It is well known that caloric restriction to 25-20% the usual basal metabolic requirement extends lifespan across multiple species. There are some data showing consumption of polyphenol antioxidants also extends lifespan in some species. In the current experiment researchers tested the hypothesis that combining both caloric restriction and antioxidant supplementation would have an additive effect. The [...]

Coffee is one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages.  It is derived from the coffee bean which contains a multitude of biologically active molecules.  Among them are polyphenols which have antioxidant effects and caffeine which may help stabilize intracellular proteons and prevent misfolding and clumping. These properties may explain the evidence from prior research that coffee [...]

Aging is a multifactorial process. Maximal lifespan is highly variable among people, and is related to genes, lifestyle and chance in equal parts. There is no question lifestyle plays a role and diet and exercise account for a significant portion of that. Many dietary agents have been reported to extend lifespan in animals. Chief among them include resveratrol, green tea, and curcumin. Researchers [...]

The Mediterranean diet isn’t so much a specific diet but more of a dietary pattern found commonly among some people of the Mediterranean. Hallmarks of this diet include a focus on monounsaturated fat in the form of olive oil, plant proteins, and whole grains with a general avoidance of red meat, alcohol, sugars and processed grains. It a low glycemic load diet – it doesn’t create [...]

As organisms live, breath oxygen and metabolize food, they age.  The two are inextricably linked. Metabolic and respiratory processes generates free radicals and reactive oxygen species which damage cells and their contents.  Cells have a large army of proteins that function to reduce this damage and repair damage that occurs.  It is these protein pathways slow aging. It is known that proteins [...]

Though we still cannot stop the aging process, we do have a significant amount of control over prevention of disease and increasing longevity. An increasingly common disease that is linked to many major illnesses and early death is diabetes. The most common type II diabetes is seen with increasing frequency in overweight middle aged people, and almost always can be prevented through diet and exercise. Food [...]

There is a large body of mounting evidence that consuming red meat is altogether bad for your health. The substance contains abundant calories and high quantities of saturated fats and cholesterol.  Furthermore, cooking procedures used for red meat, especially barbecuing, is known to produce carcinogenic compounds which are consumed when the meat is eaten. A new large longitudinal study pulls [...]

There is a very clear association: the less calories consumed the longer the lifespan. This is of course within limits – one can obviously die of starvation. Caloric restriction is generally limited to 25-20% less calories than needed to maintain ideal body weight and it practiced with adequate maintenance of vitamins, mineral, and nutrients. Many studies suggest such practice extends lifespan [...]

Diet soda is marketed as a healthier alternative to sugared sodas.  Clearly drinking sugared beverages daily adds significant and unnecessary  amounts of calories to one’s diet, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, vascular disease and cancer. In the current study, researchers attempted to determine if drinking diet soda on a daily basis would have any effect on vascular disease. The [...]

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are proteins damaged by glucose molecules.  As we consume glucose in our diet, over time these AGEs are created and accumulate.  The proteins become defective through glycati0n and can lead to failures within the cells as well as toxic protein aggregation. In fact AGEs may play an important role in the aging process. AGEs are clearly glucose-related so [...]