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Immortality

Living longer is no longer just an alchemist’s fantasy

Since the beginning of civilization, great men have spent their entire lives looking for the key to immortality, from the mighty Pharoahs of ancient Egypt to the eternal optimists that choose to be frozen rather than face the great unknown. What is organized religion if not a quest for immortality? Whether you believe in heaven or reincarnation, you’re essentially banking on the concept that the spiritual you will be around forever, regardless of whatever happens to your mortal coil.

Ponce de Lion met his end in Florida at the hand of the Seminoles in his quest for the Fountain of Youth. For 900 years, some of the leading scientific minds in Europe practised the art of alchemy, looking for an elusive "Philiospher’s Stone" that could turn lead into gold and restore harmony to the four elements in our corporeal bodies, allowing us to live forever. Political and economic motivations aside, Medieval crusades into the Holy Land were charged with the task of finding the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. Among other beliefs of the day, whoever drinks from the Grail is supposed to attain immortal life.

While our civilization is more advanced in many ways, the pursuit of a long life is still a powerful motivator for many people. For some it’s only important to look and feel young for as long as possible within our life spans – look at the popularity of cosmetic surgery. For others, it’s a matter of quality and quantity of life.

We haven’t found a path to immortality just yet, but the ability to prolong our lifespans – maybe even double them – may not be too far away.

Both the scientific and medical community are pushing the boundaries to the point that it’s not unrealistic to expect that humans could live 150 years or more.

According to the most recent issue of the journal Science, over the past 160 years the average human lifespan has increased by three months every year within developed countries.

"The key issue for policymakers to understand from our study is that there appears to be no finite limit for life expectancy," stated James Vaupel of Duke University and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

The statement doesn’t refer to one scientific breakthrough or set of lifestyle choices, but is based on a combination of factors rooted in science, medicine, nutrition and quality of life.

Within the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE) database, an online resource shared by researchers, there are papers on cell biology, evolution, DNA repair, genetics, hormone regulation, oxidative damage, physiology, immunoscience, neurobiology, diseases, geriatrics and a wide variety of other topics. The sum total of this research could provide the key that could enable humans to live longer.

Maud Farris-Luse of Coldwater, Michigan, was the oldest living person until her death in 1999 at the age of 115. She credited her long life to Dandelion greens, which she picked from the side of the road and boiled to serve with dinner. She drank two glasses of milk each day, and ate a lot of fish, vegetables and horseradish. She avoided red meat, except for the occasional lump of pork in her beans, and didn’t smoke or drink.

According to her relatives, she was on the ball until she hit 110, but enjoyed visitors until her death.

She was recognized by the Guinness World Records because her documentation was beyond reproach. Another Dominican woman, Elizabeth "Pampo" Israel is reputed to be 127-years-old, but doesn’t have the documentation to prove it.

A healthy lifestyle is of obvious importance to longevity, appearing to slow down the natural aging process that afflicts our major organs.

But although there are more people over 100 than at any time in recorded history, these cases still appear to be the exception rather than the rule. According to Statistics Canada, someone born in 1920 has an average life expectancy of 59. Someone born in 1990 has a life expectancy of 79. When you factor in the elimination of diseases like smallpox and the relative peace the planet has enjoyed for the past 50 years, it’d not as dramatic an increase as you might expect. Until recently, they didn’t differentiate between kinds of deaths.

The phrase "natural causes" doesn’t mean what it used to. Cancer is no longer considered a natural cause of death because many forms are treatable with varying degrees of success. The same thing applies to blood diseases and other common afflictions. Old age makes us more susceptible to these diseases, and in the end it is these diseases and our inability to fight them that kills many of us.

People do die naturally as our cells and bodies basically run out of gas. We lose cohesion as parts of our systems break down. But even that is a bio-mechanical process, and there is nothing in science that says this process cannot be delayed, or even controlled one day. Everybody has to die from something.

Back in 1998, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center announced the discovery of a cellular "fountain of youth" that allows human cells to avoid aging and dying. This wouldn’t necessarily increase life span, but scientists were confident that it could increase health span, ensuring better health and a more youthful body until we die.

Normally a human cell has a finite lifespan, and can only divide so many times before it dies. Scientists found that every time a cell divided, it would lose a bit of telomere, a natural enzyme. By adding telomerase to the chromosones of cells, scientists showed that cells can produce their own telomere and continue to divide indefinitely with no signs of aging or dying.

The research continues, and it could be a decade before any of the suggested applications, such as cancer treatment and the rejuvenation of eyes, come to market.

In the meantime, people are paying serious attention to the holistic approach to longevity.

And whenever there is a demand, the supply can’t be that far behind. Some companies have even gotten into the business.

The Longevity Institute International provides individual assessments and programs to people who want to live longer, employing a "multifaceted attack on the very mechanisms of human aging."

Some of the facets of their process include:

Free Radical Theory — Using anti-oxidants and free radical scavengers to counteract and minimize the damaging effects of biochemical compounds on the body. Essentially, this means cleaning the blood and organs of natural and mad-made toxins and heavy metals we ingest in food, air, and water through the use of foods that bond with these toxins and allow us to excrete them.

‘Wear and Tear’ Theory — The body and its cells are damaged by overuse and abuse at both the cellular and organ levels. The institute tailors therapeutic programs that stimulate the body’s own maintenance by "augmenting immune system repair function mechanisms."

Neuro-Endocrine Theory — As the body ages, key hormone levels drop that are part of the body’s maintenance function, repair and regulating systems. Hormone replacement is sometimes required to normalize these systems.

Genetic Control Theory — If the body and cells are pre-programmed to stop repair and maintenance after a fixed period of time at the genetic level, the Institute will attempt to diagnose accelerated genetic damage and slow the biological clock by "augmenting the basic building blocks of DNA in the cell." The current science acknowledges that genetics do play a factor in our lifespans, especially when congenital diseases are passed on, but far less impact than our lifestyles in the grand scheme of things.

There are other groups promoting everything from high-colonics to veganism to drinking your own urine. Gross but true.

The National Institute on Aging, a federally funded agency in the U.S., cautions against any quick-fix to stall or reverse the aging process. Instead they focus their energy on the ways we can alleviate the symptoms of aging through general fitness and by finding cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer and a variety of other diseases that are tied to aging. The NIA’s success could directly and indirectly contribute to longer lifespans for many people.

While most of us could probably make good use out of a 150 year lifespan, the issue raises a number of serious questions: Do we really want to work for 120 years of that time? What is going to happen to the global population without the usual turnover, and what is the effect going to be on the planet? Can we afford health care, pension plans or social security for people that are outliving the rest of the curve?

In a sense, these are questions we’re already asking as the baby boom generation enters its golden years. After all, records were made to be broken.