Have you ever wondered what it takes to arrest or reverse the aging process or how to enjoy great vitality from the beginning to the end of your life? Some cultures don't believe in truly becoming old or dysfunctional and that when it is your turn to leave earth you simply go to sleep in perfect health and then pass peacefully from mortality as you sleep.
In the 1970s there were only about 10 laboratories in the U.S. that studied the biology of aging; today there are hundreds of such laboratories. Early research demonstrated that mice fed just 50% of typical food rations lived nearly twice as long as mice that ate regular rations; also the risk of disease lowered while at the same time there was little impact upon mental and physical function.
In the 1970s there were only about 10 laboratories in the U.S. that studied the biology of aging; today there are hundreds of such laboratories. Early research demonstrated that mice fed just 50% of typical food rations lived nearly twice as long as mice that ate regular rations; also the risk of disease lowered while at the same time there was little impact upon mental and physical function.
Some argue that we cannot afford to live longer, that it would upset socioeconomic realities too greatly and that as a nation we cannot absorb the impact of increasing the current average lifespan (76 years). Such naysayers oppose research that discovers the keys to longer and more productive lives. Ironically, the very thing the naysayers oppose has been pursued by Kings, Queens and explorers since the beginning of time. Fortunes have been spent to discover the "Fountain of Youth."
During the 1970s pioneers in this field were too often viewed with disdain and labeled as quacks; however, things have changed significantly over the past few decades. The National Institute on Aging will spend $30 million during the next few years just to better understand anti-aging and longevity. Naysayers are losing ground as the desire to live longer and more productive lives leads to great promise through modern research.
During the 1970s pioneers in this field were too often viewed with disdain and labeled as quacks; however, things have changed significantly over the past few decades. The National Institute on Aging will spend $30 million during the next few years just to better understand anti-aging and longevity. Naysayers are losing ground as the desire to live longer and more productive lives leads to great promise through modern research.
Researchers agree that our cells are designed perfectly to function forever. In fact, tissues harvested from terminally ill persons continue to survive and thrive within laboratories now more than five decades beyond the death of their donors and are still going. It appears that when cells receive exactly what they need, without being damaged beyond repair, they can survive and thrive indefinitely. Some researchers have learned how to switch aging genes on and off. When the aging genes are turned on cells age and deteriorate rapidly; and when aging genes are turned off the process reverses and the cells grow younger.
About 30 years ago a medical researcher at the Cleveland Clinic took a group of people who were each awaiting donor hearts and he taught them how to arrest and reverse the aging process of their rapidly deteriorating hearts. He challenged his patients that if they would do as he said, they could renew their entire cardiovascular networks, including their hearts. Twelve percent of his patients opted out of his program and each died within two years. Eighty-eight percent of his patients opted to follow his dietary protocols and 100% of them arrested and reversed their heart disease. All but one are alive now nearly 30 years later. They arrested the rapid aging and degeneration process and renewed their bodies.
Some time ago I watched a documentary about a group of 30+ people who had been following a specialized anti-aging diet for several years. During the interview it was apparent that those involved experienced high levels of energy, they were slim and attractive, and they did not fit the stereotype portrayed by the naysayers of anti-aging. They did not feel deprived in the least, even though they restricted their caloric intake to about 1600 calories per day. After overcoming the initial self-imposed psychological barriers, each participant felt as though they had discovered the Fountain of Youth. Older couples bragged about how their spouses were even more attractive now than they were as newlyweds.
The basis for an anti-aging diet rests upon the following principle; when you meet the body's metabolic requirements with minimal caloric intake, you obtain maximum metabolic efficiency, maximum health, and maximum lifespan. A second, but equally important principle, is that whole heirloom quality foods from the garden are most perfectly adapted for human physiology and that if we want to enjoy vitality and longevity we should meet metabolic requirements primarily with garden foods.
Nature has designed us so that the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream does not occur too swiftly or too slowly as we eat real whole foods, as nature intended. By so doing we maintain certain balances within the bloodstream that do not create undue burdens or damage us and we maximize the efficiency of the movement of required nutrients to the cells. We neither digest our foods too slowly or too swiftly, both of which cause damaging imbalances within us.
Science has noted several factors in the wheel of health that contribute to longevity and vitality. Proper diet, occasional fasting, pure water, adequate exercise, fresh air, sunshine, adequate rest, avoiding damage causing substances (temperance), and a healthy mind and spirit each play significant roles in our ability to live long, to be happy, and to prosper. When it comes to dietary factors, the key is to make each calorie count by avoiding empty calories and by focusing intake upon nutrient-dense whole foods. The most nutrient-dense foods are leafy greens, solid green vegetables, and non-starchy non green vegetables. Our diets should be centered around these foods and complimented, as needed, to meet our energy demands with fruits and properly prepared grains and legumes. If it is to be used, animal-based foods should be used only sparingly, to add flavor, texture and to compliment and otherwise predominantly plant-based diet.
By focusing intake upon whole foods that are highest in nutrient density it is easily possible for the average American to meet all metabolic nutritional needs with just 1200 to 1600 calories per day. Women's needs, on average, are at least 400 calories less per day then men's (pregnant and nursing women are an exception to this general rule). Since vegetables are highest of all foods in nutrient density, the dietary key to aging is to center food intake upon vegetables in order to most efficiently meet the requirements of metabolism. Enabling this principle fully is the only way to meet the body's metabolic requirements with minimal caloric intake; and it is the only dietary pathway that will maximize metabolic efficiency, health, and lifespan.
In volume one of Veggie Times, we talked about the importance of centering your diet around whole vegetables in order to overcome insulin resistance and to enjoy healthful blood-sugar levels that do not damage the body or lead to a host of degenerative conditions. In this volume we learn that if you want to live long, to turn off the aging genes, and to meet your body's metabolic needs in a manner that was naturally ordained for your body, then you must learn to fall deeply in love with vegetables. Become creative and take the time each week to try out the healthful and tasty recipes we share with you. As you do so you will begin the courting process that will lead you to fall deeply in love with the very foods that lay the dietary foundation to longevity and maximum vitality.
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