Can You Live To Age 99?

When Teddy Roosevelt was president, the average American lived to their mid-forties. Today we live nearly twice that long. Stem cells, cloning, nanotechnology and other “high-tech” methods are expected to bring life expectancy to “science fiction” levels.

According to the U .S. Department of Health and Human Services, the leading causes of death are “aging diseases” such as heart disease (31%), cancer (23%) and strokes (7%). If these causes were eliminated, according to the journal Science, the average life expectancy would rise to 99.4 years. Ronald M. Klatz, M.D., D.O., President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, offers these life extension tips:

”Gain 13 years protecting your cardiovascular system by keeping your total cholesterol below 200, LDL (bad cholesterol) below 150 and HDL (good cholesterol) above 45. Perform a half-hour of aerobic exercise and 15 minutes of strength training 3-4 times/week. Have yearly cardiovascular screening tests after 40 and take antioxidants on a daily basis.”

Dr. Klatz’s personal daily antioxidant regimen consists of 90 mg. of CoEnzyme Q-10, 10,000 mg. of beta carotene, 2,000 mg. of vitamin C, 800 mg. of vitamin E and 400 mcg. Of selenium, as well as magnesium, B6, and pantothenic acid.

However, the American Dietetic Association believes that “People should get their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals from the food they eat.” The recommended daily allowance may be met by “consuming 2-3 servings of dairy, 3-5 servings of vegetables, 2-3 servings of meat, poultry fish, eggs and nuts, 6-11 servings of breads, rice and pasta and 2-4 servings of fruit per day.” They caution that this may not be sufficient for those who are too busy to eat properly, ill, elderly, and those on restricted diets (e.g. vegetarians, and those who avoid dairy). In fact, “40% of females are deficient in calcium and many in folate.”

Gail Frank, PhD., spokesman for the American Dietetics Association, feels that most Americans taking supplements are “worried well,” swallowing supplements needlessly. She’s concerned about their upper tolerable limits, although she’s never personally seen these negative effects. According to the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Klatz’s recommendations are within the safety guidelines. In fact, both spokespeople for the American Dietetic Association take a multivitamin/minerals in spite of their best efforts to eat properly.

Dr. Klatz further advises to, “Gain 3 years with early cancer detection, since 90% of cancer is curable in its earliest stage” (e.g. PSA testing, fecal blood analysis, PAP smears…).

”Gain 1.4 years preventing adult-onset diabetes by maintaining ideal body weight, exercising…” and eating properly.

Drive a car weighing over 3500 pounds and buckle-up every time.

Protect yours body from stress by meditation, owning a dog, prayer, daily exercise, and consuming the nutrients already described.

Get adequate sleep by setting a regular sleep schedule, avoiding alcohol or drugs before bedtime, darkening your bedroom, and using eye shades (light disrupts natural Melatonin production).

Build new mental circuits–Play chess, answer questions on Jeopardy, volunteer, and take adult classes.

Drink 6-10 glasses of distilled non-tap water per day since water makes up 60% our body. The U.S. government has reported that 53 million Americans drink water containing potentially dangerous chemicals. A mineral supplement may be necessary, however, since they are not present in this type of water.

These tips may help you stay around to see the truly great longevity advances 10-30 years away. Scheduling an appointment to discuss these and other longevity ideas with your doctor may be the best hour you’ve ever spent.

Originally published in: Investor’s Business Daily

Diabetes Prevention and Management

Diabetes is a hormone disorder that can cause problems with the kidneys, legs and feet, eyes, heart, nerves, and blood flow.Diabetes can cause many complications. Acute complications (hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis or nonketotic hyperosmolar coma) may occur if the disease is not adequately controlled. Diabetes is on the increase, probably because people are living longer, getting fatter and leading increasingly inactive lifestyles. Diabetes, without qualification, usually refers to diabetes mellitus, but there are several rarer conditions also named diabetes. The most common of these is diabetes insipidus in which the urine is not sweet; it can be caused by either kidney or pituitary gland damage. The term “type 1 diabetes” has universally replaced several former terms, including childhood-onset diabetes, juvenile diabetes, and insulin-dependent diabetes. “Type 2 diabetes” has also replaced several older terms, including adult-onset diabetes, obesity-related diabetes, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes. About 3 to 8 percent of pregnant women in the United States develop gestational diabetes.

Diabetes can also cause heart disease, stroke and even the need to remove a limb. Pregnant women can also get diabetes, called gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes mellitus—formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM), childhood diabetes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus—previously known as adult-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes may include fatigue, thirst, weight loss, blurred vision and frequent urination. Some people have no symptoms. A blood test can show if you have diabetes. Exercise, weight control and sticking to your meal plan can help control your diabetes. Most people affected by type 1 diabetes are otherwise healthy and of a healthy weight when onset occurs. Diet and exercise cannot reverse or prevent type 1 diabetes. Gestational diabetes is caused by the hormones of pregnancy or a shortage of insulin. Women with gestational diabetes may not experience any symptoms.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by recurrent or persistent hyperglycemia. Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans. About 54 million Americans have prediabetes. Medications have also been shown to provide similar benefit. Both diabetes drugs metformin and Precose have been shown to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in people with this pre-diabetes condition. A group of medicines known as ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors are sometimes used to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular complications in diabetes and can also reduce the risk or progression of kidney and eye diseases. Microscopic or nanotechnological approaches are under investigation as well, in one proposed case with implanted stores of insulin metered out by a rapid response valve sensitive to blood glucose levels. Medications to treat diabetes include insulin and glucose-lowering pills called oral hypoglycemic drugs. Insulin preparations differ in how quickly they start to work and how long they remain active. Stop smoking, which hinders blood flow to the feet.

Diabetes Treatment and Prevention Tips

1. Diabetes is usually controlled by a healthy diet and regular exercise.

2. Magnesium may play a significant role in preventing Type 2 diabetes.

3. Use of metformin, rosiglitazone and valsartan.

4. Exercise, weight control and sticking to your meal plan can help control your diabetes.

5. Glucose in the blood is produced by the liver from the foods you eat.

6. Oral medications are still insufficient, insulin medications are considered.

7. Maintaining an ideal body weight and an active lifestyle may prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

8. Strict control of blood glucose, or blood sugar, as well as blood pressure

A Look Towards The Future of Cell Phones

As with all technologies, there is a push from handset developers to constantly bring to market innovative new designs that will greatly appeal to consumers.

Finnish handset giant Nokia introduced a concept device they dubbed “The Morph.” The Morph, still very much a concept device with no intended plans to manufacture or release, takes mobile smartphone devices miles beyond what is currently available on the market today. The Morph would take advantage of nanotechnology to incorporate a wide variety of uses into one device; from the standard features of voice, and data to the more whimsical features of being able to analyze the air quality and possible contaminants on the food you are about to eat. The Morph would not just be a unique device capable of a large variety of functions; it would also serve as a unique and stylish accessory. The Morph’s design would make it capable of being physically manipulated to change its form factor. It could be stretched out into a device with a full sized QWERTY keyboard, making it easier to communicate. It could be folded up into the size of a credit card for easy storage; and it could even be folded to be worn on your wrist as a watch. As already mentioned, this device is very much a concept phone. Nokia, currently, has no plans in the works to develop this concept into a viable marketable device. However, several of the features discussed in the concept will be slowly incorporated into devices that will be developed over the next few years.

Other handset developers, like NEC and BenQ have released information about their own pliable concept phones; their concepts do not incorporate all of the same technology the Nokia Morph has, but they’re still very interesting designs.

With the release of the Apple iPhone several other handset developers have followed with their own touch screen smart phones capable of providing users with the same features and technology they’d expect from the popular iPhone. With upcoming handset releases users can expect to see more touch screen technology integrated along with the continued ability to use mobile phones for more than just phone calls. As more functionality is incorporated into the devices, users can expect to see dramatic changes in the designs of the phones; larger screens, fold out keyboards, and a move towards handsets without buttons.

As consumers feel the urge to “Go Green”, mobile phone developers are going to take this into account and start changing the way they build their handsets. The elimination of toxic components is the first start towards going green with the inclusion of more recycled components into the handsets. The plastic casing of mobile phones can be made, in large part, from recycled and renewable materials. Developers are also going to start to make the move towards increasing the battery life of phones while developing phones that use less energy to gain a full charge. Nokia has already built into their phones an alert that will let users know when their phone is fully charged, urging them to disconnect their phones.

There are so many directions the mobile phone industry can take us in it is hard to pinpoint exactly where the technology is going to take us. However, what is certain is that the future of mobile phone technology is a bright one full of possibilities as innovative handset makers and wireless carriers take steps to not only make our lives easier with better communication devices, but take the steps needed to ensure the technologies keep up with our demands.

Austria Attracting Indian SMEs

Austria, one of the richest countries of the European Union (EU), has strong trade ties with other European nations. In recent times, the Austrian economy has been growing at a steady pace, with its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate hovering around 1.6% in 2008.

Austria is geographically close to several developed economies in Europe, such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It is also a preferred trade destination owing to its optimal access to the European market.

The present Austrian government has outlined a comprehensive economic reform programme to create a business-friendly environment in the country. It has also initiated efforts to strengthen Austria’s position as a lucrative investment destination. Motivated by the steps taken by the Austrian government to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, a growing number of Indian SMEs are entering the Austrian market to gain maximum profits.

Indo-Austrian trade relations

Austria’s proximity to the thriving EU countries makes it a strategic link for Indian SMEs eyeing expansion in Europe. As a result, bilateral trade between India and Austria has grown at a healthy rate in the past few years. Notably, total trade between India and Austria was pegged at $769.02 million in 2007-08, significantly higher than $587.09 million recorded in 2006-07.

India imports transport equipment, paper, machinery, steel, Chemicals Products and metals from Austria. While India’s export basket for Austria comprises coffee, leather and leather goods, chemicals, textiles, jewellery and precious stones.

Industry Experts believe that there is ample scope for mutual cooperation between Indian and Austrian SMEs in areas like food processing, biotechnology, tourism, steel and pharmaceuticals. Indian SMEs can also forge strategic tie-ups with their Austrian counterparts to gain technical expertise in fields like electronics, nanotechnology and telecommunications.

forums

To promote bilateral trade between India and Austria, governments of both countries have set up a Joint Economic Commission (JEC), which is actively involved in enhancing trade volumes between the two countries. There is also the Austria-India Interest Group (AIBIG) in Vienna that promotes trade ties between Indian and Austrian SMEs.

In 2007, an agreement on science and technology (S&T) cooperation was signed between India and Austria to take the bilateral relations to the next level. These efforts are expected to play a major role in strengthening Indo-Austrian trade relations in the near future.

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The Gene composite

 

There is a set of numerous genes in the complex body structure, which controls the diversity in features, attitudes, behavior, and, in many cases, but by no means in all, the impact of disease and resistance to inducing pathogens. The number of huge variants that are known to be present, approach between 600.000 and 2 million. However, only a few dozen traits are well enough understood in the gene -market companies, which are associated with the risk of developing diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease or diabetes.

However, there is continuous effort particularly with advance of nanotechnology, to accumulate a large enough database of genetic variants that are linked to disease -susceptible or other traits. Some genome-scanning companies are already beginning to do this with customers’ data.  The issue here is to convince 100, 00 or more volunteers in order to put their genome sequences in a public database. This is as long as one is not worried about privacy issues and medical secrecy. Learning about one’s genes may put the person to a certain awareness (e.g. 20%) of the risk of developing disease now or in future, but might not be enough for the person does a certain activity e.g. diet-watching, taking medicine or avoiding smoking etc.

The sequencing of whole genomes is still too slow and expensive, not to mention the complexity of their effects or complex aggregate effects in controlling certain single or composite variants.

The genome study was extended to other various beings, e.g. animals and plants.  Genome sequencing and assignment to a certain trait, led to the discovery in subduing certain features e.g. susceptibility to certain disease, pathogen or infection. At least, this gained some success in certain GM modified plants, e.g. the canola, and maize corn wherein there was increased productivity and resistance to pathogens.

But again, the question that may arise, are these modified genomes, controlling only one variant, or several others that we are not aware of? Loss of palatability, taste, and nutritional value are known to occur in the GM plants and food derived from them. There is always the notion that at least more than one variant may be associated with a genome or indeed, a multiple of these, which may act concordantly.

Also what applies for plants may apply to human beings and animals alike. The suppression or enhancement of a certain trait may not be as simple as it looks. The complexity here is well warranted; and unless we exhaustively exploit the gene-factor mechanism, we will be still groping in the dark.

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