Re: Caloric restriction and longevity?



dkomo dkomo871@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:-

...I want to make clear that in my original
post I was in no way trying to disparage the findings that caloric
restriction in animals leads to significant increase in lifespans. Such
research has been going on since the 1930's and there are by now results
from many such studies on a variety of different animals: roundworms,
fruitflies, rats, mice, and monkeys. These results have been remarkably
consistent in showing increases in both average and maximal lifespans.

Also, I wasn't suggesting that Dr. Walford's own attempts to follow a
calorically restricted diet led to his premature death. The causes of
ALS are still unknown, and I doubt very much that diet could influence
it for better or for worse. I was only making an ironic observation,
something along the lines of "the best laid plans of mice and men often
go awry". "The best laid plans of mice and men" is a line in a poem by
Robert Burns, which describes how a field mouse's world is destroyed by
a plow. Another way to express it is that "death doth make fools of us
all".

However, it is still the case that the effect of a calorically
restricted diet in humans in increasing lifespan is still unproven.

JE:-
The ALS society describes some possible causes of the motor neuron disease
ALS (which has Afflicted Stephen Hawking):

"The cause of ALS is not known, and scientists do not yet know why ALS
strikes some people and not others. An important step toward answering that
question came in 1993 when scientists supported by the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) discovered that mutations in the
gene that produces the SOD1 enzyme were associated with some cases of
familial ALS. This enzyme is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body
from damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive
molecules produced by cells during normal metabolism. If not neutralized,
free radicals can accumulate and cause random damage to the DNA and proteins
within cells. Although it is not yet clear how the SOD1 gene mutation leads
to motor neuron degeneration, researchers have theorized that an
accumulation of free radicals may result from the faulty functioning of this
gene. In support of this, animal studies have shown that motor neuron
degeneration and deficits in motor function accompany the presence of the
SOD1 mutation."

JE:-
The modern American diet is not based on a balanced variety of a range of
hundreds of natural foods in season that can provide a range of different
antioxidants. In Australia the Federal government has just launched a
million dollar advertising Champaign in an attempt to convince people to eat
a minimal variety of fruit and vegetables. So far it has failed. How
incredible is it that western man can put a man on the moon but does not
know (or care) what to eat? What levels of arrogance are required to allow
such an absurdity? Like any other animal system we are supposed to cycle
with our local food sources. How can we when today, they can be 1000's of
miles away?

Enormous but mostly unnecessary and costly over food processing has
eliminated many critical micro nutrients that may not be able to be absorbed
by just taking supplements. Consider common salt (a dietary necessity). For
many 1000's of years salt was mostly evaporated from sea water, packed by
hand into bags and traded over amazingly complex salt trade routes. Hand
harvested evaporated sea salt contains 1000's of micro nutrient products
including iodine. However it is only available today in specialist shops.
The average American remains content to over eat just empty refined table
salt (producing heart disease) along with empty refined sugar (producing
diabetes). These saturate almost all artificial food products that are
available. The over processing of food products has drastically reduced the
variety of foods eaten leaving no back up for chronic deficiency. In short,
our genes cannot deal with the modern diet based on a simple carbohydrate
produced calorific excess concordant with a micro nutrient deficiency.
Stepping on the accelerator and the breaks at the same time will very
quickly clap out any car.

It is my opinion that neuron disease may be a product of substituting just a
mono culture of over refined oils and fats which remain deficient in vitamin
E and omega oils, that also contain significant numbers of damaging
trans-isomers which are mostly just a side product of over processing, for
the many varieties of natural oils and fats we would have eaten in season in
nature. Today these are represented by unrefined natural cold pressed oils
which remain rich in vitamin E and omega oils with almost zero
trans-isomers. It is these that we would have ingested in our more primitive
tribal state when our genome was being selected for.

The famous case of Lorenzo's Oil provides an interesting case:

http://www.myelin.org/USAToday.htm

Evolutionary theory has a lot to offer re: testable WHY's for modern medical
afflictions. A more genera discussion about food and health that is not
difficult to understand is available:

http://www.healingmatters.com/fats.htm
Quote:
"the best way to reduce Cholesterol levels to normal is to cure the
underlying Hyperinsulinemia. This entails repairing the Automatic
Cholesterol Control System which regulates our Cholesterol homeostasis. This
repair process requires stabilizing our blood Insulin and Glucose levels and
restoring our entire endocrine system to proper balance. This follows
automatically when we stop consuming dangerous, damaged fats and oils and
restore other needed nutrition to our diet."

Yep, the knee bone is connected to (and always selected with) the thigh
bone. At least we have made a start. Obesity is now officially classified as
a disease within Australia.



Regards,

John Edser
Independent Researcher

edser@xxxxxxxxxx






Regards,

John Edser
Independent Researcher

edser@xxxxxxxxxx




.

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