by Barbara Minton
(The Best Years in Life) Which are you — the person who welcomes aging and decrepitude as a natural part or life, or the person who wants to feel healthy and energetic for as long as possible? If the latter describes you, it’s time to get started on a positive aging program so you can really live ’til you die.
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A positive aging program is one that protects you from cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, diabetes, and the damage that come from oxidation. And it is one that protects your energy and zest for living too. The sooner you get started, the better you will look and feel as the years go by.
Five must-have supplements for positive aging
Selenium — This is the mineral that stands guard against cancer. A large scale study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) involved 1,312 people over an eight-year period. It highlighted the incredible power of selenium. Researchers found that supplementing with trace amounts of selenium produced a 46 percent reduction in lung cancer, a 58 percent reduction in colorectal cancer, and a 63 percent reduction in prostate cancer. This is because selenium elevates the body’s detoxification capabilities and boosts certain enzyme systems in the body that fight free radicals. Selenium even bonds with mercury and escorts it out of the body.
Green vegetables would be high in selenium if they were grown in soil containing adequate amounts of the mineral. But the reality is that most soil has been depleted of selenium as well as other minerals, even soils used to grow organic produce. Population studies have shown that where soils have the lowest amounts of selenium, multi-forms of cancer are rampant.
The best way to be sure you have adequate levels of selenium is to eat two or three Brazil nuts a day. Versions of selenium chelated with methionine would be the next best choice.
Ubiquinol — This is the more bioavailable version of CoQ10, a vitamin-like nutrient naturally produced in the furnace of cells where food, oxygen and water are converted into energy. It’s also available as a supplement. The heart muscle contains highly concentrated amounts of Ubiquinol, due to the high energy requirements of cells located there. Ubiquinol is one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants.
Declines in ubiquinol result in less cellular energy and diminished protection against oxidative stress. This is stress produced by free radicals that can damage proteins, fats and DNA, allowing degenerative diseases to get started. Studies have reported dramatic decreases in CoQ10 levels and increased oxidative stress associated with the aging process and with many age-related conditions.
The ability to produce CoQ10 and convert it to ubiquinol for use in the body starts to diminish in the 30s and is apparent in 40 year olds. Restoring this vital nutrient to optimal levels by supplementing can help you experience the energy levels you had when much younger.
If you are currently taking statin drugs, be aware that they block production of CoQ10, and are behind most of the devastating side effects you are experiencing.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) –
Many health experts are keenly aware that chronic inflammation is behind may disease states. Much of the beneficial activity of NAC comes from its actions to modulate gene expression throughout the inflammatory pathway. NAC inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and suppresses nuclear factor-kappa B, which in turn prevents activation of several other inflammatory mediators. NAC regulates the gene for the COX 2 enzyme that is behind the pain and inflammatory prostaglandins in many chronic conditions.