I know that exercise is Alice's domain, but I just have to tell you about this remarkable new discovery just published in the September 21 issue of the journal Cell, by researchers from Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with scientists from Cornell Medical School and the National Institutes of Health.
It has been 70 years since scientists determined that following a calorie restricted diet increased longevity, but no one has really understood why. In the past few years researchers have determined that the stress created by the continuous calorie deficit somehow turned on protective machinery in the cell that slowed the aging process. Last year scientists announced that resveratrol, a compound found in red wine and grape juice, turned on a longevity gene in the sirtuin family of genes called SIRT1. (If you haven't read this news, you need to know that it takes ALOT of red wine to get the effects that they saw in the study using a resveratrol supplement dose in animals.)
Now scientists have discovered 2 other sirtuin genes, SIRT3 and SIRT4, that play a vital role in longevity. Mitochondria, organelles inside cells that act as energy powerhouses for the cell and the body, seem to be at the crux of the aging process. As long as mitochondria are running at full tilt, cells stay healthy. When mitochondria activity begins to fade, energy is drained out of the cells and cells die.
According to a report of the study,
"In this paper, Sinclair and his collaborators discovered that SIRT3 and SIRT4 play a vital role in a longevity network that maintains the vitality of mitochondria and keeps cells healthy when they would otherwise die.When cells undergo caloric restriction, signals sent in through the membrane activate a gene called NAMPT. As levels of NAMPT ramp up, a small molecule called NAD begins to amass in the mitochondria. This, in turn, causes the activity of enzymes created by the SIRT3 and SIRT4 genes--enzymes that live in the mitochondria--to increase as well. As a result, the mitochondria grow stronger, energy-output increases, and the cell's aging process slows down significantly."
Now, you know that the idea of serious calorie restriction is not my idea of health promotion or feeling good. But the great thing about this news is that EXERCISE DOES THE SAME THING!! This same process described above is also activated by exercise. Mitochondrial function has also been targeted recently for cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration medical interventions.
So don't live a life of restriction. Get out and get moving! Here's the new motto of the future: Exercise and eat well to live long and prosper!
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner