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Successful Aging
by author Julian Whitaker, MD

Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century, from 47 years in 1900 to approaching 80 years today. But before you jump to the reasonable conclusion that life expectancy might increase another 30 years over the next century, consider that most of this remarkable decline has little to do with maximum lifespan.

The infectious diseases that a century ago killed one in four children before they reached their fifth birthday have largely been tamed (in developed countries, anyway). Advances in childbirth, trauma care, and above all, water quality and basic sanitation have prevented many more premature deaths. So although fewer people are dying young, we’re not really pushing the envelope on lifespan.

We may one day be able to manipulate genetic influences and postpone aging. Until then, we’ll have to be content with working on the four known and modifiable mechanisms associated with aging and disease.

1. Shield cells from oxidative damage

Oxidative or free radical damage is the dominant theory of why we age. Free radicals, which are byproducts of normal cellular metabolism, are highly reactive atoms or molecules that bind to and destroy healthy cells. Breathing, extracting energy from food–just living–creates free radicals.

Years of accumulated free radical damage, accelerated by environmental sources of oxidative stress such as pollution, smoking, radiation and poor diet, take a tremendous toll on our bodies. Free radical damage is a well-recognized player in heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other age-associated diseases. And because the mitochondria–your cells’ energy-producing factories–are bombarded by free radicals, it also leads to a loss of cellular energy.

Mother Nature has devised an elaborate system of antioxidants to neutralize free radicals, and you can give her a hand by eating lots of antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits and supplementing with vitamins C, E and A, beta-carotene and selenium. This is the first step you should take, regardless of your age, to retard degenerative changes.

2. Maximize methylation

The internal processes that keep you alive also produce a lot of "garbage," or waste products that must regularly be detoxified and cleared out. Your body’s chief mechanism for cellular housekeeping is methylation, a crucial chemical reaction that occurs billions of times every second. When methylation becomes inefficient and sluggish, toxic compounds build up like dust balls under the sofa. Most significant among them is homocysteine, a byproduct of normal amino acid metabolism. Elevated homocysteine harms the arteries and impairs circulation. It also damages your cells’ DNA and contributes to atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases of aging.

Because methylation defects become more common as we age, it’s important to consume adequate amounts of vitamins B₆, B₁₂ and folic acid. Making sure your cells have enough of these "housecleaning tools" is one of the simplest steps you can take to slow the aging process.

3. Protect yourself against AGEs

Julian Whitaker, MD, is the founder of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in Newport Beach, Calif., which annually attracts thousands of patients from all over the world for his one-week Whitaker Program of medical testing, treatment and education designed specifically for individual health problems. As editor of Health & Healing, Dr. Whitaker routinely provides important health advice to millions of subscribers who share his commitment to healthy lifestyles and natural solutions for disease prevention and treatment. His Web site, drwhitaker.com, also provides information about alternative medicine and natural therapies for a broad range of health conditions. He is the author of eight books, including Reversing Hypertension and Reversing Diabetes (Warner Books, 2001), plus Reversing Heart Disease (Warner Books, 2002).

Source: alive #241, November 2002