And this is how easy it is to get the perfect amount

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These are the 2 most important vitamins if you want to live to 120

Some people hit poor health early in life and don’t make 50…

Others are still sharp and happy past 100 years old.

Nutrition is one major factor in healthy aging and longevity.

Eating the right foods and taking the right supplements can increase lifespan and health.

But just what are the most important nutrients for health and longevity?

Research looking at healthy centenarians (people over 100) found that vitamin A and vitamin E are the most important!

The research was carried out at the Università di Perugia in Italy. The results were published in Free Radical Biology & Medicine.

The researchers who organized this study were interested in oxidative stress.

This is damage caused by free electrons which can be generated in the body.

Damage from oxidative stress can be prevented by nutrients called antioxidants.

The theory is that oxidative stress causes ageing and early death — so antioxidants might extend lifespan.

“A large body of experimental research indicates that oxidative stress contributes to the processes related to aging and to the pathogenesis of several age-related diseases.”

The researchers wanted to test this theory and see if some antioxidants are more effective than others at extending lifespan and fighting disease.

They were interested in some well known antioxidants that can be found in foods and supplements.

“To understand the role of antioxidants in human aging, we measured  vitamin C, uric acid, vitamin E, vitamin A, carotenoids, and thiol groups.”

They measured these antioxidants in different groups of people.

The researchers looked at the blood of a group of 32 centenarians (over 100 years old).

They looked at blood from 17 elderly people between the ages of 80 and 99 years old.

The researchers included 34 people between the ages of 60 and 79 years old.

Finally they included 24 people under 60.

Many nutrients decline with age — but the researchers found a particular pattern in the blood of centenarians.

People over 100 years old had the highest levels of vitamin A and vitamin E in their blood!

“Remarkably, centenarians were characterized as having the highest levels of vitamins A and E.”

It’s surprising given the general pattern of nutrients, where they drop with age and older people get deficient.

But it’s not surprising given the critical role of these two vitamins in human health.

The researchers discovered that these two fat-soluble vitamins could well be essential for optimal longevity.

“It is evident that healthy centenarians show a particular profile in which high levels of vitamin A and vitamin E seem to be important in guaranteeing their extreme longevity.”

These two vitamins have numerous benefits aside from their role as antioxidants.

Vitamin E protects hormone levels and is particularly helpful in counteracting the degenerative effect of estrogen.

Vitamin A can be a confusing topic as there are plant and animal nutrients which are called vitamin A — but only the type of vitamin A found in animal foods is healthy.

This study measured both forms of vitamin A.

Vitamin A (retinol) from animals…

…and fake vitamin A (carotenoids) from plants.

Only the real animal form of vitamin A (retinol) was associated with extreme longevity.

Though real vitamin A is an antioxidant, it also has a critical role in the immune system.

This fat soluble vitamin helps to protect against infection by boosting natural immunity — something which so often fails in older folks leading to early death from infection.

Real vitamin A is also essential for immune system regulation — to make sure that the immune system does not turn on itself, causing food intolerances and autoimmune disease.

So there are many reasons why vitamins A and E are essential for health and longevity. But real vitamin A is not coming from vegetables.

Note that it is impossible to be Vegan and get adequate amounts of vitamin A.

And remember to work with your health practitioner on diet and exercise and lifestyle that works for you and your situation.
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