Healthy Squirt from Fountain of Youth Does Exist

We write this letter in response to “Antioxidants Not an Aging Cure-all”

by Andrew Holtzen, published in college newspapers, and in particular, in the
Daily Kent Stater of Kent State University on 09/01/10. We do not present
this as a criticism, but more as an addendum, because we are in basic
agreement with his over-all premise. However, he leaves us short of
answering the obvious next question, that being: If antioxidants don’t give us
a longer life, is there anything that does? Fortunately, true life extension
beyond the normal life expectancy does exist in the form of a regimen called
caloric restriction (CR). Although antioxidants mop up free radicals and
reduce certain morbidities, we agree with Holtzen that they do not induce
extended life expectancy. Conversely, however, CR actually accomplishes
this goal, in great part, by preventing the creation of free radicals in the first
place.
When organisms, spanning the gamut from the simplest single celled
types to the most complex multi-cellular forms, are held at a diet about 40%
below their average ad-libitum (at liberty) eating caloric intake, their length of
life expectancy is dramatically increased beyond the normal maximum. This
calorically reduced diet is called CR. Although this is not yet proven in
humans (mostly because we live too long for the results to be in yet), it has
been demonstrated in about 98% of the evolutionary time line from primitive
yeast cells to the monkey/primate branch leading to humans. In fact, just this
year, it was observed in one of our closer relatives, the rhesus monkey. Data
extrapolation to humans indicates that life extension would be somewhere in
the 20-35% range, which translates to about 15-25 years. Significant.
Better yet, the CR molecular pathway control system has been
elucidated and can be activated by CR mimetics, such as metformin,
rapamycin, and perhaps, with high bioavailability resveratrol. CR mimetics
are highly preferable to CR alone, as unsupervised CR risks anorexia and is an
uncomfortably draconian life style. Under the influence of CR or its mimetics,
a nutrient sensing response pathway, called AMPK/TOR is
activated/deactivated to turn on and off many hundreds of genes that stimulate
cellular debris housecleaning systems and cell fuel burning efficiency
systems. These fuel burning systems normally produce most of our body’s age
accelerating free radicals, and free radical production virtually shuts down
when fuel burning is rendered efficient by CR or its mimetics.
The loss of fuel burning efficiency is now known to be a primary cause
of the three major diseases of aging, which result in about 85% of aging
related human death; those three being cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
cancer. Interestingly, the cancer cell fuel burning inefficiency hypothesis was
initially formulated at Kent State University nearly thirty years ago. Although
it was disregarded by most of the cancer research community at that time, it
has recently been re-awakened and is a central focus of major and prestigious
cancer research institutions, today. That says a lot for the educational training
and ‘out of the box’ creative thought processes provided by KSU. Thirty
years! Talk about forward thinking. We are also gratified to see that KSU is
finally recognized so highly in the national academic rankings.
People interested in CR mimetics, life extension and related subjects can
search engine them under headlines such as caloric restriction, aerobic
glycolysis and cancer, caloric restriction mimetics, Bambeck resveratrol,
AMPK/TOR pathway, mitochondrial biogenesis, molecular mechanisms of
aging, life extension etc. Although we have not yet actually found the fountain
of youth, we are definitely becoming able to sip from one of its significant
tributaries.

Gregory S. Bambeck Ph.D. Michael Wolfson J.D., M.B.A.

gregorybambeck@yahoo.com mwolfson@stanfordalumni.org