Block the hormone’s action inside a few specific cells, the study shows, and the entire body stays healthier longer. Scientists previously thought insulin triggered other hormones to achieve this effect, but Tatar and his team found that insulin regulates its own production and that it directly regulates tissue aging. The principle: Keep insulin levels low and cells are stronger, staving off infection and age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke.
To conduct the experiment, Tatar and four other Brown researchers created a line of genetically altered flies which had dFOXO – a protein controlled by the fly equivalent of insulin – inserted into the genetic material of fat cells near their brains.
Some flies were fed mifepristone, a chemical copy of progesterone. This hormone activated a switch attached to dFOXO, which in turn repressed the normal insulin signals inside the cells. As a surprising result, insulin production was lowered throughout the body. These flies lived an average of 50 days – 18 days longer than flies whose insulin signals went unchecked.
“We now know that insulin is a direct player in the aging process,” Tatar says. “So the research fits some key puzzle pieces together. And it should change the way we think about aging.”
Tatar’s research is part of a growing body of evidence linking low insulin levels to increased longevity. In recent years, scientists have found that mice and other animals live longer when they eat a low-calorie diet, which reduces insulin production.
“Aging regulation is a complex physiological process of nutritional inputs, metabolic regulation and hormone secretion,” Tatar says. “But we still have so many unanswered questions.”
Tatar and his team conducted their research over an 18-month period. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Federation of Aging Research, the Ellison Medical Foundation and Pfizer Inc.
I mean, this says that reducing insulin increases lifespan, but we need insulin… if we didn’t, diabetics would be healthier than non-diabetics :-)
So does that mean that basically we should choose foods that don’t result in great surges of insulin?
Yes, it means that you should eat a low-carbohydrate, low glycemic diet, replacing sugar and starch with an abundance of monounsaturated fats and controlled portions of protein throughout the day. I already do this, and I go through at least half a bag of almonds every day in addition to my wild salmon, greens, berries, broccoli, etc.
My fasting glucose and insulin have dropped significantly.
There are various diets that fit this description, most notably the Atkins and Zone diets. But replacing sugar with saturated fats and trans fats, and too much protein at one sitting, may not be wise. The most healthy (perfectionist) low-carbohydrate diet is certainly Nicholas Perricone’s (the one I follow). You can read his book, “The Perricone Prescription” for more information. It is not just insulin which contributes to the aging process, but sugar itself as well. You can do a web search for things like glycation and advanced glycemic end products for more information. Sugar also causes inflammation on the cellular level, and greatly increase production of reactive oxygen species. The most popular theory of aging involves ROS.
In addition to eating right and exercising, there are numerous supplements which can help to prevent the damage caused from sugar, and also help to indirectly prevent excess release of insulin and improve insulin resistance. For instance, taking 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with each meal may be one of the best things you can do.
All of the following supplements help in this regard, but the positive effects of these may not be realized unless you are following a healthy version of a low carb diet (the bad will drown out the good):
Every twelve hours with food:
300 mg R(+) form of Alpha-lipoic acid
1250 mg acetyl-l-carnitine
4 mg biotin
300 mg benfotiamine
500 mg carnosine
400 mcg chromium polynicotinate
flax/fish/borage oil capsules
magnesium & calcium
green tea extract
grape seed extract
etc.
I’ve eaten low-carb (but GOOD carbs) for the past 5 months– I found Atkins too restrictive but the South Beach diet very manageable. Not only have I lost 30 lbs, I feel so much better I can’t believe the difference. I haven’t had insulin levels tested since before Christmas, but my energy level is far above what it was pre- low-carb.
One benefit of getting the processed sugar out of my system is that all kinds of foods seem to have so much more flavor now. I never knew salads could taste so infinitely varied!
I do love almonds, too, but there is a warning currently on raw almonds from Paramount(?), California.
Also, one really doesn’t have to OD on red meat and bacon/eggs to get more than enough protein. The big surprise in reading nutritional analyses of foods is that so many of them contain a good bit of sugar and carbs naturally, before human hands plump them up with even more.
I’m not one to deny myself unduly :-), so I’ve eaten a small piece of wedding cake at the 2 weddings I’ve attended this spring (no need to insult the bride and groom), but I agree… a SENSIBLE low-carb eating style is bound to produce beneficial results.