Is Aging Preventable?
“The aging process should be approached as an engineering problem,” says Cambridge researcher and aging expert Aubrey de Grey. “It is merely a side effect of being alive… much like a disease, it is preventable.”
According to Grey, there are seven basic factors that are responsible for human aging:
- Cell loss/atrophy
- Death-resistant cells
- Nuclear mutations and epimutations
- mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) mutations
- Protein cross links
- Junk inside cells
- Junk outside cells
His hypothesis states that if you can keep these seven deadly cell-damaging processes below the threshold where cells start to break down until your body dies from the cumulative damage, you will be able to extend your life indefinitely.
Edward Masoro, at the University of Texas, pioneered research in the 1990’s, showing that a low-calorie diet switches on a key gene called SIRT1 that controls a network of other genes, which in turn create proteins that protect cells from damage. Now, more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies are working on anti-aging drugs designed to switch on SIRT1 in your cells.
Meanwhile, Russian biochemist Mikhail Shchepinov believes he has already found an elixir of youth. The basic concept of “the isotope effect” is that the presence of heavy isotopes in a molecule can slow down its chemical reactions. So if aging is caused by free radicals trashing covalent bonds, then the isotope effect can be used to make vulnerable biomolecules more resistant to attack. This means placing deuterium or carbon-13 in the bonds that are most vulnerable to attack. Shchepinov is developing a range of food products that have been fed with “heavy water”.
Recently, two pre-eminent aging experts have placed a bet on whether or not someone living today will be alive in 2150 (so to reach an age of at least 148). The current old-age record holder is Jeanne Calment, a Frenchwoman who, after smoking for nearly 100 years, died in 1997 at the age of 122. Steven Austad, biologist and professor of cellular and structural biology, believes someone alive today will still be alive in 2150. For the past 20 years, he has researched the fundamentals of aging, and has been able to drastically extend the lifespan of various animals by tinkering with their genes, or restricting their calorie intake.
Jay Olshansky, on the other hand, believes there are too many hurdles to be overcome, and that any benefit derived from anti-aging drugs will probably be wiped out by rising threats to public health, such as obesity and diabetes. In fact, the demographic models Olshansky and his colleagues have built project that obesity alone will cut life expectancy by two to five years within the next 50 years.
Both experts agree, however, that science is making significant advances.
While it’s likely that these advances will be translated into pills and potions, you can be sure that any solutions the pharmaceutical industry may offer will carry side effects and potential toxicity, while – for the foreseeable future – not being as effective as natural steps that you can take now. At NutriVital Health, we believe that most people do not have high enough expectations for their wellness and longevity – that following a few natural principles will make a big difference. These are the steps we recommend:
- Keep your insulin levels low. Consuming sugars and grains will increase your insulin level, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your aging accelerator.
- Eat a balanced, healthy diet with lean meats, vegetables, and a proportion of raw foods.
- Take omega-3 fats. Many experts believe that a diet high in Omega-3 is the predominant reason why the Japanese are the longest lived race on the planet. So eat oily fish regularly, and consider supplementation with fish oil, krill oil or flax seed oil.
- Get your antioxidants from foods. Antioxidants have been shown to have anti-aging effects. Good sources include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, red grapes, beans, and artichokes.
- Use coconut oil in place of other oils, margarine, or butter. It can also help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, and lower your cholesterol, among other things.
- Get your resveratrol naturally. Resveratrol is one of the forerunners in the anti-aging pill race but by the time they’ve manipulated it into a synthetic pill, it probably won’t be healthy. Resveratrol is the antioxidant found in red wine but alcohol is a neurotoxin that can poison your brain and harm your body’s hormonal balance. So try to source it from whole grape skins and seeds, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts.
- Get plenty of exercise. Studies repeatedly show that regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help prevent or delay hypertension, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and the falls that lead to hip fracture. Although a lifetime of regular exercise is ideal, it’s never too late to start. It’s been shown that even individuals in their 70’s can substantially increase both strength and endurance with exercise.
- Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible. Many household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides are toxic. Try to replace these types of products with non-toxic alternatives.
- Avoid pharmaceutical drugs. If you keep to a healthy lifestyle, it’s likely you won’t need them anyway; but pharmaceutical drugs kill thousands of people prematurely every year.
Science seems to be progressing to a place where magic pills and genetic engineering can be used to increase lifespan. While the idea of living longer is extremely attractive to many people, they are not taking notice of the very simple, natural steps that they can take now. For most of us, living a healthy life well into our 100’s is absolutely possible, with a little dedication and a few lifestyle changes. It’s just up to the individual to decide whether they think it’s worth it.