Intro/ LEF article on Metformin

[Guest guest]

Hello! Been lurking on the list for a while getting up the nerve to

post. First an intro: I am a 33 year old formerly obese male.

Walford's Beyond the 120 Year Diet was one of the first books on

nutrition I read after deciding to lose about 110 lbs for health

reasons (diabetes, hypertension). The book put me on the path to an

ON-type, low-glycemic diet. Now 2.5 years later, I am quite fit and

require no medications. We have been " ONing " since that time, but

consume about 2000 calories, and get about 1 - 1.5 hours of aerobic

exercise a day, plus some weight training. I realize that the

calories and the exercise are not optimal and may be excessive by CRON

standards. We (my wife and I) hope to ease into a real CRON regimen

this summer, gradually reducing calories and cutting back a little on

the exercise (but not too much as it seems to really help keep my BG

levels in check). Hopefully we can find a place of balance that we

can simultaneously tolerate and lead a healthier (and longer) life.

Also- Anybody see the most recent issue of the LEF magazine? What's

your opinion on the article about Metformin as a CR memetic? Some of

my family takes Glucophage (brand name Metformin) for diabetes.

[Guest guest]

--- In , " gn_montag " <armadllo@p...>

wrote:

<snip>

>First an intro: I am a 33 year old formerly obese male.

> Walford's Beyond the 120 Year Diet was one of the first books on

> nutrition I read after deciding to lose about 110 lbs for health

> reasons (diabetes, hypertension). The book put me on the path to

an

> ON-type, low-glycemic diet. Now 2.5 years later, I am quite fit

and

> require no medications.

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

> We have been " ONing " since that time,

Doing it together is much easier - and a plus for the relationship -

than going it alone.

<snip>

> Also- Anybody see the most recent issue of the LEF magazine?

What's

> your opinion on the article about Metformin as a CR memetic?

Metformin has been discussed many times on the sci.life-extension

newsgroup. See http://groups.google.com/groups?

hl=en & lr=lang_en & ie=ISO-8859-

1 & newwindow=1 & safe=off & q=metformin & btnG=Google+Search & meta=group%

3Dsci.life-extension In particular, Wakfer made a report on

sci.life-extension about a poster presentation at the Seventh

International Symposium on Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of

Aging which we attended in Bregenz Austria in July 2002. That study

(which has never been published) clearly showed that metformin at a

human equivalent dosage of about 1 gram per day extended the maximum

lifespan of mice almost as much as did calorie restriction. Many of

the physiological parameters were also similar. That poster and his

conversation with Roth (a senior author of the study) about

it were what decided him to restart metformin at 1 gram per day (for

both of us). Roth is no longer at NIA and is with his own company

which also is developing calorie restriction mimetics in competition

with Biomarker Research.

Those who decide to take metformin should, as usual, build up slowly

to their target dose by starting with a maximum of 1/4 of that

target dose and doubling every 2-3 weeks. Even after reaching target

with no untoward effects they should watch for symptoms of

hypoglycemia which is generally rare with this drug and for signs of

liver toxicity (by getting liver enzyme tests at least semi-

annually).

<snip>

>

**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

***

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