Living To 150

TA-65 – Supplement Of The Moment

Malc — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:39:00 +0000

TA-65 is a ’supplement’ extracted from the herb Astragalus which repairs the telomere – the straggly bits at the end of our DNA wich get shorted each time our cells divide. This process – the reducing of telomere length – eventually kills us off at the age of a maximum of 120. In other words, if we were healthy enough that nothing else killed us off, the shrinking of the telomere would do so at this age.

Well, companies are now finding out how to repair the telomere. And it is resulting in increasing health and wellbeing for hundreds of people. The leader in the field is TA Sciences, who licensed the research from Geron, a leading Californian anti-aging company, who discovered it. A study showed wide-ranging anti-aging benefits – in vision, skin condition, stamina and energy and sexual function. TA Sciences make TA-65 available to all employees over 40 years old.

The downside? There are no long term studies on it yet, so its long term effects are not known.

It is certainly an interesting one though – let’s face it, if you are 10-20 years from likely death anyway – what can you lose trying such a therapy – which at present looks pretty safe?

This blog is worth checking out for anti-aging information on TA-65. And Al Sears – anti-aging doctor and specialist – has a DVD on the topic which you can buy.

TA-65, Astragalus, telomere

TA-65 – Supplement Of The Moment is a post from: Living To 150

Free Longevity Book

Stem Cells Grow Windpipe for 10-Year Old

Malc — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:22:25 +0000

This is an incredible transplant story.
Two years ago an Italian woman had part of her windpipe replaced using a transplant plus her own stem cells, after the windpipe had been eaten away by tuberculosis.
Last week a much more advanced operation was carried out on a 10-year old boy who had a congenitally narrowed windpipe; a new windpipe was grown for him – inside his own body.
The boy was having difficulties after a stent – a metal tube – was starting to malfunction. Once the new windpipe was introduced, the boy could already breath more easily than he ever had after just a few days.
How does it work? At present, a donor was needed for the ’scaffolding’ of the windpipe. All the donor tissue is removed from the cartilaginous framework so that there is no rejection by the recipient. The windpipe was then transplanted together with a cocktail of ‘growth factors’ as well as about 30ml of the boys own stem cells – previously harvested. The body does the rest.
This is a very positve use of stem cells – and this boy and his family must be extremely happy.

BBC News – Windpipe transplant success in UK child

stem cells, windpipe, transplant

Stem Cells Grow Windpipe for 10-Year Old is a post from: Living To 150

No related posts.

Some Natural Dentists

Malc — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:27:59 +0000

There are ‘natural’ dentists around if you look for them. For those of us outside USA the choice is poor though: they are mainly ‘over there’!

Oh well, an excuse for a holiday maybe.

Here are a few resources I picked out which look worthy of investigation.

Ray Behm, Florida, USA

The Institute for Nutritional Dentistry
New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London

New Concept

Dr Marvin, San Diego

Mercury free dentistry – all over the USA

Dr Alan Green, Boulder, Colorado

Finally – one of the best is last: Tom Cornwell is a great source of knowledge on tooth matters. Check him out here.

Hope these resources provide you with a good starting point for improving your tooth health.

Some Natural Dentists is a post from: Living To 150

The Benefit Of Dental Crowns

Malc — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:09:44 +0000

A crown, or, cap, is used when a tooth has worn down or to prolong its life if it has a large filling.

I certainly did not realise that a crown could make a tooth last longer. I also wrongly believed that having a crown made you needed a root canal filling. This is not the case.

A tooth with a large filling in the middle will have two cusps, front and back, which are liable to crack off. This is because of the pressure down on the filling from the tooth above, which tends to spread the filling, pushing the cusps outwards. I had a number of teeth with large filling – a remnant from childhood when dentists seems to drill big holes in all your teeth.

When you have a large filling in a tooth, by having a crown which completely covers the tooth the pressure from the tooth above is absorbed by the crown, protecting the underlying tooth. This makes the tooth last longer.

As it is my aim to live to be at least 150 I need to have my teeth lasting as long as possible.

The Benefit Of Dental Crowns is a post from: Living To 150

Follow Up – Crowns Fitted

Malc — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:07:01 +0000

My second trip to the dentist a couple of weeks later was to have the crowns fitted. I knew what to expect now so was not as apprehensive as the previous time.

The crowns had been made and they were sitting there fitted to a copy of my jaw.

Removing the temporary crowns from my teeth seem to require a huge amount of pressure to me. But it was not painful, and I suppose the glue used has to be quite strong so they don’t fall out before the patient returns.

Fitting each new one in place was a long job, longer than the job of fitting the temporary crown.

The fit is incredibly precise, and I was glad I was in the hands of a specialist in this area. I suppose the crowns are made slightly oversized, and then the trims them very slightly so that there is a perfect fit. She chopped off bits here and there, drilling off tiny pieces to make my bite absolutely perfect. She then checked it four or five times each side for each of the two crowns.

Eventually, she was happy, and I was happy. The necessary filling was done to a back tooth, and then it was just the extraction of the broken tooth to be done.

For the extraction, I was ready for quite a fight to pull out this broken tooth, only a small piece of which protruded above the gum line. In the event, I felt absolutely nothing.

I was stunned. The dentist fiddled about for about five minutes sticking something down into the gum, then out came the broken root. I felt nothing! I could have sworn that removing it would involve more discomfort than that. She assured me it should not.

Now I had to wait a few months for the bone to heal whether rooted come out. I would then have a visit to a surgeon who would assess how best to apply the titanium pin into the jawbone which would hold the implanted tooth to fit in the space. The ideal time to leave this was between three and six months, to heal up.

I emerged from dentist feeling a little bit number than the previous time, but still not too bad.

I still felt that I was in excellent hands, and did not regret my decision to proceed with this expensive treatment.

Follow Up – Crowns Fitted is a post from: Living To 150

Serious Dentist Treatment

Malc — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:04:37 +0000

I approached my first proper treatment with a little apprehension. I knew it was going to be two or three hours long, and that there was work to be done on both sides of my jaw. I could see me walking out with no feeling at all in my mouth.

You will remember I was to have two crowns fitted, a filling, and the removal of a broken root.

One thing you get in Harley Street (at least in this surgery) is a flat-screen TV fitted to the roof above your dental chair, and the remote control in your hand. This was a first for me!

During this first treatment temporary crowns were to be fitted. This dentist is a specialist in this area.

The injections were fairly painless. The dentist worked on the teeth to be capped shaping them to receive the crowns. She would fit temporary crowns to the teeth once they had been shaped so that they were ready to receive the proper crowns once they had been made.

After 2 1/2 hours I emerged with all the shaping work done, and temporary crowns made in the surgery, and fitted. It was noticeable the great amount of care that went into creating the temporary crowns and ensuring that they did not interfere with my bite.

The anaesthetic was not quite as strong as I had feared, indeed it was nothing like as bad.

I headed for the train and the hour-long trip home.

Serious Dentist Treatment is a post from: Living To 150

Follow Up Dentist Visit

Malc — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:03:24 +0000

After a week I received a detailed plan of recommended treatment from my dentist. I had explained that I would not be doing everything at once, and so she prioritises the treatment to do the most important first.

One tooth had broken off a cusp and so obviously needed doing quickly. Another tooth had dropped out having had a broken for a few months. My previous dentist said wait till it falls out. Unfortunately, the tooth had become infected in the meantime and was oozing pus. Yuck! Probably a bad call to leave it so long.

So, removal of the root was also a high priority.

The two is next to the broken root had a large filling which was disintegrating. This was also prioritised for early treatment. Finally, back to is have a chunk which have fallen off, and so this was going to be repaired.

This was the initial treatment. The total cost was lower than it might have been because of who recommended me. The first chunk of treatment worked out at a total of £2750.

Follow Up Dentist Visit is a post from: Living To 150

Trip to Harley Street Dentist

Malc — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:03:15 +0000

Having arrived at the dentist in Harley Street I went through the then a thorough examination. The dentist was very pleasant and friendly and made me feel completely at home.

After the consultation she took me through her findings. These were made much more comprehensible by the use of photographs. It was incredible to see excellent photographs of my teeth as she explained what was going on.

I have mentioned before that the photographs showed decay all-rounder large filling which no previous dentist had mentioned to me. This had obviously been going on for quite a while, and needed sorting out.

This alone was enough to convince me that I have come to the right place. Added to the strong recommendation of someone I trust, my decision was made I would certainly trust this person and go through their recommended treatment.

It is quite expensive, though, so I would spread it out over the course of a year.

Trip to Harley Street Dentist is a post from: Living To 150

Ray Kurzweil – Why The Future Is Coming Much Faster

Malc — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:29:32 +0000

Ray Kurzweil says that scientific advances are happening faster and faster. He points out that whereas evolutionary changes used to be very slow, it is in their nature to accelerate. Ten years ago hardly anyone used search engines! Ten months ago hardly anyone used Twitter!

These accelerating changes will make for more dramatic changes in the next few decades than most of us can imagine. With Kurzweil’s help, we can get a flavour of what these changes will mean for us.

As always, this interview with Ray Kurzweil is fascinating.

My Dental Treatment in Harley Street

Malc — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:39:02 +0000

This week I took a trip to a new dentist.

I have been going to what I considered was a good dentist for a couple of years for my dental treatment. A month ago, he said that one of my teeth was heading towards needing a crown. A cusp had cracked off and he said just to leave it.

I was concerned about that, because through ignorance, I thought that having a crown meant having a root canal filling. I know that the way that is generally done is to have mercury introduced into the root canal. I am very wary of this because, from previous studies, I know that this can lead to long-term infection, infecting the rest of the body. I believe, based on works I have read, that this can lead to serious illness.

I was therefore very keen to avoid a root canal filling.

I talked to a good friend about this issue, and he recommended strongly a second opinion from a dentist his family used in London. Not just London – Harley Street. This sounded expensive.

I want my teeth to last as possible, so I felt a second opinion from someone so strongly recommended was worth it. And I thought it would make good material to report on in this blog as the treatment progressed. http://livingto150.com.

I booked up and went for a consultation.

The dentist took pictures – pictures not x-rays – of all my teeth. She put them up on a screen there and then, and discussed them with me at length. She pointed out the shortcomings of the various teeth and their fillings. She indicated decay around an existing filling which was very clear to see but which had not been mentioned to me before. I was shocked to see it – but could not argue with the evidence in front of my eyes.

As for the broken cusp, she said to sort that tooth out and crown it as soon as possible, before the other cusp broke off too. Neither could I argue with that sensible suggestion. On the left, you can see the tooth in question with one cusp misisng. That ’stick’ is a post previously inserted to help hold in the huge filling.

I learned that crowns can be preventive: can slow down deterioration and increase longevity of the tooth. I did not realize that.

The result is, I have an expensive course of treatment. I will do the important stuff first, spread over two treatments, then finish off next year. This will, I feel sure, make my teeth last much longer.

It was a very interesting visit.

Tooth Extraction

On the first treatment, I had a broken root extracted. My dentist has said wait until the broken tooth above fell out, which it has recently done. However, following this advice had allowed a pretty extensive infection to attack the root. So that was hardly good advice either. Grrrrh!

She send me home with the warning that my cheek might swell up as the infection had been ‘liberated’. She gave me a penicillin prescription to hand on to in case I needed it.

Of course I went home and immediately reached the herbs!

First of all, Red Sage and Echinacea Gargle:

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Red_Sage_and_Echinacea_Gargle.html

This is fantastic. Starting immediately, I put 20 to 25 drops into a little warm water and swished it around the extraction area for 30 seconds then spat out. I repeated three or four times with the rest of the mixture.

Now, for the daily capsules. I would take three Echinacea Compound Capsules twice a day;

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Echinacea.html

(Echinacea, wild indigo, low-odour garlic, myrrh – a great combination)

One Power Garlic Capsule twice a day

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Power_Garlic_Capsules2.html

(Low odour – and one capsule is equivalent to one clove of garlic)

…and continue with the Red Sage and Echinacea Gargle three times a day.

There was no swollen cheek next day, but on the day after I could feel with my tongue that the gum at one corner of the vacant hole was distinctly swollen. I kept up with the herbs. The next day it was just the same period day after, it gone down slightly. The day after that, it was back to normal.

So that’s that deal with then!

Look Away If Squeamish

Sorry it’s horrid! This is where the broken root has been left to develop an infection – should have been removed long ago.

That white stuff is the pus oozing out of the hole.

What will now happen, is that the wound will be left for a few month to heal up, and a titanium post inserted by a surgeon. The dentist can then implant a tooth onto that.

Should last ages!

Phase Two of the Treatment

Now to phase two of my treatment in two weeks.

I will be having two inlays, rather than crowns: these are for when part of the tooth is left. Gold is the best solution for inlays and crowns, all things being equal. My partner hates the idea of me flaunting gold in the mouth. (And I am not even a rapper )

So I have compromised: if it’s the back 3 teeth – gold: otherwise some more cosmetic answer.

A Great Dentist

I really feel I have a fantastic dentist here. My friend’s strong recommendation was justified. She’s caring, shows and explains everything, and I expect, as he said, that she is a superb technician. I feel I have a dentist who is very concerned with making my teeth last as long as possible.

My Dental Treatment in Harley Street is a post from: Living To 150

Atkins, Ornish, Zone, LEARN – Healthy Diets Compared

Malc — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:51:40 +0000

Let’s face it, it is tricky to decide on a healthy diet. (It is even trickier to stick to your healthy diet!)

I like very much the intelligent and considered approach of Michael Eades MD to, among other things, healthy diet. As I do, he believes a high carb/low fat diet is neither good for health – nor for the weight reduction for which it is often adopted

In this blog post, Michael Eades displays a YouTube video of a Stanford University researcher discussing the merits of four popular diets. He then discusses the recorded analysis at length, making clear his own well thought out views.

The four diets discussed are the Atkins diet, the Ornish diet, the Zone diet, and the LEARN diet.

This is a chunky post! But if you are prepared for a long watch (YouTube), and a longish and intelligent read, you can learn tons about the best diet for you from a thorough read of this post.

I will certainly be keeping an eye on Michael Eades’ blog from now on. Very interesting and well informed.

Atkins, Ornish, Zone, LEARN – Healthy Diets Compared is a post from: Living To 150

Cholesterol Lowering Regime

Ray Kurweil – The Singularity: When Computer=Brain

Malc — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:52:29 +0000

Genius Ray Kurzweil has long predicted the time when a computer will be able to think at the same rate as a human.

He predicts that this time – which he calls the Singularity – will occur around 2045. It will have tremendous repercussions for humanity. Kurzweil explores the Singularity on this video.

Do let me know what you think – leave a comment.

Ray Kurweil – The Singularity: When Computer=Brain is a post from: Living To 150

Cholesterol Lowering Regime

Malc — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:56:58 +0000

After a bit of research, it seems that lowering cholesterol by a moderate amount should not be that hard.

OK – doctors just slap you on statins. But that should not be option 1.

If you read around the subject it seems that you can reduce total cholesterol by one third through diet and take plant sterols. For example see the Portfolio Diet for ideas.

I don’t agree 100% with this diet: but it is a good start and much better than statin. MUCH better than statins.

Statin Dangers

A documentary on statins recently highlighted two cases of men who had been given statins and who had muscle wasting and energy diseases which they had not hint of previously. Very, very sad. One of the guys was crying at the functionality he had lost. This should be a crime. He had retired with a healthy retirement ahead of him, and he now could not walk to the end of the road – because of the muscle pain he had. This started just after he started statins.

So I would suggest trying the ‘Portfolio Diet‘ type of approach first.

It’s only a start – but a good one.

I will analyse it in more detail in a future post.

Cholesterol Lowering Regime is a post from: Living To 150

My Health – The Next Step

Malc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:25 +0000

(Here is a brief summary for new readers: I started my anti-aging, or longevity, quest in March 2008 when I visited Fort Lauderdale for 63 blood tests. Then I had to interpret them as best as I could.)

In July 2009 I decided to get more professional input, and visited Dr Terry Grossman in Denver for a repeat of the tests, a few more besides, and more personal advice.

In October 2009 (OK – I dragged my feet a bit) I had a review, via Skype, of the results of the tests Terry had carried out for me.

Wow – Skype video! Fantastic. It was near to the effect of being in Terry Grossman’s offices.

Key Health Points

Key points were:

My total cholesterol is high
My genetic profile shows no particular inherited concerns
My biological age is 19 years younger than my physical age – a near record for the clinic
I need to enhance my exercise regime to keep up the good results I have had.

I am now starting my ‘new regime’. My main aim is to reduce my cholesterol – through diet and supplements.

My Health – The Next Step is a post from: Living To 150

Cutting Edge Hand for Amputees

Malc — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:18:51 +0000

People who have been unfortunate enough to lose fingers or even a whole hand can now get a cutting edge prosthetic hand.

Scottish company Touch Bionics has designed and produced the first artificial hand on which all fingers and the thumb move independently. Touch Bionic’s hand is powered by five motors: other prosthetic hands generally use only two. This give the user much, much more freedom and possibility.

Once fitted, the hand (or fingers) can be used immediately: though delicate operations take a while to master. A user said:

“I found the trick is not to think what I was trying to do. ” In other words, let it become automatic.

From a standing start two years ago, the company is likely to sell 500 hands this financial year, 60% of them in the USA. The cost there is around $20,000 (£14,000) before fitting costs.

Cutting Edge Hand for Amputees is a post from: Living To 150

No related posts.

Dental Treatment Plan

Malc — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:53:22 +0000

I have now had my treatment plan from the Harley Street dentist.

At the bottom left I have three teeth all with large fillings which are the ones she is most concerned about. She thinks these are ‘doomed’ to break down sooner rather than later without intervention. So this means three crowns.

Upper left I have a tooth which has crack at the root and fallen out. I knew this would need treatment. She plans to remove the remaining root, let it heal for three months, then have a titanium screw inserted. She has shown me on an xray that there is plenty of bone at this point to put the screw.

This part is no different from the treatment planned by my usual dentist.

Upper right, the back half of the back tooth has previously been mainly filling and a big chunk of this has fallen off. Another crown there.

Lower right a cusp has cracked off a tooth with a big filling. A crown for this – again, as proposed by by usual dentist.

The differences are – this dentist proposed taking much more action immediately as this is, as she calls it, ‘conservative’. I supposed you could say ‘conservational’. In other words, my teeth will last longer. And that is what I want.

I will go ahead with the plan.

Dental Treatment Plan is a post from: Living To 150

Walking Robot Reality

Malc — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:29:04 +0000

Gosh – this is fantastic! Shades of ‘I, Robot’ or ‘Surrogates’.

This beast really is walking! It can even recover from a push.

You can only imagine the futher progress in, say, 25 years. This is such a great time to be alive!

Walking Robot Reality is a post from: Living To 150

No related posts.

Ray Kurweil: Transcendent Man – A Documentary

Malc — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:59:00 +0000

A documentary is out of Ray Kurzweil, genius inventor and futurist. Kurzweil invented the scanner, the first electronic piano and dictation software, among many other things. Many of his predictions of the future have been proven correct.

He now predicts that machine intelligence will equal human intelligence around 2045. This has been called the singularity. To keep understanding the advances in technology, he further predicts that humans will choose to enhance their own minds using machine intelligence.

He is a fascinating speaker, though some will find his ideas challenging. Here is the trailer for the film.

Ray Kurweil: Transcendent Man – A Documentary is a post from: Living To 150

Nanotech Rotor Created

Malc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:22:06 +0000

A great step forward (if you can have one of those in nanotechnology) has been made in molecular machinery. A cog has been made out of atoms, and rotated clockwise and anti-clockwise.

This was created by fixing a ’stick’ like molecule onto the sides of a benzene ring, resulting in a 6-spoked cog. This was then rotated around the molecular fold occurring on a piece of gold.

This is a huge step forward, and an essential step, for molecular machines.

Now the method has been proved, more complex machines will be developed, enabling energy to be converted into work at the molecular level very efficiently.

Article

Nanotech Rotor Created is a post from: Living To 150

Method to Combat Genetic Disease

Bad Teeth

Malc — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:55:26 +0000

Following on from my previous post on reviewing my dental arrangements, I was shocked by my Harley Street checkup.

The dentist I saw showed my pictures of all of my teeth on a TV screen as I lay in the chair. Still photos were taken which showed me great detail of my teeth. The image which sticks in my mind is of a large white filling which has brown patches all around the edges.

This, the dentist tells me, is decay. What! How can I have decay all around this filling and this has never been mentioned to me? Perhaps my current dentist has not mentioned it to save me money. If this is so, I don’t appreciate it: I want to be involved in the decisions about my own health.

Another factor is the number of large fillings I have. I think this is because of the dental practices when I was a child, which was to ‘drill and fill’ at every opportunity. I find out from my Harley Street dentist that large fillings weaken the remaining ‘cusps’ of the tooth. The pressure of eating then forces them outwards, eventually cracking them off. This is more likely to happen with the white fillings I now prefer as they ‘glue’ the tooth together less effectively than mercury fillings.

Because of these large fillings, I have a number of teeth which will last longer if they are crowned. I did not realise that crowning teeth could be preventive in this way – the teeth will last longer.

The good news for me is: I thought crowning teeth invariably meant root canal work. I am pleased to learn that is not the case. That’s only necessasry with more severely damaged teeth.

I now wait for the proposed treatment plan.

Bad Teeth is a post from: Living To 150