College of Naturopathic Medicine Research Director Gosia Desmond reveals the secrets of the anti-ageing lifestyle

In our youth-oriented culture, senility, disability, grief and despair follow old age as inescapably as death and taxes.
Press, TV, celebrities promote new anti-ageing quick-fixes on a daily basis and we spend millions on youth-promoting cosmetics or treatments, believing the miracles (which never happen).
The great news is that according to the latest advances in medical science, we do not need to spend a fortune to get the best anti-ageing treatment available. Rather, scientists are now advocating that we can significantly slow down the metabolic ageing process and live up to a decade longer in good health simply by adopting a healthier lifestyle - eating the right diet, exercising regularly and effectively managing stress in our lives.
In a society obsessed with appearances, ageing is often associated with wrinkles and grey hair. In actuality, the ageing process is much more complex and affects all of our internal organs, our immune system, our nervous system, and our mental processes.
We know now, that the choices we make during our lives will have a profound effect on how young we are both on the outside and on the inside.

Lessons in Longevity

There are some populations around the world where people consistently embody health, well-being and vitality until the very end. Residents of Okinawa, the Hunza Valley, and Seventh-day Adventists from Loma Linda in California, live longer and healthier lives than just about anyone else on Earth.
The three leading killers in the West: coronary artery disease, stroke, and cancer-occur in the elderly Okinawans with the lowest frequency of any population of elders thoroughly studied by modern science!
They are 85% less likely to die from breast cancer, 88% less likely to die from prostate cancer; 70% less likely to die from ovarian and colon cancer.
Seventh-Day Adventists mens’ mortality from coronary heart disease and cancer of all sites is 70% and 50% lower in comparison to their Non-Adventist US counterparts respectively.
These groups produce a high rate of centenarians that enjoy full health late into their lives.

The Secrets of Healthy Centenarians

The Seventh-day Adventists and Okinawans that have given researchers the best opportunity to answer fundamental questions about human health and longevity, as other residents of California or Japan with the same ethnic background live shorter and ‘sicker’ lives when compared with their Adventist or Okinawan neighbours.

Two major research programmes conducted over the last 40 years by the Californian Loma Linda University on 24,000 and 34,000 Californian Seventh-day Adventists (funded by the US National Institute of Health) along with the 34-year-old Okinawa Centenarian Study conducted by the Japan Ministry
of Health and Welfare have given us detailed insight into the secrets of long and healthy life.

Apart from their extraordinary low incidence of heart disease and cancer, the studies show that Seventh-day Adventists and Okinawans live 5-10 years longer than average and have a much lower rate of diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, osteoporosis and dementia.

Moreover, it is no accident -most of those spectacular health results are not down to their good genes! Experts say that only 30% of the actual ageing process is down to inherited good genes; the rest is good habits!

What do they know that the rest of us do not?

It turns out, that there are 3 crucial elements to anti-ageing lifestyle: healthy diet, regular physical activity and stress reduction.

This is no news to anybody; however what might be surprising, is the extent to which these 3 rules are applied by the healthy centenarians.

Essentially, for nearly 140 years, Seventh-day Adventists have been encouraged to follow an unrefined, plant-based diet, avoid meat and consume 5-9 servings of fruits, vegetables along with nuts in their diets on a daily basis. The Adventists men report 50% more ‘sweaty exercise’ sessions per week than their non-Adventists US neighbours.

Apart from being physically active all day long, the elderly Okinawan centenarians consume two-to-three times as much fruits and vegetables than us, and up 10 times less meat and dairy products. None of them consumes any refined foods like biscuits, cakes, etc.

In addition, both Okinawans and the Adventists have larger network of social support by being more involved in an organization with a significant social function and share tremendous respect for the elderly.

The Science Behind a Plant-Based Diet

As the studies of the Seventh-day Adventists show, through a combination of healthy diet, regular exercise and positive mental attitude, we can actually slow the metabolic ageing process. Looking at diet alone, how does an unrefined, plant-based diet work at increasing longevity?

1. High Nutrient Density
Fruit and vegetables contain not just vitamins and minerals but also phytochemicals (e.g. carotenoids and flavonoids). Through their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, they may provide the necessary protection to prevent a number of ageing parameters. The antioxidants neutralise free radicals, which are highly reactive substances that damage cells, contribute to ageing and encourage many serious diseases, such as heart disease, dementia and cancer. Moreover, plant phytochemicals can boost our internal detoxification system and plant phytonutrients can have direct effects on neuronal communication, boosting our mental power.

2. Low Caloric Density
Excess calories produce numerous metabolic disturbances within the body that can contribute to degenerative diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Additionally, excessive caloric intake is thought to be one of the most important factors in the ageing process. In unrefined form, we can eat as much fruit and vegetables as we like without consuming excess calories, and at the same time providing our bodies with all the valuable nutrients and antioxidants that slow down the ageing process. Fruit and vegetables are the most important food components in a healthy weight loss.

3. Low in Saturated Fat
Excess saturated fat ages our arteries and our immune system. It can lead to increased insulin levels in the body and can also increase our levels of AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products), which are powerful promoters of ageing, especially skin ageing. Lastly, high fat diets can age our brain, contributing to cognitive decline.

4. High in Fibre
Fibre helps to minimise the process of AGE (Advanced Glycation End-products) formation, decreases the levels of insulin, keeps our cholesterol down and helps to reduce inflammation! It is a truly powerful anti-ageing diet component.

Following an unrefined, plant-based diet, taking regular physical exercise and encouraging a positive mental attitude can work miracles. This lifestyle does not only work for Seventh-day Adventists – rather, it has been proven in numerous scientific experiments to reverse advanced coronary artery disease, to control/reverse diabetes (type 2) and most recently at Harvard University to reverse the growth of prostate cancer by altering the genes responsible for tumour growth.
In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, it was even shown to reverse the age of the heart by 15 years!

The evidence for the efficacy of a plant-based diet is increasing all the time. In fact, the American Institute for Cancer Research have launched a campaign to challenge the current food pyramid and to convince Americans to adopt a more plant-based diet. Its anti-ageing properties are well-known to celebrities like Demi Moore, Tiger Woods, Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood, all of whom follow this diet and lifestyle.

Five Top Tips for Implementing the Anti-Ageing Way of Eating

1. Increase your fruit and vegetable intake – remember 9 is the new 5!
2. Minimise intake of red meat and meats in general, explore pulses as your source of protein
3. Avoid all processed meats
4. Be careful with oils – even plant oils should only be taken in moderation
5. Replace refined grains in your diet with whole grains
6. Consume processed foods on very special occasions only

Gosia Desmond (BSc Nutritional Med, M.BS.,MA,) is head of nutrition research at the College of Naturopathic Medicine. She will be hosting a seminar on the role of nutrition and lifestyle in the prevention of cancer on the 27th March. More details at www.naturopathy-uk.com.

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