Re: Book: The Youth Pill by Stipp

[Guest guest]

Just to clarify, the diabetes drug´s name is metformin (not metaform) it is

considered the gold standard treatment for type 2 diabetes (after exercise and

diet measures) around the world

>

> As I mentioned I recently finished this book and highly recommend it. It¹s

> written by science writer Stipp and backed up by published (and some yet to

> be published) scientific data. Stipp is a lively, witty, writer, (when

> discussing a long-lived dwarf who played a munchkin the the classic :

> ³Wizard of Oz² : ³....Meinhardt Raabe who played the Munchkin coroner, is

> on record as a pituitary dwarf. And he was not merely alive, but really,

> most sincerely alive in 2007 at age ninety-two..........).

>

> The book is available in the Public Library.

>

> Here are highlights that leaped out at me. Some of these we¹ve discussed

> here but some were entirely new to me:

>

> Pg. 69: ...among men participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of

> Aging, the longest-running study of aging in the U.S., those with lower body

> temperatures and lower blood insulin levels have tended to live longer......

>

> Pg 72....these data suggest anti-aging researchers should scan for drugs

> that keep sugar metabolism under tight control.

>

> Pg 110: the tie between small body size and extra long life, is seen in

> many species. It applies only within a species, that is small dogs live

> much longer than large ones.,,,,,men height 5 feet nine or less live nearly

> 5 years longer on average than those taller...irrespective of whether they

> are heavyset or lightly built.

>

> Pg. 157: ...the evolutionary response to starvation in rodents does not

> apply to humans, so there¹s no reason to think we would react to CR the way

> they do. Unlike small mammals with fast metabolism we have relatively large

> bodily reserves that can see us through tough times without forgoing growth

> and reproduction to slow aging. Further if food is scarce in one place, far

> ranging creatures like us simply move on to find food. Thus evolution had

> no reason to maintain the starvation response in our kind.

>

> Pg. 158: In mid 2009 Weindruch¹s group made a splash by reporting that CR

> had slowed aging in primates.....the claim was controversial however because

> some of the monkeys on CR had died from causes deemed unrelated to aging;

> unless such deaths were excluded from the analysis, the CR groups longer

> survival wasn¹t statistically significant. Critics have argued that such

> deaths might actually be related to CR, hence excluding them may exaggerate

> CR¹s benefits.

>

> Pg 166: the fact (that a substance) showed promise inspired NIA and in 2009

> Roth disclosed that a similar compound ­ mannoheptulose ­ a sugar found in

> avocados ­had mimicked a number of CR effects in mice. It improved insulin

> sensitivity, glucose metabolism, induced muscles to burn fat, and most

> striking, extended life span by 30% compared with untreated rodents. These

> findings have not yet appeared in a peer-reviewed journal.

>

> 169: the diabetes drug metaform mimics CR effects in rodents. Metaform is

> a cousin of phenformin which is less toxic and is sold as a drug called

> Glucophage in the U.S. There is also limited data that it can extend life

> span.

>

> 188: Piceatannol and quercetin seem to grease SIRTI¹s wheels. Found in

> fruits and other plants, they are antioxidants which when tested, sped up

> SIRT1 in the test tube. Most potent of these is resveratrol found in grape

> skins, peanuts, and other foods; also giant knotweed a plant used in

> traditional Chinese medicine. (Note: he did not recommend taking any of the

> supplements now on the market because they don¹t contain much resveratrol)

>

> 189: Resveratrol can lower risk of Alzheimer¹s, heart disease, strokes,

> hearing loss, osteoarthritis.

>

> 212: Two of four compounds showed evidence of enhancing longevity: aspirin

> and nordihydroguiaretic acid or NDGA, a creosotebush extract structurally

> similar to resveratrol. But they did not boost maximum life span (only

> median life span) an indication that they boost good health only and don¹t

> slow aging.

>

> 212: Rapamycin was tested. The mice were deemed ³too old² to show

> anti-aging effects. But everyone was astounded; the stuff worked like

> magic. Life expectancy increased by 28% in male mice and 38% in females.

> The astonishing effect of Rapamycin speaks louder than any other single

> finding. And even if it doesn¹t slow human aging, it might postpone many

> diseases of aging. Mouse results show promise for: heart disease, bone

> loss, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer.

>

> 220: Resveratrol is in : red wine, dark chocolate, peanuts, cherries, grape

> juice, apples among others. Rapamycin is in coffee and caffeine,; aspirin

> has a similar effect on the body as Rapamycin.

>