Breaking the Aging Code , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - Miryan Ehrlich Williamson , Vincent Giampapa

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

88 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Throughout life, DNA reproduces and replaces itself continually. In optimal conditions, the copies are perfect, but as environment, diet and stress begin to take their toll, so the DNA becomes damaged and this leads to aging and disease.

Sujets

Santé et bien-être

Santé du quotidien

Santé au quotidien

Fitness

Health

Healthy Living

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 novembre 2003
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781591206477
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0748€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

B REAKING THE
A GING C ODE
MAXIMIZING YOUR DNA FUNCTION
FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH AND LONGEVITY
V INCENT C. G IAMPAPA , M.D., F.A.C.S.,
AND M IRIAM E HRLICH W ILLIAMSON
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
B ASIC H EALTH P UBLICATIONS , I NC .
8200 Boulevard East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
1-201-868-8336
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Giampapa, Vincent C.
Breaking the aging code : maximizing your DNA function for optimal health and longevity / Vincent C. Giampapa and Miryam Ehrlich Williamson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59120-647-7
ISBN 1-59120-079-2
1. Aging—Physiological aspects. 2. DNA. 3. Longevity. 4. Health.
I. Williamson, Miryam Ehrlich. II. Title.
QP86.G465 2003
613—dc22
2003021363
Copyright © 2004 by Vincent C. Giampapa, M.D., F.A.C.S., and Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Susan E. Davis
Typesetter/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Aging: Processes and Theories
2. Cells, DNA Damage, and DNA Repair
3. Biomarkers of Aging
4. The Aging Equation: Glycation, Inflammation, Oxidation, and Methylation
5. Glands, Hormones, and Their Effect on Aging
6. Diet, Exercise, and Aging
7. Anti-Aging Treatments and Technologies
8. Quantum Theory: The Final Step in Breaking the Aging Code
Appendices
A. Food Lists
B. Resources
C. Additional Reading
Glossary
To Susan,
who keeps me anchored.
—V.C.G.
To Ed,
who puts the wind in my sails.
—M.E.W.
Acknowledgments
For the past decade I have had the pleasure and honor to share new ideas and concepts about how we age with an extraordinary group of human beings. This book is dedicated to these special physicians and pioneers who have had the courage and vision to conceive of a new medical society and a new medical paradigm. They changed how we view the aging process and unshackled our minds from the constraints of medical dogma that existed for hundreds of years.
This special group has changed the quality and quantity of life for our present generation, as well as for generations to come. We will all benefit from their refusal to accept the limits of contemporary medical minds as the limits of reality.
I express my deepest thanks to Eric Braverman, M.D.; Stanley Burzynski, M.D., Ph.D.; Ward Dean, M.D.; Bob Goldman, M.D.; Thierry Hertoge, M.D.; Steven M. Hedfflin, M.D.; Dharma Khalsa, M.D.; Ron Klatz, M.D.; Steve Novell, M.D.; Chong Park, M.D.; Nicholas V. Perricone, M.D.; Ronald Pero, Ph.D.; Oscar M. Ramirez, M.D.; Steven Sinatra, M.D.; James Smith, M.D.; and Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D.
—Vincent C. Giampapa, M.D.
Special thanks to Susan E. Davis, a superb developmental editor and project manager, for her exceptional organizational skills and dedication to perfection.
—Vincent C. Giampapa, M.D.
—Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Introduction
K EEP YOUR MIND OPEN TO CHANGE ALL THE TIME . W ELCOME IT . C OURT IT . I T IS ONLY BY EXAMINING AND REEXAMINING YOUR OPINIONS AND IDEAS THAT YOU CAN PROGRESS.
—Dale Carnegie
T he rate at which we age is governed by a complex of variable factors over which, until recently, we thought we had little chance of exercising control. Now that science has taken the giant step of mapping the human genome, the genetic material that makes human beings simultaneously alike and unique, we have the potential to control more of our individual destinies than past generations dared to dream.
The first decade of the twenty-first century is an exciting time. Scientists are adding to the understanding of our genetic blueprint on an almost daily basis. As we learn each new fact, we reach a deeper knowledge of why and how we age. Our knowledge base of techniques to retard the aging process is doubling every two years. Since 1990 we have accumulated more information on aging than was obtained over the previous 2,000 years. What was once as arcane as alchemy has become molecular biology; what was considered magic is now quantum physics and genetics.
We have also just begun to understand the critical impact of our environment—the air we breathe, the water we drink, what and how we eat, our internal flora and fauna, our psychological makeup, and the social milieu in which we live and work—on our health and longevity, and more specifically, on our genes. Genetic damage, not the genes we inherited, dictates why most people around the world have a life span of sixty to seventy years. The prevalence of genetic damage in most people is the reason it is so remarkable that anyone lives to be 100 years old. It is so unusual that by tradition the President of the United States sends a letter of congratulations to every citizen who reaches that landmark of age.
We do not need to assume that illness is inevitable as we grow older or accept damage to our genes as unavoidable. In this book you will find information that will change your assumptions about aging, guidance to help you overcome the negative perception that to be old means to be sick, and the means to control and retard the process of your own aging.
In June 2000, researchers from the United States and Britain announced that they had deciphered the human genome, the sequence of chemical “letters” containing the basic instructions for building and running the human body. This 3-billion-letter code contains the genetic makeup of all human beings. To the surprise of those who mapped the human genome, what was originally thought to be a collection of about 100,000 genes turned out to be approximately 30,000, only a few thousand (perhaps 10 percent) of which are active at any time during our lives. We now know that the set of active genes changes as we grow, mature, and age. We used to think that each gene bore the code for a single purpose, but it now has become evident that each may play multiple roles.

D ECIPHERING THE C ODE …
Most of the body’s 100 trillion CELLS contain a NUCLEUS with 46 CHROMOSOMES, each one made of a long, coiled-up strand of DNA. Thousands of sections along every strand represent GENES, which are coded instructions for making the proteins needed to construct a complete human organism.

Our bodies are made up of some 100 trillion cells, differentiated according to the work they perform. The single most important breakthrough that led to the mapping of the human genome was the discovery of DNA in the nucleus of each of these cells. Even though 99.9 percent of the DNA found in the human body is identical from person to person, DNA also contains the genetic code that makes each of us unique. It is that remaining 0.1 percent that differentiates each of us from everyone else.
Environmental factors can cause stress and damage to DNA, changing the way genes function within our bodies. Hostile environments can give rise to malfunctioning genes and, ultimately, cause aging, disease, and death. If DNA carries our genetic code, then a subset of DNA carries the code that determines how we age, and it can be negatively affected by environmental factors. It is to breaking this code—learning to understand and manage it—that this book is dedicated.
Science is already beginning to use our rudimentary understanding of the genetic code to perform gene therapy to treat a limited number of diseases. Eventually, although perhaps not for several decades, we will be able to use information about specific genes to intercede in the aging process. But we know enough about the aging code now to make a difference in how we age, to improve our health and increase longevity.
This book suggests a new way of looking at how we age. It offers a model that you can incorporate into your lifestyle to achieve a longer life than would otherwise be possible, as well as a better quality of life as you age. The premise of this book is the radical concept that we are built for self-repair, and are not programmed to die. Contrary to conventional wisdom, which holds that we die once our cells have divided and reproduced themselves a set number of times, information now seems to indicate that the capacity for cell division is not as restricted as we thought. This means that we have the potential to live longer, healthier lives, under the right circumstances and in the right environment.
Central to this new paradigm of aging is the belief that we can limit damage to DNA and repair what harm is done, allowing us to maximize our genetic potential. To do this requires that we control the four main cellular processes—glycation, inflammation, oxidation, and methylation—that take place within each cell and influence the age-related changes that every body undergoes. Taken together, these processes can be viewed as an equation we can use to break the “aging code” stored in our genes.