Our laboratory discovered that the C. elegans homolog of the human insulin and IGF-1 receptors, and the FOXO-family transcription factor DAF-16, regulate the lifespan of C. elegans. These findings showed that the aging process is subject to endocrine and transcriptional regulation. Our work has now led to the discovery that mammalian aging is also regulated hormonally by insulin and IGF-1 endocrine system and has catalyzed a fundamental shift in the way scientists view the aging process, from one that is inevitable and intractable to one that is plastic and subject to regulation. Our findings have important disease implications, since these long-lived mutants have been found to be resistant to many age-related diseases. This raises the possibility of a new therapeutic strategy based on the ability to postpone the onset of age-related disease by slowing the aging process itself.The key here is insulin. When Dr. Kenyon made this discovery, she immediately switched to a low-carb diet:
I eat a low-carb diet because we’ve shown that keeping insulin levels low is good for animals, and we’re animals.Some time back I wrote a post on aging and oxidative stress. The author of the paper I referenced, Wulf Droge, has another paper (pdf, link fixed), Aberrant insulin receptor signaling and amino acid homeostasis as a major cause of oxidative stress in aging. Again, as in Kenyon's research, the key is insulin and its receptor; n-acetylcysteine (NAC), the inexpensive OTC supplement, down-regulates the activity of the insulin receptor. In principle, it's doing the same thing that the mutations in Kenyon's worms do, and by decreasing insulin receptor activity, NAC shows potential as an anti-aging drug.
The down-regulation of the insulin receptor could create potential problems in that one wants enough sensitivity in the receptor to ensure that blood glucose levels stay in the normal range. Droge discusses ways to do that, but one he doesn't mention is a low-carbohydrate diet.
Given the state of anti-aging research, it seems quite reasonable to think that modest doses of NAC, along with a low-carb diet, might very well help to retard the aging process without unwanted side effects.
Thanks for posting this. Its valuable information. Looking into it.....
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of diet and lifespan:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090123101224.htm
To view that Droge paper I had to delete the "?cookieSet=1" from the end of the URL:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ars.2007.1953
A low carb diet is a high fat/high protein diet. And these have also been linked to various health problems.
ReplyDelete"A low carb diet is a high fat/high protein diet. And these have also been linked to various health problems."
ReplyDeleteThe evidence is actually pretty slim for dietary fat being the causative factor in heart disease. From what I've read it seems far more likely that heart disease is caused by inflammation in the arteries, with abnormal blood sugar being the main source of said inflammation. Our cavemen ancestors ate low-carb diets, so that's what our bodies should be evolved to handle.
People has been feeding on Atkins diet for decades now. Do they live longer on average?
ReplyDeleteSince reading The GenoType Diet by Dr. Peter D'Adamo and finding I have the type O blood of preNeolithic Revolution "cavemen" who lived on meat & fat and nuts rather than cultivated grains [Type A blood, et al.], I have adopted a low-carb diet and lost almost 70 lb. over the last ten months [in addition to daily exercise and some nutritional and hormonal supplements].
ReplyDeleteWhatever the side effects, I find that life at 270 is much better than life at 340, and will continue to lose weight under a doctor's weekly supervision as long as the pounds keep falling off.
[BTW, Dr. Andrew Weil and other "heart doctors" sponsored by AARP have been constantly berating D'Adamo since his blood-type diet became popular---I believe their concern is more about turf than scientific or medical misgivings.]
People has been feeding on Atkins diet for decades now. Do they live longer on average?
ReplyDeleteProbably not, because very few stick to it long-term. Most people think of low-carbohydrate diets as something you go on for a month or two to lose 20 pounds.
Also, many people who think they're on low-carbohydrate diets are deeply confused about what carbohydrates actually are. I remember reading about a poll that found that around a third of low-carbohydrate dieters agreed with the claim that "steak is a carbohydrate."