Longterm Health Maintenance at advanced Age by Metabolic Optimization Günter Valet

The following addresses metabolic optimization and not a diet schedule. The goal concerns the longterm maintenance of body functions. It is independent of nutrition concepts like flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan. Consequently it does not contain detailed nutrient recommendations. Regular daily drinking of around 1.6l tea or mineral water, low salt nutrition (= no salt addition) and maintenance of recommended body weights for vascular system and joint protection as important basis is accompanied by additional measures (starting year in red color):
- Meat (20 years) only 1-2 times/week, rather cheese, eggs, fish, ham and possibly low fat meat.
- Potassium iodine (40 years) (200ug Mondays and Thursdays) to increase tissue iodine levels in low iodine areas like the alps or prealps for goiter prophylaxis.
- Compression knee stockings (48 years) (Gilofa, slight compression, high proportion of cotton in the tissue) to maintain the tightness of the leg vein valves (longterm inhibition of varicosis and open legs).
- Daily drinking volume (50 years) 1.6l (500ml tea in the morning, 500ml tea or other beverage at noon and again 600ml tea or mineral water in the evening). Regular water uptake, beyond water contained in meals, facilitates metabolite excretion like urea, fruit acids or drugs in urine or cholesterin, lecithin, bile salts or bilirubins in bile fluid at comparatively lower concentrations in contrast to concentrated body operation without additional drinking. Concentrated body operation requires more energy for metabolite excretion via kidney and liver and results in higher metabolite concentrations in filtrates or excretion ways. Toxicity levels for tissue metabolites or flocculation of metabolites at saturation concentrations may be reached, resulting in tissue damage or stone formation in knidney, urether, bladder, gall bladder or bile conducts or cristallization in tissues (gout from uric acid deposits). It seems also possible that concentrated body operation affects at length cartilage, tendon, ligament and joint capsule metabolism as well as hearing and cochlear structures for maintenance of equilibrium (vertigo) or diffusion supplied structures like cornea, eye lens or vitreous body.
The sufficient irrigation of the organism like on hot days or during heavy work can be checked easily from a lightly colored (similar to peppermint or camomile tea) urine. More liquid is recommended at darker color.
- Low salt nutrition (52 years) that is no salt addition to dishes.
- Aspirin (65 years) 100mg, Mondays and Thursdays to counteract potential thrombocyte aggregation, thus preventing myocardial infarction and stroke. Aspirin inhibits thrombocyte cyclooxygenase irreversibly diminishing thereby thrombocyte aggregability. Thrombocyte live around seven days and cannot resynthesize cyclooxygenase. With the resulting thrombocyte age dependent daily loss of around 15%, 85% inhibited thrombocytes circulate on the second day after Aspirin taking, 70% on the third and 55% on the fourth day that means overall thrombocyte aggregability is still diminished. In this way lower aggregability can be maintaind at 1/3 of the usual weekly Aspirin dose of 7x100mg. This eliminates in practice potential Aspirin side effects.
- Apple wine/Cider (66 years) 0.3l rough (polyphenols) apple wine ("Possman Klassiker", 6% alcohol) diluted with 0.3l mineral water in the evening:. A case with 6 bottles of apple wine (Possmann Klassiker 1l, Frankfurt) was accidentally delivered, at the time of a beginning gradual diminution of mental clearview ("brainfog"), supposedly due to increasing age, similar to the formation of haze gradually obscuring total clearview from Munich to the 100km distant mountains during "Föhnwind" weather condition in the Bavarian Alps.
Apple wine does not taste well in the own view and was therefore consumed in the evening following 1+1 dilution with mineral water. The "mental haze" was reduced within two weeks and totally disappeared after about 3 months. Apple wine has maintained mental clearview until today probably as a consequence of permanent consumption of polyphenols in apple and grape wines with their antioxidant and antiatherosclerotic potentials. Longterm apple wine consumption, in addition, lowered blood pressure by about 10mm Hg from initially 145/80mm Hg at the age of 14 years to presently 125-135/70-75mmHg without blood pressure lowering medication. The comparatively low diastolic pressure indicates an intact blood capillary bed (number of capillaries/cross sectional area).
- Dealcoholized Apple and Grape Wines permit polyphenol uptake without the unwanted harm or weight increase potential of alcohol (0.3l apple wine contain 18g alcohol that is 126 Kcal, red wine approximatel 36g alcohol or 252 Kcal) The consumption of apple or grape juice as an alternative was not considered because of high sugar content and low extraction of polyphenols from fruit skin and grains due to the lacking mash phase. Dealcoholization changes the taste of apple and grape wines. This is regrettable but seen as a minor effect in view of the longterm positive effects on general health and maintenance of mental clearview. At given times, the enjoyment of real wine may even increase aginst this background experience. Polyphenols are sensitive to oxidation. They are well preserved under the anaerobic conditions of wine fabrication and storage in contrast to the polyphenols in dried fruit skins or tea leafs that suffer from oxidation by the oxygen in ambient air or by heat during tea preparation or cooking of vegetables.
- Body weight (67 years) within the normal range (BMI 24.2, 21.5)
- Oat flakes (76 years) daily around 60g (Peter Kölln, robust) mixed with a few table spoons of applesauce since the age of Oat flakes had never been before a regular nutritive constituent for the author and his wife. The decade long typical formation of sweat drops on the author's front and face skin during light or heavy work disappeared after about two weeks of oat flakes consumption. Sweat drops function as burning glasses with ultraviolett (UV) radiation of sunlight harming skin structures, potentially explaining the formation of the observed facial keratoacanthomas from a certain age on.
After about 3 months of oat flakes consumption the mental association space (broadview) enlarged, complementing the earlier polyphenol induced increase of the far reaching view, potentially caused by better brain capillary perfusion. The concomitant gradual narrowing down of the broadview generated a tunnel view making quick mental associations more difficult. Oat flakes vitamins B1 and B6 may have filled up an otherwise insufficient supply, explaining the observed rebroadening of associative thinking by metabolic improvement.
In addition, the over 40 years occurring many two to three weeks long periods of intensive pain in the muscle attachment areas at the lumbar spine vertebral processes upon "false mouvements" (vertebrae LS4,LS5, no ischias, no spinal discs, no sensibility changes) making it sometimes difficult to press the pedal of the car clutch including difficulties to perform the car entry and exit mouvements. These pain attacks disappeared completely abour one year later at the age of 77 years. Heavy objects such as oak fence posts (30-40kg), or sacks of cement- or mortar (25-40kg) can noe be lifted painfree from the ground and carried 10 to 20m. The conditioning of fire wood as heavy forest work requires an intact musculo skeletal system as well as functioning joints. The origin of this improvement is seen in a longterm oat flakes induced reorientation of the immune system that does no more trigger an inflammatory response upon slight local muscle or tendon overstretching.
- Essential amino acids: (80 years) The analysis of the personal daily protein uptake revealed a longterm deficit in the order of 40-50% of the recommended consumption, leading to beginning sarcopenia, faster tiredness and lower overall performance during the past years. Regular taking of essential amino acids changed skin structure and appearence from thin, dry and scaly towards the well irrigated "vital" appearance of earlier years within aproximately two weeks. A significant increase of physical strength was observed after 3-4 months.
- Horseradish: (82 years) was grated, 10-12h preincubated at 4C to significantly reduce spiciness and pungency, followed by admixture of apple sauce ("Apfelkren"). Protection against respiratory and skin infections (4g/day) as well as against severe tooth infections (12g/day) was observed. Additionally, hair regrowth at previously bald head areas occured, gingiva reproliferation protects teeth, tear flow normalisation avoided eye dryness. Furthermore, disappearence of plantar keratosis was observed and accompanied by reduced foot odor formation (H2S), finally digestion was regularized at diminished odor.