Anti-aging and Aesthetic Medicine Conference

For those who say “hogwosh”, we beg to differ: we believe anti-aging is a global concept:

An anti-aging conference entitled the European Congress on Anti-Aging and Aesthetic Medicine (ECAAAM) will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany from September 11-14th, 2008, in partnership with the World Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (WAAAM) and its academic affiliates, the European Society of Anti-Aging Medicine (ESAAM) and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M).

The intention of this conference is to give European scientists, medical professionals and industry personnel the training and education to handle age-related disease, dysfunctions and disorders.

It will also provide the opportunity for hundreds of global anti-aging suppliers to present their groundbreaking treatments to a European audience of health and wellness personnel and medical doctors.

The conference program will cover the following subjects:
• Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Medical Weight Loss & Nutrition
• Cosmetic Laser & Anti-Aging Plastic Surgery
• Laboratory testing & Diagnostic for Anti-Aging
• Mesotherapy & Facial Rejuvenation
• Stem Cell Therapies and TreatmentRehabilitation / Sports Therapy / Sports Medicine

Interested in attending the European Congress on Anti-aging Medicine? Visit the anti-aging event website. Published by PureAgeless

Anti-Aging Nutrition and Alzheimer's Research

By Dianne M. Buxton

DHA is the omega-3 fatty acid (docosahexaenoic acid) found in fish oil. DHA increases the production of a protein called LR11. LR11 is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients, and is known to destroy the protein that forms the plaques, or protein deposits in the brain associated with the disease.

It is considered by researchers that this protein, called beta amyloid, is toxic to neurons in the brain. High levels of LR11 prevents the toxic plaques from being made, and DHA increases its production, thus omega 3 oils play their part in brain healing, or brain wellness.

Our brains are built largely from fat - but not the junk fats we eat in processed food, and not from excessive amounts of omega 6 oils. Omega 6 oils are necessary for good health, but only in a certain ratio to omega 3 oils.

Especially during pregnancy and the first few years of life, we need omega 3 oils in our diet. Our children's' brains depend on this.

But let's think broadly and realize that we need omega 3 oils in our diet on a regular basis.

Henry Lorin, author of "Alzheimer's Solved" states that in the majority of cases Alzheimer's disease is caused by long-term shortages of cholesterol in the elderly brain. Cholesterol means fat.

Cholesterol shows up in the blood when it is not being metabolized properly. It does not necessarily mean you are eating too much fat - but it does mean your body cannot use it for brain function and other important functions like producing hormones.

The elderly often suffer a semi-starvation due to poor dentistry, insufficient stomach acid, and a poor diet in general. Processed and institutional foods offer poor fats, and fats are essential to the brain. "Essential fatty acids" are those which the body cannot manufacture from nutrients - so we must eat them.

The concerns about having high cholesterol lead most people to go for the low fat diet. This is a band aid. Sure less cholesterol shows up in the blood - but what about your precious brain?

Avoiding contaminants from smoking, alcohol and drugs is a start in preventing any kind of brain damage. But our daily eating habits matter just as much.

Your anti-aging education and your choice of fats (amongst many other nutrients like real whole food vitamins and minerals) that counts. Alzheimer's Disease is scary, and becoming more prevalent - parallel to our bad eating habits. Fortunately, Alzheimer's research is leading us back onto track.

Anti-Aging Medicine

Introduction

Our mission is to help people who care to age gracefully, maintain physical, mental, sexual, and emotional health while restoring their bodies to a younger state than their actual age. Our Anti-Aging program is not a miracle cure or an empty promise...it is a reality! It is for anyone who feels tired all of the time, forgets things, isn't sleeping well, is at risk for osteoporosis or can't lose weight. We are passionate about helping anybody who is ready to put up a good fight against the crippling signs & symptoms of aging!

The Longevity Centre of Houston offers a prescriptive program to counter weight gain, lack of energy, memory loss, wrinkles, decreased sexual drive, shrinking muscle mass, hair loss and a host of other signs of aging. We offer an effective program of Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy based on groundbreaking new medical information which utilizes safe, low dose prescriptions in conjunction with a healthy diet, exercise, vitamin and mineral supplementation.

The physician's of the Longevity Centre of Houston are specifically trained in Anti-Aging Medicine. We have a wealth of information to share with you and take great pleasure optimizing health while preventing/delaying age related disorders & diseases.

Why Consider Multiple Hormone Replacement?

Why Take Multiple Hormones?

The answer is simple. We are not one-hormone creatures. We were given a number of hormones to carry out a multiple of functions in our body. Belgian physician Thierry Hertoghe, M.D., a fourth-generation endocrinologist and a leader in anti-aging hormone modulation, believes that the more hormones you use in a replacement program the less quantity you need of each. The reason for this is that they have a synergistic and overlapping effect in the body. By improving the system with one, you need less of another to make further improvements.

You don’t necessarily have to replace all the hormones described below. The number of hormones you need will depend on your symptoms, goals and blood levels. No matter how many hormones you decide to use, patience, staying in tune with your body’s responses, lifestyle modifications and thoroughly following Dr. Pearsall’s instructions on taking your hormones and natural supplements are the keys to your success.

Why Take Multiple Dietary Supplements?

Some people may think that eating a balanced diet provides all of the vitamins they need. This is simply not so. High potency daily multi-vitamins are the very nutrients the body needs to build its cells and tissues. Do not treat yourself without medical supervision. Natural supplements may have adverse side effects or drug-drug interactions if not taken correctly. Over-the-counter non-pharmaceutical grade supplements may cause more harm than good. For example: Excessive lead amounts were found in 21 formulations of over-the-counter Calcium Supplements. JAMA, Sept 20, 2000 Vol. 284, No. 11

Hormones may be thought of as the body's messengers and nutritional Supplements as the body's building blocks.

Hormonal Confusion

Most men and women are fearful and confused about aging and hormone replacement. In July 2002 millions of American women who took the popular synthetic hormone replacement drug Prempro were suddenly told to stop because of the risk of breast cancer, stroke and heart disease. Luckily, none of our Anti-Aging patients had to endure that shock and abruptly stop taking their hormones. Why? Simple fact: there is nothing in common between the hormones produced in your body and the hormones causing all of these side effects. Both estrogen and progestin which were subjects of the medical reports, showing such bad outcomes are patented, chemically altered synthetic hormonal imposters (such as Premarin, Prempro etc.). Premarin is a synthetic estrogen made to resemble that found in a horse. Horse estrogen is foreign to the human body and has a significant side effect profile. For years Dr. Pearsall has cautioned women about the dangers of synthetic, horse-like hormone substitutes. Instead we emphasize natural hormones that are precise replicas of your own human hormones. We use them to prolong the optimum hormonal balance that you have in your thirties and the results are magnificent.

The first humans roamed the earth approximately 2 million years ago. The average life expectancy was 25 years and remained that way until the last 2 thousand years. In 1900, life expectancy at birth was about 49 years. That means people rarely lived long enough to develop age-related diseases! By 1960, life expectancy had increased to 70 years, and in 1997, life expectancy at birth was 79 years for women and 74 years for men.

One of the crucial hormones, Human Growth Hormone, begins it steady decline around age 30. Other youth sustaining hormones (Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, and Melatonin) start their decline soon thereafter. It can happen later for the fortunate few and occur earlier in others (i.e. after hysterectomy, chemotherapy, stress, chronic diseases). Very few people are genetically blessed as to sustain relatively youthful hormone levels and escape the deleterious effects of aging. The vast majority of people would benefit from Natural Hormone Replacement.

You may paint your house as many times as you like, but without a solid foundation that house will crumble from the inside out. Likewise, you may have multiple face lifts, tummy tucks…etc, but without a youthful foundation - hormones are your foundation!

General Symptoms of Hormonal Decline:

· Lack of Energy

· Decreased Sex Drive

· Mood Swings & Depression

· Lack of Restful Sleep

· Sagging ·Beer· Belly

· Wrinkled Skin

· Poor Concentration

· Joint Aches/Stiffness

· Excessive Weight Gain

· Memory Loss

· Hair Thinning/Loss

To ensure the highest quality and obtain the most consistent results, the Longevity Centre of Houston only prescribes high quality Pharmaceutical Grade Supplements (as opposed to over-the-counter Food Grade Supplements). We also prescribe chemically identical Natural Hormones. Natural hormones are bio-identical to our original hormones whereas synthetic hormones are not.

Benefits of Multiple Hormone Replacement

The Benefits of Growth Hormone Replacement:

Growth Hormone is produced by the pituitary gland. It determines the ultimate size of the adult body, strengthening it and developing the nose, chin, jaw and shoulders in particular. It also tones and firms the muscles, develops strong bones, keeps the joints healthy and protects the kidneys, heart and other organs, including the digestive system. It keeps the arteries clear and flexible and supports the immune system. Growth Hormone helps prevent obesity and in particular slims the stomach, firms up the thighs and makes the knees thinner. It reduces the severity of heart disease and the risk of osteoporosis and, at least in animal studies, certain cancers. All that, and it keeps the skin from thinning and major wrinkles from forming, too. For all these reasons, Growth Hormone is apparently the most important hormone when it comes to helping you stay looking & feeling young.

The Benefits of Estrogen Replacement:

· Control of mind and mood: "I can think clearly again."

· More stamina: "I can do more."

· Better sleep: "Finally, I don't wake up in the middle of the night anymore."

· Enhanced sense of Femininity: "I care again about my body."

· Weight gain protection

· Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, and arthritis.

· Maintenance of healthy skin: "My skin has regained its flush."

· Preservation of sexuality: "Sex is on my mind again."

· The breasts remain young and full: "It's as if my breasts got a natural lift."

· Elimination of hot flashes and night sweats: "My thermostat works again."

The Benefits of Progesterone Replacement:

· It protects the breasts, uterus, and probably the ovaries from cancer

· It acts as a natural diuretic: "I lost five pounds of water."

· It produces a calming, anti-anxiety effect: "You don't know how good it feels to be in control of my emotions aging."

· It decreases PMS and menstrual flow: "Now I am the same woman for the whole month."

· It enhances you body's defenses

· It improves the breakdown of fat into energy.

· It cuts the craving for carbohydrates and sweets: "I don't need my M&M's fix anymore."

· It reduces breast tenderness and pain: "My breasts are mine again."

· It contributes to the formation of new bone tissue.

· It increases HDL, the body's "good cholesterol".

· It fights ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids.

The Benefits of Testosterone Replacement:

· It improves your stamina: "My endurance is much greater now."

· Healthier and stronger muscles: "I have more strength in my arms."

· Leaner body mass and less body fat: "I like my new lean cut."

· Stronger bones

· A feeling of security, positivism, and stability: "I just feel safer."

· Increased libido, orgasmic power, and enhanced emotional aspect of sexuality: "I feel like a college kid again."

· Nitric oxide, a naturally occurring substance known to help keep blood vessels dilated, level improvement: "I have sustained and firmer erections."

· Improved balance and eye-and-hand coordination: "I have more balance in my yoga class."

· It helps protect the heart and arteries from cardiovascular disease

· It helps protect against high cholesterol and angina.

· It tightens and tones the skin by preventing dryness

· It increases your ability to withstand stress and reduces levels of anxiety, depression and excessive emotional mood swings.

· It helps you take the initiative and makes you more assertive, audacious and mentally tenacious.

The Benefits of Thyroid Hormone Replacement:

· It energizes all the cells and organs by stimulating the mitochondria, the cells' powerhouse

· It boosts blood circulation, thereby increasing the supply of nutrients, oxygen, water and hormones to cells all over the body

· It helps to keep our skin soft, flexible and warm

· It helps to keep our muscles and joints supple and pain-free

· It helps to prevent dry hair, hair loss, puffy faces and swollen eyelids

· It stimulates fat-burning

· It reduces the risk and severity of heart disease

The Benefits of DHEA Replacement:

· It fights anxiety and depression

· It helps to boost energy levels

· It makes you feel better by acting as an antidepressant and mood elevator

· It reinforces your immune system

· It helps to reverse the metabolic tendency towards diabetes. This hormone is known to decrease insulin resistance

· It helps to increase Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone levels

· It is a potent agent in slowing down degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease

The Benefits of Cortisol Replacement:

· It helps keep you ready for anything and eager for action by freeing up your energy reserves at opportune moments

· It acts as an anti-stress hormone by helping the body deal with stressful situations

· It stimulates the brain, muscles, heart and circulatory and respiratory systems

· It fights jet lag, fatigue, confusion, hypoglycemia, sugar cravings, anxiety, irritability, low mood, burnout, and low blood pressure

· It stimulates the immune system, helping ward off the flu and other viral, bacterial or parasitic infections as well as cancer

The Benefits of Melatonin Replacement:

· It is a powerful antioxidant and captures potentially damaging free radicals. Its antioxidant properties might explain why it might reduce the risk of cancer

· It protects the heart and arteries and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease

· It relaxes muscles, relieves tension, reduces stress and anxiety and lowers blood pressure

· It increases natural killer cell activity. These cells are among the most important immune factors

· It helps to reduce blood coagulation

· It promotes zinc utilization

· It helps to maintain hair color, thereby slows down graying

The Benefits of Pregnenolone Replacement:

· It is a precursor or "Mother Hormone" of all of the adrenal and sex hormones

· It acts as a potent memory enhancer

· It improves alertness

· It makes you fee more focused yet relaxed

Article Source : www.longevityhouston.com

Mainstream docs join anti-aging bandwagon

But with M.D. endorsements, is the field more credible — or risky?
By Brian Alexander
MSNBC contributor
updated 9:56 a.m. ET April 21, 2008

For thousands of years, magicians, alchemists, even a few fringe medical practitioners have fueled an unbounded optimism that we can blunt the ravages of time, stay younger for longer, maybe even defeat death itself. Their pitches have usually hinged on some drug, food or device — everything from electricity to yogurt to surgically installing the gonads of animals into our own bodies — that will slow or reverse the aging process. Every decade or so, “anti-aging” promoters grasp onto news coming out of research labs and trumpet those developments as the answer we have all been awaiting.

Lately, the buzzwords are “nano,” which refers to the science of the ultra small (a nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter), and stem cells. One “nano” face cream, for example, promises to stave off wrinkles with "nano-encapsulated technology" into which the makers have "packed microscopic bundles of Prodew, a nourishing skin humectant." A dietary supplement advertised as "The World's FIRST Stem Cell Enhancer," promises to "Rebuild, Renew, Rejuvenate" — giving you more stem cells and keeping your organs healthy — if you take the blue-green algae capsules. The claims are based on wispy science and hype.

But while the cycle remains the same, something new is happening in the world of anti-aging. Mainstream doctors who once wanted nothing to do with the naturopaths, osteopaths and others who first populated modern anti-aging, and whom they often considered glorified carnival barkers, are buying in, signing up for “certification” as anti-aging practitioners and offering patients the promise of youth and rejuvenation through such treatments as human growth hormone, testosterone, special diet and exercise regimens, antioxidants and hundreds of other supplements.

“It is mushrooming,” says Dr. Elliot Snyder, an emergency room physician based in Northern California who follows the movement closely by frequently attending anti-aging meetings and talking to friends in the field. He also uses some of its techniques himself. Besides exercising five days a week and following a strict low-fat diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables and wild salmon but no white flour or red meat, he takes supplements ranging from thiamin and biotin to DHEA, DMAE, colostrum, arginine, carnitine and omega-3 fatty acids — about 50 pills per day. He is 64 but looks a decade younger.

Back in 1994, the annual Las Vegas meeting of the fledgling American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) was held in a small hotel off the Las Vegas strip. Everyone could fit into a temporary tent-like structure on the pool patio. Last December, at the 15th A4M confab, roughly 2,000 attendees, including business owners, anti-aging promoters and hundreds of doctors — among them obstetricians, ER docs, psychiatrists and internists — filled a cavernous meeting space inside the Venetian Hotel and Resort.

Today, claims Dr. Bob Goldman, A4M’s co-founder, there are about 20,000 A4M-certified doctors around the world. A4M’s tax returns confirm the boom. The income from fees charged to those seeking board certification from A4M more than doubled from $544,845 in 2005 to $1.2 million in 2006.

A rival organization, Age Management Medicine Group, is growing rapidly, too, says co-founder Rick Merner. He claims the group had more than 400 doctors at its last meeting, sponsored by the nation’s single largest “age-management” clinic, Cenegenics. The Cenegenics Foundation also certifies practitioners in age-management medicine (it shuns the term “anti-aging”) and claims to have experienced a 100 percent increase in the number of its physician “affiliates” to more than 800.

Mainstream business has recognized the potential. GE Healthcare, for example, sent a team to the recent A4M meeting to market body scanners that cost about $100,000 each and are often used by anti-aging doctors to look at fat deposits inside the body and convince patients of the need to do something about them. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, which is a GE company.)

'A life-changing experience'
Patients all over the country are buying in. Rebecca Gooden, a 57-year-old Charleston, S.C., real estate agent, first saw an anti-aging doctor in December when she sought help for joint pain, insomnia and lack of energy. “I had felt something was going on but standard testing did not show any of it," she says. "I had been having symptoms but doctors kept telling me there was nothing wrong and I knew there was."

Frustrated, when she saw an article about Cenegenics in a magazine, she called for an appointment in hopes of solving her problems. Now, she spends about $1,000 a month on hormones and supplements to treat various hormonal deficiencies and has become an anti-aging convert. “I feel like a new person … it has been a life-changing experience for me.”

All this despite the fact that as far as the American Medical Association or the American Board of Medical Specialties is concerned, there is no such thing as an anti-aging specialty.

Therein lies the often bitter tension between the medical establishment and those physicians and organizations who say they can help us slow or even stop the aging process and the debilitation that comes with it. Goldman and his A4M co-founder, Dr. Ronald Klatz, have been accused by respected academics of being snake-oil salesmen. Cenegenics and A4M have both been labeled glorified hormone-pushers.

Anti-aging advocates, on the other hand, argue that they are a persecuted minority of enlightened medical professionals who have the patients’ best interests at heart and that the AMA, the mainstream media and the government, especially the Food and Drug Administration, have conspired to keep the truth from the public.

“Certain vested interests would not like to have anti-aging,” Klatz argues.

To the ears of Northwestern University bioethics professor Laurie Zoloth, this sounds like an old story. “Whenever one hears these things, that there is a conspiracy against patients, if you come to us we will tell you truth, then one has to ask, ‘Why are your statements credible?’”

Has anti-aging 'arrived'?
That is precisely the question many consumers are now being asked to answer for themselves. If their M.D. is signing onto anti-aging, does that mean the message is now credible? Does the certificate on his or her wall mean that real anti-aging has, at last, arrived? Or does it simply mean that every patient now has one more reason to live by the Latin phrase caveat emptor — buyer beware?

Dr. Thomas Perls, a Boston University researcher who studies centenarians (people who live at least 100 years), and a vociferous critic of the anti-aging industry, argues that while some anti-aging practitioners “may have their hearts in the right place … in my mind the whole anti-aging practice has so many problems of ethical and professional misconduct. These practices are selling medicines and substances at great profit with very little in the way of clinical studies to support what they are doing.”

The answers to the science questions can be complicated, but the motivations of some doctors to enter the anti-aging world are not. Dr. Arnold Relman, a former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine who is now a professor emeritus of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, believes “the interest in anti-aging practice is mainly based on economic considerations” by physicians who are looking to boost income.

“Get your piece of the $50 billion anti-aging marketplace!” trumpets a flyer distributed to doctors at A4M’s Las Vegas meeting. An article by Klatz and Goldman in "Medical Spas," a magazine that’s a member of A4M, encourages doctors to open their own medical spas and to have them certified under the World Council for Clinical Accreditation, another A4M organization, because “a single anti-aging patient is estimated to bring $4,000 to $20,000 in annual gross revenue.”

The business can be very good, indeed. Doctors can count on regular hours because the patients are not sick. Better yet, patients pay cash because visits and procedures are not generally covered by insurance, which also means there is no upper limit to fees. And since there is no need to deal with insurance companies or HMOs, practices do not require extra staff to handle all that paperwork.

Additionally, anti-aging doctors often sell lines of creams and supplements, such as vitamins, antioxidants and plant extracts, which claim to do everything from strengthening the immune system to boosting libido, directly out of their offices, sometimes with an enormous mark-up. They can also use their own in-office technology, like those GE body scanners, to charge for in-house testing.

Patients generally see anti-aging doctors much more often than regular physicians. That's because in addition to checking on measures like weight and body fat and how patients are feeling overall, the docs are constantly monitoring a large range of sometimes esoteric health indicators with a battery of medical tests, including urinalysis and blood work. They look for levels of everything from testosterone and estrogen to follicle stimulating hormone and dehydroepiandrosterone (a natural steroid known as DHEA). Based on all these results, the doctors may then recommend drugs, hormones, supplements and special diets and fitness regimens — and then set an appointment to see the patient again in several weeks or months for another cash-only check-up.

One doctor, two hats
Dr. Andrew Jurow, an ob-gyn in Burlingame, Calif., says he started an anti-aging practice alongside his ongoing traditional practice after becoming a devotee himself. “I am as mainstream as you can get. I am 59 years old, board certified in ob-gyn, as was my father. If you had come to me five, six years ago and talked about anti-aging, I would have said, ‘Hogwash!’”

But then Jurow, long an avid exerciser, attended an A4M meeting and came away impressed with what he heard. Five years ago he began visiting an anti-aging doctor himself. Now he sees his regular ob-gyn HMO patients through one door of his building and anti-aging patients through another.

Jurow says he is not getting rich off his anti-aging patients. Rather, his motivation is his own belief that it works. Still, he says, if he sees an anti-aging patient for an hour, he can charge $350, whereas HMOs might reimburse him as little as $50 for a traditional office visit. Article Source : www.msnbc.msn.com

New Idea For How Anti-aging Products Delay Ripening Of Fruit And Wilting Of Flowers

ScienceDaily (May 5, 2008) — When plants encounter ethylene, a gas they also produce naturally as a hormone, the result is softening and ripening in the case of fruit, and wilting and fading in the case of flowers -- all of which ethylene promotes.

To delay these effects, growers spray plants with products available in the market today, such as EthylBlocTM for flowers and SmartFreshSM for fruits and vegetables, that contain a compound that blocks ethylene's action on plants.

But how this compound, 1-methylcyclopropane or 1-MCP, works at the molecular level remains uncertain despite several chemical pathways chemists have proposed in the scientific literature.

Now, in a research paper published in the April issue of Chemistry & Biology, a team led by Michael Pirrung, a professor of chemistry and the holder of the University of California Presidential Chair in Chemistry at UC Riverside, offers a novel pathway for how "anti-aging" products like EthylBloc and SmartFresh block ethylene in plants, delaying the plants' demise and allowing people to enjoy their beauty and products for longer than nature allows.

The authors propose that a chemical reaction occurs between 1-MCP and naturally-occurring copper in plant cells. This knowledge could guide researchers in their attempts to discover new ethylene-blocking chemicals for preserving the freshness of fruits, vegetables and flowers for longer than currently is possible.

Until now, researchers believed that a "complex" -- a chemical structure consisting of molecules that are weakly connected to one another -- formed between 1-MCP and copper.

"A complex is loose and can break apart easily -- something we don't see happening in the case of 1-MCP in plants," Pirrung explained. "A chemical reaction, which is far stronger than a complex, accounts for why 1-MCP is so effective."

How 1-MCP prevents ripening and wilting

Plant cells possess copper-containing ethylene binding sites called ethylene receptors. (An ethylene receptor is a protein that sits in the cell membrane and has a site for binding ethylene on the outside of the cell.) When ethylene comes into contact with the receptor, it binds chemically with the copper, which inactivates the receptor. The inactivation results in the cell breaking down, which, in turn, initiates aging and the death of plant tissues.

1-MCP works by beating ethylene to the receptors. By binding with a sufficient number of receptors chemically and permanently, it forever makes them insensitive to ethylene. The plants do not "perceive" ethylene thereafter, preventing ripening and wilting.

Furthermore, unlike ethylene, 1-MCP does not inactivate the receptors. As a result, the cells do not break down, which prolongs the freshness of flowers and fruit after harvest, extends their shelf life, reduces waste and, ultimately, benefits producers and consumers.

Administering 1-MCP

Because 1-MCP is an unstable gas, growers face a challenge in delivering it to fruits and flowers. Commercially, 1-MCP therefore is complexed with alpha-cyclodextrin, a ring-structured biocompatible molecule formed of six linked glucose units, to produce a stable, water-soluble powder.

When the powder is dissolved in water, 1-MCP is released as a vapor that travels through the air, making its way eventually to plants' ethylene receptors.

Novel pathway can lead to new products

In their paper, the researchers show that 1-MCP reacts with copper to give a highly reactive chemical intermediate. Called a carbene, the intermediate will react with essentially any other kind of chemical group in the area.

"Very few such intermediates are known, and it is mostly difficult to make them," Pirrung said. "Based on the reaction of 1-MCP with copper, we discovered a very easy process to make a carbene. When the carbene is generated by the copper in the ethylene receptor, it is the receptor that reacts, creating the permanent linkage that prevents the receptor from perceiving ethylene."

According to Pirrung, knowledge of a chemical reaction between 1-MCP and copper in ethylene receptors could help researchers design new compounds, such as non-gaseous compounds, that are capable of working as well as 1-MCP but are not as difficult to handle.

"Such compounds would enable much more widespread treatment of fruits, flowers and vegetables to prevent their spoiling," he said.

Next in their research, Pirrung and his colleagues will study in more detail the chemical reaction between 1-MCP and plants' copper-containing receptors.

Pirrung was joined in the study by Yunfan Zou of UCR; Anthony B. Bleecker and Brad M. Binder of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.; Yoshihisa Inoue and Norimitsu Sugawara of Osaka University, Japan; Fernando I. Rodriguez of BD Biosciences, Puerto Rico; and Takehiko Wada of Tohoku University, Japan.

The American Floral Endowment provided funding for the study.

Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Riverside.

Article Source : www.sciencedaily.com

Anti-Aging and Skin Care

"Delay aging."
"Tone up facial muscles and tighten sagging skin."
"Renew your skin's collagen and reduce wrinkles."

Please take a moment to read this important message as it relates to skin care and your health.
We spend billions of dollars every year on skin care products to fight aging and make us look younger. Large cosmetics companies offer up secret anti-aging skin care formulas that supposedly result in erasing wrinkles, lightening age spots, tightening sagging skin, and eliminating itching, flaking, and redness.

But do these skin care companies really deliver on their promises? Are there really anti-aging skin care products out there that can restore your skin to a younger and healthier condition?
Most anti-aging skin care formulas are nothing but advertising hype in print or on TV, filled with psychological triggers to separate consumers from their hard earned money. In fact, most anti-aging skin care product manufacturers spend more on the product packaging and containers than on the so called anti-aging skin care ingredients inside!

There are a few skin care product ingredients and a few basic principles you can follow to achieve healthier and younger looking skin.

Basic Anti-Aging Skin Care Principles for Healthy Skin

• Sunshine is good skin care?

That’s right, a little of that anti-aging skin care called Vitamin D from sunshine may do wonders for your skin! Sunshine promotes both physical and mental health. Just 5 to 10 minutes per day of sunlight is all you need. If you stay in the sun long enough for your skin to turn color (tan) it is already sun damaged to some degree.

Overexposure to sunlight is a major cause of skin damage and aging. Wrinkles, dryness, and age spots are just a few symptoms of aging skin. As you age, you sweat less and your skin becomes drier. As your skin ages, it becomes thinner and loses collagen and fat. It will look less plump and smooth. Underlying structures — veins and bones in particular — become more visible.

Your skin can take longer to heal when injured so don’t overexpose yourself to sunshine. Although nothing can completely undo sun damage, the skin sometimes can repair itself.

When you must be in the sun for a long time, use a large brimmed hat and long sleeved clothing to limit your direct exposure. You can make your own decision About using sunscreen and sun block products as a part of skin care. There are studies pro and con regarding their use and potential toxicity. Sunscreen can prevent sunburn, but the chemical ingredients are absorbed deep into the skin as well.

• Avoid artificial tanning.

Don’t fall for the promise of safe tanning through the use of artificial tanning beds and booths. Getting an Acapulco glow from a tanning bed may not be worth the EMF exposure from the magnetic ballasts surrounding the tubes and various other concerns.

Tanning beds do release high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can cause premature aging of the skin, impair your immune system, and increase your risk of skin cancer. They can also cause your skin to be itchy, dry, and red. Continued exposure may result in sagging and wrinkled skin.

Tanning pills and skin dyes are not that safe either. These skin tanning products contain carotenoid color additives, which are responsible for the orange color in carrots. If you don’t want to have carrot-colored skin, don’t make these skin care products a part of your skin care regimen. The canthaxanthin in tanning pills can deposit crystals in your eyes and damage your vision.

• Water is a good skin care product so keep your body well hydrated at all times.

You don’t necessarily have to guzzle down 8 to 12 glasses of water a day. Just be guided by your thirst. Your thirst will signal you when it is time for a refill. Just think of your body as a car. You only refill gasoline when the tank is low, right? It’s the same with your body. When you begin to feel thirsty, it’s time for a refill

Drinking too much water is not healthy either. Besides causing you to urinate frequently, it can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a deadly condition in the sodium level of your blood is dangerously low. This can sometimes result excessive water intake.

Some say that if your urine has a faint yellow color, you are dehydrated. Don’t be fooled. That is the normal color of your urine! The exception to that is the bright yellow color you experience shortly after taking a multivitamin which includes riboflavin.

• Healthy Skin Care includes Omega 3 Supplements.

Omega 3 fatty acids are a requirement for healthy skin. Most people’s diets lack this healthy fat. I’m not an exception; therefore, I take Omega-3 supplements every day. Adding Omega 3 is an anti-aging skin care practice that helps to regulate skin lipids and avoid cell dehydration. Omega 3 also serves to reduce or eliminate the inflammation present in irritated skin. Symptoms of fatty acid deficiency include dry skin patches, cracked skin on your heels, and more. Some believe re-establishing the balance between Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet can help to prevent skin cancer.

• Antioxidants are essential for good skin care.

In discussions on anti-aging skin care and how to achieve vibrant, healthy younger looking skin, you often hear the terms "clean" and "green." "Clean" refers to cleansing your digestive plumbing to make it work properly. "Green" refers to eating lots of mineral rich, high antioxidant green foods as well as other brightly colored fruits and vegetables.

Free radicals are partially responsible for premature aging and wrinkles. They can damage protein, fats and DNA. Free radical damage gives your skin a dull, drab, grayish appearance with lines, furrows and wrinkling.

You cannot totally eliminate free radicals, but you can offset their results by increasing your use of high quality antioxidants, both inside and outside your body. You should take a high quality antioxidant supplement in addition to high antioxidant foods like broccoli and berries. Raspberries, cherries and blueberries are great. Acai is even better. Acai, from South America is at the very top of today’s best list of super foods.

• Stop smoking!

Cigarette smoke is overflowing with free radicals. Long term smokers often appear as much as 10 years older than their real age.

• Antioxidant vitamin creams and amino peptide creams are good skin care products.

There are two types of anti-aging skin care products that have shown true lasting results that don’t just wash away into your sink when you wash your face.

The first type of anti-aging skin care products to show real results are the Vitamin C and Vitamin E creams and serums. These vitamin creams and serums can provide visible benefits to many.

Vitamin C should be at a 10% concentration and the creams tend to be less irritating than the serums, especially for those with sensitive skin.

Vitamin E, in the form of a d-alpha tocopherol based cream or gel provides noticeable benefits. Do not break open a capsule of Vitamin E oil and spread it on your face as it can cause irritation in those with sensitive skin.

The other proven type of anti-aging skin care product is based on amino peptide creams and lotions, which can rebuild collagen in older skin, thus reducing wrinkles, lines and furrows and enhancing elasticity and thickness. This can result in a much improved appearance without the risks of cosmetic surgery or laser skin resurfacing. Article Source : www.fight-aging.com

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Prevention's Anti-Aging Guide

By Andreas von Bubnoff and Joanna Lloyd, Prevention

We used to think our fate was in the cards—or in the stars. Now, thanks to research unlocking the secrets to living longer and better, we know different. It turns out that 70% of the factors influencing life expectancy are due to good choices and good luck—not good genes.

What are the moves that will peel off the years? Prevention asked dozens of scientists studying aging, exercise, nutrition, and related fields which changes deliver the biggest payoff. Read on for their picks—powerful enough to make these researchers adopt them in their own lives.

1. Stay the weight you were at 18
"Next to not smoking, this is probably the most important thing we can do to stay healthy and live longer," says Walter Willett, MD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Leanness matters, because fat cells produce hormones that raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. They also make sub-stances called cytokines that cause inflammation—stiffening the arteries and the heart and other organs. Carrying excess fat also raises the risk of some cancers. Add it up, and studies show that lean people younger than age 75 halve their chances of premature death, compared with people who are obese.

The government deems a wide range of weights to be healthy (between 110 and 140 pounds for a 5-foot-4 woman), partly because body frames vary tremendously. So to maintain the weight that's right for you, Willett suggests you periodically try to slip into the dress you wore to your high school prom—assuming, of course, that you were a healthy weight at that age. If not, aim for a body mass index of about 23.5.

Willett can't use the prom-dress test himself. Nevertheless, at 6-foot-2 and a lean 184 pounds, he dutifully hews to the BMI of his youth.

2. Take the dynamic duo of supplements
They're what Bruce N. Ames, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, swears by: his daily 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid and 2,000 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine. In these amounts, he says, the chemicals boost the energy output of mitochondria, which power our cells. "I think mitochondrial decay is a major factor in aging," Ames says—it's been linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

In his studies, elderly rats plied with the supplements had more energy and ran mazes better. "If you're an old rat, you can be enthusiastic," Ames says. "As people, we can't be sure until clinical trials are done." (They're under way.) But the compounds look very safe—the worst side effect documented in humans is a rash, Ames says—and "the data in animals looks really convincing," says S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhD, president of the Kronos Longevity Research Institute in Phoenix.

3. Skip a meal
This one move could have truly dramatic results. Rats fed 30% less than normal live 30% longer than usual—and in a recent study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the hearts of the leaner human calorie-cutters appeared 10 to 15 years younger than those of regular eaters.

In other research, calorie restrictors improved their blood insulin levels and had fewer signs of damage to their DNA. Eating less food, scientists believe, may reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation, or rogue molecules known as free radicals.

Edward Calabrese, PhD, and Mark Mattson, PhD, have opted for "calorie restriction lite." Calabrese, a professor of toxicology and environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, dumped the midday meal. Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging, has done without breakfast for 20 years.

Try it
Skip a meal a day. You don't need to try to cut calories; Mattson's research suggests you'll naturally consume less that day. Or try fasting one day a week. Just drink plenty of water.

4. Get a pet
Open up your home and heart to Rover or Boots. Owning a pet reduces the number of visits to the doctor, prolongs survival after a heart attack, and wards off depression, says James Serpell, PhD, director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. (His family has a cat, a dog, a large green iguana, a bearded dragon, and a dozen fish.)

Pet ownership also protects against a major problem of aging: high blood pressure. In one standout study at State University of New York, Buffalo, stockbrokers with high blood pressure adopted a pet. When they were faced with mental stress, their BP increased less than half as much as in their counterparts without animal pals. But pick your pet with care. There is nothing stress-reducing about a dog that chews the baseboard to bits.

5. Get help for what hurts
Studies suggest that continuous pain may dampen the immune system—and evidence is clear that it can cause deep depression and push levels of the noxious stress hormone cortisol higher.

So enough with the stoicism: Take chronic pain to your doctor and keep complaining until you have a treatment plan that works, says Nathaniel Katz, MD, a neurologist and pain-management specialist at Tufts University School of Medicine. Your mood will improve—and your immune system may perk up, too.

6. Take a hike
To make the walls of your arteries twice as flexible as those of a couch potato, just walk briskly for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. That's what Hirofumi Tanaka, PhD, an associate professor of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas, advises after tracking the elasticity of people's blood vessels using ultrasound.

With age, blood vessel walls tend to stiffen up like old tires—the main reason two-thirds of people older than age 60 have high blood pressure. Exercise keeps vessels pliable. Mild exercise also reduces the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, depression, aging of the skin, maybe even dementia. That excites exercise researcher Steven N. Blair, past president of the nonprofit Cooper Institute in Dallas. He's run nearly every day for almost 40 years. "Not bad for a 66-year-old fat man."

7. Fight fair
Nasty arguments between couples increase the risk of clogged arteries. In a recent University of Utah study, women's hearts suffered when they made or heard hostile comments; men's hearts reacted badly to domineering, controlling words.

"It's normal to have a fight with your spouse—it's a matter of how you fight," says Ronald Glaser, PhD, an immunologist at Ohio State University. What he and his wife, Ohio State clinical psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD, put off-limits: "Getting nasty, sarcastic, or personal, or using body language like rolling your eyes. It's better to simply agree to disagree."

8. Stop and plant the roses
Gardening or being around plants bears fruit. In one study, blood pressure jumped in workers given a stressful task—but rose only a quarter as much if there were plants in the room. And patients who had a view of trees as they recovered from surgery left the hospital almost a day sooner than those with a view of a brick wall.

9. Hoist a few (weights, that is)
Everyone knows cardio exercise is key to slowing the advance of time. More surprising: Strength-training is crucial, too. That's because after their mid-40s, people lose ¼ pound of muscle mass a year, gaining fat in its place.

But, says Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, "For a couple of decades, you don't have to lose any muscle, if you do the appropriate exercises." Even people well into their 90s can regain muscle, she's found. Just lift weights 2 or 3 days a week, for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The payoff: more endurance, stronger bones, less risk of diabetes—and better sleep and thinking. Nelson rock climbs and does plenty of other weight-bearing exercise.

10. Do a good deed
Pick up trash in the park or shop for a neighbor who needs help, says William Brown, PhD, a lecturer of psychology at Brunel University, West London. He studied people in Brooklyn and found that those who had a denser social network and gave more to their friends and family than they received—whether the gift was in the form of money, food, advice, or time—reported feeling healthier than others, even when he factored in activity levels.

Another study, at the University of Michigan, looked at 423 elderly married couples; after 5 years, the pairs who were more altruistic were only half as likely to have died. "Many people grow up thinking it's a dog-eat-dog world," Brown says. "But there's a lot of data that suggests the best way to be healthy is to be kind to others."

11. Eat a rainbow...
...made of vegetables, says Peter Greenwald, MD, director of the division of cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute. Their cancer-preventing abilities are unparalleled. Remember: Aim for nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

12. Sup from the sea
Don't just slap anything with fins onto your plate: You want fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines, and lake trout. They contain the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which many studies show help prevent sudden death from heart attack. Omega-3s may also help ward off depression, Alzheimer's disease, and age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness—and maybe some cancers, although evidence is mixed.

To get more of the benefits of good fats, snack on an ounce (a handful) of walnuts a day. Use less corn oil, and more canola and olive oils. Greg Cole, PhD, a professor of medicine and neurology at UCLA, also avoids cookies, margarine, and snack foods such as chips, which are loaded with unhealthy trans fats. On his menu: two tuna sandwiches plus a couple of DHA-enriched eggs a week. He takes 2 g of fish oil daily.

13. Belt out a tune
Exposing yourself to music might help boost your immune system: In a study done by Robert Beck, PhD, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, levels of an infection-fighting antibody called IgA increased 240% in the saliva of choral members performing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.

14. Drink a cuppa
Intrigued by studies (of mice, cells in lab dishes, and people) that say tea may fight prostate and breast cancer and heart disease, researcher Anna Wu, PhD, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, downs at least 3 cups daily. Green is best, although black tea confers some benefits, too.

15. Whittle your waist
To determine if your body is staying young, the tape measure is better than the bathroom scale: Your weight can remain the same while you lose muscle and pack on fat, including visceral fat, the culprit behind a thick waist. It's linked to a heightened risk of age-related ills such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. If your waist measures more than 35 inches (for a woman) or 40 inches (for a man), you probably have too much belly fat.

The best way to shed that inner load: exercise, says Kerry Stewart, EdD, director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In a 6-month study of 69 men and women, he found a 20% reduction in visceral fat, though participants lost only 5 pounds. Stewart's program was brisk but not too arduous: 45 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics three times a week and 20 minutes of moderate-intensity weight training, also three times weekly.

16. Double up on D
If there's one vitamin supplement you should take, this is it, experts say. Vitamin D is made in the skin when sun hits it—but as people get older, the D factory doesn't work as well. About half of Americans fall short. Research suggests that a lack of D raises the risk of osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, and various cancers.

"No other nutrient is so widely deficient in the United States," says Meir Stampfer, MD, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Unless you eat a lot of fish, you have to supplement." Stampfer takes 1,800 IU daily in the winter and 800 to 1,200 IU a day the rest of the year. Make sure your supplement contains vitamin D3, the form the skin makes.

17. Dine on curry
Turmeric, the spice that makes curry yellow, is loaded with curcumin, a chemical with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In India, it's smeared on bandages to help heal wounds.

East Asians also eat it, of course—which might explain why they have lower rates than we do of various cancers and Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. (Animal research is promising.) Cole, of UCLA, makes sure he gets a good dose of Indian food with "lots of yellow stuff" three times weekly. Don't like the taste? Try a daily curcumin supplement of 500 to 1,000 mg.

18. Donate blood
The life you save may be your own. Many researchers think that we take in too much iron, mostly from eating red meat. Excess iron is thought to create free radicals in the body, speeding aging and raising risk of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's. Until menopause, women are naturally protected from iron overload, but after that the danger of overdose climbs.

Preliminary studies suggest you can lower your risk of heart disease by regularly giving blood. Thomas Perls, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University who leads the New England Centenarian Study, donates a unit every 2 months. He has a rare blood type, so he's helping others—and he may get something out of it, too. If you're scared of needles, at least go easy on red meat: no more than a daily serving the size of a pack of cards.

19. Look out for your eyes
Getting plenty of omega-3s in food or supplements may help ward off age-related macular degeneration. Plant antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin (found in leafy green vegetables like kale and collards) are helpful, too.

People who have drusen—tiny deposits within the retina that can be early signs of macular degeneration—can reduce their risk of blindness in both eyes by 25% if they take a supplement, says John Paul SanGiovanni, ScD, a staff scientist at the National Eye Institute. What to take, according to his study: 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, 80 mg of zinc, 15 mg of beta-carotene, and 2 mg of copper.

20. Take fern extract for your skin
Studies suggest that the antioxidant-rich extract of the South American fern Polypodium leucotomos may help keep your skin youthful by protecting against free radicals and reducing inflammation. Until clinical trials find proof, "it's like chicken soup—it can't hurt and it might help a bit," says dermatologist Mary Lupo, MD, a Prevention advisor and a clinical professor of dermatology at the Tulane University School of Medicine.

Lupo takes 240 mg every morning in a supplement called Heliocare, made by Ivax Dermatologicals. She also slaps on broad-spectrum sunscreen and Retin-A daily and eats a diet loaded with colorful fruits and vegetables—blueberries, raspberries, grapefruit, broccoli, spinach. It may also help to drink green tea and nibble flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, she adds. What you must do: Avoid excessive sun exposure and don't smoke.

21. Take a deep breath
Strife at work, bumper-to-bumper traffic, little Will's report card: Stress increases the concentration of the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine in our bloodstream, kicking up blood pressure and suppressing the immune system. Chronic stress delays wound healing, promotes atherosclerosis, and possibly shrinks parts of the brain involved in learning, memory, and mood.

"The key is lowering the concentration of those stress hormones," says Bruce Rabin, MD, PhD, medical director of the Healthy Lifestyle program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He's devised a research-based program that mutes the hormone flow: It includes meditation, deep breathing, writing, chanting, and guided imagery. Check it out at the Healthy Lifestyle program Web site.

Deep breathing is the top antistress pick of Prevention advisor Andrew Weil, MD: He makes time for it at least twice a day. "It only takes 2 minutes," he says. "I do it in the morning, when I'm falling asleep in the evening, and any time I feel upset."

Technique
Exhale strongly through the mouth, making a whoosh sound. Breathe in quietly through the nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7; then exhale with the whoosh sound for a count of 8. Repeat the cycle three more times.

22. Hey—turn it down!
Exposure to noise damages the delicate hair cells of your inner ears. So when you're around loud noise, wear earplugs—the cheap type you can buy at the drugstore, or pricier ones that preserve sound quality. Andy Vermiglio, a research audiologist at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, offers free hearing tests at trade shows for audio engineers (aka sound guys). He can always tell which 40-year-old engineer was religious about ear protection and which one was careless: The latter typically has the hearing of a 70-year-old.

23. Get more shut-eye
Some sleep problems raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes—maybe even obesity. Everyone's sleep needs are different; to find out what yours are, sleep experts recommend you turn off the alarm clock when you're well rested, and see how long you naturally sleep. (Most people need 7 to 8 hours.)

While you're at it, ask your spouse if you snore. Snorting and honking through the night are signs that you may have sleep apnea, which causes you to stop breathing at least five times an hour; it raises your risk of stroke. An estimated 18 million Americans have the disorder, but many don't know it, reports the National Sleep Foundation. Doctors are more likely to miss sleep apnea in women, says Joseph Kaplan, MD, codirector of the Mayo Sleep Disorders Center in Jacksonville, FL—and women may not want to mention their unladylike habit. Ladylike, schmadylike. Tell your doctor.

24. Drop that hot potato
High-glycemic foods, rich in quick-digesting carbohydrates, can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes and contribute to overeating and diabetes risk—which accelerates aging.

We need to retrain our taste buds, says Willett. What to ditch: sugary drinks. And cut way back on America's favorite veggie, the potato. It has the highest glycemic index of any vegetable, sending more sugar rushing into the bloodstream faster. Willett's team at Harvard recently found that over a 20-year period, women who ate more whole grains and fewer spuds had a 20 to 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. His carb picks for his own dinner: brown rice and whole grain bread, and sometimes whole wheat pasta or bulgur.

25. Put on your rose-colored glasses
"Embracing some of the positive aspects of aging is helpful," says Becca Levy, PhD, an associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale. She found more than a 7-year survival advantage for older men and women with a positive attitude toward aging, compared with people who have a negative one.

If you're a cranky sort, you might also want to tweak your attitude about other things. "People who have a goal in life—a passion, a purpose, a positive outlook, and humor—live longer," says Robert Butler, MD, president of the International Longevity Center in New York City.

Embrace life, and the coming of old age—it happens to all of us. If we're lucky.

Article Source : http://health.yahoo.com