LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

anti-aging

Will Eating Too Much Make Me Die Sooner?

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The research behind a low calorie, high phytonutrient diet extending lifespan in mammals is quite extensive.

There have been variations on this theme of lowering the calories we take in.  These can vary from full-blow calorie restriction to alternate day calorie restriction.  There is the Bahadori leanness program that uses “mini-fasts” to reach and maintain optimal body composition.

Then there is research on the “longevity genes” (the SRT family of genes) and research on resveratrol for anti-aging.  They all point to the same conclusions:

Too many calories kill us.

The human body is very well designed for starvation and adapting to low caloric intake.  There are NO mechanisms in place to cope with the diseases associated with poor lifestyles.  Sounds strange, huh?

How can diabetes and Alzheimer’s be “genetic” when our bodies have no mechanism in place to deal with the disease state?  It’s the same with high blood pressure.  How can high blood pressure be “genetic” when there is no mechanism in our body to control high blood pressure?  We have a mechanism to raise blood pressure (aldosterone secretion from the adrenals), but not the reverse.

This particular review looks into the research that supports the idea of cutting back on calories (while maintaining quality) as a way of combating chronic disease.

Low T Symptoms – Is This the REAL Answer for a Cure?

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low T symptoms heart disease
Irina Karlova/Dollar Photo Club

Low T syndrome. Low testosterone. Male sexual dysfunction. Doesn’t matter what you call it, I couldn’t be more against the use of testosterone replacement.

Much to my chagrin, I hear a local clinic advertising on the radio station we have playing at the office several times per day. What I find interesting about this clinic’s advertising is that, as of about 6 months ago, they have been pushing the idea that low testosterone and male sexual dysfunction are two different diagnosis, but I’d pretty much bet treatment for both of these “unique” conditions is the same.

And much like every other clinic that treats “low T syndrome” I’m confident that these clinics don’t know enough about physiology to be treating functional problems.

And that’s what low testosterone levels indicate. While testosterone levels will decline with age, the lab ranges indicate normal for the age and gender of the person being tested. If your values come back abnormally low, it’s because something is WRONG.

And it’s not low testosterone.

Low testosterone is just the marker, not the problem. I picture the scene of a dramatically abdominally overweight man sitting on the couch, watching football, drinking beer and eating a bag of chips. When the “low T syndrome” commercial comes on, he nods knowingly, confident that low T is the reason he is overweight, has fatigue and no sexual drive.

The reason that the aforementioned clinic that I hear advertising on the radio is trying to separate low T levels from male sexual dysfunction is that the clinical studies on this topic has found no consistent relationship between the two. Which makes complete sense (unless, of course, you believe the prior advertising).

In addition to not actually fixing the problem (more on this in a minute), there are grave concerns with testosterone supplementation, especially in males. Mainly the increased risk of developing prostate cancer in a person who has health concerns already (hence the low T in the first place), although recent research puts increased clotting and heart attacks on the list as well.

This particular article is one of the best overviews on the topic of where low T levels come from. In it, the authors give an overview of how lifestyle damages the Leydig cells of the testes, where a chunk of the male production of testosterone comes from.

And maybe I’m just giving this article such raves reviews because the authors note that it all stems from my favorite topic, mitochondrial dysfunction. It takes a large amount of energy to produce testosterone and this energy comes from ATP formation in the mitochondria.

When that process of generating energy is compromised, the Leydig cells production of testosterone suffers. This situation can occur in a variety of ways:

  • Environmental chemicals like PCBs, BPA (and most other plastics) and phthalates.
  • Low nutritional quality diet devoid of protective antioxidants.
  • A sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity.

This list should come as no surprise. But hopefully it will serve as a reminder the next time your doctor checks your testosterone and recommends T replacement therapy, either by injection, creams or pellets under the skin.

Evaluation of lifestyle and addressing problems with your lifestyle is the ONLY way to manage low T symptoms—anything else is missing the real problem and increasing your risk of certain cancers.  Luckily, this article raises the suggestion that antioxidant supplements like CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin E (the mixed tocopherol variety–NOT straight up alpha tocopherol) and vitamin C can be strong players in protecting your body’s ability to produce testosterone.

Incidentally, if you’re a female and feeling a little slighted by this article (considering that you don’t have Leydig cells and testicles …), I have addressed the adrenal component of testosterone production in a prior article that can be read by clicking here.

The adrenals are a major contributing factor to testosterone production (via DHEA) in both males and females and also need to be fully addressed and treated if someone has low T levels.

 

Aging and Muscle Mass: Is There Really a Fountain of Youth?

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vibration plate exercises obesity
Vibration plate reviews on Amazon.com

As we age, the biggest challenge to quality of life and mobility is the loss of muscle mass.

Although diet, inflammation and adequate protein intake is important, exercise is the strongest tool against the age related loss of muscle mass (a term referred to as sacropenia).

For some reason though, the general population just doesn’t seem to have the motivation to move and maintain muscle mass.  Maybe it’s pain.  Maybe it’s just habit.  Maybe it’s lack of motivation.

The end outcome is the same.  Less activity breeds less activity and you end up spending the last portion of your years in a recliner watching TV as your health goes down the tubes.

But it absolutely does not have to be this way.  It is a choice.

For those who have gone too far down the rabbit hole and have lost so much muscle mass that exercise seems impossible, there may be an answer.

Whole body vibration is a therapy that uses a plate that you stand on and then vibrates at varying frequencies.  Initially, the research on vibration was focused on the dark side; occupational exposure from jobs like truck driving and jackhammering.  Too much vibration is generally not a good thing.

But researchers realized that there were some strong benefits as well that cut across multiple organ systems. Building muscle, building bone, cutting fat, improving circulation, improving balance, improving movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease…and the list continues to grow.

There have been some very clear and consistent messages coming out of the medical research—vibration plate exercises are very good for building muscle mass.  This approach could open up a brand new world of healthy aging for those who are stuck in the hole of inactivity.

Our office has had a whole body vibration unit for almost a decade now and the results have been interesting, to say the least.  Parkinson’s patients.  Post stroke patients.  Patients who have lost weight and increased dexterity.  Increased sense of well-being.  All from any incredibly simple treatment that requires pretty much no effort on the part of the patient.

Just in case you think this sounds too good to be true, this particular article looks into what happens when vibration plate exercises are used to fight aging.  Keep in mind that this is a small mouse study, but there is nothing here that would preclude the results from being similar in humans.

In the study, a group of 24 were divided into 3 groups: control, relatively low-frequency WBV (5.6 Hz, 2 mm amplitude) and relatively high-frequency WBV (13 Hz, 2 mm amplitude).  The mice in the two vibration groups were treated for 15 min, 5 days/week for 4 weeks.  Here’s what happened:

  • Muscle and brown fat percentage was higher in the higher frequency vibration group.
  • WBV increased grip strength, aerobic endurance and core temperature.
  • After a swimming challenge, serum lactate, ammonia and CK levels were lower with vibration (there was less muscle damage with exercise).
  • WBV training improved the age-related abnormal microscopic appearance of skeletal muscle, liver and kidney tissues.

As a reminder, this is a mouse study.  That being said, the benefits from something that requires no actual effort on the part of the patient were pretty impressive.  Impressive enough to begin your search for a decent vibration plate if you are at a point in your life where exercise has become difficult or even impossible.

You can spend outrageous amounts of money on a high quality vibration unit (like we did about a decade ago), but for most of us that’s not a viable option.  Our office sells a very high quality unit from Ridge and Company that sells for $1500 (contact us if you have an interest).  Amazon, who sells pretty much everything, has a large number of units available as well.  But keep in mind that any unit that is priced under $500 or so it going to be a lower quality unit that you may not see the same benefits from.

Happy vibrating…

Resveratrol and Longevity

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IS THIS SUPPLEMENT REALLY THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH?

I am, without question, a “lifestyle doctor.”  My passion and understanding is what is normal physiology, and how do we get there using diet, exercise and targeted supplementation.  The holy grail of longevity is protecting the mitochondria (regardless of whether or not you remember these little organelles from high school biology…).  One of the most powerful ways to do this is via activation of a family of genes (the SIRT family of genes) through a low calorie, high phytonutrient diet.  There is, however, a phytonutrient that also activates the SIRT family of genes.  It is resveratrol, the compound found in red wine, red grapes and peanuts.  Not that this is designed to REPLACE healthy lifestyles, but can be used as an adjunct to these changes.

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Testosterone Replacement Therapy: Hogwash or Fountain of Youth?

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As I round middle age, I want to do everything possible to maintain my youthful exuberance. Testosterone therapy seems like the answer.

And it’s such a simple answer.  It’s natural.  After all, testosterone is something a man’s body already makes, it’s just that levels decline with age.  Just pop a pill, rub on some cream or inject in the hormone (good thing the suppository never caught on…) and you’re good to go.  Back to feeling 20 again with all the virility you could hope for.

All of the commercials would have you believe that low T (the hip term for having low levels of testosterone) is just a consequence of aging and has little to do with the choices we make. The image here gives you just a brief idea of how complicated the regulation of testosterone production is.  Given that it is one of the more powerful hormones, the feedback loops that turn on and turn off testosterone production are a massively complicated mess of arrows pointing every which way.

T supplementation completely destroys your body’s ability to regulate its own production.  And here’s the biggest kicker–low testosterone does NOT come from an inability to make testosterone.  Rather, it is the body screaming that there is a bigger problem present that needs to be fixed.  This, of course, boils back down to things like good dietary choices, exercise, stress management, avoiding certain environmental chemicals (BPA and phthalates top the list) and getting a good night’s sleep.

Surely by now you have seen the attorney ads on TV asking you to call if you or a loved one experienced a heart attack while taking prescription testosterone.  All of this hoopla was the result of a single study that found an increase in the rate of heart attacks in men taking prescription testosterone.

While this is certainly not a good thing, I have always considered using testosterone to fix low T levels a very bad idea any, regardless of whether or not it increases the risk of a heart attack.  Just like every other damn marker we think is the holy grail, low T levels are just one sign that the body is out of whack.  No different than high cholesterol, high blood pressure or obesity.

Just to further demonstrate that trying to fix low T levels with prescription testosterone, this particular review looks at a serious of case studies identifying links between increased clotting in the blood (thrombosis) and testosterone use.  While this is only a handful of cases, given that hormone use in women (birth control) is clearly linked to an increase in clotting, it should really come as no surprise.  Here are the details of the cases identified in the study:

  • There were 38 men and 4 women
  • 27 with deep venous thrombosis that led to a pulmonary embolism
  • 12 with osteonecrosis (a blood clot that led to destroyed bone)
  • 1 with central retinal vein thrombosis, 1 with amaurosis fugax (vision loss due to a blood clot) and 1 with spinal cord blood clot.
  • In 8 men whose TT was continued (don’t ask me why…), second thrombotic events occurred despite the use of Coumadin.

These are not good events, especially since all of these people were likely taking the testosterone in an attempt to improve his or her health.  Didn’t quite turn out that way.

 

Irisin: The New Longevity Hormone??

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vibration plate exercises obesity
Vibration plate reviews on Amazon.com
For a hormone that, 3 months ago, I had never heard of it sure seems like irisin is all over.

A recent study on whole body vibration (that can be read by clicking here) was able to demonstrate an increase in the hormone irisin during a single session of use.  For those of you who missed that post, irisin is a hormone that is produced by skeletal muscle under the influence of exercise that may be, in a large part, responsible for the positive effects of exercise on overall health.

Based on this knowledge on the role of irisin on chronic disease, this particular study looked at the relationship between irisin levels of the risk of chronic disease in centenarians.

These healthy 100+ year olds had their irisin levels compared to young healthy adults and young adults who had developed heart disease earlier than they should have.  Here’s the levels they found:

  1. The highest levels of irisin were in disease-free centenarians (35.3 ng/mL).
  2. The next highest levels were in young healthy controls (20.7 ng/mL).
  3. The lowest levels were found in the young patients who had experienced a heart attack (15.1 ng/mL).

I’m not entirely sure what this means, but I will definitely keep my ears open for any future studies on irisin and how we many maintain or increase our irisin levels (beside, as previously mentioned, using a whole body vibration unit…).

Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy Induces Insulin Resistance – (04-16-03)

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Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy Induces Insulin Resistance.

While this article address growth hormone as used for true deficiency states, this illustrates one of the primary dangers with many so called “anti aging” miracle supplements. Growth hormone has been big on this front for many years. However, remember that Mother Nature does things for a reason. The lowering of hormone production as we get older is done as a protective mechanism. So, naturally, when we go mess with Mother Nature with things like growth hormone and HRT than side effects that can be life threatening are fair game on the side effects list.

JCEM — Abstracts: Bramnert et al. 88 (4): 1455

Click here for more information.

Influence of melatonin on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity – (04-09-01)

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Influence of melatonin on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity

I’ve always been a little nervous about using any type of hormone replacement therapy be it estrogen, growth hormone, testesterone, insulin or melatonin. Precursers to these hormones may generally be considered safer because the body may only convert into the active hormone that which it needs. Melatonin was viewed as the “anti aging hormone of the week” several years ago after some studies in mice showed lower levels in aged mice when compared with younger mice. This study suggests a effect of meltonin on decreasing our bodies ability to use glucose efficiently.

Synergy : Clinical Endocrinology 54 (3), 339-346

Read entire article here