Health promotion through education http://NursePat./ en-us Webligo BlogHoster <font face="Times New Roman" size="4">What is the key to living a longer healthier life?&nbsp; William H. Adler, M.D., chief of clinical immunology at National Institute of Aging, believes it is to build up your immune system.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite clear in rodents that you can manipulate the life span-both the average life span and the maximum life span- by fooling around with diets,&rdquo; says James O&rsquo;Leary, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.&nbsp; &ldquo;The major factor is dietary restriction.&nbsp; If you allow rodents to eat what they want, their immune systems decline.&nbsp; If you under nourish the animals (by restricting calories) without them missing any important nutrients, they live longer.&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They also seem to live better, reports Roy I. Walford, M.D., a professor of pathology at the UCLA School of Medicine.&nbsp; In one study he conducted, for example, 50 percent of fully fed mice developed cancers of one sort or another, but only 13 percent of the mice on restricted diets did.&nbsp; Other studies seem to indicate that animals on restricted diets also have fewer cataracts and less dry skin, kidney disease, and heart disease.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How does this translate into human terms?&nbsp; Many scientists aren&rsquo;t sure.&nbsp; But Dr. Walford, who has conducted much of the research in this area, believes that dietary restriction actually rejuvenates the immune system.&nbsp; He has personally restricted his own calorie intake.&nbsp; (information from &ldquo;Fighting Disease: The Complete&nbsp; Guide to Natural Immune Power&rdquo;, by Ellen Michaud, and Alice Feinstein)<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dr. Walford&rsquo;s belief makes sense.&nbsp; The body has a limited amount of energy to expend.&nbsp; Energy used to digest high calorie, low nutrient foods takes away from energy that could be used to build up and maintain the immune system.&nbsp;&nbsp; There is much scientific evidence that the condition of health and the aging process in humans are very much connected to the strength of the immune system.&nbsp; <br /> </font> <p class="MsoNormal">Sponsored by EnterTo.com the first REAL <a href="http://mail.enterto.com/signup.html">spam free email</a><br /> <br />Click Below to discover and share content from anywhere on the web<br /> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script> http://NursePat.3steps.com/29073/