Healthy Aging Who Says We Have to Fight Fair? :: Health and Disease

Healthy Aging

Eat less, exercise more, get enough sleep, and avoid stress. Even after all this advice, our arsenal against aging isn’t necessarily complete without longevity-boosting nutritional supplements.

Antioxidants

The oxidation theory of aging says that free radicals damage cells and disrupt their ability to function. Free radicals are created in the body as part of natural body processes and due to lifestyle and living factors such as smoking, pollution, diet, and sun exposure.

Antioxidants fight off free radicals that attack healthy cells and also help protect against diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Look for vitamins C and E, selenium, coenzyme Q10, as well as herbs such as turmeric (curcumin), grape seed, green tea, pine bark extracts, bilberry, and Gingko biloba. [See page 112 for more information on antioxidants.]

Colourful Protection

Carotenoids are a special family of antioxidants that provide fruits and vegetables with those lovely red, yellow, orange, and green shades, which is why nutritionists recommend a diet bountiful in colourful fresh foods.

Perhaps the best-known carotenoid is beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A and is essential for immunity and eyesight.

Lycopene is most commonly ingested in tomatoes and tomato-based products. Men, in particular, might want to take note of this prostate protector. In one study men who were given lycopene three weeks prior to prostate surgery had significantly less aggressive cancer cell growth compared to men given a placebo.

Lutein is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and collards. It’s also in our eyes and protects the retina against ultraviolet radiation. Together with bilberry, these two provide anti-aging vision support.

Bilberries contain the active constituent anthocyanosides, which assist in regenerating night vision and supporting the body’s blood flow.

Anti-Aging Vitamins

The hype about vitamin D is worth repeating. It stimulates calcium absorption thus slowing bone loss, increasing bone formation, and protecting against type 1 diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and breast and prostate cancer.

In a 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study explaining the vitamin’s longevity effect on chromosomal behaviour, people with higher vitamin D levels had a biological age of five years younger and were better protected from the deleterious effects of obesity, smoking, and lack of exercise.

Research has shown that B vitamins, particularly folate, are essential for maintaining brain function. People with low blood levels of folate are more likely to develop dementia and experience cognitive decline, according to a February 2008 study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Longevity Herbs

No article on anti-aging would be complete without mentioning garlic, which is something of a medicinal cure-all, known to prevent heart disease and raise good HDL cholesterol while lowering the bad LDL. It’s also a time-tested antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal herb.

Ginseng, meanwhile, is considered the root of longevity. By improving circulation, ginseng improves brain health, and as an adaptogen, it helps us balance our bodily functions. Feeling stressed? Reach for ginseng and don’t look back.

Source: alive #312, October 2008

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The Collagen Connection - Special Advertising Feature provided by Naka
How can we ensure that our vital collagen is plentiful and remains strong as we age to support joint and skin health?

Cancer
Cancer develops when cells in the body function abnormally and multiply uncontrollably--a process which eventually leads to tumor growth. A healthy body routinely detects and eliminates abnormal cells.

Looking, Feeling and Performing Your Best
Do you remember how you felt when you were really young? The reason everything seemed to work so well back then was because your body invested a lot of time and energy on repairs. It was as if you had a full-time mechanic on the premises.

Get Physical With Blended Drinks
Getting old does not necessarily mean getting sick. Obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure are not a function of chronological age. In fact they have more to do with lifestyle than genes--although both play a role..

Three Steps for Lifelong Health
Exercise, a whole foods diet and supplements are what you need to avoid spending your retirement in the doctor's office. They say there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes.

Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is an illness that took my whole lifetime to mature and five years to battle into submission. The symptoms and causes, like almost all so-called incurable diseases, piled up, stone upon stone, beginning to create my tombstone.

Lasting Longevity
Until recently, most people believed growing old and dying was unavoidable. However, it now appears the assumption many of us held as children, that "I will never grow old and die," was not quite as absurd as our parents thought. Different cultures have varied definitions of aging.

Age-Less Exercise
If there is an anti-aging pill, it has to be exercise--age-less exercise. Proper exercise has been shown to slow aging through reduced cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress levels, insulin levels and osteoporosis risk..

Age Arresters
Antioxidant is the magic word this century. Antioxidants trap molecules known as free radical.

Age With Vitality
There's truth in the old saw "we dig our graves with our teeth." Heart disease, stroke, many cancers, kidney disease, diabetes and other disorders emerge from the way we live. Particularly what we eat. Nature has genetically programmed humans with a potential 120 years of life, yet most succumb long before..

Age-Defying Exercise
I'm amazed by the number of people who blame genetics for developing disease and disability or for premature death. Natural health supplements can oppose the degradation of lean mass, improve response to exercise and support muscle function, growth and development.

The Browning Effect
Imagine if you will the intricate network that makes up the human body. Think of the organs and tissues, the numerous hormones, neurotransmitters, peptides and amino acid.

Anti-Cancer Antioxidants
Imagine the cells in your body turning brown just like an apple does when exposed to the oxygen in the air.

Breathe Easy, Take Antioxidants
Antioxidant supplements may improve lung damage caused by ozone, reports James M. Samet, PhD of the US Environmental Protection Agency's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab in North Carolina.

Longevity
Probably no one understands baby boomers as well as David Foo.

Aging, Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
How many times have you heard someone make a birthday toast with the wish, "Live long and prosper?" You've probably thought of this as nothing more than a good-humoured gesture.

Celebrate Life
"Life is a great adventure, or it is nothing."--Helen Keller "One of the wonderful things about being alive is that it is never too late.

Herbs for Longevity
We're all aging all the time. As we grow older, our metabolism--the body's chemical and physical changes from producing energy from food and oxygen in cells--becomes less efficient.

Successful Aging
Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century, from 47 years in 1900 to approaching 80 years today.

Anti-Aging: Immortality or Bunk?
The concept of anti-aging is cropping up all over the place. Popular books, high-profile doctors and purveyors of drugs and nutritional supplements all claim to have the inside track on anti-aging. But what does it really mean? To kick off this new column, let's take a look at what anti-aging is-and isn't..

Do You Suffer From Heart Disease?
Cardiovascular disease is the number-one preventable cause of death in Canada today. A healthy diet of whole natural foods, regular exercise and good quality sleep can go a long way to reduce the stresses on our heart, arguably the body's most important organ.

How is Your Mental Muscle?
Certain conditions also greatly accelerate this aging, while hyperten.

Diet, Exercise And Supplements Help Keep Your Heart Young
In most industrialized countries, the incidence of cardiovascular disease goes up with age. Canada is no exeption-heart disease is the number-one cause of death in this country. However, this may have more to do with lifestyle factors such as diet, inactivity and stress than with aging.

Preventing Medication Mishaps in Seniors
People are living longer than ever before. For example, a Canadian born in 1960 can expect to live 20 years longer than one who was born in 1900.

Clear Vision, Sharp Hearing: Sense the Differences
Although memory loss heads the list of concerns among aging Canadians, vision and hearing loss are far more likely to afflict us as we get older. These common changes can impair your ability to drive, read and enjoy simple pleasures.

Gut Feelings
A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori is the chief culprit in gastritis, ulcers and stomach cancer. Antioxidant nutrients can protect you.

Movement
If we could bottle the benefits of physical exercise, we would have one of the most powerful anti-aging remedies known. Physical activity rejuvenates virtually every organ in your body, adding energy to your days and years to your life.

How to Slow Cellular Aging-Fast!
Did you know your body's cells host visitors from another time and place? The mitochondria, energy-producing factories in every one of your cells, are descendants of independent, free-living organisms. Mitochondria have unique DNA, separate and distinct from cellular DNA.

The New Antioxidants: Great Protectors

Before discussing the types of antioxidants, let me first give you an overview of what antioxidants are and how they help maintain good health.

Antioxidant Nutrition
Its vital role in reducing the risks of age-related diseases Our antioxidant needs become ever greater as we ag.

Foods for Longevity
Eating a nutritious diet high in raw organic produce, whole grains, and clean water can slow the aging process and fight degenerative disease. Here we show how to combine foods to create a diet that targets the body systems most susceptible to aging and disease-reproductive, circulatory, musculo-skeletal, and digestive.

Muscle Mass Mastery
If we're not careful, by retirement, we could lose one-third to one-half of our muscle tissue. This debilitating condition, called sarcopenia, is now considered one of the top biomarkers of aging: its specific physical traits are used to measure the progress of aging.

Spring Into Your Autumn Years
People with a positive attitude toward aging can adjust very well when individual circumstances change. Their positive outlook allows them to adapt to the inevitable physical and biochemical changes of the body that are associated with the natural processes of aging. With a healthy outlook on the golden years, even unpredictable setbacks and disabilities can be managed successfully.

To Catch a Thief
Oxygen - we can't live without it as the body needs a constant supply to produce cellular energ.

Not Now, Grim Reaper ... Another Time, Perhaps
Woody Allen said, "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens.

Thanks to tremendous gains in life expectancy - at an all-time high average of 79.

Feed Your Brain

"Eat your vegetables, she commanded her 10-year-old son.

Fitness For Every Age
Perhaps the most important factor in a fitness program as we age is having enough energy to maintain an active lifestyle. Due to the wear and tear of a lifetime of not taking care of ourselves, however, we may experience an "energy crisis..

Studying the Sun
A spoonful of sunshine may be the medicine we're missing in our modern age of savvy supplements, designer diets, and winning workouts. Today's science is discovering the ancient healing powers of the life-giving sun we've been shading ourselves from.

Practice Mental Calisthenics
I asked my friend Dennis why he's so optimistic about life and physically active at age 79. He regularly walks, hikes, exercises, and swim.

Great Greens for Health, Heart, and Head
Eating an abundance of fruit and vegetables may reduce cancer incidence by up to 50 percen.

The Fountain of Youth
The fountain of youth is at our fingertips. Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, little free-radical scavengers that just may be our fountain of youth. Antioxidants exert many positive effects on the body.

Clear Vision, Sharp Hearing: Sense the Differences
Although memory loss heads the list of concerns among agingCanadians, vision and hearing loss are far more likely to afflict us as weget older.These common changes can impair your ability to drive, read and enjoy simplepleasures. Fortunately, you can do several things to preserve your eyesightand hearing..

Metabolic Aging
Everybody wants to live a long and healthy life. If you carry excess body fat on your frame, though, you may be setting yourself up for a shorter lifespan than the one you were aiming for.

Forever Young
All of us want to have longer and healthier lives, and while some of us are dealt a better hand than others in life's genetic lottery, there are many ways we can maximize the potential we are born with.

Striking out Stroke
You could call it a "brain attack. Stroke - the fourth leading cause of death in Canada - happens when the brain's oxygen supply is cut off, destroying vital nerve cells. Fifty thousand Canadians suffer from stroke each year, and about 16,000 of them die..

Bone Health
Our bones are alive and are constantly being renovated: old bone is dismantled, removed, and replaced with new bone. We continue to build bone mass until our early thirties and then our bodies simply work to retain existing bone.

Integrative Medicine
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Andrew Weil, a pioneer and world-renowned leader in the field of integrative medicine. After teaching and writing about natural and preventive medicine for over 35 years, Dr. Weil provides a unique approach to health care, which encompasses body, mind, and spirit.

Does Obesity Really Affect How We Age?
As we age, we tend to notice a loss of muscle mass, strength, bone mass, and energy potential. Meanwhile, body fat increases, skin wrinkles, mood changes occur, and immunity declines. New scientific research is shedding light on why we age and how we may be able to slow the process.

Antioxidants: Our Cancer Warriors

Free Radicals

Age Gracefully in the Garden of Eden

Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory condition that most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, although it may be present anywhere within the digestive tube. The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease can extend deep into the lining of the affected organ. Symptoms, often exacerbated by stressful conditions, include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, and nutritional deficiencies.

One Century and Counting
On August 14, alongside a room full of friends at the Azure nightclub in Vancouver, Doug McIntyre marked his centurion year with dancing, cake, and a heartfelt speech.

The Universal Antioxidant-ALA
Have you heard the buzz about alpha lipoic acid (ALA)? Once classified as a mere vitamin, this vitamin-like compound is more like a "universal antioxidant. More versatile than antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, it actually enhances the effectiveness of these and other antioxidants.

Loving Lycopene
Lycopene is a carotenoid can lower the risk of some of the most deadly cancers, including breast and prostate cancers. Lycopene can also protect your heart and eyes and can even help preserve your memory. All you need to do is consume just one serving a day. Here's how lycopene works.

We're Pregnant! Now What?
"How do I ensure a healthy pregnancy? You can have a healthy pregnancy by eating a healthy, well-balanced diet augmented with the right supplements for baby and maternal health, making sure exercise is part of your weekly routine, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Back to Basics
Building your strongest nutritional foundation begins with two basic steps: eating a balanced nutritious diet and taking a high-quality daily multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. This back-to-basics strategy has proven effective for young and old alike.

Allicin
Researchers are exploring the medicinal possibilities of garlic, especially its main constituent, allicin. Research suggests that garlic may have health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, protecting the heart and arteries, boosting immunity, increasing anti-allergy effects, and helping in cancer prevention and therapy.

Antiaging or Healthy Aging?
With the growing number of baby boomers entering their golden years, interest in antiaging is at an all-time high. Although we may not be able to stop the aging process, healthy aging can help minimize the effects of time by optimizing our health along the way.

Move It or Lose It
Aging is inevitable. It is possible, however, to curb many of the effects of aging with regular physical activity. We all want to maintain quality of life and good health as we age, and exercise is essential to maintaining good health. The less we move, the more susceptible we are to various conditions and diseases, and thus the vicious cycle of inactivity begins.

A Fine Balance
There are signs not a result of normal aging that indicate an elderly person may be experiencing problems with drugs or alcohol. Such signs can include loss of appetite, confusion, anxiety, falling, sleepiness, sadness, irritability, unexplained chronic pain, and bruises.

Supplementing the 50+
While entering the realm of seniorhood, our risk of many age-related health problems, such as macular degeneration, osteoarthritis, and mental deterioration increases. Here are several supplements that nutritional scientists are advising we include in our daily health programs to enhance the quality and quantity of our elder years.

Fill Up, Not Out

Still Smoking?

Canadians Need More Vitamin D

Low vitamin D linked to heart disease

Think About That Drink

Banned Kava Herb Update

Herbs and spices: new weapons against cancer
The next time you're preparing dinner, try using a variety of spices to flavour the meal-they just might save your life.A growing body of research indicates that many spices can help prevent cancer.

Sunshine: an immune booster

Massage miracles

Far-Infrared therapies resonate within you

Forever strong

Add longer walks to your exercise routine

Mid-life mindsavers

Realistic relationships

Hysterical medicine

Swiss Herbal
Swiss Herbal started out as a small home-based import business in the fifties, but has grown over the years to become the provider of Canada's largest selection of natural health remedies.

Exercise and Youth

Gym Safety Tip for Senior Citizens

Healthy Aging

How Do You Get to Work?

Change is Good

Move Your Mood

Active Healing

Teenage Irony

Live Leaner, Live Longer?

Poor Man's Juice Rich in Antioxidants

Chocolate Banishes the Winter Blues

Avoid the Surgeon's Knife
Lattes in hand, my friend Natalie and I were at an urban coffee bar catching up. A pretty woman in her thirties with two kids and a flashy but stressful job, Natalie confessed she felt saggy and tired and was longing to regain her youthful spark.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D doesn't get a lot of respect. Oh, sure, we need this nutrient to build strong bones. But what else has vitamin D done for us lately? Well, word has it that the sunshine vitamin is looking for a little respect.

Healthy at 100
If you're reading this magazine, you're already on a path to better health. Sometimes, by reminding ourselves of where we've come from, we realize just how much progress we've made.

Slow Down and Just Smell the Coffee
The majority of people today unwittingly exacerbate their stress response by consuming too many caffeinated beverages-especially coffee.

Fabulous Over 50
Earlier this year, the Toronto Star ran an article about the perfect baby boomer couple who lives such a well-balanced life, complete with daily urine dehydration checks, that you're awed - until you get to the end of the article and discover the kicker: the whole story's a joke.

As Young as You Feel?
Sometimes it's easy to forget I'm getting older. I look in the mirror and there I am, same as always. I mention something about my teenager and people say that they can't believe I'm old enough to be the mother of a 13-year-old.

The Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D may be one of the most important nutrients for preventing a host of diseases and improving longevity. This month's Research Watch discusses the new research about this long-overlooked vitamin and how it may be critical to long-term health.

Building a Health Reserve
Hoping to be a healthy elder? Then stock your health bank as faithfully as your financial one. Healthy aging requires preparation. This month's Research Watch discusses what you need to know to build up your health reserves for a long and healthy life.

Elder Care in Canada
The lobby at the New Vista Care Home in Burnaby, British Columbia, is alive with chatter and laughter. A comfortable lounge area invites visitors to sit, but I wait my turn by checking out the sign that spells out the home's mission.

The Sandwich Generation
When Naz Deravian became a mom for the first time, she found herself embracing her new baby girl, Luna, and her new role, with utter joy. But the 36-year-old actor was also worried about her own mom, who at the time was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Eat Well-Age Well
Getting older isn't what it used to be. Seniors are staying active well into their golden years, people are retiring later, and 60 is the new 40. The latest generation of retirees is more active and health-conscious-and living the motto "a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis affects 1.4 million Canadians and is occurring at a younger age than ever before. Why? There is some preliminary evidence that one factor may lie in diet.

Antioxidants
An antioxidant is a molecule that helps stop oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals-those molecules in the body that are unstable due to a missing electron. The free radical will try to stabilize itself by stealing an electron from one of the body's healthy cells, a process called oxidation.

Seniors on the Go
A couple of noon hours a week, George Martin can be found at a downtown Vancouver fitness class, balancing on top of a big, bright stability ball or doing multiple sets of bicep curls with heavy weights. At 78 Martin keeps up with the best of them.

Superstar Supplements

Long Live Healthy Aging
Read the news, though, and instead of a positive spin on longevity you might catch yet another tale about how the aging of the baby boomers is doing nothing but straining publicly funded services.