Did You Know Most Japanese People Don’t Wind Up In Nursing Homes?

Read on as I share the amazingly
simple secret...

Dear Health-Conscious Reader,

No one wants to go to a nursing home. In fact, ending up in a nursing home is something most of us dread.
But in Japan – where people live longer than in just about any other part of the world – nursing homes are almost unheard of.
These are people living long, active lives. And they’re doing it from the comfort of their own homes.
And I’m writing you today because I believe I’ve figured out how they do it…

Isolating the “Japanese Effect” for a Longer Life

On average, the Japanese outlive Americans by six years.

My name is Dr. Al Sears, MD. In addition to running my private medical practice and anti-aging wellness center, I’m constantly searching for effective, natural solutions to help you fight the aging process – so you can live better, longer.
When I was researching Japanese longevity, I looked at their overall lifestyles, their work lives, their exercise routines and what they were putting into their bodies.
There was one difference that really stood out... maybe the biggest I’ve discovered.
And it’s very simple.
The best part is you can start using it today to help you feel better and give you more energy.
It’s an antioxidant called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG for short). The Japanese consume it almost every day, mostly in the form of green tea.
If you’re like most of us, you probably get little or no EGCG from the foods you eat and the beverages you drink. It’s just not part of the things we eat culturally. So there’s a good chance you lack the strong antioxidant cellular protection EGCG provides.
And it’s EGCG that makes all the difference...

So What Makes EGCG So Special?

Meet Dr. Al Sears, MD Uniquely Qualified to Keep You Healthier for Life Dr. Al Sears, MD, is a medical doctor and one of the nation’s first board-certified anti-aging physicians. As a board-certified clinical nutritionist, strength coach, ACE-certified fitness trainer and author, Dr. Sears enjoys a worldwide readership and has appeared on more than 50 national radio programs, ABC News, CNN and ESPN. In 2010, Dr. Sears unveiled his proven anti-aging strategies in Reset Your Biological Clock. As the first U.S. doctor licensed to administer a groundbreaking DNA therapy that activates the gene that regulates telomerase, Dr. Sears made history by bringing telomere biology to the general public.  In 2006, Dr. Sears shocked the fitness world by revealing the dangers of aerobics, “cardio” and long-distance running in his book, PACE: The 12-Minute Revolution. In 2004, Dr. Sears was one of the first doctors to document the true cause of heart disease and expose the misguided and often fatal drugs-and-surgery approach to heart health. In The Doctor’s Heart Cure, Dr. Sears outlines the easy-to-follow solution that effectively eliminates your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. An avid lecturer, Dr. Sears regularly speaks at conferences sponsored by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM) and the Age Management Medicine Group (AMMG). Dr. Sears has trekked through the Amazon and climbed some of the world’s tallest mountains while traveling the world in search of herbs, novel cures and traditional remedies. Meeting with doctors and healers from Peru, Brazil, India, Jamaica and Tanzania in East Africa, Dr. Sears has brought back and revitalized much of the traditional knowledge considered endangered in today’s modern world

About 20 years ago, researchers discovered evidence of a “longevity gene.” It’s a gene that may increase your life span.
We all have it, but for some people it takes a little extra push to switch it on. There are a few ways you can turn on this “longevity gene.” One way is by eating much less. Researchers found giving mice a diet with very few calories significantly extended their life spans.¹
Later on, studies found the same idea was true with a wide range of living creatures from single-celled organisms to plants and animals. The results showed that taking in fewer calories does turn on the longevity gene, and the organisms lived longer.²
Recently researchers isolated a family of life-protecting genes called sirtuins. Under conditions of severe stress, such as starvation, your sirtuins are turned on. And they transmit signals to every cell in your body to cancel out the effects of aging.
This would be a great solution to aging... if starving were an option.
That’s where EGCG comes in. EGCG helps switch on your longevity genes in a similar way as restricting your calorie intake.
One of the medical journals I follow, Rejuvenation Research, supports this idea. Their results stated: “The protective effects of high-dose EGCG against oxidative stress were comparable with the effects of caloric restriction, a well-established dietary intervention that retards aging.”
That means that with the proper intake of EGCG, you have the opportunity to get the benefits of sirtuins and still eat nutritious foods. EGCG also can help slow the aging process because it helps:

• Zap harmful free radicals.
• Promote joint comfort and mobility.
• Support healthy DNA, leaving cells stable and healthy.
• Boost your exercise capacity by up to 30 percent.
• By being 25 to 100 times more potent than vitamins C and E.
• Ward off the problems that come with aging.

So not only could you live longer, you could be adding more active years. 
But fighting the aging process and gaining youthful energy are just two possible benefits. Green tea also has been shown to help support normal cholesterol, colon function and more.

Getting the Most Benefit From EGCG
Takes More Than Drinking a Cup or Two of Tea

Before you grab your teacup, you should know something. Many of the beneficial components of green tea – including EGCG – are broken down in the intestinal tract making them useless to you.

You’d have to drink six cups of green tea every day to get the benefits of the "Japanese Effect."

In fact, your body can only absorb and use about 39 percent of these components.⁷
You’d have to drink green tea all day to get the right amount of antioxidant cell protection!
But during my research, I found a pure extract of the tea leaf that contains 50 percent EGCG.
Because it’s already in a pure form, your body is able to absorb it better in larger amounts… before your digestive system has a chance to break it down and make it useless to you.
Now you can begin to enjoy the benefits of EGCG without having to take in endless cups of tea. All it takes are two caplets of this powerful green tea extract.
But I knew I could do more to amplify the power of the green tea extract…because EGCG is only part of the equation to awaken your longevity gene.
There are four powerhouse nutrients that can activate your anti-aging sirtuins...and when you combine them, you have the power to shut down the pathways that lead to cell death and old age.

Put Your Body’s Own “Master Guardian” to Work For You

The second nutrient is something called superoxide dismutase, or SOD.
Antioxidants come from two places: your food and your own body. The ones your body can make are your primary antioxidants and they are even more powerful in keeping you young and fit than the ones that come from your food.
SOD is the most powerful antioxidant your body has. SOD safeguards your DNA, the blueprint your body uses to build every organ, tissue and cell in your body. It supports your immune system and fights off the devastating forces of aging. No other antioxidant even comes close to that kind of power.
When you’re young, you make lots of SOD. It works as sort of a “Master Guardian” of your youth. Unfortunately as you get older, you produce less and less of your own SOD – triggering the aging process.
But what happens when you supplement your levels of SOD? In one study, fruit flies that were engineered to make additional SOD lived 66 percent longer than those without the alterations.⁸ Pretty simple idea. And I believe the same theory applies to humans.
Maintain your SOD levels and you may enjoy a better life span.
But as I mentioned, if you want to turn on your longevity gene, don’t stop there...

A Natural Way to Slow the Aging Process

This next “sirtuin activator” is resveratrol. You’re probably familiar with resveratrol because it’s been hyped for years as the red wine antioxidant.
But a glass of red wine typically has less than a milligram of resveratrol. You’d need to drink a lot of wine to get the full benefits – turning something helpful into something that’s potentially a problem.
I began using a concentrated form of resveratrol with my patients years ago. It didn’t take long before I saw results. Using their blood tests as a guide, I measured changes in heart health and mobility – I even recorded a general slowing of aging.
Resveratrol also acts as a potent antioxidant, binding with “free radicals,” the molecules that cause cell damage and lead to death over time. And its power to enhance and prolong your life goes way beyond anti-aging. You could even say it’s nature’s wonder drug.
During recent studies, resveratrol excelled across the board. Some of its benefits include:⁹

• Promoting healthy glucose metabolism and optimal body weight.
• Supporting cardiovascular health.
• Enhanced mitochondrial energy production (the mitochondria are the tiny power plants inside each of your cells).
• Improved motor function, including balance and coordination.

That last benefit is worth repeating. Resveratrol actually improves your quality of life by boosting your physical abilities.
But as powerful as resveratrol is, I’ve uncovered something that could be even more exciting…

NEW Longevity Activator May Be Even Better

It turns out that resveratrol has a superstar cousin.
It’s called pterostilbene (pronounced tare-oh-STILL-bean) – and it can do many of the same things resveratrol can, plus more.
It’s so new that you’re among the first to hear about it…and I’ve just started using it in my clinic.
Pterostilbene and resveratrol are found together in nature, and also work together in your body. When you combine them, the results are even better than using one without the other.
When I look at the way the research is going, pterostilbene might even be a little bit more powerful than resveratrol.
For starters, research suggests that pterostilbene is more bioavailable.¹⁰ That means it gets absorbed into tissues more easily, so it can have its most beneficial effect.
Studies have also shown pterostilbene works harder to support the colon, brain, and cardiovascular system.^11,12
Both resveratrol and pterostilbene have remarkable effects on learning and memory. But in one study, supplementation with pterostilbene reversed cognitive behavioral deficits in animals. This study showed working memory function was correlated with levels of pterostilbene in the hippocampus, a key brain location where memory is processed.
That could be the kind of edge your brain needs to get sharper and more agile.
But there’s one more reason I like pterostilbene…

It Stops Free Radicals in Their Tracks
by Blocking Their Power Source

Pterostilbene and resveratrol are both powerful, “high capacity” antioxidants. Not only do they protect the cells in your body from early death, they trigger the activation of your anti-aging genes.
But while resveratrol fights free radicals in your bloodstream, pterostilbene targets these inflammatory molecules in a different way… In clinical studies, pterostilbene seems to block an enzyme that ordinarily would make some free radicals stronger.¹⁴
Together, these anti-aging antioxidants work to protect every cell, tissue and organ in your body – keeping them healthier, longer.

Start Creating Your Own “Japanese Effect”

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, M.