Your 1 best recipe for a longer life...

[Imnotdutch]

Re: Basic Anti-Aging Philosophy

I was under the impression that the aging process is far from understood.....hence all of the research being carried out into cell death and aging. I personally know of a couple of people who work on this that would tell you that there is a bit more to it than hormones.....

For what its worth I dont believe medical doctors are usually up on the details of why particular conclusions are drawn from research. You have to look at the details of the experiments performed in order to understand them.....not many med. docs have the time or the knowledge to be able to do that....so they cant draw valid criticisms of any work that was done. Hence a bunch of oversimplified theories in the public domain.

All of the Anti-aging docs I've talked to or whose articles I've read believe that restoring Test and HGH levels will definitely prolong life and its quality. Our genetics determine our hormone levels and their effectiveness. The only reason we age is because our hormone levels decrease. Check with any anti-aging doc..even Dr. Klatz addresses this issue in his book. Even check with www.lef.org for more information.

 

[DrJMW]

So other than hormone levels, diet, and exercise, what other "life" components are being looked at in relation to cell death and dying?

 

[Imnotdutch]

Off the top of my head?

Telomere length in chromosomes. These shorten with successive cell replication until they eventually cause a breakdown. Alot of bioenergetics is involved if you believe all of the grant applications that use this. Oxidative modification of proteins as we age.....thats the best I can do off the top of my head. These are all actions at the cellular level as you can see (as are the actions of hormones). But what affects the cell affects the entire body.....thats why so much money is being thrown at this area.

So other than hormone levels, diet, and exercise, what other "life" components are being looked at in relation to cell death and dying?

 

[DrJMW]

Thanks for the reply to the question. It will be interesting to see what treatment/longevity modalities come out of this research.

 

[booger]

Question

How come all these doctors or whomever that claim to have the answers to longevity and aging are all so old looking? What the hell happened to them?

 

[SilentSurfer]

I've read that one thing behavior that significantly drives longevity is calorie reduction. Rats that ate as much as they wanted lived much shorter lives than rats that had their diets limited.

Lifestyles and health practices encouraged by certain religions may also be a factor:

A recently published study by Loma Linda University showed that active practicing Seventh Day Adventists lived 7.28 years (women) and 4.42 years (men) longer than their non Adventist counterparts.

Also, in 1990 a study published by UCLA medical school showed that active Mormon males lived 11 years longer and active Mormon females 8 years longer than their non-Mormon or inactive Momon counterparts.

 

[DrJMW]

there is definitely a spiritual connection to longevity..medication, yoga are also being espoused as part of a total plan.

 

[MS]

Without a doubt ageing is a lot more than hormones, exercise and dietary factors. Any effective attempt at preventing, slowing or reversing ageing will have to be a multi-pronged battle. One of the strongest correlations that has been reproducibly found in centenarians is a healthy outlook and a strong will to continue living (ie they're enjoying life even at that age). This is as much an attitude/spiritual aspect as it is physical. And as Imnotdutch pointed out there are inexhorable biochemical changes that happen every time our cells divide. Telomere shortening, accumulation of DNA repair defects, large deletions of mitochondrial DNA leading to reduced energy output, changes in methylation, glycation of serum proteins etc..... And of course there's the genetic/inherited component.

With all that in mind, I think enjoying life is the most important. This may be another way of saying you should avoid stress, but you can suffer from stress and still enjoy life (for instance bungy jumping can be enjoyable AND stressful). Everything else you do (diet, exercise, deprenyl, hormone replacement) is merely an enhancement of an already enjoyable lifestyle.

Oh, and avoiding terrorist targets is also a good strategy for prolonging life!

 

[Ana]

I just wanna say...I love reading your posts MS. You seem sooo....
what's the word I 'm looking for? Cool, smart, matter of fact.
O.k, 3 words.

 

[cure]

Love, sex and living life 1 meal at a time.