A nice video about increasing the length and quality of your life.
I’m not going to watch the entire video, but I remember reading something about how people reach over 100 by eating a ridiculously small amount of food. For me, I don’t see the point in living if you have to starve.
[quote]Mikaj wrote:
I’m not going to watch the entire video, but I remember reading something about how people reach over 100 by eating a ridiculously small amount of food. For me, I don’t see the point in living if you have to starve.[/quote]
The technique is called calorie restriction, or undernutrition without malnutrition.
Research has shown an increase in longevity almost equal to the reduction in calories. A 10% reduction has resulted in a 10% increase in lifespan. 20% results in 20%. And this seems to work up to 40%.
Only anecdotal evidence shows that it works in humans, but it has worked in every mammal it has been tested on, including primates. So it is would be very surprising if it did not work in humans.
Interestingly they have found that just 2 weeks of this type of diet results in genetic changes that result in longevity. (At least in rats.) I don’t know if they have found out how long this effect lasts though. But this could mean that if you are only on this type of a diet for a quarter of the year, I would think you would get about a quarter of the effects. But I am just assuming here.
I know you don’t think living like this is worth it, but people have said the same thing about me eating the way I do, and lifting weights. That they would rather be happy then eat right and exercise. My response to them is that my happiness is not based on a Twinkie.
Anyway last I knew, it was looking like resveratrol caused similar effects to the genes as caloric restriction, and it may not have been of much benefit to do both. But this was still only preliminary information when I read about it, and have to admit I haven’t been up on the research. (Other then a company trying to produce a synthetic form of resveratrol being sold for, if I remember right, a billion dollars.)
But anyway, longevity can be achieved by many by just quitting smoking. Eating better, and exercising can increase longevity also. Longevity is simply keeping yourself as healthy as possible.
And now I am going to watch this thing and see what they have to say.
And the point of living to be 100+ is?
And now that I have watched it, it does have some good information. But it is limited.
He mentions that diets only work 2% of the time. This is very outdated information, I believe as a result of research in the 50’s. Diets are much more successful today.
Then he mentions that the long lived people don’t exercise, then talks about how they are practically forced to exercise as a result of their lifestyle.
He does seem to focus on the psychological aspects, and I agree that is very important.
They found a few common threads that exist with all the long lived cultures. But they don’t seem to have caught on that these cultures have kind of fallen into this, and have not worked at it. And if you take what works, and figure out how to make it better, it will work better.
One thing they have researched are telomeres. These little pieces of code at the end of our DNA that break off every time a cell divides. When it gets too small, the cell quits dividing, and starts pumping toxins into the body. But if the telemeres are not lost, or rebuilt, then the cell generally does not age. It actually thinks it is younger then it is.
There is an enzyme that rebuilds the telomeres when one is lost due to cell division. It is active in fetuses so they can grow rapidly without aging quickly. I believe they are also active during the healing process.
Unfortunately cancer cells are able to bypass this telomere loss, and rapidly reproduce. (Not sure if the enzyme is involved or not here.) Effectively cancer cells are immortal.
This video is not bad, and gives some good information, but what this guy was talking about I already knew over 15 years ago.
As I’ve heard before, the thing about adding years to your life with low-calorie diets and aerobic exercise is all those extra years come at the end.
[quote]The Mage wrote:
Unfortunately cancer cells are able to bypass this telomere loss, and rapidly reproduce. (Not sure if the enzyme is involved or not here.) Effectively cancer cells are immortal.
[/quote]
Would be pretty cool is researchers were able to input this immortality into regular cells without disrupting function.
Why the fuck would anyone want to live to be 100? Seriously? 70 is actually too old, too. I don’t want to start to lose cognitive function and have to rely on people helping me out with simple, day-to-day tasks.
The human body is originally only supposed to last until about 40 years old. That’s how long teeth last without modern dentistry.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
And the point of living to be 100+ is?[/quote]
Unless I can move like someone half my age, then none.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
And the point of living to be 100+ is?[/quote]
To be…
I M M O R T A L
[quote]SSC wrote:
Why the fuck would anyone want to live to be 100? Seriously? 70 is actually too old, too. I don’t want to start to lose cognitive function and have to rely on people helping me out with simple, day-to-day tasks.
The human body is originally only supposed to last until about 40 years old. That’s how long teeth last without modern dentistry.[/quote]
I think that half the ideology behind longevity is addings life to your years, with the other half being the expected years to your life.
Many compounds that are touted as ‘anti-aging’ actually just help prevent the decline associated with aging (Centrophenoxine is one, as it helps remove a pigment in the brain called lipofuscin that is correlated with age, which then enhances cognitive function)
I believe ALCAR and CoQ10 have also been called anti-aging since they help cells function optimally, which should theoretically prevent the expected decline with age.
So as for living to 100, I personally want to live as long as possible, given that I still have function.
The day that my body can’t handle weight-training of any kind, is the day I write my will.
Yes, you want quality years. Every time people hear about longevity they mistakenly think all those years are going to be spent in a nursing home, but that is not true.
The purpose of longevity is to slow the aging process, so that 50 or 60 feels more like 30.
Oh yeah, the second you get to that nursing home, your days are numbered, and nothing is going to change that. The average person who enters a nursing home lives less then a year.
This sounds about as appealing as Dunbar’s method of extending his life.
No thanks.
Did you guys even watch the video before commenting? The video mentions how the increase in life expectancy is mostly the “good years” of your life. It adds years to the disability free portion of your life.
My grandmother is in her 80’s and she’s getting senile and is confined to a wheelchair. Contrast that to Warren Buffett who runs a multi billion dollar company in his 80’s. It scares me to think that I could end up like my grandmother. The video presents some simple and easy guide lines to follow. I think it’s worth it, if it increases the disability free portion of my life, even if it’s just a little.
On a side note, I thought it was pretty crazy how the group of women in Okinawa knew each other for 97 years.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Why the fuck would anyone want to live to be 100? Seriously? 70 is actually too old, too. I don’t want to start to lose cognitive function and have to rely on people helping me out with simple, day-to-day tasks.
The human body is originally only supposed to last until about 40 years old. That’s how long teeth last without modern dentistry.[/quote]
If you watched the video you would see people in their 90’s and 100’s who were active, keeping up their home and property, riding bikes, voluntering, performing surgery, building a fence, cutting wood, waterskiing, ect, ect. Doesn’t sound so bad to me!
[quote]Lackzoom wrote:
[quote]SSC wrote:
Why the fuck would anyone want to live to be 100? Seriously? 70 is actually too old, too. I don’t want to start to lose cognitive function and have to rely on people helping me out with simple, day-to-day tasks.
The human body is originally only supposed to last until about 40 years old. That’s how long teeth last without modern dentistry.[/quote]
If you watched the video you would see people in their 90’s and 100’s who were active, keeping up their home and property, riding bikes, voluntering, performing surgery, building a fence, cutting wood, waterskiing, ect, ect. Doesn’t sound so bad to me![/quote]
People in my family are still active in their 90’s and 100’s. They eat healthy food, exercise and refrain from drinking and smoking.
I do not believe that low calorie diets are necessary to live longer. I would like to see a study following people who starved themselves in order to live longer vs. people who had healthy, active lifestyles in order to live longer.
Comparing these old people to old people who sat around eating big macs and smoking marlboros means NOTHING to me.
I don’t believe they mention low calories. They tell you not to eat until your stuffed and make sure to eat a lot of vegetables and get your omega 3s. The segment about Okinawa mentioned eating until you’re 80% full since it takes 30 min before your brain knows it’s full.
Buettner wrote the book “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who Have Lived the Longest (National Geographic)”. The attached link is to an interview with Buettner about what his research found. I read it after reading this interview in NG magazine. The book was pretty interesting and made some interesting recommendations. In short, the book suggests that you will add about ten GOOD years to your life by doing the following on a regular basis:
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Move: Find ways to stay active
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Plan de Vida: Discover your purpose in life
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Downshift: Take a break
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80% Rule: Don’t overeat
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Plant Power: Choose greens
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Red Wine: A glass a day
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Belong: Stay social
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Beliefs: Get ritualistic
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Your Tribe: Family matters
The entier interview is here: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/print/2009/06/live-longer-dan-buettner-text
[quote]SSC wrote:
Why the fuck would anyone want to live to be 100? Seriously? 70 is actually too old, too. I don’t want to start to lose cognitive function and have to rely on people helping me out with simple, day-to-day tasks.
The human body is originally only supposed to last until about 40 years old. That’s how long teeth last without modern dentistry.[/quote]
“And if it gives me cancer when I’m 80 I don’t care, who the hell wants to be 90 anywayyy?”
I’m committing suicide on my 80th birthday. Who the hell wants to be over 80.