As a medicinal chemist, I'm often asked, "How can I live to be a 100 years old?" My answer is simple, "Learn to control blood sugar and insulin."

The biggest threat to longevity is high blood sugar and insulin. Known as type II diabetes - or more accurately insulin resistance - it has become a nationwide epidemic that steals 11 to 20 years from a person's lifespan. It is one of the main culprits behind depression, obesity, heart disease and even cancer. Understanding two simple facts about the pandemic killer may help you avoid it - and live to be 100 years old rather than 65 or 70!

Fact #1: Anti-Diabetic Drugs like Avandia and Actos are Deadly

To curb the threat, family physicians are madly prescribing Avandia and Actos in hopes of reversing type II diabetes - total sales have reached over $4 billion annually. Unknown to most, Avandia users have a whopping 30-40% increased risk of heart attack and other heart-related adverse events (heart failure) compared to patients treated with placebo. (1) This side-effect is partly due to the drugs ability to lower "hemoglobin."

Hemoglobin is used by the body to transport oxygen throughout the entire 100, 000 miles of adult veins, arteries, and capillaries. Without it, a condition known as "ischemia" sets in. This is a fancy term for "suffocation." Clinically, heart attack or heart failure can result from the lack of oxygen.

Actos belongs to the same class of medicine as Avandia - glitazones. Not surprisingly, it carries the same risks. Health Canada sounded the alarm as early as 2001! But the danger is being hidden from the American public.

Commenting on the unannounced danger, the U.S. Congress stated that the, "FDA's apparently callous disregard for the safety of diabetics taking Avandia is very reminiscent of the Agency's failure to move on Vioxx when substantial safety signals first became known. Like Vioxx, Avandia may have unnecessarily risked the lives of tens of thousands of Americans." (2)

Fact #2: Natural Medicine Can Safely Reverse Insulin Resistance

In the process of designing anti-diabetic drugs, Big Pharma surveyed a myriad of natural products to find a "lead compound" that would show them how best to design a synthetic drug. Corosolic acid from the banaba leaf was among the most potent. (3)

Corosolic acid successfully reverses insulin resistance as seen by lowered blood levels of insulin and glucose among users. Rather than promote the natural medicine to the millions who suffer from insulin resistance, Big Pharma has been working rigorously to make a synthetic copycat - so they can monopolize it. They have failed miserably. Fortunately, the natural source is readily available as "banaba leaf" at local health food stores.

Banaba leaf works at the molecular level by fine-tuning the damaged insulin receptor - the cause of insulin resistance. This benefit rests in its ability to selectively initiate a chemical reaction known as "phosphorylation" at the receptor site. In effect, what is "jammed, " becomes un-jammed thanks to the banaba leaf. Akin to a key being inserted into a lock, insulin is free to interact with the receptor, thereby triggering the cell to open the doors for blood sugar.

Users of Banaba leaf not only avoid dangerous prescriptions while increasing insulin sensitivity, but they also melt fat and build muscle in the process. This beneficial effect comes from the subsequent balancing of hormones that occurs once blood levels of insulin and glucose are normalized. Men rid their body of excess estrogen and boost testosterone and vice-versa for women. Of course, lifestyle habits such as exercise and minimizing sugar while increasing healthy fat and protein consumption are pre-requisites to the success of banaba leaf.

Closing

Among those populations who live the longest, they thrive courtesy of being ultra sensitive to insulin - naturally. And conversely, those who die the youngest from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are grossly insensitive to it courtesy of type II diabetes. Or they are "following doctor's orders" and swallowing prescription drug like Avandia or Actos.

References:

1. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01636.html
2. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-05-21-avandia-diabetes_N.htm
3. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/05/21/congress-steps-up-scrutiny-of-fda/
4. Katsuji Hattori, et al. Activation of Insulin Receptors by Lagerstroemin. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. Vol. 93 (2003) , No. 1 pp.69-73