Anti-aging Medicine…Hype Or Hope?

Do we need to take vitamins and nutraceuticals and other essential nutrients like essential omega 3 and 6 fats and aminoacids and other supplements?

The RDI (recommended daily allowances) of vitamins are merely to prevent disease. They are not doses required for optimal health. Also, the vitamin, nutrient and hormone requirements of individuals differ.

About ¾ of one’s health and life expectancy is based on lifestyle, environment and nutrition. It should be obvious that one should spend a longer time living healthily and a shorter time dying, since the number of healthy years is more important than the number of living years.

A healthy lifestyle, including sound nutrition and moderate exercise, could alleviate a lot of modern day diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease to name but a few.

Medications, vitamin interaction, soil depletion of nutrients, need for antioxidants to protect from free radical damage,stress, age, lifestyle, and genetics, all play a role in determining the need for the individualised need for vitamins and nutrient support.

Medications may cause micronutrient depletion and this should be remembered by all prescribing medications. Please see solal’s brochure of micronutrient deficiencies induced by medications.

The following are reasons why you cannot get all the nutrients you need from the food you eat :

1. The soil is depleted of many minerals such as zinc and magnesium. Selenium is in varying quantities in the soil depending on where you live.
2. Fruit and vegetables begin to lose their nutritional value immediately after picking. Cold storage causes destruction of nutrients. Grapes that are stored lose up to 30% of their B vitamins. Tangerines stored for 8 weeks can lose almost half of their vitamin c. Asparagus stored for 1 week, loses up to 90% of its vitamin c.
3. The nutrients in food may not be in aform that is bioavailabale, eaning it may not be absorbed into your body. Orange juie is a prime example, where 40% of the vitamin c in orange juice is biologically inactive.
4. processing of food (blanching,sterilizing,canning and freezing) all decrease the nutritional value of food
5. The longer one cooks fruita and vegetables the less nutrients remain. It is better to eat them raw or lightly steamed
6. The milling of grains removes 26 essential nutrients and much of the fibre

Nutritional requirements are also affected by the production of free radicals. Free radical damage contributes to oxidative stress which accelerates aging and leads to disease .

Oxidative stress is like rust on a car . Some external causes of oxidative stress include : television screens, cell phones, computer screens, hair dryers, airplane trips, fluorescent lights, microwaving, sunlight, toxic exposure to chemicals in food, water and air

Antioxidants donate an electron to the free radical and halt the destructive course.

Some antioxidants that protect from free radical damage include :

Vitamin a,c,e,selenium, coq10,alphalipoic acid,melatonin,garlic,glutathione,nac

Stress depletes your body of vitamins and minerals. Likewise, as one ages more nutrients become required. For example with aging less vitamin d, alphalipoic acid and coq10 is made.

Many physicians say there is a lack of “peer review studies” or “scientific evidence” to show that vitamin and nutritional therapies work. To clear this up , in 1998 alone, more than 5000 studies were published on vitamins and more than 3000 studies on antioxidants.

IN FACT MORE STUDIES ARE PUBLISHED ON NUTRIENTS THAN MEDICATIONS.

Optimum daily intake (ODI) is designed to enhance general health and prevent disease.

Let’s compare RDI (recommended daily allowance – minimum requirements) to optimal requirements.

NUTRIENT	FOOD SOURCE	RDA	ODI
Vitamin A,	fish liver oils,	5000IU	5000-25000 IU
Beta carotene And other carotenoids	animal livers, green and yellow fruits	None	11000-25000 IU
Vitamin D	fish liver oils, Fatty salt water fish Vit d fortified dairy Fortified dairy products eggs	400 IU	1000-2000 IU
Vitamin E	cold pressed veg oils, Whole grains,nuts Legumes, dark green Leafy veg	30 IU	400-1200Iu
Vitamin K	green leafy veg	80ug	80ug
Biotin	meat , cooked egg yolk Yeast, poultry, milk, saltwater Fish, soybeans, whole grains	300ug	300 ug
Choline & Inositol	egg yolk, whole grains, veg organ meats, fruit, milk	None	25-500mg
Folic acid	beef, lamb, pork, chicken Liver, whole wheat, bran, Green leafy veg, yeast	400ug	400-1200ug
PABA	liver, kidney, whole Grains, molasses	None	25-500mg
Pantothenic acid	eggs, saltwater fish, pork Beef, milk, whole wheat, Beans, fresh veg	10mg	25-500mg 900mg pantetheine
Vitamin B	unrefined whole grains, Liver, green leafy veg Fish, poultry, eggs, meat Nuts, beans	b1 : 1.5mg b2 : 1.7mg b3 : 20mg b6 : 2mg	25-30mg
Vitamin B12	kidney,liver,egg, Herring, mackerel Milk, cheese, tofu, seafood	6ug	25-500ug
Vit C	green veg, berries, citrus fruit	60mg	500-5000mg
Boron	fruits, veg	None	3-6mg
Calcium	dairy foods, green leafy Veg, salmon, sardines seafood	1000mg	1000-1500mg
Chromium	brewer’s yeast, beer, meat, cheese, whole grains	120ug	200-600ug
copper	widely distributed in foods	2mg	generally available in foods 0.5-2,mg
Iodine	iodized salts, seafood, Kelp, saltwater fish	150ug	150-300ug
Iron	meat. Poultry, fish, liver, Eggs, green leafy veg, whole grain breads or cereals	18mg	15-25mg men 18-30mg women
Magnesium	dairy, meat, fish, seafood	400mg	500-750mg
Manganese	nuts,seeds, whole grains, avocado,seaweed	2mg	15-50mg
Phosphorous	most foods, sodas	1000mg	foods good source 200-400mg
Potassium	dairy foods, meat, Poultry, fish, fruit, Legumes, whole grains, veg	None	99-300mg
Selenium	depending on soil content, may be in grains and meat	70ug	100-400ug
Zinc	oysters, fish, meats, Poultry, whole grains, legumes	15mg	22.5-50mg
Alpha lipoic acid	None	None	300-600mg
Co Q10	beef hearts, chicken hearts, sardines, peanuts, spinach	None	50-300mg
Dhea	None	None	when needed 25 -50mg
Fish oil	cold water fish	None	1500-3000mg
Flavinoids	fruits, veg, grains, nuts , Seeds, soybeans, tea, coffee, wine	None	250-1000mg
Garlic	garlic	None	200-1200mg
GLA	evening primrose oil, borage oil Borage oil, black currant oil	None	70-240mg
Glutathione And N-Acetyl-Cysteine	fruits, veg, meat	None	Glutathione 500-1500mg N-Acetyl-Cysteine 1200-3800mg
L-carnitine	animal foods	None	2000-4000mg
Melatonin	rice, barley , corn	None	0.1-7mg when needed

My top 10 anti-aging foods would be:

1. Tomatoes – contain heart protecting anticancer lycopene, vitamin C and other antioxidants
2. Walnuts & Almonds – contain fibre, magnesium, vitamin E, selenium and omega 3
3. Fish – contain omega 3 and good quality protein
4. Brocolli, cauliflower or cabbage – contain anti-cancer nutrients
5. High fibre bran or rolled oats cereals – contains soluble and in soluble fibre
6. Blueberries, blackberries & cherries -contains unique antiaging antioxidants called proanthocyanidins.
7. Turmeric/curcumin – a powerful anti-aging anti-oxidant
8. Lecithin – contains liver & protective phospholipids
9. Artichoke hearts – detox’s the liver and kidneys and high in fibre
10. Red Wine – 1 glass every night – contains resveratrol and low amounts of alcohol protect the heart

 

Written by Dr Craige Golding