Fountain of Youth, v.2

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. 

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.

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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Insulin Resistance, v.1

The facts are in and there is no argument by leading authorities that the dietary key to achieving ideal body weight and to living long is to eat your vegetables! Per calorie no other foods deliver quite the nutritional bang for the buck. And at about only 60 calories per pound you can fill up your plate several times a day without ever eating too many vegetables. Enjoy them freely and abundantly for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even between meals!

Use fresh whole seasonal fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth, as needed to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners! As you center eating around whole vegetables and fruits, other food choices such as grains, legumes (beans), nuts, seeds, and animal-based foods become healthful complimentary additions to meals, rather than becoming unhealthful through over-consumption.

Let's take a closer look at what adequate consumption of vegetables will do for you. Eighty percent of Americans suffer to some degree from insulin resistance, which leads to numerous health issues. Adequate vegetable intake is one of the primary factors for overcoming insulin resistance. Let's look at just a few of the problems associated with inadequate vegetable intake and insulin resistance.

1. Heart Disease: The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 1:1. Ratios above 4:1 lead to inflammation within the body. The ratio for 80 percent of the U.S. population falls between 20:1 and 50:1. The inflammation caused by this poor ratio is known to be the leading cause of heart disease today. Eighty percent of Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease. Insulin resistance inhibits the specific delta 6 desaturase enzyme that is required to convert plant-based omega-3s from their ALA form to the more essential EPA and DHA forms. Without these natural conversions the poor ratio of essential fats is hard to overcome. However, by overcoming insulin resistance through proper diet, the conversion of plant-based sources of omega-3 fats becomes efficient. Sources of plant-based omega-3s include almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, Brussels sprouts, winter squash (all varieties), summer squash (all varieties), collard greens, spinach, kale, and many other leafy greens. Exceedingly high sources of plant-based omega-3s include chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp, and walnuts. Even many fruits contribute plant-based ALA form of omega-3s. When DHA is needed, a conversion from ALA to EPA and then from EPA to DHA occurs. When EPA is needed, a single-step conversion occurs. However, these conversions are dependent upon the delta 6 desaturase enzyme being uninhibited by high insulin levels. Too much DHA becomes toxic and therefore relying primarily on animal-based DHA is not ideal; the ideal solution is to be able to convert from plant-based ALA, as needed.
2. Obesity: Chronically high insulin and blood-sugar levels lead to obesity. Imagine eating a piece of fruit or whole-grain bread and having these healthful carbohydrates turn to fat just as quickly as they are digested. And what about that healthful green smoothie that absorbs into the bloodstream even more quickly than a piece of fruit or bread? If you are insulin resistant and your blood-sugar levels remain consistently and chronically high, as occurs with 80 percent of all Americans, then much of the healthful carbohydrates you eat convert to fat instead of being used directly in the cells to create energy, or instead of being stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, as the ideal on-demand fuel source for energy production. Adequate vegetable intake enables normal blood-sugar levels and helps to overcome insulin resistance and the unnecessary accumulation of fat.
3. Poor Eyesight: Insulin resistance and elevated blood-sugar levels lead to the gradual destruction of the optic nerve and to blindness.
4. Neuropathy: This tingling in the extremeties is also caused by insulin resistance that leads to chronically elevated blood-sugar levels and the deterioration of nerve tissue.
5. Organ Damage: Chronically high blood-sugar levels, caused by insulin resistance, lead to heart failure, kidney failure, and to the damage of other organs. 
6. Amputations: the destruction of nerves, as described above, eventually leads to amputations. 
7. Degenerative Diseases and Accelerated Aging: insulin resistance is also linked with numerous chronic, degenerative disease and to accelerated aging.

What is the role that vegetables play in overcoming insulin resistance, chronically high blood-sugar levels, and the many health issues described above, which is only a short list of related diseases? Glycemic research demonstrates that by consuming adequate intake of vegetables (raw or cooked) during each meal of the day, you slow down the absorption of the meal into your bloodstream to at least five to six hours, assuming you eat your foods whole and not blended or juiced. For example, a green smoothie is blended so finely that is absorbs in less than two hours unless you drink it very slowly over several hours. By comparison, a fruited salad made from the same ingredients used to make a smoothie digests more slowly, which does not cause spikes in blood-sugar levels. By slowing the absorption rate of any meal to five or six hours, you create a much more even and steady flow of required and healthful carbohydrates into the bloodstream. Sip your smoothies slowly and don't guzzle or gulp.

The overconsumption of dietary fat causes the build-up of a thin layer of fat around insulin and blood sugar molecules, which inhibits insulin from being able to connect easily to the insulin receptor sites on the blood-sugar molecules and to the insulin receptor sites on the vessel walls themselves. If the fat inhibits insulin from connecting to the blood-sugar molecules and further inhibits insulin's ability to transport the sugar out of the bloodstream through the vessel wall, then a build-up of sugar in the bloodstream occurs that becomes chronic. It remains so until the cause of insulin resistance (too much dietary fat and too much body fat) is overcome.

Tragically, too much dietary fat from both animal- and plant-based sources sets the stage for you to not be able to make use of the most important form of omega-3s, which is the plant-based form that can convert on-demand to EPA or DHA, or can remain ALA, as needed. Science has often incorrectly assumed that the DHA form of omega-3 in animal-based foods is most important for us; however, this is untrue, as discovered by leading heart researcher, Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. Rather, a predominantly plant-based diet that uses overt fats sparingly or not at all is the most healthful choice. Overt fats includes nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, oils, and animal fat. Without adding overt fats to a plant-based diet, you will naturally maintain nine to 12 percent dietary fat intake at all times. A diet that maintain fat levels of 10 to 15 percent does not inhibit insulin from being able to maintain safe blood-sugar levels and the insulin resistance goes away and does not inhibit the proper conversion of plant-based fats. Without insulin resistance, you can even drink your smoothie more rapidly without spiking blood-sugar levels. Thus the perfect diet to provide all essential fats required for living a long and productive life is a predominantly plant-based diet that does not overuse overt fats.

Dr. Esselstyn, who has effectively arrested and reversed heart disease in 100% of those who have followed his dietary protocol, has persuasively demonstrated that by minimizing the intake of overt fats, such as oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and all animal-based sources of fat, you can still maintain adequate levels of essential fats. If you do add overt fats, it should be done so sparingly or you will cause insulin resistance within you, like 80 percent of today's population. Moreover, by overcoming insulin resistance, the pancreas is not over worked and the delta 6 desaturase enzyme remains uninhibited to catalyze the conversion of plant-based omega-3, as needed.

The research that demonstrated an inadequate conversion of plant-based omega-3s has been demonstrated through peer review to be biased toward animal-based omega-3s and does not take into account what occurs in the absence of insulin resistance. This is a huge issue that all vegans should carefully consider. Being vegan doesn't guarantee you will overcome insulin resistance. You must consider the role of eating your food whole versus blended and juiced, and the proper role of dietary fat.
By consuming sufficient vegetables, you help to satisfy your appetite naturally without feeling the need for overt fats. If you do not believe this, then watch the Evening Vegetable Dish video and then make a large vegetable dish after the pattern shown in the video and eat it until you are full. Then consider how it makes you feel. Each of the vegetables in the dish contain plant-based omega-3s. Remember, that if you eat a balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes, and minimize the use of overt fats, and if you will achieve your ideal body weight, you will convert plant-based omega-3s to meet your needs for essential fats. Adding a tablespoon or two of chia seeds to one of our healthful dressings will boost your omega-3 intake even further. Try it, you'll love it!

It is very easy to enjoy a 1:1 ratio of essential fats in your diet, and to enjoy their many benefits as you learn to enable vegetables more fully. Begin by eliminating all vegetable oils from your diet and by consuming vegetables abundantly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As you do just this one thing, the consumption of fruit, grains, legumes, animal-based foods, and all sources of overt fats will be most easily enjoyed to compliment your diet of vegetables, rather than to overwhelm it.

Science has demonstrated their are several ways to overcome insulin resistance; to better understand your options, review the good, better, and best recommendations found on page 67 of Original Fast Foods.
As you try the evening vegetable dish, as shown in the video, don't forget to top the dish with all the leafy greens you can fit into the pan. They will shrink down to look like nothing, yet they are loaded with minerals, vitamins, protein, essential fats, and high antioxidant properties. If you follow the "best" recommendations and become a "raw vegan" be sure to load up on vegetables as you seek to achieve homeostasis; otherwise, you will not be immune to high-blood sugar levels, even if you consume whole fruits. As you achieve adequate balance, you can increase fruit intake proportionately.

In the next volume of our Green Grocery Boy series we will share some other exciting and motivating aspects of high vegetable intake within your diet. Until then enjoy your whole vegetables freely and abundantly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner--either raw or cooked!

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