I am an active subscriber to TEDTalks, if you never heard of this, you need to subscribe ASAP. Basically, every week, there is a speech given by a leading person in any given field of study. One week it may be Anthony (Tony) Robbins, another Richard Branson… Al Gore or other well known individuals. It’s guaranteed the few minutes you spend listening to these incredible individuals is worth its weight in gold.

TEDTalks: Dean Ornish

As usual, I have no idea who most of these speakers are, but every once in a while, I am absolutely astounded by the knowledge they share with the rest of us. Dean Ornish blew me away with his discoveries as they confirm what I have postulated for a very long time (and acted upon). I am not waiting for science to catch-up to my thinking, I am acting, on a daily basis until science tries to prove my theories wrong. Here is a few bullet points of the astounding discoveries he has made in the area of health, the body and longevity:

• one way to modify our existing genes is to create new ones, the other, our lifestyles
• when you eat a balanced diet, exercise and reduce stress, your brain gets more blood flow and oxygen… it actually GETS BIGGER!
• walking 3 hours per week after three months was found to create so many new neurons in the human brain that their brains got bigger!
• creation of new neurons (neurogenesis or brain cells) can be increased by consuming chocolate, tea, blueberries, alcohol (in moderation), stress and cannabinoids while consuming saturated fat, sugar, nicotine, opiates, cocaine, alcohol (in excess) and chronic stress are fantastic methods of killing them off
• increase in blood flow (from an active lifestyle) actually slows down the aging process, in some ways, even reversing it!
• heart disease can be reversed with an active lifestyle, clogged arteries have been shown to grow and expand after only a year!
• prostate and breast cancer risks drop DRAMATICALLY with an active lifestyle, tumor growth was inhibited by 70% for prostate cancer for health individuals!
• sexual organs get additional blood flow making you more “active” and “capable” with your mate
• 50% of smokers are impotent!
• telomerase is an enzyme that repairs telomeres, which are at the end of your chromosomes which control your lifespan, with an active lifestyle, you are actually LENGTHENING your telomeres… hence, you get a longer life by default!
• gene expression (prostate cancer used as an example), actually changes with an active lifestyle, the “bad” things get changed to “good”!

What does it all mean?

Quite simple, your genetic makeup that is given to you at conception is changeable based on your lifestyle. Even better… you can become smarter, stronger and healthier with age if you start young, eat a very balanced diet and get plenty of exercise both in and out of bed! Essentially, as Dean Ornish states, “our genes are NOT our fate!”… this is fantastic news!

The Bottom Line

If knowledge is power, then action is domination.

Buzvia: TED.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 8:57 am and is filed under dreamclue. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.