How old do you have to be to reach radical life extension? What is the immortal definition, and is it possible to live forever?
You roll the genetic dice. They come up – you’re only set for 60 years. You roll them again, and now you’re set for 70. And again, and now you’re at 50. Oops. Better roll those dice again. You roll the environmental dice. They come up – your genes say 70, but your environment says 60. These future life extension predictions are frustrating. Certainly, there are some things you can do. You can never start smoking and always wear sunscreen. You can eat right and exercise. You can keep your stress levels down and make sure not to step in front of any buses. Yet there is always something. All you want to know is “is it possible to live forever?” What is the immortal definition? Simple enough questions…right?!?!
But let’s back up and ask – what is radical life extension and what is an immortal definition? Radical life extension is the science of anti-aging. The idea is to extend personal and average life expectancy beyond what we would consider to be “normal”. The theory of the technological singularity is that we will eventually be able to live as long as we want, through the application of advancements in genetics and biotechnology, nanotechnology and nanobots, and robotics and artificial intelligence. But the trick is, you have stay alive long enough to get to the singularity! As for what the immortal definition is, well its hard to say that this point, but “living as long” as we want sounds pretty close. The Ray Kurzweil singularity describes it as living in a virtual world permanently.
Consider how things have changed. Our great-grandparents were good until their sixties or so. Then they would get cancer or heart disease or the like, or maybe influenza. Treatments were not too effective. There were wars, and there was more poverty. And those people looked old!
Our grandparents had more options and were beginning to use antibiotics (penicillin was discovered in 1928). But they still only lived into their early seventies or so, although some of that is due to the enormous loss of life from World War II. Our parents did better but they didn’t have the advantages of preventative vaccines that we do. The measles vaccine, for example, is from 1963 (and then it was improved in 1968). Their life expectancies increased. They were more likely to live into their eighties and beyond. Octogenarians were fairly common, nonagenarians were getting common, and the number of centenarians rose. Remember when living to 100 was a news story? Not anymore.
According to CNN, the number of centenarians is on the increase. Furthermore, their causes of death are changing. With better medical care, future life extension predictions for children born today are bound to go up. According to the Social Security Administration, a girl born today can expect to live to just about age 87 on average, and to 91 if she has already made it to age 70. A boy born today can expect to reach age 83 as an average, and get to age 89 once he’s made it to 70. The main reasons for the differences in expectancy between birth and age 70 have to do with living past ages when we are more likely to go to war, or commit suicide, or work at hazardous occupations.
When we ask about life extension, better medical care, improved nutrition, use of sunscreen, not smoking or drinking to excess, and staying away from dangers like war and hazardous occupations are a big part of it. But when we ask what is radical life extension, then we are talking about not only danger avoidance, but also meeting aging head on. Actively augmenting ourselves to deter or reverse aging.
There are organizations in existence that are devoted to effort to deter and reverse aging. One of which, SENS Research Foundation, operates with the goal to help build the industry that will cure the diseases of aging. It was co-founded by Aubrey De Gray Ph.D, a biomedical gerontologist, and SENS’ Chief Science Officer. Their research emphasizes the application of regenerative medicine to age-related disease, with the intent of repairing underlying damage to the body’s tissues, cells, and molecules.
The effort is definitely leading to significant discoveries. Substances known as senolytics are still in the developmental stage, but they have shown great promise in studies done on mice. Basically, they remove the older cells in a mouse’s body. These are cells with damaged DNA and, once they are removed, the mouse has a longer healthy adulthood. Telomerase is another promising substance which scientists are looking at when figuring out how to live forever in real life. Telomerase is an enzyme. Telomeres are a part of DNA which acts like a ‘cap’ on chromosomes and prevent damage. Telomerase helps to keep telomeres from degrading. As with senolytics, the less damage that DNA suffers, the longer a person – or mouse – should, in theory, live.
So when we ask: what is radical life extension, the initial question we are asking is – what can we do to maintain and preserve our physiology now? And then what year do we have to reach, to be able to achieve radical life extension?
To help achieve radical life extension, how can we augment ourselves now? What are life extension supplements, and what do they do?
Anyone who has ever looked in a mirror – so, everyone – has seen the effects of aging. Our hair is duller, or grayer, or coarser, or there’s less of it. Our skin is no longer supple, and might show spots or wrinkles and dryness, not to mention, possibly, small skin cancers. Our gums recede. Our knees don’t cooperate, or they hurt or click when we crouch or get up. We might also notice we’re getting shorter, as the space between the discs in our spine get smaller. Weight loss is harder to achieve, too.
We all know that life is accelerating toward something big. Ray Kurzweil calls it the Singularity. Life is going to change. Don’t you want to be around for that? Many of us wonder just how to reverse aging naturally. So if you have ever thought about that, know that you are not alone. In fact, life extension science is very real and it’s has been around for a while. There is even a Life Extension Foundation that, since its inception in 1980, has continued its dedication to finding new scientific methods for eradicating disease and death.
When we look at the life extension supplements and a life extension multivitamin, of course we want to find something that works. We generally divide them into supplements that help us look younger and those that actually reverse damage and, in effect, make us younger.
Prevention, for example, lists 5 anti-aging supplements which work, yet they are all in the context of appearance. Including glucosamine, which they say protects against fine lines and sagging skin, but they don’t mention that it also, according to WebMD, helps to add fluid around the joints, thereby making them less painful and preventing damage. While that may not, specifically, sound like it’s reversing aging, it certainly makes it easier for people to exercise. That can help with everything from mood to weight loss to blood pressure.
So let’s look at the latest life extension supplements not in the context of beauty, but in the context of life extension science. One big breakthrough is in understanding a lot more about aging itself. One piece of the puzzle is the degradation of the mitochondria in our cells. As we look at how to reverse aging naturally, these supplements come up again and again.
Life Extension Supplements to look out for.
The Singularity is going to be an exciting time. There won’t be anything to compare it to. Make sure you’re there, and anti-aging supplements can help.
Aspirin – yes, really! – is even more of a wonder drug than we ever thought before. This blood thinner helps with circulation and organ function. Plus it dramatically reduces your chances of getting colon cancer.
Carnitine has been studied for its effect on protecting the kidneys from oxidative stress. This nutrient is stored throughout the body and helps convert fat into energy.
TMG is a methyl donor, meaning that it carries and donates methyl molecules to assist this essential chemical process in the body.1 Methyl donation is also vital to maintaining proper liver function. TMG is also involved in detoxification and cellular reproduction.
Fish Oil works by providing Omega-3 fatty acids. This helps keep your heart healthy and it also helps reduce the effects of macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Resveratrol is made by grapes as a response to attack by molds. It has been shown to extend life in animals, and it may be the science behind drinking a glass of wine and extending your lifespan.
Glucosamine, as mentioned above, is required for the synthesis of mucopolysaccharides, which create the body’s tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and synovial fluid. Glucosamine stimulates the creation of chondrocytes in the cartilage on the joint surface. It stimulates the creation of synovial tissue cells, which line the joint capsule and are responsible for the creation of synovial fluid.
Coenzyme Q 10 (in form of Ubiquinol) is an antioxidant found naturally in the body. Co Q10 is essential in the manufacture of ATP, our cellular fuel. Ubiquinol is the activated form of coenzyme Q10 and is much easier for your body to process.
Melatonin is widely regarded as the “hormone of sleep.” It is a light-sensitive hormone secreted rhythmically by the pineal gland located deep within the brain. The level of melatonin in the bloodstream is low through the daylight hours and begins to rise in the early evening, priming the brain for sleep.
Vitamin-C. but not any old Vitamin-C. Specifically look at the high absorption, Lypo-Spheric Vitamin-C, that uses tiny ‘bubbles’ of phospholipids to protect nutrients during their trip through the GI tract to the small intestine, allowing them to reach the liver intact. This system allows for as much as 800% better absorption of the Vitamin-C into the bloodstream.
Vitamin B12 (also called cobalamin) is one of eight water-soluble B vitamins. It plays an important role in DNA and RNA synthesis and is needed to synthesize S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), which helps the immune system function properly and affects mood. B12 is necessary for normal nerve cell activity and the creation of red blood cells. B vitamins are used when converting carbohydrates into glucose to produce energy.
Glutathione works within the cells as a potent antioxidant and regulates metabolic processes in the human body. Research links depletion of glutathione to every major aging process in the human body.
Hormones of Youth: DHEA, growth hormone, and melatonin. The most abundant steroid hormone in the human body-DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone-is primarily produced by the adrenal glands and eventually converted into male and female hormones (androgens and estrogens) by your cells.