Cutting-edge research is revealing the power of a “master antioxidant” – a tripeptide molecule called glutathione (GSH).
People with the highest levels of GSH are the ones who routinely live past 100. Plus, it may prevent a host of chronic diseases like arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes – just to name a few.
Best of all, boosting your levels of GSH is easy. Today, I’ll give you an effective strategy that may add decades to your life. I’ll tell you exactly how to get the most powerful forms of GSH and how much to take.
When scientists at the University of Louisville gave mosquitoes a GSH booster, their levels went up by 50 to 100 percent. And, their life spans increased by a remarkable 30 to 38 percent.1
Doctors at the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute in Canada then repeated the experiment with mice. They were able to duplicate the results – boosting levels of GSH and increasing life spans.2
Their success prompted others to investigate the effects of GSH in humans. Odense University in Denmark compared levels of GSH in centenarians (age 100 to 105) and people age 60 to 79 and found that GSH was higher in the centenarians. And among the centenarian group, those who were the most active had the very highest levels.3
In the same way that high levels of GSH increase life spans, low levels of GSH show a direct link to chronic degenerative diseases. Here’s just a partial list:
Heart Disease
Cataracts
Arthritis
Renal Failure
High Blood Pressure
Leukemia
Diabetes
Hearing Loss
Cancer
Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD)
Macular Degeneration
And high levels of GSH are associated with fewer illnesses. A University of Michigan study found that those with higher GSH levels reported a greater sense of well being along with lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and reduced body fat.4
The most natural way to get more GSH is eating foods high in glutathione. These include horseradish, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts.
These nutritional supplements will also boost your GSH:
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)
Melatonin
Bilberry
Grape Seed Extract
Turmeric
There are also two reliable GSH precursors – substances that stimulate the production of GSH. These are whey protein5, commonly found in protein powders and N-acetyl cysteine6 (in a dose of 1,800 mg to 2,400 mg a day) – both are available at your local nutrition and/or health food stores.
Finally, you can take GSH supplements (1 to 2 grams per day). The latest reports show that up to 80 percent of most GSH supplements are absorbed and used by your body.
Showing posts with label old age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label old age. Show all posts
Friday, October 9, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Alzheimer's and it's Effects!
WASHINGTON - More than 35 million people around the world are living with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, says the most in-depth attempt yet to assess the brain-destroying illness - and it's an ominous forecast as the population ages.
The new count is about 10 per cent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimated Alzheimer's growing impact in developing countries.
Barring a medical breakthrough, the World Alzheimer Report projects dementia will nearly double every 20 years. By 2050, it will affect a staggering 115.4 million people, the report concludes.
"We are facing an emergency," said Dr. Daisy Acosta, who heads Alzheimer's Disease International, which released the report Monday.
The U.S. and other developed countries long have been bracing for Alzheimer's to skyrocket. But the report aims to raise awareness of the threat in poorer countries, where finally people are living long enough to face what is mostly a disease of the 65-and-older population.
While age is the biggest driver of Alzheimer's, some of the same factors that trigger heart disease - obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes - seem to increase the risk of dementia, too. Those are problems also on the rise in many developing countries.
In poorer countries, "dementia is a hidden issue," Acosta said, and that's complicating efforts to improve earlier diagnosis. "You're not supposed to talk about it."
For example, the report notes that in India, such terms as "tired brain" or "weak brain" are used for Alzheimer's symptoms amid widespread belief that dementia is a normal part of aging - when it's not.
That mistake isn't confined to the developing world. Even in Britain, the report found, just over half of the families caring for someone with dementia believed the same thing.
The new study updates global figures last reported in 2005, when British researchers estimated that more than 24 million people were living with dementia. Using that forecast, scientists had expected about 31 million people would be struggling with dementia by 2010.
But since 2005, a flurry of research on Alzheimer's in developing countries has been published, leading Alzheimer's Disease International - a non-profit federation of more than 70 national groups - to ask those scientists to re-evaluate. After analyzing dozens of studies, the scientists projected 35.6 million cases of dementia worldwide by 2010.
That includes nearly 7 million people in Western Europe, nearly 7 million in South and Southeast Asia, about 5.5 million in China and East Asia and about 3 million in Latin America.
The report puts North America's total at 4.4 million, although the Alzheimer's Association of the U.S. uses a less conservative count to say more than 5 million people in the U.S. alone are affected. The disease afflicts one in eight people 65 and older, and nearly one in two people over 85.
The report forecasts a more than doubling of dementia cases in parts of Asia and Latin America over the next 20 years, compared with a 40 per cent to 60 per cent jump in Europe and North America.
The report urges the World Health Organization to declare dementia a health priority and for national governments to follow suit. It recommends major new investments in research to uncover what causes dementia and how to slow, if not stop, the creeping brain disease that gradually robs sufferers of their memories and ability to care for themselves, eventually killing them.
There is no known cure; today's drugs only temporarily alleviate symptoms. Scientists aren't even sure what causes Alzheimer's.
But major studies under way now should show within a few years if it's possible to at least slow the progression of Alzheimer's by targeting a gunky substance called beta-amyloid that builds up in patients' brains, noted Dr. William Thies of the U.S. Alzheimer's Association. His group is pushing for an increase in U.S. research spending, from just over $400 million to about $1 billion.
The new count is about 10 per cent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimated Alzheimer's growing impact in developing countries.
Barring a medical breakthrough, the World Alzheimer Report projects dementia will nearly double every 20 years. By 2050, it will affect a staggering 115.4 million people, the report concludes.
"We are facing an emergency," said Dr. Daisy Acosta, who heads Alzheimer's Disease International, which released the report Monday.
The U.S. and other developed countries long have been bracing for Alzheimer's to skyrocket. But the report aims to raise awareness of the threat in poorer countries, where finally people are living long enough to face what is mostly a disease of the 65-and-older population.
While age is the biggest driver of Alzheimer's, some of the same factors that trigger heart disease - obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes - seem to increase the risk of dementia, too. Those are problems also on the rise in many developing countries.
In poorer countries, "dementia is a hidden issue," Acosta said, and that's complicating efforts to improve earlier diagnosis. "You're not supposed to talk about it."
For example, the report notes that in India, such terms as "tired brain" or "weak brain" are used for Alzheimer's symptoms amid widespread belief that dementia is a normal part of aging - when it's not.
That mistake isn't confined to the developing world. Even in Britain, the report found, just over half of the families caring for someone with dementia believed the same thing.
The new study updates global figures last reported in 2005, when British researchers estimated that more than 24 million people were living with dementia. Using that forecast, scientists had expected about 31 million people would be struggling with dementia by 2010.
But since 2005, a flurry of research on Alzheimer's in developing countries has been published, leading Alzheimer's Disease International - a non-profit federation of more than 70 national groups - to ask those scientists to re-evaluate. After analyzing dozens of studies, the scientists projected 35.6 million cases of dementia worldwide by 2010.
That includes nearly 7 million people in Western Europe, nearly 7 million in South and Southeast Asia, about 5.5 million in China and East Asia and about 3 million in Latin America.
The report puts North America's total at 4.4 million, although the Alzheimer's Association of the U.S. uses a less conservative count to say more than 5 million people in the U.S. alone are affected. The disease afflicts one in eight people 65 and older, and nearly one in two people over 85.
The report forecasts a more than doubling of dementia cases in parts of Asia and Latin America over the next 20 years, compared with a 40 per cent to 60 per cent jump in Europe and North America.
The report urges the World Health Organization to declare dementia a health priority and for national governments to follow suit. It recommends major new investments in research to uncover what causes dementia and how to slow, if not stop, the creeping brain disease that gradually robs sufferers of their memories and ability to care for themselves, eventually killing them.
There is no known cure; today's drugs only temporarily alleviate symptoms. Scientists aren't even sure what causes Alzheimer's.
But major studies under way now should show within a few years if it's possible to at least slow the progression of Alzheimer's by targeting a gunky substance called beta-amyloid that builds up in patients' brains, noted Dr. William Thies of the U.S. Alzheimer's Association. His group is pushing for an increase in U.S. research spending, from just over $400 million to about $1 billion.
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