Top scientist Bruce Ames (95): 'With the right nutrition we can all live to be 100 years old'
Bruce Ames in 2003 (photo Wikipedia)
As you know, I have a special interest in nutrition and health and certainly also in orthomolecular medicine. The reason for this is that I have personally experienced the special effects of it.
This is how I was able to improve my health through self-study. I used to have all kinds of health problems such as obesity, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure, headaches, back pain, osteoarthritis, severe allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, poor resistance, little energy and even more complaints. Now I have been completely free of complaints and medication for two years. And that only by adjusting my lifestyle: more exercise, different diet, mainly Mediterranean food (no added sugars and no processed food), supplements, sufficient sleep and little stress.
My source of inspiration
One of the greatest sources of inspiration for me is the American top scientist professor Bruce Ames (95). This man belongs to the Champions League of science and is one of the most cited scientists in the world. In the 60s, Bruce Ames developed a simple and affordable test to quickly determine how carcinogenic a certain substance is. This test, which is now called the “Ames test”, has had a major impact since then. Thanks to his work, we know, for example, that tobacco smoke is carcinogenic because it damages DNA. In the XNUMXs, Ames actively campaigned for stricter regulations on the use of agricultural chemicals and ensured that carcinogenic substances were removed from products such as hair dye.
During his work, he decided, after a chance discovery, to focus entirely on nutrition and supplements. In 1989, an employee of Bruce Ames noticed something remarkable: laboratory animals showed just as much DNA damage as animals that had been deliberately exposed to radiation. How was that possible? After thorough investigation, it turned out that a mistake had been made by the animal feed supplier: the feed did not contain folic acid (vitamin B11). This made Ames discover that a long-term deficiency of folic acid can also lead to DNA damage in humans. This made him think about the role of nutrition in our health. While many of his colleagues started to take it easy, Ames focused his attention entirely on the effect of nutrients on our body and metabolism. This gave him new insights:
- Many enzymes in our body do not function optimally or too slowly because we do not get enough vitamins, minerals and other important substances.
- Almost everyone has a deficiency of certain types of enzymes due to minor genetic abnormalities.
- As we age, the quality of our enzymes declines.
- By taking more vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, through food or supplements, these 'outdated' enzymes can work better again. In this way, despite genetic errors, we can significantly improve the amount of some enzymes.
Thanks to Bruce Ames we know how important vitamins and minerals are for our body and that almost everyone has a deficiency, despite the eternal song of the ignorant that if you eat healthy you get enough vitamins and minerals, that is absolutely not true.
According to Bruce Ames, nutrition is a simple and effective way to combat the diseases of aging and extend a healthy lifespan. He sees it as the “low-hanging fruit” that can give you quick results. Ames recommends that everyone eat a Mediterranean diet: lots of fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, whole grains, some white meat now and then, and only red meat now and then. This will give you the nutrients your body needs to function optimally. However, he says that even with a balanced diet, most people benefit from extra nutrients. This is because of our unique genetic makeup, called “polymorphisms,” which means we all need a different mix of nutrients. Ames therefore emphasizes that changing your eating habits or using supplements is often necessary to stay truly healthy.
More about Bruce Ames
Bruce Ames is a well-known scientist in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology. He works as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a senior investigator at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute. His career began in the 1950s, when he was working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on bacterial DNA. This research led to the development of the well-known “Ames Test”, a simple test to identify substances that may cause genetic damage. This test was revolutionary because it was fast and cheap, whereas previous methods were very time-consuming and expensive.
Thanks to the Ames Test, scientists were able to show that many chemicals cause cancer by damaging genes. Although this seems obvious now, it was an important discovery at the time, and was proven in part by Ames. His work has had a major impact on the way we look at carcinogens.
Dr. Ames is an influential scientist with over 450 scientific publications. He has even won the prestigious National Medal of Science. In recent years, he has focused on the study of aging, with a particular interest in what is called the “free radical theory of aging.” Free radicals are molecules that can damage cells and contribute to the aging process. Ames discovered in 1990 that this damage increases as people age, which led him to investigate mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, more closely.
Mitochondria play a crucial role in our body’s energy production, but during this process, free radicals can be created, which damage cells. Ames discovered that the nutritional supplement acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) could potentially reduce the effects of aging on mitochondria. He conducted experiments with older rats and saw that after a few weeks, they became more active and their cells functioned better. However, these rats still produced a lot of free radicals. To address these harmful substances, Ames decided to add lipoic acid, a substance that acts as an antioxidant, to their diet. The results were striking: the rats’ cells became healthier and there was less damage from free radicals.
Despite his advanced age of 95, Ames is still working. He believes that this is due to taking a supplement consisting of 200 mg of alpha-lipoic acid and 500 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine, which you have to take twice a day. Ames is convinced that this supplement can help to counteract aging and improve overall health.
In addition to these studies, Ames is also convinced of the power of vitamin B. He believes that simple vitamin B therapy can help combat various diseases. In a comprehensive report with over 300 references, he showed that many diseases can be treated with high doses of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Recently, Ames also introduced a new theory, the “triage theory.” According to this theory, when a nutrient deficiency occurs, the body chooses to support the functions that are essential for immediate survival first. Less urgent functions then receive fewer nutrients, which can lead to long-term health problems. Ames’ work provides valuable insights into how nutrition plays a role in the aging process and the health of the human body.
A more than excellent article about his work, research and theory can be read here: https://www.lifeunlimited.nl/prof-bruce-ames-met-de-juiste-voeding-kunnen-we-allemaal-honderd-worden/
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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Bruce himself seems to be well on his way to 100….
Let's hope for his sake that this is just a guideline number….
Thank you Peter, I have become a lot wiser, it is actually strange that I and many people with me only start paying more attention to their health at a later age, no it is not a fear of death because I am not afraid of death.
Let's just hope that not everyone lives to be 100, because then the world would look very different.
Hopefully our government is not reading this because then we can all work until we are 75.
Thanks for the extensive article… I myself am dealing with aging and nutrition on a daily basis 🙂 …
Recently I started making Reuteri 'yoghurt' which makes a great contribution to health... here is the link to a youtube video in which the 'inventor' tells others about it >> https://youtu.be/nMdyFkOBZgc?si=OC81xuJ0m68VlbBR
Again a nice personal introduction. A full and varied life, as I read.
Keep up the good work, good luck.
Dear Peter
Thank you for the interesting message. I have a lot of appreciation and respect for orthomolecular medicine. Often you can achieve more with sophisticated (and high-dosage) supplements than with heavy medication. Still, I feel the need to respond to this and add something.
With over 40 years of professional experience as a dietician and having seen many clients with nutrition-related complaints and conditions, I would like to make the following comments.
Over time, I see more and more clients in the consultation hour with complaints that occur with certain nutrient deficiencies, where at the same time the nutritional anamnesis (questioning about the eating habits) is not remarkable. This means deficiency symptoms with a varied diet that contains the supply of all nutrients according to the recommended amounts. I call that "starving at a full table".
By recommending supplements, many complaints improve (sometimes even dramatically), but habituation and dependency on the supply of extra nutrients also develop. I personally know several clients who always carry their suitcase of supplements with them and can no longer do without them. In a number of cases, the supplementation seemed to have less or no effect after a while. I even experienced a scorbut case in someone who had stopped using high-dose vitamin C after years of use but still ate normal vegetables and fruit. That made me use supplements as a valuable instrument to save a situation and at the same time or after a while to look for measures (such as changing lifestyle and eating habits, exercise, bowel cleansing, intermediate fasting, stress management, trauma processing, etc.) that aim to stimulate and stabilize the processes in digestion, absorption, metabolism, glandular function and excretion so that supplementation becomes unnecessary and you achieve the same effect with fewer nutrients.
Somewhat irreverently, I therefore call supplementation “fertilizer” for people and deliberately use the term “rescue”. The drowning person who cannot swim must be rescued. That rescue is life-saving. If he then learns to swim, he can save himself and even enjoy a situation that used to be life-threatening. Rescue is quick and is most successful if the affected person remains passive. But to “learn to swim” you have to become active, practice regularly and be patient (patient). The vast majority of our modern medicine and nutritional therapy is concerned with “rescuing” and forgets to make people “better”. Every course of antibiotics weakens the immune system and every diet in which something is omitted or added weakens it in the long run. Whoever eats a diet will eventually become ill is my motto.
I focus more on processes (functions) and less on substances. The function is primary and the substance is secondary. In a living organism (plant, animal, human, micro-organism) countless life processes take place (growth, movement, reproduction, digestion, glandular function, metabolism, excretion etc.). These life functions use substances but are not caused by substances. A simple example can clarify this. As is known, muscles consist mainly of protein. At some point, gyms also understood this and since then the sales departments are full of all kinds of protein preparations. However, you can eat as much protein as you want, but that alone does not make your muscles stronger and thicker. Unfortunately, you will have to use and train your muscles to make them stronger. The function creates the organ and not the other way around. Then you also need some protein, but as a rule much less than the gyms try to make us believe. This is the case with all life processes and all functions of our internal organs. Vitamin C activates the immune system (leukocytes) but only if there is already a functioning immune system present. Vitamin D promotes, among other things, the calcification of bones, but only if bone formation and calcification are already taking place. If the function is absent or paralyzed, the substance does nothing.
That is why I advocate more attention to the functions and life processes. We still know very little in this area.
Food and Nutrient. What really nourishes us?
From this perspective, a food and healthy diet are more than just a sum of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fibers, antioxidants and other substances that have a certain desired or undesired physiological effect.
It is not possible to combine all these different substances in such a way that an apple or a head of lettuce is created. It is not even possible to construct a living (read: self-reproducing) protein using amino acids. Apparently something more is needed that we cannot yet put our scientific finger on. Sometimes you really need a nice fresh and crispy salad or vegetable dish. Nutritionally, a little green lettuce does not amount to much and the nutrient content is negligible, but you still feel that it does you good. Call it vitality, Chi or Prana... it is the life processes in the food itself that stimulate our life processes. With a mixture of only nutrients you can survive but not strengthen the life functions. That is an experience from clinical dietetics where patients are kept alive with artificial nutrition. You see the blood circulation, recovery processes, metabolic processes and organ functions deteriorate in the long term. Predominantly fresh, largely unprocessed foods are the basis for a healthy diet. I would rather spend my money on fresh high-quality food than on supplements and medicines and not feel like I am lacking something that needs to be supplemented. That does not mean that supplementation is not useful in some situations and in connection with a modern diet that is largely produced by the food industry, it is even a necessity for survival.
Finally, a simple tip for healthy eating:
Avoid anything that is advertised!
Dear Johannes, a great addition and you are certainly right. Yet there is a 'but'. Maintaining a healthy diet is certainly essential for a healthy body and mind. But even with a well-balanced diet, it can be difficult to get all the necessary nutrients and vitamins that our bodies need. This is where nutritional supplements come in. Supplements can help fill in the gaps in our diet and ensure that we get all the essential nutrients for optimal health. Even a healthy diet is often not enough.
Take magnesium for example. Even if you eat healthy, it is very difficult to get adequate amounts of magnesium, which ideally equates to around 400-500 mg per day. You would really have to eat a LOT of vegetables, nuts and legumes to get that high amount of magnesium.
The same goes for potassium, an important mineral that you ideally need a few grams of per day. Or take iodine, which is found in most foods in very small amounts. Unless you eat seaweed regularly (seaweed is high in iodine). Yes, iodized salt does contain iodine, but most packaged foods do not use iodized salt and iodine starts to evaporate from iodized salt after the package is opened. If you use sea salt, it does not contain iodine.
Vitamin D is another example. Even if you eat healthy, it is nearly impossible to get enough vitamin D from your diet. Vitamin D is only found in very small amounts in foods (mushrooms or salmon contain a small amount of vitamin D). But can’t you get your vitamin D from the sun? Most people in Western countries live too far from the equator, so the sunlight is too weak to produce sufficient vitamin D, even in the summer. Also, when the skin is covered by clothing, or as a result of aging, the skin is unable to use sunlight to produce sufficient amounts of vitamin D.
As you can read, even a healthy diet in most cases does not provide enough vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients. That is why supplementation can be very useful.
Peter, a serious question:
Many years ago, when vitamins and supplements were not as heavily commercialized as they are today, were people less healthy than they are today?
I find that Johannes's addition contains many truths. He seems to be a man of professional knowledge. The last sentence speaks volumes to me.
Good question. There are several reasons why we need more vitamins and minerals today than we used to:
Soil depletion: The quality of agricultural land has declined over the years. This causes crops such as vegetables and fruit to absorb fewer minerals from the soil. As a result, they often contain less iron, zinc and selenium than before. This depletion is mainly due to intensive agricultural practices that focus on yield and appearance instead of nutritional value (EenVandaag).
Change in plant varietyn: Since the 60s, new varieties of plants have been bred that grow faster and produce larger fruits. Although this increases productivity, the food is often lower in minerals. These varieties have higher moisture and carbohydrate content, but lower minerals, resulting in a 'dilution effect' (IVG info).
Climate change: Climate change, especially the increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere, affects the mineral content of plants. Due to higher CO₂ concentrations, plants produce more carbohydrates, which again leads to a dilution of minerals (IVG info).
Our changed diet: People nowadays often eat more processed food and less fresh fruit and vegetables, which means they get fewer vitamins and minerals. In addition, the amounts of vitamins and minerals in food have decreased in about 24 to 51% of products in the Netherlands between 1980 and 2016 (IVG info).
Sources: EenVandaag and Institute for Responsible Use of Medicines
And about the last sentence of Johannes: he must mean Coca cola, McDonalds, KFC and the pizza farmers. Ultra processed food is very bad for your microbiome and your body.
I also advocate a more holistic approach. What is important to remember is that exercise, sleep, low stress and a good varied diet are exponentially more important to your lifespan than supplements. On that point we completely agree.
Peter and Johannes, thank you very much for this very important article!
Also a small addition from me: when you suddenly get a craving for a certain type of food – (I said food, not beer, chips and nuts) (( or pea soup 😉 )) – then your body indicates that you miss something that is in that type of food. See for example pregnant women. Here with that chocolate, dark (70% cocoa or higher) is good for the blood vessels.
PS: Yes, and especially no stress is important. I personally think that is the main cause of cancer.