LIFE AHEAD MODEL #3- the IMPROVEMENTS
See Further Improvements in MODEL #3.10 following those of Model #3.01
Life Ahead Model #2 was published on the Internet during 2004 as a major advance over the original Life Ahead model of 1982. Model #3 is improved vs Model #2 in many ways that follow: It is hoped the most of the 2,000 users that downloaded Model #2 will replace their programs with the updated Life Ahead Model #3. After Model #3 is downloaded it will be best to remove the previous Life Ahead program using the Windows control panel, and also/or delete the entire folder of C:/program files/lifeahead (Be sure not to uninstall the new Model #3 or its folder Lifeahead3 ). Also, short cuts established for the previous program will bring up the old and not the new program, so the older short cuts must be deleted. The new program displays a quite different interface.
DIET: Model #3 introduces Global Scientific Nutrition - today's only technology that can value the long range health of any food or diet. Conventional research values health as ratios and risk percentages convey little meaning beyond something is 'bad' or 'good'. Life Ahead values health risks and benefits by the much more meaningful likely Well-Days of life that can be improved by diet or other health habits. This often shows vast differences in health benefits from individual foods and fruits, vegetables, and other foods.. Users now can start with their present diet in actual foods and in convenient steps learn how improve their diets to most healthful goals in likely Well-Days of life using foods they will enjoy eating. This fascinating new technology shows users not only the potential health value of any food but explains in detail how different diet nutrients contribute to the health of each food. Global Scientific Nutrition now recognizes 23 different nutrients as fats, vitamins, minerals, and other factors in each diet.
The new Antioxidant Index in Model #3 provides a first method for user's to learn how their diet antioxidants compare with goals for best health. Despite enormous research on antioxidants, little useful advice has been provided by the so-called experts about how much antioxidants can contribute to health, and how much of them we need to take.
Model #3 provides much improved methods for computing health risk from glycemic load and sugar. Research has now shown that certain types (but by no means all) carbohydrates create elevated blood sugar, and risks of diabetes and heart disease.
The new program now provides comprehensive measurements of the the important Omega-3 fats we should be eating. It shows how we can obtain these benefits for either the DHA and EPA in fish or from larger amounts of the Linolenic fats in many other foods that to date have been largely overlooked. Omega fats can be more important to long range health than are dietary fats and cholesterol.
The diet entry to Model #3 is compatible with that of Model #2. Diets saved in the C:/program files/life ahead2 folder can be transferred to the new life ahead folder C:/program files/lifeahead3 These diet files are named Dietuser1 Dietuser2 etc in order of the user name entry. But the Model #3 will include a number of revisions in the nutrient entries for foods vs Model #2. And their overall diet valuations will differ somewhat. Model #3 also can value an entire diet from its entered values of total calories and individual nutrients.
The new Life Ahead program provides much more convenient ways for understanding the importance of each key individual nutrient in our diet, and can list the amount of each nutrient in order of importance both in the entered individual's diet, or in all 370 foods in the program diet library. This can help people select foods that will correct problems that are most acceptable.
As a fascinating new development, individuals on option can learn how much the regular eating of any individual or combination of food added to any existing diet will change the overall health of this diet in potential Well-Days of Life. It shows how the adding of just a single new food can change the overall amount of up to 23 diet nutrients. These changes in turn can change the risks of up to a dozen different major diseases.
EXERCISE and CARDIOFITNESS: A much improved data entry model permits users to develop their exercise calories and cardiovascular Pulse Points from different types of exercises in a single display. The effect of exercise intensity that has been overlooked in most recommendations on exercise is now identified far more completely and accurately than before.. And user's can enter actually measured heart rates rather than estimates of exercise intensity for different exercises for better accuracy. The program now shows directly how any change in amount or intensity of any included exercise will develop exercise calories, exercise pulse points, and actual probable long range levels of cardio fitness via the CFR. The program as before provides methods for users to actually measure the cario fitness. The CFR is confirmed further as the most important of all risk factors for suffering major disease and loss of potential life.
An improved relationship from more research should provide more accurate estimates of the CFR measure of cardiovascular fitness from maintained exercise pulse points . If an actual measurement of cardiofitness is developed in the program, a genetic risk factor for a person's fitness is displayed that corrects the value estimated from exercise to a more accurate actual value.
MODEL BASIS and SCOPE: The 11 disease and other limiters of life included in Life Ahead Model #2 have been expanded to 19 limiters in Model #3. The updated version now includes the 15 most important causes of death in US, and serious limiters of the quality of life of diabetes, dementia or alzheimers disease, COPD or respiratory disease, arthritis, osteoporosis and macular degeneration. The risk of obtaining each of these diseases can be significantly reduced by proper lifestyle habits. Most research on publicity on health has shown only the risks of diet and exercise on heart disease that involves only about a fourth of population loss of Well-Days of life. The attainment of good health habits earlier enough in life can substantially reduce the risk of spending later years handicapped by blindness, physical disability or loss of mind. This important aspect of health and life is considered more extensively in Model #3 than in former Model #2.
Model #3's improved morbidity rates are taken from the latest US vital statistics available during 2005. Rates are identified by each year or life from age 1 to about age 100 and extrapolated using data from centenarians to age 110. All values are adjusted by year for cigarette smoking to value more directly the risks of non-smoking persons. All risks are taken as departures from these actual US rates. Thus all Life Ahead valuations are real average person risks, and not subsets from some special population as is true in most research studies. The program can compute and display the actual risks of morbidity and death on each of these 19 life limiters or in total for men or women of any age above 17 for any number of future years to life expectancy. This can be done for individuals having any combination of diet, exercise and dozens of other included lifestyle habits.
PRESENTATION: Life Ahead Model #3 as been substantially redesigned to make entries easier and results clearer. A diet is now included in every analysis, and a simple option will enter a typical US diet for results if an entered diet is not available.. The program will be operable by users after only two displays are completed. A first one includes name and basic entries as weight, height, age, etc. A second includes exercise habits. Further user entries not required for program operation but that will improve accuracy of results include of dozens of other habits and factors in following optional entry displays. .
The DEMO program includes new explanatory help screens that display adjacent to key entry and results screens. These special Help screens can be activated during program operation if wanted. But the major Help Info displays that can be printed out have been updated and are still available.
The results of a diet entry as mentioned above are shown in far more detail. A first display 'Diet Analysis' shows in order the deficiencies in Well-Days that are caused by departures of each nutrient amount vs. healthful goals. Tabs for 14 nutrient options explain their role in detail, and can reveal the actual foods in the diet that produce the problem and show how they can be corrected. Or they can suggest library foods that alternatively might solve a deficiency problem The user can then go directly back to diet entry and try revising the diet to correct a problem. If a new food is added to the diet, two more displays become available. A first shows by nutrient how the added food helped or harmed the diet. A second shows the effect on risk of various diseases for adding this food to the diet. Adding a single food to a diet often can change the risk of a half dozen or more different major diseases. These displays help explain to a user how individual foods can help or harm diet health.
Further Improvements in Life Ahead Model 3.10
Vitamin D has been added to the nutrients included. Recent research confirms very substantial long range reductions in risk of both cardiovascular diseases and some key causes of cancer. Much higher and quite safe intakes of Vitamin D of up to and beyond 2,000 IU per day produce increasing benefits to health and life. The addtion of a 2,000 IU supplement of Vitamin D usually reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases by 34% and adds nearly two years of healthy days to life.
Two recent highly publicized meta analyses have placed a question about the benefits of antioxidants and particularly Vitamin E. To find an objective answer to these studies a far more extensive study was completed of the available research on antioxidants. This study that is far more extensive than any now reported in the health literature found that 94% of 331 study comparisons found published about Vitamins A, C, E and selenium found a benefit for each of these nutrients. An average benefit from the mass of research was a 30% reduction in risk of both cardiovascular diseases an cancer at enormous statistical significance. Life Ahead users can be confident that benefits now computed for antioxidants are both valid and conservative. This new study is included on 10 different papers on the Life Ahead web site and at www.lifead.net/antioxidantsglobalanalysis in summary. These meta analyses were found to be seriously flawed. See www.lifeahead.net/antioxidantsupplementflaws