The One Thing Proven To Extend Life Across the Board

Excessive Calories and Sugars

Of all the things that you can do to increase longevity, only one has been proven to actually extend life across the board: caloric restriction. Caloric restriction is the only means of retarding aging that is both extensively researched and proven. This is not the same as dieting or starvation. Rather, it entails the reduction of caloric intake while maintaining the optimal intake of essential nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals.

Caloric restriction appears to produce the following effects: it lowers body temperature, raises dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, and lowers plasma insulin levels. Interestingly enough, lowering plasma insulin levels itself also tends to lower body temperature and increase levels of DHEA (the youth hormone), indicating that insulin may be a prime factor in the aging process. This was supported by studies showing that the sugar-regulating drug metformin might be just as effective as caloric restriction in reversing aging and revitalizing the elderly.

Does that mean we should all be taking metformin? Not necessarily. First, although, as far as drugs go, metformin is relatively benign, it is not totally without side effects (it occasionally causes death from lactic acidosis, for example). But it is quite likely that a minor change in lifestyle and the use of natural supplements can offer the same benefits with no negative side effects and at less cost. For example:

• Cut way back on your intake of high-glycemic foods.

• Use natural glucoregulatory herbs with your meals. As we discussed in relation to diabetes, these include herbs such as nopal cactus, konjac mannan, Gymnema sylvestre, fenugreek extract, banaba leaf extract (corosolic acid), bitter mellon (Momordica charantia), blueberry leaf extract, and cinnamon extract (Cinnulin PF). The use of these herbs will significantly slow down the rate at which your body absorbs simple carbohydrates, thereby minimizing the insulin response. In essence, these herbs mimic the activity of metformin without the side effects.

• Go on a regular fasting program. Start with just one day a week on fresh juice and superfoods such as chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, and presprouted barley. Then, supplement that with a three-day fast once a month, and a one-week fast twice a year. Short-term fasting produces many of the benefits of long-term caloric restriction, and it’s a lot easier to do.
  
  It’s never too late to start. Studies have shown that caloric restriction is just as effective in extending life span late in life as it is earlier. In fact, many of the major benefits can be gained in as little as four weeks on the program."

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