Nanotechnology is the controlled use of tiny, molecule-sized particles. In medicine these have massive potential.

In this study these tiny particles were used to cause a rat to regrow blood vessels to supply a damaged leg in just 7 days.

Now, it’s not very nice to think of a rat being purposefully harmed to enable such a demonstration; but, nevertheless, if I or a relative had severe blood deficiency to an area I’d be pleased this research had been done.

I am thinking here of the poor leg circulation which afflicts diabetics: or even the effects on the brain of a stroke, through reducing circulation, or the consequence of a non-fatal heart attack.

An interesting quote from James Lewis, a PhD with experience in the nanotechnology area is illuminating. He says:

“Mammalian cells are very complex mechanisms, and several decades of experience with biotechnology have demonstrated that newly discovered molecules expected to do great things often underperform expectations because changing a cell requires several molecules working together. Nanoparticles have the potential to be complex enough to accomplish what single molecules cannot.”

There is no doubt that nanotechnology will perform a more and more important role in healthcare in coming decades. Cures which are unthinkable now will be commonplace – thanks to our cutting-edge skills in harnessing these tiny particles.

Article at the website of the Foresight Institute, nanotechnology experts:

http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=5060

Related articles

• Nanotechnology Research – Science and technology for a future society (learningwithtechs.wordpress.com)

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In world first, a baby boy in London was saved from death due to a virus affecting his liver, by having donor liver cells injected into his abdomen. These injected cells were able to perform many of the functions his stressed liver could not, enabling him to live long enough for his body to fight off the infection.

The liver cells were treated with an extract from algae to delay the body’s immune system in attacking the cells. After two weeks his own liver had started its recovery, and begun to resume its usual activity. Six months later his liver function was normal. Previously, the poor lad was on dialysis treatment and had to breathe with the help of a machine.

This is an incredible achievement and no doubt more trials are planned to try to extend this treatment method to other similar situations.

The alternative treatment – a transplant – would have been a very much less attractive option. This choice was less invasive, enabled near enough complete recovery, and did not rely on the hope that a liver donor was available.

Potentially, a huge step forward.

Related articles

• Pioneering liver treatment with donor liver cells saves baby’s life (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
• Implanted liver cells acted like a temporary liver to save a boys life (nextbigfuture.com)

Viral Liver Failure Avoided By Injection is a post from: Living To 150

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1. Incredible! The First Synthetic Windpipe

Hypodermic Needle (Flickr)

It may seem silly to go all the way to America from the UK to get blood tests done, but is it so silly?

Once you have decided to have blood tests done, you start to look at the cost. And once you look at the cost, it’s a no-brainer.

Let’s say you are going to get several panels of tests done. (A panel is just a ‘related bunch’ of tests.) Maybe you will get a basic male or female panel: then a few others, depending on what you want to measure or check. I might get c-reactive protein, haemoglobin A1c, homocysteine, a thyroid panel and cholesterol VAP test – the type which gives you much more detail about different kinds of cholesterol.

In America, these can be done for, perhaps, £300 ($400) (if you go when Life Extension Foundation has its annual ‘sale’)

In the UK you are getting towards several times that cost. So it makes sense to visit the States – and make a holiday out of it. It works for me!

Related Articles For Blood Tests

• How is a cholesterol test performed? (zocdoc.com)
• Can tests for your health condition help? (latestmedifastcouponcodes.wordpress.com)
• What does a annual physical consist of? (zocdoc.com)

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The European Court of Justice’s advocate general has said all patents on embryonic stem cell-related technologies should be banned on moral grounds. Opponents, including today’s Financial Times leader (9th May 2011) say: “complete tosh”.

This means that no company could precede with research in the EU if they could not get a patent – and so have the chance of getting their money back from what would be an expensive research program.

Leading stem cell scientists said in a letter that a negative ruling could spell disaster for drug firms seeking treatments for conditions which include such medical disasters as blindness and spinal chord injuries.

“If the ECJ was to follow this opinion, the reality is that all patents in Europe that relate to human embryonic stem cells will be eliminated,” was the opinion of one Austin Smith of the Centre for Stem Cell Research in Cambridge, one of those who signed the letter.

It’s simple: research firms would desert Europe and go to the Far East and California – the cutting edge of stem cell research.

We have so much to gain from stem cell research – in terms of reducing suffering. Let’s hope the European Court see sense. They might.

Added 25/5/2011: UPDATE ON THE ACJ DECISION (Well, not so much a decision, more of an evasion )

Related articles

• Ban on stem-cell patents ‘wrong’ (bbc.co.uk)
• US, Europe Debate Embryonic Stem Cell Patents and Research (ipwatchdog.com)
• Stem cell research threatened by EU court (telegraph.co.uk)

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Fish oil supplements are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids. Eating foods rich in omega 3 is another way that we can supply our body with all the fatty acids that we need. Some people would argue that we don’t need supplements. A healthy diet should be more than enough to provide us with all the essential nutrients that we need.

In the past, that statement would be more true. People didn’t need fish oil pills or supplements back then. Most of our foods don’t go through as much processing and are our grandparents’ and great grandparents’ diets are healthier. They prepared and cooked most of their foods and they used to get most of their ingredients fresh from the farm. But today, we thrive on the convenience of fast food. We hardly know where our foods comes from or how it’s prepared. And when we do cook our food, we use processed ingredients to make cooking easier and faster.

And this doesn’t include the fact that most of foods themselves today are not as healthy as they were in the last century. For example:

• Fatty fish. This used to be a good source of omega 3 fish oil . But now we have to be a bit more cautious as some fish are contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and inorganic compounds.
• Beef. Beef used to be a good source of omega 3 back in the days when cows were allowed to graze and they were grass fed. Now cows are kept in pens and they are corn fed, so their meat contains fat with too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3 fatty acids.
• Eggs. In the past, eggs were naturally rich in omega 3 and other essential fatty acids. That’s because chickens used to be able to graze and eat insects and grass. This made the eggs more nutritious. But now chickens are kept in small coops and grain-fed. So when you eat eggs – ‘free range’ is important.
• Flaxseed. Flaxseed isn’t a very good source of omega 3 fatty acids as most people believe. Our body needs DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids. Flaxseed contains ALA, which the body has to convert to DHA and EPA. The problem with ALA though is only 2% of t is converted to DHA and ALA.

As you can see, we really need to take fish oil supplements everyday if we want to get all the health benefits of omega 3. Omega 3 is vital for anti-aging it has so many benefits. But get it in the right way.

Can Fish Oil Supplements Give You More Omega 3 Than Omega 3 Foods? is a post from: Living To 150

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This is a great ebook which does a good job of explaining where we are today with regard to healthy anti-aging strategies.

Best of all – it is completely free. David Kekich is doing all he can to publicize anti-aging, so is giving this book away. It’s a chunky tome – and packed full of information.

It tells you 7 steps to take to: “catch the emerging wave of medical breakthroughs…” for a healthy, extended life. I strongly recommend this book to help get you up to speed with the current state of anti-aging knowledge.

Also, follow author David Kekich on twitter @MaxLifeorg .

Free Longevity Book is a post from: Living To 150

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I recently posted an entry about how I had changed my exercise routine in line with keeping healthy and… well, living to 150.

My visit to see Terry Grossman in Denver changed all that again. He told me about the PACE method of exercise popularized by Al Sears. I’m not sure who got onto it first… but interval training is the more generic name used.

Underlying the method is the fact that: cardio is bad. At least, in the way most of us understand it.

With cardio exercise (or aerobics) you stretch yourself moderately for half an hour or so 3 times a week. This, says Sears (and he has a lot of evidence) tells the muscle cells they need to be ready for this sort of moderate action. In response, the muscles become smaller and more dense. Not good.

The effect is to shrink the size of the lungs and the heart – the last thing we want. We want large muscles in the heart and lungs to make them ready to accommodate any sudden capacity demands. If these can’t be met by the heart, a heart attack is more likely.

So I am getting onto the ‘interval training’ bandwagon. Wish I’d heard about it before.

Check it out here – and get a free 6 minute workout.

I will be posting more about this fantastic method of exercise. Stick with me if you really want to get healthy – and keep healthy.

Exercise – A Reassessment is a post from: Living To 150

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Getting healthier is incremental – bit by bit – for most people. You cannot do it all at once. It might be helpful if I to write down some of my own incremental lifestyle changes.

The lifestyle changes I made after last year’s blood tests in Fort Lauderdale (April 2008) were as follows.

1. Avoiding glycation

2. Reducing the amount of sugar in my diet

3. Increasing exercise

After this year’s visit to see Terry Grossman, I will make further changes, no doubt. For now, let’s look at these factors one by one.

1. Avoiding glycation.

I reduced the amount of food I cooked at high temperatures. This was to avoid glycation.

For example, I substituted frying my salmon for poaching or steaming it. Stir-frys became a ‘quick fry’ followed by steaming in a little liquid.

I stopped frying curry onions and spices before adding the liquid – I just put it all together to cook.

When cooking in foil in the oven, I cook for an hour at 250 degrees F (gas mark 1.5) instead of a hot oven for 20 minutes.

The food still tastes great. I love poached or steamed salmon now. I like to poach it in vegetable stock, or wine, or just some water with a little soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce. Add some flavouring to taste – onions, garlic, chili seeds, chopped peppers – and steam for 5 minutes a side.

In the oven – add the same vegetables, pour a little olive oil over. You can also add sliced courgette, mushrooms, etc. A fantastic meal when you add a side salad or a few extra steamed green vegetables.

I still occasionally have fried food – but rarely cook it  except for the quick start to my stir-frys.

Next I look at My Lifestyle Changes – Sugar

My Lifestyle Changes – Glycation is a post from: Living To 150

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I am in Denver ready to meet with Dr Terry Grossman in two days at his anti-aging clinic.

I have signed up to a two day health assessment and series of consultations with Terry himself, his wife, a practitioner in nutrition and Chinese medicine, and others.

I want to build on the blood tests I had done a year ago, following which I have made lifestyle changes. These include dietary changes, exercise changes and devising a supplement plan.

I hope to have all these changes checked by the clinic.  Also, new blood and other tests will be carried out, and further recommendations made.

I am quite excited to hear what is recommended.

I think the clinic will also apply a test which shows an estimate of my ‘bodily age’ compared to my physical age. This will be a useful benchmark for future treatments to gauge their effects.

Denver is a lovey city, and has a great temperature in July. After my visit to the clinic, my partner and I will tour round the Rocky Mountains for 2 weeks before returning home.

Denver Anti-Aging is a post from: Living To 150

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We all know that aerobic exercise help us to keep healthy, and help avoid cancer and heart disease.

Moderate weight training – such as on machines at the gym – has been shown to help maintain muscle bulk as we age – an important factor, as many falls by old people are due to weakened muscles.

The latest research shows an additional benefit of weight training: it reduces cancer.

In this study, scientists led from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, tracked 8,677 men aged between 20 and 82 for more than two decades, and studied their weight training habits.

The results were that men who regularly worked out with weights and had the greatest  muscle strength were 30 to 40 per cent less likely to die from a cancerous tumour.

Exercise Regime

It seems clear that exercise needs to be of two kinds:

1. Aerobic exercise – such as fast walking, swimming, running – any exercise where there is no rest. This should be for 20 minutes or more twice a week.

2. Weight training of the major muscle groups, also twice a week, and perhaps for 45 minutes a time. However, previously, it was thought that this just prevented muscle degeneration with aging.  This study seems to show a protective benefit against cancer too.

Although the study was of men, women should benefit too. Weight training does not have to result in big muscles – your trainer will advise if you don’t want to ‘get chunky’!

Report

Weight Train To Avoid Cancer is a post from: Living To 150

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Heart disease research has taken a step forward because of a new technique. This technique is not only kinder to animals, but is much cheaper in use and so it means more research can be done.

Pigs are often used in heart research because their heart valves resemble those of humans. The new technique accurately simulates blood flow in the heart by connecting it to equipment on a laboratory bench.

Thus the heart is attached to equipment outside the pig. The results of any experiments carried out can be obtained much, much more quickly and easily.

The new technique will mean that a piece of research might only cost cost $25 instead of around $2500 if it was carried out on a live pig – a massive saving.

Obviously, this means that many more pieces of research will be possible and medical advanced will be multiplied.

Finally, the trauma for the poor animals will be much less.

Article

Technorati Profile

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The number of UK serious skin cancer cases has exceeded 10,000 cases in a full year. The cases of the deadly for of skin cancer – malignant melanoma – have tripled for women in the past 3 years.

For men it is even worse; cases have quintupled.

To keep yourself out of these statistics, it is vital to avoid sunburn or reddening of the skin. This is when the DNA damage which starts the cancer occurs.

Sunbed Damage

For women in particular the use of sunbeds has greatly increased since 1980.

Sunbeds are now triple the strength than in the past. UK pressure groups are asking for them to be banned for under 18-year-olds, and for unstaffed, coin-operated booths to be made illegal.

Marriage to Blame? 

The increase for men is blamed on the availability of cheaper foreign holidays in sunny places. One could guess that stag parties may well figure in the increase too. It has become de rigeur to travel abroad for a stag – or hen – ‘do’ these days.

Moderate Sun Only

Malignant melanoma is nearly all avoided if you avoid reddening of the skin. Be moderate in your exposure to the sun; and it is probably best to stay off the sunbeds. They are just too risky. Twenty minutes on one of these is equivalent to a whole day on the beach.

Daily Mail article

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  Scientists at Oxford University have developed a virus to deliver knockout therapy to cancer cells in the liver, while sparing the liver itself any damaging effects.

The problem with chemotherapy is that it targets cancer cells, but damages healthy cells in the process. This new therapy would damage the cancer without the additional – unwanted – damage.

This was achieved by changing the virus so that it kept its ability to reproduce within cancer cells in mice. But this was done in such a way that the mouse’s system realised that the virus cells were foreign, and so later killed them before they caused other damage.

The therapy has the possibility of being ‘tweaked’ to attack other harmful cells – such as hepatitis cells – while keeping all – or nearly all – the none-harmful cells safe.

Cancer Research UK article

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In just 17 years, life expectancy in the UK has risen by 4 years, meaning that a baby born today can expect to live to nearly 80 years old, on average.

This is due largely to better healthcare, meaning that some sick people are kept alive for longer.

With the rise in obesity and the accompanying dangers of insulin resistance, it is quite possible: some say likely – that this trend will reverse before too long.

Keep Healthy – Keep Trim

To counteract this trend it is important to maintain a good weight for your height as well as reducing the amount of starchy food in your diet.

These reported increases in life expectancy are mirrored throughout Europe. The highest life expectancy is in San Marino which is four years higher than in the UK.

It is sobering to reflect that, on the other hand, the lowest life expectancy is in Sierra Leone where it is a mere 39 years.

More details

Life Expectancy Increases Another 4 years is a post from: Living To 150

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My main aim is to live to 150 – at least to start off with.

(It’s said that the first person who will still be healthy at 200 is already living.)

So with that aim in mind I need to prepare myself for my trip to Denver, Colorado to see Terry Grossman, in July 2009.

What do I want to achieve?

Three main things.

1. Firstly, to have new blood tests taken, so that I can compare these with the ones I had done last year at Life Extension Foundation, and get the clinic’s views on them.
2. Secondly, to have a more detailed health assessment done, and so further review my health status.
3. Thirdly, to get the clinic’s views on my lifestyle, and how that is affecting my health, looked at against the backdrop of the blood tests.

New Blood Tests

It will be interesting to see how my blood test have changed compared to last year.

My main concerns with the blood tests were:

• High cholesterol. My total cholesterol was 235 mg/dl. This is about 6 in the UK measurement, and so about 30% too high. LDL and HDL were similarly high. However, my total cholesterol/HDL ratio was pretty good. Triglycerides were also good, at 72 mg/dl. (What is cholesterol?)
• Blood sugar. Fasting blood sugar was 102 mg/dl, or 5.6mmol/l in UK terms. Optimal is between 70 and 85.  So 102 is high. However, haemoglobin A-1 C was 5.6%, which is good. This is a measure of blood sugar over the past three-months. Also, fasting insulin was good at less than 2 mIU/dl.
• Hormones. My free testosterone was measured at 9.1 pg per millilitre. This is within the recommended range, but low within the range. Thyroid hormones again, were low within the normal range.

I will be looking to see whether the new blood tests reflect similar values to the old ones – from a year ago.

It will be interesting to hear the clinic’s personal recommendations. Last year I had only support via the telephone, which was not ideal. This one-to-one advice will be more helpful.

Preparing for My Health Review is a post from: Living To 150

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A small pilot study appears to show that lycopene – an antioxidant found in tomatoes – was protective against sunburn.

The subjects who received the lycopene supplement experienced a sunburn cell count six times lower than that of the placebo group. This is a significant benefit as sunburn causes DNA damage in cells.  Cancer often involves DNA damage.

The study was carried out by a company producing a lycopene supplement. However, confidence in the results was strengthened by the comments of David McDaniel, M.D., director of the Institute of Anti-Aging Research in Virginia Beach, USA, who said these  results “…are  impressive.” 

McDaniel added:

"Our research program has seen significant protection from UV damage from other topically applied super-potent antioxidants. We’ve also seen anecdotal evidence that oral lycopene supplementation in the 5mg to 10mg daily dose range may reduce the risk of sunburn in very sensitive, fair-skinned individuals. The apparent protection of Langerhans cells is also potentially significant," he notes, adding: "Oral supplements such as this mixture of lycopene and related carotenoids need further studies like this one to expand our understanding of how oral antioxidants impact our skin – both for health and beauty."

Further information on this study

The Richest Source of Lycopene

The fruit with the highest content of lycopene is called a gac. It is found in south east Asia, when it can be harvested during December and January. However, it is little know elsewhere. If you do live in Vietnam or nearby it is well worth seeking out gac, as it contains 80 – yes, 80! – times the lycopene found in tomatoes. Other foods have lesser amounts of lycopene, the only significant one being watermelon, which has about 1/4-1/3 of that found in tomato sauce.

Tomatoes Protect against Sunburn is a post from: Living To 150

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In the last post, I said that generalised inflammation is heavily implicated in causing or worsening the main degenerative diseases – cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

After cutting down on Omega-6 in the diet, omega-3 supplementation is the top way for most people to reduce their level of generalised inflammation.

The reason for this is that nearly everyone has too many Omega-6 fatty acids in their diet, and too few Omega-3 fatty acids.

If you are taking a 3-6-9 fatty acid supplement: stop now! Why take extra Omega-6 fats when you are already taking too many in your diet? This is a marketing ruse.

Avoid Omega-6

I haven’t found anyone who can tell me why we should need to have extra Omega-6. Omega-6 is the enemy. I really don’t understand why companies sell it as a supplement. We have loads of it in meat, milk, cheese and the common oils – sunflower, safflower and soy.

If I have missed something – tell me in the comments.

Get More Omega-3

Omega-3 is only found in quantity in oily fish and walnuts. Green vegetables have a tiny amount: hemp seeds and linseeds have fair amounts – but it is nothing as accessible as that from oily fish or walnuts.

HOW TO DO IT

To counteract generalised inflammation, which accompanies cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, do the following to cut down on Omega-6 and increase Omega-3:

• Reduce fatty meat. Focus on low fat meat – chicken and turkey breast are good.
• Avoid or minimise sunflower, safflower and soy oils. (Use olive oil – which has little Omega-6 or Omega-3 – it contains mainly ‘monosaturated’ fats. )
• Eat plenty of oily fish – sardines, mackerel, north pacific salmon (this type has less chance of heavy metal contamination)
• Eat moderate amounts of walnuts.
• Supplement with a top quality Omega-3 supplement. Add up the EPA + DHA delivered  it should preferably be 100mg, or at least 500mg. Many health-shop brands deliver much less.

And do get your blood checked for C-Reactive Protein (CRP). (Hopefully you can persuade your doctor to do it – and save £75 or £100 in the UK – half that in the states!) Then you will know how much of a challenge you are facing – if any. After 6 months, retest the CRP to check how you are doing.

 Book on C-Reactive Protein

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Over the years there have been many changes of recommendation as to what types of fats are healthy for us. There is particular confusion over whether we need Omega-3 or Omega-6 fatty acids.

The truth is: we need Omega-3s.

We should generally shoot for a 1:1 balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 in the diet. The problem is, our diets generally contain much too much Omega-6. Thus we need to reduce Omega-6 fats and increase Omega-3 fats.

Inflammation Kills

The main reason to increase Omega-3 fats is: Omega-3 reduces inflammation. Omega-6 fats increase inflammation – it is ‘pro-inflammatory’.

What is wrong with inflammation? ‘Good inflammation’ is designed to help the body to repair damage or counteract infection. It causes redness, pain and heat.

The ‘bad’ sort is generalised inflammation. This type does not cause pain or discomfort. It is insidious: it can be detected by a blood test, but is not felt. This generalised inflammation has been linked to all major degenerative diseases: cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

A good test for generalised inflammation is to test the blood for c-reactive protein (CRP). Some UK doctors will test for CRP. They might tell you that 2-4 times normal CRP is acceptable: but check for yourself what you levels should – don’t trust the doctor’s view. Just twice the normal CRP level can double your chance of a heart attack.

Book on C-Reactive Protein

The top ways to reduce generalised inflammation are by:

1. Reducing intake of food high in Omega-6 – such as milk, cheese, and common vegetable oils, including sunflower (stick to cold-pressed olive oil), and
2. Supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acid; which means – fish oils.  Cod liver oil is fine; and eating oily fish – such as sardines, mackerel and salmon.

CRP is one proven measure of your propensity to develop all major degenerative diseases. You cannot be properly pro-active in safeguarding your own health if you do not know it.

Inflammation article

Take Your Omega 3′s is a post from: Living To 150

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When I visit the Grossman Wellness Centre later this year, one of the tests I will have is the ultrafast CAT scan.

There is on great advantage of consulting with someone like Terry Grossman who is an expert in anti-aging therapies as well as a ‘regular’ doctor. This is that certain conventional diagnoses or treatments may be desirable where is can be judged that the potential for harm is less than the harm which may be caused by not doing them.

The ultrafast CAT scan is, I believe, one of these diagnostic methods.

Heart Symptoms May Be Too Late

Way before any heart symptoms occur, calcium deposits can be detected in the heart muscle and the coronary arteries – the small arteries which feed the heart muscle itself. It has been found that these are the early stages of arterial deposits.

One study of 6,700 people found that those with the most calcium deposits in the coronary arteries suffered ten times the number of cardio-vascular events (eg a heart attack) than those with the least.

An ultrafast CAT scan can detect calcium deposits and thus identify disease – especially coronary heart disease – early. It can then be treated.

Little Radiation

The ‘ultrafast’ part is that the amount of radiation used is much less than for a conventional CAT scan.

No amount of radiation is good; but the information from this scan can be so valuable that you might decide – as I have – to take the risk from the small dose involved.

The machine scans many ‘slices’ of the heart and coronary arteries and feeds this information to a computer. The computer is programmed to extract the large amount of information and piece it together.

Treatment With Nutrition

If calcium deposits are discovered they can be flushed out – or at least greatly diminished – by a carefully chosen cocktail of nutritional supplements.

Herbs for the Heart

Meanwhile, I take herbs for the heart every day – a formula based on Hawthorn – as I know from iridology analysis that I have a muscle weakness in the heart tissue.

Hawthorn is a great herb which is safe in use and has been highly recommended by herbalists for centuries.

More info: Ultrafast CAT scan

Checking for Heart Risk Factors is a post from: Living To 150

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Patrick Holford – one of the UK’s foremost publicists for natural healthcare – has started a bandwagon rolling to make the population aware of metabolic syndrome. This is the syndrome focused around excessive sugar consumption which produces ‘insulin resistance’ of cells. Metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance probably kills most people in this country.

So it’s good that Holford is shouting about it.

Insulin Resistance of the Cells

In insulin resistance, our cells become more or less immune to the effects of insulin.

The insulin is produced to make the cells take sugar out of the blood. The result is that the sugar remains in the blood, causing increased inflammation. Inflammation, in turn, is linked to serious disease.

Which Diseases are Caused?

Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance have been closely linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease.

All the ‘biggies’, really. This is a vital syndrome to know about. And the crucial point of understanding the symdrome is CUT DOWN ON SUGAR. That means all sugar; and you need to know that pasta, potatoes, bread (of all kinds – even wholemeal) and rice is nearly all sugar.

Holford says Metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance is worse for our health than excessive salt or fat in the diet.

He has a point.

How to Combat Metabolic Sydrome

His answer is to eat ‘Low GL’, or low glycaemic load. This is pretty much the same as low GI – low glycaemic index - which you might have already heard of.

It means that when you eat starchy food – oats, wheat, rice, pasta, bread – make sure it passes into the blood slowly. Eg wholemeal rather than white; porridge rather than popular cereals.

Vegetables, Fats, Protein Way to Go

Certainly – focus on low GI (I mean GL) when you do eat starchy food.

But fundamentally, think ‘low sugar’ with your diet. Eat starchy food rarely. This means cut down dramatically on rice, bread, pasta, potatoes. And sugary food itself, of course.

Pile on the vegetables and salads.

Focus on fish and lean meat – eg turkey and chicken breast.

Minimise sweet fruit, eg apples and mangoes, which are high in sugar; and fruit juices – which are very high in sugar. Do eat berries, though, which are lower in sugar and highly nutritious.

This is probably a very new approach to your diet; but it is essential if you are to avoid the ‘insulin resistance’ epidemic which is hitting us now. Crazy as it may sound, it will greatly help you to avoid the major degenerative diseases.

• More about Metabolic Syndrome
• Article about inflammation
• Patrick Holford’s GL Revolution Tour of 11 UK cities

Metabolic Syndrome Kills is a post from: Living To 150

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