Dr. Michael Lange Optometrist talks Nutrition

Dr Michael Lange at the International Film Festival doing a TV interview on anti aging.

Anti Aging is now a really hot buzz  word for the right reason!  Lets face it we don’t want to get old! Anti Aging medicine is a rapidly growing segment of health care and everyone wants a piece of it!  Dr. Michael Lange discusses some natural ways to help slow down Father Time. If you want to slow down the clock and even reverse Father time u must exercise.  Exercise is good for you, it helps you manage your weight, improve muscle tone and bone density and even helps to lift your spirits.  Exercise makes u look good and feel good!  Good fitness will increase longevity. New research actually  shows that people who exercise have younger DNA.  People who exercise 3 hours a week have longer telomeres (end cap of chromosome).    Short telomeres increase the risk of age related disease. Exercise has been proven to slow down the rate at which the telomere shrinks.  This is exciting news that we have the ability to slow down aging by exercising.  Dr Michael Lange preaches this through out the week on his syndicated talk show called “Ask the Dr”, that can be heard all over the country.  When exercise is combined with proper nutrition and the right amount of sleep amazing things can happen to the human body and mind.  Exercise is a crucial step of anti aging.  We should all try to get a minimum of 20-30  minutes of aerobic cardiovascular exercise five days a week.  Before starting an exercise regiment have a physical with your PCP making sure u are ok to exercise.  Try to get your heart rate over 100 bpm for this amount of time.  It is even better if you can do this activity out doors in the sunshine.  Regular exercise and being outdoors has been shown to improve health and well-being. I also recommend another  20-30 minutes of resistance training five days a week. This can be calisthenics or weight lifting.  Exercise releases stress, improves circulation and releases natural body beta endorphins.  Try not to exercise three hrs before bed because it can interfere with your sleep. I also recommend doing outdoor sports and activity as much as possible.  Many out-door activities I recommend are  rowing, sculling, kayaking, Tennis, Soft ball, Mountain Biking, Road Biking, Water skiing, snow skiing, hiking, baseball, basketball, volley ball, racquet ball, swimming, soccer etc…    Make sure to wear the appropriate safety/ protective gear for each sport!  You must find the time to exercise if you really want to maintain and even improve your health.  Health aging is in your control. Proper Diet will improve your health and well-being.  Eating  the right foods and avoiding the wrong foods is anti aging  101 .  God designed an incredible body that performs extremely well when the proper fuel is given.   I recommend  consuming a modified organic gluten-free paleo diet. Organically grown fruits and vegetables should be the largest portion of your meal  and then a good organically raised source of protein like eggs,  chicken, turkey, wild cold water fish , grass-fed bison or beef.  Stay away from all genetically modified,  processed, canned, frozen foods.  I recommend trying to consume 9-10 servings of organically grown fruits and vegetables a day.  Some of the best fruits and vegetables  to consume are :  Kale, Spinach, swiss chard, Broccoli, Orange and red bell peppers, avocados, cauliflower,  Brussel  sprouts,  apples, oranges, cabbage, grape fruits, blue berries, cherries, grapes, bananas, pomegranate, black berries, raspberries,  pineapple, asparagus , watermelon, squash, strawberries, artichokes and mushrooms.  Drink plenty of  good spring water and stay away from distilled or reverse osmosis water.  I don’t like  purified waters because the minerals have been  leached out and they are very acidic. However if u have an Reverse osmosis system you can make the water healthy  by filling up a glass container with the RO water and then putting a half teaspoon of pink sea salt and chop up a few fruits and vegetables into the water and let it sit at room temperature. This process will alkaline the reverse osmosis or distilled water and replenish the minerals.  You can eat organic brown rice or some quinoa a few times a week with this diet. Use extra virgin coconut oil and virgin olive oil for cooking.  I prefer the coconut oil due to the anti aging properties of the medium chain triglycerides and lauric acid that are present in extra virgin coconut oil.  Drink a few glasses of organic green tea a day and stay away from sugar-free or decaffeinated drinks.  Drinking A2 cows milk , goats milk, hemp milk,  coconut milk, almond milk, rice milk is all ok a few times a week. I also think men over the age of forty should drink some organic pomegranate juice every day for prostate health. To aid in digestion using manuka honey as a sweetener  is a great idea and I  recommend eating some fermented food like sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt and  miso soup  three to four times a week.  Snacking on seeds and nuts and goji berries is also a great way to get some extra protein and antioxidants.  Try to eat five small meals a day and don’t eat anything 3 hrs before bed.  A great way to get your fruits and vegetables during the day is to either juice them or make a smoothie.  Food is medicine! Supplements definitely have a role in anti aging. In todays hectic busy  lifestyle most of us do not have the time to shop, prepare and eat 9-10 servings of organically grown fruits and vegetables.  Therefore I recommend everyone taking a good multivitamin to help combat against free radical damage and oxidative stress.  The problem is most multivitamins you can buy over the counter are filled with synthetic dyes, synthetic nutrients , trans fats and only have very small amounts of the beneficial nutrients.  I developed a Multivitamin called Fortifeye Complete Once Daily that has no dyes and only all natural levels of true evidence based nutrients to help fight against  free radical damage in the body and your eyes.  I also recommend Omega 3 from fish oil should be taken by  everyone at any age young and old.  Most of us are omega 3 deficient and this is one of the root causes of  inflammation in the typical American body.  Most Americans are eating a pro imflammatory  diet high in saturated fats and omega 6 fatty acids that  are creating many unwanted health issues. I recommend adding about 1600 mg of Triglyceride form omega 3 fish oil to everyone’s diet that is  over 170 lbs and about half that if you weigh less.  You must read the labels and make sure it says triglyceride form  omega 3 fish oil label. If it doesnt say it then it is an inferior less bio-available form called ethyl ester omega 3 fish oil.  I have developed  one of the most potent and purest triglyceride form omega 3 fish oil that is now being used by 1000s of doctors and people  all over the world called Fortifeye Super Omega.  I developed this so my patients  would have a cost effective evidence based omega 3 supplement available to them that delivers a therapeutic dosage in only 1-2 gel caps.  Many studies have proven that omega 3 has tremendous health  benefits. Recently studies have shown that omega 3 can actually slow down the rate at which the end cap of a chromosome called a telomere shrinks.  Omega 3 fatty acids may actually slow down chromosomal aging.  I recommend taking one dosage right before bed or better yet if you wake up in the middle of the night to go to bathroom take your fish oil then.  The omega three produces resolvoins and protectins  at a maximum level at four hrs after ingesting and this ideally will be at the highest levels first thing in the am when u wake up, this is the  time that people are more prone to strokes and heart attacks. So in theory if the omega 3 is at its highest concentration in your blood when u wake up it may decrease the chances of a heart attack or stroke in the am. Another powerful anti aging nutrient is called astaxanthin. This is a carotenoid in the xanthophyll family that gives the reddish color to wild alaskan salmon. Astaxanthin has both potent antioxidant and anti inflammatory effects that makes it a perfect nutrient for any anti aging recipe. I developed a supplement called Fortifeye Focus that has 6 mg of astaxanthin along with two other beneficial carotenoids called lutein(10 mg) and zeaxanthin (2mg) that are great for the eyes and the skin. This supplement may help improve the focusing ability in the eyes and patients also notice improved skin health and less wrinkles in the face.  As we age the master antioxidant in the body called Glutathione starts to decrease and it can be very difficult to get rid of a glutathione deficiency. I have found that using  a scoop of undenatured whey protein concentrate once daily in a smoothie is a great way to stimulate glutathione production.   I recommend mixing some organic berries , pineapples , kale or spinach  with a scoop of undenatured whey protein concentrate to boost  glutathione an get a great source of protein and antioxidants.  I use either Fortifeye Super Protein or Fortifeye “Naked” Super Protein  non denatured whey protein concentrates.  Everyone at any age should have their blood tested for Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is a very common deficiency that can lead to many health issues if not corrected. I do recommend a half hr of sun four days a week without any sunscreen for fair complexion people  and  maybe 45 minutes of sun four days a week for darkly pigmented people. The sun is a great source of vitamin d. Do not stay out long enough to get burned. After  being exposed to the sun do not wash your body with soap for at least six to eight hrs. The soap will wash away the oils on the skin that are allowing the vitamin D to absorb.  Many people who can not get sun exposure or live  up north during the winter months will need to supplement with  Vitamin D 3 anywhere from 1000 ius – 5000 ius daily depending on  how deficient your Vitamin D test is.  I recommend seeing your physician for this blood test and then  following the doctors recommendation on Vitamin D supplementation.  Many women and men may need to take a calcium supplement depending on  what their bone density scan shows. People must be very careful buying  large amounts of over the counter calcium supplements . Too much calcium may actually cause calcification of the blood vessel linings and increase ones risk of a stroke, heart attack or an ocular occlusive event and macular degeneration.  New studies are suggesting  taking a form of calcium called hydroxyapatite combined with  either iprflavone or strontium along with Vitamin D3, magnesium, vitamin k, phosphorous and boron to maximize the absorption of the calcium into the bone and minimize the potential  complications. I like a product made by Douglas labs called Osteo -Guard Plus Ipriflavone. I also recommend after the age of 50 taking a good enzyme with all cooked meals and a probiotic right before bed on an empty stomach.   Fortifeye Vitamins has a new generation enzyme and probiotic now on the market that I recommend ( Fortifeye Digestive Enzymes and Fortifeye Probiotics Bacteria)  .  Finally I recommend  anyone that follows my protocol to have a spectracell blood test done four to five months after starting this anti aging regiment. This is a blood test that will look for any nutritional deficiencies at a cellular level and also look at many other important blood chemistries. There are many other good supplements  that one can take but I wanted to cover the basics in this introduction to anti aging. 3.  Proper amount of Sleep may be the most important step in anti aging. Most Americans are sleep deprived !  Many people give up sleep for play and work.  An adequate amount of sleep is as important as adequate amount of exercise.  I recommend between 7-9 hrs of sleep for everyone.  Chronic sleep deprivation interferes with metabolism and can cause cortisol levels to rise. This creates an inflammatory cascade,  weight gain and a whole host of other diseases.  Heart Disease, diabetes, obesity and  poor brain functioning are all linked to sleep deprivation.  If you have trouble sleeping  try turning off the tv and reading a book (paper back not kindell) an hr before bed.  Make your bed room as dark as possible and unplug any electronic devices in the room, put black electrical tape over any led lights on alrams or fire detectors. Turn down the air conditioning  to around 70 degrees.  Do not watch tv or use any electronic devices one to two hrs before bed if possible. The tv, computer and other electronic devices will actually tell the pineal gland to decrease the secretion of  melatonin and it will interfere with your sleep. If your current lifestyle dictates that you must still work on the computer or watch tv in the evening then I recommend purchasing either blu tech lenses ,crizal prevensia , Viso Prevencia or a Brand new exclusive thru Lange Eye Care,  Blue Light Defense lenses.  These lenses have blue light filtering properties. If we filter the blue light that is emitted form the computer, television , indoor lighting, portable tablets etc then the pineal gland will not stop the normal secretion of melatonin.  Prolong exposure to blue light is a root cause to accelerated aging in the eye and the entire body.  I recommend these lenses to all of my patients for their computer glases and often times on their every day pr of glasses as well. The Blue Light Defense / Blue Light Shield  is a lens that blocks 99% of the harmful blue light at specific waves over 400  and is totally clear!  These new blue filtering lenses will help to stop the lowering of melatonin production at nite and help sleep.  New science indicates that lower melatonin production will increase risk of certain cancers. WOW!!  Think about it a lens that will decrease eye strain, decrease eye aging , improve sleep and may prove to lower risks of certain cancers!!  Everyone needs these!

A hot bath with a pound of sea salt or 2 cups of  Epson salt  while reading a book will aslo help you relax and  promote a good night sleep. Laslty drinking organic tart cherry juice and eating a handful of pumpkin seeds 2 hours before bed may also help stimulate natural production of  melatonin and improve sleep.   If you have the desire and the dicipline to follow the steps I have outlined you will begin to feel better and look better!   Think positive thoughts,  smile and be happy !  Remember Rome wasn’t built over night, give these lifestyle adjustment steps a minimum of four to six months before you go back to your old ways. Trust me you will adopt this as your new way of living!   Welcome to the ANTI-AGING ZONE!

Dr Michael Lange has developed  the “Lange Diet” that takes much of what this article has discussed into consideration. you can learn more about the “Lange Diet” at  www.fortifeye.com

Dr Michael Lange updated article 3/28/17

www.drmichaellange.com