Is Your Lifestyle Killing You?Turn Back Your Body Clock shares the secret to longer lifeEver wonder how much harm your lifestyle is doing to your body? Do you ever look in the mirror and think, “What happened?” Do you look older than you should and is it possible to repair the damage and extend your life? Turn Back Your Body Clock is a new eight-part series hosted by tell-it-like-it-is physician, Dr. Una Coales. On the show, Dr. Coales meets with eight different people who have let healthy habits slide. After a full physical examination, Dr. Coales gives them a frank assessment of their health, including an estimate of when they’ll die. It’s a shocking wake-up call for those who have been blind to their physical state.
Turn Back Your Body Clock premieres Wednesday, January 17, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PTDr. Coales doesn’t believe in mincing her words. She sees people every day who are killing themselves with simple overindulgence, and she’s had enough of it. She’s happy to be cruel if she can change someone’s life. In Turn Back Your Body Clock, she berates people for their expanded waist-lines and sagging flesh, lists their bad habits and shows them images of their own damaged internal organs.
While much of the aging process and risk of disease is down to genetics, how long we live is also influenced by what we eat, what we drink, how we exercise and everyday lifestyle choices. Combining cutting edge medical analysis with personal examination, the show reveals the effect unhealthy living can have on premature aging, both inside and out, and how it can knock years off your life.
The idea of a ticking body clock may sound morbid, but there are changes that you can make that will help you to live longer and be happier while you do it. Dr. Coales and trainer Tim Bean put eight people on an eight-week plan, improving fitness, melting fat, eliminating fatigue, increasing fertility and most importantly, adding years to their lives. But will everyone be able to adapt to the new regime?
DID YOU KNOW?If you’re a 40-year-old who smokes fifteen cigarettes per day then you will lose 8-10 years of your life.
General life expectancy has gone up by three to four years over the last decade and things will get even better with continuing medical advances.
The liver actually regenerates its own cells to repair itself. This is fortunate for drinkers, because if you give up drinking, your liver may be able to recover.
It’s not just the amount of fat you carry, but the location. For example, if you’ve got a big stomach you have a greater risk of getting ill than if you have big thighs.
If you’re a 40-year-old regular cocaine user then you have the same chances of dying as a 65-year-old.
THE DOCTOR AND THE TRAINERDr. Una Coales
Her full title reads more like a novel than a name. Once you’ve seen her in action, it’s tempting to add the letters SCARY.
Dr. Una Coales BA (Hons), MD, FRCS, FRCS (ORL), DRCOG, DFFP, MRCGP.
Dr. Una Coales is a surgeon turned medical writer for the Royal Society of Medicine. She trained at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and practiced general surgery at St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, a trauma centre in New York City. She now works in South London as a physician and educator, and is a board member for the Royal College of General Practitioners. Dr. Coales is also a regular media commentator on medical issues.
Tim Bean
Turn Back Your Body Clock trainer, Tim, can certainly identify with his clients. Although he’s been a health club owner for fifteen years, there was a time when he was morbidly obese and a drinker. His cholesterol levels were extremely high and his doctor told him he wouldn't make 30. He changed his life, and now shows others the way.
INTERVIEW WITH DR. UNA COALESBefore you relocated here with your British husband, you worked in the USA. How does the health of each population compare?
The Americans are very unhealthy. There are 60 million obese people in America, but when I came over here I noticed that English people were going that way.
Is that why you wanted to make this program?
When I was working as a surgeon I used to treat people with cancer, or assist in heart operations. By that time it was often too late. When I came over to England I was doing a lot of head and neck surgery, and saw a lot of throat cancer in young people. It was really depressing, because it all could have been prevented.
How can you get through to the people on the program?
Turn Back Your Body Clock is a fantastic show, because it’s not a lecture. I use visuals to show them the inside of their bodies — they can see the damage they’re doing to themselves. As a surgeon I’ve seen these things, but they haven’t, until now.
You calculate the year people will die — how scientific is that?
It’s very scientific. The predicted life expectancy is based on whether you’re a smoker, if you have a family history of heart disease and so on. If you have morbid obesity you already knock off thirteen years. We combine these with cholesterol levels, liver enzymes, etcetera, so we can be pretty accurate to the year.
Isn’t there still something to be said for allowing yourself treats?
Oh yes. For instance, the nutritionist on the diet plan doesn’t say you can’t have chocolate or ice cream as a little treat. It’s all about balance and moderation. I don’t tell people they can never drink again, I get them to abstain from drinking until their liver recovers and then drink in moderation.
We all know that smoking, excessive drinking, bad diet and no exercise are unhealthy. How is this show telling us anything new?
The people in the show look absolutely fine on the outside, maybe a little bit overweight. So they’re absolutely blown away by the actual damage that’s already occurred. I am able to show people that the fat has already started infiltrating the liver, or that the heart is already damaged. Normal people never get to see that until they’re diagnosed with something more advanced.
What do you do to stay healthy?
I eat healthily and I don’t have microwave meals. My husband does the cooking — he’s very good at it. So it’s home-cooked meals for us. I exercise, either walking everywhere or housework. You don’t have to go to the gym. Running up and down the stairs is exercise, burning calories. So there are no excuses!
EPISODE SYNOPSESEpisode one: Lesley McKenzie
In the first episode Dr. Coales reveals how three decades of fast living affect 52-year-old Lesley McKenzie from London. Lesley is 5’3” and weighs 196 pounds. Drinking alcohol is one of her favorite activities and she can easily drink two bottles of wine in an evening.
Lesley may be enjoying life to the full now, but she has a family history of liver disease and heart problems. Tests reveal that she has fatty deposits around her vital organs and the beginnings of liver disease. She could have as little as 13 years left on her body clock.
Tim Bean steps in to knock Lesley into shape with a diet and exercise program. After a good start in the gym and at the dinner table, Lesley slips up on her 53rd birthday and hits the bar with gusto. Dr. Coales is very disappointed, but shocks her back on track by showing her the amount of sugar she consumes in alcohol on an average night out.
After eight weeks, Lesley is in much better shape. She has added an impressive 16 years to her body clock, taking her life expectancy to 81 years. She’s reduced her body fat and can complete 20 push-ups and crunches. Her waist size has dropped by 5 inches, reducing the risk of heart disease. The MRI scans show there’s less fat around her heart and liver and the blood tests indicate the liver is now functioning normally.
Lesley is thrilled. “My belly is not so big, my face looks younger and I’ve lost a couple of chins. If all that is achievable in eight weeks just think what a further eight weeks will do. I was very skeptical at first but it obviously works. If I can do it, anybody can.”
Episode two: Steve Barrett
This week Dr. Coales meets 36-year-old Steve Barratt, who lives with his wife and 5-year-old son, Joe. Steve thinks he's a normal guy living a normal life but Dr. Coales sees things differently.
Steve loves to drink and during a night out he can put away five pints of beer, followed by eight double gin and tonics, chased by four whiskeys and a take-out dinner. Work involves hours in his company car wolfing down junk food, and the only exercise he gets is trying to keep up with his little boy.
Steve has a life expectancy of only 65, and his ECG and MRI scans reveal his heart is sluggish and his liver has been damaged by alcohol. His sperm analysis also returns abnormal results.
Fitness expert Tim Bean prescribes a low-fat, high fiber diet and a rigorous exercise regime. After 8 weeks, Steve has lost an incredible 42 pounds. Tests reveal he’s increased his life expectancy to 77, turning back his bodyclock by 12 years. His heart and liver scans show a much healthier picture, and to his wife Katherine’s delight, his new sperm sample shows improvement too.
Episode three: Jo Mayne
This week Dr. Coales attempts to reverse 20 years of physical and mental neglect in 40-year-old Jo Mayne. At 5’1’’ and 168 pounds she is obese, and her face is prematurely aged. Her job is stressful and she spends a lot of time on the road. By Friday night, her stress levels are so high that she drinks herself into oblivion.
Dr. Coales finds that Jo’s 20-year smoking habit has increased her blood pressure and reduced her lung capacity by 25%. MRI scans indicate she has high cholesterol, increasing her risk of a heart attack. A woman Jo’s age should live until she is 87, but her unhealthy lifestyle brings her to a life expectancy of 64.
Tim Bean draws up an eight-week diet and fitness plan including a low-fat, high-fiber diet to help Jo turn back her body clock. As a result, her lung capacity improves and her carbon monoxide levels drop below 1%, proving she has quit smoking. She loses fat from her middle and around her organs, her cholesterol goes down and her skin is brighter and more youthful.
The slimmer, de-stressed Jo is ecstatic and says at the end of the epsiode, “I feel brilliant, a lot more confident. I turn 41 in two weeks and I feel 30. In fact I feel better than I did at 30!”
Episode four: Becki Cronin
This week Dr. Coales meets 36-year-old Becki Cronin who enjoys drinking, junk food, and smoking 20 cigarettes a day. She’s young and having fun, so why shouldn’t she? But Dr. Coales sees Becki’s saggy skin and crows’ feet are already making her look old. When she looks below the surface things just get worse.
Becki confesses that she never drinks water, just fruit juice and soda. This adds up to 120 gallons a year, twice her body weight in sugar. This has a terrible effect on her teeth.
Dr. Coales’ scans and tests prove that Becki’s casual attitude has already taken its toll. She has early signs of emphysema and the enamel on her teeth has worn away. Becki’s life expectancy should have been 88 but if she continues her unhealthy lifestyle she won’t make it past 59.
Tim and Dr. Coales put Becki on an alkaline rich diet to combat the effects of her acidic sugar intake. Sugary drinks and alcohol are banned, and she’s sent to a hypnotherapist to help her quit smoking. She’s also given an intensive exercise regime to increase her lungpower and overall fitness.
Becki follows her new teeth-cleaning regime and sticks to her new diet, but after a few weeks she caves in to her craving for a cigarette. Dr. Coales is very disappointed and asks her father to speak to Becki about his life since being diagnosed with emphysema.
Newly motivated, Becki agrees to aversion therapy, which programs her to associate smoking with something she hates — fish.
After eight weeks Becki looks fantastic. She’s lost two inches from her waist and has more muscle tone. Her lung function has improved 30%. Her new lifestyle adds an amazing 17 years to her life, increasing her life expectancy to 76.
Episode five: Sarah Keeley
In the fifth episode of the series, Dr. Coales meets 41-year-old Sarah Keeley. Sarah feels like she’s spiralling into a decline — obese, out of shape and exhausted. She’s a heavy smoker, drinker and has low self-esteem. She’s particularly self-conscious about her flabby tummy.
Sarah tells Dr. Coales that she suffers from breathlessness. She only gets two hours of restful sleep a night and snores terribly. Dr. Coales knows the dark circles around Sarah’s eyes and her short, stout neck are signs of sleep apnea, a potentially fatal condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing in their sleep.
Tests reveal the first stages of alcoholic liver disease and confirm sleep apnea. Dr. Coales estimates Sarah’s life expectancy at 59 years.
Dr. Coales and Tim get to work as Sarah quits smoking and lowers her alcohol consumption. To support her exercise regime, she ditches her junk diet for a low-fat, high-fiber plan. After just six weeks the results are staggering. Sarah loses 18 pounds, improves her breathing and sleep, and is full of energy.
Sarah visits Dr. Coales for her final check-up and is told she’s lost 28 pounds, her blood pressure is now healthy and her liver has started to repair itself. Her neck is now 15 inches, contributing to her sleeping soundly for 6 hours each night. But the best news for Sarah is that her life expectancy has increased by an amazing 25 years to 84, the highest of all the participants in the series.
Sarah now has more time to live with her friends and family. “I don’t want to sound too dramatic, but this program has probably saved my life and that’s something I’ll always be grateful for,” she says.
Episode six: Neil Walsh
This week, Dr. Coales turns her attention to 30-year-old account manager Neil Walsh. Neil thinks his party-hard lifestyle is helping him get over his girlfriend. He admits to drinking excessively at least five times a week, consuming the equivalent of 70 pints of beer. He also confesses to a three gram-a-week cocaine habit. Dr. Coales can tell just by looking at him that Neil’s partying is wreaking havoc on the inside of his body. His face is puffy, he has a sallow complexion, his eyes are bloodshot and he’s jittery.
Simple balance and co-ordination tests reveal that Neil’s habits have already had a detrimental effect on his brain function. He also has fat infiltration in his liver. Dr. Coales places his death age at 57, a shocking 27 years before his time.
Tim and Dr. Coales realize that Neil’s using cocaine and alcohol to boost his self-esteem. To help him gain confidence they prescribe an exercise plan to induce a natural high and a diet rich in mood-enhancing foods. Despite a good start, Neil’s secretly filmed in a club two weeks later, so drunk that he can’t even remember being there. Busted and ashamed, Neil’s determined to get back on track. He works harder at the gym, sticks to his diet, and visits an addiction specialist to help him understand his issues. Dr. Coales surprises him with a random test, which proves he’s clean.
After eight weeks, Neil’s flab is replaced with muscle and his balance has improved. New scans reveal that his liver is functioning normally and his brain function is improving after quitting cocaine. Best of all, he’s increased his life expectancy by 20 years, to 77. “Where I was two months ago compared with today is worlds apart. I had some counselling, which was really good for me. It was all about limitation and moderating my intake. I’ve learned to set limits,” Neil says.
Episode seven: Michelle Parkes
Meet 29-year-old Michelle Parkes. In the three years since her wedding, she’s gone from a size 14 to a size 20. Also, every weekend she binge drinks, consuming the equivalent of 11 gallons of vodka, wine and beer in a year. Tests reveal that she has high blood pressure and high cholesterol. But what’s really gotten Michelle’s attention is her fertility. She’d like to have a baby someday, but has just learned that at 29, she has the fertility of a 38-year-old woman. If she keeps up her behavior, she will have a life expectancy of only 62.
Tim and Dr. Coales put Michelle on a fertility regime. She needs to raise her metabolic rate and shift the weight from her stomach. Excess fat is producing excess estrogen, which acts as a contraceptive. She threatens to fall off the wagon for her 30th birthday, but Dr. Coales steps in with a pep talk.
After eight weeks, Michelle has lost 21 pounds, her blood pressure is better, her cholesterol is normal, and she is much more fertile. Her new life expectancy is 76, adding 14 years to her life.
Episode eight: David Cooper
This week, Dr. Coales meets David Cooper, a 46-year-old who Dr. Coales says looks like a typical Homer Simpson. Dr. Coales guesses that he smokes a lot, and later confirms that he smokes up to 30 cigarettes a day. He’s also drinking a lot – in a year he drinks the equivalent of 1,500 pints of beer and 30 bottles of whiskey.
Tests reveal he has high blood pressure, his liver is enlarged due to drinking heavily, and his cholesterol is high. He’s also at high risk for diabetes. The news is so shocking, David feels the need to sit down. And that’s before he gets his life expectancy – 64.
First to go are the liquid lunches, and Tim swaps his motorcycle for a bicycle to get him back in shape. To turn his I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude around, Dr. Coales shows David, with a dice game, how close he is to getting potentially fatal diseases like lung cancer and diabetes. But even once he knows the odds, smoking is almost impossible to give up. Dr. Coales sends him a jar of tar just to remind him what cigarettes dump into his body each year. To further inspire David, Tim books an exercise date with a very fit 63-year-old and some professional cricket players, so he can see just how strong and fit he can expect to become in time.
After eight weeks, he’s lost 28 pounds, lowered his blood pressure, increased his lung capacity, brought his liver back to normal size, and lowered his cholesterol. His brand-new life expectancy is 79, adding 15 years in just eight weeks.
WHO TURNS BACK THE CLOCK?There are some cultures in the world that have always managed to stay healthy, but what are their secrets for turning back their body clocks?
Okinawans
Seaweed, tofu, oily fish and plenty of fruit and vegetables.
The Japanese island of Okinawa in the South China Sea has the longest living inhabitants in the whole world, who have an average life expectancy of 81.2 years. A 25-year research programme found that this was down to a diet rich in tofu, fish and vegetables, and low in meat, eggs and dairy food. Residents mix seaweed and tofu into 'mooi tofu'. Seaweed contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E and the soybeans in tofu are loaded with flavanoids. These fight breast and prostate cancer and hold back heart disease. The cold-water fish in their diets, such as tuna mackerel and salmon contain Omega3s, which reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers.
Mediterraneans
Lots of unsaturated fat, fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of red wine.
The health benefits of a Mediterranean diet were first realised in the ‘60s when scientists found that despite a high-fat diet the residents of Crete had very low rates of heart disease, low incidence of some cancers and a long life expectancy. The classic Mediterranean diet has lots of fruit, vegetables, wholegrain cereals, nuts and pulses with (monounsaturated) olive oil as the main source of fat. Poultry and fish are eaten in moderate amounts and red meat in low amounts. Red wine is drunk in moderation usually with meals. Antioxidants in red wine, coffee and tomatoes slow down the ageing process, while olive oil helps to control LDL blood cholesterol, protecting the heart.
Thais
Coconut oil, coriander and chillies.
The southeast Asian diet is bursting with age-defying nutrients. The capsicum in chillies is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which fights infection. Coriander can lower blood sugar levels and LDL cholesterol, and it even has antibacterial properties. Coconut may be high in saturated fat but this contains lauric acid, and capric acid, which have recently found to have antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal functions. Other research has shown that including coconut fat in your diet can help your body to control body fat levels, protect against alcohol damage to the liver and boost your immune system’s anti-inflammatory response.
Laplanders
Reindeer meat.
Herded reindeer meat is 3-7 % higher in protein than domestic red meat. It has the lowest cholesterol levels of any red meat and has comparable saturated fat content to domestic white meat and fish. Because wild reindeer have a varied and nutrient-dense diet of moss, lichens and plants too tough for humans to digest, their meat and marrow also carries more nutrients than domestic animals. In fact it’s so plentiful in nutrients, such as vitamin C, that the indigenous Sami people of Lapland are able to live almost entirely off reindeer in the winter months. They crack open the bones for marrow and even mix reindeer blood into soups.
Inuits
Low amounts of saturated fat, diary and carbohydrates.
Scientists studied the indigenous people of the Arctic Circle (Inuits or Eskimos) in the ‘70s and found that they had much lower rates of heart disease, arthritis and diabetes than other cultures. This was despite eating a whale, seal and salmon diet, which was extremely high in fat and low in carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, apart from sea kelp. The reason for this was that the blubber of marine mammals is very high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, and low in saturated fat. And because they ate much of the meat raw or lightly cooked, the vitamins contained in the flesh, such as vitamin C, A and D were not destroyed through cooking. It seems that the health benefits of this diet are partly side effects of limiting saturated fats, refined carbohydrates and diary products.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE BODY CLOCKHow do scientists know how long someone is likely to live?
Scientists calculate your body clock by looking at the aspects of your lifestyle that have the greatest statistical impact on your life expectancy and comparing them to your age. This gives an estimation of the time you have left. It relies on data collected in scientific studies of the death rates in large numbers of people. So the average death rates in 10,000 smokers are compared to the death rates in 10,000 non-smokers to find the effect that smoking has on your lifespan. Of course, there will always be lucky individuals who smoke 40 cigarettes-a-day all their lives but live to be 90. However, for every one of these there will be 20 others who don’t make it past 50 years old.
What has the most impact on my life expectancy?
The most relevant piece of data is your age, then your sex and then whether you’re a smoker or not. Those are the biggest three impacts on how long you will live for, unless you do illegal drugs, which have an even bigger impact.
If I only smoke one cigarette a day do I really count as a smoker?
Statistically, you’re more likely to die if you smoke and yes, one cigarette a day does count. The two big milestones where smoking death rates jump up significantly are at 20 and then 40 cigarettes a day. If you smoke over 40-a-day your chances of survival decrease sharply.
Why does my weight and height affect my life expectancy?
Your height and weight are used together to calculate your Body Mass Index. This is a sliding scale from underweight to overweight and obese. Seriously obese people are more at risk from heart disease. You should be aware that if you’re very tall, very short or very muscular this calculation can be misleading.
How does my alcohol consumption affect my body clock?
The first question is: are you a regular, heavy drinker? If so you’ll be damaging your liver and reducing your life expectancy. The second question is are you a binge drinker who may only drink once a week but does so to get drunk? This will also damage your liver but may kill you in other ways because statistics show you’re more likely to be hit by a car, fall down stairs or get beaten up if you’re drunk.
What’s a safe level of alcohol consumption?
The recommended safe limits are 21 units per week for men and 14 for women, but these have to be spread out over the week (three units a day for men and two for women). There is some medical evidence to back up claims that a glass of wine a day or a small amount of other alcohol is actually good for you.
