormones that play an indispensable role in cell growth and development as well as in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. T4 is the main product secreted by the cells of the thyroid gland, but most actions of thyroid hormone are initiated by T3. Fontana says T3 controls body temperature, cellular metabolism and to some extent, it also appears to be involved with production of free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage cells. All are important aspects of aging and longevity. In fact, a 2002 study in Science magazine from researchers at the National Institute on Aging observed that men with lower body temperatures tended to live longer those with higher body temperatures.

Fontana says lower levels of T3, cholesterol and the inflammatory molecules TNF and C-reactive protein, combined with evidence of "younger" hearts in people on calorie restriction, suggest that humans on CR have the same adaptive responses as did animals whose rates of aging were slowed by CR.

Holloszy and Fontana are getting ready to launch a 2-year study to look at the effects of calorie restriction. Later this year, they will begin recruiting volunteers between the ages of 25 and 45 who are willing to go on a CR diet for 24 months.

Called the Comprehensive Assessment of the Long Term effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) study, the goal is to get some clues about whether putting a normal weight person on calorie restriction will lower their levels of inflammation and their serum concentrations of T3, improve their heart function and change other markers of aging, as Fontana and Holloszy have observed in members of the Calorie Restriction Society.

"We want to learn whether calorie restriction can reverse some of these markers of aging in healthy people," Holloszy says. "It's going to be many years before we know whether calorie restriction really lengthens life, but if we can demonstrate that it changes these markers of aging, such as oxidative damage and inflammation, we'll have a pretty good idea that it's influencing aging in the same way that CR slows aging in experimental animals."

Reference: Fontana L, Keline S, Holloszy JO, Premachandra BN. Effect of long-term calorie restriction with adequate protein and micronutrients on thyroid hormones. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, first published ahead of print May 23, 2006 as doi: 10.1210/jc 2006-0328.

This research was supported by was supported by the National Institutes of Health.