posted February 20, 2005 06:45 PM         

Eat Less, Live Longer
Longevity and the Role of Hunger
By: E. Douglas Kihn

According to a study published in the journal Science (August, 1999), a reduced-calorie diet can cause mice to live up to 50% longer. The two researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison said that their genetic analysis of mice showed that genes that normally deteriorate with age tended to continue functioning in a youthful way when the mice were "underfed."

Research laboratory owners have known for 60 years that reducing calories fed to laboratory animals significantly increased their life spans and overall health, thus increasing profits for the owners. Special diets, exercise, playmates--nothing works like reducing calories. What hasn't been understood is how reducing calories works. Finally, researchers have some insight into the mechanics of this phenomenon.

For mice fed the 25% calorie-restricted diet, about 84% of the genetic alterations associated with aging were completely or partially suppressed. At the molecular level, calorie-restricted mice appear to be biologically younger than animals receiving the control diet. (The control diet allows mice to eat until they cannot eat any more.) This clearly suggests that the reduction of calorie intake not only increases life span in mice, but seems to affect a broad spectrum of age-associated changes at the gene expression level.

Oxygen Radicals
Many of the genes affected by aging are those that help the body rid itself of oxygen radicals (free radicals), chemicals produced during the process of metabolizing calories in cells. Oxygen radicals are known to be damaging to DNA, the body's genetic material.

Mice fed the full-calorie diet tended to lose the benefit of these oxygen radical control genes with age. The genes continued to work vigorously, however, in mice fed the calorie-restricted diet.

To Eat or Not To Eat…
That Is the Question
Americans are obsessed with trying to figure out the "right" foods to eat. This issue was largely irrelevant in the study where longevity is concerned, as long as the animals got their normal range of food containing the vitamins and minerals they normally need. The studies indicate that fat, carbohydrate, and protein all seem irrelevant, as long as the overall calorie count is reduced.

These findings are in direct opposition to the prevailing opinion in the U.S. promoted by the food corporation, food stores, diet gurus, and nutritionists who all loudly tout their lists of "good" and "bad" foods. And of course, the problem with adhering to a list of "good" foods, besides the fact that is does not extend your life, is that you can only be good for so long. When you're sick of being good, you will be "bad." This is the essence of the diet/binge neurosis that afflicts so many people in this country.

Let's face it. If the effects of diets and low-calorie food were permanent, we'd all be skinny and healthy, and the food, diet, and medical industries would be losing trillions of dollars. Instead, the U.S. leads the world in rates of obesity, adult-onset diabetes, and childhood obesity.

Willpower, Dieting, And Fasting
Willpower does not work in the long run. There always will be ice cream, cookies, butter and hamburgers available on every street corner and in every home. You cannot make yourself stay away from these foods for the rest of your life. Sooner or later, you're going to be "bad."

Some people think they can walk around with a calculator all day and count their calories, and thereby reduce their caloric intake by some numerical percentage. It would be possible for a limited period of time, but not for 50 or 80 years; it's just not natural. That's why this scheme is doomed to failure.

Some think they can fast periodically, deny themselves food one day per week or one week per year. But I have to wonder about the free radicals piling up in the body during the other days of the week or year. It's a little like cleaning your house once per week or once per year, and living in a dirty house the rest of the time, or cleaning up as you go every day, and living in a clean house all of the time.

Hunger, Your Best Friend
What about listening to the true expert inside you: your hunger instinct? Hunger is an empty feeling in the stomach region which says, "I'm out of ready fuel. I am going to sharpen your thinking, your vision, your hearing, and lift your spirits so you can go out into nature and gather/hunt food. In the meantime, I will have to clean myself out by converting garbage into fuel." When we are truly hungry, the body is forced to utilize impacted fecal matter, fat cells, tumors and cholesterol, and convert them into fuel. This is a commonsense explanation of why decreased calories dramatically increases the life span, and fits very well with the new scientific explanation involving DNA research.

This is why the more excess weight one is carrying, the weaker the hunger feelings. When the body is overloaded, it assumes that the winter is here. During the winter there is no food available, and so there is no reason to go outside and look for it. That is why overweight people never feel true hunger.

And yet, so many Americans believe that illness and unhappiness are good reasons to eat. Tiredness, headaches, shaking, nausea, and so on are common reasons for overloading the body with food and increasing oxygen radicals. Keep in mind that for 100,000 years, we did not have food in refrigerators and restaurants and stores. Getting food meant hard work. When you are sick, you can't work hard. Animals don't eat when they are not feeling well; neither should you. But people are intentionally and unintentionally sedating their emotions with food, as well as eating for all kinds of intellectual reasons.

Hunger Awareness Training
We must learn to listen to our bodies and wait for hunger, and to stop when we are comfortable. By stopping when comfortable, a person can never gain weight, regardless of what food is eaten! When you eat a meal rich in calories, it takes a small portion to reach that "satisfied" feeling, and many hours will pass before hunger returns. Whereas when you eat a plate of vegetables, it takes a large quantity to satisfy, and hunger will return in just a few hours.

By waiting for hunger, a person can lose weight and can clean out garbage in the body, thus increasing the life span. It takes time for self-trust to build, but once achieved, its effects are permanent, because it is based on self-reliance, not willpower or self-denial. Hunger awareness always involves emotional awareness and emotional growth.

posted February 21, 2005 01:08 AM         

Funny 26, the two major things I had been thinking about recently are the two most recent articles you have posted! Love You!

And I also needed to hear this right now! I've been using my will power to cut out bad foods. But if I reduced my calories in total, I can still eat that cookie!

Good info

posted February 21, 2005 08:01 PM         

quote:

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Keep in mind that for 100,000 years, we did not have food in refrigerators and restaurants and stores. Getting food meant hard work. When you are sick, you can't work hard. Animals don't eat when they are not feeling well; neither should you. But people are intentionally and unintentionally sedating their emotions with food, as well as eating for all kinds of intellectual reasons.

---

That's so true. Food is abundant these days, and so many CHOICES, its almost insane.
How many things come in packets and tubes now?
It's sugar and bad fats that are making people obese, and of course over-eating.
I remember when I moved into my grand parents house when I was 15, and I ate 3 meals per day, plus 2 snacks, and it was all good food, but I put on so much weight. 30 pounds to be exact!
When I moved out with my partner, I was down to 2 meals per day, healthy and not junk, and no snacks. I soon lost it all again.
I felt healthier, more energetic, and I was glowing with energy.
My grandparents told me I was too skinny, but I was in the healthy weight range, and in my family, being partly Italian, they are all chubby! I find it cute but they eat way to much Olive Oil.

posted February 21, 2005 08:57 PM         

The ancient hindus used to say that one must eat in such a way that the stomach is half empty.

posted February 22, 2005 06:26 PM         

I don't know how true this is, I just see it as logic. But someone I was talking to was making comments about larger people, and I said, what if it's medical problem?

And they said, "Do you think, if it's medical, and they're that fat, then what if you put them on a fruit and vegatable diet? Do you think they will stay that way?"
Then he said, it IS over eating and not enough exercise, it is probably more mental than anything!
He said there's no exuse to be fat, it's greedy, and selfish, and most of all unhealthy.

I know it's been stated that overweight people are and can be even more healthy than that of a slim person, but that means they eat all foods required to be healthy, a slim person can do this in smaller portions.

I am a little overweight, and I know it's because of overeating, and it's mostly WILL power more than anything. It is hard, and I very much sympathise with large people.
But I have done it before, and I can do it again, with exercise, and a healthy attitude toward food.

posted February 23, 2005 12:01 AM         

1. Ignorant: Who would live to eat

2. Passionate: Who love to eat food such as Spicy, hot, sour, etc....

3. Good eater: Who would eat to live. Eat little and healthy, not too salty or hot...
Who does not make any difference between a pizza and a juicy steak. Even though they have greater number of taste buds on their tongues.

Most would be a mixture of the three modes to a certain degree.

posted February 24, 2005 07:11 AM         

A SECRET OF ANTI-AGING

By Stephanie Relfe B.Sc. (Syd.)
Kinesiologist

Anti aging is possible. The body is designed to heal and repair itself with the aid of proper nutrition. The body requires two vital materials to complete this - energy and raw material. These two requirements are needed to maintain the cell's proper functions. The body is made up of cells and all cells are living. All living things need food. Each cell needs the proper food to keep it strong. Cells die and replace themselves at various intervals. To understand antin-aging, understand that when a cell replaces itself it has three options that it can replace itself with:

1. A cell may replace itself with a weaker cell each time. A cell will do this if it hasn't had the right nutritional foods available to it. This process is called degeneration.

2. A cell can replace itself with the same strength cell. This means the body doesn't improve. That is, you have a chronic condition.

3. The cell is capable of replacing itself with a stronger and better cell. This will happen only if the cell has an abundance of energy and the right raw materials. This process is called regeneration. It is anti-aging.

Many of the foods that we have been told are good for us in actual fact may cause degeneration. This can be shown by muscle testing. Your kinesiologist can supply you with information on which foods to avoid to stop degeneration, and which foods to buy to aid regeneration and anti-aging.

Foods which usually cause degeneration and aging are:

High levels of carbohydrate
Sugar
Milk (especially homogenized milk) and cheese
Caffeine - Including Tea, Coffee, chocolate, cola, chuppa chups
Cigarettes
White flour
Microwaved food
Chemicals such as flouride (which is a rat poison)
Artificial sweeteners (especially aspartame / nutrasweet)
Alcohol
Processed foods
Artificial Colorings (as in Gatorade)
Additives
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Preserved meat
Moderate to high levels of meat
Meat from animals on unnatural diets (eg pork)
Margarine
Vegetable oil
Canola oil
Cotton seed oil
Olestra
Hydrogenated oils
Oil that is not cold pressed / expeller pressed (use olive oil, butter or ghee)
Deep fried foods
Chips / French fries
Puffed grains
Soy products other than soy sauce, miso and tofu (eg soy milk & soy oil)
Meat and eggs raised by `normal' methods which have many toxins and hormones.
Seafood which are garbage eaters (eg oysters)
Foods with high levels of mercury. This includes most fish, such as tuna.
Genetically Modified Food (GMOs). At present this is about 50% of all soy and corn. Even organic soy and corn can have GMOs in it unless otherwise stated.
A MAJOR cause of aging is heavy metals. Virtually all of us suffer from heavy metal toxicity. Click here to find out more, and how chelation can help.

Foods which can help regeneration and anti-aging include

RAW nuts, seeds, soaked and sprouted grains
Fruit and vegetables especially sprouts
Green leafy vegetables
Legumes (bean and lentils - learn Indian cooking to make them interesting)
Super Food
Seeds
Bee Pollen (not for everyone-some are allergic to pollen from some areas)
Kambucha
Celtic sea salt
Spirulina
Seaweed
Wheatgrass juice
Barley greens
Aloe vera
Antioxidants (eg vitamin C, vitamin E, pycnogenols, coenzyme Q10)
Olive oil
Evening primrose oil
MSM (organic sulphur)
Foods with omega 3 fatty acids (eg flaxseed oil) and
Foods with omega 4 & 5 fatty acids (eg evening primrose and fish oil).
Also gentle sunlight (vitamin D) and gentle exercise.
In addition, frequent drinks of good water is crucial. We believe the best water is water that has been filtered by reverse osmosis. Next best would be spring water. Tap water is not as good because of the chlorine and the fluoride (although it is better than nothing). Distilled water is not as good for you - its energy has been altered. In Europe distilled water is labelled ``not for human consumption". Mineral water is not as good because the minerals are not in a form your body likes. Water that comes from the top of mountains is no good because, according to genius Victor Schauberger, it is lacking in oxygen. Many people's health problems and anti-aging would improve if they would just drink more good water!

Nutritionists like to divide food into a number of different groups. I suggest that you think about dividing food up into two food groups. One group produces acids when it is digested. The other group produces alkalies when it is digested. Our bodies are constantly producing waste products, much the same as the exhaust coming from the back of your car. Waste products are acidic. They are called toxins. Toxins cause tiredness, pain and aging. Therefore, if you want more energy and less pain and anti-aging, you need to eat less acid-producing food.

Foods that produce acids are carbohydrates and proteins. 'Foods' such as tea, coffee, softdrinks, sugar, flavourings, artificial sweetener and preserved meats are even more acidic i.e. toxic. And pollutants (such as heavy metals) and pesticides are even worse.

To neutralise an acid you need an alkali. The only foods that produce alkalis are fruit and vegetables, particularly leafy, green vegetables, such as sprouts, parsley and cabbage. That is why people should eat LOTS of fruit and especially vegetables, for anti-aging. Raw is best. And steamed is much, much better than boiled (as it retains the vitamins and minerals).

Once you begin to understand this, it is easy to see why so many people are suffering from health problems. Have a look at what people put into their shopping carts next time you are at the supermarket. (Lots of white bread, soft drinks and preserved meats). And have a look at what people have on their plate next time you are in a restaurant. Lots of carbohydrate and protein, and very few vegetables, except maybe for some lettuce.

This is not to say that we don't need protein and complex carbohydrates. We do. The key is BALANCE. We need to balance the acid-producing foods we eat with much more alkali-producing foods, especially if we suffer from symptoms such as tiredness, pain, illness, gas and skin problems.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the body has hundreds of different chemical reactions going on, for which it needs at least NINETY different things, including vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Therefore, people need more variety in their diet, to ensure that they get everything their body needs, for effective anti-aging.
http://www.relfe.com/anti-aging.html

posted February 25, 2005 11:24 PM         

Thinking of Bee Pollens and royal jelly, the following is a very good company and very honest too.

http://www.beealive.com/index.cfm?

posted May 07, 2005 08:31 PM         

I have had NO appetite lately, not exactly sure why. Havent been eating much at all and I've never felt better. Just trying to remember to up my water intake everyday now. And trying to eat more raw food. I got some powerful enzymes too. We should all probably be taking them as most people eat to much 'lifeless food' and it's hard for our bodies to digest, then sits (and if it's meat - rots) in our intestines and toxifies our systems.

posted April 28, 2008 12:39 PM         

T, I sent this to my aunt whose breast cancer came out of remission. It says that the body also begins to eat tumors. Wouldn't that be kick ass? (That's actually what I said to my aunt, it will probably stun her pretty Piscean soul, but because she is wise, she won't worry too much about it after that. )

Anyway, you rock.

posted April 28, 2008 02:30 PM         

.....i think i remember reading that cancer cannot grow in a body that is alkaline....? Most of us are living in very acidic bodies.
Will have to see what I can dig up!!