New book on aging

Apr 25 2011

Aging is a natural part of life. From the minute we are born we are heading in one certain direction: towards death. That said, it is possible to arrive at that ultimate destination graceful and vital to our last days rather than chronically ill suffering from one or many debilitating illnesses.

Ponce de Leon is best known for his lifelong, yet unsuccessful search for the Fountain of Youth. The authors of the new book, TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust (BSH, 2011), confidently claim that anyone can become bio-metabolically younger, thereby aging more slowly and gracefully. Simultaneously better health and a leaner body are the "side-effects." The best part? No drugs, supplements, dangerous hCG injections, special foods or equipment are required.

How is this possible? "Manage your stress levels. This single factor helps control three vital hormones within our bodies that can either help us enjoy a long healthy life, or work against us. Reduce stress and you can reduce dangerous cortisol levels; watch dietary sugar and you will starve the body of insulin spikes; and control leptin release and you will reduce fat storage," they say.

They may be on to something. Dian Griesel, Ph.D. and her brother Tom Griesel have been working, both professionally and personally, with biotechnology and drug development companies for the past fifteen years. The end result of all that time with some pretty savvy scientific minds is that although their calendar years have them pegged at 50 and 56, respectively, they report and can prove that all bio-markers indicate teenage levels.

There is sound science behind their theories: Cortisol is a steroid hormone released in response to stress. It functions by increasing blood sugar. Insulin is a hormone that is key to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body—in other words, too much blood sugar and more insulin is required. Leptin, the rarely spoken of, yet crucial master hormone, regulates energy intake (think hunger) and consequent expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. The three are intimately connected.

"The stress levels many, if not most of us, live with today create internal tsunamis of cortisol, insulin and leptin. This combination triggers cardiovascular tension, causes arteries to harden and makes us crave more of the sugary foods that are causing the problems in the first place, " says Dian.

After eating, particularly if a meal included refined carbohydrates, which are sugar havens, the release of insulin is triggered to remove the excess glucose (sugar) from the blood. The glucose determined to be excess is rapidly converted to either glycogen, which is stored in very limited amounts in the liver or muscle tissue or triglycerides (chemical forms of fat that can raise risk for heart disease)—or the glucose goes into storage in a process that ultimately results in increased adipose tissue, more commonly known as body fat.

High levels of glucose in our bloodstream create excess and dangerous free-radicals that damage our arteries and form cross-links with proteins in a process called advanced glycosylation end products, ironically known as AGEs. These bind with other factors in the body creating what are scientifically called RAGEs (notice a stress and aging theme here?) and form the foundation of inflammation that is now acknowledged as a primary cause of not only cardiovascular disease but most other illnesses as well. Quite simply, glucose both literally (AGEs) and figuratively, ages us.

Tom elaborates: "AGEs are well known as a primary contributor to speeding up our age-associated declines. They cause malfunctioning within cells and tissues and are well-researched as a factor causing DNA mutation--certainly not a good thing for our longevity as a species."

"The fact that some form of sugar is in almost every commercially prepared food product is not helping our desires for more youthful, longer lives. Ninety percent of what seems to make it into most grocery store carts falls into the refined carbohydrate category which in turn means we are eating more sugar, raising our triglycerides and setting the stage for declining health along with some serious diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity," say the Griesels. 


In TurboCharged, they outline easy steps to not only reduce sugar in the diet but also manage stress. "Everyone has time for a time-out. When we are feeling frustrated, angry, stressed from work, children, traffic or any other trigger—our first reaction is we want it all to go away. The fact is, we need to remove ourselves. A solid minute, or more if time allows, of deep breathing with your eyes closed in a bathroom stall or a parked car, can help stabilize the over release of aging hormones," says Dian.

So, how can you combat aging? According to the Griesel's it's simple. Focus on adding more fresh whole foods in your diet, instead of packaged items and give yourself regular time outs.