Rejuvalife Vitality Institute
Beverly Hills CA

Happiness Holds the Key to a Long, Healthy Life

Laughter may really be the best medicine after all! A growing body of research is providing more and more evidence to support a powerful link between levels of happiness and overall health. Positive thinking individuals may be more likely to take better care of themselves and make better lifestyle choices, but researchers believe that positive thinking itself may have a direct biological impact. Here are just a few reasons to smile:

• Research has shown that people who rate higher in happiness are less likely to catch a cold than unhappy people. If they do catch a cold, happy people report fewer symptoms than unhappy people.
• A recent study by the American Heart Association revealed that adults over 50 who were more optimistic had a dramatically reduced risk of a stroke. The patient’s optimism was rated on a 16-point scale. For every 1 point increase on the scale, the patient’s stroke risk was reduced by 9%.
• A study involving nuns revealed a dramatic link between happiness and longevity. 90% of the nuns rating in the top quarter of cheerfulness were alive at age 85. Only 34% of the nuns in the bottom quarter were still alive at 85. 54% of the most cheerful nuns were alive at 94, whereas only 11% of the least cheerful lived to that age. Another study showed that optimists had a 19% longer life span on average.
• A study at Columbia University rated happiness levels of over 1,700 adults with no heart problems. After a decade, the researchers found that happier people were significantly less likely to develop a heart problem.
• A world wide study surveying 140 different countries revealed that the link between positive attitude and good health may be even stronger among impoverished nations. In so called “Third-World” countries with low life expectancy, harsh living conditions, prevalent hunger, and limited access to modern medicine, overall happiness and optimism played a larger role in determining life expectancy and disease prevalence than it did in industrialized nations.

Greater levels of happiness and related characteristics are associated with lower levels of chronic stress, which can lower immunity and increase inflammation, contributing to a staggering number of illnesses.  High levels of chronic stress are associated with increased susceptibility to depression, diabetes, hair loss, hyperthyroidism, obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexual dysfunction, ulcers, and several types of cancers. Some studies suggest that as many as 90% of symptoms that patients seek doctor’s visits for are at least partially related to stress. A study showed that happier people had lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels and happier men had lower heart rates.

So whether you’re improving your health by exercising and eating right,  losing weight,  quitting smoking, or making any number of positive lifestyle choices, don’t forget to smile and do the things that make you happy. It will improve your health, how long you live, and the quality of your life itself.

Healthy Living

Vitamins & Minerals

There is a parade of vitamins and nutrients that contribute to keeping your eyes healthy and even factor in staving off some ocular diseases.  In today’s pill and tablet-taking society, the good news is that we can get many of these vitamins right at our dinner table.

The essential vitamins and nutrients required for eye health are the alphabet group (A, B-complex, C, D, E), other antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, and minerals zinc and selenium.  Recent studies suggest that these may help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration.

All of the above can be found in common foods enjoyed by a large segment of the population.  Many are the familiar staples that we have heard about for years: fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts.  A few others may be less recognized for their relation to eye health: lean meats and liver, whole grains, and eggs.

Vitamin A aids in the prevention of night blindness and can be found in beef, chicken, and liver, as well as carrots (of course), sweet potatoes, and red peppers.

Of the vitamin B-complex, B-6 and B-12 curb homocysteine levels in the blood.  High levels of homocysteine is believed to be related to disorders that keep small blood vessels from functioning properly, a link to macular degeneration.  All whole, unprocessed foods contain vitamin B, but it is concentrated in meat products and also bananas, potatoes, beans, and molasses.

The sources of vitamin C are probably the most widely known: fruits (and juices), vegetables, and potatoes.  The formation of

Vitamin C

collagen important to the cornea and maintenance of the small capillaries in the retina are vitamin C’s contribution to the eyes.

Vitamin D is also enlisted in the fight against macular degeneration and is the first vitamin you are likely to encounter each day, as it can be found in milk, cereal grains, and eggs. Tuna, cod liver oil, and other fish oils supply vitamin D as well.

Nuts, sunflower seeds, and mangos are rich in Vitamin E, which reduces the risk of cataracts.

Antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin are naturally found in the retina and lens of our eyes and are responsible for combating free radicals, which break down tissue in the body.  Adding leafy green vegetables and beet greens to the diet can replenish lutein and zeaxanthin in our system.  Corn and eggs, especially the yolks, are good choices as well.

The minerals zinc and selenium can be thought of as ‘helpers’ since their main function is to assist the body in absorbing the vitamins (particularly A and E) needed to stave off eye disease.  Turn to seafood, yeast, wheat, nuts, and hamburgers (!) for these.

Be aware that cooking reduces the content of some vitamins in food; in the case of lutein, cooking actually releases the antioxidant from cell wall of vegetables.  Light destroys vitamin C, so any juices should be purchased or stored in non-transparent containers.

While foods can do a lot to provide needed vitamins and minerals, there are times when dietary supplements may be needed.  These are readily available on the market, but should not become a part of your daily use until you consult with your doctor.  Proper dosage is important to achieve the desired results.  Excess vitamins in the body that cannot be naturally flushed out of the system will cause unwanted side effects.  In fact, any major dietary changes, including addition of vitamin-rich foods mentioned above, should not commence without a physician’s approval.

Scientists discover new secrets of aging

Can we become younger?

One of the biggest puzzles in biology – how and why living cells age – continues to be a subject of investigation and research. An international team based at Newcastle University in NE England, along with researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany, has added some new evidence to the discussion.

The answer to the secret of aging is complex, and will not produce a magic anti-aging elixir in the foreseeable future. However, we can certainly expect better treatments to be created to fight age-related illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease, not to mention things like wrinkle treatments, as a result of these new insights into the biochemical pathways involved in the aging process.

The research teams used a comprehensive systems biology approach, involving computer modeling, experiments using cell cultures and genetically modified mice to investigate why and how our cells age. They learned that old cells either stop dividing or self-destruct. Those cells that continue to divide, and the tissues they make up, show physical signs of deterioration, from wrinkling skin to a weakening cardiovascular system.

The research, which was recently published by the journal Molecular Systems Biology, shows that when an ageing cell discover serious damage to its DNA (caused by the wear and tear of life) the cell transmits specific distress signals that trigger the cell’s energy-producing power packs, the mitochondria, to manufacture free radical molecules, which in turn give the directions to the cell either to destroy itself or to stop dividing. The cells likely are programmed to do this to avoid allowing the damaged DNA to exist, as that causes cancer.

This study identifies additional major causative factors in addition to the role of telomeres, the protective tips on the ends of human chromosomes, which gradually become shorter as we grow older. This new information does not deny the importance of telomere shortening, but it illustrates that there are additional, vital factors, and the biology is very complicated.

These new findings indicate that we have a much better chance of making a successful attack on age-related diseases while at the same time avoiding the risk of unwanted side-effects such as cancer. We need to be very careful in researching new ways to prevent cellular aging, however, because the last thing we want to do is to help age-damaged cells to become malignant ones.

The Benefits of Human Growth Hormone When Used Correctly

Human Growth Hormone, HGH, has alternatively received both beatings and boosts by the scientific and medical communities and the media. What is HGH? Who should take it?

HGH supplementation was originally approved, and still used today, to help extremely small children attain a more normal adult height. Were it not for HGH, these children would be abnormally short-statured adults.

Although using hormone growth therapy for adults has been both a social and ethical controversy for over 50 years, individuals who inject HGH on a regular basis give glowing testimony of Youth Regained: stronger muscles, faster response time, increased mental acuity and memory, a level of energy they haven’t seen in years, and a reduction of body fat. Mayo Clinic studies have shown that injections of HGH increase bone density and muscle mass, decrease body fat, bolster the heart’s ability to contract, improve mood, and increase exercise capacity. Notwithstanding these fabulous consequences, only adults diagnosed with “adult growth hormone deficiency” are allowed to use HGH.

What is Human Growth Hormone?

HGH, as used today, is also called somatropin. The version used is identical in amino acid sequence to that naturally produced by the human body and is called rhGH for “recombinant” human growth hormone. It’s chemically identical to that produced by the pituitary gland.

Who should take HGH?

Beginning in your 40s, your pituitary gland begins slowing its production of HGH. A continued decrease in HGH will ultimately cause obesity, osteoporosis, mental confusion, decreased immunity and cardiovascular problems such as high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. See any connection between these symptoms and what we’re told to expect as “normal aging”? Of course! Many of the signs of “normal aging” are due in part to a decrease in HGH production, as well as diminution of other hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.

How is HGH best taken?

HGH molecules are too large for the body to absorb them unless injected. The pills, creams and sprays offered on the Internet are useless. Injecting a small, daily dose of HGH is almost completely painless through the use of extremely thin, short needles. Some versions of HGH come in an easy pre-loaded cartridge in a pen-style injector. You dial up the dosage as defined by your physician, inject it once a day, and that’s it. Simple. Easy.

How do I know if I need HGH?

Blood tests can reveal your body’s level of HGH. If extremely low and accompanied by some of the problems noted above, a prescription can be written for you to receive HGH based on a diagnosis of adult human growth deficiency.

When monitored by a qualified physician, HGH supplementation can dramatically increase the quality of your life, while fending off many of the consequences of aging.

DOES EXERCISE REALLY DELAY AGING… and WHAT ARE “TELOMERE’S ANYWAY?”

Exercise is not always a fun activity and often it’s hard to find the time to do it on a regular, ongoing basis – believe me, I know. But I have really great news. We now have direct evidence of the anti-aging benefits of physical exercise. Recent research has proven that exercise does in fact have anti-aging effects at the cellular level, more specifically, on our telomere shortening mechanism which is regarded as our “biological clock.”

“WHAT’S A TELOMERE” YOU ASK…?
Telomeres are “caps” at the end of our chromosomes. These caps buffer against DNA damage which includes cell division, oxidation, inflammation, etc. Telomere dynamics serve as the index of our biological age. As we age, telomeres shorten, fray and degrade. When it becomes too short the cell dies. Exercise activates the critical telomerase enzyme which stabilizes the telomere. This slows down the shortening process, which lengthens the life of body cells, which lengthens our life and the quality of it. Yes, ladies & gentlemen! Exercise really could prevent cardiovascular aging!

RESULTS CONFIRMED – EXERCISE REALLY DOES WORK!
All this good news comes from a team of German scientists who studied professional runners (average age 20) and the effects of intense exercise over a given period of time; results were compared with middle-aged athletes (average age 51) and finally against same aged, untrained, healthy non-smoking athletes who did not exercise regularly. Guess what the results were… The fitness level of the trained athletes was superior. Clearly, age-related telomere loss was significantly lower in those endurance athletes, regardless of age. Ulrich Laufs, MD of Saarland University, Hamburg, Germany was the lead researcher in this study.

I’ve always believed in the virtues of physical activity and continue to practice what I preach to my patients by strongly encouraging everyone to get into a regular fitness program. I’ll be glad to discuss it with you and help you make good choices.

I appreciate the researchers who stayed by the bits and pieces to bring us this good news. There are more studies, with equal results, and which show that our bodies can act and look 10+ years younger than our actual age – if we will do the work!

Let me know how you’re doing in this area and what other questions you may have.

At Rejuvalife Vitality Institute, we work with you from the inside out!

Here’s to your longevity!

Dr. Berger

Anti-Aging Benefits of Multivitamins

Biological age doesn't always equate with chronological age.

Just a short note today, to let you know about a new study that shows your daily multivitamin provides greater health and anti-aging benefits than previously thought. This is good news!

Researchers discovered that regular ingestion of multivitamins can reduce inflammation that leads to disease and biological aging. They determine this by gauging the length of the patient’s Telomeres, which are highly repeated DNA sequences on the ends of chormosomes that protect them from degradation. Every time a cell replicates, its telomere gets shorter, eventually causing cell death. Measuring telomere length is an indicator of cellular aging, and research demonstrates that shortened telomeres are responsible for many of the normal processes of aging.  Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and dementia have strong associations with shorter telomeres.

The ageing and lifespan of normal, healthy cells are linked to the so-called telomerase shortening mechanism, which limits cells to a fixed number of divisions. During cell replication, the telomeres function by ensuring the cell’s chromosomes do not fuse with each other or rearrange, which can lead to cancer. Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomere pioneer at the University of California San Francisco, likened telomeres to the ends of shoelaces, without which the lace would unravel.

With each replication the telomeres shorten, and when the telomeres are totally consumed, the cells are destroyed (apoptosis). Previous studies have also reported that telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative stress.

Dr Chen and his co-workers noted that telomere length may therefore be a marker of biological ageing, and that multivitamins may beneficially affect telomere length via modulation of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

If you’re interested in learning about your biological age, the length of your telomeres, or your genetic predisposition to disease, there are diagnostic tests available to determine all of the above. Give me a call and we can discuss your options. I’ll be posting more information on telomere testing in the very near future, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading,

Andre Berger, M.D.