Story at-a-glance
In a plea agreement with a federal court, Merck will pay a $321 million fine in exchange for a guilty plea to a misdemeanor for the illegal promotion of Vioxx for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, before it was approved for that use. Vioxx caused the deaths of more than 60,000 people, and was withdrawn from the market in 2004 when it became apparent that it was causing heart attacks
Ghostwritten studies appear to have been relied upon to support Merck’s claim that Vioxx was safe and effective. A 2008 editorial published in JAMA questioned whether Merck might have deliberately manipulated dozens of academic documents published in the medical literature, in order to promote Vioxx under false pretenses
Many drugs are now “marketed for perpetuity,” meaning they’re intended to be taken for life. These include ADHD drugs, antidepressants, statins, hormone replacement therapy, proton pump inhibitors, and asthma-control medicines. Sadly most of these drugs come with potential side effects that can be far worse than your original symptom, and few of them have been definitively proven to actually provide any significant health benefits. In fact, some of these drugs have been found to worsen the very condition they’re meant to treat, and/or cause other serious diseases.
By Dr. Mercola
What would you say if you knew someone had killed 60,000 people? Would you call it a felony of the worst kind, times 60,000? If you totaled up the value of all those lives in criminal court, what would you say they're worth?
Billions? Trillions?
Or—how about a measly $321 million in exchange for a guilty plea to a misdemeanor? When you consider that this involves the second-largest drug maker in the U.S.—Merck—and its deadly drug Vioxx, then you'll probably agree that a misdemeanor and a $321 million fine amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Business analysts were estimating a $25 billion judgment when the drug was taken off the market, but even when combined with the $4.85 billion in payouts to patients who suffered heart attacks and strokesi, the final bill is nowhere close to original estimates of the damage.
Yet that's the plea agreement Merck recently made with a federal court in Boston on April 19ii, after being charged with illegal promotion of Vioxx for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, before it was approved for that use.
The sad tale brings up memories of what I tried to warn readers about in 1999, when I showed that people taking this drug were at a massively increased risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. It's tragic that Vioxx was removed only AFTER 60,000 people died.
It's even more tragic that a court would consider Merck's illegal promotion of the drug a misdemeanor rather than a felony, since this tactic clearly exposed far more people to the dangerous drug than it would have otherwise. And, adding insult to injury, instead of the billions that Merck anticipated paying out, it got away with such a paltry sum.
Hired Writers Responsible for Some of Merck's Vioxx Studies?
Particularly galling is the fact that these deaths could have been so easily avoided, were it not for the deceptive maneuvering of parties who stood to profit handsomely from the success of the drug.
Ghostwriting has become an increasingly troublesome problem in the medical science community, and the Vioxx debacle is a perfect example of why ghostwriting medical research is a devious practice that needs to be rooted out.
Merck has previously acknowledged that it has been known to hire professional writers to develop research-related documents that eventually get published under the name of reputable leaders in the medical community. Critics rightfully doubt the validity of such research, and question the actual involvement of the scientists listed as authors of these ghostwritten papers.
Back in 2008, Dr. Joseph S. Ross of New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine came across ghostwritten research studies for Vioxx while reviewing documents related to lawsuits filed against Merck.
According to an April 16, 2008 article on MedHeadlinesiii:
"In about 96 journal publications, Ross and his colleagues discovered internal Merck documents and e-mail messages pertaining to clinical study reports and review articles, some of which were developed by the company's marketing department, not its scientific department. In others, there is little evidence that the authors recruited for the report made substantial contribution to the research itself. ... Some of the authors listed in the Merck study reports of concern... question the true nature of ghostwriting. One neurologist originally listed as "External author?" and then listed as Dr. Leon J. Thal, of the University of California, San Diego in the final draft, died a year ago in an airplane crash."
An editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)iv that year by Drs. Psaty and Kronmal also questioned whether Merck might have deliberately manipulated dozens of academic documents published in the medical literature, in order to promote Vioxx under false pretenses.
Blockbuster Drugs Tend to Be More Unnecessary than Others
Vioxx was a so-called blockbuster drug—a designation given to extremely popular drugs that generate a minimum of $1 billion in annual sales. Vioxx was marketed in more than 80 countries, and pulled in $2.5 billion in worldwide sales in 2003 alone (the year before it was pulled from the market due to its heart risks). So despite paying out fines in various lawsuits over the drug, Merck certainly made enough from it to cover all such expenses and still make obscene profits while patients were dying in droves.
An important strategy for creating a true blockbuster drug—at least in the United States—is the use of direct to consumer advertising.
A little over 20 years ago direct-to-consumer advertising for drugs was not allowed in the US. Drug advertising is still illegal in most countries around the world, except for the US. If Big Pharma wanted to sell a product, they had to do it through the person prescribing it—your doctor. If a physician didn't have time to listen to sales reps or attend conferences where new drugs were pushed, well then, sometimes they just didn't get pushed on you.
But ever since drug advertising became legal in the U.S., Big Pharma has been making big bucks selling you pills that not only are expensive, but intended to keep you hooked on them for life. As with most advertised consumer products, drugs with blockbuster potential are not necessarily important life-saving drugs. No, rather than curing actual disease, these drugs tend to be focused on the treatment of symptoms—symptoms that many people tend to experience, and which may or may not be caused by a particular disease...
Oftentimes, symptom complexes will be given official-sounding designations, to make it appear more like an actual disease. Either way, since these types of drugs cannot cure anything, they must be taken indefinitely—until you die or cannot afford them anymore. According to Melody Petersen, author of Our Daily Medsv:
"Most blockbusters are pills for conditions such as anxiety, high cholesterol or constipation that must be taken daily, often for months or years. They are designed for rich Americans who can afford to buy them."
6 Kinds of Pills Big Pharma Tries to Get You Hooked on for Life
There are two effective marketing strategies employed by drug companies on a regular basis, and they include:
Convincing you that drugs you used to take only when you needed them are now everyday "prevention" necessities in the form of a prescription; and
Selling you the idea that just being at risk for a chronic disease makes you someone who should be taking a drug for the disease.
What makes these two strategies so successful is that by seeing the advertisement, YOU are the one who sells it to your doctor, by suggesting that you need a certain drug, or outright asking for it. According to a recent article by Martha Rosenbergvi:
"Since direct-to-consumer drug advertising debuted in the late 1990s, the number of people on prescription drugs -- especially prescription drugs for life -- has ballooned. Between 2001 to 2007 the percentage of adults and children on one or more prescriptions for chronic conditions rose by more than 12 million, reports the Associated Press and 25 percent of US children now take a medication for a chronic conditionvii. Seven percent of kids take two or more daily drugs.
Who says advertising doesn't work? Of the top-selling drugs in 2011viii, led by Lipitor, Nexium, Plavix, Advair Diskus, Abilify, Seroquel, Singulair and Crestor, none is taken occasionally, or "as needed" and the treatment goal is never to get off the drug, like an antibiotic."
She lists six types of drugs that are "marketed for perpetuity," meaning they're intended to be taken for life. Sadly most of these drugs come with potential side effects that can be far worse than your original symptom, and few of them have been definitively proven to actually provide any significant health benefits. In fact, some of these drugs have been found to worsen the very condition they're meant to treat (such as antidepressants, statins, proton pump inhibitors, and asthma-control meds), and/or cause other serious diseases. For more information, please follow the hyperlinks provided:
ADHD Drugs and Drugs for Pediatric Psychopathologies, such as "pediatric bipolar disorder"
Antidepressants
Statins
Hormone Replacement Therapy Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) Asthma-Control Medicines
Bribery, Fraud, and Deception Hurts YOU in More Ways than One...
Unfortunately, all of this medical deception (and at times outright fraud) is part and parcel of a much larger problem: the near unchecked system of corporate bribery that drives our political processes.
The pharmaceutical industry is the BIGGEST political lobby in the U.S.. There should be no doubt about the power the drug industry wields in shaping the U.S. health care system and all the laws relating to the industry. Political lobbying is one of the primary reasons why the drug companies control nearly the entire health industry, and why alternative medicine is under such constant legislative attack. For greater insight into this problem, please review this previous article, featuring a 60-Minutes segment with Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist.
In recent news, we get further indications of how pervasive lobbying fraud and illegalities are.
In a submission to the Internal Revenue Service under the Tax Whistleblower Act, a nonpartisan advocacy organization, Common Causeix, has exposed what amounts to a tax scam run by a legislative group known as ALEC, for some of American's largest companies. ALEC stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council, which describes as a public-private partnership between member legislators and business leaders.
According to legal papers filed with the IRS, Common Cause believes that ALEC's lobbying efforts for "model" legislation are tailored to boost the profits of its corporate members—a violation of its tax-exempt status. While ALEC claims it doesn't do lobbying, the Huffington Post reports that at least one state, South Carolina, has written a special exemption for ALEC so it can engage in a type of lobbying. The whistleblower letter to the IRS reads in part:
"... This matter concerns the massive underreporting of lobbying by the American Legislative Exchange Council ("ALEC"). While ostensibly a nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, ALEC's primary purpose is to provide a vehicle for its corporate members to lobby state legislators and to deduct the costs of such efforts as charitable contributions. ALEC drafts "model" legislation provided by its corporate and legislative members, and lobbies for the adoption of that legislation. These goals are fundamentally inconsistent with ALEC's claimed tax-exempt status as a charitable organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), because (i) "no substantial part" of a charity's activity can be "attempting to influence legislation," and (ii) ALEC's activities do not qualify under any of the enumerated purposes of Section 501(c)(3).
This scheme causes harm to taxpayers in two distinct ways. First, ALEC's activities constitute an abuse of its 501(c)(3) tax exemption, which is reserved for organizations "operated exclusively " for a limited number of purposes, such as "religious, charitable, scientific ... or educational purposes ...." 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).
Second, ALEC's corporate members improperly deduct from their taxable income the dues and other contributions made to ALEC; such expenditures are non-deductible lobbying expenses under Section 162(e). In fact, because ALEC solicits very few contributions from individuals, its false claims of tax-exempt status appear driven by the desire of ALEC corporate members to deduct lobbying expenses as charitable contributions..."
Why are Soldiers Dying in Their Sleep?
While lobbying may have its place—when done in a transparent and legal way to inform legislators, and not to simply buy their votes by any means necessary—the practice has deteriorated to the point that it is endangering the health and welfare of people everywhere. Dangerous drugs are brought to market and used in lieu of harmless alternatives, and polypharmacy, the taking of too many drugs, is becoming ever more dangerous.
A case in point is the growing problem of U.S. soldiers literally dying in their sleep...
They survived the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But instead of bombs and guns, a growing number of U.S. veterans of these wars, whether they're still deployed or back at home, are being downed by something else. They die in different ways but they all have one thing in common—at the time of their deaths they're on a cocktail of drugs prescribed for them by military doctors.
Video description: CNN Reports on military personnel dying from drug toxicity.
Such deaths have been occurring for years, but they were recently brought to light by a West Virginia couple who shared the story of their son, Andrew White, with ABC News. Andrew died in 2008 of fatal drug intoxication. The Whites blame the prescriptions their son was on for his death. According to a report by ABC11x:
""We call it the lethal cocktail. It's antidepressants, antipsychotics and analgesics. It's just overloading, and your body can't take it," Stan [White] explained. The Whites said Andrew was taking Seroquel, Klonopin, and Paxil. They still have the pills prescribed by Veteran's Administration doctors to treat Andrew's post-traumatic stress disorder... "He made that choice to trust the VA and that trust cost him his life," [Mrs. White] continued."
The twist to the story is that within weeks of Andrew's death, three other war veterans—all of whom were taking the same drugs Andrew was on—also died in their sleep. It seemed like too much of a coincidence to San Diego neurologist Dr. Fred Baughman, so he combed newspaper articles and obituaries and created a list of 300 military deaths linked to sudden cardiac arrest. Surprisingly, they were all men in their 20's, many of whom died quietly in their beds. According to Dr. Baughman, these deaths appear to be caused by the antipsychotics and antidepressants these young men were all taking.
Just weeks before White died, U.S. Surgeon General Eric B. Schoomaker had also publicly acknowledged that the military was experiencing a series of deaths that "often (were) a consequence of the use of multiple prescription and nonprescription medicines and alcohol." Antipsychotics and antidepressants have been linked to many of the deaths. Another family who has stepped forward with their story is John and Mary Nahas, who nearly lost their son Michael after he returned from Iraq. ABC11 reports:
"Look at all the drugs they had him on," Mary said, showing ABC11 cameras a list that includes Oxycodone, Xanax, Percocet, Klonopin, Celexa, Lunesta, and Ambien.
"I ran the list of medications by my niece - who was a psychologist in a psychiatric hospital - and she said: 'Oh Mary, that's a cocktail of death, they're trying to kill him,'" said Mary. "When they returned our son to us, he looked like a concentration camp victim. He was thin. He was gray in color," she continued. The Nahas say the medication prescribed for their son's PTSD made him attempt suicide."We noticed a decline in his personality from the drugs. They change cognition and behavior. We noticed anger, just couldn't think straight," said Mary. "The drugs had messed him up so badly."
The Veterans Administration investigated Andrew White's death and ruled that his doctors had done nothing wrong, as they met "the community standards of care." Sadly, just as with conventional cancer treatment, the "standard of care" is oftentimes just as deadly as the disease... Still, the White's are pushing for a Congressional investigation into the overmedication of military service personnel. They want VA doctors to reduce their reliance on toxic drugs, and focus on other therapies such as counseling and outdoor activities.
I couldn't agree more.
There's a mountain of evidence supporting the use of such alternatives, and there's very strong evidence that some alternative treatments, such as exercise, are FAR more effective than any of the drugs currently in use. For more information about this, please listen to my interview with Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America, and Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.
References:
i The New York Times November 10, 2007
ii Reuters April 19, 2012
iii MedHeadlines April 16, 2008
ivJAMA 2008;299(15):1813-1817
v AlterNet April 26, 2012
vi AlterNet April 26, 2012
vii The Wall Street Journal December 28, 2010
viii Forbes Magazine April 19, 2011
ix Common Cause April 20, 2012
x WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham April 26, 2012
Sources:
Reuters April 19, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sneaky company, caught
Massive Social Outrage at ‘Natural’ Cereal Maker Abusing the Term
A note on a Rhode Island grocer’s shelf has gone viral, informing consumers everywhere that the popular “natural” cereal brand Kashi actually contains genetically engineered grains
As a result of consumer outrage, the Kashi brand, which is owned by Kellogg Company, has now pledged to use at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients by 2015—a move that may be too little, too late for many health conscious consumers. The pledge came just days after initially trying to further mislead consumers by denying the test results, which had found Kashi GoLean cereal contained 100 percent genetically engineered soy
Currently, the ONLY label that can protect you against genetically engineered ingredients, synthetic pesticides, and other harmful additives is the USDA 100% Organic label
By Dr. Mercola
A simple sign on a grocery store shelf has gone viral, causing a storm of outrage among consumers who feel they’ve been misled by cereal maker Kellogg’s claims about its Kashi cereals. A Rhode Island grocer posted a note on the shelf where Kashi was supposed to be, saying he’d learned it wasn’t 100 percent natural after all, and therefore wasn’t carrying it anymore.
It turns out the soy in Kashi cereals comes from genetically modified Roundup-ready soybeans, which have a gene inserted in them that allows the crop to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the weed killer.
USA Today reported that consumers felt duped into believing that Kashi was all-natural when it’s noti. Their complaints were initially brushed off by Kashi general Manager David DeSouza, who told USA Today that since the FDA doesn’t regulate the term “natural,” the cereal maker has done nothing wrong by defining “natural” as minimally-processed with no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or sweeteners.
Were You Duped by Kashi’s Wholesome Brand Identity?
People generally tend to believe that the word “natural” refers to foods grown “in a natural way,” which really amounts to organic farming methods, or close to it; sans harsh chemicals, and most definitely not something that has been genetically engineered. Unfortunately, that’s not what the “natural” label represents at all. In fact, the “natural” label is unregulated, and companies can define it as they please.
But most food manufacturers are well aware of this general misperception of what the label means, and frequently misuse it to lure health conscious consumers into spending more. This is known as “green-washing” and it certainly applies in this case.
Adding insult to injury, the company appears to have made a poor attempt to save face by further misleading consumers about the accuracy of the information that led the Rhode Island grocer to not carry the Kashi brand anymore.
The Cornucopia Institute released a report, Cereal Crimes, back in November of last yearii, which details the presence of genetically engineered grains in a number of leading “natural” cereal brands, including Kellogg’s Kashi brand. Shockingly, many of the products tested were found to contain high amounts of genetically engineered grains—some, including Kashi, containing 100 percent genetically engineered grains! The report also mentions a class action lawsuit filed against Kellogg/Kashi on August 31, 2011, "for allegedly misleading consumers with its "natural" claims. One Kashi® product in particular, GoLean® Shakes, is composed almost entirely of synthetic and unnaturally processed ingredients, according to the plaintiff."
The report contrasts these findings with tests of certified organic cereal products, which by law are not allowed to contain any genetically engineered ingredients or synthetic pesticides. While some were found to be mildly contaminated with genetically engineered ingredients, overall, the report highlights the fact that the ONLY way to ensure you’re not buying a genetically engineered product is to buy a product bearing the USDA 100% Organic label.
When Greenwashing Attempts Finally Backfire...
Once the grocer’s sign went viral and angry consumers began overloading the Kashi telephone lines, the company switched to a recorded message stating they were temporarily unable to accept calls. Then, according to an April 26 report by Cornucopia Instituteiii:
“When the company again began accepting calls, a Kashi consumer affairs employee, Rick Duran, told a Cornucopia staff member that “no actual testing” of their cereal products had been performed. This mimicked the analysis also offered in a response by the company in an online video posted that same afternoon on the Kashi Facebook page. The video spokesperson called Cornucopia’s information “scientifically inaccurate and misleading because it was not based on actual testing of Kashi products.”
“This characterization of our work by Kashi is blatantly false,” said Will Fantle, Cornucopia’s Research Director. “We purchased a readily available box of Kashi’s GoLean® cereal from a Whole Foods store. We then sent a sample to an accredited national lab for testing, finding that the soy in the natural cereal was 100% GMO.”
The Kashi video also suggested, disingenuously, that any genetically engineered contamination in their food was from incidental sources rather than crops intentionally grown from GMO seed. While acknowledging that over 80% of the soybeans grown in North America are GMO, they explain that, “practices in agricultural storage, handling, and shipping, have lead to an environment where GMOs are not sufficiently controlled.”
“This is classic public relations spin and crisis communications work, where corporations use misinformation to try to cover their tracks,” said Rebekah Wilce, of the Center for Media and Democracy/PRWatch, which helps expose corporate PR tactics...”
Three days later, the USA Today reportediv:
“... Kellogg got itself into trouble by "not being entirely transparent," says Roger Nyhus, president of Nyhus Communications in Seattle. He sees a trend among some companies "of fudging language to allay consumer concerns and jump on the green bandwagon, and I think it's starting to backfire." ... Kashi's DeSouza says that by 2015, all new Kashi products will "contain at least 70 percent USDA organic certified ingredients."
So, in a matter of days, Kashi ended up backpedaling as their initial attempt to discredit the Cornucopia Institute’s test results backfired, and now the company has agreed to ensure their products will, within the next three years, contain at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients. While this is probably not going to be enough for most health conscious consumers, Kashi’s pledge is at least a good demonstration of the power of consumer education, and that consumers ultimately have the power to influence even the largest of food companies. After all, they can only sell what you’re willing to buy!
“Natural” Label is Frequently Misused to Lure Health Conscious Consumers
The misuse of the term "natural" by companies who simply pay lip service to sustainability and the organic movement undermines companies that are truly sincere in their efforts to bring you eco-friendly, unadulterated, safe foods.
And companies like Kashi cannot rightfully claim ignorance about the impact the word “natural” has—marketing firm polls have shown that more people respond favorably to the “all-natural” label than the organic label! It’s a powerful word that conjures up wholesomeness in most people’s minds. Marketing terms such as “natural” are certainly not chosen willy-nilly. No, they’re selected based on what works and what sells. As illustrated by this market research summary by The Hartman Groupv:
“Consumer understanding and shopping behavior of organic and natural foods and beverages continues to change and evolve. Today’s consumers are confused, yet continue to be engaged by the vast array of products, messages, symbols and labels they encounter when making decisions about what to eat or drink and where they shop.
... This study will identify the hierarchy among these attributes and point out differences by product category as well as deeper distinctions between “organic” and “natural” themselves. It will enable companies to go beyond the clutter of product call-outs to have a singular focus on what matters most to consumers thereby increasing brand loyalty and likelihood of purchase”
According to a 2010 Hartman Group poll, more than 60 percent of consumers erroneously believe that the "natural" label implies or suggests the absence of genetically engineered ingredients, so Kashi’s statement that there’s nothing wrong with using genetically engineered ingredients in their “natural” products is rather weak. Food companies know this misconception exists, and they actively prey on consumers’ assumptions. Fortunately, the Cornucopia Institute’s report has awakened many to this sad truth. As one now-former Kashi consumer stated on the company’s Facebook page:
“Yours is the only brand cereal I have bought for years. Not anymore! You are despicable. Everything you supposedly stand for is a lie.”
The Difference Between Natural and Organic
It’s important to understand that the “natural” label is not regulated and does not provide a guarantee of being free of genetically engineered ingredients or synthetic pesticides and additives. Currently, the ONLY label that can protect you against genetically engineered ingredients and other unsavory additives is the USDA 100% Organic label.
The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) took effect October 21, 2002, and regulates the standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced. The labeling requirements of the NOP apply to raw, fresh products and processed products that contain organic agricultural ingredientsvi. In order to qualify as organic, a product must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity.
Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizersvii. Organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones.
Products labeled "USDA 100% organic" must contain only organically produced materials
Products labeled simply "USDA organic" must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients, whereas
The label "made with organic ingredients" can contain anywhere between 70 to 95 percent organic ingredients
Organic products cannot be irradiated, are not allowed to contain preservatives or flavor enhancing chemicals, nor can they contain traces of heavy metals or other contaminants in excess of tolerances set by the FDAviii. Additionally, the pesticide residue level cannot be higher than 5 percent of the maximum EPA pesticide toleranceix. For the complete National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances under the USDA organic label, see this linkx. To learn more about organic foods and the findings detailed in the Cereal Crimes report, please listen to my interview with Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute.
Download Interview Transcript
The Non-GMO Project Verified Seal
There’s yet another label you need to be aware of, and that is the Non-GMO project’s seal . The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization “committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices.”
It’s very important to understand that brands are registered with the Project without being independently lab tested. All they have to do is affirm that their intention is to provide foods that are free of genetically engineered ingredients.
Unfortunately, as the Cereal Crimes report showed, even some products enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, were found to contain genetically engineered ingredients. Barbara's Bakery's Puffins and Whole Foods' 365® Corn Flakes both contained more than 50 percent genetically engineered corn. Meanwhile, the control, Nature's Path® USDA certified organic corn flakes, contained only trace amounts of contamination (less than 0.5 percent genetically engineered corn).
Mom Stands Up to Monsanto and Wins Major Environmental Award
Genetically engineered foods do not just pose a health hazard for those consuming them. GE crops also threaten the health of the environment and those living in GE farming communities, due to the heavy use of pesticides required to grow these crops.
A woman in Argentina who was instrumental in getting the president of Argentina to investigate the connection between pesticide use and the incidence of cancer and other devastating illnesses and deaths in her town has been awarded the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize—the world’s largest prize honoring grassroots environmentalists. The Goldman recognizes unsung heroes who often take great personal risks to work to protect the world’s natural resources and human lives.
Thirteen years ago Sofia Gatica gave birth to a daughter who died three days later of kidney failure. Determined to learn what killed her child, she learned that the people in her working-class neighborhood, surrounded by genetically engineered soy fields and subjected to regular insecticide spraying, were plagued with unexplained health issues including high rates of neurological and respiratory diseases, birth defects, and infant mortality. Even though she faced an uphill battle and death threats, Gatica succeeded in getting a municipal ordinance passed prohibiting aerial spraying around her town. Argentina’s Supreme Court followed with a ruling that not only banned chemical spraying near populated areas, but ordered the government and soy producers to prove the chemicals are safe.
The Devastating Health Effects of Roundup
As of July 2013, Argentina will no longer allow the use of endulsofan, an off-patent organochlorine insecticide, and Gatica is currently involved with an effort to enact a nationwide ban on glyphosate as well. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, which is used on all genetically engineered Roundup-Ready crops, which have been genetically altered to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the chemical.
Glyphosate is easily one of the world's most overlooked poisons. Research published in 2010 showed that the chemical, which works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP synthase that is necessary for plants to grow, causes birth defects in frogs and chicken embryos at far lower levels than used in agricultural and garden applications . The malformations primarily affected the:
Skull
Face
Midline and developing brain
Spinal cord
The amount of glyphosate residue you can be exposed to through food is remarkably high, in terms of being close to the maximum residue limit (MRL) allowed. According to a report in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, the highest MRL for glyphosate in food and feed products in the EU is 20 mg/kg. Genetically engineered soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos occurred at 2.03 mg/kg! That's 10 times lower than the MRL. Other independent scientific research has also found that glyphosate has the potential to cause grave health damage, including a 2009 study that tested formulations of Roundup that were highly diluted (up to 100,000 times or more) on human cells, and even then the cells died within 24 hours.
Why We MUST Insist on Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods
Labeling may be the only way to stop the proliferation of genetically engineered foods in the US, but simple petitions will likely fail. We strongly support state initiatives, such as California's ballot initiative to require labeling for genetically engineered foods sold in their state. A coalition of consumer, public health and environmental organizations, food companies, and individuals has already submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General, and thousands of volunteers have done an outstanding job collecting the required signatures.
Now, the campaign needs funding. Needless to say, it's going to be an enormous battle, as the biotech industry will outspend us by 100 to 1, if not more, for their propaganda aimed at stopping Californians from voting it into law.
I urge you to participate in the Money Bomb Against Monsanto, which was launched on May 1. By May 26, a broad coalition of food-, farming-, health groups, and organic food manufacturers, will attempt to raise one million dollars (i.e. “The Money Bomb”) to help get this law passed.
Donations can be made online, via regular snail mail, and over the phone. And to sweeten the deal further, a group of “Right to Know” public interest organizations and organic companies have pledged to match the first million dollars raised in this nationwide “Drop the Money Bomb on Monsanto Campaign.” So please, help us raise two million dollars to win this historic campaign!
You can donate online, by phone, or by dropping a check in the mail.
Donate Today!
References:
i USA Today April 29, 2012
ii Cornucopia Institute, Cereal Crimes Report, October 11, 2011
iii Cornucopia Institute April 26, 2012
iv USA Today April 29, 2012
v Hartman Group, Beyond Organic and Natural: Resolving Confusion in Marketing Foods and Beverages
vi United States Department of Agriculture,Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program, Organic Labeling and Marketing Information
vii Food Marketing Institute, Natural and Organic Foods, Executive Summary
viii US Food and Drug Administration, August 2000, Action levels for poisonous or deleterious substances in human food and animal feed
ix Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticides: Health and Safety, Pesticides and Food:
What the Pesticide Residue Limits are on Food
x US Department of Agriculture, The National list of allowed and prohibited substances
xi Non-GMO Project
xii Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595
xiii Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595
xiv Chemical Research in Toxicology 2009 Jan;22(1):97-105.
A note on a Rhode Island grocer’s shelf has gone viral, informing consumers everywhere that the popular “natural” cereal brand Kashi actually contains genetically engineered grains
As a result of consumer outrage, the Kashi brand, which is owned by Kellogg Company, has now pledged to use at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients by 2015—a move that may be too little, too late for many health conscious consumers. The pledge came just days after initially trying to further mislead consumers by denying the test results, which had found Kashi GoLean cereal contained 100 percent genetically engineered soy
Currently, the ONLY label that can protect you against genetically engineered ingredients, synthetic pesticides, and other harmful additives is the USDA 100% Organic label
By Dr. Mercola
A simple sign on a grocery store shelf has gone viral, causing a storm of outrage among consumers who feel they’ve been misled by cereal maker Kellogg’s claims about its Kashi cereals. A Rhode Island grocer posted a note on the shelf where Kashi was supposed to be, saying he’d learned it wasn’t 100 percent natural after all, and therefore wasn’t carrying it anymore.
It turns out the soy in Kashi cereals comes from genetically modified Roundup-ready soybeans, which have a gene inserted in them that allows the crop to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the weed killer.
USA Today reported that consumers felt duped into believing that Kashi was all-natural when it’s noti. Their complaints were initially brushed off by Kashi general Manager David DeSouza, who told USA Today that since the FDA doesn’t regulate the term “natural,” the cereal maker has done nothing wrong by defining “natural” as minimally-processed with no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or sweeteners.
Were You Duped by Kashi’s Wholesome Brand Identity?
People generally tend to believe that the word “natural” refers to foods grown “in a natural way,” which really amounts to organic farming methods, or close to it; sans harsh chemicals, and most definitely not something that has been genetically engineered. Unfortunately, that’s not what the “natural” label represents at all. In fact, the “natural” label is unregulated, and companies can define it as they please.
But most food manufacturers are well aware of this general misperception of what the label means, and frequently misuse it to lure health conscious consumers into spending more. This is known as “green-washing” and it certainly applies in this case.
Adding insult to injury, the company appears to have made a poor attempt to save face by further misleading consumers about the accuracy of the information that led the Rhode Island grocer to not carry the Kashi brand anymore.
The Cornucopia Institute released a report, Cereal Crimes, back in November of last yearii, which details the presence of genetically engineered grains in a number of leading “natural” cereal brands, including Kellogg’s Kashi brand. Shockingly, many of the products tested were found to contain high amounts of genetically engineered grains—some, including Kashi, containing 100 percent genetically engineered grains! The report also mentions a class action lawsuit filed against Kellogg/Kashi on August 31, 2011, "for allegedly misleading consumers with its "natural" claims. One Kashi® product in particular, GoLean® Shakes, is composed almost entirely of synthetic and unnaturally processed ingredients, according to the plaintiff."
The report contrasts these findings with tests of certified organic cereal products, which by law are not allowed to contain any genetically engineered ingredients or synthetic pesticides. While some were found to be mildly contaminated with genetically engineered ingredients, overall, the report highlights the fact that the ONLY way to ensure you’re not buying a genetically engineered product is to buy a product bearing the USDA 100% Organic label.
When Greenwashing Attempts Finally Backfire...
Once the grocer’s sign went viral and angry consumers began overloading the Kashi telephone lines, the company switched to a recorded message stating they were temporarily unable to accept calls. Then, according to an April 26 report by Cornucopia Instituteiii:
“When the company again began accepting calls, a Kashi consumer affairs employee, Rick Duran, told a Cornucopia staff member that “no actual testing” of their cereal products had been performed. This mimicked the analysis also offered in a response by the company in an online video posted that same afternoon on the Kashi Facebook page. The video spokesperson called Cornucopia’s information “scientifically inaccurate and misleading because it was not based on actual testing of Kashi products.”
“This characterization of our work by Kashi is blatantly false,” said Will Fantle, Cornucopia’s Research Director. “We purchased a readily available box of Kashi’s GoLean® cereal from a Whole Foods store. We then sent a sample to an accredited national lab for testing, finding that the soy in the natural cereal was 100% GMO.”
The Kashi video also suggested, disingenuously, that any genetically engineered contamination in their food was from incidental sources rather than crops intentionally grown from GMO seed. While acknowledging that over 80% of the soybeans grown in North America are GMO, they explain that, “practices in agricultural storage, handling, and shipping, have lead to an environment where GMOs are not sufficiently controlled.”
“This is classic public relations spin and crisis communications work, where corporations use misinformation to try to cover their tracks,” said Rebekah Wilce, of the Center for Media and Democracy/PRWatch, which helps expose corporate PR tactics...”
Three days later, the USA Today reportediv:
“... Kellogg got itself into trouble by "not being entirely transparent," says Roger Nyhus, president of Nyhus Communications in Seattle. He sees a trend among some companies "of fudging language to allay consumer concerns and jump on the green bandwagon, and I think it's starting to backfire." ... Kashi's DeSouza says that by 2015, all new Kashi products will "contain at least 70 percent USDA organic certified ingredients."
So, in a matter of days, Kashi ended up backpedaling as their initial attempt to discredit the Cornucopia Institute’s test results backfired, and now the company has agreed to ensure their products will, within the next three years, contain at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients. While this is probably not going to be enough for most health conscious consumers, Kashi’s pledge is at least a good demonstration of the power of consumer education, and that consumers ultimately have the power to influence even the largest of food companies. After all, they can only sell what you’re willing to buy!
“Natural” Label is Frequently Misused to Lure Health Conscious Consumers
The misuse of the term "natural" by companies who simply pay lip service to sustainability and the organic movement undermines companies that are truly sincere in their efforts to bring you eco-friendly, unadulterated, safe foods.
And companies like Kashi cannot rightfully claim ignorance about the impact the word “natural” has—marketing firm polls have shown that more people respond favorably to the “all-natural” label than the organic label! It’s a powerful word that conjures up wholesomeness in most people’s minds. Marketing terms such as “natural” are certainly not chosen willy-nilly. No, they’re selected based on what works and what sells. As illustrated by this market research summary by The Hartman Groupv:
“Consumer understanding and shopping behavior of organic and natural foods and beverages continues to change and evolve. Today’s consumers are confused, yet continue to be engaged by the vast array of products, messages, symbols and labels they encounter when making decisions about what to eat or drink and where they shop.
... This study will identify the hierarchy among these attributes and point out differences by product category as well as deeper distinctions between “organic” and “natural” themselves. It will enable companies to go beyond the clutter of product call-outs to have a singular focus on what matters most to consumers thereby increasing brand loyalty and likelihood of purchase”
According to a 2010 Hartman Group poll, more than 60 percent of consumers erroneously believe that the "natural" label implies or suggests the absence of genetically engineered ingredients, so Kashi’s statement that there’s nothing wrong with using genetically engineered ingredients in their “natural” products is rather weak. Food companies know this misconception exists, and they actively prey on consumers’ assumptions. Fortunately, the Cornucopia Institute’s report has awakened many to this sad truth. As one now-former Kashi consumer stated on the company’s Facebook page:
“Yours is the only brand cereal I have bought for years. Not anymore! You are despicable. Everything you supposedly stand for is a lie.”
The Difference Between Natural and Organic
It’s important to understand that the “natural” label is not regulated and does not provide a guarantee of being free of genetically engineered ingredients or synthetic pesticides and additives. Currently, the ONLY label that can protect you against genetically engineered ingredients and other unsavory additives is the USDA 100% Organic label.
The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) took effect October 21, 2002, and regulates the standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced. The labeling requirements of the NOP apply to raw, fresh products and processed products that contain organic agricultural ingredientsvi. In order to qualify as organic, a product must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity.
Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizersvii. Organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones.
Products labeled "USDA 100% organic" must contain only organically produced materials
Products labeled simply "USDA organic" must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients, whereas
The label "made with organic ingredients" can contain anywhere between 70 to 95 percent organic ingredients
Organic products cannot be irradiated, are not allowed to contain preservatives or flavor enhancing chemicals, nor can they contain traces of heavy metals or other contaminants in excess of tolerances set by the FDAviii. Additionally, the pesticide residue level cannot be higher than 5 percent of the maximum EPA pesticide toleranceix. For the complete National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances under the USDA organic label, see this linkx. To learn more about organic foods and the findings detailed in the Cereal Crimes report, please listen to my interview with Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute.
Download Interview Transcript
The Non-GMO Project Verified Seal
There’s yet another label you need to be aware of, and that is the Non-GMO project’s seal . The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization “committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices.”
It’s very important to understand that brands are registered with the Project without being independently lab tested. All they have to do is affirm that their intention is to provide foods that are free of genetically engineered ingredients.
Unfortunately, as the Cereal Crimes report showed, even some products enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, were found to contain genetically engineered ingredients. Barbara's Bakery's Puffins and Whole Foods' 365® Corn Flakes both contained more than 50 percent genetically engineered corn. Meanwhile, the control, Nature's Path® USDA certified organic corn flakes, contained only trace amounts of contamination (less than 0.5 percent genetically engineered corn).
Mom Stands Up to Monsanto and Wins Major Environmental Award
Genetically engineered foods do not just pose a health hazard for those consuming them. GE crops also threaten the health of the environment and those living in GE farming communities, due to the heavy use of pesticides required to grow these crops.
A woman in Argentina who was instrumental in getting the president of Argentina to investigate the connection between pesticide use and the incidence of cancer and other devastating illnesses and deaths in her town has been awarded the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize—the world’s largest prize honoring grassroots environmentalists. The Goldman recognizes unsung heroes who often take great personal risks to work to protect the world’s natural resources and human lives.
Thirteen years ago Sofia Gatica gave birth to a daughter who died three days later of kidney failure. Determined to learn what killed her child, she learned that the people in her working-class neighborhood, surrounded by genetically engineered soy fields and subjected to regular insecticide spraying, were plagued with unexplained health issues including high rates of neurological and respiratory diseases, birth defects, and infant mortality. Even though she faced an uphill battle and death threats, Gatica succeeded in getting a municipal ordinance passed prohibiting aerial spraying around her town. Argentina’s Supreme Court followed with a ruling that not only banned chemical spraying near populated areas, but ordered the government and soy producers to prove the chemicals are safe.
The Devastating Health Effects of Roundup
As of July 2013, Argentina will no longer allow the use of endulsofan, an off-patent organochlorine insecticide, and Gatica is currently involved with an effort to enact a nationwide ban on glyphosate as well. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, which is used on all genetically engineered Roundup-Ready crops, which have been genetically altered to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the chemical.
Glyphosate is easily one of the world's most overlooked poisons. Research published in 2010 showed that the chemical, which works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP synthase that is necessary for plants to grow, causes birth defects in frogs and chicken embryos at far lower levels than used in agricultural and garden applications . The malformations primarily affected the:
Skull
Face
Midline and developing brain
Spinal cord
The amount of glyphosate residue you can be exposed to through food is remarkably high, in terms of being close to the maximum residue limit (MRL) allowed. According to a report in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, the highest MRL for glyphosate in food and feed products in the EU is 20 mg/kg. Genetically engineered soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos occurred at 2.03 mg/kg! That's 10 times lower than the MRL. Other independent scientific research has also found that glyphosate has the potential to cause grave health damage, including a 2009 study that tested formulations of Roundup that were highly diluted (up to 100,000 times or more) on human cells, and even then the cells died within 24 hours.
Why We MUST Insist on Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods
Labeling may be the only way to stop the proliferation of genetically engineered foods in the US, but simple petitions will likely fail. We strongly support state initiatives, such as California's ballot initiative to require labeling for genetically engineered foods sold in their state. A coalition of consumer, public health and environmental organizations, food companies, and individuals has already submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General, and thousands of volunteers have done an outstanding job collecting the required signatures.
Now, the campaign needs funding. Needless to say, it's going to be an enormous battle, as the biotech industry will outspend us by 100 to 1, if not more, for their propaganda aimed at stopping Californians from voting it into law.
I urge you to participate in the Money Bomb Against Monsanto, which was launched on May 1. By May 26, a broad coalition of food-, farming-, health groups, and organic food manufacturers, will attempt to raise one million dollars (i.e. “The Money Bomb”) to help get this law passed.
Donations can be made online, via regular snail mail, and over the phone. And to sweeten the deal further, a group of “Right to Know” public interest organizations and organic companies have pledged to match the first million dollars raised in this nationwide “Drop the Money Bomb on Monsanto Campaign.” So please, help us raise two million dollars to win this historic campaign!
You can donate online, by phone, or by dropping a check in the mail.
Donate Today!
References:
i USA Today April 29, 2012
ii Cornucopia Institute, Cereal Crimes Report, October 11, 2011
iii Cornucopia Institute April 26, 2012
iv USA Today April 29, 2012
v Hartman Group, Beyond Organic and Natural: Resolving Confusion in Marketing Foods and Beverages
vi United States Department of Agriculture,Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program, Organic Labeling and Marketing Information
vii Food Marketing Institute, Natural and Organic Foods, Executive Summary
viii US Food and Drug Administration, August 2000, Action levels for poisonous or deleterious substances in human food and animal feed
ix Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticides: Health and Safety, Pesticides and Food:
What the Pesticide Residue Limits are on Food
x US Department of Agriculture, The National list of allowed and prohibited substances
xi Non-GMO Project
xii Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595
xiii Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595
xiv Chemical Research in Toxicology 2009 Jan;22(1):97-105.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Supplement support to grow younger
Six "Grow Younger" Nutrients I Take Every Day
May 09 2012 | 96,727 views By Dr. Mercola
Nutritionists have long been interested in the dynamics of telomere length in the body, and how telomeres figure in to human health and life expectancy. Telomeres were first discovered in 1973 by Alexey Olovnikov.
He found that the tiny units of DNA at the very end of each chromosome—the telomere—shorten with time because they cannot replicate completely each time the cell divides and they may be the most powerful biological clock that has yet to be identified.
Hence, as you get older, your telomeres get shorter and shorter. Eventually, DNA replication and cell division ceases completely, at which point you die. However, a growing body of research is showing that certain nutrients play a huge role in protecting telomere length; greatly affecting how long you live.
One Way Nutrition Affects Longevity
For example, in one recent studyi, scientists found that the B vitamin folate plays an important part in maintenance of DNA integrity and DNA methylation, which in turn influences telomere length.
Researchers also found that women who use vitamin B12 supplements have longer telomeres than those who don't. Vitamin D3, zinc, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins C and E also influence telomere length. This supports the findings of an earlier study from 2009, which provided the first epidemiologic evidence that the use of multivitamins by women is associated with longer telomeres.ii According to the authors:
"Compared with nonusers, the relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was on average 5.1% longer among daily multivitamin users. In the analysis of micronutrients, higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods were each associated with longer telomeres, even after adjustment for multivitamin use."
The mechanism by which nutrients appear to affect telomere length is by influencing the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that adds the telomeric repeats to the ends of your DNA. Thousands of studies have been published on telomerase, and they are well-known to maintain genomic stability, prevent the inappropriate activation of DNA damage pathways, and regulate cellular aging.
In 1984, Elizabeth Blackburn PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF, discovered that the enzyme telomerase actually has the ability to lengthen the telomere by synthesizing DNA from an RNA primer. She, along with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."
The Science of Growing Younger
I believe the science of telomeres offers the most exciting and viable possibility for extreme life extension—the kind of anti-aging strategy that can actually allow you to regenerate and in effect "grow younger." Naturally, researchers are hard at work devising pharmaceutical strategies to accomplish this, but there's solid evidence that simple lifestyle strategies and nutritional intervention can do this too. This is great news, as short telomeres are a risk factor not just for death itself, but for many diseases as well.
For example, telomere shortening has been linked to the diseases listed below. But animal studies have also shown that these types of health problems can be reversed by restoring telomerase functioning:
Decreased immune response against infections Type 2 diabetes Atherosclerotic lesions
Neurodegenerative diseases Testicular, splenic, intestinal atrophy DNA damage
Top 12 Key Nutrients for Life Extension
The featured study found the following nutrients to have a beneficial impact on telomere length:
Vitamin B12 Zinc Vitamin D
Omega-3 Vitamin C Vitamin E
Below, I will review a few of those, plus several additional recommendations for what I believe are among the most important nutrients to maintain and promote telomere lengthening.
Naturally, any attempt at a list like this is bound to fail to some degree as we really need a balance of a wide variety of nutrients. However, I believe it's possible to make some general recommendations based on the fact that most people are sorely deficient in many of these key nutrients that we know are important for optimal health. Others, such as astaxanthin and curcumin, just have such robust scientific support that it would seem foolish to ignore them when the benefits are so profound. With that said, here are my recommendations for the top 12 anti-aging nutrients, followed by two bonus strategies that do not involve taking supplements that can also help radically increase your lifespan by protecting your telomeres.
I have listed the 12 nutrients below in the order that I believe they have in importance. I personally take the first six every day but the vitamin D is through sun exposure, not through an oral supplement.
1. Vitamin D
In one study of more than 2,000 women, those with higher vitamin D levels were found to have fewer aging-related changes in their DNA, as well as lowered inflammatory responsesiii. Women with higher levels of vitamin D are more likely to have longer telomeres, and vice versa. This means that people with higher levels of vitamin D may actually age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D.
Your leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictor for aging related diseases. As you age, your LTL's become shorter, but, if you suffer from chronic inflammation, your telomeres decrease in length much faster, because your body's inflammatory response accelerates leukocyte turnover. Your vitamin D concentrations also decrease with age, whereas your C-reactive protein (a mediator of inflammation) increases. This inverse double-whammy increases your overall risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The good news is that vitamin D is a potent inhibitor of your body's inflammatory response, and by reducing inflammation, you diminish your turnover of leukocytes, effectively creating a positive chain reaction that can help protect you against a variety of diseases. In essence, it protects your body from the deterioration of aging. Researchers have found that subsets of leukocytes have receptors for the active form of vitamin D (D3), which allows the vitamin to have a direct effect on these cells. This may also explain the specific connection between vitamin D and autoimmune disease.
The absolute best way to optimize your vitamin D levels would be through safe sun exposure. I am fully aware that many will not be able to implement this recommendation due to lifestyle constraints, but I feel I would be reprehensibly negligent if I did not emphasize how superior photo vitamin D is compared to oral. So for those who are able to, I have provided the following video that helps you find the times exposing your skin to the sun will actually produce vitamin D in your location.
2. Astaxanthin (derived from the microalgae Haematoccous pluvialis)
In the 2009 study on multivitamin use and telomere length, longer telomeres were also associated with the use of antioxidant formulasiv. According to the authors, telomeres are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Additionally, inflammation induces oxidative stress and lowers the activity of telomerase (again, that's the enzyme responsible for maintaining your telomeres).
Astaxanthin has emerged as one of the most potent and beneficial antioxidants currently known, with potent anti-inflammatory and DNA-protective capabilities. Research has even shown that it can protect against DNA damage induced by gamma radiationv. It has a number of unique features that make it stand out from the crowd.
For example, it is by far the most powerful carotenoid antioxidant when it comes to free radical scavenging: astaxanthin is 65 times more powerful than vitamin C, 54 times more powerful than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin Evi. It's also far more effective than other carotenoids at "singlet oxygen quenching," which is a particular type of oxidation. It is 550 times more powerful than vitamin E, and 11 times more powerful than beta-carotene at neutralizing singlet oxygen.
Astaxanthin crosses both your blood-brain barrier AND your blood-retinal barrier (beta carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection to your eyes, brain and central nervous system.
Another feature that separates astaxanthin from other carotenoids is that it cannot function as a pro-oxidant. Many antioxidants will act as pro-oxidants (meaning they start to cause rather than combat oxidation) when present in your tissues in sufficient concentrations. This is why you don't want to go overboard taking too many antioxidant supplements like beta-carotene, for example. Astaxanthin, on the other hand, does not function as a pro-oxidant, even when present in high amounts, which makes it highly beneficial.
Lastly, one of its most profound features is its unique ability to protect the entire cell from damage—both the water-soluble part and the fat-soluble portion of the cell. Other antioxidants affect just one or the other. This is due to astaxanthin's unique physical characteristics that allow it to reside within the cell membrane will also protecting the inside of the cell. To learn more about astaxanthin, please listen to the following interview with Dr. Robert Corish.
Download Interview Transcript
3. Ubiquinol (CoQ10)
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is the fifth most popular supplement in the United States, taken by about 53 percent of Americans, according to a 2010 survey by ConsumerLab.comvii. This is a good thing as one in every four Americans over 45 is taking a statin and every single one of these individuals needs to be taking it.
CoQ10 is used by every cell in your body. In fact, it is so important for your body's daily functions that it is also known as "ubiquinone" because it's 'ubiquitous' in the human body.
What you may not know, however, is that to benefit from the form of the nutrient needed to produce cellular energy and help you reduce the typical signs of aging, your body must convert the ubiquinone to the reduced form, called ubiquinol -- and research is showing that this reduced form may actually be superior for your health in a number of ways. If you're under 25 years old your body is capable of converting CoQ10 from the oxidized to the reduced form. However, if you're older, your body becomes more and more challenged to convert the oxidized CoQ10 to ubiquinol.
Premature aging is one primary side effect of having too little CoQ10 because this essential vitamin recycles other antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E. CoQ10 deficiency also accelerates DNA damage, and because CoQ10 is beneficial to heart health and muscle function this depletion leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and eventually heart failure.
In a previous interview with Dr. Stephen Sinatra, he recounts an experiment from the mid-90's on aging rats. The average lifespan of a rat is two years. Rats given CoQ10, at the end of their life, had more energy, better coats, and better appetites, compared to the rats that did not get CoQ10. The supplement basically had a potent anti-aging effect, in the sense it maintained youthfulness until the very end of their life. In terms of life extension, the effect was minimal.
Dr. Sinatra also conducted his own research and found that CoQ10 given to both younger and older mice resulted in increased energy and vigor. Older mice traveled through mazes quicker, they had better memory, and had more locomotor activity than those who did not get CoQ10. So CoQ10 definitely appears to improve the quality of life, even if it may not significantly increase longevity per say. For more information and dosage recommendations, please see this previous CoQ10 article.
4. Fermented Foods / Probiotics
It's quite clear that eating a diet consisting of high amounts of processed foods will shorten your life, yet 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is spent on processed food, and the number one source of calories in the US comes from high fructose corn syrup – a staple ingredient in nearly all processed foods, from frozen dinners, to condiments, snacks, and soda. Researchers have even discovered that genetic mutations and malfunctions that cause disease are created in future generations when highly processed and artificial foods are consumed!
Part of the problem is that these processed, sugar- and chemical-laden foods effectively destroy your intestinal microflora. Your gut flora has incredible power over your immune system, which, of course, is your body's natural defense system. Antibiotics, stress, artificial sweeteners, chlorinated water and many other factors can also reduce the amount of probiotics (beneficial bacteria) in your gut, which can predispose you to illness and premature aging. Ideally, you'll want to make traditionally cultured and fermented foods a staple in your daily diet.
You can use a probiotic supplement, but getting your probiotics from food is definitely better as you can consume far more beneficial bacteria, in many cases up to 100X more. Fermented vegetables are an excellent alternative as they are both delicious and simple to make. In the following video, Caroline Barringer discusses the process of fermenting your own vegetables in some detail, so if you're up for fermenting some of your own foods, please listen to this interview.
Download Interview Transcript
5. Krill Oil
According to Dr. Richard Harris, an expert on omega-3 fats, those who have an omega-3 index of less than four percent age much faster than those with indexes above eight percent. Therefore, your omega-3 index may also be an effective marker of your rate of aging. According to Dr. Harris' research, omega-3 fats appear to play a role in activating telomerase, which, again, has been shown to be able to actually reverse telomere shortening.
Although this research is preliminary, I would suggest that optimizing your omega-3 levels above eight percent would be a good strategy if you're interested in delaying aging. (Your doctor can order the omega-3 index test from a lab called Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Richmond, Virginia.) After all, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by doing so, since omega-3 has proven to be extremely important for your health in so many respects.
My favorite animal-based omega-3 is krill oil, as it has a number of benefits not found in other omega-3 supplements such as fish oil. Aside from higher potential for contamination, fish oil supplements also have a higher risk of suffering oxidation damage and becoming rancid. Dr. Rudi Moerck has discussed these risks at great length in a previous interview. Krill oil also contains naturally-occurring astaxanthin, which makes it nearly 200 times more resistant to oxidative damage compared to fish oil.
Additionally, according to Dr. Harris' research, krill oil is also more potent gram for gram, as its absorption rate is much higher than fish oil. You get somewhere between 25 to 50 percent more omega-3 per milligram when you take krill oil compared to fish oil, hence you don't need to take as much.
6. Vitamin K2
Vitamin K may very well be "the next vitamin D" as research continues to illuminate a growing number of benefits to your health. While most people get enough vitamin K from their diets to maintain adequate blood clotting, they're NOT enough to offer protection against more serious health problems. For example, research over the past few years suggest that vitamin K2 can provide substantial protection from prostate cancerviii, which is one of the leading causes of cancer among men in the United States. And research results are similarly encouraging for the benefits of vitamin K to your cardiac health:
In 2004, the Rotterdam Study, which was the first study demonstrating the beneficial effect of vitamin K2, showed that people who consume 45 mcg of K2 daily live seven years longer than people getting 12 mcg per dayix.
In a subsequent study called the Prospect Studyx, 16,000 people were followed for 10 years. Researchers found that each additional 10 mcg of K2 in the diet results in 9 percent fewer cardiac events.
K2 is present in fermented foods, particularly cheese and the Japanese food natto, which is by far the richest source of K2.
7. Magnesium
According to the featured researchxi, magnesium also plays an important role in DNA replication, repair, and RNA synthesis, and dietary magnesium has been shown to positively correlate with increased telomere length in women. Other research has shown that long term deficiency leads to telomere shortening in rats and cell cultures. It appears the lack of magnesium ions has a negative influence on genome integrity. Insufficient amounts of magnesium also reduce your body's ability to repair damaged DNA, and can induce chromosomal abnormalities. According to the authors, it's reasonable to hypothesize that "magnesium influences telomere length by affecting DNA integrity and repair, in addition to its potential role in oxidative stress and inflammation."
8. Polyphenols
Polyphenols are potent antioxidant compounds in plant foods, many of which have been linked to anti-aging benefits and disease reduction. Here are but a few examples of these potent antioxidant compounds:
Grapes (resveratrol) — Resveratrol deeply penetrates the center of your cell's nucleus, giving your DNA time to repair free radical damage. Research dating back to 2003 showed that resveratrol, a powerful polyphenol and anti-fungal chemical, was able to increase the lifespan of yeast cells.xii
The findings showed that resveratrol could activate a gene called sirtuin1, which is also activated during calorie restriction in various species. Since then studies in nematode worms, fruit flies, fish, mice, and human cells have linked resveratrol to longer lives.
Resveratrol is found in grapes, and there are numerous products on the market containing resveratrol. I recommend looking for one made from Muscadine grapes, and that uses WHOLE grape skins and seeds, as this is where many of the benefits are concentrated.
Cacao — Quite a few studies have confirmed the potent antioxidant properties, and subsequent health benefits, of raw cocoa powder. Dark, organic, unprocessed chocolate has been found to benefit your glucose metabolism (diabetic control), blood pressure, and cardiovascular health.
Green tea — Polyphenols in tea, which include EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and many others, have been found to offer protection against many types of cancer. The polyphenols in green tea may constitute up to 30 percent of the dry leaf weight, so, when you drink a cup of green tea, you're drinking a fairly potent solution of healthy tea polyphenols.
Green tea is the least processed kind of tea, so it also contains the highest amounts of EGCG of all tea varieties. Keep in mind, however, that many green teas have been oxidized, and this process may take away many of its valuable properties. The easiest sign to look for when evaluating a green tea's quality is its color: if your green tea is brown rather than green, it's likely been oxidized.
My personal favorite is matcha green tea because it contains the entire ground tea leaf, and can contain over 100 times the EGCG provided from regular brewed green tea.
9. Folate (aka Vitamin B9, or Folic Acid)
According to the featured study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, plasma concentrations of the B vitamin folate correspond to telomere length in both men and women. Folate plays an important role in the maintenance of DNA integrity and DNA methylation, both of which influence the length of your telomeresxiii.
It is useful for preventing depression, seizure disorders and brain atrophy. In fact, folate deficiency can lead to elevated homocysteine levels, which can be a major contributor to heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. One unfortunate and preventable reason why some believe folate numbers are slipping is the increased prevalence of obesity, which negatively affects the way most people metabolize this important vitamin. The ideal way to raise your folate levels is to eat plenty of fresh, raw, organic leafy green vegetables, and beans.
Please note that it is the natural folate from food that has been found to be beneficial. This may not be true for the supplement folic acid.
10. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is fittingly known as "the energy vitamin," and your body requires it for a number of vital functions. Among them: energy production, blood formation, DNA synthesis, and myelin formation. (Myelin is insulation that protects your nerve endings and allows them to communicate with one another.) Unfortunately, research suggests about 25 percent of American adults are deficient in this vitally important nutrient, and nearly half the population has suboptimal blood levels.
Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal tissues, including foods like beef and beef liver, lamb, snapper, venison, salmon, shrimp, scallops, poultry and eggs. It's not readily available in plants, so if you do not eat meat or animal products you are at risk of deficiency. The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs. An analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12, so your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.
If you aren't getting sufficient B12 in your diet, I recommend you begin supplementation immediately with this vital nutrient with either an under-the-tongue fine mist spray or vitamin B12 injections. Ensuring your body has adequate B12 can vastly improve the quality of your life and prevent debilitating, even life-threatening diseases which result from a deficiency of this all-important nutrient.
11. Curcumin (Turmeric)
Curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric—acts both as an immune booster and potent anti-inflammatory. But perhaps its greatest value lies in its anti-cancer potential, and it has the most evidence based literature backing up its anti-cancer claims of any other nutrient. It affects over 100 different pathways once it gets into a cell—among them, a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers.
The spice actually stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful protein known to induce abnormal inflammatory response that leads to an assortment of disorders such as arthritis and cancer.
To get the full benefits that curcumin has to offer, you will want to look for a turmeric extract with at least 95 percent curcuminoids that contains only 100 percent certified organic ingredients. The formula should be free of fillers, additives and excipients (a substance added to the supplement as a processing or stability aid), and the manufacturer should use safe production practices at all stages: planting, cultivation, selective harvesting, and then producing and packaging the final product. This previous article can provide you further details on how to use curcumin.
12. Vitamin A
According to the featured study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, telomere length is positively associated with dietary intake of vitamin A in women who do not take multivitaminsxiv. It plays an important role in your immune response, and if you're deficient, you become predisposed to infections that can promote telomere shortening. However, vitamin A does not appear to have a dose-dependent effect on telomere length, so you don't need high amounts.
Two Additional Lifestyle Strategies that Affect Telomere Length
While a nutritious diet accounts for about 80 percent of the benefits derived from a healthy lifestyle, exercise cannot be ignored, and there's evidence suggesting that exercise protects against telomere shortening as well. Yet another lifestyle strategy that can have a beneficial impact is intermittent fasting.
Exercise — One recent study on post-menopausal women suffering from chronic stress found that "vigorous physical activity appears to protect those experiencing high stress by buffering its relationship with telomere length (TL)." xv In fact, among the women who did not exercise, each unit increase in the Perceived Stress Scale was related to a 15-fold increase in the odds of having short telomeres. Those who did exercise regularly showed no correlation between telomere length and perceived stress!
High-intensity exercise appears to be the most effective all-natural approach to slow down the aging process by reducing telomere shortening. In fact, research has shown there's a direct association between reduced telomere shortening in your later years and high-intensity-type exercisesxvi: Greta Blackburn's book The Immortality Edge: Realize the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Lifexvii further details the importance of high-intensity exercise to prevent telomere shortening.
Intermittent Fasting — Previous research has shown that you can extend your lifespan by reducing your caloric intake, and I've written about this technique in the past. The problem is that most people do not understand how to properly cut calories, because in order to remain healthy, you have to cut out the right kind of calories—namely carbohydrates. Research by Professor Cynthia Kenyon has shown that avoiding carbs will activate genes that govern youthfulness and longevity.
But the health benefits of calorie restriction can also be achieved by intermittent fasting (keep in mind you still need to cut out sugars and grains). For more detailed recommendations and guidance on intermittent fasting, or scheduled eating, please see this recent article that greatly expands on this complex topic, and highlights the precautions, as it certainly isn't for everyone.
References:
iThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
ii American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 11, 2009: 89(6); 1857-1863.
iii American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1420-1425, November 2007
ivThe Organic & Non-GMO Report July 21, 2011
vWei Sheng Yan Jiu/Journal of Hygiene Research September 2011;40(5):551-4.
viUSNutra.com Astaxanthin
viiConsumerLab.com, Supplement Use Report 2010
viiiAmerican Beekeeping Federation
ixNimptsch K, Rohrmann S and Linseisen J. "Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg)" Am J Clinical Nutrition April 2008;87(4):985-992
x Daniels, S. "Vitamin K2, but not K1, effective for heart health benefits: Study" NutraIngredients.com February 12, 2009
xiThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xii Nature, Red wine ingredient makes yeast live longer, HelenR. Pilcher
xiiiThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xivThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xvPLoS One. 2010 May 26;5(5):e10837.
xviMechanisms of Ageing and Development, February 2010;131(2):165-7.
xvii The Immortality Edge: Realize the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Life by Greta Blackburn
Source: The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
May 09 2012 | 96,727 views By Dr. Mercola
Nutritionists have long been interested in the dynamics of telomere length in the body, and how telomeres figure in to human health and life expectancy. Telomeres were first discovered in 1973 by Alexey Olovnikov.
He found that the tiny units of DNA at the very end of each chromosome—the telomere—shorten with time because they cannot replicate completely each time the cell divides and they may be the most powerful biological clock that has yet to be identified.
Hence, as you get older, your telomeres get shorter and shorter. Eventually, DNA replication and cell division ceases completely, at which point you die. However, a growing body of research is showing that certain nutrients play a huge role in protecting telomere length; greatly affecting how long you live.
One Way Nutrition Affects Longevity
For example, in one recent studyi, scientists found that the B vitamin folate plays an important part in maintenance of DNA integrity and DNA methylation, which in turn influences telomere length.
Researchers also found that women who use vitamin B12 supplements have longer telomeres than those who don't. Vitamin D3, zinc, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins C and E also influence telomere length. This supports the findings of an earlier study from 2009, which provided the first epidemiologic evidence that the use of multivitamins by women is associated with longer telomeres.ii According to the authors:
"Compared with nonusers, the relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was on average 5.1% longer among daily multivitamin users. In the analysis of micronutrients, higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods were each associated with longer telomeres, even after adjustment for multivitamin use."
The mechanism by which nutrients appear to affect telomere length is by influencing the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that adds the telomeric repeats to the ends of your DNA. Thousands of studies have been published on telomerase, and they are well-known to maintain genomic stability, prevent the inappropriate activation of DNA damage pathways, and regulate cellular aging.
In 1984, Elizabeth Blackburn PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF, discovered that the enzyme telomerase actually has the ability to lengthen the telomere by synthesizing DNA from an RNA primer. She, along with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."
The Science of Growing Younger
I believe the science of telomeres offers the most exciting and viable possibility for extreme life extension—the kind of anti-aging strategy that can actually allow you to regenerate and in effect "grow younger." Naturally, researchers are hard at work devising pharmaceutical strategies to accomplish this, but there's solid evidence that simple lifestyle strategies and nutritional intervention can do this too. This is great news, as short telomeres are a risk factor not just for death itself, but for many diseases as well.
For example, telomere shortening has been linked to the diseases listed below. But animal studies have also shown that these types of health problems can be reversed by restoring telomerase functioning:
Decreased immune response against infections Type 2 diabetes Atherosclerotic lesions
Neurodegenerative diseases Testicular, splenic, intestinal atrophy DNA damage
Top 12 Key Nutrients for Life Extension
The featured study found the following nutrients to have a beneficial impact on telomere length:
Vitamin B12 Zinc Vitamin D
Omega-3 Vitamin C Vitamin E
Below, I will review a few of those, plus several additional recommendations for what I believe are among the most important nutrients to maintain and promote telomere lengthening.
Naturally, any attempt at a list like this is bound to fail to some degree as we really need a balance of a wide variety of nutrients. However, I believe it's possible to make some general recommendations based on the fact that most people are sorely deficient in many of these key nutrients that we know are important for optimal health. Others, such as astaxanthin and curcumin, just have such robust scientific support that it would seem foolish to ignore them when the benefits are so profound. With that said, here are my recommendations for the top 12 anti-aging nutrients, followed by two bonus strategies that do not involve taking supplements that can also help radically increase your lifespan by protecting your telomeres.
I have listed the 12 nutrients below in the order that I believe they have in importance. I personally take the first six every day but the vitamin D is through sun exposure, not through an oral supplement.
1. Vitamin D
In one study of more than 2,000 women, those with higher vitamin D levels were found to have fewer aging-related changes in their DNA, as well as lowered inflammatory responsesiii. Women with higher levels of vitamin D are more likely to have longer telomeres, and vice versa. This means that people with higher levels of vitamin D may actually age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D.
Your leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictor for aging related diseases. As you age, your LTL's become shorter, but, if you suffer from chronic inflammation, your telomeres decrease in length much faster, because your body's inflammatory response accelerates leukocyte turnover. Your vitamin D concentrations also decrease with age, whereas your C-reactive protein (a mediator of inflammation) increases. This inverse double-whammy increases your overall risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The good news is that vitamin D is a potent inhibitor of your body's inflammatory response, and by reducing inflammation, you diminish your turnover of leukocytes, effectively creating a positive chain reaction that can help protect you against a variety of diseases. In essence, it protects your body from the deterioration of aging. Researchers have found that subsets of leukocytes have receptors for the active form of vitamin D (D3), which allows the vitamin to have a direct effect on these cells. This may also explain the specific connection between vitamin D and autoimmune disease.
The absolute best way to optimize your vitamin D levels would be through safe sun exposure. I am fully aware that many will not be able to implement this recommendation due to lifestyle constraints, but I feel I would be reprehensibly negligent if I did not emphasize how superior photo vitamin D is compared to oral. So for those who are able to, I have provided the following video that helps you find the times exposing your skin to the sun will actually produce vitamin D in your location.
2. Astaxanthin (derived from the microalgae Haematoccous pluvialis)
In the 2009 study on multivitamin use and telomere length, longer telomeres were also associated with the use of antioxidant formulasiv. According to the authors, telomeres are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Additionally, inflammation induces oxidative stress and lowers the activity of telomerase (again, that's the enzyme responsible for maintaining your telomeres).
Astaxanthin has emerged as one of the most potent and beneficial antioxidants currently known, with potent anti-inflammatory and DNA-protective capabilities. Research has even shown that it can protect against DNA damage induced by gamma radiationv. It has a number of unique features that make it stand out from the crowd.
For example, it is by far the most powerful carotenoid antioxidant when it comes to free radical scavenging: astaxanthin is 65 times more powerful than vitamin C, 54 times more powerful than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin Evi. It's also far more effective than other carotenoids at "singlet oxygen quenching," which is a particular type of oxidation. It is 550 times more powerful than vitamin E, and 11 times more powerful than beta-carotene at neutralizing singlet oxygen.
Astaxanthin crosses both your blood-brain barrier AND your blood-retinal barrier (beta carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection to your eyes, brain and central nervous system.
Another feature that separates astaxanthin from other carotenoids is that it cannot function as a pro-oxidant. Many antioxidants will act as pro-oxidants (meaning they start to cause rather than combat oxidation) when present in your tissues in sufficient concentrations. This is why you don't want to go overboard taking too many antioxidant supplements like beta-carotene, for example. Astaxanthin, on the other hand, does not function as a pro-oxidant, even when present in high amounts, which makes it highly beneficial.
Lastly, one of its most profound features is its unique ability to protect the entire cell from damage—both the water-soluble part and the fat-soluble portion of the cell. Other antioxidants affect just one or the other. This is due to astaxanthin's unique physical characteristics that allow it to reside within the cell membrane will also protecting the inside of the cell. To learn more about astaxanthin, please listen to the following interview with Dr. Robert Corish.
Download Interview Transcript
3. Ubiquinol (CoQ10)
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is the fifth most popular supplement in the United States, taken by about 53 percent of Americans, according to a 2010 survey by ConsumerLab.comvii. This is a good thing as one in every four Americans over 45 is taking a statin and every single one of these individuals needs to be taking it.
CoQ10 is used by every cell in your body. In fact, it is so important for your body's daily functions that it is also known as "ubiquinone" because it's 'ubiquitous' in the human body.
What you may not know, however, is that to benefit from the form of the nutrient needed to produce cellular energy and help you reduce the typical signs of aging, your body must convert the ubiquinone to the reduced form, called ubiquinol -- and research is showing that this reduced form may actually be superior for your health in a number of ways. If you're under 25 years old your body is capable of converting CoQ10 from the oxidized to the reduced form. However, if you're older, your body becomes more and more challenged to convert the oxidized CoQ10 to ubiquinol.
Premature aging is one primary side effect of having too little CoQ10 because this essential vitamin recycles other antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E. CoQ10 deficiency also accelerates DNA damage, and because CoQ10 is beneficial to heart health and muscle function this depletion leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and eventually heart failure.
In a previous interview with Dr. Stephen Sinatra, he recounts an experiment from the mid-90's on aging rats. The average lifespan of a rat is two years. Rats given CoQ10, at the end of their life, had more energy, better coats, and better appetites, compared to the rats that did not get CoQ10. The supplement basically had a potent anti-aging effect, in the sense it maintained youthfulness until the very end of their life. In terms of life extension, the effect was minimal.
Dr. Sinatra also conducted his own research and found that CoQ10 given to both younger and older mice resulted in increased energy and vigor. Older mice traveled through mazes quicker, they had better memory, and had more locomotor activity than those who did not get CoQ10. So CoQ10 definitely appears to improve the quality of life, even if it may not significantly increase longevity per say. For more information and dosage recommendations, please see this previous CoQ10 article.
4. Fermented Foods / Probiotics
It's quite clear that eating a diet consisting of high amounts of processed foods will shorten your life, yet 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is spent on processed food, and the number one source of calories in the US comes from high fructose corn syrup – a staple ingredient in nearly all processed foods, from frozen dinners, to condiments, snacks, and soda. Researchers have even discovered that genetic mutations and malfunctions that cause disease are created in future generations when highly processed and artificial foods are consumed!
Part of the problem is that these processed, sugar- and chemical-laden foods effectively destroy your intestinal microflora. Your gut flora has incredible power over your immune system, which, of course, is your body's natural defense system. Antibiotics, stress, artificial sweeteners, chlorinated water and many other factors can also reduce the amount of probiotics (beneficial bacteria) in your gut, which can predispose you to illness and premature aging. Ideally, you'll want to make traditionally cultured and fermented foods a staple in your daily diet.
You can use a probiotic supplement, but getting your probiotics from food is definitely better as you can consume far more beneficial bacteria, in many cases up to 100X more. Fermented vegetables are an excellent alternative as they are both delicious and simple to make. In the following video, Caroline Barringer discusses the process of fermenting your own vegetables in some detail, so if you're up for fermenting some of your own foods, please listen to this interview.
Download Interview Transcript
5. Krill Oil
According to Dr. Richard Harris, an expert on omega-3 fats, those who have an omega-3 index of less than four percent age much faster than those with indexes above eight percent. Therefore, your omega-3 index may also be an effective marker of your rate of aging. According to Dr. Harris' research, omega-3 fats appear to play a role in activating telomerase, which, again, has been shown to be able to actually reverse telomere shortening.
Although this research is preliminary, I would suggest that optimizing your omega-3 levels above eight percent would be a good strategy if you're interested in delaying aging. (Your doctor can order the omega-3 index test from a lab called Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Richmond, Virginia.) After all, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by doing so, since omega-3 has proven to be extremely important for your health in so many respects.
My favorite animal-based omega-3 is krill oil, as it has a number of benefits not found in other omega-3 supplements such as fish oil. Aside from higher potential for contamination, fish oil supplements also have a higher risk of suffering oxidation damage and becoming rancid. Dr. Rudi Moerck has discussed these risks at great length in a previous interview. Krill oil also contains naturally-occurring astaxanthin, which makes it nearly 200 times more resistant to oxidative damage compared to fish oil.
Additionally, according to Dr. Harris' research, krill oil is also more potent gram for gram, as its absorption rate is much higher than fish oil. You get somewhere between 25 to 50 percent more omega-3 per milligram when you take krill oil compared to fish oil, hence you don't need to take as much.
6. Vitamin K2
Vitamin K may very well be "the next vitamin D" as research continues to illuminate a growing number of benefits to your health. While most people get enough vitamin K from their diets to maintain adequate blood clotting, they're NOT enough to offer protection against more serious health problems. For example, research over the past few years suggest that vitamin K2 can provide substantial protection from prostate cancerviii, which is one of the leading causes of cancer among men in the United States. And research results are similarly encouraging for the benefits of vitamin K to your cardiac health:
In 2004, the Rotterdam Study, which was the first study demonstrating the beneficial effect of vitamin K2, showed that people who consume 45 mcg of K2 daily live seven years longer than people getting 12 mcg per dayix.
In a subsequent study called the Prospect Studyx, 16,000 people were followed for 10 years. Researchers found that each additional 10 mcg of K2 in the diet results in 9 percent fewer cardiac events.
K2 is present in fermented foods, particularly cheese and the Japanese food natto, which is by far the richest source of K2.
7. Magnesium
According to the featured researchxi, magnesium also plays an important role in DNA replication, repair, and RNA synthesis, and dietary magnesium has been shown to positively correlate with increased telomere length in women. Other research has shown that long term deficiency leads to telomere shortening in rats and cell cultures. It appears the lack of magnesium ions has a negative influence on genome integrity. Insufficient amounts of magnesium also reduce your body's ability to repair damaged DNA, and can induce chromosomal abnormalities. According to the authors, it's reasonable to hypothesize that "magnesium influences telomere length by affecting DNA integrity and repair, in addition to its potential role in oxidative stress and inflammation."
8. Polyphenols
Polyphenols are potent antioxidant compounds in plant foods, many of which have been linked to anti-aging benefits and disease reduction. Here are but a few examples of these potent antioxidant compounds:
Grapes (resveratrol) — Resveratrol deeply penetrates the center of your cell's nucleus, giving your DNA time to repair free radical damage. Research dating back to 2003 showed that resveratrol, a powerful polyphenol and anti-fungal chemical, was able to increase the lifespan of yeast cells.xii
The findings showed that resveratrol could activate a gene called sirtuin1, which is also activated during calorie restriction in various species. Since then studies in nematode worms, fruit flies, fish, mice, and human cells have linked resveratrol to longer lives.
Resveratrol is found in grapes, and there are numerous products on the market containing resveratrol. I recommend looking for one made from Muscadine grapes, and that uses WHOLE grape skins and seeds, as this is where many of the benefits are concentrated.
Cacao — Quite a few studies have confirmed the potent antioxidant properties, and subsequent health benefits, of raw cocoa powder. Dark, organic, unprocessed chocolate has been found to benefit your glucose metabolism (diabetic control), blood pressure, and cardiovascular health.
Green tea — Polyphenols in tea, which include EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and many others, have been found to offer protection against many types of cancer. The polyphenols in green tea may constitute up to 30 percent of the dry leaf weight, so, when you drink a cup of green tea, you're drinking a fairly potent solution of healthy tea polyphenols.
Green tea is the least processed kind of tea, so it also contains the highest amounts of EGCG of all tea varieties. Keep in mind, however, that many green teas have been oxidized, and this process may take away many of its valuable properties. The easiest sign to look for when evaluating a green tea's quality is its color: if your green tea is brown rather than green, it's likely been oxidized.
My personal favorite is matcha green tea because it contains the entire ground tea leaf, and can contain over 100 times the EGCG provided from regular brewed green tea.
9. Folate (aka Vitamin B9, or Folic Acid)
According to the featured study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, plasma concentrations of the B vitamin folate correspond to telomere length in both men and women. Folate plays an important role in the maintenance of DNA integrity and DNA methylation, both of which influence the length of your telomeresxiii.
It is useful for preventing depression, seizure disorders and brain atrophy. In fact, folate deficiency can lead to elevated homocysteine levels, which can be a major contributor to heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. One unfortunate and preventable reason why some believe folate numbers are slipping is the increased prevalence of obesity, which negatively affects the way most people metabolize this important vitamin. The ideal way to raise your folate levels is to eat plenty of fresh, raw, organic leafy green vegetables, and beans.
Please note that it is the natural folate from food that has been found to be beneficial. This may not be true for the supplement folic acid.
10. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is fittingly known as "the energy vitamin," and your body requires it for a number of vital functions. Among them: energy production, blood formation, DNA synthesis, and myelin formation. (Myelin is insulation that protects your nerve endings and allows them to communicate with one another.) Unfortunately, research suggests about 25 percent of American adults are deficient in this vitally important nutrient, and nearly half the population has suboptimal blood levels.
Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal tissues, including foods like beef and beef liver, lamb, snapper, venison, salmon, shrimp, scallops, poultry and eggs. It's not readily available in plants, so if you do not eat meat or animal products you are at risk of deficiency. The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs. An analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12, so your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.
If you aren't getting sufficient B12 in your diet, I recommend you begin supplementation immediately with this vital nutrient with either an under-the-tongue fine mist spray or vitamin B12 injections. Ensuring your body has adequate B12 can vastly improve the quality of your life and prevent debilitating, even life-threatening diseases which result from a deficiency of this all-important nutrient.
11. Curcumin (Turmeric)
Curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric—acts both as an immune booster and potent anti-inflammatory. But perhaps its greatest value lies in its anti-cancer potential, and it has the most evidence based literature backing up its anti-cancer claims of any other nutrient. It affects over 100 different pathways once it gets into a cell—among them, a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers.
The spice actually stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful protein known to induce abnormal inflammatory response that leads to an assortment of disorders such as arthritis and cancer.
To get the full benefits that curcumin has to offer, you will want to look for a turmeric extract with at least 95 percent curcuminoids that contains only 100 percent certified organic ingredients. The formula should be free of fillers, additives and excipients (a substance added to the supplement as a processing or stability aid), and the manufacturer should use safe production practices at all stages: planting, cultivation, selective harvesting, and then producing and packaging the final product. This previous article can provide you further details on how to use curcumin.
12. Vitamin A
According to the featured study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, telomere length is positively associated with dietary intake of vitamin A in women who do not take multivitaminsxiv. It plays an important role in your immune response, and if you're deficient, you become predisposed to infections that can promote telomere shortening. However, vitamin A does not appear to have a dose-dependent effect on telomere length, so you don't need high amounts.
Two Additional Lifestyle Strategies that Affect Telomere Length
While a nutritious diet accounts for about 80 percent of the benefits derived from a healthy lifestyle, exercise cannot be ignored, and there's evidence suggesting that exercise protects against telomere shortening as well. Yet another lifestyle strategy that can have a beneficial impact is intermittent fasting.
Exercise — One recent study on post-menopausal women suffering from chronic stress found that "vigorous physical activity appears to protect those experiencing high stress by buffering its relationship with telomere length (TL)." xv In fact, among the women who did not exercise, each unit increase in the Perceived Stress Scale was related to a 15-fold increase in the odds of having short telomeres. Those who did exercise regularly showed no correlation between telomere length and perceived stress!
High-intensity exercise appears to be the most effective all-natural approach to slow down the aging process by reducing telomere shortening. In fact, research has shown there's a direct association between reduced telomere shortening in your later years and high-intensity-type exercisesxvi: Greta Blackburn's book The Immortality Edge: Realize the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Lifexvii further details the importance of high-intensity exercise to prevent telomere shortening.
Intermittent Fasting — Previous research has shown that you can extend your lifespan by reducing your caloric intake, and I've written about this technique in the past. The problem is that most people do not understand how to properly cut calories, because in order to remain healthy, you have to cut out the right kind of calories—namely carbohydrates. Research by Professor Cynthia Kenyon has shown that avoiding carbs will activate genes that govern youthfulness and longevity.
But the health benefits of calorie restriction can also be achieved by intermittent fasting (keep in mind you still need to cut out sugars and grains). For more detailed recommendations and guidance on intermittent fasting, or scheduled eating, please see this recent article that greatly expands on this complex topic, and highlights the precautions, as it certainly isn't for everyone.
References:
iThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
ii American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 11, 2009: 89(6); 1857-1863.
iii American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1420-1425, November 2007
ivThe Organic & Non-GMO Report July 21, 2011
vWei Sheng Yan Jiu/Journal of Hygiene Research September 2011;40(5):551-4.
viUSNutra.com Astaxanthin
viiConsumerLab.com, Supplement Use Report 2010
viiiAmerican Beekeeping Federation
ixNimptsch K, Rohrmann S and Linseisen J. "Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg)" Am J Clinical Nutrition April 2008;87(4):985-992
x Daniels, S. "Vitamin K2, but not K1, effective for heart health benefits: Study" NutraIngredients.com February 12, 2009
xiThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xii Nature, Red wine ingredient makes yeast live longer, HelenR. Pilcher
xiiiThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xivThe Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
xvPLoS One. 2010 May 26;5(5):e10837.
xviMechanisms of Ageing and Development, February 2010;131(2):165-7.
xvii The Immortality Edge: Realize the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Life by Greta Blackburn
Source: The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry October 2011
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