http://health.yahoo.net/experts/menshealth/5-nutrients-youre-not-getting-enough
After a long hard day at the office, I crave a manly dinner. Something that will sharpen my mind, feed my muscles, and infuse me with energy to keep up with two young kids till bedtime.
So, often, I have a bowl of cereal. With bananas and whole milk. Mmm.
Do I feel like I’m depriving my body of key nutrients? Quite the opposite, actually. My favorite dinner isn't just for kids. It contains high levels of three nutrients that American adults need much more of: B12, potassium, and iodine. Our shortfalls with these nutrients—along with vitamin D and magnesium—have serious health consequences, including a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, fatigue, and weight gain.
Here's the good news: These nutrients are readily available in the foods you know and love. You can get more of one simply by spending more time outside. That doesn't sound so hard, does it? Here's how to fortify your diet—and your health.
1. VITAMIN D
This vitamin's biggest claim to fame is its role in strengthening your skeleton. But vitamin D isn't a one-trick nutrient: A study in Circulation found that people deficient in D were up to 80 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. The reason? Vitamin D may reduce inflammation in your arteries. Also, a University of Minnesota study found that people with adequate vitamin D levels release more leptin, a hormone that conveys the "I'm full" message to your brain. Even more impressive, the study also found that the nutrient triggers weight loss primarily from the belly. Another study found that people with higher D levels in their bloodstream store less fat.
The shortfall: Vitamin D is created in your body when the sun's ultraviolet B rays penetrate your skin. Problem is, the vitamin D you stockpile during sunnier months is often depleted by winter, especially if you live in the northern half of the United States, where UVB rays are less intense from November through February. When Boston University researchers measured the vitamin D status of young adults at the end of winter, 36 percent of them were found to be deficient.
Hit the mark: First, ask your doctor to test your blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. "You need to be above 30 nanograms per milliliter," says Michael Holick, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine at Boston University. Come up short? Eat foods like salmon (900 IU per serving), mackerel (400 IU), and tuna (150 IU). Milk and eggs are also good, with about 100 IU per serving. But to ensure you're getting enough, take 1,400 IU of vitamin D daily from a supplement and a multivitamin. That's about seven times the recommended daily intake for men, but it takes that much to boost blood levels of D, says Dr. Holick.
YOU, IMPROVED: If you have a problem, we have your solution. Click here for surprising ways to improve your life today!
2. MAGNESIUM
This lightweight mineral is a tireless multitasker: It's involved in more than 300 bodily processes. Plus, a study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that low levels of magnesium may increase your blood levels of C-reactive protein, a key marker of heart disease.
The shortfall: Nutrition surveys reveal that men consume only about 80 percent of the recommended 400 milligrams (mg) of magnesium a day. "We're just barely getting by," says Dana King, M.D., a professor of family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. "Without enough magnesium, every cell in your body has to struggle to generate energy."
Hit the mark: Fortify your diet with more magnesium-rich foods, such as halibut, navy beans, and spinach. Then hit the supplement aisle: Few men can reach 400 mg through diet alone, so Dr. King recommends ingesting some insurance in the form of a 250 mg supplement. One caveat: Scrutinize the ingredients list. You want a product that uses magnesium citrate, the form best absorbed by your body.
DID YOU KNOW? There are 46,000 foods in the average supermarket. How to choose what to put in your cart? Here's your shopping list: The 125 Best Foods.
3. VITAMIN B12
Consider B12 the guardian of your gray matter: In a British study, older people with the lowest levels of B12 lost brain volume at a faster rate over a span of five years than those with the highest levels.
The shortfall: Even though most men do consume the daily quota of 2.4 micrograms, the stats don't tell the whole story. "We're seeing an increase in B12 deficiencies due to interactions with medications," says Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., director of a USDA program at Tufts University. The culprits: acid-blocking drugs, such as Prilosec, and the diabetes medication metformin.
Hit the mark: You'll find B12 in lamb and salmon, but the most accessible source may be fortified cereals. That's because the B12 in meat is bound to proteins, and your stomach must produce acid to release and absorb it. Eat a bowl of 100 percent B12-boosted cereal and milk every morning and you'll be covered, even if you take the occasional acid-blocking med. However, if you pop Prilosec on a regular basis or are on metformin, talk to your doctor about tracking your B12 levels and possibly taking an additional supplement.
4. POTASSIUM
Without this essential mineral, your heart couldn't beat, your muscles wouldn't contract, and your brain couldn't comprehend this sentence. Why? Potassium helps your cells use glucose for energy.
The shortfall: Despite potassium's can't-live-without-it importance, nutrition surveys indicate that young men consume just 60 percent to 70 percent of the recommended 4,700 mg a day. To make matters worse, most guys load up on sodium: High sodium can boost blood pressure, while normal potassium levels work to lower it, says Lydia A. L. Bazzano, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University.
Hit the mark: Half an avocado contains nearly 500 mg potassium, while one banana boasts roughly 400 mg. Not a fan of either fruit? Pick up some potatoes—a single large spud is packed with 1,600 mg. Most multivitamins have less than 100 mg of potassium, so eat your fruits and vegetables, folks!
5. IODINE
Your thyroid gland requires iodine to produce the hormones T3 and T4, both of which help control how efficiently you burn calories. That means insufficient iodine may cause you to gain weight and feel fatigued.
The shortfall: Since iodized salt is an important source of the element, you might assume you're swimming in the stuff. But when University of Texas at Arlington researchers tested 88 samples of table salt, they found that half contained less than the FDA-recommended amount of iodine. And you're not making up the difference with all the salt hiding in processed foods—U.S. manufacturers aren't required to use iodized salt. The result is that we've been sliding toward iodine deficiency since the 1970s.
Hit the mark: Sprinkling more salt on top of an already sodium-packed diet isn't a great idea, but iodine can also be found in a nearly sodium-free source: milk. Animal feed is fortified with the element, meaning it travels from cows to your cereal bowl. Not a milk man? Eat at least one serving of eggs or yogurt a day; both are good sources of iodine.
Also, check out our list of the 40 Foods with Superpowers—foods that, even in moderation, can strengthen your heart, fortify your bones, and boost your metabolism so you can lose weight more quickly.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
http://www.howlifeworks.com/a/a/?cid=8088cu_news_z&AG_ID=1048
How You Can Learn a Language in only 10 Days
Most people recognize the many benefits of learning a foreign language: You can travel to foreign countries and feel comfortable, be a more productive and enticing employee in today’s competitive job market, and immerse yourself in the vast cultures that surround you. Scientific studies have even shown that learning a new language helps to keep memories sharp and naturally enhances overall brain function.
But did you know that you can learn a new language in as little as 10 days? For years, the FBI and National Security Agency have relied on the Pimsleur Approach to learn new languages quickly, and now you can too.
Your brain is already wired to learn a language in 10 days. You just need to activate it.
Dr. Pimsleur, a Ph.D. and specialist in the field of applied linguistics, devoted his life and career to learning languages and understanding the psychology of language acquisition. He recognized through extensive research that effective communication in any language depends on mastery of a relatively limited number of words. And, trying to learn too many words at first can actually slow the language retention process. However, once this “core vocabulary” is mastered and used consistently, it provides a framework for accelerated language learning. The Pimsleur Approach aims each lesson at teaching you to use the core vocabulary of the language, so you can speak the most in the least amount of time. It's not how many words you know, but rather, which words you can use.
Each Pimsleur Approach lesson has been scientifically sequenced to rapidly lock language material into your brain after just one listen. Just sit back and listen while the audio does the work for you.
The Pimsleur Language Programs
The entire Pimsleur Approach is what language learning should be: quick, fun and easy. You'll absorb your new language effortlessly without any reading, writing or computer use. The Pimsleur Approach has a 100 percent guarantee: Speak in 10 days or you don't pay.
Who is Dr. Pimsleur?
Dr. Pimsleur was a language educator for more than 20 years. He noticed that children have an amazing ability to learn new languages quickly. He spent his life developing this course to let you, as an adult, learn a new language as easily as a child would. You might not realize it, but you've already learned one language using the Pimsleur Approach. Your first language.
Limited availability special offer
The company is currently offering new customers a special offer of half off the language of your choice including free shipping.
The programs which normally cost $19.95 are now available for just $9.95. Better yet, they are also offering a full 30-day money-back guarantee (so if you find you are not learning as fast as you want, simply return it for a full refund).
Click here to take advantage of this special offer and start speaking in 10 days. They guarantee it!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
6 Health Secrets from Around the Globe
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/6-health-secrets-from-around-the-globe-2514400/
6 Health Secrets from Around the Globe
by Oprah.com, on Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:52am PDT
142 CommentsPost a CommentRead More from This Author »Report Abuse
Email
Print
Photo: Dan Saelinger
By Dr. Mehmet Oz
From the Japanese to the Russians, the Greeks to the Kuna Indians of Panama, every culture has its own secrets to better health and longer life. These traditional remedies and practices—like drinking a calming herbal tea or cooking with a particular spice—might seem inconsequential, but researchers are discovering that these little things can make a world of difference. Try importing these six habits, all worth bringing home.
RELATED: 6 Health Myths Busted
Photo: Thinkstock
Panama
The Secret
Harvard professor Norman Hollenberg, MD, PhD, has spent years studying the Kuna, an indigenous tribe on the San Blas Islands who drink five cups or more of unprocessed cocoa a day. He discovered that compared with residents of mainland Panama, who generally drink nutrient-poor grocery store cocoa, the islanders' risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease is reduced to less than 10 percent. They can likely thank cocoa's flavonoids, powerful antioxidants with a host of cardiovascular benefits.
The Prescription
For a heart-healthy beverage, stir a touch of honey and a tablespoon of pure cocoa powder (flavonoids are often removed from processed powders) into a cup of warm milk.
RELATED: Chocoholics Rejoice! More Reasons to Eat the Sweet Stuff
Photo: Thinkstock
Japan
The Secret
The Japanese live longer than almost anyone else on the planet—and this may be largely because their country has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. One of their tricks for calorie control is a cultural practice known as hara hachi bu, which means eating until you feel about 80 percent full. At that point, your stomach is likely 100 percent full; your brain just doesn't know it yet.
The Prescription
Try to chew your food 20 times before you swallow. Slowing the pace of your eating makes it easier to recognize that 80 percent full feeling.
RELATED: The "Wait" Loss Program: Why Eating Slowly Will Help You Lose Weight
Photo: Thinkstock
Russia
The Secret
Golden root, or Arctic root (a.k.a. Rhodiola rosea)—an herb that grows at high elevations in the harsh environs of the Arctic region—is a traditional Russian remedy used to treat ailments ranging from infections and altitude sickness to depression and nervous system disorders. The extremely resilient plant is known to be an adaptogen, meaning it helps the body adapt to stressors; scientific studies indicate that it can indeed boost endurance and mood while lessening stress and fatigue.
The Prescription:
Pick up the root at a natural foods store and use it to brew a cup of tea whenever you need to de-stress.
RELATED: How to Grow Your Own Herbs
Photo: Thinkstock
Netherlands
The Secret
The Dutch ride bicycles as a form of everyday transportation. Almost one-third of all trips are made on two wheels, and each citizen pedals an average of 1.5 miles per day. A 2010 statistical review of Dutch drivers found that they'd live up to 14 months longer by switching to cycling for short trips on a daily basis, thanks to the extra exercise.
The Prescription
Cycle to work a few times a week, run errands on your bike, or just go for a joy ride. We know that 30 minutes of this kind of moderate physical activity at least three times a week can slash your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
RELATED: Dr. Oz's Guide to Staying on Your Feet
Photo: Thinkstock
India
The Secret
A large percentage of Indian meals contain curry powder, and curry contains turmeric—a spice that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Now research shows that turmeric may help prevent Alzheimer's disease because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action and immune-boosting properties—all of which may help to block or remove plaque from the brain. It's not surprising that one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's ever reported was found in northern India.
The Prescription
Incorporate more vegetable and chicken curry dishes into your diet—at least one a week. And go heavy on the turmeric.
RELATED: 4 Exotic Grains That Can Improve Your Health
Photo: Thinkstock
Greece
The Secret
A 2007 study of more than 23,000 Greek adults may have revealed a surprising key to their legendary vigor—the siesta. Compared with those who power through the day, adults who nap for a minimum of 30 minutes at least three times a week have a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.
The Prescription
If your work schedule doesn't allow you to pencil in a snooze, nap on weekends—every little bit helps.
RELATED: Doctors Reveal Their Secrets for Sleeping Well
6 Health Secrets from Around the Globe
by Oprah.com, on Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:52am PDT
142 CommentsPost a CommentRead More from This Author »Report Abuse
Photo: Dan Saelinger
By Dr. Mehmet Oz
From the Japanese to the Russians, the Greeks to the Kuna Indians of Panama, every culture has its own secrets to better health and longer life. These traditional remedies and practices—like drinking a calming herbal tea or cooking with a particular spice—might seem inconsequential, but researchers are discovering that these little things can make a world of difference. Try importing these six habits, all worth bringing home.
RELATED: 6 Health Myths Busted
Photo: Thinkstock
Panama
The Secret
Harvard professor Norman Hollenberg, MD, PhD, has spent years studying the Kuna, an indigenous tribe on the San Blas Islands who drink five cups or more of unprocessed cocoa a day. He discovered that compared with residents of mainland Panama, who generally drink nutrient-poor grocery store cocoa, the islanders' risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease is reduced to less than 10 percent. They can likely thank cocoa's flavonoids, powerful antioxidants with a host of cardiovascular benefits.
The Prescription
For a heart-healthy beverage, stir a touch of honey and a tablespoon of pure cocoa powder (flavonoids are often removed from processed powders) into a cup of warm milk.
RELATED: Chocoholics Rejoice! More Reasons to Eat the Sweet Stuff
Photo: Thinkstock
Japan
The Secret
The Japanese live longer than almost anyone else on the planet—and this may be largely because their country has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. One of their tricks for calorie control is a cultural practice known as hara hachi bu, which means eating until you feel about 80 percent full. At that point, your stomach is likely 100 percent full; your brain just doesn't know it yet.
The Prescription
Try to chew your food 20 times before you swallow. Slowing the pace of your eating makes it easier to recognize that 80 percent full feeling.
RELATED: The "Wait" Loss Program: Why Eating Slowly Will Help You Lose Weight
Photo: Thinkstock
Russia
The Secret
Golden root, or Arctic root (a.k.a. Rhodiola rosea)—an herb that grows at high elevations in the harsh environs of the Arctic region—is a traditional Russian remedy used to treat ailments ranging from infections and altitude sickness to depression and nervous system disorders. The extremely resilient plant is known to be an adaptogen, meaning it helps the body adapt to stressors; scientific studies indicate that it can indeed boost endurance and mood while lessening stress and fatigue.
The Prescription:
Pick up the root at a natural foods store and use it to brew a cup of tea whenever you need to de-stress.
RELATED: How to Grow Your Own Herbs
Photo: Thinkstock
Netherlands
The Secret
The Dutch ride bicycles as a form of everyday transportation. Almost one-third of all trips are made on two wheels, and each citizen pedals an average of 1.5 miles per day. A 2010 statistical review of Dutch drivers found that they'd live up to 14 months longer by switching to cycling for short trips on a daily basis, thanks to the extra exercise.
The Prescription
Cycle to work a few times a week, run errands on your bike, or just go for a joy ride. We know that 30 minutes of this kind of moderate physical activity at least three times a week can slash your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
RELATED: Dr. Oz's Guide to Staying on Your Feet
Photo: Thinkstock
India
The Secret
A large percentage of Indian meals contain curry powder, and curry contains turmeric—a spice that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Now research shows that turmeric may help prevent Alzheimer's disease because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action and immune-boosting properties—all of which may help to block or remove plaque from the brain. It's not surprising that one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's ever reported was found in northern India.
The Prescription
Incorporate more vegetable and chicken curry dishes into your diet—at least one a week. And go heavy on the turmeric.
RELATED: 4 Exotic Grains That Can Improve Your Health
Photo: Thinkstock
Greece
The Secret
A 2007 study of more than 23,000 Greek adults may have revealed a surprising key to their legendary vigor—the siesta. Compared with those who power through the day, adults who nap for a minimum of 30 minutes at least three times a week have a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.
The Prescription
If your work schedule doesn't allow you to pencil in a snooze, nap on weekends—every little bit helps.
RELATED: Doctors Reveal Their Secrets for Sleeping Well
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Living to 1,000
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/aubrey-de-grey
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/aubrey-de-grey-ageing-research
Aubrey de Grey: We don't have to get sick as we get older
If we can stop the physical deterioration that comes with age, molecular biologist Aubrey de Grey sees no reason why human beings shouldn't live to be 1,000
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Caspar Llewellyn Smith
The Observer, Sunday 1 August 2010
Article history
Good innings: Aubrey de Grey wants to help people live to a very ripe old age. Photograph: Roland Kemp / Rex Features
With his beard and robust opinions, there's something of the Old Testament prophet about Aubrey de Grey. But the 47-year-old gerontologist (who studies the process of ageing) says his belief that he might live to the very ripe old age of 1,000 is founded not on faith but science. De Grey studied computer science at Cambridge University, but became interested in the problem of ageing more than a decade ago and is the co-founder of the Sens (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the US.
What's so wrong with getting old?
It is simply that people get sick when they get older. I don't often meet people who want to suffer cardiovascular disease or whatever, and we get those things as a result of the lifelong accumulation of various types of molecular and cellular damage. This is harmless at low levels but eventually it causes the diseases and disabilities of old age – which most people don't think are any fun.
Is this the biggest health crisis facing the world?
Absolutely. If we look at the industrialised world, basically 90% of all deaths are caused by ageing. They are deaths from causes that affect older people and don't affect young adults. And if we look at the whole world, then the number of deaths that occur each day is roughly 150,000 and about two-thirds of them are because of ageing.
Why does the world not recognise this?
People have been trying to claim that we can defeat ageing since the dawn of time, and they haven't been terribly successful; there is a tendency to think there is some sort of inevitability about ageing – it somehow transcends our technological abilities in principle, which is complete nonsense.
And when people have made their peace with this ghastly thing that is going to happen to them at some time in the distant future, they tend to be rather reluctant to re-engage the question when someone comes along with a new idea.
Is it that our bodies just stop being so proactive about living?
Basically, the body does have a vast amount of inbuilt anti-ageing machinery; it's just not 100% comprehensive, so it allows a small number of different types of molecular and cellular damage to happen and accumulate. The body does try as hard as it can to fight these things but it is a losing battle. So we are not going to be able to do anything significant about ageing without hi-tech intervention – which is what I'm working on.
Ageing involves the process of metabolism, and then deterioration, and then pathology – is that right?
Basically, that's right. Metabolism involves a vastly complicated network of biochemical and cellular processes that are linked and that succeed in keeping us alive for as long as they do, but they have these side effects.
The side-effects start even before we are born, they go on throughout life and they are manifested as, for example, the accumulation of various types of molecular garbage inside cells and outside cells, or simply as cells dying and not being automatically replaced by the division of other cells. Gradually those changes at the molecular and cellular level accumulate and accumulate and eventually they start to get in the way of metabolism, and that's where pathology comes.
You've identified seven particular areas of cellular decay that might be combated. Can you give examples?
I just mentioned cells dying and not being automatically replaced, that's one. Another is cells not dying when they ought to – certain types of cells are supposed to turn over and sometimes they lose the ability to respond to signals that tell them to die.
A third is cells dividing too much – they may be dying when they are supposed to but dividing too much, and that is what cancer is.
We've known what causes cancer for some time but we are a long way from being able to cure it, aren't we?
I certainly don't claim that any of this is easy. Some of it is easier – but I've always viewed cancer as the single hardest aspect of ageing to fix.
You've talked about enriching people's lives, but isn't it the very fact of death that gives our lives meaning?
That's nonsense. The fact is, people don't want to get sick. I'm just a practical guy. I don't want to get sick and I don't want you to get sick and that's what this is all about. I don't work on longevity, I work on keeping people healthy. The only difference between my work and the work of the whole medical profession is that I think we're in striking distance of keeping people so healthy that at 90 they'll carry on waking up in the same physical state as they were at the age of 30, and their probability of not waking up one morning will be no higher than it was at the age of 30.
You've said you think the first person to live to 1,000 may already be alive. Could that person be you?
It's conceivable that people in my age bracket, their 40s, are young enough to benefit from these therapies. I'd give it a 30% or 40% chance. But that is not why I do this – I do this because I'm interested in saving 100,000 lives a day.
Can the planet cope with people living so long?
That's to do with the balance of birth and death rates. It didn't take us too long to lower the birth rate after we more or less eliminated infant mortality 100 or 150 years ago. I don't see that it's sensible to regard the risk of a population spike as a reason not to give people the best healthcare that we can.
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Comments in chronological order (Total 162 comments)
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Synchronium
1 August 2010 12:23AM
I once wrote an essay on the ethics of living forever. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a bad idea.
Here's that essay: http://www.synchronium.net/2008/11/18/living-forever-is-it-really-worth-it/
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Zadokk
1 August 2010 12:50AM
I don't think your essay can make the conclusion that it is a bad idea. I would agree that it is a precarious situation. After all, the idea of immortality is associated historically with Gods and most recently with nefarious AI robots so we all have a right to be concerned with the amount of power associated with it.
Dystopian speculations aside, the idea of longevity and life extension is certainly a good thing. Most of us value life and we especially value youth. Ageing is considered to be 'natural' but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily good or the 'right' way of living life, JS Mill told us that over a hundred years ago. In fact, postponing death is something that our genes have programmed us to do. We try to avoid death as much as possible everyday whether through instinctive reactions (e.g. dodging out the way of oncoming traffic) or complex rational decisions (e.g. choosing a private pension scheme).
Life is valuable and furthermore our individual lives are especially valuable to us. Many speculate (with good reason) that we are steadily approaching a technological singularity. This will no doubt bring with it existential risks that we are yet to truly understand. Nick Bostrom was recently in the press and his views got a re-airing. They are worth reading. But we should not be afraid of this coming change. We should embrace it.
I mentioned immortality right at the start, perhaps I misspoke. Life extension is just that, extension. It's about having control over one's body and deciding when it is one time's time to die. Perhaps we will get bored the longer we live and maybe at the age of 1,003 we will decide we have had enough. It is why research like this requires a new morality and a new approach to what life and death are.
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Zadokk
1 August 2010 12:52AM
I should point out that the first paragraph or my previous comment was aimed at Synchronium's self-promotion, not De Grey.
Best of luck to SENS.
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DavidNcUsa
1 August 2010 1:15AM
It is fairly clear that we are on the edge of a tranformation that will turn what has been the province of science fiction into science. The exact timing and content will only be known when it actually happens. But we are likely to achieve a more or less complete understanding of our biology in chemical terms. We are also likely to achieve the ability to modify it as we wish if we chose to do it. The time frame is clearly more than ten years and less than a thousand years. The current century is a pretty good ball park guess. It is reasonable to expext that this event will pose large problems for human beings and hard to predict what we (probably not me since I am old enough to escape it) will do with our new knowledge and powers.
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adundeemonkey
1 August 2010 1:21AM
I want to live forever, but only as long as i dont have to see all those that i love around me die.
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farfrom
1 August 2010 1:49AM
If only we could live longer and combine the energy and enthusiasm of youth with the experience and wisdom of age.
We just don't live long enough . , though we do live longer than most other large animals.
Even if there is reincarnation there would be amnesia.
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symmetric1
1 August 2010 1:56AM
@Synchronium I've noticed those who are against extended life spans are usually young, unhappy, or religious (and think they will live forever anyway).
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icurahuman2
1 August 2010 1:57AM
Humans are the only creatures that are so aware of their mortality that they are taught about death as soon as they are old enough to communicate. This knowledge effects our psychological health and personal behaviour unto the grave, and, is the cause of all religious motivation, reckless endeavour and subjective reasoning.
Without a religion, or a developed philosophy of life, procreation would not continue the species line; humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia. The same reasoning applies to keeping pets, who usually live far shorter lives than humans; investing empathy in an animal that one day must die is setting oneself up for an emotionally damaging future event.
That we exist but for a few moments against the vastness of time leads many to search for the immortality we all deeply crave, and religious faith, though probably the most effective, is not the only measure of immortality we can recognise or attain. Celebrity is one way to leave an indelible mark that may extend the life of an individual, though immortality as such relies on the belief that the species will survive it's own plague behaviour.
I suggest that everything that has ever existed always will exist, and that the place where this immortality lives is the set-in-concrete position it takes in time. I also suggest that time is only relative to the perceptions of the perceiver and that when that perception ends, at the end of life, it merely begins anew. Should reality be affected by this re-invented perception to the point of an alteration, then multiple and infinite realities, and lives, would be the result.. Quantum mechanics, anyone?
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Knowles2
1 August 2010 2:00AM
Well I do not want to live forever.
Just long enough to do everything I want to do in life, an that a lot of stuff, I mean being able to stand on mars will not happen in my normal human life span or walking on the moon.
May be a thousand years will cover it or may be it will not but eventually I think I would like to find out what lay beyond death, but then again that does scare the hell out me to. I do not know I would like to imagine eventually we would be allow to choose when we are ready to take that path.
I am not sure whether we will come up with a immortality drug any time soon or in my time. I just hope that as a species where a individual can live forever we will still have the drive an ambition to keep evolving to keep pushing towards new technology an discover new wonders in our universe.
It be rather boring to to live forever an only have earth to explore, eventually you would run out of things to do an get bored.
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Basingstoke
1 August 2010 2:04AM
I just find Aubrey de Grey a rather ridiculous attention seeker, who is probably more interested in being famous than in doing science.
He has not discovered or invented anything that could actually help us to live longer, so what exactly is the point of him?
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farfrom
1 August 2010 2:09AM
What exactly is the point of any of us,including you Basingstoke
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rpclarkeuk
1 August 2010 2:14AM
Fifteen years ago I explained that the brain eventually runs out of memory storage space, "Does longer-term memory storage never become overloaded, and would such overload cause Alzheimer's disease and other dementia?"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11058422.
Of course it's much more profitable to research the non-existent cure than the proof it is impossible.
Yet no challenge has been made to the theory.
I subsequently enhanced the theory with an explanation of how there is another, prinicipal overloading within neurons (not got round to publishing as I am very ill). Basically the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
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antipodean1
1 August 2010 2:39AM
@rpclarkeuk
the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
So what. I am in my forties and it seems like i have forgotten more than i can remember already. Thats what computers are for! I have lots of digital memories now which is great.
Living longer will doubtless present lots of challenges for which we are not ready.
However I would love to experience some negligible senescence.
I realise thats a bit selfish though.
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farfrom
1 August 2010 2:44AM
The deletion of memories would seem to occur.
My wife has learned to drive a standard shift several times but it's gone in 6 months. I don't know whether new memories have replaced the the leartning.
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NapoleonKaramazov
1 August 2010 2:51AM
Humans are the only creatures that are so aware of their mortality that they are taught about death as soon as they are old enough to communicate. This knowledge effects our psychological health and personal behaviour unto the grave, and, is the cause of all religious motivation, reckless endeavour and subjective reasoning.
Suppose we really can extend life from a molecular biological basis- are people still going to get run over by car, will trains crash, will planes occasionally fall out of the sky? Of ocurse they will and people will die. The only way for these bio enchanced people to guarantee survival is to live in a hermetically sealed chamber- that would have an extremly negative effect on a person's mental health.
What's more, if people are really taught that they will not die, they will get a much more greater psychological shock when inevitably someone does die- getting run over by a car for example.
Arguing that our knowledge of our mortality affects our psychological health is undoubtedly true, but it would be much worsley affected if we were falsely led to beleive we are immortal.
Without a religion, or a developed philosophy of life, procreation would not continue the species line; humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia. The same reasoning applies to keeping pets, who usually live far shorter lives than humans; investing empathy in an animal that one day must die is setting oneself up for an emotionally damaging future event.
Plenty of atheists still have children. There are plenty of non intelligenstia who do not have children. There are plenty of religious people who do not have children.
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Novelist
1 August 2010 3:43AM
So long as Gordon and Tony don't get any magic elixir of life.
Oh no! I just realised - Tony already gets his supply from Cliff.
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Novelist
1 August 2010 3:47AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/users/rpclarkeuk
Basically the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
- That's what 420 is for, fool!
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epinoa
1 August 2010 4:07AM
Ach, aging is just peer pressure.
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Elzadra
1 August 2010 4:50AM
Does anyone believe that anti-aging therapies will be handed out to everybody? Nobody seems to ask De Grey this question. The techniques will, at least at first, be very expensive, while also being experimental and borderline dangerous. But gradually we'll notice that certain very rich people are staying young and healthy for an awfully long time and it doesn't seem to be all down to plastic surgery. This could be the real class division of the future.
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Irina777
1 August 2010 6:39AM
When I was reading the article I asked myself a question "Do I want to love so long?" Of course, no ! People are getting older, because they are very tired of living. The older person becomes the more bored the life....
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Irina777
1 August 2010 6:42AM
Sorry, I wanted to write "Do I want to live so long?"
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rerab2
1 August 2010 7:31AM
It won t be much fun being 1000 - or even 21 - as the environment degrades, population rises, water and food become scarcer, energy shortages make life unbearably hard, society breaks down etc. It will be the Ik again - writ large.
The lucky ones will be the dead,
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PendulumAntiquity
1 August 2010 7:34AM
I'll wager there's more chance of extending life translating the knowledge in the brain to another medium. The body's a fragile container, evolutionarily expendable, processing biomatter for energy a gurgling stinky business, incurring periods of immobility. Plus, we want upgrades!
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thigham
1 August 2010 7:54AM
Oh god not Aubrey de Grey again! This man just forever talks about living forever, he's done nothing as far as I know to actually make it happen. It's such a ridiculous idea anyway, the world is full enough of people without having them all live forever. At the rate we are going the world is not going to be a place one would want to live eternally in anyway. The planet is slowing dying because of us. Hanging around with Aubrey and few other geeks as it finally reaches the end is not a proposition I for one welcome.
He should cut his beard too.
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freeword
1 August 2010 7:55AM
Alright then, let's get things straight.
Our bodies will be able to take a 1000 odd years, so will our brains or auxiliary systems to aid memory recollection, and then we can live happily ever after. And what about love and procreation, newborns coming into the world and increasing the population, feeding, dressing, housing the whole lot, and all that goes with it, like education, law and order.
It would bring about a whole revolution in humanity, in all aspects to say the least. So, when the planet does not contain us any longer because we would not have solved the moral problems of love and procreation, we would have to go deep into the sea, or underground, or colonise the solar system, or send traffic wardens around space to control massive spaceships making the rounds of our system.
The micro reorganisation of our cell system would necessarily bring about a macro revolution in our social order which no government, or world ngo, would be able to handle. To counter Dr Aubrey de Grey's cell manipulations we would just as well need other doctors in futurology to offer solutions for all problems being created? Anyone around... to start from down to earth current problems first before passing on to the apparently unfeasible?
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Clunie
1 August 2010 7:55AM
Irina:
People are getting older, because they are very tired of living.The older person becomes the more bored the life....
Eh? I hate to break it to you, but we don't get an option on the getting older thing - well, unless one counts death, which is rather terminal really.
As far as I'm aware, Aubrey de Grey wants to greatly slow down rather than actually stop the ageing process (and I'm sure if he were successful that our descendants a few hundred years hence will just love him and the other rich, greedy buggers who hang around for centuries to use up far more than everyone else's share of the ever-scarcer resources). But I think you'd need to stop time to actually stop age.
And it very much depends on the person on whether their life is boring or they are boring/bored - the two often go together anyway (and I've met bores of every age - there are plenty of super-narcissistic teen 20, 30, 40-somethings who'd give Aubrey de Grey a run for his money in the tedious self-obsession stakes). Doris Lessing and John Le Carre, meanwhile, are both getting on a bit and I sincerely doubt either of them could be boring company and just hope they hang around a few more years and keep writing - we fans a few decades younger would give our eye teeth for a millionth of their talent in youth or age. Also depends on one's definition of boredom.
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Greysquirrel
1 August 2010 8:07AM
Won't 1,000 years become the new 100?
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Clunie
1 August 2010 8:09AM
Was just thinking that it would be nice if Aubrey (his parents must have hated him) would take his head out of his no-doubt peachy youthful arse and check out the infant and premature mortality figures outside Western nations before making idiotic statements about how we ''more or less eliminated infant mortality.''
Perhaps when humans have managed to do so globally and there aren't nations where at 47 Mr. de Grey has already exceeded the average age for life expectancy by ten years (or by around 16 years, in Swaziland's case) , the whole idea won't sound quite so grotesquely narcissistic and adolescent; ''Don't wanna grow up, wanna live forever; I'm too good/special for death, me, death's for proles."
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Anarcher
1 August 2010 8:10AM
What will be the retirement age?
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azzeebeenin
1 August 2010 8:16AM
Aren't we all confusing eternal life with eternal youth which is the more preferable..
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Aussieinexcelsis
1 August 2010 8:49AM
What purpose could there be in a 1000 years of existence?: Perhaps Mahler may have finished his tenth and his eleventh and maybe Beethoven might of written a tenth and an a 78th (the mind boggles) and Keats may have got old and experienced middle age and Hendrix might have become what?
Your dearly missed Mum and Dad, your tragically taken children, your cancerous wife/partner...the list goes on and on.
Three score and ten looks positively minuscule in comparison but if anyone seriously thinks that a life spent in an eon of youthful bliss and shenagins is somehow missing what lifes about.
There is something quite tantalising about entering into that period of time when your chances of dying are far far better than when your young, it adds a certain (damn I know the French have a term for this) spark, a kind of second guessing about whether you should really bother going through the hassles of doing something that's slightly long term (like investing your money to spend in your latter years).
Come Mr Reaper and attend me at my annointed time.
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muppetteer
1 August 2010 8:50AM
What would people actually do, all day, every day, if they lived to 1000?
We already retire with about 30% of our life span ahead of us if you're lucky and live in a first world country... and even then, aside from getting up, planning the day around meals and going to bed, not that much actually happens for the average person... imagine centuries of that... day time TV would have to get a lot better for sustained life on that scale...
And isn't time relative? I remember talking to my grandmother who at 90, said that time goes so fast...
To anybody over the age of 30, the 6 week school holidays used to last forever when you were 7... now, 6 weeks seem to pass in the blinkmof an eye... i can't imagine how fast time would appear if I got to 300...
Scary stuff... Not sure it's for the best...
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RedRoseAndy
1 August 2010 9:11AM
Wanting to live forever is not as important as wanting to feel young again in most people's minds. The Kadir-Buxton Method is capable of doing just this. When the Queen Mother was in her seventies she told me in conversation that she would pay £1 million to feel 21 again. I performed the Kadir-Buxton Method on her, and the Queen Mother then said that she felt like a 24 year old. So near but so far!
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M0nkeym0n
1 August 2010 9:15AM
I can see it now, the television charity appeal of the future. "People are not dying anymore, we need to do something now..."
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martinique
1 August 2010 9:48AM
Have you ever noticed that the more time you have to do something, the more you put it off?
The despair (for most of us) of realising one's essential mediocrity (or would we all be geniuses, and what would that mean?), combined with loss of memory -or even worse endless technologically extended memory - and increasing indifference - all this prolonged indefinitely....
Ever read Huxley's Time Must Have a Stop? Even the 10th chapter of Gulliver's Travels? "Otherwise, as avarice is the necessary consequence of old age, those immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation, and engross the civil power, which, for want of abilities to manage, must end in the ruin of the public." Recognise this? We already have immortality in the form of corporations, which even possess personhood according to American law, which defines us all, as you know. And if you object that technological advance would keep people forever young: a whole society of adolescents? Eeuw.
And how much great literature would become irrelevant - "But at my back I always hear/ Time's winged chariot hurrying near" - and our lives thus impoverished. We already have the ghastly sub-reality of endless radio & TV serials to remind us of endless triviality. Aging is shit. But the alternative...
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ptah
1 August 2010 9:52AM
What is the objective here. To live to a prescribed age - say 1000 years without any suffering or illness and then just ... not wake up anymore? To live on and on getting slower and slower but never experience suffering? To live like a 27 year old for ever - whizzing around with the joy of life?
I don't get what he wants to achieve. The idea of reducing suffering is always going to find support but to pander to adults who don't want to grow up and live with the consequences of their actions is naive.
The research is probably very interesting but it seems to be an elite branch of science which will offer the rank and file of society little benefit.
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ptah
1 August 2010 10:00AM
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sminky
1 August 2010 10:21AM
when we're born, we're created from the earth's bank of molecules. then when we die, our molecules go back into the earth. we never really cease to exist, we're just re-distributed into new forms, both living and non-living.
the really interesting bit is the inbetween bit that we're all in at the moment. this life. it's what we do with it that matters, not how long we're doing it for.
on a personal basis, i'm trying to appreciate it as fully as i can. trying to see as much of what's going on around me and trying and learn something while i'm here.
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PaulBowes01
1 August 2010 10:35AM
Is this the biggest health crisis facing the world?
Absolutely. If we look at the industrialised world, basically 90% of all deaths are caused by ageing.
So we begin by ignoring everyone living outside 'the industrialised world'. Presumably it's okay for them to go on dying from preventable diseases and the effects of remediable poverty while de Grey encourages us to waste resources pursuing a selfish fantasy.
@Clunie gets this right: "grotesquely narcissistic and adolescent".
That doesn't mean that he won't find plenty of supporters, since 'narcissistic and adolescent' pretty well defines our culture.
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UweEllinghausen
1 August 2010 10:38AM
And you get married at age 250 and live for another 750 years with a nagging wife? No, thanks a lot.
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dormant
1 August 2010 10:42AM
The cost will not be prohibitive.
just take out a loan, repayable over 1,000 years.
And hope they raise the retirement age a tad.
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Rantalot
1 August 2010 10:51AM
Imagine how jaded and boring people would be after say 500 years .
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dinky1201
1 August 2010 11:06AM
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dinky1201
1 August 2010 11:08AM
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therealrodhull
1 August 2010 11:11AM
Basingstoke
1 Aug 2010, 2:04AM
He has not discovered or invented anything that could actually help us to live longer, so what exactly is the point of him?
The whole 'point' of him is to come up with the daft ideas that we don't need. In fact, so daft is his idea that as we have 6.5billion people on the planet (along with an already costly ageing population), thinking of ways to increase this number will actually do us more harm than good!
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Sessile
1 August 2010 11:15AM
The English dream. A world without kids.
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dholliday
1 August 2010 11:52AM
humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia.
That's the funniest thing I've read all day.
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garetko
1 August 2010 11:52AM
Life should be about quality not quantity, much like beards
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HandandShrimp
1 August 2010 11:54AM
If we could get 500 year mortgages just think what it would do to property prices ;)
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lumpenfolk
1 August 2010 12:26PM
The population of the planet has almost doubled in my lifetime.
Although de Grey is not suggesting that everyone should be eligible for such treatment, it's interesting to think of the consequences.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/aubrey-de-grey-ageing-research
Aubrey de Grey: We don't have to get sick as we get older
If we can stop the physical deterioration that comes with age, molecular biologist Aubrey de Grey sees no reason why human beings shouldn't live to be 1,000
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Caspar Llewellyn Smith
The Observer, Sunday 1 August 2010
Article history
Good innings: Aubrey de Grey wants to help people live to a very ripe old age. Photograph: Roland Kemp / Rex Features
With his beard and robust opinions, there's something of the Old Testament prophet about Aubrey de Grey. But the 47-year-old gerontologist (who studies the process of ageing) says his belief that he might live to the very ripe old age of 1,000 is founded not on faith but science. De Grey studied computer science at Cambridge University, but became interested in the problem of ageing more than a decade ago and is the co-founder of the Sens (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the US.
What's so wrong with getting old?
It is simply that people get sick when they get older. I don't often meet people who want to suffer cardiovascular disease or whatever, and we get those things as a result of the lifelong accumulation of various types of molecular and cellular damage. This is harmless at low levels but eventually it causes the diseases and disabilities of old age – which most people don't think are any fun.
Is this the biggest health crisis facing the world?
Absolutely. If we look at the industrialised world, basically 90% of all deaths are caused by ageing. They are deaths from causes that affect older people and don't affect young adults. And if we look at the whole world, then the number of deaths that occur each day is roughly 150,000 and about two-thirds of them are because of ageing.
Why does the world not recognise this?
People have been trying to claim that we can defeat ageing since the dawn of time, and they haven't been terribly successful; there is a tendency to think there is some sort of inevitability about ageing – it somehow transcends our technological abilities in principle, which is complete nonsense.
And when people have made their peace with this ghastly thing that is going to happen to them at some time in the distant future, they tend to be rather reluctant to re-engage the question when someone comes along with a new idea.
Is it that our bodies just stop being so proactive about living?
Basically, the body does have a vast amount of inbuilt anti-ageing machinery; it's just not 100% comprehensive, so it allows a small number of different types of molecular and cellular damage to happen and accumulate. The body does try as hard as it can to fight these things but it is a losing battle. So we are not going to be able to do anything significant about ageing without hi-tech intervention – which is what I'm working on.
Ageing involves the process of metabolism, and then deterioration, and then pathology – is that right?
Basically, that's right. Metabolism involves a vastly complicated network of biochemical and cellular processes that are linked and that succeed in keeping us alive for as long as they do, but they have these side effects.
The side-effects start even before we are born, they go on throughout life and they are manifested as, for example, the accumulation of various types of molecular garbage inside cells and outside cells, or simply as cells dying and not being automatically replaced by the division of other cells. Gradually those changes at the molecular and cellular level accumulate and accumulate and eventually they start to get in the way of metabolism, and that's where pathology comes.
You've identified seven particular areas of cellular decay that might be combated. Can you give examples?
I just mentioned cells dying and not being automatically replaced, that's one. Another is cells not dying when they ought to – certain types of cells are supposed to turn over and sometimes they lose the ability to respond to signals that tell them to die.
A third is cells dividing too much – they may be dying when they are supposed to but dividing too much, and that is what cancer is.
We've known what causes cancer for some time but we are a long way from being able to cure it, aren't we?
I certainly don't claim that any of this is easy. Some of it is easier – but I've always viewed cancer as the single hardest aspect of ageing to fix.
You've talked about enriching people's lives, but isn't it the very fact of death that gives our lives meaning?
That's nonsense. The fact is, people don't want to get sick. I'm just a practical guy. I don't want to get sick and I don't want you to get sick and that's what this is all about. I don't work on longevity, I work on keeping people healthy. The only difference between my work and the work of the whole medical profession is that I think we're in striking distance of keeping people so healthy that at 90 they'll carry on waking up in the same physical state as they were at the age of 30, and their probability of not waking up one morning will be no higher than it was at the age of 30.
You've said you think the first person to live to 1,000 may already be alive. Could that person be you?
It's conceivable that people in my age bracket, their 40s, are young enough to benefit from these therapies. I'd give it a 30% or 40% chance. But that is not why I do this – I do this because I'm interested in saving 100,000 lives a day.
Can the planet cope with people living so long?
That's to do with the balance of birth and death rates. It didn't take us too long to lower the birth rate after we more or less eliminated infant mortality 100 or 150 years ago. I don't see that it's sensible to regard the risk of a population spike as a reason not to give people the best healthcare that we can.
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Synchronium
1 August 2010 12:23AM
I once wrote an essay on the ethics of living forever. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a bad idea.
Here's that essay: http://www.synchronium.net/2008/11/18/living-forever-is-it-really-worth-it/
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Zadokk
1 August 2010 12:50AM
I don't think your essay can make the conclusion that it is a bad idea. I would agree that it is a precarious situation. After all, the idea of immortality is associated historically with Gods and most recently with nefarious AI robots so we all have a right to be concerned with the amount of power associated with it.
Dystopian speculations aside, the idea of longevity and life extension is certainly a good thing. Most of us value life and we especially value youth. Ageing is considered to be 'natural' but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily good or the 'right' way of living life, JS Mill told us that over a hundred years ago. In fact, postponing death is something that our genes have programmed us to do. We try to avoid death as much as possible everyday whether through instinctive reactions (e.g. dodging out the way of oncoming traffic) or complex rational decisions (e.g. choosing a private pension scheme).
Life is valuable and furthermore our individual lives are especially valuable to us. Many speculate (with good reason) that we are steadily approaching a technological singularity. This will no doubt bring with it existential risks that we are yet to truly understand. Nick Bostrom was recently in the press and his views got a re-airing. They are worth reading. But we should not be afraid of this coming change. We should embrace it.
I mentioned immortality right at the start, perhaps I misspoke. Life extension is just that, extension. It's about having control over one's body and deciding when it is one time's time to die. Perhaps we will get bored the longer we live and maybe at the age of 1,003 we will decide we have had enough. It is why research like this requires a new morality and a new approach to what life and death are.
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Zadokk
1 August 2010 12:52AM
I should point out that the first paragraph or my previous comment was aimed at Synchronium's self-promotion, not De Grey.
Best of luck to SENS.
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DavidNcUsa
1 August 2010 1:15AM
It is fairly clear that we are on the edge of a tranformation that will turn what has been the province of science fiction into science. The exact timing and content will only be known when it actually happens. But we are likely to achieve a more or less complete understanding of our biology in chemical terms. We are also likely to achieve the ability to modify it as we wish if we chose to do it. The time frame is clearly more than ten years and less than a thousand years. The current century is a pretty good ball park guess. It is reasonable to expext that this event will pose large problems for human beings and hard to predict what we (probably not me since I am old enough to escape it) will do with our new knowledge and powers.
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adundeemonkey
1 August 2010 1:21AM
I want to live forever, but only as long as i dont have to see all those that i love around me die.
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farfrom
1 August 2010 1:49AM
If only we could live longer and combine the energy and enthusiasm of youth with the experience and wisdom of age.
We just don't live long enough . , though we do live longer than most other large animals.
Even if there is reincarnation there would be amnesia.
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symmetric1
1 August 2010 1:56AM
@Synchronium I've noticed those who are against extended life spans are usually young, unhappy, or religious (and think they will live forever anyway).
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icurahuman2
1 August 2010 1:57AM
Humans are the only creatures that are so aware of their mortality that they are taught about death as soon as they are old enough to communicate. This knowledge effects our psychological health and personal behaviour unto the grave, and, is the cause of all religious motivation, reckless endeavour and subjective reasoning.
Without a religion, or a developed philosophy of life, procreation would not continue the species line; humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia. The same reasoning applies to keeping pets, who usually live far shorter lives than humans; investing empathy in an animal that one day must die is setting oneself up for an emotionally damaging future event.
That we exist but for a few moments against the vastness of time leads many to search for the immortality we all deeply crave, and religious faith, though probably the most effective, is not the only measure of immortality we can recognise or attain. Celebrity is one way to leave an indelible mark that may extend the life of an individual, though immortality as such relies on the belief that the species will survive it's own plague behaviour.
I suggest that everything that has ever existed always will exist, and that the place where this immortality lives is the set-in-concrete position it takes in time. I also suggest that time is only relative to the perceptions of the perceiver and that when that perception ends, at the end of life, it merely begins anew. Should reality be affected by this re-invented perception to the point of an alteration, then multiple and infinite realities, and lives, would be the result.. Quantum mechanics, anyone?
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Knowles2
1 August 2010 2:00AM
Well I do not want to live forever.
Just long enough to do everything I want to do in life, an that a lot of stuff, I mean being able to stand on mars will not happen in my normal human life span or walking on the moon.
May be a thousand years will cover it or may be it will not but eventually I think I would like to find out what lay beyond death, but then again that does scare the hell out me to. I do not know I would like to imagine eventually we would be allow to choose when we are ready to take that path.
I am not sure whether we will come up with a immortality drug any time soon or in my time. I just hope that as a species where a individual can live forever we will still have the drive an ambition to keep evolving to keep pushing towards new technology an discover new wonders in our universe.
It be rather boring to to live forever an only have earth to explore, eventually you would run out of things to do an get bored.
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Basingstoke
1 August 2010 2:04AM
I just find Aubrey de Grey a rather ridiculous attention seeker, who is probably more interested in being famous than in doing science.
He has not discovered or invented anything that could actually help us to live longer, so what exactly is the point of him?
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farfrom
1 August 2010 2:09AM
What exactly is the point of any of us,including you Basingstoke
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rpclarkeuk
1 August 2010 2:14AM
Fifteen years ago I explained that the brain eventually runs out of memory storage space, "Does longer-term memory storage never become overloaded, and would such overload cause Alzheimer's disease and other dementia?"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11058422.
Of course it's much more profitable to research the non-existent cure than the proof it is impossible.
Yet no challenge has been made to the theory.
I subsequently enhanced the theory with an explanation of how there is another, prinicipal overloading within neurons (not got round to publishing as I am very ill). Basically the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
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antipodean1
1 August 2010 2:39AM
@rpclarkeuk
the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
So what. I am in my forties and it seems like i have forgotten more than i can remember already. Thats what computers are for! I have lots of digital memories now which is great.
Living longer will doubtless present lots of challenges for which we are not ready.
However I would love to experience some negligible senescence.
I realise thats a bit selfish though.
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farfrom
1 August 2010 2:44AM
The deletion of memories would seem to occur.
My wife has learned to drive a standard shift several times but it's gone in 6 months. I don't know whether new memories have replaced the the leartning.
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NapoleonKaramazov
1 August 2010 2:51AM
Humans are the only creatures that are so aware of their mortality that they are taught about death as soon as they are old enough to communicate. This knowledge effects our psychological health and personal behaviour unto the grave, and, is the cause of all religious motivation, reckless endeavour and subjective reasoning.
Suppose we really can extend life from a molecular biological basis- are people still going to get run over by car, will trains crash, will planes occasionally fall out of the sky? Of ocurse they will and people will die. The only way for these bio enchanced people to guarantee survival is to live in a hermetically sealed chamber- that would have an extremly negative effect on a person's mental health.
What's more, if people are really taught that they will not die, they will get a much more greater psychological shock when inevitably someone does die- getting run over by a car for example.
Arguing that our knowledge of our mortality affects our psychological health is undoubtedly true, but it would be much worsley affected if we were falsely led to beleive we are immortal.
Without a religion, or a developed philosophy of life, procreation would not continue the species line; humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia. The same reasoning applies to keeping pets, who usually live far shorter lives than humans; investing empathy in an animal that one day must die is setting oneself up for an emotionally damaging future event.
Plenty of atheists still have children. There are plenty of non intelligenstia who do not have children. There are plenty of religious people who do not have children.
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Novelist
1 August 2010 3:43AM
So long as Gordon and Tony don't get any magic elixir of life.
Oh no! I just realised - Tony already gets his supply from Cliff.
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Novelist
1 August 2010 3:47AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/users/rpclarkeuk
Basically the human mind does not have room for a 1000 years of experience to be worthwhilely recorded. Why should it?
- That's what 420 is for, fool!
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epinoa
1 August 2010 4:07AM
Ach, aging is just peer pressure.
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Elzadra
1 August 2010 4:50AM
Does anyone believe that anti-aging therapies will be handed out to everybody? Nobody seems to ask De Grey this question. The techniques will, at least at first, be very expensive, while also being experimental and borderline dangerous. But gradually we'll notice that certain very rich people are staying young and healthy for an awfully long time and it doesn't seem to be all down to plastic surgery. This could be the real class division of the future.
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Irina777
1 August 2010 6:39AM
When I was reading the article I asked myself a question "Do I want to love so long?" Of course, no ! People are getting older, because they are very tired of living. The older person becomes the more bored the life....
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Irina777
1 August 2010 6:42AM
Sorry, I wanted to write "Do I want to live so long?"
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rerab2
1 August 2010 7:31AM
It won t be much fun being 1000 - or even 21 - as the environment degrades, population rises, water and food become scarcer, energy shortages make life unbearably hard, society breaks down etc. It will be the Ik again - writ large.
The lucky ones will be the dead,
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PendulumAntiquity
1 August 2010 7:34AM
I'll wager there's more chance of extending life translating the knowledge in the brain to another medium. The body's a fragile container, evolutionarily expendable, processing biomatter for energy a gurgling stinky business, incurring periods of immobility. Plus, we want upgrades!
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thigham
1 August 2010 7:54AM
Oh god not Aubrey de Grey again! This man just forever talks about living forever, he's done nothing as far as I know to actually make it happen. It's such a ridiculous idea anyway, the world is full enough of people without having them all live forever. At the rate we are going the world is not going to be a place one would want to live eternally in anyway. The planet is slowing dying because of us. Hanging around with Aubrey and few other geeks as it finally reaches the end is not a proposition I for one welcome.
He should cut his beard too.
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freeword
1 August 2010 7:55AM
Alright then, let's get things straight.
Our bodies will be able to take a 1000 odd years, so will our brains or auxiliary systems to aid memory recollection, and then we can live happily ever after. And what about love and procreation, newborns coming into the world and increasing the population, feeding, dressing, housing the whole lot, and all that goes with it, like education, law and order.
It would bring about a whole revolution in humanity, in all aspects to say the least. So, when the planet does not contain us any longer because we would not have solved the moral problems of love and procreation, we would have to go deep into the sea, or underground, or colonise the solar system, or send traffic wardens around space to control massive spaceships making the rounds of our system.
The micro reorganisation of our cell system would necessarily bring about a macro revolution in our social order which no government, or world ngo, would be able to handle. To counter Dr Aubrey de Grey's cell manipulations we would just as well need other doctors in futurology to offer solutions for all problems being created? Anyone around... to start from down to earth current problems first before passing on to the apparently unfeasible?
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Clunie
1 August 2010 7:55AM
Irina:
People are getting older, because they are very tired of living.The older person becomes the more bored the life....
Eh? I hate to break it to you, but we don't get an option on the getting older thing - well, unless one counts death, which is rather terminal really.
As far as I'm aware, Aubrey de Grey wants to greatly slow down rather than actually stop the ageing process (and I'm sure if he were successful that our descendants a few hundred years hence will just love him and the other rich, greedy buggers who hang around for centuries to use up far more than everyone else's share of the ever-scarcer resources). But I think you'd need to stop time to actually stop age.
And it very much depends on the person on whether their life is boring or they are boring/bored - the two often go together anyway (and I've met bores of every age - there are plenty of super-narcissistic teen 20, 30, 40-somethings who'd give Aubrey de Grey a run for his money in the tedious self-obsession stakes). Doris Lessing and John Le Carre, meanwhile, are both getting on a bit and I sincerely doubt either of them could be boring company and just hope they hang around a few more years and keep writing - we fans a few decades younger would give our eye teeth for a millionth of their talent in youth or age. Also depends on one's definition of boredom.
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Greysquirrel
1 August 2010 8:07AM
Won't 1,000 years become the new 100?
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Clunie
1 August 2010 8:09AM
Was just thinking that it would be nice if Aubrey (his parents must have hated him) would take his head out of his no-doubt peachy youthful arse and check out the infant and premature mortality figures outside Western nations before making idiotic statements about how we ''more or less eliminated infant mortality.''
Perhaps when humans have managed to do so globally and there aren't nations where at 47 Mr. de Grey has already exceeded the average age for life expectancy by ten years (or by around 16 years, in Swaziland's case) , the whole idea won't sound quite so grotesquely narcissistic and adolescent; ''Don't wanna grow up, wanna live forever; I'm too good/special for death, me, death's for proles."
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Anarcher
1 August 2010 8:10AM
What will be the retirement age?
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azzeebeenin
1 August 2010 8:16AM
Aren't we all confusing eternal life with eternal youth which is the more preferable..
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Aussieinexcelsis
1 August 2010 8:49AM
What purpose could there be in a 1000 years of existence?: Perhaps Mahler may have finished his tenth and his eleventh and maybe Beethoven might of written a tenth and an a 78th (the mind boggles) and Keats may have got old and experienced middle age and Hendrix might have become what?
Your dearly missed Mum and Dad, your tragically taken children, your cancerous wife/partner...the list goes on and on.
Three score and ten looks positively minuscule in comparison but if anyone seriously thinks that a life spent in an eon of youthful bliss and shenagins is somehow missing what lifes about.
There is something quite tantalising about entering into that period of time when your chances of dying are far far better than when your young, it adds a certain (damn I know the French have a term for this) spark, a kind of second guessing about whether you should really bother going through the hassles of doing something that's slightly long term (like investing your money to spend in your latter years).
Come Mr Reaper and attend me at my annointed time.
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muppetteer
1 August 2010 8:50AM
What would people actually do, all day, every day, if they lived to 1000?
We already retire with about 30% of our life span ahead of us if you're lucky and live in a first world country... and even then, aside from getting up, planning the day around meals and going to bed, not that much actually happens for the average person... imagine centuries of that... day time TV would have to get a lot better for sustained life on that scale...
And isn't time relative? I remember talking to my grandmother who at 90, said that time goes so fast...
To anybody over the age of 30, the 6 week school holidays used to last forever when you were 7... now, 6 weeks seem to pass in the blinkmof an eye... i can't imagine how fast time would appear if I got to 300...
Scary stuff... Not sure it's for the best...
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RedRoseAndy
1 August 2010 9:11AM
Wanting to live forever is not as important as wanting to feel young again in most people's minds. The Kadir-Buxton Method is capable of doing just this. When the Queen Mother was in her seventies she told me in conversation that she would pay £1 million to feel 21 again. I performed the Kadir-Buxton Method on her, and the Queen Mother then said that she felt like a 24 year old. So near but so far!
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M0nkeym0n
1 August 2010 9:15AM
I can see it now, the television charity appeal of the future. "People are not dying anymore, we need to do something now..."
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martinique
1 August 2010 9:48AM
Have you ever noticed that the more time you have to do something, the more you put it off?
The despair (for most of us) of realising one's essential mediocrity (or would we all be geniuses, and what would that mean?), combined with loss of memory -or even worse endless technologically extended memory - and increasing indifference - all this prolonged indefinitely....
Ever read Huxley's Time Must Have a Stop? Even the 10th chapter of Gulliver's Travels? "Otherwise, as avarice is the necessary consequence of old age, those immortals would in time become proprietors of the whole nation, and engross the civil power, which, for want of abilities to manage, must end in the ruin of the public." Recognise this? We already have immortality in the form of corporations, which even possess personhood according to American law, which defines us all, as you know. And if you object that technological advance would keep people forever young: a whole society of adolescents? Eeuw.
And how much great literature would become irrelevant - "But at my back I always hear/ Time's winged chariot hurrying near" - and our lives thus impoverished. We already have the ghastly sub-reality of endless radio & TV serials to remind us of endless triviality. Aging is shit. But the alternative...
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ptah
1 August 2010 9:52AM
What is the objective here. To live to a prescribed age - say 1000 years without any suffering or illness and then just ... not wake up anymore? To live on and on getting slower and slower but never experience suffering? To live like a 27 year old for ever - whizzing around with the joy of life?
I don't get what he wants to achieve. The idea of reducing suffering is always going to find support but to pander to adults who don't want to grow up and live with the consequences of their actions is naive.
The research is probably very interesting but it seems to be an elite branch of science which will offer the rank and file of society little benefit.
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ptah
1 August 2010 10:00AM
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sminky
1 August 2010 10:21AM
when we're born, we're created from the earth's bank of molecules. then when we die, our molecules go back into the earth. we never really cease to exist, we're just re-distributed into new forms, both living and non-living.
the really interesting bit is the inbetween bit that we're all in at the moment. this life. it's what we do with it that matters, not how long we're doing it for.
on a personal basis, i'm trying to appreciate it as fully as i can. trying to see as much of what's going on around me and trying and learn something while i'm here.
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PaulBowes01
1 August 2010 10:35AM
Is this the biggest health crisis facing the world?
Absolutely. If we look at the industrialised world, basically 90% of all deaths are caused by ageing.
So we begin by ignoring everyone living outside 'the industrialised world'. Presumably it's okay for them to go on dying from preventable diseases and the effects of remediable poverty while de Grey encourages us to waste resources pursuing a selfish fantasy.
@Clunie gets this right: "grotesquely narcissistic and adolescent".
That doesn't mean that he won't find plenty of supporters, since 'narcissistic and adolescent' pretty well defines our culture.
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UweEllinghausen
1 August 2010 10:38AM
And you get married at age 250 and live for another 750 years with a nagging wife? No, thanks a lot.
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dormant
1 August 2010 10:42AM
The cost will not be prohibitive.
just take out a loan, repayable over 1,000 years.
And hope they raise the retirement age a tad.
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Rantalot
1 August 2010 10:51AM
Imagine how jaded and boring people would be after say 500 years .
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dinky1201
1 August 2010 11:06AM
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dinky1201
1 August 2010 11:08AM
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therealrodhull
1 August 2010 11:11AM
Basingstoke
1 Aug 2010, 2:04AM
He has not discovered or invented anything that could actually help us to live longer, so what exactly is the point of him?
The whole 'point' of him is to come up with the daft ideas that we don't need. In fact, so daft is his idea that as we have 6.5billion people on the planet (along with an already costly ageing population), thinking of ways to increase this number will actually do us more harm than good!
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Sessile
1 August 2010 11:15AM
The English dream. A world without kids.
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dholliday
1 August 2010 11:52AM
humans would shun bearing children as their children's lives must ultimately end in tragedy - this is the hidden reason you find so many childless couples among the intelligensia.
That's the funniest thing I've read all day.
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garetko
1 August 2010 11:52AM
Life should be about quality not quantity, much like beards
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HandandShrimp
1 August 2010 11:54AM
If we could get 500 year mortgages just think what it would do to property prices ;)
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lumpenfolk
1 August 2010 12:26PM
The population of the planet has almost doubled in my lifetime.
Although de Grey is not suggesting that everyone should be eligible for such treatment, it's interesting to think of the consequences.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Chronic pain? Slow but sure taiji may be the way Study finds it beats stretching exercises BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at
Chronic pain? Slow but sure taiji may be the way
Study finds it beats stretching exercises
BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at relieving pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia than conventional stretching exercises, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Centre found that after 12 weeks of taiji, patients with fibro-myalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.
Taiji patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later, the report said.
'It's an impressive finding,' said Dr Daniel Solomon, chief of clinical research in rheumatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the research.
Although the study was small - 66 patients - several experts considered it compelling because fibromyalgia is a complex and often-confusing condition, affecting five million Americans, mostly women, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since its symptoms can be wide-ranging and can mimic other disorders, and its diagnosis depends largely on patients' descriptions, not blood tests or biopsies, its cause and treatment have been the subject of debate.
'We thought it was notable that the New England Journal accepted this paper, that they would take fibromyalgia on as an issue, and also because taiji is an alternative therapy that some people raise eyebrows about,' said Dr Robert Shmerling, clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
'Fibromyalgia is so common, and we have such a difficult time treating it effectively. It's defined by what the patient tells you,' he added.
'It's hard for some patients' families and their doctors to get their head around what it is and whether it's real. So, that these results were so positive for something that's very safe is an impressive accomplishment.'
Fibromyalgia is estimated to have affected nearly 200 million people worldwide.
Recent studies have suggested that taiji, with its slow exercises, breathing and meditation, could also benefit patients with other chronic conditions, including arthritis.
But not all of these reports have been conclusive, and taiji is hard to study because there are many styles and approaches.
The fibromyalgia study involved the yang style of taiji, taught by a Boston taiji master, Mr Ramel Rones. Dr Solomon and other experts cautioned that bigger studies with other masters and approaches were necessary.
Still, patients who received twice-weekly taiji classes and a DVD to practise with 20 minutes daily showed weekly improvement on an established measurement, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, improving more than the stretching-and-education group in physicians' assessments, sleep, walking and mental health.
One-third stopped using medication, compared with one-sixth in the stretching group.
Dr Chenchen Wang, a Tufts rheumatologist who led the study, said she attributed the results to the fact that 'fibromyalgia is a very complex problem' and 'taiji has multiple components - physical, psychological, social and spiritual'.
NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS
Study finds it beats stretching exercises
BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at relieving pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia than conventional stretching exercises, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Centre found that after 12 weeks of taiji, patients with fibro-myalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.
Taiji patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later, the report said.
'It's an impressive finding,' said Dr Daniel Solomon, chief of clinical research in rheumatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the research.
Although the study was small - 66 patients - several experts considered it compelling because fibromyalgia is a complex and often-confusing condition, affecting five million Americans, mostly women, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since its symptoms can be wide-ranging and can mimic other disorders, and its diagnosis depends largely on patients' descriptions, not blood tests or biopsies, its cause and treatment have been the subject of debate.
'We thought it was notable that the New England Journal accepted this paper, that they would take fibromyalgia on as an issue, and also because taiji is an alternative therapy that some people raise eyebrows about,' said Dr Robert Shmerling, clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
'Fibromyalgia is so common, and we have such a difficult time treating it effectively. It's defined by what the patient tells you,' he added.
'It's hard for some patients' families and their doctors to get their head around what it is and whether it's real. So, that these results were so positive for something that's very safe is an impressive accomplishment.'
Fibromyalgia is estimated to have affected nearly 200 million people worldwide.
Recent studies have suggested that taiji, with its slow exercises, breathing and meditation, could also benefit patients with other chronic conditions, including arthritis.
But not all of these reports have been conclusive, and taiji is hard to study because there are many styles and approaches.
The fibromyalgia study involved the yang style of taiji, taught by a Boston taiji master, Mr Ramel Rones. Dr Solomon and other experts cautioned that bigger studies with other masters and approaches were necessary.
Still, patients who received twice-weekly taiji classes and a DVD to practise with 20 minutes daily showed weekly improvement on an established measurement, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, improving more than the stretching-and-education group in physicians' assessments, sleep, walking and mental health.
One-third stopped using medication, compared with one-sixth in the stretching group.
Dr Chenchen Wang, a Tufts rheumatologist who led the study, said she attributed the results to the fact that 'fibromyalgia is a very complex problem' and 'taiji has multiple components - physical, psychological, social and spiritual'.
NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS
Chronic pain? Slow but sure taiji may be the way Study finds it beats stretching exercises BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at
Chronic pain? Slow but sure taiji may be the way
Study finds it beats stretching exercises
BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at relieving pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia than conventional stretching exercises, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Centre found that after 12 weeks of taiji, patients with fibro-myalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.
Taiji patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later, the report said.
'It's an impressive finding,' said Dr Daniel Solomon, chief of clinical research in rheumatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the research.
Although the study was small - 66 patients - several experts considered it compelling because fibromyalgia is a complex and often-confusing condition, affecting five million Americans, mostly women, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since its symptoms can be wide-ranging and can mimic other disorders, and its diagnosis depends largely on patients' descriptions, not blood tests or biopsies, its cause and treatment have been the subject of debate.
'We thought it was notable that the New England Journal accepted this paper, that they would take fibromyalgia on as an issue, and also because taiji is an alternative therapy that some people raise eyebrows about,' said Dr Robert Shmerling, clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
'Fibromyalgia is so common, and we have such a difficult time treating it effectively. It's defined by what the patient tells you,' he added.
'It's hard for some patients' families and their doctors to get their head around what it is and whether it's real. So, that these results were so positive for something that's very safe is an impressive accomplishment.'
Fibromyalgia is estimated to have affected nearly 200 million people worldwide.
Recent studies have suggested that taiji, with its slow exercises, breathing and meditation, could also benefit patients with other chronic conditions, including arthritis.
But not all of these reports have been conclusive, and taiji is hard to study because there are many styles and approaches.
The fibromyalgia study involved the yang style of taiji, taught by a Boston taiji master, Mr Ramel Rones. Dr Solomon and other experts cautioned that bigger studies with other masters and approaches were necessary.
Still, patients who received twice-weekly taiji classes and a DVD to practise with 20 minutes daily showed weekly improvement on an established measurement, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, improving more than the stretching-and-education group in physicians' assessments, sleep, walking and mental health.
One-third stopped using medication, compared with one-sixth in the stretching group.
Dr Chenchen Wang, a Tufts rheumatologist who led the study, said she attributed the results to the fact that 'fibromyalgia is a very complex problem' and 'taiji has multiple components - physical, psychological, social and spiritual'.
NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS
Study finds it beats stretching exercises
BOSTON: The slow, flowing movements of taiji are better at relieving pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia than conventional stretching exercises, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Centre found that after 12 weeks of taiji, patients with fibro-myalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.
Taiji patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later, the report said.
'It's an impressive finding,' said Dr Daniel Solomon, chief of clinical research in rheumatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the research.
Although the study was small - 66 patients - several experts considered it compelling because fibromyalgia is a complex and often-confusing condition, affecting five million Americans, mostly women, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since its symptoms can be wide-ranging and can mimic other disorders, and its diagnosis depends largely on patients' descriptions, not blood tests or biopsies, its cause and treatment have been the subject of debate.
'We thought it was notable that the New England Journal accepted this paper, that they would take fibromyalgia on as an issue, and also because taiji is an alternative therapy that some people raise eyebrows about,' said Dr Robert Shmerling, clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
'Fibromyalgia is so common, and we have such a difficult time treating it effectively. It's defined by what the patient tells you,' he added.
'It's hard for some patients' families and their doctors to get their head around what it is and whether it's real. So, that these results were so positive for something that's very safe is an impressive accomplishment.'
Fibromyalgia is estimated to have affected nearly 200 million people worldwide.
Recent studies have suggested that taiji, with its slow exercises, breathing and meditation, could also benefit patients with other chronic conditions, including arthritis.
But not all of these reports have been conclusive, and taiji is hard to study because there are many styles and approaches.
The fibromyalgia study involved the yang style of taiji, taught by a Boston taiji master, Mr Ramel Rones. Dr Solomon and other experts cautioned that bigger studies with other masters and approaches were necessary.
Still, patients who received twice-weekly taiji classes and a DVD to practise with 20 minutes daily showed weekly improvement on an established measurement, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, improving more than the stretching-and-education group in physicians' assessments, sleep, walking and mental health.
One-third stopped using medication, compared with one-sixth in the stretching group.
Dr Chenchen Wang, a Tufts rheumatologist who led the study, said she attributed the results to the fact that 'fibromyalgia is a very complex problem' and 'taiji has multiple components - physical, psychological, social and spiritual'.
NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS
Saturday, March 27, 2010
msm
Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center
Sulfur (MSM)
A Basic Essential Nutrient Needed Now, More than Ever Before
Methylsulfonylmethane is a relatively new dietary supplement form of sulfur that is found in our living tissues. MSM supports healthy connective tissues like tendons, ligaments, and muscle. Thus, it is important in conditions such as arthritis, muscle pains, bursitis, etc. MSM should be considered an integral part of any health care practice because of its physiological action, indirect importance, and current / future uses.
To understand MSM, some background information is necessary. MSM is a "naturally-occurring nutrient found in normal human diets" (1). It gets into the diet through the sulfur cycle. Ocean plankton release sulfur compounds which rise into the ozone where ultra-violet light makes MSM and DMSO. DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide, is a precursor to MSM. MSM and DMSO return to the surface of the earth in rain (1). Plants concentrate MSM and return it to the earth and the sea. Evaporation into the air results in their return to the earth (1).
MSM has a unique action on body tissues. It decreases the pressure inside the cell. In removing fluids and toxins, sulfur affects the cell membrane. MSM is an organic form of sulfur, whereas sulfites in foodstuffs are inorganic. Sue Williams states "sulfur is present in all cells" and is in the form of "organic compounds throughout the body’ (2). However, sulfur can be found in the body in sulfate forms. It forms sulfate compounds with sodium, potassium, magnesium, and selenium. MSM has a significance, because sulfur compounds are found everywhere throughout the body and in nature.
Sulfur has an indirect importance, because sulfur compounds play a role in many body organs and systems. Sulfur is in the hair, skin, and nails. Many amino acids, the building blocks of protein, have sulfur as a component. Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid formed from methionine (2). Taurine stabilizes cell membranes (2). Methionine contains sulfur, detoxifies cells, and is involved in pain relief (2). Carnitine comes from methionine and transports long chain fatty acids preventing accumulations of lipoproteins (2). Many B-complex vitamins interact with or contain sulfur. Sulfur is needed for insulin production.
One current use of MSM is for joint problems, as sulfur is found in and near osseous structures. Sulfur supports healthy muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Arthritic conditions have responded to oral MSM. Some researchers note results from MSM when used for post-exercise muscle pain (1). MSM normalizes pressure inside cells and removes toxins. Oregon Health Sciences University has conducted arthritis studies with mice. The mice which received MSM had "no degeneration of articular cartilage" (1). The other non-MSM mice had cartilaginous degeneration. The university has used MSM on over 12,000 patents. Researchers make no claim about MSM as a supplement, but osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle soreness and muscle pain respond to oral MSM.
One researcher claims MSM is about as safe as water. One should drink extra water with MSM use. There are other dietary factors to consider.
Avoiding nightshade plants has helped arthritis patients (tomatoes / potatoes / green pepper/eggplant). Biotin and vitamin C help the body assimilate MSM. Biotin and vitamin C are found in fresh fruits. Eating fresh fruits while taking MSM could be helpful.
In addition to arthritis, it may have other future uses. Dr. Stanley Jacob believes ,'most people are deficient' in sulfur (1). Insulin synthesis depends upon sulfur. Many vitamins require or contain sulfur. Some researchers claim it has many future uses such as in allergies (1).
A good MSM product is both safe and effective. The MSM source for MSM supplements is often lignin from pine trees. Lignin is a molecule in plants that is part of a plant's cell wall. Lignin oxidation in oak wine barrels results in the vanilla flavors of wines. The pine tree lignin is an ideal source for a good MSM product.
For those who do not want to take MSM as a supplement, food sources of sulfur are as follows: sunflower seeds, garlic, lentils, soybeans, and yogurt. Persons with kidney problems or recurrent kidney stones may not want to take MSM. Certain renal tubular defects can make a person susceptible to recurrent kidney stones (2). Other kidney defects include errors of metabolism in which processing of sulfur amino acids is altered (2). Such persons may wish to avoid MSM.
One thousand to three thousand milligrams per day is a typical dosage range, but some people take well above that amount. This author takes MSM alone.
From the cell walls of pine trees to the cells of the human body, a good MSM supplement can contribute to good health.
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