Scientists have advanced in matters of prolonging life

The head of the Buck aging research institute, based in California and, by the way, the only one of its kind in the world, Dr. Brian Kennedy said that in modern medicine there have already been changes that will help prolong people's lives for decades.

At a meeting in St. Petersburg devoted to new technologies in the field of longevity, Professor Kennedy noted that in his institute scientists were able to find out what actually provokes the aging of the body - constant stresses and excess calories. Scientists say about the dangers of stress for a long time, but that's not enough to know that extra pounds contribute to aging, besides, whether this finding indicates that weight loss can rejuvenate the body.

Kennedy's research team has studied the causes of cell aging for 20 years and scientists can say about the extra pounds: eating large amounts of high-calorie foods increases the risk of inflammation in fat deposits (men have a higher probability of inflammation than women). In experiments with rodents, it was found that excess weight clearly accelerates the aging process and shortens the life span of animals, but people do not quite do it, for example, women are helped to prevent inflammation of the hormones estrogen (even if there are extra pounds), but after the onset menopause women and men are in the same position and the risk of inflammation in women increases at times.

In addition, today scientists have recognized that chronic inflammatory processes contribute to early aging.

Colleagues of Dr. Kennedy, a group led by Walter Longo of the University of Southern California, observed the diet of people and the risk of death. As a result, it was found that the presence of a large number of animal proteins and dairy products in the menu significantly shorten the life expectancy, but this diet is suitable only for people under 65 years of age, in the elderly, people who consumed more protein (about 20%) had greater health.

Based on this, scientists concluded that before talking about a healthy diet or a normal weight, you should pay attention to the age of a person. Scientists are sure that the older a person, the less terrible weight is for him, on the contrary, people over 44 years old superfluous kilograms serve as a kind of additional protection.

Dr. Kennedy noted that during the meal, the mTOR protein is activated in the body, which participates in the division and growth of cells, and is necessary for a young growing organism, but in the adult state, when the "wear" of the body begins, it is important to cleanse the cells (accumulated damage can be the cause of development cancer, diabetes and other serious diseases). Scientists have found that the lack of nutrients triggers a "stress-resistant regime" in the body, which stops the aging and destruction of cells.

Experiments on animals have shown that a decrease in the activity of the mTOR protein helps prolong life to 25% (an average of 10-25 years for a person).

To inhibit the activity of the mTOR protein, rapamycin (a common immunosuppressor used for organ transplantation), metformin, acarbose (diabetic drugs) helps.

Now scientists are working to develop anti-aging drugs based on the above drugs. In addition, metformin geroprotector has been started, which is not as effective for prolonging life as ascarbose or rapamycin, but is safer for humans, compared to other drugs. Until the final results of clinical trials are obtained, taking such medications alone is dangerous for health and life. But those who wish to stay healthy and prolong their lives, Professor Kennedy recommends eating a low-calorie diet or a popular diet recently called 5/2, in which 5 times a week you can eat almost everything (not to abuse harmful food - smoked products, hamburgers and etc.), and 2 days to eat low-calorie foods.

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