104 replies to this topic

[Dmitri]

Is subway healthy enough? I caculated the cost of running a kitchen including my labor costs and decided that it was cheaper to eat out.

I eat subway tuesdays and thursdays for lunch (only those two days since I have class in the morning ). I choose the turkey breast sub which only has about 280 calories and with wheat bread. It's alot healthier than many of the other food places the University has to offer (Wendy's, Chili's, Sonic, Extreme Pita)

[Matt]

This is an interesting study. It just shows you how much you can affect survival by doing all the right things. I found it originally from a bbc article with the headline "14 years of extra life from healthy habits" or something.

Combined Impact of Health Behaviours and Mortality in Men and Women: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study
Background

http://medicine.plos.../...050012&ct=1

There is overwhelming evidence that behavioural factors influence health, but their combined impact on the general population is less well documented. We aimed to quantify the potential combined impact of four health behaviours on mortality in men and women living in the general community.

Methods and Findings

We examined the prospective relationship between lifestyle and mortality in a prospective population study of 20,244 men and women aged 45–79 y with no known cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline survey in 1993–1997, living in the general community in the United Kingdom, and followed up to 2006. Participants scored one point for each health behaviour: current non-smoking, not physically inactive, moderate alcohol intake (1–14 units a week) and plasma vitamin C >50 mmol/l indicating fruit and vegetable intake of at least five servings a day, for a total score ranging from zero to four. After an average 11 y follow-up, the age-, sex-, body mass–, and social class–adjusted relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for all-cause mortality(1,987 deaths) for men and women who had three, two, one, and zero compared to four health behaviours were respectively, 1.39 (1.21–1.60), 1.95 (1.70–-2.25), 2.52 (2.13–3.00), and 4.04 (2.95–5.54) p < 0.001 trend. The relationships were consistent in subgroups stratified by sex, age, body mass index, and social class, and after excluding deaths within 2 y. The trends were strongest for cardiovascular causes. The mortality risk for those with four compared to zero health behaviours was equivalent to being 14 y younger in chronological age.

Conclusions

Four health behaviours combined predict a 4-fold difference in total mortality in men and women, with an estimated impact equivalent to 14 y in chronological age.

Cumulative Survival
http://medicine.plos...0012.g001-M.jpg

Edited by Matt, 06 October 2008 - 05:11 PM.

[VictorBjoerk]

How many more extra years does Michael Rae think Cr will give? (or any other prominent figure in the cr society)

[suspire]

I've found the "health-freak" lifestyle to increase my quality of life pretty substantially. For me, it's worth it for right now. The hope that I'll be 85+ and still be active is a much bigger motivator than adding 1-2 years on my maximum lifespan.

That's my philosophy as well. I come from a long lived family on both sides of the contributing gene pool, so I am fairly sure I'll live well into my late 80s, if not older, barring some accident. I want to make sure, however, that I'm active and healthy and happy during those years. I don't want to have to deal with hospitals, unnecessary pain and suffering, etc. Additionally, I believe in a preventive medication (ie supplements), rather than treatment after the fact. So yeah, if I manage to get to "escape velocity", great and well--I have my doubts we'll see such in my lifetime and I am not a believer in cryonics, and I am actually quite okay with dying--but I am not interested in living in poor health, pain, etc. I am on these boards, when I do check them, mostly for information to help improve/maintain quality of life/cognition.

[Matt]

How many more extra years does Michael Rae think Cr will give? (or any other prominent figure in the cr society)

Here was an old article from last year

http://www.macleans....5_139289_139289

MR: Having said all that, if you ask me what my ideal phenotype would be, I would be 50 lb. heavier of lean body mass, but I'm happy enough with my body and I'm certainly not willing to compromise years -- maybe decades -- of healthy life to being a beefier person.

[Ghostrider]

How many more extra years does Michael Rae think Cr will give? (or any other prominent figure in the cr society)

Here was an old article from last year

http://www.macleans....5_139289_139289

MR: Having said all that, if you ask me what my ideal phenotype would be, I would be 50 lb. heavier of lean body mass, but I'm happy enough with my body and I'm certainly not willing to compromise years -- maybe decades -- of healthy life to being a beefier person.

How can he say possibly decades? What's the longevity gain in the closest mammal to humans due to calorie restriction?

[n25philly]

I'm not personally going to worry about how many years supplements are going to give me. If I find out that a supplement is good for making me healthier I am more than willing to give it a go. I typically base my health routine on how I feel. If I feel good I am doing something right, and if don't, then I know I need to make a change. Sometimes, a bowl of ice cream can be therapeutic in my opinion. I worry about the quality of my life first, and how long it will last second. I want to feel good for the rest of my life whether it's going to go on for 1 year or 1,000,000. If I get a few more years of life through supplements that is definitely a great bonus and something I want, but not necessarily my #1 concern.

[erzebet]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

[shaggy]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

Wow...

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Why resurrect an old thread with a such a light weight post?

[immortali457]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

Wow...

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Why resurrect an old thread with a such a light weight post?

+1

[niner]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Drugs are tested a hell of a lot more rigorously than supplements. Supplements don't have to be tested in humans at all. The quality control on supplements is pretty much up to the discretion of the manufacturer, aside from some fairly loose rules. At least with a drug, you know what's in the pill. You may not know if you are going to get a side effect or not, but you have a pretty good idea what the odds of seeing a side effect are, if you bother to read the package insert or look in the PDR. I wouldn't go as far as to refuse to take any supplement, but it's naive to think that they are safe across the board.

[shaggy]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Drugs are tested a hell of a lot more rigorously than supplements. Supplements don't have to be tested in humans at all. The quality control on supplements is pretty much up to the discretion of the manufacturer, aside from some fairly loose rules. At least with a drug, you know what's in the pill. You may not know if you are going to get a side effect or not, but you have a pretty good idea what the odds of seeing a side effect are, if you bother to read the package insert or look in the PDR. I wouldn't go as far as to refuse to take any supplement, but it's naive to think that they are safe across the board.

There are countless drugs that were tested "rigorously" as you say that have killed many people, I unfortunately took one of these drugs for many years before it was banned, lets hoped I have not suffered lasting damage.

Edited by shaggy, 13 October 2009 - 09:25 PM.

[shaggy]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Drugs are tested a hell of a lot more rigorously than supplements. Supplements don't have to be tested in humans at all. The quality control on supplements is pretty much up to the discretion of the manufacturer, aside from some fairly loose rules. At least with a drug, you know what's in the pill. You may not know if you are going to get a side effect or not, but you have a pretty good idea what the odds of seeing a side effect are, if you bother to read the package insert or look in the PDR. I wouldn't go as far as to refuse to take any supplement, but it's naive to think that they are safe across the board.

There are countless drugs that were tested "rigorously" as you say that have killed many people, I unfortunately took one of these drugs for many years before it was banned, lets hoped I have not suffered lasting damage.

Oh and only today.....

http://www.telegraph...jury-rules.html

Funny how numerous folks on here warn against 5-HTP for causing heart damage and yet you don't see these sort of law suits against Holland and Barrett! lol

[erzebet]

there are side effects of some drugs that manifest themselves in certain rare diseases so when testing a drug it is not possible to predict every adverse reaction- still, the most frequent ones are known and we have learned from mistakes - see the thalidomide case
i do not blindly trust the drug companies but at least there are clinical trials done if i need some information

in the case of supplements they have nothing to patent so they are not interested in clinical trials for 20-25 years

[niner]

i do not take any supplement right now because they are not tested like drugs to know what i can expect- that's the same with over the counter drugs. i'd better trust my diet and few exercises i do to add years.

You're naive thinking drugs are tested as thouroughly as you seem to think.

Drugs are tested a hell of a lot more rigorously than supplements. Supplements don't have to be tested in humans at all. The quality control on supplements is pretty much up to the discretion of the manufacturer, aside from some fairly loose rules. At least with a drug, you know what's in the pill. You may not know if you are going to get a side effect or not, but you have a pretty good idea what the odds of seeing a side effect are, if you bother to read the package insert or look in the PDR. I wouldn't go as far as to refuse to take any supplement, but it's naive to think that they are safe across the board.

There are countless drugs that were tested "rigorously" as you say that have killed many people, I unfortunately took one of these drugs for many years before it was banned, lets hoped I have not suffered lasting damage.

I didn't say drugs were tested "rigorously". I said "more rigorously than supplements". I'm not saying "drugs are safe". I will say that there are risk reward tradeoffs with drugs. Some drugs have better profiles than others. The drug that harms one person may be a miracle cure for another. It's not black and white. I took a drug that was later banned too. On another occasion, my life was saved by a drug that some people think should be banned. I roll the dice with both drugs and supplements. I try to tip the odds in my favor by being informed about them, but I don't always have all the information I'd like. At least with drugs, I know what's in the bottle.