Discussion of ALS, extreme leanness and athletes

[Guest guest]

I'm reading the book " Healthy Aging " by Weil. On page 178, he discusses

ALSm extreme leanness and athletes with little body fat:

" The central nervous system is fatty tissue, built of special kinds of

lipids. Many pesticides and ....toxins are fat soluble. If you are exposed

to them and have little body fat to dilute them,they are likely to

concentrate in fatty tissue, where they can initiate destructive processes

that lead to neurodegenerative disease. Perhaps that is the reason that ALS

appears more frequently in athletes.......I have seen a number of men in

their thirties with this devastating diagnosis, an unusually young age

group......All had a history of participating in extreme sports and

competitive, ultra athletic events, and all were extraordinarily

lean.......It is possible that intense physical activity and extreme

leanness do correlate with better cardiovascular health and less

diabetes......but there may be a trade-offs in terms of neurological

health. "

On page 63 of the same book he discusses in a footnote that Dr Walford died

of ALS. (Dr Walford discussed the possible cause of his illness and these

posts are in our file " Dr Walford's posts " )

We have often cited on this board the possible risks of extreme leanness and

it's effects on the brain and nervous system which is composed of high %'s

of fat (Tony especially has warned of this and I usually chime in).

[Guest guest]

2 questions and a statement:

1. If extreme leanness with little body fat puts one at risk for ALS, what are

the implications regarding advisability of following CRON?

2. Is it known whether any of the animals that Dr. Walford put on calorie

restriction suffered from ALS?

3. I read somewhere that Dr. Walford, aware of his ALS, opined that he would

have already died had it not been for his being on the CRON diet.

>

> I'm reading the book " Healthy Aging " by Weil. On page 178, he discusses

> ALSm extreme leanness and athletes with little body fat:

>

> " The central nervous system is fatty tissue, built of special kinds of

> lipids. Many pesticides and ....toxins are fat soluble. If you are exposed

> to them and have little body fat to dilute them,they are likely to

> concentrate in fatty tissue, where they can initiate destructive processes

> that lead to neurodegenerative disease. Perhaps that is the reason that ALS

> appears more frequently in athletes.......I have seen a number of men in

> their thirties with this devastating diagnosis, an unusually young age

> group......All had a history of participating in extreme sports and

> competitive, ultra athletic events, and all were extraordinarily

> lean.......It is possible that intense physical activity and extreme

> leanness do correlate with better cardiovascular health and less

> diabetes......but there may be a trade-offs in terms of neurological

> health. "

>

> On page 63 of the same book he discusses in a footnote that Dr Walford died

> of ALS. (Dr Walford discussed the possible cause of his illness and these

> posts are in our file " Dr Walford's posts " )

>

> We have often cited on this board the possible risks of extreme leanness and

> it's effects on the brain and nervous system which is composed of high %'s

> of fat (Tony especially has warned of this and I usually chime in).

>