The truth and myths about longevity
Old age is not a joy
"AIF ABOUT Health" No. 3-2015
120 years is the limit of human lifeWhy was this figure chosen for the maximum duration of human life?
Perhaps because it is mentioned in the Bible. Plus, there are a lot of centenarians aged more than 100-110 years, but there are practically no people who have crossed the threshold of 120. It is documented that the Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Kalman lived the longest in the world: when she died, she was 122 years and 164 days old. There is, of course, information about people who have lived longer, but it is not reliable. In fact, this limit (at 120 years) is most likely psychological. Throughout the existence of mankind, life expectancy has steadily increased. In the Neolithic era, it was 20 years old, the ancient hunter-gatherers – 33 years. The duration also depends on the place of a person's life: in Zambia – 39 years, in Japan – 89, and the average in the world is 66 years.
How to explain all this? It is believed that the sharp jump in longevity is caused by chlorination of water, widespread personal hygiene, improved nutrition, reduced infant mortality, the advent of vaccination, antibiotics and other medications.
You need to think about the fight against aging after 45-50 yearsMost people believe that the first changes associated with aging occur after 40 years.
And if so, it is hardly necessary to radically change the lifestyle and start fighting aging earlier than 45 years.
In fact, it is wrong to think that functional decline begins in old age. It has been proven in studies that the weakening of the body's functions begins very early, in fact, immediately after a person has reached puberty, that is, at about 19 years old. But a number of functions begin to weaken even earlier – in childhood. And at the same time there are changes that then lead to the so-called "age-dependent diseases".
For example, atherosclerosis, which leads to heart attacks, strokes and other vascular problems, begins with small fatty deposits in the arteries. And they are sometimes found already in children. Teenagers even have atherosclerotic plaques in the vessels that feed the heart with blood (in the USA, they occur in every sixth child). Their development is promoted by sweet and high-calorie food, low physical activity, obesity, smoking. And, therefore, it is necessary to deal with these problems, typical for old age, from childhood.
The main cause of aging is free radicalsWe are all already used to the fact that, when talking about aging, everyone immediately remembers the so–called free radicals - extremely chemically active forms of oxygen.
They interact with the surrounding structures and substances, damaging them, harming our cells.
The free radical theory of aging was proposed in 1956 by Denham Harman, and since then it has become super popular.
With the help of experiments on mice, Harman was able to prove that a diet excessively rich in free radicals is carcinogenic (cancer is one of the typical diseases associated with aging). Using one of the antioxidants, he prolonged the life of experimental mice by 12%. But further studies of various antioxidants conducted in various countries did not prolong the life of animals in experiments. Moreover, some of them even shortened it when there was an overabundance. This is how the widely advertised antioxidant vitamins E, A, C and beta-carotene behaved.
It is already clear to scientists that some free radicals in small doses are necessary and contribute to longevity, but in excess they can even be toxic. Today it is safe to say that, although free radicals contribute to the development of aging processes, they are not its main and even more so the only cause.
Aging is the norm, not a diseaseMany believe that old age is a normal human condition that comes with age.
Even doctors often think so – they imagine aging as a normal physiological process conceived by nature. It seems to them something like other periods, also related to age ‑ intrauterine fetal development or puberty. That's not so. And more and more modern doctors say that aging should be treated as a disease.
Why? From the point of view of physiology, the same factors, the same processes are at the heart of both aging and age-dependent diseases. In essence, the concept of "aging" is a generalized name for a whole range of age-related diseases. Therefore, aging should be treated as a disease that can and should be treated.
Experimental gerontology has brought us a huge amount of new knowledge in recent years, which is extremely important for the real prolongation of human life. They are connected with the genetics of longevity, with the influence of nutrition on the rate of aging, with our ability to withstand stress. Data have been obtained even on individual drugs that are already able to slow down aging. Over time, the results of these studies will be used to manage aging in humans, when we will be able to take into account the peculiarities of genetics and lifestyle of the patient individually and control the rate of aging and its slowdown with the help of accurate diagnostic tools. The results of animal experiments are simply fantastic. For example, scientists can already purposefully prolong the life of nematode worms by 10 times, fruit flies by 2 times, and mice by 1.7 times. If the same methods could be applied to a person now, then perhaps he would be able to live up to 140-160 years, that is, 2 times longer than now. Scientific developments in this direction are moving so fast that it is necessary to prepare for the use of aging control technologies today.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.03.2015