X-Message-Number: 19864 Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 15:59:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Scott Badger <> Subject: Re: CR going mainstream Thomas Donaldson <> wrote: > About calorie restriction: > > Calorie restriction, as done on rats initially, will > increase their > lifespan. The experiment has been done repeatedly on > rats with the same result; > > However in some ways it is done in a paradoxical > way. No, we do > NOT just lower glucose levels or that of any single > nutrient. WE > keep the total calorie level lower than before, but > try to make > sure that we get enough vitamins, minerals, etc. > Right now there > are efforts going on to understand why it works, and > thus find > out have to get the same effect without the > discomfort of calorie restriction itself. > > But restricting sugar, or any other single nutrient, > or even a subgroup of them, just doesn't work. This from the FAQ of the www.calorierestriction.org BY WHAT MEANS DOES CR WORK? "...many theories of aging hold that aging has something to do with the body's use of glucose: the higher the circulating levels of glucose are, one of these theories holds, the more likely the glucose is to form damaging chemical links to essential biological molecules, like enzymes and DNA; over time, this damage is fatal." This is the Glycosylation Theory of Aging which suggests that cross-links generated in proteins and nucleic acids by nonenzymatic glycosylation may contribute to age-related declines in the functioning of cells and tissues. Dr. Dean Ward believes that Metformin can safely effectively mimic the glucose lowering effects of CR (see caveats). Here's a quote from Paul Wakfer, "Next to free radical damage, I think that glycation and its advanced end-products (AGEs) is the most important aging decline producer, of the system garbage accumulation type (as distinct from things like telomere shortening). AGEs, in particular, accumulate irreversibly (or at least with very low destruction rates) are implicated in many, many disease processes (just have a look at the number of abstracts on medline sometime). In addition, I think that lowered average glucose (and glycation, and perhaps insulin as well) is *one* of the reasons why CR extends lifespan. My fasting blood glucose, even on calorie restriction is never very low (normally 89-94 - still 80 at the end of my 64 hour fast). I therefore have taken steps to lower its average level (acarbose lowers both the spikes and the average, but not the fasting level) and the consequent glycation pressure. I am also taking several things (aminoguanidine among them) which should lower the glycation rate for a given average blood glucose. Metformin is that only (safe) thing that actually lowers fasting glucose levels in diabetics. At least one person that I know who is not a diabetic has told me that it also lowered his fasting glucose." Though I never said that lowering blood glucose was the only thing one has to do to add years, I remain convinced that sugar is a major culprit in aging and should be tightly controlled by non-diabetics as well as diabetics. Of course, a sensible diet and exercise are always part of any life extension regimen as well. Scott Badger __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19864