Turning Back the Biological Clock

7 September 2006

Want to get younger next year than you are this one? Think that’s impossible? Not according to Dr Henry Lodge. As science gets new understanding on aging, this respected Manhattan internist is confident we can turn back the biological clock without expensive drugs or barrow loads of supplements.

Simple Answer to Aging

Dr Harry’s answer is simple. It’s called sweating it out.

Rule No 1 - Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.

And Rule No 2? Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life. Getting the message?

If you are it won’t be any surprise Harry’s Rule No 3 is Do serious strength training with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.

No exceptions. Even those with arthritis should begin an exercise program at the right level for them and they’ll benefit if they stick to it, says Harry.

So Who is Harry?

Harry (40 something) heads a 23 doctor practice in New York City. With his “star pupil” – 70 something retired attorney Chris Crowley - he wrote Younger Next Year - A Guide To Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond (for men, published in 2004) and an edition for women published this year.
See Harry and Chris's Website

It’s a fascinating introduction to the new science highlighted by advances in cell biology and evolutionary biology and how it impacts of the chemistry of aerobic exercise.

Harry outlines how the science of inflammation operates, while Chris, the attorney who retired “young” to ski Aspen, offers the personal experience in putting the science into practice.

Why Sweating it is Worth The Effort

Younger Next Year outlines the body’s inevitable cycle of decay and renewal and the role two master chemicals – C-6 and C-10 – play in breaking down and renewing cells.

Apparently C-6 – the master chemical for inflammation and decay – is produced in the muscles and blood stream in response to exercise, prompting the production of C-10 – the master chemical for renewal and growth.

One stunning statistic caught my imagination: at rest only 20% of blood flows through muscles.

In a trained athlete this rises to 80% with exercise. And that blood is carrying C-10, the renewal agent, right around your body. So if you live a largely sedentary life, your muscles will hardly ever get a good flushing.

Cascades of Healing

It’s not just joints affected by this cycle of inflammation. Blood vessels, muscles, the brain – every part of the body is either negatively or positively impacted.

As Harry describes it – “Picture this – torrents, rivers of blood flooding through your muscles with exercise, picking up the chemicals which carry messages of inflammation and repair, growth and healing, to every corner of your body.

Every joint, every bone, every organ, every tiny part of your brain, gets a bath of C-6 and then the wonderful rejuvenating C-10 every time you sweat.”

(C-6 and C-10 are just shorthand for a chemical cascade involving hundred of proteins in a dance of such complexity science are only just beginning to understand the details, says Harry.)

This is what the body was built for, the right balance of good decay triggering growth.

Sad News about C-6

The sad news is C6 trickles into the body night and day like a dripping tap, whether we like it or not, causing joint decay, blocking blood vessels - as Harry says the devil does indeed find work for idle muscles and its called inflammation.

Trouble is, the steady drip drip of C-6 that occurs when the muscles are at rest is not enough C-6 to turn on the C-10… To get the renewal of C-10 you have to sweat.

<< Back to articles page