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Young blood: The elixir of youth?
A few years ago there was a phenomenon of books and movies called "Twilight" which centered around a vampire and his human girlfriend. In the story importance was placed on human blood being a factor behind why vampires stay young, seemingly forever. Of course vampires and the "Twilight" books are all fictional, yet it seems that there is some truth even in fiction. In the case of laboratory mice scientists have found that the blood of young mice, when given to older mice helps improve the memory of older mice and helps the older mice muscles.
Originally the scientists connected blood vessels between older and younger mice, which showed that the younger mice did not benefit from the blood of older mice. So then, they decided to just try giving older mice the blood from younger mice and found that the older mice had healthier hearts and livers. The brains of the older mice also improved thanks to the effect on their brain cells or neurons which worked more efficiently. This resulted in the older mice becoming "smarter" and growing new brain cells, something that usually only occurs in young mice.
Now before you stop visiting your grandparents, because you might be worried that they might ask you to donate blood, this article only talks about research done in mice. If this was ever to be applied to humans, researchers would isolate the substance in blood which is responsible for this beneficial change. For now the researcher done on mice indicates that a protein found in the blood of mice known as GDF11, which stands for growth differentiation factor 11, might be very important to understand more about how this process works.
The article written by Lida Katsimpardi shows the importance of asking questions and learning from our fellow species how our own bodies work and applying that knowledge to benefit the human species. It makes us wonder is there more to our blood cells than just blood, such as a "magic" protein which can help us stay young ? Either way I will keep eating my veggies and spinach, until we have more understanding of GDF11 and how it works. For now daily exercise and plenty of sleep will be my solution to aging too fast.
You can find the article here:
Discussion Questions :
1. Can you think of another example of a substance or food where the promise of a longer life is based on eating or drinking something which will have immediate health benefits? Do these examples have a negative side effect that accompanies the intended positive effect ?
2. What are the moral implications of asking teenagers for their blood so that products can be made for older people to make them younger ? How will this affect the nice and neighborly habit of donating blood simply for the sake of helping a stranger with their health ?
bananas are supposed to be really good for you but they do have some not so great side effects for certain people like they may worsen symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome--a chronic condition that causes diarrhea, bloating and cramping. Blueberries are also good for you but they can sometimes have some not so great side effects for some people too like they can cause digestive problems for some and interfere with medications.
ReplyDeleteGreat point about bananas and blueberries Mackenzy. We often think of them as a universal fruits that everyone appreciates, yet there are exceptions and in the case of those individuals they try to avoid those foods due the strong side effects they have. Goes to show that for some people the fruit is considered a medicine, while for others it is a soft poison best to be avoided.
DeleteAn example of a substance or food where the promise of a longer life is based on eating or drinking something which will have immediate health benefits is green tea.
ReplyDeleteStudies have shown that adults in Japan who consumed higher amounts of green tea had a lower risk of death due to all causes and due to cardiovascular disease. In addition, green tea also helps people loose weight. In it, it has a substance that many drinks don't have, Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This substance is one that helps boost metabolism, which helps with loosing weight.
But it's not just health benefits, green tea tastes also tastes good. There are some things that people eat for weight loss that they don't like the taste of, but green tea has health benefits and tastes good, so its perfect for those that intend to lose weight or live longer.
Hi Vincent - It looks like you really thought outside the box and did a little research. Green tea is certainly a hot issue with health fanatics right now (but I have to admit, I find it awfully bitter...) and is very important to healthy digestion. Eating foods that promote health is certainly one way to keep the body younger - and healthier - for longer!
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DeleteTo Vincent,
DeleteI found your thoughts quite insightful and have to agree, with some research, that this was a fine answer to the first of two questions posed. I myself to not consume green tea very often and I do say that you don't either. But I plan to from here on. I do look forward to your answer to the next question.
Till Later,
Patrick
I agree with mackenzy and Vincent because mackenzy was right about the bananas and blueberries and Vincent was right about the green tea because they all have bad side effects but people say that fruits and vegetables are REALLY healthy for you but thats not entirely true
ReplyDeleteI researched for a drink, to see if one of them could help your mortality rate decrease and I found out that alcohol helps. There's a lot of goods and bads to alcohol though, example; If you drink too much, it'll eventually be a problem for your liver. It causes Psoriasis.
ReplyDelete"Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers."
Here's the link to the site where I have found that.
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/11/alcohol-tee-total-live-longer_n_4424174.html
There is also one type of food that allows you to have a healthy heart and that's dark chocolate.
"Researchers now think that high blood pressure and heart disease are exceedingly rare among residents of the San Blas islands because they eat chocolate, and lots of it. Components in dark chocolate called polyphenols are believed to lower blood pressure and improve the flexibility of blood vessels. In a 2008 study, researchers at the University of Aquila gave volunteers with hypertension 100 grams of dark chocolate daily. After 15 days, their blood pressure readings were significantly lower and their insulin sensitivity had improved."
Maybe we should all start drinking and eating chocolate!
I think I would like to read that article in greater detail Alyssa. I tried clicking on the link but it seemed to expire. Either way the study seems to be breaking some basic understanding of how alcohol is broken down in a human body and what side effects occur. I think I will pass on the beer though for now and take the risk with my water. As for chocolate I have to agree with the reader and yourself. As long as it is only dark chocolate I think I will continue indulging occasionaly on this culinary delight. Maybe hold off on the drinking alcohol and eating chocolate exclusively and add some vegetables to that mix. Great research Alyssa, way to find original substances that are thought or as unhealthy but have actual health benefits.
DeleteAbout the first question a do now that more than a substance or only one type of food. Is the combination and balance of the different type of food having the good amount of vegetables, fruit, cereals, meats, and fats. This is scientifically proved and makes you live longer.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question I think that morally would be a very discussed them because it would alter the human life cycle.
An example of a substance that has the promise of a longer lived based on consumption of this substance but also provides an immediate health benefit is apple cider vinegar.
ReplyDeleteApple Cider Vinegar has been used in several research projects concerning the human body. When consuming a few shots a day youcan give yourself an energy boost as it reduces the waste of energy when creating ATP. Also it can help you lose weight. When using it for a longterm aid it can balace your alkaline pH levels, simulate cardiovascular circulation which detoxes your liver, and it can even help break up diseases. The only negative thing is that it can taste quite foul in your mouth as it is vinegar after all.
There are some negative moral implecations when it comes to donating blood just so an elderly person can look younger. It isn't really right that blood that could help someone's life would be wasted on some old rich person just so they could better. They should accept that this is how they look now and should allow that blood be used for life saving puposes. It really would affect the way people would donate blood because most people donate blood to help save lives not just for rejuvinating purposes. Because you don't really know where your blood id going it would really cut down the number of donator by a significant margin, which is not good at all for people who actually need blood.
for the first question, I agree with Vincent and Mackenzie, I heard from a friend last year that green tea does help you stay healthy and live a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question, I actually wouldn't mind giving some of my blood away, like for example my grandmother. I would give her a bit of my blood to help her get what she wants.
for the first question I agree of what Vincent, Mackenzy and India because green tea is healthy, but I'm not so sure that it does help you to live a bit longer because if you have to die, you die.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question, yes I would give my blood for people who really need it if they are sick or if they have blood problem. I will also give my blood to my grandparents if they need it some day so they can feel better and even for a stranger because if I have a blood problem and that I need blood in my body, I think I would like that someone give their blood so it can save me.
an example can be the oil, its easy to get and it helps you to look younger (that's what happen in twilight) and stay healthy, because I don't thing there's something that keeps you young forever! However this is what I found about oil. Four decades ago, researchers from the Seven Countries Study concluded that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil were largely responsible for the low rates of heart disease and cancer on the Greek island of Crete. Now we know that olive oil also contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that may help prevent age-related diseases.
ReplyDeleteand about donating blood, I thing doing it by yourself as a good action is really different that have to donate by forcing you,(maybe government can be involucrated, as always). that's my point of view.
a example of this is a glass of wine. people say that wine is good for your heart and makes you live for 5 more years. But wine could also bad you or there may have other factors may interfere. giving blood to another person may be wrong because it could affect the youg person and the older person because it could affect the younger person's health and future and the older person, it could affect and change everything in his or her life.
ReplyDeleteAbout the second question, it depends on who I'm giving the blood to. If it was just to make elderly people look younger? People I don't know? I'm not so sure I would give them any of my blood. But if I knew who I would be giving it to, then yes. Example, like India, she'd give some to her grandmother. I'd do the same, because she's a part of my family and I've known her forever.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think I'd give any to a stranger.