Noah N.

Chelliah, MD, FACC, FACP, FCCP

President, The Heart Institute of North Dakota
Professor of Medicine,
UND School of Medical Sciences
Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Board Certified in Cardiology
Board Certified in Interventional Cardiology
Radio Talk Show Host “Health Headlines” on
Logos Radio 88.3 FM in Grand Forks, ND.
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Extending Life

Health Optimization-13
By Dr. Noah N. Chelliah
For m ore health tips and recipes, listen to Dr. Chelliah’s President
Health Headlines Show: www.logosradio.us Or tune to: Heart Institute of North Dakota
The Logos Radio 88.3 FM in Grand Forks Do not stop your current medications without consulting
your medical provider. All of these ideas can be
If you want your questions answered by Dr. Chelliah on the implem ented in addition to your m edications. But check
air, email your questions to: info@logosradio.us with your medical provider before trying any of these
strategies. Professor of Medicine
UND Medical School

How To Extend Life Expectancy
All human beings have 46 chromosomes in each cell in
the body/ Chromosomes are made up of two spiral
strands of DNA interconnected by strands such that
each chromosome looks like a spirally twisted rope
ladder with rungs. Each end of each DNA strand, there
is “cap” which functions like the plastic end piece of a
shoe lace that keeps the shoe lace end from fraying and
unraveling. In the In the Chromosome these end caps
keep the DNA in tact and prevents the DNA from
unraveling. This is called .a Telomere.
Every time our cells divide, a bit of that cap is lost. In
other words, with each cell division, these caps become
shorter and shorter. In other words, these caps wear
down or “rub off” like the eraser of a pencil that
shortens each time the eraser is used.
Telomeres are the white tips
When the end cap “telomere” completely gone, the
cells stop dividing; in other words, it old cells are not
replaced by new cells because no new cell can be
produced.
So telomeres can be thought of as kind of our life
“fuse.” They start shortening as soon as we’re born and
when they’re gone, we’re gone. In fact this fact is used
by forensic scientists to estimate the age of a person
from whom the DNA came from by looking at the length
of the telomere. Shorter the telomere, the older the
person is.
The thought is, if we can slow down this ticking clock,
slow down this shortening, we may be able to slow
down aging and live longer. So what can we do to slow
down the shortening of the telomere?
1. Stop smoking because smoking shortens the telomeres.
2. Two types of foods are associated with telomere
shortening which means accelerated aging;
A. Fish: Consumption of fish on a regular basis appears
to shorten the telomere and shortens human life by
approximately 6 years.
B. Processed meat: Consumption of processed meats on
a regular basis appears to shorten the telomere and
shorten the life by 14 years.
Is there any way to slow down the aging process and
perhaps even the aging clock backwards?
Yes, a vegan diet!!
Item: There is a tree, called the bristle cone pine, which is
the oldest living organism on earth. There is a bristle cone
pine tree in California that started growing around the
time the Egyptian pyramids were being built—about 5,000
years ago—and the tree is still going strong. Scientists
found an enzyme in its roots called telomerase, which
helps actually rebuild the telomeres. We humans also
have the enzyme.
The problem, is that no one had ever found a way to boost
its activity, but that’s because no one ever tried a whole
foods plant-based diet before. In a study funded by the
U.S. Department of Defense department, Dr. Dean Ornish
in California found that after just 3 months of a whole
foods plant-based diet—along with exercise—one could
significantly boost telomerase activity.
Studies have shown that caloric restriction can
significantly extend one’s lifespan but calorie restriction
is not practical because most people can not follow such
a diet plan because they feeling hungry all the time is not
an acceptable.
But there may be a better way!
Scientists have discovered that the benefits of dietary
restriction may be coming not from restricting calories,
but from restricting protein intake. In fact, just reducing
protein without any changes in calorie level have been
shown to have similar effects as caloric restriction.
That’s great news, because protein restriction is much
easier to maintain than calorie restriction and possibly be
even more effective than calorie restriction. Protein
restriction appears to suppresses both TOR (Target Of
Rapamycin) and IGF-1, which may result in drastic
increase in longevity and mimic the health benefits of
caloric restriction.
Studies have also demonstrated that some proteins are
worse than others.
A. One amino acid in particular, leucine, appears to
exert the greatest effect on TOR in shortening life. In
fact, just cutting down on leucine may be nearly as
effective as cutting down all proteins. So where is
leucine found? It is predominantly found in animal
foods: particularly, eggs, dairy, and meat, including
chicken and fish, whereas plant foods fruits,
vegetables, grains, and beans. have much less
leucine.
B. In general, lower leucine levels are only reached
by restriction of animal proteins. To reach the
leucine intake provided by dairy or meat during any
one day, one would have to consume 9 pounds of
cabbage i.e., about four big heads of cabbage or 100
apples. These calculations exemplify the extreme
differences in leucine amounts provided by a more
standard diet in comparison to a vegetarian or vegan
diet. The functional role of leucine in regulating TOR
activity may help explain the extraordinary results
reported in the Cornell-Oxford-China Study, since
quasi-vegan diets of modest protein content tend to
be relatively low in leucine.
Studies have shown that methionine promotes cancer
growth! Therefore methionine restriction can result in
lifespan extension.
Plant-based diets tend to have low levels of methionine
whereas animal proteins have high levels of
methionine.
All the above data are based on peer-reviewed articles in
reputable medical and nutrition journals.
© 2016 Noah N. Chelliah, MD, FACC, FACP, FCCP
An Amazing Fact: 85% of all chronic diseases can be prevented
or cured by pursuing a vegan diet (no animal product of any
kind) combined with daily exercise.
This is part 13 of the series of FREE m onthly newsletter
pam phlets. Contact Dr. Chelliah to obtain copies of the
others: drchelliah@heartnd.com
You may pick them at no charge at The Heart Institute of
North Dakota