Life Extension urges all members to enact a personal program designed to suppress fasting glucose levels to ranges of 80-85 mg/dL (or lower). Fortunately, there are a wide range of options that enable aging humans to accomplish this profoundly effective anti-aging feat.

The single most important component of one’s longevity program may be the steps taken before meals to neutralize the toxic effects of excess calories most of us invariably ingest.

A medical catastrophe is predicted for the United States as the vast majority of the population is now overweight and suffers frighteningly high levels of glucose, insulin and triglycerides.

When one questions the importance of doing all this, please know that the incidence of pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes is increasing at alarming rates. In fact, diseases related to glucose impairment are skyrocketing everywhere in the world that adopts unhealthy Western eating habits.

For some, a modest reduction in calorie intake and an increase in physical activity will sufficiently lower fasting and after-meal glucose levels. Most aging individuals, however, will need to take the powdered drink mix described on page 12 before the two heaviest meals of the day to impede the impact of ingested calories. Others should ask their doctor about the prescription drug suggestions such as metformin.

From a practical approach, achieving optimal glucose readings on your next blood test will probably involve a combination of the various approaches described in this section. Each individual will respond differently.

One can achieve remarkable control over glucose levels by altering their diet and exercising more. Below are three dietary options to consider:

Life Extension has published articles showing that diabetic men can derive enormous benefits by restoring testosterone to youthful ranges, as opposed to overloading the body with excess insulin as mainstream doctors continue to do.180-182

Progressive doctors are realizing that in men, a testosterone deficiency can induce a serious reduction of insulin sensitivity. For men, restoring youthful levels of testosterone has been shown to be particularly beneficial in facilitating glucose control.178 Blood tests can assess your hormonal status so a man can replenish testosterone (and DHEA) to more youthful ranges. Optimal free testosterone blood levels in men are between 20-25 pg/mL.179

Normal aging is accompanied by a sharp decline in hormones that are involved in maintaining insulin sensitivity and hepatic glucose control. Restoring DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) levels to youthful ranges in men and women may help enhance insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in the liver.173-177

Life Extension stands on solid scientific ground in recommending that those with impaired glucose tolerance follow an aggressive program that involves eating healthier and smaller meals, exercising, and taking nutrients before meals that deflect the impact of excess calorie intake. Drugs like metformin may be considered for its multiple benefits that extend beyond mere glucose control. Acarbose should be utilized if glucose levels remain stubbornly high.

There are of course other FDA-approved drugs that will lower your glucose levels. Many of these drugs, however, function by mechanisms that carry side effect risks.

Another low-cost drug that lowers glucose levels is acarbose, which reduces the absorption of ingested carbohydrates by inhibiting the glucosidase and other sugar absorbing enzymes in the small intestine. A typical dose is 50-100 mg of acarbose taken before each meal. Some people experience intestinal side effects, but otherwise, acarbose is highly efficacious in reducing blood glucose levels and reducing several cardiac risk markers in the blood.21,31,76

One of the problems that frustrates so many people who follow a low-calorie diet, yet have persistently elevated glucose levels is that the liver improperly dumps too much glucose into the blood. This of course is a vital life function in a starvation state, but for aging individuals, excess hepatic release of glycogen (called gluconeogenesis) causes them to suffer chronically high glucose and insulin levels. Metformin inhibits gluconeogenesis.170,171

Metformin functions to reduce absorption of ingested carbohydrates,98,166,167 suppress appetite,168,169 enhance insulin sensitivity,91-93 and most uniquely, metformin inhibits the release of stored liver glucose (glycogen) back into the blood.95-98,170

Some of the side benefits of metformin include weight loss160-162 and triglyceride reduction,163-165 which are in themselves proven heart attack risk reducers.

Metformin has a long history of safe human use, plus intriguing data to suggest that it may possess anti-aging properties.158,159 We think that those with excess blood glucose (above 80-85 mg/dL) should ask their doctor about it even if they are not diagnosed as diabetic.

An anti-diabetic drug that Life Extension suggests normal aging people consider taking to lower glucose is metformin. It is available in low-cost generic form.

A new cinnamon extract has been developed to enhance the ability of insulin to drive blood glucose into muscle cells. This novel cinnamon compound that enhances insulin sensitivity is combined with brown seaweed extract (to inhibit the glucosidase enzyme) to provide additive control over glucose levels.29,77,153-157

Aging causes a loss of insulin sensitivity, which means that glucose that would normally be utilized by energy-producing cells instead either remains in the blood or converts to storage as trigly-ceride (in blood and fat cells) or glycogen in the liver.

For those whose glucose levels remain unacceptably high despite taking the powdered drink mix, there are encapsulated nutrients that work to specifically block the sucrase and glucosidase digestive enzymes. Sucrase breaks down sucrose and glucosidase converts all carbohydrates into glucose. Blocking these enzymes reduces the amount of glucose absorbed from dietary sources. One capsule containing L-arabinose and a special brown seaweed extract should be taken before eating sucrose (table sugar) containing foods.33,79,152,153

Mechanism(s): Inhibits the lipase digestive enzyme used to break down fatty foods and boosts internal utilization of glucose by boosting resting metabolic rate.27,151

Mechanism(s): Inhibits amylase and functions via three additional mechanisms to internally regulate glucose and triglyceride metabolism.30,131,150

Mechanism(s): Inhibits the amylase digestive enzyme used to break down carbohydrate foods for eventual absorption into the blood as glucose.22,148,149

Mechanism(s): Slows gastric emptying to delay rapid carbohydrate absorption. It also provides a viscous barrier that binds bile acids that normally facilitate fat absorption.80,81,147

An efficient way of obtaining nutrients that can impede the impact of carbohydrate and fat foods when taken before meals is a powdered drink mix that provides the nutrients in the box below:

Since Life Extension members know it is best to take dietary supplements with meals, it should not be difficult for them to make it a routine practice to shield their bloodstream from excessive calorie absorption by taking the proper nutrients before most meals.

In this section, we succinctly describe drugs, hormones, nutrients and lifestyle changes that facilitate healthy glucose levels.

The good news is that many approaches that reduce glucose also lower fasting insulin,31,128-130 LDL,86,128,131-134 triglycerides,21,22,28,128,130 and C-reactive protein,135 thereby slashing one’s risk of vascular disease,21,31,76,136 cancer,137-141 dementia142-146 and a host of other degenerative disorders.

If you can choose an ideal fasting glucose reading, it would probably be around 74 mg/dL.23 We know, however, that some people are challenged to keep their glucose under 100 mg/dL. What this means is that it is critically important for aging individuals to follow an aggressive program to suppress excess glucose as much as possible.

Scientific studies indicate that any amount of fasting glucose over 85 mg/dL incrementally adds to heart attack risk.34

I want to thank members for purchasing most of their supplements from the Life Extension Buyers Club. We use these sales to fund critical research projects aimed at eliminating disease and death, while battling oppressive government attempts to establish dictatorial control over your health and longevity.

Life Extension supports a relentless campaign to reform corrupt governmental policies that deprive Americans of life-saving therapies. By exposing the lethal impact of medical ignorance, such as showing that doctors accept dangerously high glucose levels as being normal, we spare countless humans the ravages of debilitating and lethal diseases. Just once a year, we discount the price of every product we offer. During our annual Super Sale, members stock up on our most advanced formulations and enjoy considerable savings.

Pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, conduct placebo-controlled studies on cancer patients to gather data with little regard to the human lives they know will be lost because of the barbaric way their studies are designed. Cancer research funded by Life Extension is not being done by pharmaceutical giants because it seldom involves a compound that can be patented. As members are aware, therapies that don’t have the potential to produce gigantic profits are neglected and even suppressed by the pharmaceutical industry.

The Life Extension Foundation expanded its research funding in 2010, with special emphasis on grants to scientists working on cutting-edge cancer therapies. We selectively fund research that offers the best opportunity to discover a cure during the early clinical trial phase. In other words, when cancer patients enter our clinical trials, we take extraordinary efforts to give them the best chance of attaining a complete response or eradication of the disease.