The Mystery of Life Has Been Solved

By Patty Pinkerton

I'm not talking about the after-life or world hunger or how Barack Obama has gotten this far. It's talking about the age old mystery of why women live longer than men. The national average life expectancy for men is 75 years, but for women it's five years longer at 80.

Many theories have been put forth to try to explain this difference, such as getting more exercise, being more protected, and crying more. Although I'll concede that last one, I personally think that with the increased responsibilities, childbirth, worry and constant hormonal upheaval, women are exposed to much more stress and abuse throughout their life than men.

This stress is evident in the higher incidence of degenerative diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis, but for some reason women are holding up much better than men in every other way.

So what is that reason? In two words, less iron. Every study know has shown that excess iron significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, infections, and other problems associated with aging. Every anti-aging practice either inadvertently or purposely reduces the excess iron in your body. But you'll notice I said excess iron, because iron is a two-edged sword. Iron is necessary in red blood cells for the binding if oxygen to carry through your body. Iron deficiency anemia can cause weakness and loss of energy, but contrary to popular knowledge, this is a very rare disease because the dietary practices and lifestyles in this country inevitably lead to an iron excess, which is a much greater danger.

The people most affected are adult men, and women after menopause. Children are usually okay with iron. The increase in blood volume as they grow and develop requires more iron. But when they mature, that highly reactive iron that goes unused starts looking for trouble. Through oxidation, it destroys other compounds and cells. It collects in the liver causing life-threatening damage. It feeds new cancer cells which require up to a thousand times more iron than normal cells.

The reason adult women are at less risk is menstruation, which eliminates a lot of that excess iron. After menopause, however, they lose that protection, And women beware! Several pharmaceutical companies are starting to promote prescription hormones to eliminate menstrual cycles so you can "choose whether or not you want to have a period". I can't begin to express how dangerous this is. I promise you, this is one place you don't want to mess with Mother Nature.

Donate blood two to three times a year. Be a man and get in to the American Red Cross or the United Blood Services when they come through town. It's a noble cause, but here's a secret. It will do you more good than anyone else. It's the best know way to eliminate that excess iron. One study showed that the incidence of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 30 percent among recent donors. If you don't qualify, you could have your physician draw the blood. That's called phlebotomy.

Let me just touch on some dietary hints to help reduce the iron or its effects. First off---you got it---no alcohol. It triples your absorption of iron. Meats are important to your diet, but use small portions and not with every meal. Fruits and vitamin C are great but don't combine them or juice with meat. Do eat plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables The pigments reduce iron toxicity, and the iron in those natural foods Is less absorbable,. Very low calorie diets are helpful. There are very beneficial supplements you can find at your health food store.

Chelating agents, such as turmeric and IP6 actually eliminate iron from you body. Foods that are high in antioxidants and antioxidant supplements such as reservation, vitamin c, and lipoid acid can combat the harmful effects of the iron.

Sam Pinkerton writes for http://www.yourwayelectronics.com Sam and his wife Patty have been in business for about 10 years selling different product such as wedding gowns, bridesmaids, ect. in the wedding industry. Recently Sam and Patty branched out and started yourwayelectronics selling such items as camcorders, fishfinders, metal detectors, ect.

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