A wish come true
Turritopsis dohrnii is a jellyfish that can technically live forever. For the rest of us mortals, death is a Damocles’ sword hanging precariously over our heads with the inevitability of California taxes, except it falls.
The Human Genome Project completed in 2003 was an incredible triumph that provided a deep dive into our building blocks. If we stretch our DNA one cell at a time, it will be twice the diameter of our solar system. Our sun is 93 million miles away from Earth. DNA can traverse that distance back and forth 61 times.
Incredibly, the Human Genome Project detected no gene dedicated to aging. These findings, in optimistic minds, lent to underpinnings of human life that have the potential to live much longer.
Human DNA is at least 99.9 percent alike.
Genetics and epigenetics are like hardware and software. DNA is inherited hardware that responds to modulators through epigenetics. Epigenetics is responsive to environmental controls, thus lending credence to the notion of salvaging DNA disrepair and extending permanent continuance.
At a cellular level, senescence and death proceed like a clock. The hypothesis professes that epigenetics, aka software controls, can alter switches and rail the train back to tracks and prolong life.
Resveratrol is a chemical that tweaks sirtuins and helps prevent premature cell death. Resveratrol is found in red wine in quantities too small to be meaningful, but among the imbibers, it has a buzz.
Resveratrol’s age-prolonging effect in yeast, reported by geneticist David Sinclair, failed to be replicated in other Petri dishes.
But the legend endures. The famed “elixir” crowded shelves in health stores, you guessed it, as Reverse-it-all.
Resveratrol has made billions for its manufacturers, yet sirtuin has never been proved to extend life in rats or humans.
But, the hope springs eternal.
The fantastical claims, magical alchemy and welcoming hospitality among the cursed with mortality make for an accessible predatory environment for the charlatans and snake oil salesmen.
Oh, the tug of shortcuts! Chronologically, aging leads to many ailments, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. But biologically speaking, these outcomes purportedly are mere outcomes of bad choices and are amenable to behavioral modifications, supplements and pharmaceuticals. Therein may reside hope for humanity.
Let’s begin with reverse engineering.
Blue zones are nomenclature for the demographics of the longest living. It spans parts of Japan, Costa Rica and, among others, our neighbor to the south in Loma Linda. Despite the genetic variance, there is a lifestyle overlap among these disparate populations.
Their diet tends to be primarily plant-based, organic and nonprocessed. Exercise, lack of stress and long-term relationships abound.
A good diet includes whole foods, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes and fish. Dairy products are a source of debate I avoid by using scarcely. The simple carbohydrates, sweets, ice cream, sodas, fruit juices, white bread/rice/pasta and fried foods are absolute noes; I occasionally exchange them for premature death.
Beyond the composition of food, it’s the content and timing that deserves a conversation.
Caloric deprivation is associated with longer life. Satiety tends to lag, often resulting in overeating.
A good rule of thumb is to eat to 80 percent of your appetite.
Fasting, especially intermittent fasting, is in vogue these days. Some favor the 16:8 diet, confining food to eight hours in 24 hours. Fasting purportedly spurs autophagy and mitophagy. Autophagy is the elimination of dead cells, reducing clutter and enhancing longevity. Mitophagy is the process of eliminating dead mitochondria in cells that improves energy efficiency in cells and promotes longevity. Fasting may increase resveratrol levels.
Other stressors that some enthusiasts believe build the body’s defenses include brief exposures to extreme temperatures like saunas and ice baths. Similarly, chronic exposure to cold by underdressing in winter has its proponents.
Several supplements have celebrity endorsers, an intersection where sales pitch easily exceeds science.
Metformin is a medicine used in prediabetics and diabetics that has longevity benefits.
Beyond diet and vitamins, the benefits of regular exercise are well-documented. Thirty minutes of a brisk walk five times a week is a good start.
Sleep is the next imperative for health and longevity. Insomnia is corrosive to waking hours and accelerates aging. A blissful sleep for seven to eight hours is an illusory blessing for many but mandatory to well-being.
Inflammation accelerates aging; it’s dubbed inflammaging. Processed food, sugar, obesity, stress, smoking, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are the usual culprits and can be amenable to behavioral changes.
Beyond these factors that can be measured and managed, there is the land of intangibles.
In a long-term Harvard study, a random variable demonstrated more power than a diet. A goal and passion in life, along with companionship, mattered more. It’s been correctly stated that the key to longevity is relationships, relationships, relationships. Loneliness kills. Loneliness is as bad as smoking or alcoholism. Alas, the epidemic of loneliness is growing fast.
A life bereft of purpose extinguishes the desire to live. It’s essential to cultivate passion and pursue.
Still, there is an ethical question attached to the pursuit of longevity. It’s debated that longer living would consume a larger share of resources in a somewhat narcissistic goal of hogging the planet. However, increasing the health span in an expanded life span can result in self-sufficiency and, hopefully, a net gain.
A desire to dwell longer in the future can’t crowd out the pleasures of today. In cosmic time, a hundred years is merely a blink. Length of life is essential; legacy gets to define it. Equanimity, gratitude, giving, joy, purposefulness, kindness and love are some blessings we can work to cultivate more.
A magical alchemy may not exist yet, but a well-lived life is long enough.