To Live to a Healthy 120!

[LizzyBennet]

I also take alot of supplements, regardless of what Dr. Gupta says. I would rather be safe, than sorry there. However, it's good to know the max levels of some supplements so you are not taking too much. There are some good websites at the back of the book that can give you more information.

I drink at least one cup of green tea a day. As far as Perricone, I use some of the face products, but not the supplements.

What I need to work on is my ATTITUDE!! It helps to surround yourself with people who naturally lift you up and stay away from the downers!

[Weems]

I have been experiencing joint pain over the last year or so and it kinda moves around from shoulders to wrists to elbows to knees. Gluc & Chondroitin hasn't helped but I've recently heard of Hyaluronic Acid which is on my next supplement order. What has HA done for you?

[LizzyBennet]

I have never tried Gluc and Chond without HA, but since I have started using it, I have no pain in my right knee anymore. Coincidence? I think not!

I just read about a new Guiness record holder, a man who is 111. Incidentally, the oldest woman is 114. Both are Japanese. The article said in the last 10 years, the number of Japanese reaching and living beyond 100 has quadrupled to 28,000. They attribute it to diets rich in vegetables and fish! I'm going to eat more veggies and fish!!

[Weems]

I've never HAD G&C with HA. I'm going to be taking it as a separate supplement and will post a reply here as to how I think it worked. Regarding the age record, Sanjay speaks of a woman who lived to 122. Did you read about that? He also spoke of Okinawans who have the most Centurians. He attributes that to diet and lifestyle and how they do not have a word for retirement in their language. They continue to work well thru what we consider retirement age.

He also predicted that the number of Centurians per 100,000 in Okinawa will drop bc of the influence of the military there and the introduction of fast food. He said that Okinawans who move to Western cultures do not enjoy the longevity because they adopt our lifestyle.

[Weems]

One of the things mentioned in the Metabolic Plan is that they typical American only gets 11 different kinds of foods. From a grain standpoint he states that most of us only get wheat, in all it's various forms.

Most mornings I prepare a fruit smoothie that I affectionately refer to a "barf beverage" bc when I started this 2+ years ago my nutritionist put me on an elimination diet that included a medical food that I mixed with some fruit. I learned how to make it taste ok and now I use a 100% juice base, usually cranberry blend bc it has a bite to it, whey protein, aloe vera gel, flax seed oil, blueberries and some other fruit, and either rolled oats or whole wheat flour. So my grains consisted of just those two.

So in a quest to add different grains to my diet I got 5 different ones I am trying out. Barley Flour was first then Dark Rye. Soy FLour so far tastes the best of the three. Tomorrow is Amaranth Flour and Friday is Brown Rice Flour. Each taste better than whole wheat which I will leave in the rotation along with Oats. So I feel pretty good about adding the 5 grains for a greater variety....

[Mortis Anarchy]

One of the things mentioned in the Metabolic Plan is that they typical American only gets 11 different kinds of foods. From a grain standpoint he states that most of us only get wheat, in all it's various forms.

Most mornings I prepare a fruit smoothie that I affectionately refer to a "barf beverage" bc when I started this 2+ years ago my nutritionist put me on an elimination diet that included a medical food that I mixed with some fruit. I learned how to make it taste ok and now I use a 100% juice base, usually cranberry blend bc it has a bite to it, whey protein, aloe vera gel, flax seed oil, blueberries and some other fruit, and either rolled oats or whole wheat flour. So my grains consisted of just those two.

So in a quest to add different grains to my diet I got 5 different ones I am trying out. Barley Flour was first then Dark Rye. Soy FLour so far tastes the best of the three. Tomorrow is Amaranth Flour and Friday is Brown Rice Flour. Each taste better than whole wheat which I will leave in the rotation along with Oats. So I feel pretty good about adding the 5 grains for a greater variety....

Do you use wheat germ? I do the same thing...sort of...I make a smoothie for myself in the mornings and use a lot of the stuff you use...I've never used aloe vera gel...what exactly does it do?? does it affect the taste?

[Weems]

Stephan Cherniske writes about the healing and health benefits of Aloe Gel in his book "The Metabolic Plan". I have noticed no difference in flavor by adding it. I also take Aloe capsules.

I don't use wheat germ. The reason is that from a grains standpoint most all grains I get are some form of wheat. I had been adding either oats or whole wheat flour, but now I have 5 additional grains in flour form that I add to help me get a better variety.

[LizzyBennet]

Can you tell me what the benefits are of the grains? For fiber? And why does it matter what type of grain it is? Besides taste. Also, I am skeptical about the Aloe. I know it has benefits for external use, but not sure about internally. Thanks!

[Weems]

From The Metabolic Plan by Stephen Cherniske, M.S.

Thanks for your question about the benefits of aloe. "...current research shows that drinking aloe can produce anabolic and anticatabolic benefits throughout the body by supporting: Immunity, Healthy cell proliferation, collagen production, Detoxification, Antioxident activity and Intestinal health." Pg 87.

"...as we age, fibroblasts start producing a lot more collagenase than collagen, thus contributing to the breakdown of the vital elastic material that keeps skin soft and flexible. Just another piece of the catabolic puzzle. You already know...that aloe vera (topical or injested) has the remarkable ability to stimulate fibroblast collagen production and so does DHEA." Pg 123

"...protecting collagen becomes a top antiaging priority." pg 86

I hope this helps!!...

[Thatch]

I'd like to quote Dr. Emanuel Lasker from his book Lasker's Manual of Chess:

His thought became at once fertile when he insisted on knowing wherein an advantage could consist, and hazarded that the answer was not only in a single important advantage but also in a multitude of insignificant advantages. For instance, if my Bishop has four squares to move to, the hostile Bishop only three squares, I hold, ceteris paribus, an advantage, which, it is true, is minute, but by accumulation of such minute advantages at last a big plus is collected.

Directly this can be applied to life and to overall health. Not simply grain or aloe, but by the "multitude of insignificant advantages" you gain a well balanced body. Here is another piece to the puzzle that I find interesting: Biological Adaptations
Cheers...

[Weems]

Thanks for your input! I think I'm with everyone else who studies nutrition, health and longevity when I agree with you that it's not simply grains and aloe. Thanks for pointing that out.

I started the article you recommended and printed it out. Looking forward to reading the rest of it!

[LizzyBennet]

I have only skimmed the article, and am looking forward to a more thorough read. It is obviously pro-vegetarian, but I will keep an open mind.

[Thatch]

It is obviously pro-vegetarian, but I will keep an open mind.

And as you read, you will notice they don't advocate a vegetarian diet, but rather a diet rich in fruits, as our stomachs are designed for.

Or are we frugivores who can thrive on a diet of raw fresh bananas, grapes, apples, oranges, or melons meal after meal?

The biological equipment of humans is such that the body is most capable of obtaining complete and optimal nutrition from plant foods. Actually however, we are NOT true vegetarians either.

I find it all rather interesting.

[Weems]

I've added a green supplement to my nutrition plan. I'm getting my fruits but I don't feel I'm getting my vegi's. Here is my start point: I ordered Miracle Greens from nutritionexpress.com . It claims that it surpasses the raw food nutrition of 5 servings of fruits and vegi's. I tried it in OJ last night after my BJJ class and it turned it green but was not at all repulsive in flavor. If my eyes were closed I would have enjoyed it more.

I will add it to my barf beverage in the mornings and consume it thruout the day. A 90 day supply was $70. It's a powder and the serving size is one tablespoon.

What I will do is research how it is processed. Steven Cherniski in TMP sates that if it is processed at low temps (like 80 deg) it won't lose nutritional value like green foods do that are processed at hight temps....

[Weems]

"Osteoporosis is fundamentally a metabolic disease". The Metabolic Plan p238.

"..there's only one way that nature could maintain an extraordinary, living, and dynamic structure like your skeleton over a lifetime. After all, bone gets old and has to be replaced just like every other part of your body. So you have cells known as osteoclasts, which excavate old bone (catabolic), and osteoblasts, which fill in new bone (anabolic). This works extremely well until the anabolic signal generated by DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and growth hormone weakens, resulting in excessive osteoclast breakdown and insufficient osteoblast repair. Thus, osteoporosis is fundamentally a metabolic disease.

"Oh, I know, you thought it was a calcium deficiency."

Read on on p238 about the calcium connection. It's just a couple of pages that may help a person understand bone loss and bone density issues later in life....