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Archive for the ‘Anti-Aging’ Category

Hi all,

Continuing with the last topic of sleep and health I decided to do a post on Melatonin. This is a natural hormone produced in you Pineal gland (Behind your eyes). The Pineal gland is the ‘time-keeper’ of your brain. It controls Sleep/wake cycles, menstrual cycles, helps with immune function and in animals is responsible for hibernation, migration and mating patterns. Melatonin, therefore, plays a major role in setting the ‘biological-clock’.

Melatonin is produces from an amino acid called Tryptophan. The Tryptophan is converted to Serotonin, which is then made into Melatonin.

So why all the fuss:
o Melatonin has been shown to increase the life span of test mice by u to 25 percent. Not only this but the mice appeared younger, healthier, sexually rejuvenated and more vigorous.
o It is a natural sleeping pill that does not suppress REM sleep and has fewer side effects than medication.
o Melatonin is very good at helping with Jet lag and is used widely by pilots for this reason. It is safe to use and is readily available.
o Melatonin helps is combating heart disease by lowering cholesterol and scavenging free radicals.

As you know, our physiology begins to decline steadily after your body reaches its sexual peak. It seems as if the natural cycle deteriorates when we can no longer reproduce effectively. This is the biggest basis for Melatonin use after the age of 45. If you can keep your Melatonin levels high, through supplementation, you would be tricking the body’s ‘clock’ and slow down the aging process significantly. Your body will think it is still young and keep producing all the functions it did previously.

This has an astounding amount of knock on effects in that you immune system will keep fighting disease as it used to. Your capability to resist cancer and heart disease is increased, and obviously, your natural sexual functioning is prolonged.

This has been a short introduction to a hormone that is fast becoming a wonder drug.

As I have mentioned before in my articles I am not an anti-aging doctor and am not prescribing anything to cure any existing conditions. I am merely providing information about anti-aging strategies and how they work.

Kind regards

Jason Hough

For the past two years, I have been having short periods where I can’t sleep. I have gone to bed earlier, have made sure I eliminated coffee after 1 pm and have even, on the rare occasion used medication, only to spend the next day struggling to concentrate and feeling exhausted.

This got me very interested in exactly why we need to sleep, how does in-sufficient sleep affect your body and how can you help if you are suffering from bouts of insomnia?

It is obvious that sufficient sleep promotes mental and physical functioning. Think of sleep as the period where your body gets to sort through the massive amounts of information that it takes in daily, either sensory or as knowledge. This needs to be sorted and processed. This is what happens when you sleep. Physically sleep is the state where most of your repair and recovery happens. It is interesting to note that most muscle growth actually happens while you are asleep. The hormones responsible for your cellular repair peek during these periods of rest. There is also a massive boost to your immune system activity while you sleep.

Logically then a lack of sleep has great influence on your body and psychology and is related to increase in heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, strokes and immune system functioning, as well as depretion, anxiety and loss of cognitive function.

How much do you need?
Research indicates the 8 hours a night is optimal for mental functioning, although people who slept 6-7 hours actually seemed to live longer than those who slept for 8 hours plus.

It is interesting that the need for sufficient sleep does not decrease with age, although the patterns for interrupted sleep are higher in older individuals.

What causes sleep interruption?
o Lifestyle changes
o Decreased melatonin production
o Decreased exposure to natural light
o Dietary changes
o Increase mental stimulation just prior to bedtime
o Disease and medication
o Stress
o Frequent waking to go to the bathroom
o Menopause

Help yourself sleep better:
o Make sure that the room where you sleep is comfortable in temperature, without load noise or excessive light interference.
o Stake away from computers or television just prior to sleep time.
o Avoid certain medication that will stimulate your brain ire caffeine, nicotine, diet pills etc
o Practice short naps of 20 mins during your day will help you to fall asleep easier
o Use supplementation like Magnesium, Melatonin, Valerian or Chamomile to induce restful sleep. Stay away from chemical pharmaceuticals that force you to sleep. They interfere with the natural sleep cycle and are often habit forming.

Personally, these few recommendations have helped me to improve my sleep patterns and have a better quality of rest. I understand that for most people there will be certain periods of sleeplessness; however, it is in your power to try to improve the conditions under which you get rest.

Kind regards

Jason

 In this article I will focus on the theories of how you age. This knowledge will help you to make the shift in thinking about how you lead your life. I had lots of comments from the last post about hormone therapy, and solutions to aging problems. I must stress that no amount of pills or medicine can help to the extent that using your bodies natural processes can. Hormone therapies are for specific people and supplements can assist in healing, but there is no substitute for healthy, moderate lifestyle, moderate exercise and sufficient sleep!

This article will help you to understand the thinking behind the approach to Anti-Aging medicine. As you have learnt in the last article we can see that there are many factors contributing to a person’s perceived physiological age. These factors affect individuals in different ways through their life courses. It is important to understand this point because the theories of aging are based on certain assumptions:

Age is DEVELOPMENTAL… This means that people age differently as they reach maturity. This is because they may be exposed to various experiences of sickness and lifestyle than others.

Normal aging and PATHOLOGICAL aging is different…Related to the first… aging may be brought on by the onset of disease, for example diabetes may cause heart disease. This is not normal aging, although nowadays disease is accepted as part of life.

Aging may be slowed by TECHNOLOGY…advances in science and medicine may be able to prevent disease through vaccination, anti-biotics etc which can prolong life in certain instances.

This leads me to discuss the four top theories that I found valid.
There are more, obviously, but they are beyond the scope of what I want to achieve with this article.

‘Wear and Tear’
As you live, your body, organs and cells work hard. As with any complex machinery, this use leads to natural breakdown in structure and normal functioning. Even if you don’t drink, smoke or expose your body to the sun often, normal ‘wear and tear’ occurs.

Obviously bad lifestyle choices force organs like the kidneys, liver, stomach and skin to work at levels far beyond what is normal for them. This causes excessive damage and premature aging.

Good news is that this theory suggests that by helping these organs to function at optimal levels you will be able to cope more easily with the damage of normal life and therefore slow down the aging process.

Neuroendocrine
When we are young, our brains regulate the release of hormones into our systems to control our bodily functions. Different organs release different hormones to control sexual functioning, heart rate, even responses to hot or cold! The thing is hormones never work alone. They are always part of a team.

 As you age your body produces lower levels of hormones, thereby effecting your functioning… causing a decrease in the bodies ability to repair and regulate itself. Decreases in hormone levels result in decreases in all the subsidiary processes involved with those hormones as well!

This theory suggests that by regulating the primary hormones you can stimulate the body to fix itself and return your body to youthful levels.

Genetic Control
We all know that our DNA carries a map for our bodies to follow as to cell life and reproduction. This theory says that we are mainly genetically predetermined as to physical and mental functioning.

This is the theory of the ‘Biological Clock’. When the clock goes it signals the body to begin to age. This is very subjective because as you know each of us has different DNA to the next person. Our ‘Genetic inheritance’ is completely unique.

The treatment from this thinking is that if we can repair the DNA within our cells, we can prevent damage and slow down the clock.

Free Radicals
As has been discussed previously, ‘Free radicals’ are molecules in your body which are electrically unbalanced. This occurs through natural chemical processes in your body, for example the production of energy for muscle contraction.

The free radical molecule attaches itself to other molecules in an attempt to nullify the imbalance. This action destroys normal molecules and cell membranes, which in turn produce even more toxins.

Free Radical action can be compared to rust Oxidation that occurs to metal as it degrades over time. This theory helps us to understand that by consuming sufficient ‘Anti-Oxidants’ you will counter the effect of the free radicals that your body produces naturally and thereby slow down the aging process.

Wow that’s quite a load of heavy reading. I do feel that is it important though you to be aware of the different ways you age. This site is not just a gym site. As my clients know… Nothing exists in isolation. A failure to address a problem in one area of your health will minimize your potential in other aspects.

Next time we will go into something a little lighter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Kind regards

Jason

 It has been the drive behind this site to educate you, our readers as to lifestyle changes and modifications that will benefit you in living a healthy sustainable life. Often this has required a paradigm shift from what you have been taught as a youth with regards to what is actually healthy for you. This means that you have to look a little deeper, search a little harder, to find your way through the smoke and mirrors of Marketing to discover who actually has your best interests at heart.

 

This has got me thinking. One of the biggest traps is supplementation, specifically Anti Aging medication that companies use to promote Immortality. I have decided to include a new category on this site dedicated to giving you the best information about anti aging strategies. As is typical of this site I do not endorse ANY brand of supplements. What I plan to do is to educate you to decide for yourself whether or not you use the products.

 

For the first article I will go through the paradigm shift and thinking processes that are behind ‘Anti Aging’. I found it fascinating doing the research. I don’t expect the same passion from you, just read and understand. I will make it simpler than graphs and charts and statistics!

 

Here goes….

 

When you consider that most people nowadays have a life expectancy of around 80 years, it begins to dawn on you that the last period of your life could have two possible scenarios.  The first is one where you go to the grave quietly, with dignity and self respect. The other is not so rosy. Today more than 75% of all the money the world spends on healthcare is spent during the last two years of people’s lives. This is frightening to think that lifestyle related disease can be so expensive, especially because it can be prevented.

 

So how does Anti Aging fit in?

 

Firstly, remember that the term ‘Anti-Aging’ actually refers to longevity, and how you can improve the quality of your lifespan, not only the duration. There are three main pathways to helping you to improve your quality of life. These being Nutrition, Exercise and Hormone control (It is hormones that control most of the processes in your body. It is their slow decrease with age the causes your body to lose its optimal functioning.)

 

Anti-Aging medicine deals with early detection, prevention and treatment of Aging related disease and conditions. This has truly been a revolution in medical science, which previously only focuses on treating disease after the fact, not on prevention of disease.

 

It is interesting to note that Age and Aging are subjective. A persons chronological age and their physiological age can be very different. I know personally of a  60+ year old client of mine who has more energy, more vitality than most of the other people train.

 

 

Curiously enough this guy doesn’t smoke, exercises regularly, eats healthily and keeps his mind active by constantly challenging his boundaries.  Everything he does screams positivity!

 

 Conversely I have seen other people 40 + who smoke 2 packs a day, eat mostly processed foods, abuse alcohol and have bitter dispositions. Not to mention not being able to run for more than 5 minutes without having a coughing fit. Quality of life is the point here!

 

The goal for all of us is to reach that 80 years feeling 55! Having vitality and energy to give to those around us, not to be a burden on those we love.

 

More specifically we want:

1. A properly functioning  IMMUNE SYSTEM
2. Improved MEMORY and COGNITIVE function
3. A physical change in musculature and reduced Body FAT.
4. Enhanced SEXUAL functioning
5. Increased rate of WOUND HEALING
6. Increase AEROBIC ABILITY

 

Now that we have the goals, what can you do to improve your chances of reaching them. Follow some of these simple suggestions to improve your quality of life NOW!

 

• Avoid depression and stress
• Do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It is the number 1 defense against growing old.
• Keep clear of processed foods and saturated fats. These cause heart disease and cancer
• Get at least 8 hours sleep. Sleep is where you repair your body. No sleep, no repair!
• Limit your intake of alcohol. Alcohol is poison to your body. Just because we dilute it to consume it doesn’t mean it is not poisonous anymore.
• Do not smoke. Cigarettes kill!
• Maintain a reasonable body weight. Even having too much muscle places strain on your heart system!
• Consume sufficient anti-oxidants to help prevent aging.
• Water, Water, Water! At least 8 glasses a day.  Being hydrated allows you to flush toxins from your body and helps transport nutrients to where they are needed.
• Make sure you are tested for disease, especially if you are over 45. Early detection is the biggest cure for diseases like cancer and heart disease.
• Think young and keep busy. Also surround yourself with people who are young minded. This will buffer the effects of depression and stress.

 

Now I realize that we have been conditioned into a certain mindset of work and money equals happiness… I am here to tell you that you have been lied to! Look around you. How many people do you know you have worked themselves to the bone, have the health they always wanted, the family life they always dreamed of… you know where I am going with this.   You have a choice to make about the quality of life you want to have. 

 

The next article I write will relate to some of the theories of how we age… don’t worry I have done the heavy reading already, I will simplify the information. Also I will include the direct effect aging has on your system. This will help you to understand why certain supplements work and which systems they affect.

 

I welcome any questions or comments you have…

 

Kind regards