When people talk of “turning back the clock” or living in perpetual youth, it’s all too easy to write them off as quacks or having watched a little too much science fiction—but that’s not so when talking with molecular biologist Bill Andrews, Ph.D., who has studied aging at the molecular level for more than 15 years.

Dr. Andrews is one of the world’s authorities on the biology of telomeres, which are sequences of repetitive non-coding DNA segments found at the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres, commonly likened to the plastic tips on shoelaces (perhaps too simply, says Dr. Andrews), protect chromosomes from damage and decrease each time a cell divides and replicates. 

He was also one of the first scientists to warn the medical community about the potential implications of widespread vitamin D insufficiency. When asked about the prevalence of low vitamin D status, he answers that it’s the “most common medical condition in the world, believe it or not.”

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects more than 73 million people in the U.S., and is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. Because too many people have the condition without knowing it, according to the American Heart Association, it is often called “the silent killer.” The good news is that you can make lifestyle changes to help maintain healthy blood pressure and eliminate certain risk factors for the condition.

Here are seven steps for maintaining healthy blood pressure and eliminating risk factors:

Step 1: Get Your Blood Pressure Checked Regularly

High blood pressure can be present even when you have no symptoms, so it requires you to get your blood pressure checked regularly, especially if you are at higher risk.

Gallstones are estimated to affect 1 in 10 people in North America. Those who are obese have a higher likelihood of developing gallstones. Most at risk of gallstones as a result of obesity are Native Americans, the elderly, and Caucasian women in their forties who haven’t yet reached menopause. 

Gallstones are so named because they develop in the gallbladder, a small organ that stores and releases the bile made by the liver. Bile is a dark green fluid containing bile salts and cholesterol. The gallbladder releases bile into the small intestine to assist in digesting fats more efficiently. However, if the bile contains high concentrations of cholesterol, then stones too difficult for the bile salts to dissolve may develop. 

Because gallstones usually form without any symptoms, most people don’t know they have them or may feel only minor symptoms such as abdominal pain after eating a fatty meal. However, if a stone becomes lodged in a bile duct causing blockage, it can result in sudden pain in the abdomen, back or right shoulder.

If you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, know that you may be frustrated with efforts to lose weight. This is an extremely common condition that has important health and weight implications. Hypothyroidism spares no age group, but is most prevalent in women over 60 year old.

Hypothyroidism is currently diagnosed in an estimated 27 million people in the United States. Millions more are undiagnosed, under-diagnosed or under-treated. Additionally, medical doctors are finding more often that subclinical hypothyroidism, i.e., low thyroid function without symptoms like fatigue or feeling cold, can affect people at any time in their lives simply due to poor nutrition.

Slowed Metabolism, Slow Burn of Calories