#longevitydiet

Are you struggling to shake these stubborn pounds off your body? Did you try different diets, but the weight comes back again? Actually, it is not your fault, and you are not alone.Multiple studies showed that most diets do not work in the long term (see more below). The better way is to establish your own healthy diet that meets your goal and desires and stick to it. All you need just find replacements for unhealthy food in your current diet that, if done correctly, might be not only healthier but also tastier. You can find good ideas in the books listed below. We are providing three revival recipes for delicious salads, which will diversify your diet and provide healthy nutrition. These salads were reported to help to lose weight as well. Scientists are making significant progress in a search for treatments and therapies to treat overweighting problems, especially in relation to aging.  Most recent developments are related to the usage of nanoparticles for fat-directed therapies and a special molecule to mimic exercise (read more below).

Stop dieting! It is worthless...

A frustrating pattern is familiar to almost anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight. Taking pounds off is hard enough, and ... over time, they seem to come right back on. So... Why do diets not work? What is diet? In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. At its most basic, the term refers to nutritional and lifestyle changes that a person makes to improve their health. But we are more familiar with the use of the word “diet” as a temporary and highly restrictive program of eating in order to lose weight.  According to Wikipedia, there are more than 150 various diets in existence. Countless trendy plans have emerged in recent decades, from Atkins to Zone. Some are designed to restrict calories, while others limit fat or carbs or cut out certain foods such as sugar and legumes.  It’s estimated that 45 million people go on a diet each year, and according to the Grand View Research report, the weight management market was valued at $288 billion in 2020. Why do diets not work? Well, they do work, but in the short term only. A key study that highlights the unsustainability of dietary weight loss was demonstrated by the Women’s Health Initiative. It was one of the largest and longest randomized controlled diet interventions and followed 20,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79 who maintained a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet for a duration of 9 years. As seen on the graph, we can see that initially, in the first year of making dietary changes, the women lost weight (as shown with black dots). However, even though these women diligently maintained their diet and tracked their intake over the course of this study, they gained it back over 9 years. Similar trends were observed with many diets despite their differences. The systematic review on comparison of dietary macronutrient patterns of 14 popular named dietary programs for weight and cardiovascular risk factor reduction showed that most diets, regardless of which one, lead to weight loss and lower blood pressure, but these desired effects largely disappear after a year. The companies promoting the diet culture want you to diet. They make you think that it is your lack of willpower that causes you not to be able to eat “correctly” or lose weight. They place the blame on the individual, who has no "self-control to eat right,” and "keep the weight off." This idea is far from the truth, but the dieting industry wants people to believe it! They want people to go back to dieting, which means more money in companies’ pockets. If dieting really worked, then the entire dieting industry would tank overnight. Not only do diets fail at making us thinner, but they also make us unhealthier. Dieting to lose weight leads to food and body preoccupation, overeating and food bingeing, lower self-esteem, weight cycling, disordered eating behaviors, and eating disorders. So... the first step towards permanent healthy weight loss is, somewhat ironically, to lose the diet and the diet mindset. What is the alternative? Typically, a diet assumes that you will have to eat less food, which also tastes less good, and this is for a certain period of time. According to Dr. Kris Verburgh, a medical doctor, researcher, and author who specializes in health, aging,  the future of medicine, and biotechnology, “That’s wrong on three levels.” “All health benefits matter only if you stick to a diet your whole life, and that doesn’t work for most diets.” Eating against your will? If healthy is not tasty, then there is something wrong with the recipes, according to Verburgh. And why eat less? “If you eat healthy, you automatically lose weight.” In his book The Longevity Code, Dr. Kris Verburgh explained the science behind our metabolism leading to being overweight, the role of sugar, carbohydrates, and fats that we consume, the problem with diets, and many more. The book is written in a very easy-to-understand language and provides guidance toward healthy choices in food and lifestyle in general. He is also the author of another book, The Food Hourglass. Based on the latest scientific discoveries about nutrition and the aging process, this book shows you how to slow down the signs of aging through what you eat and lose weight in the process. You can find similar approaches to a healthy diet in the book The Longevity Diet by Dr. Valter Longo, the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. This book accumulates 25 years of research on aging, nutrition, and disease across the globe.  Thus... What you eat determines how long, and how well, you will live.  The best answer to dieting is a lifelong program of everyday healthy, pleasurable eating. And do not forget about regular exercise. You do not need to run marathons to stay healthy, but you need to move. at least periodically. Talk to your doctor, a nutritionist, and perhaps a health coach, and, together, decide on dietary and other lifestyle changes that appeal to you. Then stick with them. More likely, these lifestyle changes you might actually like because they will make you feel better. We are currently accumulating and analyzing recommendations and tips for a healthy nutrition based on the most recent scientific discoveries, research achievements, and extensive human studies. It will be the representation of the "longevity diet" in our upcoming posts. Here, we represent three recipes of tasty salads (see below), which can be easily incorporated into your diet. Below are also a few facts about weight loss that might surprise you, and you can find much more here. Why diets don’t actually work, according to a researcher who has studied them for decadesA qualitative investigation of dieting, weight loss, and physical exercise, in obese individualsFew facts about weight loss that might surprise you - The amount eaten at dinner depends on the lighting. The brighter the light, the less you will eat - this conclusion came to German scientists. The lack of light distorts the portion size (it seems smaller), and the amount eaten is more difficult to control. - 15 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to 60 minutes of running. In biomechanics, running is a series of jumps with a relaxed phase of flight after a jolt. When working with a rope, the muscles of the lower legs of both legs contract simultaneously, and circular movements are made in the shoulder joints. This almost 4 times increases the load. - Weight depends on the condition of the teeth. It is proven: people with severe wear of the chewing surface and diseases of the teeth and oral cavity gain weight twice as fast. Cause: impaired digestion and metabolism due to insufficient chewing of food.  - Aromatherapy helps to lose weight. There are aromas that send signals to the brain about saturation. For example, the smell of peppermint, apples, and bananas. Keep a bottle of essential oil on your desktop and periodically bring it to your nose during bouts of severe hunger. When choosing an apple or banana as a snack, try to chew it as slowly as possible to prolong the flavor.  - Dog owners gain weight more slowly. Scientists at the University of Michigan estimate that pet owners make 34% more movements every day! Walking the dog is an excellent cardio load, which triples energy costs.  - Calcium deficiency increases appetite. Specialists of the Faculty of Medicine of Laval conducted a study: they divided women prone to obesity into two groups and offered a different diet. The basis of the menu of the first group was products with a high calcium content, and the second - with a low one. Result: a menu enriched with calcium helps to lose weight several times faster.  - Lack of sleep leads to weight gain. During sleep, the body produces leptin - a hormone that stimulates metabolism and the mechanism of hunger / saturation. Constant lack of sleep leads to its lack. Bottom line: metabolic disorders.  - Legumes help to transfer the diet more easily. Legumes allow you to avoid food breakdowns. The effect is achieved due to the low digestion rate. John Sievenpiper (St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto) proved that those who eat one serving of legumes per day do not experience acute bouts of hunger during the day.

Advances in weight loss approaches

Why do we talk about NAD+ again? Because it is the most important molecule for life to exist, and our health directly depends on its amount in our body!This post will help you to understand how your body gets NAD+, how it uses it, and why its level decrease with age based on the latest studies and discoveries. Also... It contains practical advice on how to measure, maintain and potentially increase your NAD+ levels, including references to useful products and services. The three recipes below are from the book "The Longevity Diet: Slow Aging, Fight Disease, Optimize Weight" by Dr. Valter Longo; that definitely worth adding to your diet.

How does our body get NAD+?

Just to remind, NAD+ stands for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, a crucial coenzyme that can be found in every cell in your body. NAD+ works as a shuttle bus, transferring electrons from one molecule to another within cells to carry out all sorts of reactions and processes. With its molecular counterpart, NADH, this vital molecule participates in various metabolic reactions that generate our cell’s energy. Without sufficient NAD+ levels, our cells wouldn’t be able to generate any energy to survive and carry out their functions. Other functions of NAD+ include regulating our circadian rhythm, which controls our body’s sleep/wake cycle.  Basically, without NAD+, we would be on the fast track to death. In our previous post, we already showed what food sources provide us with NAD+ precursors for its synthesis inside the cells. There are five major precursors and intermediates to synthesize NAD+: tryptophan (Trp), nicotinamide (NAM), nicotinic acid also known as niacin (NA), nicotinamide riboside (NR), and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN).  NAD+ can be synthesized de novo by the conversion of the amino acid tryptophan (Trp) through multiple enzymatic steps to nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NAMN). This is one of three known pathways to produce NAD+ in a body, called the Kynurenine pathway. You can find more information on how NAD+ is made by this pathway here. NAD+ can also be made by the Preiss–Handler pathway starting from niacin (NA), a form of vitamin B3. It is known for producing flushing when taken in high amounts. Conversion to NAD+ proceeds in several enzymatic steps. NANM is an intermediate in the pathway, so de novo synthesis from tryptophan shares several steps in this pathway to complete NAD+ synthesis. But most of our NAD+ we get from the third pathway,  called the Salvage pathway. This pathway converts nicotinamide (NAM) to NAD+ with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) as an intermediate. Learn more here.

How is NAD+ consumed in the body?

We already know that NAD+ is a vital coenzyme in redox reactions. It is responsible for accepting "high energy" electrons and carrying them ultimately to the electron transport chain, where they are used to synthesize ATP molecules. Why is it important? Because ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is an important “energy molecule” found in all life forms. ATP captures chemical energy obtained from the breakdown of food molecules and releases it to fuel cellular processes, such as transcription, DNA replication, DNA repair, and many others. NAD+ has a cofactor in the process of ATP synthesis, which is flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD+).  FAD+ is a coenzyme form of vitamin B2. When these electron-carrier molecules (NAD+ and FAD+) accept the electrons, they are reduced into NADH and FADH2 (redox reactions). These electrons usually come in the form of hydride atoms. Reduced forms are oxidized back to NAD+ and FAD+ during ATP synthesis. So, here, NAD+ is in the cycle. But... NAD+ is also constantly consumed in cells by the action of a number of NAD+ consumers, including sirtuins, PARP enzymes, SARM1, and CD38. Let's go over with each of these enzymes. Learn more here.

Why does NAD+ decline with age?

NAD+ levels decline in many tissues with age, and this decline is believed to contribute to the aging process. Multiple factors can play a role in the decline, including dietary deficiencies for NAD+ precursors, changes in the expression levels of enzymes that transform dietary precursors to NAD+, or changes in the activity of enzymes that break down NAD+ (see above).  Diet-induced metabolic damage is related to increased activity of PARPs and CD38 following increased DNA damage and inflammation, and NAD+ consumption.  A sedentary lifestyle could be enough to decrease mitochondrial amounts in muscles and, consequently, NAD+ levels, even in the absence of a disease state or changes in NAD+-consuming enzyme activities. There is also a suggestion that the synthesis of NAD+ declines with age and fails to compensate for its consumption. The constant degradation of NAD+ by enzymes involved in various cellular processes requires a continuous resupply of it by synthesis from dietary precursors or recycling from NAD+ degradation products. As shown above, NAD+ recycling via the NAM salvage pathway is a fundamental step to restore NAD+ levels after irreversible degradation mediated by the different classes of NAD+-consuming enzymes (Sirtuins, PARPs, CD38, and SARM1). Learn more here.

How to measure NAD+ level?

Learn more here.