Live Longer by Eating Less on a Raw Food Diet (Putting it All Together)

[Living Food]

Atom bombs are still going off every day (not going to get into that) + nuclear testing is still going on.

I doubt that most people at that time had exposure to Love canal and Agent Orange (minus those in the military who went to Vietnam, obviously), although now Monsanto is trying to engineer seeds that are resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D so that farmers will start spraying insane amounts of it on their fields...2,4-D is one of the two ingredients of Agent Orange.

But I do get your point. Actually I was thinking back further then the 1900s when many families still grew their own food and family farms were everywhere - and people actually knew how to grow crops. Plus all of the other things I listed 2 posts ago.

[MysticTree]

Atom bombs are still going off every day (not going to get into that) + nuclear testing is still going on.I doubt that most people at that time had exposure to Love canal and Agent Orange (minus those in the military who went to Vietnam, obviously), although now Monsanto is trying to engineer seeds that are resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D so that farmers will start spraying insane amounts of it on their fields...2,4-D is one of the two ingredients of Agent Orange.But I do get your point. Actually I was thinking back further then the 1900s when many families still grew their own food and family farms were everywhere - and people actually knew how to grow crops. Plus all of the other things I listed 2 posts ago.

and where in this country at least there was huge pollution from burning coal in the cities and food was adulterated with a wide range of fairly dreadful things and the chemists could sell anything as a cure all no matter whether it contained arsenic, morphine etc etc etc. Those who lived to an old age did so by avoiding death during wars, dangerous occupations and any number of other hazards. Yes, I think the gene pool was healthier then but it's difficult to compare.

[Living Food]

All of the above is going on today - although certain occupations like coal mining may not be as prevalent as they were back then.

We definitely have it far worse - more pollution, more EMR, less exercise, food is adulterated with far worse things and has virtually no nutrients, still plenty of wars, and I'd say that the drugs sold by the pharmaceutical industry are quite possibly more harmful then what chemists back then were selling; even if they're not, virtually everyone in America today is on one or more drugs (some people are on half a dozen or even a dozen different ones!) whereas far less people would have needed them back then.

The people - especially children - on psychiatry drugs like ritalin + prozac is absurd (over 1 in 4 children, some as young as 3 years old).

[MysticTree]

Not in all countries are children medicated as much as they are in the US. Bad genes aren't removed from the pool as they were in the past either. So whilst those are not being removed we are also not concentrating genes that would protect us from the modern world. The way the world is going violence -wise, I just hope I'm not going be around when it becomes personally impacting. A common adulterant in cheeses was lead btw.

[lafsalot]

whereas far less people would have needed them back then.


Not true. I can recall my relatives telling me about the big "consumption" (TB) outbreak that killed many of their friends/other family members at the turn of the century in their small rural community. In urban areas, 70 to 90 percent of the population was infected! Typhoid fever (from drinking contaminated water) and pneumonia also resulted in many deaths.

Agree w you about the over treatment of children who reportedly have ADHD.

[lafsalot]

Sorry, I inadvertently posted twice.

[MysticTree]

One of my grandmother's sisters died from TB.

[Gianni]

In the majority of the animal models of longevity, extended lifespan is believed to be related to lower levels in a growth factor called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is produced primarily in the liver. In calorie-restricted animals, levels of circulating IGF-1 decline between 30 percent and 40 percent.

However, Luigi Fontana of Washington University found no difference in IGF-1 levels between people on calorie restriction and those who are not. In other words these Cronies had similar levels to SAD eating couch potatoes.

Fontana explained that there are two major influences on IGF-1 levels: calorie intake and protein intake, and so he looked at the influence of protein.

Fontana had been following a population of strict vegans for several years. They tend to eat less protein than the CRONies from the CR Society, so he compared IGF-1 levels between the two groups. The strict vegans took in about 10 percent of their total calories from protein, whereas those on calorie restriction tended to get about 23 or 24 percent of calories from protein. He found that the vegans had significantly less circulating IGF-1, even if they were heavier and had more body fat than CRONies,

Previous research from Fontana's group had found that a diet lower in protein might protect against some cancers. These more recent findings suggest lowering protein also might be important to longevity.

[lafsalot]

Great info, Gianni! Thanks for sharing.

[Gianni]

You're welcome, lafsalot.

It sure does give us food for thought when someone asks, "Where do you get your protein?".

[robh]

I am kind of leaning on this Italian nobleman as an example of some who has lived longer by eating less. He was also from an area where longevity is not uncommon because of the foods available in the area.

I think it is generally an accepted fact that eating less may extend your life (improve your health), but what information backs that up? Is it the studies on CR animals that Gianni is talking about? I'd like to read more and potentially have more examples.

[Living Food]

I think it is generally an accepted fact that eating less may extend your life (improve your health), but what information backs that up? Is it the studies on CR animals that Gianni is talking about? I'd like to read more and potentially have more examples.

I've been reading lots of scientific studies (I've read dozens today alone) looking for information abut sprouts + wheatgrass to convince other people, if I come across anything involving calorie restriction I will let you know.

[robh]

I found this to be very informational.

http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201...020127.toc.htm

I have only started reading some bits and pieces. I just noticed this one "Repair of Organs and Tissues During Fasting".

[MysticTree]

I think having children really does give people an impetus to want to live longer. I don't have any and I don't mind how long I live as long as I can get about and do the things I want.

[Dirkg]

The best understood scientific theory of why we age is Telomere shortening. There are plenty of articles in scientific and popular press about this.

There is some evidence longer telemeres are linked with CR, and other favors such as not smoking, reduced saturated fat etc, but this process is not fully understood.

I think in the next decade or so we might very well be on the verge of a major breakthrough in understanding disease and aging. These are still medical mysteries, all medicine knows today is how to treat symptoms with drugs, and very little about cause or prevention. Doctors esp in western medicine do not focus on the cause, only on what to prescribe.