What is SIRT1?

Cellular Anti-Aging: The Core of Staying Young while Ageing!

We talk about resveratrol, sirtuins, an dieting often here. Today we'll focus on anti-aging from a Doctor's perspective.

When it comes to Anti-Aging you hear about being wrinkle free, having no more age lines, and keeping your skin supple and smooth.  Those are more geared to the marketing machines of cosmetology and less about the science of slowing aging from a cellular level.

When it comes to our cells keeping them alive and free of oxidants is a major piece of the puzzle. We also have to understand why we age an how the process of aging takes place over the course of our lives.

Can we stop Aging? Can we live longer an remain healthy doing so? What can we do to encourage the deceleration of aging in our bodies?

The University of California has a TV program called "Health Matters" broacasted on UCTV.  I came across a 30 minute segment they produced on Anti-Aging.  The discussion is with Ron Rothenberg, M.D. a specialist in the science of ageing.

The video is lengthy but well worth viewing. The conversation is basic in it's delivery and easy for the non-scientist to understand.

Anti-Aging Supplements, Buyer Beware!

Looking to buy Anti-Ageing supplements like Resveratrol or Acai Berry? Buyer Beware, Read Below!

If you made it to this site you probably recently heard about either Resveratrol, Calorie Restriction, or Sirtuins.  Either way I am glad you are here!  

Over the past 12 months the attention being placed on Anti-Aging from mainstream media has been incredible.  I couldn't be more happy with this.  However, along with attention comes the opportunity for scrupulous companies trying to persuade you that they have the next "miracle" pill or drink.  Here are a few things to consider before trying the next best anti-aging miracle supplement:

- Does it sound to good to be true?  More times then not marketing plays a big role in the "perceived" quality of a product.  If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.

- Do they list the actual ingredients on the label, or do they lump them all together into a "proprietary" formulation?  Remember, you are ingesting this into your body.  You need to know exactly what it consists of and how much you are taking.

- Where was the product manufactured and was it in accordance with standard FDA procedures?  Please verify where your product is produced.  Is the facility clean, follow proper health practices, and is the facility inspected independently.

Sirtuins, Calorie Restriction, & Resveratrol Hit the Mainstream!

Sirtuins are creating the most recent buzz in mainstream media as Dr. Oz recently mentioned Sirtuins, Calorie Restriction, and Resveratrol on both the Oprah Show and Good Morning America this week.

With big name Doctors willing to support more natural approaches to health it's only a matter of time before we become a healthier, more informed society. There is definitely a place for both traditional medicine and natural medicine to work together. Over the next few years we will begin to see more "Integrative Medical Practices" opening across the country, and even the rest of the world.

The reality is, "Who doesn't want to live longer and be healthy while you do it?"  For a long time anti-aging treatments that focused on cellular health, like telomere lengthening therapies, were only available to the wealthy.  Now as more and more companies dive into this field the costs are beginning to come down and be more realistic for people across the globe.

The Relationship Between Calorie Restiction & Sirtuins Explained!

I thought everyone would enjoy this video which provides a simple explanation as to how Calorie Restriction and Sirtuins are related.  Guests included in this video are Dr. Leonard Guarente, David Sinclair, and Cynthia Kenyon, all of whom are well known in the world of Sirtuin research.

Resveratrol & SiRT1 Take Center Stage: 60 Minutes Reports!

Chances are you've heard about the resveratrol buzz.  However, just in case you missed it, below is the widely talked about 60 Minutes Resveratrol Segment aired on 1-25-2009.  Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Christoph Westphal of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals explain how resveratrol works to activate Sirtuins, SiRT1 in particular, and how Calorie Restriction is a major component in their research.

SiRT1 Increase Chemotherapy Drug Resistance

A new study completed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that was published in the September 15th, 2008 issue of Molecular Cancer Research has shown that the increased expression of SiRT1 causes resistance when used with Cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug.

Researchers found the resistance increase as the amount of Cisplatin dosage was increased.  This resistance makes the drug ineffective in its use.  By learning the cause of the resistance factor scientists can research ways to lessen these effects and increase the benefits of chemotherapy using Cisplatin.

A link to the study press release can be found here:

Study Provides Clues about How Cancer Cells Develop Resistance to Chemotherapy Drug

Reference: Liang X, Finkel T, Shen D, Yin J, Aszalos A., and Gottesman MM. SIRT1 Contributes in Part to Cisplatin Resistance in Cancer Cells by Altering Mitochondrial Metabolism. Molecular Cancer Research. September, 15, 2008.

Calorie Restriction as an activator of SIRT1

Some of the original studies regarding SIRT1 have to do with how a "calorie restrictive diet" enabled the activation of SiRT1.  Calorie restriction is a controversial diet that often comes under scrutiny by dietitians and medical professionals alike.  On the other hand there are also many professionals who support the diet.

As I did the first time I heard of calorie restriction it sounded to me like a starvation diet.  How could that be healthy I asked my self?  To answer that question I had to do some research because without it I would just be jumping to an uneducated conclusion.  What I learned was eye opening and I was able to see why both sides would argue it was healthy or not.  I'll share with you my opinion at the end of the post.

Calorie Restriction is a lifestyle diet where you in-take less calories then your body is currently accustomed to.  Usually the amount of calories per day is approximately 20% less then your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  For more information on calculating BMR check out this post on the "My Resveratrol Experience" web site.  There is more to it then just cutting out some calories.  The idea is to eat the appropriate foods and consume the appropriate vitamins and nutrients your body needs.

Sirtuin Researcher Lenny Gaurente PBS interview

I came across a recent interview with Lenny Guarente, a biology professor at MIT and a well know Sirtuin researcher, and thought you all might want to check it out.  The interview was done on the Earth & Sky Radio Series part of www.earthsky.org.

The interview posted on the website was brief but it had some very interesting response from Guarente.  (You can also find the complete 13 min video at the bottom of this post)  One part I found particularly helpful was a very simple explanation as to why calorie restriction is beneficial:

Guarente said a low-calorie diet – below 1,500 calories daily – triggers anti-aging genes called sirtuins.

"That can extend their life span by something like one-third."

Guarente said there’s an evolutionary reason for this.

"When conditions become harsh, and food is less available, what these sirtuin genes do is they shift the strategy towards maintenance, and that’s the state that would promote longevity and disease resistance."

The last part of the excerpt is what I find to be a great simple explanation into the mechanics of SiRT1.  When we tell our cells that maintenance is what should occur we stop them from telling the cell to die.  Thus we create more longevity for our individual cells and hopefully in turn longer life. 

What if SiRT1 can...?

So what if SiRT1 is the key to longevity, cell health, increased metabolism, etc?  It seems that almost every day more and more studies are coming out linking SiRT1 to better health.  If in fact it is the key to all of these things then who will benefit from it?  I'd like to think it will be "us!"

Most people think of the research surrounding SiRT1 as "voodoo", or something that just seems to good to be true.  Those people seem to forget that at one time scientists who found anti-biotics were told they were crazy as well.  Now it is the most commonly prescribed drug of our time.  I like to keep an open mind about these things and want to believe the research being done makes sense and "could" work.  If you think about what SiRT1 does it makes sense.  If we can activate "something" that tells our cells to fight to stay alive instead of die then why wouldn't that be a benefit to us?

Circadian Rhythm, Metabolism, and SiRT1 linked

On July 24th a new study was published showing Circadian Rhythm and Metabolism are linked to SiRT1.  There was a great deal of press coverage with several different takes on the study results.  Below I linked several of the news stories so you can get a good understanding of how this information can effect future research.

Circadian rhythm-metabolism link discovered
University of California - Irvine
July 24th, 2008

Circadian Rhythm-Metabolism Link Discovered
Science Daily
July 25th, 2008

Studies Link Circadian Rhythm, Metabolism, Longevity to One Protein
Yahoo News via Healthday, Jeffrey Perkel
July 24th, 2008

Eating affects the body clock
swissinfo.ch - Swiss News, World Wide, Jessica Dacey
July 26th, 2008