Newly diagnosed cancer patients should be given exercise and nutrition plans in order to boost their chances of recovery and survival, charities say.
The report suggests that a diagnosis of cancer is a 'teachable moment' to encourage better health habits CREDIT: PA
Experts said that those about to embark on treatment should be given personalised recommendations about their lifestyles, in order to “maximise” their resilience to treatment.
The report by Macmillan Cancer Support, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the National Institute for Health Research Cancer and Nutrition Collaboration called for the introduction of “prehabilitation" as soon as possible after a diagnosis.
Their experts said that a diagnosis could provide a “teachable moment” for patients to quit unhealthy habits, such as smoking or excess drinking.
And they said that all patients could improve their long-term chances of recovery and survival, by getting in optimum shape before treatment began.
The recommendations follow a series of studies which have shown exercise can cut the chance of an early death. US research from Yale University found daily brisk walk of just 25 minutes was found to almost halve mortality among breast cancer sufferers.
The new report suggests those diagnosed with cancer should be encouraged to eat healthily, with lots of fruit and vegetables, limiting alcohol to 14 units a week or less, keeping to a healthy weight, stopping smoking and taking regular exercise of 150 minutes a week if possible.
It says: "People are less vulnerable to the side effects of cancer treatment if they are as healthy as possible, physically and psychologically.”
In some cases, improvements in fitness and nutrition could mean patients became strong enough to access treatments which might not have otherwise been tolerated, it said.
The report said healthy eating was particularly important because the disease and treatment for it increase the risk of malnutrition.
The organisations said that giving those diagnosed with cancer help to improve their fitness and nutrition could also help patients to “reclaim a sense of control”.
June Davis, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "We want to see prehabilitation implemented soon after diagnosis so that people living with cancer feelempowered to improve their health and get the personalised care they need.”
Dr Giota Mitrou, director of research at World Cancer Research Fund, said: "We are very excited about this new report and fully support the idea that people living with cancer should receive evidence-based diet and exercise advice.”
We know that diet, weight and physical activity have an impact on your risk of developing cancer, and now evidence suggests that having a healthy diet and exercising may improve a person’s response to cancer treatment, giving them a better quality of life.”
One in five deaths globally are linked to poor diet, experts said recently, warning that overconsumption of sugar, salt and meat was killing millions of people every year.
While adding salt to food, as seen in this filepic, enhances its taste, we are unfortunately oversalting our food to the extent of consuming 86% more sodium than is healthy.
The United Nations estimates that nearly a billion people worldwide are malnourished, while nearly two billion are “overnourished”.
But the latest study on global diet trends, published in The Lancet, showed that in nearly every one of the 195 countries surveyed, people were also eating too much of the wrong types of food and consuming worryingly low levels of healthier produce.
For example, the world on average consumes more than ten times the recommended amount of sugar-sweetened beverages, and 86% more sodium (salt) per person than is considered safe.
The study, which examined consumption and disease trends between 1990-2017, also cautioned that too many people were eating far too few whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Of the 11 million deaths attributed to poor diet, by far the largest killer was cardiovascular disease, which is often caused or worsened by obesity.
“This study affirms what many have thought for several years – that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor in the world,” said study author Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the United States.
“Our assessment suggests the leading dietary risk factors are high intake of sodium or low intake of health foods.”
The report highlighted large variation in diet-related deaths between nations, with the highest-risk country Uzbekistan having ten times the food-based mortality rate of the lowest-risk, Israel.
In January 2019, a consortium of three dozen researchers called for a dramatic shift in the way the world eats.
The EAT-Lancet report said that the global population must eat roughly half as much red meat and sugar, and twice as many vegetables, fruits and nuts, in order to avert a worldwide obesity epidemic and avoid “catastrophic” climate change.
Authors of the recent study noted that economic inequality was a factor in poor dietary choices in many countries.
It found that on average, reaching the “five-a-day” fruit and vegetable servings advocated by doctors cost just 2% of household income in rich nations, but more than a half of household income in poorer ones.
“This study gives us good evidence of what to target to improve diets, and therefore health, at the global and national level,” said Oyinlola Oyebode, associate professor at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the research.
“The lack of fruit, vegetables and whole grains in diets across the world are very important – but the other dietary factor highlighted by this study is the high intake of sodium.” – AFP Relaxnews
A small bowl of porridge each day could be the key to a long and healthy life, after a major study by Harvard University found that whole grains reduce the risk of dying from heart disease.
Although whole grains are widely believed to be beneficial for health it is the first research to look at whether they have a long-term impact on lifespan.
Researchers followed more than 100,000 people for more than 14 years monitoring their diets and health outcomes.
Everyone involved in the study was healthy in 1984 when they enrolled, but when they were followed up in 2010 more than 26,000 had died.
However those who ate the most whole grains, such as porridge, brown rice, corn and quinoa seemed protected from many illnesses and particularly heart disease.
Oats are already the breakfast of choice for many athletes and also for dieters, who find the high fibre levels give them energy for longer.
But scientists found that for each ounce (28g) of whole grains eaten a day – the equivalent of a small bowl of porridge – the risk of all death was reduced by five per cent and heart deaths by 9 per cent.
“These findings further support current dietary guidelines that recommend increasing whole-grain consumption,” said lead author Dr Hongyu Wu of Harvard School of Public Health.
“They also provide promising evidence that suggests a diet enriched with whole grains may confer benefits towards extended life expectancy.”
The findings remained even when allowing for different ages, smoking, body mass index and physical activity.
Whole grains, where the bran and germ remain, contain 25 per cent more protein than refined grains, such as those that make white flour, pasta and white rice.
Previous studies have shown that whole grains can boost bone mineral density, lower blood pressure, promote healthy gut bacteria and reduce the risk of diabetes. One particular fibre found only in oats – called beta-glucan – has been found to lower cholesterol which can help to protect against heart disease. A bioactive compound called avenanthramide is also thought to stop fat forming in the arteries, preventing heart attacks and strokes.
Whole grains are also widely recommended in many dietary guidelines because they contain high levels of nutrients like zinc, copper, manganese, iron and thiamine. They are also believed to boost levels of antioxidants which combat free-radicals.
The new research suggests that if more people switched to whole grains, thousands of lives could be saved each year. Coronary heart disease is Britain’s biggest killer, responsible for around 73,000 deaths in the UK each year. Around 2.3 million people are living with the condition and one in six men and one in 10 women will die from the disease.
Health experts said the study proved that whole grains were beneficial to health
Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This is an interesting study and reinforces existing dietary recommendations to eat more foods high in fibre.
“People with a higher intake of whole grains also tended to have a healthier overall lifestyle and diet so it might not be the whole grains alone that are having the benefit in relation to cardiovascular disease.
“But at this time of year when we are all making resolutions to eat better, switching to whole-grain versions of bread, breakfast cereals, pasta and rice is a simple change to make.”
Takes organic farming to a whole new level - even though technically it's not new, as it was first proposed a century ago. It radically boosts sustainability, and factors planetary movement into planting and harvesting times. Here's how to partake in this growing trend.
July 1, 2017
Story at-a-glance
Biodynamic farming is a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture initially developed by Austrian scholar Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D., (1861-1925)
Not only does biodynamic farming provide superior crops both in volume and increased density of nutrients, but biodynamic farms are also completely self-sustaining
What sets biodynamic farming apart from organic farming are the principles involving cosmological forces, such as taking moon phases and planetary cycles into account when planting and harvesting
By Dr. Mercola
Biodynamic farming is a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture initially developed by Austrian scholar Rudolf Steiner,1Ph.D., (1861-1925). It’s an approach that can provide far superior harvests compared to conventional chemical-based agriculture, while simultaneously healing the Earth.
Not only does biodynamic farming provide superior crops both in volume and increased density of nutrients, but biodynamic farms are also completely self-sustaining. As noted in the featured film, “The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner,” sustainability, and the personal independence and freedom that sustainability provides, was incredibly important to Steiner.
It’s a very long film — over three hours — but if you have an interest in biodynamic farming or Steiner’s worldview in general, it’s well worth watching. He taught there is an invisible force that aids and sustains humanity, and biodynamic farming makes use of a wide variety of influences, including planetary influences and moon phases.
Regenerative agriculture has been one of my passions for the past few years, and I’ve read many books and interviewed many experts in this area. Over these past few years, I’ve tested a number of different strategies to improve plant growth, such as vortexed compost tea, rock dust powders, magnetic structured water, ionic ocean minerals, biochar, many types of foliar sprays and mulch like wood chips.
Steiner’s Legacy Lives On
Steiner has had a profound influence, making an indelible mark on the world. Profoundly prolific, his complete works fill more than 330 books, much of which are now available online in German and English.2
Steiner was a trained scientist and respected philosopher, a true eclectic and visionary far ahead of his times. His voluminous works span a wide range of topics, from “The Mysteries of Antiquity” and writings on Nietzsche and Goethe, to “The Philosophy of Freedom” and “Spirit and Matter” to the “Birth of the Biodynamic Method.”
He wrote about economics, politics, art, architecture, drama, therapeutic speech, epistemology, religion, science, medicine, education and more. You could spend your entire life studying his life’s work, many aspects of which are detailed in this two-part film.
Education — The Steiner Way
Aside from agriculture, Steiner had a deep interest in early education, and his principles are alive and well to this day. In the U.K. alone, there are more than three dozen Steiner academies of learning, and the natural world, including farming skills, is an integral part of the curriculum.
Steiner kindergarten academies “provide ‘unhurried and creative’ environments for learning,” The Guardian wrote in 2012.3 Trevor Mepham, principal of Steiner Academy Hereford, told the paper, “It's about keeping that vitality and that freshness and that twinkling eye. I think that's common sense, though. It's just that we arguably try to do that as a matter of course.”
“There's something undeniably wholesome about the Steiner approach,” The Guardian notes. “In an age when toddlers are adept at using iPhones, the idea of children building shelters in the woods is profoundly attractive to parents. Access to television is restricted — under the homeschool agreement with parents, children are not meant to watch TV before the age of 8.
There is no uniform; the children wear hoodies, sturdy trousers and plimsolls, and the canteen serves mainly vegetarian food. A homely vegetable curry spiced with mustard seeds is dish of the day when I visit …
‘As human beings we have a close and important relationship with the natural world. To pretend that we just need gadgetry and technology, that misses out a very vital part of the piece,’ Mepham says. ‘Especially when children are young, we need to try to foster in them an interest and sense of inquiry and hopefulness about the natural world.’"
Biodynamic Farming and Reverence for Nature
Biodynamic farming is perhaps the area where his legacy lives on the strongest. In 1924, due to popular demand, Steiner offered an agriculture course in Koberwitz, a small village in what is now Poland.
The course consisted of eight lectures and five discussions, now available in the book “Agriculture: Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture,” which to this day serves as the basis of biodynamic farming everywhere. His course is also available for free online.4 As noted by Biodynamic Association:5
“Steiner was one of the first public figures to warn that the widespread use of chemical fertilizers would lead to the decline of soil, plant and animal health and the subsequent devitalization of food. He was also the first to bring the perspective of the farm as a single, self-sustaining organism that thrives through biodiversity, the integration of crops and livestock and the creation of a closed-loop system of fertility.”
In 1923, he also predicted that, in 80 to 100 years, honeybee populations would collapse6 — a prediction fulfilled with the sudden emergence of colony collapse disorder, which can be traced back to the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides.
As just one of many examples of Steiner’s comprehensive approach to farming, biodynamic farmers will not cut off the horns on their cows, as the animal’s horns are a primary sensory organ, and a complex interrelated relationship exists between the horns and the animal’s digestive system.
Why Agricultural U-Turn Is Necessary
We live in an increasingly toxic world, and according to a wide variety of scientists, we are looking at no more than 50 to 60 years’ worth of business as usual before we reach a point at which nature will no longer sustain us on any front, be it water, air or soil quality. Indeed, food security is no longer a given, even if you have plenty of available land, and here’s why:
Water scarcity is getting worse as aquifers are drained faster than they can be refilled
One-third of the largest groundwater aquifers are already nearing depletion,7 with three of the most stressed aquifers being located in areas where political tensions are already running high.8 To give you an idea of how quickly groundwater is being depleted, consider what’s happening in the High Plains Aquifer (also known as the Ogallala) in the American Midwest.
Here, the water level has been dropping by an average of 6 feet per year, while the natural recharge rate is 1 inch or less.9 Once this aquifer is depleted — and many wells have already run dry in the area — 20 percent of the U.S. corn, wheat and cattle output will be lost due to lack of irrigation and water for the animals.
Soil erosion and degradation is rapidly worsening
In a 2012 Time magazine10 interview, University of Sydney professor John Crawford noted that about 40 percent of agricultural soils around the globe is currently classified as degraded or seriously degraded. “Seriously degraded” means that 70 percent of the topsoil (the layer of soil in which plants grow) has already disappeared.
The reason for the erosion and degradation is farming methods that remove carbon from the soil and destroy the microbial balance in the soil responsible for plant nutrition and growth. At present, topsoil is being lost 10 to 40 times faster than nature can regenerate and replenish it naturally.
Water pollution is worsening
Precious water sources are also threatened by pollution from large-scale monocrop farms and concentrated animal feeding operations.11 According to a report12 by Environment America, corporate agribusiness is “one of the biggest threats to America’s waterways.” Tyson Foods Inc. was deemed among the worst, releasing 104.4 million pounds of toxic pollutants into waterways between 2010 and 2014.
Researchers have warned that many lakes around the world are at grave risk from fertilizer runoff that feeds harmful blue-green algae (cyanobacteria),13,14 and once established, it’s far more difficult to get rid of than previously thought. The answer, according to the authors of this study, is better land-use management that addresses fertilizer runoff. Dramatic reductions in fertilizer use are also recommended.
Air pollution is worsening
Scientists have declared farming and fertilizers as the No. 1 cause of particulate matter air pollution in much of the U.S., China, Russia and Europe today, specifically the nitrogen component of fertilizers.15,16 Industrial food and farming also release dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warns 25 percent of all deaths worldwide are attributable to environmental pollution, with air pollution being among the most significant.17
Desertification is speeding up
Land is turning into desert at a rapid clip and, with it, we’re losing biodiversity of both plant and animal life.
Biodynamic Farming Is Part of the Answer
Biodynamic farming addresses all of these problems and more. The good news is biodynamic farming is on the rise, gaining popularity among younger farmers — even people who don’t have a family background in farming. John Chester, for example, was a filmmaker before he left Hollywood for a 213-acre farm in Moorpark, California. The Guardian writes:18
“… Chester runs [Apricot Lane Farms] with his wife, Molly. The couple nurtures 100 different types of vegetables, 75 varieties of stone fruit, and countless animal residents: Scottish highland cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, ducks, hens, horses and livestock dogs. Last year, Apricot Lane Farms was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation and the North American Butterfly Association for supporting so much wildlife — not a recognition typically given to farms.”
Last year, biodynamic farming in the U.S. increased by 16 percent, adding nearly 21,800 acres to its fold.19 To evaluate the impact of biodynamic methods on soil quality, Demeter USA, a nonprofit certifier of biodynamic goods, has started collecting topsoil samples from participating farms. Eventually, this will tell us just how quickly soil quality can be improved.
Demeter co-director Elizabeth Candelario told The Guardian, “This will provide a tool for farmers who continue to focus on building healthy soil, and give voice to power about biodynamic agriculture’s role in mitigating the impacts of climate change.”
Cosmic Influences
What sets biodynamic farming20 apart from organic farming are the principles involving cosmological forces, such as taking moon phases and planetary cycles into account when planting and harvesting. Each of the 12 zodiac signs are associated with a particular quality. As explained by Tony Carlton in the film, the four primary qualities or energies farmers work with are earth, light, water and warmth. Zodiac signs also fall into four different elements, namely earth signs, air signs, water signs and fire signs.
During the influence of an earth sign, you would plant root vegetables, as the astrological earth element corresponds with plant roots. Earth signs are: Taurus (April 20 to May 20), Virgo (August 23 to September 22) and Capricorn (December 22 to January 19)
During water signs, you would plant leafy greens (water element). Water signs are: Cancer (June 21 to July 22), Scorpio (October 23 to November 21) and Pisces (February 19 to March 20)
Air signs call for planting of flowering plants (light element). Air signs are: Gemini (May 21 to June 20), Libra (September 23 to October 22) and Aquarius (January 20 to February 18)
Fire signs call for planting of fruits (the element of warmth). Fire signs are: Aries (March 21-April 19), Leo (July 23 to August 22) and Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21)
To recap, the four elements of earth, water, air and fire correspond to the plant kingdom of root, leaf, flower and fruit. As an example, lettuce grows well under the influence of Pisces, but the bean does not. Beans prefer the influence of Aries. If you plant beans during the month of Pisces, the plant will hardly grow at all — until Aries comes around, at which time it will actually start to grow.
This further translates into moon phases as well. For example, when the moon is in Aries, a fire sign, you’ll want to plant fruiting plants, such as cherries. When the moon is in Taurus, an earth sign, plant carrots and other root veggies. Since the moon moves quickly through each sign, it will change signs every two days or so. For a planting guide based on moon phases, see The Gardeners Calendar.21
Biodynamic Is Organic and Regenerative, and Then Some
Biodynamic farming also differs a bit in the way farmers are certified. While an organic farmer can section off as little as 10 percent of the farm for the growing of certified organic goods, in order to be certified as a biodynamic farmer, your entire farm must be biodynamic. In addition to that, biodynamic certification also requires 10 percent of the land be dedicated to increasing biodiversity, such as forest, wetland or insectary. As noted by Lauren Mazzo, writing for Shape Magazine:22
“In the end, they're both about eliminating the scary stuff from our food. An organic certification means there are no synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation or genetic engineering used in the food, and farm animals must be fed organic feed, etc.
Biodynamic includes those guidelines, as well as making the farm even more self-reliant. For example, instead of simply requiring organic feed for animals, most of the feed must originate from other processes and resources on the farm.”
Biodynamic farming also has most or all of the features associated with regenerative agriculture, such as crop rotation, cover crops and so on. And, while neither use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides or herbicides, Steiner created a number of very specific preparations made from herbs, minerals and manure, which are then added to compost or sprayed on the fields.
One such preparation involves packing manure into a cow horn and burying it underground over the winter. In spring, the contents of the horn are scraped out, mixed with water and applied as a soil treatment to stimulate root growth. Another involves packing silica into a cow horn and burying it over the summer.23
You Are What You Eat
According to Steiner, man is a microcosm of the macrocosm. Certainly, it’s true that the biosphere that is the Earth is intricately connected, from the tiniest bacteria in the soil all the way up to the human body, which just so happens to contain 10 times more bacteria and other microorganisms than human cells. What separates us from the microbiome in the soil, you could say, is merely scale and perception.
With that in mind, we cannot afford to ignore soil, plant and insect health, as our health depends on theirs. While few are called to become full-time farmers, most people can grow some of their own food, even if it’s just some herbs or sprouts, which require little space and maintenance.
Even if you do none of those things, you can still help steer the agricultural industry toward safer, more sustainable systems by supporting your local farmers and choosing fresh, locally-grown organic and grass fed foods. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:
Until recently, it's been vetoed by health experts, but could this forbidden food actually help you manage your health, improve cholesterol levels,...
May 08, 2017
Story at-a-glance-
Polyamines such as spermidine, spermine and putrescine are derivatives of amino acids, found both in food and your gut microbiota, and are critical for cellular growth and survival
Polyamines have potent anti-inflammatory activity, protect your DNA against free-radical damage and have been linked to longevity
In one recent study, those who had the highest spermidine levels had a 40 percent lower risk of heart failure
By Dr. Mercola
Cheese can be an excellent source of nutrition, especially if made from unpasteurized grass fed milk and aged according to tradition. Among the many valuable nutrients in real cheese is vitamin K2, which is important for heart, brain and bone health. The highest amounts of vitamin K2 can be found in Gouda, Brie and Edam. Other cheeses with lesser but still significant levels of K2 include cheddar, Colby, hard goat cheese, Swiss and Gruyere.
Cheese also provides a cornucopia of other vitamins (including vitamins A, D, B2 and B12), minerals (including calcium, zinc and phosphorous), amino acids and protein, as well as high-quality saturated and omega-3 fats. In recent years, a number of studies have exonerated cheese (especially full-fat cheese), showing higher cheese consumption results in improved health and aids weight management. For example:
High-fat cheese has been shown to raise your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol,1,2 thought to be protective against metabolic diseases and heart disease
Cheese consumption also helps prevent fatty liver and improves triglyceride and cholesterol levels3 — parameters used to gauge your cardiovascular disease risk
Full-fat cheese can be useful for weight management,4 in part by ramping up your metabolism5
Roquefort cheese in particular has been linked to cardiovascular health and improved longevity, courtesy of its anti-inflammatory properties6,7
Now, researchers have discovered yet another major compound in many cheeses that helps explain its beneficial impact on your health.
Polyamines in Cheese Linked to Longevity and Lower Disease Risk
Polyamines are derivatives of amino acids, found both in food and your gut microbiota, and are critical cellular growth and survival. Polyamines in turn contain chemicals such as spermidine and spermine (thus named as they were originally discovered in human semen) and putrescine. As noted by the Royal Society of Chemistry: 8
“Spermine derives from spermidine. And, spermidine, with the help of spermidine synthase, arises from another polyamine originally named for its role in rotting meat, called putrescine … [T]hese polyamines are the reason why sperm and, in the springtime, some species of trees, give off a spunky [odor] …”
Spermidine, spermine and putrescine all have potent anti-inflammatory activity, protect DNA against free-radical damage, and have been linked to longevity in animal studies — even when the animals were given the polyamines starting in middle age. As a group, polyamines are positively charged molecules that strongly interact with negatively charged molecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins. This is why they’re so important for cellular processes involving growth, division, differentiation and survival.
Spermine Protects Against Heart Disease
Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that when you increase levels of polyamines in an organism (including humans), cellular activity goes up and mortality goes down,9 in part by improving cardiovascular function and lowering blood pressure.10 In one recent study, which included 800 cheese-loving Italians, those who had the highest spermidine levels had a 40 percent lower risk of heart failure.11
In another,12 spermine was not only found to offer potent protection against heart disease in both animals and humans, it was even found to counteract the adverse effects of a high-salt diet in salt-sensitive mice:
“[O]ral supplementation of the natural polyamine spermidine extends the lifespan of mice and exerts cardioprotective effects, reducing cardiac hypertrophy and preserving diastolic function in old mice. Spermidine feeding enhanced cardiac autophagy, mitophagy and mitochondrial respiration, and it also improved the mechano-elastical properties of cardiomyocytes in vivo, coinciding with … suppressed subclinical inflammation …
In Dahl salt-sensitive rats that were fed a high-salt diet, a model for hypertension-induced congestive heart failure, spermidine feeding reduced systemic blood pressure, increased titin phosphorylation and prevented cardiac hypertrophy and a decline in diastolic function, thus delaying the progression to heart failure.
In humans, high levels of dietary spermidine, as assessed from food questionnaires, correlated with reduced blood pressure and a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease. Our results suggest a new and feasible strategy for protection against cardiovascular disease.”
Polyamines Help Combat Visible Signs of Aging and Increase Lifespan
Previous research showed transgenic mice bred to not produce spermine and spermidine suffered hair loss, developed more skin wrinkles and died at an earlier age than normal mice,13 suggesting polyamines play an important role in combating both visible signs of aging and early death.
Importantly, polyamines encourage cellular autophagy,14,15 which has serious implications for longevity. Autophagy means "self-eating" and refers to the processes by which your body cleans out debris, including toxins, and recycles damaged cell components — processes that tend to decline with age.
Lifetime feeding studies using rodents have linked spermidine-rich diets to as much as a 25 percent increase in lifespan.16,17,18 In human terms, that equates to an average lifespan of 100 rather than 81.
Animals given spermidine at a later age gained about 10 percent in longevity, which can still amount to several years’ worth of life for a human. As noted by Leyuan Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology's Center for Translational Cancer Research:19
"Only three interventions — severely cutting the number of calories consumed, restricting the amount of methionine (a type of amino acid found in meat and other proteins) in the diet and using the drug rapamycin — have been shown to truly prolong the lifespans of vertebrates, but eating less and not eating meat will not be welcomed by [the] general population, while rapamycin has shown to suppress the human immune system. Therefore, spermidine may be a better approach."
Aside from its general anti-aging influence, autophagy is also one of the mechanisms by which polyamines help protect against cancer (specifically liver cancer20,21) and Alzheimer’s disease.
Polyamines Correct Your Internal Body Clock
Interestingly, recent research22 has also shown that polyamines have the ability to restore your internal body clock, suggesting it might serve as a natural sleep aid. Improving sleep also helps lower your risk of chronic disease — including cancer and Alzheimer’s — and is important for longevity. According to the authors:
“Polyamines are … present in all living cells. Polyamine levels are maintained from the diet and de novo synthesis, and their decline with age is associated with various pathologies. Here we show that polyamine levels oscillate in a daily manner.
Both clock- and feeding-dependent mechanisms regulate the daily accumulation of key enzymes in polyamine biosynthesis … In turn, polyamines control the circadian period in cultured cells and animals by regulating the interaction between the core clock repressors PER2 and CRY1.
Importantly, we found that the decline in polyamine levels with age in mice is associated with a longer circadian period that can be reversed upon polyamine supplementation in the diet. Our findings suggest a crosstalk between circadian clocks and polyamine biosynthesis and open new possibilities for nutritional interventions against the decay in clock’s function with age.”
Fermentation Boosts Polyamine Content
Polyamines are found in many different foods, including the following (see listing below):23,24,25 As a general rule, fruits and cheese contain the highest levels of putrescine, vegetables have the highest levels of spermidine, and meat products have the most spermine.26 Research also shows polyamine levels are further increased through fermentation.
The Mediterranean diet, high in fresh vegetables and seafood, typically contains twice the amount of polyamines found in the average diet27 (which tends to be high in processed foods), and some scientists suggest the high polyamine content may be why the Mediterranean diet has such a positive influence on health and longevity.
Aged (fermented) cheese such as blue cheese, cheddar, Swiss, Brie, Gruyere, Manchego, Gouda and Parmesan28,29
Shell fish, including squid, oysters, crabs and scallops
Nuts and seeds, including hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios and peanuts
Chicken liver
Potential Contraindications
Some scientists and oncologists do warn that polyamine-rich diets may be contraindicated for those with psoriasis, as rapid skin cell regeneration may worsen the condition,30 and certain polyamine-sensitive cancers, such as prostate cancer. As noted in one study,31
“… [D]ifferences in biological [behavior] of prostatic (cancer) cells are associated with changes in polyamine levels and/or the activity of their metabolic enzymes. Faulty antizyme regulation of polyamine homoeostasis may play an important role in the growth and progression of prostatic carcinoma. Treatment of human prostate carcinoma cells with inhibitors of polyamine metabolic enzymes or polyamine analogues induces cell growth arrest or (apoptotic) cell death.”
Eat Real Food for Optimal Health
If you love cheese, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest real cheese is a boon to your health, and there’s no reason to avoid it for fear of its fat content. The healthy fats found in real cheese will neither pack on pounds nor contribute to heart disease. On the contrary, these fats will actually boost your weight loss success and lower your cardiovascular health risks.
One caveat is to make sure you’re eating real cheese. Natural cheese is a simple fermented dairy product made with just a few basic ingredients — milk, starter culture, salt and an enzyme called rennet. Salt is a crucial ingredient for flavor, ripening and preservation.
You can tell a natural cheese by its label, which will state the name of the cheese variety, such as “cheddar cheese,” “blue cheese” or “Brie.” Real cheese also requires refrigeration. Processed cheeses are typically pasteurized and otherwise adulterated with a variety of additives that detract from their nutritional value. The tipoff on the label is the word “pasteurized.”
A lengthier list of ingredients is another way to distinguish processed cheese from the real thing. Velveeta is one example, with additives like sodium phosphate, sodium citronate and various coloring agents. A final clue is that most processed cheeses do not require refrigeration. So, be it Velveeta, Cheese Whiz, squeeze cheese, spray cheese or some other imposter — these are not real cheeses and have no redeeming value.
Even if you don’t like cheese, there are plenty of other foods rich in polyamines, as you can see from the list above, with fermented foods and beverages having some of the highest levels. Following a Mediterranean-style diet is one way to ensure you’re getting plenty of these anti-inflammatory, anti-aging compounds.
