A couple of
years ago, I watched a TV show about a new trend of using daily injection of IGF
to reverse or stop the aging process.
And, of course, I am sure that you’ve heard about the hormone
replacement therapy. The scientific
theory for these treatments is the neuroendocrine theory of aging.
Research has shown that foods in western diet with the highest relative phytoestrogen content were nuts and oilseeds, followed by soy products, cereals and breads, legumes, and meat products. Flax seed and other oilseeds contained the highest total phytoestrogen content, followed by soybeans and tofu. The highest concentrations of isoflavones are found in soybeans and soybean products followed by legumes, whereas lignans are the primary source of phytoestrogens found in nuts and oilseeds (e.g. flax) and also found in cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Here is a more comprehensive list of foods known to contain phytoestrogens includes: soybeans and soy products, tempeh, linseed (flax), sesame seeds, wheatberries, fenugreek, oats, barley, beans, lentils, yams, rice, alfalfa, mung beans, apples, carrots, pomegranates, wheat germ, rice bran, lupin, kudzu, coffee, licorice root, mint, and ginseng.
The
neuroendocrine theory of aging: The neuroendocrine system refers to the complex connection
between the brain and nervous systems, and the endocrine glands. The hypothalamus structure at the end of the brain
regulates pituitary gland. Pituitary
gland in turn regulates the glands of the body including ovaries, testes and
thyroid and influences the release of hormones into circulation. As human age, the system becomes less functional
and leads to the degenerative conditions of aging. The most obvious example of age-related
hormone change is menopause in women. Recent research showed that hormones, including
insulin-like peptides, IGF (insulin-like growth factor), lipophilic signaling
molecules and sterols are all candidate effectors of aging. Suppression of these hormones or their
receptors can increase life span and delay age-dependent function decline. IGF especially is considered to be one of the
key in the endocrine regulation of aging.
The
neuroendocrine theory of aging is another popular theory of aging. I do believe that neuroendocrine change is an
important piece in our aging process in addition to the oxidative damage caused
by free radicals. Unfortunately, current
hormone replacement therapy or direct IGF injection treats human body as a
simple mechanic device—“the motor oil is running low and let’s add more.” When
our body ages, all parts slow down. The
slowing downs that we can feel and see such as menopause, skin sagging and
wrinkling, loss of muscle tones are just a few aspects among many. Aging affects every cell in our body: our eye
sight changes, heart gets weaker, liver and lung function reduces, and kidney
function declines. Simply adding hormone to the body in order to
treat some symptoms could cause havoc to other parts of the body. The extra hormone (which serve as chemical
signals between cell communications) often over charges the aging cells leading
to unwanted side effect (to put it mildly) such as cancer. I believe
the necessity of the hormonal therapy in some cases to solve a real clinical need. However I am not a believer of using hormone to
treat skin aging.
So back to
the point—how to slow down the hormonal change caused aging process in woman? For the age related estrogen loss, phyto-estrogens could be a safe alternative. It has
been long noted that Japanese women do not suffer as much from the menopause
related symptom such as hot flashes. The
observation has been attributed to the Japanese women’s phytoestrogen (i.e.,
soy) rich diet. Phyto-estrogens are
plant-derived xenoestrogens (see estrogen) not generated within the endocrine
system but consumed by eating phytoestrogenic plants. Also called "dietary
estrogens", they are a diverse group of naturally occurring nonsteroidal
plant compounds that, because of their structural similarity with estradiol
(17-β-estradiol), have the ability to cause estrogenic or/and antiestrogenic
effects, antiestrogenic effects by sitting in and
blocking receptor sites against estrogen.
Research has shown that foods in western diet with the highest relative phytoestrogen content were nuts and oilseeds, followed by soy products, cereals and breads, legumes, and meat products. Flax seed and other oilseeds contained the highest total phytoestrogen content, followed by soybeans and tofu. The highest concentrations of isoflavones are found in soybeans and soybean products followed by legumes, whereas lignans are the primary source of phytoestrogens found in nuts and oilseeds (e.g. flax) and also found in cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Here is a more comprehensive list of foods known to contain phytoestrogens includes: soybeans and soy products, tempeh, linseed (flax), sesame seeds, wheatberries, fenugreek, oats, barley, beans, lentils, yams, rice, alfalfa, mung beans, apples, carrots, pomegranates, wheat germ, rice bran, lupin, kudzu, coffee, licorice root, mint, and ginseng.
Thanks for
reading!
Connie
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