X-Message-Number: 10863
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 08:19:20 -0500
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #10857 - #10861

Hi everyone!

Here is a short answer to Bob Ettinger: I doubt that there is any
"best" method for everyone. The main problem is that each of us
has our own metabolism, and sometimes a drug good for me won't
necessarily be good for you. For that matter, even calorie 
deprivation isn't all that easy, especially if you live a life
in which (for business reasons) you must meet people over dinnar
and/or lunch. 

For that matter, the drugs in my book are to be chosen by anyone
who reads it; I make no recommendations. There is something about
the results for some of the more powerful of these drugs which
underlines this point: L-Dopa and melatonin both show a very 
interesting lifespan curve. There is an initial period in which
animals taking the drug seem to have a HIGHER deathrate. But this
evens out so that not only the average but the maximum lifespan
(in the experiment --- maximum lifespan is a difficult idea, as
I just said in my last message) turns out to be larger than for
controls. In human terms this suggests that some of those who
try, say L-Dopa, may find themselves feeling much worse than 
they did without it. And I'd say that if that happens, don't
try to put up with how you feel. Your body is telling you
something and you should listen and stop taking the drug. Vitamin B6
may show a similar effect, again depending on your metabolism.

HGH raises another problem, which should be looked at (I personally
think this is an issue which could be easily solved experimentally).
If you can't afford the drug itself, you might think of taking 
particular amino acids which seem to increase levels of HGH in
those with low levels. However on reading the papers that prove
this effect, you'll notice that for many of these amino acids ---
and the most popular ones, unfortunately, there really has been
very little study at all of whether or not AGE plays a role in
their effect. Glutamine seems to be the best, in that the study
showing that it increased HGH levels did include a few subjects
of high ages. But it was hardly complete in that regard. But over 
and above that issue, there is the simple fact that amino acids
at the high doses required can have unpleasant side effects on 
some who take them --- and so we go back to the last paragraph 
and what I said there.

For what it's worth, for my own aging I take dilantin (which I
also take for seizures due to the damage caused by my brain tumor),
pantothenate, Vitamin E, CoQ10, chromium picolinate, and melatonin,
all at relatively high doses (except for the chromium picolinate).
I chose these all to work, possibly, on different features of
aging. I do NOT give this information as a recommendation, but
only for the sake of openness. I know people who feel sick when
they try melatonin, for instance. And I'd very much like for
there to be an experiment on people over (say) 65 to see if the
various amino acids which increase levels of HGH in younger 
people continue to do so in older people. (Commercialization
of a less expensive substitute would be nice too, but that's
more complex).

		Best and long long life to all,

			Thomas Donaldson

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