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American Morning
Paging Dr. Gupta: Secret to Longer Life?
Aired October 15, 2003 - 08:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: So, then, what's the secret to living a long and healthy life? And for that matter, is there one? A new study claims to have found at least one of those keys.
Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us all about it this morning.
What's the key -- Sanjay? Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, Bill. One in 10,000 people live to be over 100 years old, so people have been asking for a long time: Why? What is it about that?
So, some particularly enterprising researchers decided to put it to the test and try and figure out if there is some unique quality about people who live to be over 100 years old. They're called centenarians, Bill, you know that term? Two-hundred and thirteen Ashkenazi Jews were the subject of this particular study. They were only picked because they could find a large population of them that lived to be over 100. This could be applicable to any population.
What they found was that they had large lipoprotein particle size. I'm going to tell you what that means in a second. What they found was that these large particles seemed to protect against cardiovascular disease.
Now, these large lipoproteins, that's something that we hear of commonly, HDL and LDL. Typically we measure the amount. And the amount of cholesterol that these people who lived to be over 100 were really no different uniformly compared to people who lived even into their 70s only. But what they found was that the size of the particles was actually larger.
What they went on to find, as well, is that there was a particular protein that actually regulated the size of these lipoproteins, called cholesterol ester transfer protein. Now, there are a lot of names being thrown around here. But basically, what this all means is not only did they find -- were found to have larger particle sizes, but they also found that it was potentially inheritable. So, something that could actually be passed down from someone who lived to be over 100, passed down to their offspring as well. So, important information there.
This may not be the only key to living to be over 100, but they found it to be such a substantial key that the researchers went on to say that if you do have substantially large particle sizes, you probably are one of those people who could smoke, who could not exercise as much and probably still live a pretty long life. So, pretty interesting news there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Back up just a little bit. Lipoprotein, how do you define that?
GUPTA: Lipoprotein, again, it's something that is typically measured. It's HDL or LDL. And take a look. HDL, everyone knows that's the good cholesterol. LDL, that's the bad cholesterol.
And just a couple of quick points about these things. LDL, that's one of the major cholesterol carriers. Too much of it, though, this is the bad kind, can cause problems with the artery walls, plaques, things like that. Low levels equal a low risk of heart disease.
HDL -- again, a lot of terms being thrown around here, but try and keep up here -- a quarter to a third of cholesterol is carried by the HDL. Some experts say the HDL actually carries cholesterol away. So, that is the good type of cholesterol.
Again, Bill, what's interesting here and I think the take-home message for people, it's not so amount of the lipoproteins, it's the size of the particles. That's what's so fascinating about this particular study. They decided to look not just at the amount but to see how big the particle sizes were. Larger particle sizes equals more likelihood of living to be over 100.
HEMMER: Well, I hope you're not quizzing us on this later. The smartest guy I know, Sanjay Gupta.
Bottom line, do you see -- or does the medical field see this becoming in pill form at some point?
GUPTA: Well, you know, here's the thing I found interesting -- and there is no quiz on this at the end, by the way. But the thing I found interesting is that for a lot of people who exercise and do everything right, they always complain, they say, you know, my cholesterol is not going down. But here's the thing. You know it's good for you anyways. It could be that your particle size of these lipoproteins is actually increasing. That's not something we typically measure.
Could there be a pill at some point to actually increase the size of these? Perhaps. That's going to be a long ways away. This is very much in the research phase still.
But we already know how to increase these particle sizes. These are the things that we do already, exercise, stop smoking, things like that.
HEMMER: If only Ponce de Leon had this information many, many years ago.
GUPTA: That's right. The fountain of youth.
HEMMER: Hey, because we let you go, you're going to work on a new project. I want to share it with our viewers right now. Explain that to us.
GUPTA: Yes, I'm really very excited about this project. And it's for people at home if you're interested in making some lifestyle changes that could ultimately lead to a healthier and longer life -- we talk about that so much -- then, CNN is looking for four regular folks, men and women age 21 or older, to participate in an eight-week program that could make them healthier.
So, if you'd like to be a part of CNN's "New You Resolution," then sign up on our Web site. That's at cnn.com/am.
Incidentally, the special begins January 5, just in time for New Years. It's going to air Tuesdays on this show, AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: I like it. Good stuff, Sanjay. Thanks.
GUPTA: All right...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: No quizzes, either. No. 2 pencils in place. Talk to you later.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 15, 2003 - 08:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: So, then, what's the secret to living a long and healthy life? And for that matter, is there one? A new study claims to have found at least one of those keys.
Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us all about it this morning.
What's the key -- Sanjay? Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, Bill. One in 10,000 people live to be over 100 years old, so people have been asking for a long time: Why? What is it about that?
So, some particularly enterprising researchers decided to put it to the test and try and figure out if there is some unique quality about people who live to be over 100 years old. They're called centenarians, Bill, you know that term? Two-hundred and thirteen Ashkenazi Jews were the subject of this particular study. They were only picked because they could find a large population of them that lived to be over 100. This could be applicable to any population.
What they found was that they had large lipoprotein particle size. I'm going to tell you what that means in a second. What they found was that these large particles seemed to protect against cardiovascular disease.
Now, these large lipoproteins, that's something that we hear of commonly, HDL and LDL. Typically we measure the amount. And the amount of cholesterol that these people who lived to be over 100 were really no different uniformly compared to people who lived even into their 70s only. But what they found was that the size of the particles was actually larger.
What they went on to find, as well, is that there was a particular protein that actually regulated the size of these lipoproteins, called cholesterol ester transfer protein. Now, there are a lot of names being thrown around here. But basically, what this all means is not only did they find -- were found to have larger particle sizes, but they also found that it was potentially inheritable. So, something that could actually be passed down from someone who lived to be over 100, passed down to their offspring as well. So, important information there.
This may not be the only key to living to be over 100, but they found it to be such a substantial key that the researchers went on to say that if you do have substantially large particle sizes, you probably are one of those people who could smoke, who could not exercise as much and probably still live a pretty long life. So, pretty interesting news there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Back up just a little bit. Lipoprotein, how do you define that?
GUPTA: Lipoprotein, again, it's something that is typically measured. It's HDL or LDL. And take a look. HDL, everyone knows that's the good cholesterol. LDL, that's the bad cholesterol.
And just a couple of quick points about these things. LDL, that's one of the major cholesterol carriers. Too much of it, though, this is the bad kind, can cause problems with the artery walls, plaques, things like that. Low levels equal a low risk of heart disease.
HDL -- again, a lot of terms being thrown around here, but try and keep up here -- a quarter to a third of cholesterol is carried by the HDL. Some experts say the HDL actually carries cholesterol away. So, that is the good type of cholesterol.
Again, Bill, what's interesting here and I think the take-home message for people, it's not so amount of the lipoproteins, it's the size of the particles. That's what's so fascinating about this particular study. They decided to look not just at the amount but to see how big the particle sizes were. Larger particle sizes equals more likelihood of living to be over 100.
HEMMER: Well, I hope you're not quizzing us on this later. The smartest guy I know, Sanjay Gupta.
Bottom line, do you see -- or does the medical field see this becoming in pill form at some point?
GUPTA: Well, you know, here's the thing I found interesting -- and there is no quiz on this at the end, by the way. But the thing I found interesting is that for a lot of people who exercise and do everything right, they always complain, they say, you know, my cholesterol is not going down. But here's the thing. You know it's good for you anyways. It could be that your particle size of these lipoproteins is actually increasing. That's not something we typically measure.
Could there be a pill at some point to actually increase the size of these? Perhaps. That's going to be a long ways away. This is very much in the research phase still.
But we already know how to increase these particle sizes. These are the things that we do already, exercise, stop smoking, things like that.
HEMMER: If only Ponce de Leon had this information many, many years ago.
GUPTA: That's right. The fountain of youth.
HEMMER: Hey, because we let you go, you're going to work on a new project. I want to share it with our viewers right now. Explain that to us.
GUPTA: Yes, I'm really very excited about this project. And it's for people at home if you're interested in making some lifestyle changes that could ultimately lead to a healthier and longer life -- we talk about that so much -- then, CNN is looking for four regular folks, men and women age 21 or older, to participate in an eight-week program that could make them healthier.
So, if you'd like to be a part of CNN's "New You Resolution," then sign up on our Web site. That's at cnn.com/am.
Incidentally, the special begins January 5, just in time for New Years. It's going to air Tuesdays on this show, AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: I like it. Good stuff, Sanjay. Thanks.
GUPTA: All right...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: No quizzes, either. No. 2 pencils in place. Talk to you later.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
