There has been evidence for years that drinking red wine is good for the heart.
Now scientists claim that a chemical in the skin of red grapes will help you live longer.
Harvard Medical School professor Dr David Sinclair says the chemical contains a potent anti-ageing compound, called resveratrol.
In 2004, he co-founded a firm to develop a synthetic form of the substance, which is stable enough to be put in a pill bottle. And, last week, it was revealed that the UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has bought his company for £361million.
The sale has stunned some scientists who say there is little data on the drug’s effectiveness and safety in humans. But Dr Sinclair remains convinced he has discovered an elixir of life.
He said: ‘The upside is so huge that, if we are right, the company that dominates (this market) could change medicine.’
He said mice exposed to resveratrol in experimental conditions ‘live longer, are almost immune to the effects of obesity and don’t get diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s as frequently’.
Recent research has shown that if laboratory rodents are put on a starvation diet, it extends their life by up to 30 per cent.
The diet is believed to work by activating a ‘survival’ gene known as sirtuin – and Dr Sinclair says the same gene is triggered by resveratrol.
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A protein powder favoured by body builders could hold the secret of a long and healthy life, scientists believe.
Dissolved in water, the mixture built muscle, boosted fitness and improved balance and co-ordination.
Tantalisingly, the powder, which can be bought from health food shops and online, increased life expectancy by 12 per cent.
The amazing results come from animal experiments, but, in human terms, this would equate to an extra 10 years or so of life.
The Italian researchers believe that taken daily from middle-age, the ‘elixir of life’ powder could help millions look forward to a healthier old age.
Sprinkled on porridge or stirred into milk, it could strengthen weak and worn worn-out muscle, cutting the risk of painful falls and fractures in old age.
Taken in later life, the supplement could give a much-needed energy boost to those with heart, lung and other problems.
Researcher Enzo Nisoli said: ‘I think our data warrant a recommendation that middle-aged people start taking these supplements.’
Professor Nisoli, of Brescia University, give ‘middle-aged’ mice water laced with amino acids – the building blocks of protein.
The three ‘branched-chain’ amino acids used were leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Those given the supplement lived 80 days longer than the average mouse, the journal Cell Metabolism reports.
In human terms, this would increase the average 77.7 lifespan of a British man to 87. And take the average life expectancy for women from 81.9 years to almost 92.
Muscle strength, balance, co-ordination and endurance also improved.
If all that were not enough, the powder, which contains twice as much leucine as isoleucine or valine, does not have any side-effects, says the professor.
Although it is not clear if the supplement, which is already used by body builders and sold under brand names including Aminotrofic, would extend human life, Professor Nisoli believes it could have clear health benefits.
Taken from the age of 55 or so, the protein powder could boost the odds of a healthy old age.
Those who start on it later in life might find that it helps with cardiac problems such as heart failure, and lung problems, and with diabetes.
However, the animal experiments suggest it would be of little or no benefit if taken when young and healthy.
The three amino acids in the powder are found in high quantities in chicken. But taking them in supplement form means they do not have to be digested and can enter the bloodstream immediately.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317927/Body-builder-protein-powder-increase-life-expectancy-10-years.html
It may sound like science fiction but researchers believe they have discovered the ‘Holy Grail’ – an anti-ageing pill that will add decades to our lives.
Furthermore its creator Professor Vladimir Skulachev said it should be available to the public within two years
The Russian scientist from Moscow State University, said the drug works by halting the damaging effects of oxygen on the body’s cells.
This would stave off dangerous age-related illnesses thereby adding years to our lives.
The dream of eternal life has been woven into myths over thousands of years. According to legend, the Holy Grail – a cup that was supposedly used by Jesus at the Last Supper – would give immortality to whoever drank from it.
But while many may dismiss the 69-year-old’s claims as outlandish, his findings have been backed up by the international community including Nobel prize winner Dr Gunter Blobel.
Dr Blobel from Rockefeller University said: ‘It has been shown that oxidative damage is huge. But we do not have an anti-oxidant of the type that Professor Skulachev has developed.
‘He is clearly the world’s best bio-chemist and bio-energetic scientist.’
The cells in our bodies need oxygen during the energy exchange process, however oxygen can also destroy cells if it takes on active and poisonous forms.
Natural anti-oxidants have been found to help slow this fatal process but are not strong enough to have a lasting impact.
Professor Skulachev said: ‘Ninety-nine per cent of the time oxygen turns into harmless water, but there’s that one percent that turns into a super-oxide that later turns into very poisonous elements.
‘So the task was to find an anti-oxidant that stops that process.’
Professor Skulachev said he has created innovative anti-oxidants nicknamed ‘Skulachev’s ions’ after 40 years of hard work.
They neutralise the dangerous form of oxygen inside the cells and have been designed to travel to within a few nanometers of the position where they will have most impact.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1314524/Fountain-youth-pill-just-years-shop-shelves.html
Medicines that can help people live healthy lives to 100 and beyond may be available in as little as two years, an expert said today.
The drugs have come out of research into age-related ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s.
To satisfy the requirements of drug regulators and the market they are billed as remedies for specific illnesses. But in actual fact they tackle multiple causes of unhealthy ageing, according to Professor Nir Barzilai, one of the world’s leading age scientists.
Prof Barzilai’s own work at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York has identified genetic variants that mark out people who live to a “ripe old age”.
The new drugs build on these discoveries, which involve biological pathways affecting metabolism, cell-death, inflammation and cholesterol.
‘Pharmaceutical companies are developing these drugs now,’ said Prof Barzilai, who joined other experts at the Royal Society in London today for a discussion meeting on the science of ageing.
‘They will probably be available for testing from 2012.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1277783/Drugs-help-live-100-available-2012.html