Why It Behooves Us To Take Good Care Of Our GI Tract

Post by **tex** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:41 pm

Hi All,

Here is a very good reason why we should take the best care possible of our digestive tract - it may hold the key to our longevity.

"By activating this one gene in this one tissue -- the intestine -- the fly lives longer; we slow aging of the intestine, and that has a positive effect on the whole animal," said Walker, a member of UCLA's Molecular Biology Institute. "Our study shows that increasing PGC-1 gene activity in the intestine can slow aging, both at the cellular level and at the level of the whole animal."

The biologists delayed the aging of the flies' intestines and extended their lives by as much as 50 percent.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 093945.htm

Tex

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:33 pm

Wow. WOW!

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:37 pm

Interesting...

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:44 pm

Amazing finding. Really interesting. I wonder when the medical world will catch up.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:43 pm

What does this say about someone like you, Tex, who has a substantial part of your intestine missing?

Gloria

Post by **tex** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 12:16 am

Whatever it says, the message is probably not good.

I'm sure that if any therapeutic benefits are derived from that research, many decades will pass before they become available for commercial/medical use, anyway, so I'm not holding my breath.

I would assume that the small intestine is the most critical part, anyway, since that's where most enzymes are produced, and virtually all nutrients are absorbed. I'm out of luck on that one, too, though, because my small intestine is in pretty rotten condition, according to my last operative report. Come to think if it, there aren't many parts left that aren't pretty well worn out, so I'm doing a pretty good job of using everything up at a fairly uniform rate.

Tex