"So What" about Genes? I Just Want to Feel Better!

This might be a common reaction from folks who don't care about the details when it comes to making positive lifestyle changes. But, for us wellness science buffs like chiropractors and naturopathic doctors, we are excited to hear the latest research about lifestyle changes improving genetic health.

Want to impact 500 genes? Eat a more natural diet and exercise more. This Reuters report comments on a study of 30 men who changed their habits.

What I find especially interesting is that these volunteers had prostate cancer but chose to forgo the usual cancer treatments. This gave researchers a chance to study untreated cancer.

There are many people who decline radiation and chemotherapy but we don't hear about them because mainstream cancer treatments get the attention. And, it's unethical to prevent people from getting treatment just to study them. This particular group gave researchers a great opportunity to study their before and after biopsies.

I've written about Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and Dr. John McDougall. They have cleared out clogged arteries without bypass surgery. That's a big money saver without the risk of dying during surgery. While I do not advocate a total vegetarian diet, especially with using soy as a protein replacement, the lifestyle changes they promote are monumental to better health. READ HERE

While all the scientific lingo may not be interesting you my readers, there are obvious benefits to adopting better habits.

More energy
Better sleep
Weight Loss
Better skin and hair
Stronger muscles
Better balance
Improved cognition
Better digestion
Less disease risk, especially for metabolic syndrome
... and more...



Learn how to benefit as a Vital Aging Member

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Can you pass the Health Freedom Quiz?

Is the Anti-Aging Lifestyle Worth It?

Guest Writer

Here's the truth. You can work overtime taking care of yourself with positive lifestyle changes or your body can work overtime trying to maintain homeostasis until it is exhausted and your reserve is used up.

Please welcome guest blogger, Luz Laureano, and read her important post here: Is the anti-aging lifestyle worth it.


--Dr. Lisa
Your Vital Aging Advocate

Are you a Vital Aging Member?

Are You Programming Your Insulin to Kill You?

What do most of us know about diabetes? Too much sugar makes the body wear out sooner. But how? If we really understood the process, we'd be more adamant in revising our eating behaviors.

Mostly, we think meat and fat are bad. (I was a vegetarian for 10 years because I felt better after beginning the diet. But, my real problem was junky, fried food. I was also young enough that I didn't feel the effects of slowly drowning my body in insulin and pro-inflammatory omega 6's.) The fact is badly treated livestock is bad, not to mention the over processing and hydrogenating of basic foods.

To drive the point home let's look at insulin. When a person eats a lot of carbohydrates, the body is expecting that same amount in the future. The body is reprogrammed to produce more and more insulin. Dr. Marlene Merritt, a Texas based Oriental Medicine Practitioner, illustrates this very well in her articles titled, The Snackwell Effect.

The Snackwell Effect Part 1
The Snackwell Effect Part 2

She also is driving home the message of the 72 Gram Plan. For me the best explanation came from Dr. Wolfgang Lutz's book: Life Without Bread. He puts to rest the criticisms regarding low carb diets, such as lacking enough energy for exercise, not enough fiber, and vitamin deficiencies.

Before and after photos in Dr. Lutz's book of a man and a young boy were startling to me. The man's face actually looked significantly younger after being on the 72 carb eating plan. The young boy wasn't reaching puberty milestones, but after 2 years of changing his eating habits, he developed proper muscle tone and body shape. When children are eating too many carbohydrates, they aren't just pudgy, their growth hormone is "stunted."

Dr. Merritt outlines a great eating plan. There's no complicated formula, just count the carbs.

Yes, the Snackwell Effect is an official part of our American lexicon. It describes a "reverse psychology" type problem with low fat cookies: we automatically eat more of them!


What is the Vital Aging Protocol?

Why Prevention Programs Miss the Mark

Dr. Candace Pert has been one of the most influential "new biology" researchers in our time. If you ever want to read a good book about the evolution of health care thinking, open up her book titled Molecules of Emotion.

The following quote from pg 285 demonstrates how she grew as a lifelong learner from the restraining halls of the “old science” laboratory to her independence as a mind-body researcher. She also explains why I believe most prevention programs are insufficient:

“For most of us, the very words healthy lifestyle conjures up images of low-fat meals, daily exercise regimens, and the elimination of alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs. While these are good, health enhancing strategies—and I’ll have something to say about them from the point of view of the peptide network – what’s missing for most of us is any focus on ongoing, daily, emotional self-care. We tend to deal with the physical aspects of keeping ourselves healthy and ignore the emotional dimension – our thoughts and feelings, even our spirits, our souls. Yet, in light of the new knowledge about emotions and the psychosomatic network, it’s obvious that they, too, are a part of our responsibility to manage our own health.”

She takes a stance on science and spirit being compatible:

"I have come to believe that science, at its very core, is a spiritual endeavor." Pg. 315

She shows how we can take charge of our health by understanding the power of our psychology. But we tend to ignore this reality because it can't be grasped in an x-ray, blood test or prescription pad. Most doctors know who will do well and who will suffer. Even with total compliance with a doctor's instructions there are those who will worsen or die because they are disconnected from the non-physical aspects of their existence which ultimately disconnects them from the their physical body parts that keep them alive and healthy.

How does this translate into everyday life? We can begrudgingly follow a prevention type lifestyle with our emotional hearts feeling a cold reception, especially when fear is the motivator. There is a mutual exchange of gratitude between the physical and nonphysical that makes up the living person. If this energy is not cherished and nurtured, both the body and "Thinking-Feeling-Expressive-Spirit" will die...and not always at the same time.

This is why prevention programs do only half the job and people still get frustrated with their results. Drug companies capitalize on this fact. Listen to the ads that say diet and exercise are not enough. They are correct but a drug will never nurture your Thinking-Feeling-Expressive-Spirit.

Go back to your prevention plan and tweak a few things. Ask your chiropractor to help you get over the plateau. Get adjusted more often because it is the most unique way to reconnect your body with your Thinking-Feeling-Expressive-Spirit. Remind yourself that the little things you do add up even though they seem insignificant. This is the nurturing side of the Thinking-Feeling-Expressive-Spirit.

Dr. John Demartini has a great quote:
"Your bodies' signs and symptoms are a feedback mechanism to help you be true to yourself."
Visit http://www.demartiniquotes.com/ .

Vital Aging is how you act out your growing wisdom.

The Beauty of Your Own Stem Cells

Don't Let Inflammation Burn Out Your Own Stem Cells

The following article was written by Dr. Brazos Minshew after he attended an anti-aging conference:

We make stem cells every day. Dying cells release enzymes into your bloodstream. Your brain interprets the level of enzymes and sends an appropriate amount of Human growth hormone (HgH).

When the HgH reaches the bone marrow or other stem cell "nursery," it triggers the release of a number of stem cells that roughly correspond to the amount of HgH. The stem cells follow the chemical trail left by the enzymes of the dying cell. They follow the trail back to the space left by the dead cell and nestle into the tissues. Once there, they differentiate into the cell they replace – they literally become the exact type of cell they replaced.

Nutrients are required for making cells (including stem cells). If you are deficient in any critical nutrient at the moment you create stem cells, one of two things will happen:

1. Your bone marrow will refuse the order to meet that quota of stem cells, causing premature aging, or

2. The cells will be made, but without the nutrients critical for the health and longevity of the cell. When a deficient cell matures it becomes the target for inflammation and disease.

Cells need nutrients. Without all of the appropriate nutrients on board at all times, we will not be able to make as many healthy cells as we lose in a day. The disparity between how many cells we lose and how many we can replace is premature aging.

More stem cells

Nutrients serve as the foundation for stem cells. However, specific nutrients also stimulate the production of stem cells. At the anti-aging conference, six stem cell-stimulating nutrients were identified. As one speaker neared the end of his presentation, he talked about "a curious bioflavonoid" found in great abundance in prickly pears from the Nopal cactus. Of course, he was talking about Betalains! It turns out that Betalains along with Vitamin B-12 may help your body increase the production of stem cells.

More healthy stem cells close the gap between the numbers of cells that die and the number of cells we replace every day. That equals slower aging. So, take your nutrients every day.

Try a delicious cactus juice.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

I mentioned growth hormone in a previous blog post. Don't miss out on more awesome anti-aging information.!!

Get the Vital Aging Home Study Course.

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(I retrieved the above image from this site: Adult stem cell research and Wisconsin Right to Life)

What Can the U.S. Learn from the Japanese Health Care System?

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Which Disease Camp Should Get More?

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