The sad failure of calorie restriction
I can’t say it’s a surprise that calorie restriction has failed to extend life in higher primates. It was at least successful in flies, worms and some lower mammals. I understand it has not led to mass gorging on the part of the CR society, who bravely soldier on in the face of this recent
How do telomeres protect the ends of the chromosome?
Telomeres protect the genetic information by multiple methods. First, as cited below, DNA polymerase cannot replicate the ends of the chromosome. DNA polymerase is actually “too large” to stay on the single-stranded overhang of DNA that is left and literally falls off the end of the chromosome. There are biochemical and electromagnetic reasons it separates.
Don’t Swallow It!
This has been a gigantic week, for people like me at least. In the face of so much controversy about what I do and what I say and have in most cases said for years, I have never been more clear that I am on the right path. As a very brief recap, here are the
The problem with freedom of speech
We have an election coming up and I am all for freedom, but in response to an article sent to me for evaluation on a widely read internet site, I wrote the piece below. The central theme of the article was, just because there were two well-publicized “fish oil no good for your heart” reports
TA-65 Causes Cancer
No, it does not! That is the short answer. The rest of it requires me to get all sciency on you, so read on at your own risk! Recently, I read yet another brilliant rocket scientist, stating that telomerase is turned off in most of our cells to protect us from cancer. The implication is,
Should you take resveratrol?
For the past decade and a half at least a billion dollars in research marketing and publicity money was spent trying to find a home for a class of epigenetic molecules (histone deacetylases) known as sirtuins. If this sentence has your finger hovering over the mouse, ready to move onto something more interesting and familiar,
When birds of a feather flock separately
Identical twins have always been the subject of much study. Since they are genetically identical, much has been made of their proving or disproving the nature versus nurture argument. If you missed that one, it goes like this: Are your genes (nature) the most powerful determinants of your future, or is your environment (nurture) the
Is Spinach the New Broccoli?
I have written a lot about broccoli and its related Brassica family. Broccoli has long held true “Super Food” status. Unlike some other highly touted foods, it actually has a fairly balanced ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids (although it is extremely low in both) and contains Sulforaphane and Indole 3 Carbinol.
Why not resveratrol?
I got an interesting question from a reader who wanted to know why “resveratrol” was not mentioned in our book, The Immortality Edge. Given all the hype that resveratrol continues to get, it’s a fair question. But in that last sentence is the answer, “hype”. I can remember someone writing in and saying her doctor
Cancer and other bad genes
Did you ever wonder why we have “bad genes”. I mean, think of it. If our genetics is supposed to help us survive, why are there such things as bad genes, and more importantly, why do they persist? If you believe in natural selection and evolution, then only the best of the gene pool should
Score another one for chocolate
Over the past few years chocolate has garnered a lot of attention as a health food. Some people have even decided it’s a “super food”, capitalizing on a category that seems to encompass everything your grandmother told you to eat when you were growing up, along with some exotic Far Eastern fruits. Well, recently chocolate
Monsanto and the evil empire
You may or may not know the story of Monsanto. Simply put, they have built what many consider an Evil Empire around agriculture, exerting such corporate control over the individual farmer that, well- you are either with them or against them. Woe unto you, if you are a farmer and are against them. As for
A giant step for mankind that started with a mouse!
In the very beginning of our book The Immortality Edge, in my forward, I quote Neil Armstong: “One small step for many, one giant step for mankind,” rendering my opinion on the importance of telomerase therapy and telomere science. That opinion is passing from an opinion to fact. This past week saw several major releases
TA-65 and telomerase activation goes mainstream via Suzanne Somers
Over a decade ago a very brilliant marketer told me, “Don’t be first; they will forget you!” He was referring, of course, to a situation where you create something or become involved in something at a very early stage and no one knows what it is and no one knows why they need it. If
TA-65 versus other telomerase activators
I am getting a bit sick of all the BS that people are sending me, saying whatever product they represent (usually by an MLM ) is superior to TA-65. I allow dissenting opinions, because no one is ever right 100% of the time, including me. Over the past few months I have publicly retracted statements
Angels and demons – A very personal message from me on the mind body connection
I recently posted a link to a “skeptics” site on my Facebook page. I did so primarily because this site underlined my expectations about how buzz words, like epigenetics and telomeres, will be used by marketers who barely scrape the surface of the knowledge base needed to really understand what those words mean. I got
Your control over cancer
I hope I am not confusing you with my stance on epigenetics. Ever since we wrote our book The Immortality Edge (Wiley 2010) I have stressed the role of things like diet, meditation, supplementation, exercise and sleep regulation, as a way of influencing your future health, wellness and longevity. In my Longevity Now talks last
Diet and Autism – Is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) the Culprit?
Warning: some may find this treatment offensive. Please refrain from ad hominem attacks on me and internet marketer web site citations as “proof” of your rightness and my wrongness. Use logic, science and facts! That I respect. This is a follow on the autism info I published last week; trust me, you will want to
Does flax or soy increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer?
I have said, I would admit when I was wrong and when I changed my thinking. Back in 2005, I mentioned an article that suggested that flax increased the risk of prostate cancer. Specifically, it referred to alpha linolenic acid, the main short chain source of Omega 3’s in flax. I suggested it might overlap
The best diet ever
If you don’t have time to read this blog (it’s a bit long!) here it is, as an aphorism: “test, don’t guess!” I almost laughed out loud as I looked at the comments on the Amazon reviews page. As an author, (The Immortality Edge) I have come to know firsthand, what it is like to
The exercise sleep connection
Your mother always told you not to exercise late at night, as it would disturb your sleep. Of course, she was right and nowadays, with the sophisticated sleep studies and the ability to measure hormone levels, including melatonin (the sleep hormone), we can find out all the reasons why. The simplest explanation may be the