Is aging a disease?

Actually, nothing has been shown to slow down ageing in humans. Not antioxidants. Not nothin'.

Antioxidants, and caloric restriction have been shown to slow ageing in some animal species such as fruit flies. But so far, nothing for humans.

 

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Well some types of antioxidants do increase lifespan
http://myhealthbowl.com/latest-health-news/polyphenols-found-in-apple-is-found-to-extend-10-per-cent-life-span/

Well I'm not sure if monkeys count.
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2009/07/09/caloric-restriction-extends-life-in-monkeys-study-finds

 

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I have not denied that something might increase human life span. However, to date, all results have been gained with animals, not humans. We still do not know.

 

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Yeah, with the monkey test they still have another 20 years of testing to see how much it increases their lifespan. They have tried to do volunteer testing on humans but its hard to get a person to go on a strict calorie restriction diet for their entire life let alone one year. I have seen one person voluntarily doing calorie restriction for over 4 years and he looked like he was starving to death. He unfortunately was extremely afraid of death I felt sorry for the poor guy.

 

May not make sense to you... but please don't assume that everyone is as ignorant.

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Aging makes sense when viewed as an evolutionary trait that increases the requirement for a species to procreate and thus increase the chance of mutation that increases the chance of survival in a gradual-changing environment.
A species that doesn't age is prone to become extinct either through over-population or through environmental change.

Thus a species that ages can be seen as "fitter" for long-term survival in a changing environment than a stagnant species with no requirement for procreation.

 

Yeah, but a recent study on runners found that those who ran an average of 50 miles a week stopped their muscle cell telemeres from shortening when their cells divided. All of them, not just the muscles used in running.

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Since there are now very many very old runners around, the speculation is that this has increased their lifespans, ala Jack LaLane.

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This fact figured in to my choice to do that a few years back. Now I am in that 50 miles a week group myself, though my Labrador helped with that decision.

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The side effects of the starvation diet persuaded me to pass on that though, as I am married to a beautiful woman. *wink wink*

 

I think the absence of death would be quite peculiar. Nothing would have any urgency anymore. The struggle for survival would be meaningless.
If nobody aged, children would never grow old, have children of thier own. If you aged without dying you'd be so decrepit after a few hundred years you'd wish you could die. People would be really unhappy in the end.

 

haha I dont blame you. I know it decreases libido. I think im going to aim to do 50 miles in one week. It would just about consume my nights though.

 

I've thought about that too. I think if a solution to stop aging was found it shouldn't be released because we would be cancerous which we pretty much already are. If people didn't age they would work toward more noble goals such as the growth of knowledge because they wouldn't be overwhelmed to earn tons of money so they can live it up before they die.

 

Guys, there are lot of aspects of aging that are not related to telomeres. A lot of it is simply mechanical, irreversible wear and tear: like osteoarthritis.

If you look at the top causes of death in North America, you will probaby discover that "trying to prevent your telomeres from shortening" will do very little in prolonging your life.

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death currently. There is no evidence that shows that preventing your telomeres from shortening will prevent heart failure, MI, CVA, abdominal aneurysms, aortic dissections, and such. Until somebody out there comes up with data that shows a direct relationship between telomere length and organ function, then that theory is just "popular science" crappola. Correlating lifespan with telomere length isn't even good enough.

The calorie restriction theory is a better theory anyway. Less calories, less cell divisions. Stay as thin as possible. Don't gain more weight than your body needs to function. The implications of that at least mesh with what we already know regarding the health status of people with high-calorie diets.

 

I agree with you but your opinion isn't really completely associated with age related deaths. The cause of cardiovascular problems is caused by poor diets with too much long chain fats and not enough exercise. I'm pretty much talking about true aging caused by free radical damage.

 

Can you please define "true aging?" Why would free radical damage be "true aging" when most people's lifespans are cut short by factors other than that?

Stiffening of the arterial walls and decreased cardiac output ARE normal parts of aging, and those two factors occur independently of diet and activity. With age, the heart loses contractility and its electroconduction becomes less stable.

All of these factors lead to cardiovascular disease, including cardiac dysrhythmias, yet they are still normal parts of aging.

Forget "telomeres."

 

What causes decreased cardiac output and stiffening of the arterial walls?

 

Left ventricular wall hypertrophy and increased systemic vascular resistance.

Stress, inflammation, and fibrosis.

 

There are studies showing that antioxidants have little effect on aging and can in some cases even increase mortality.

See:

• The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotine Cancer Prevention Study Group (1994). "The effect of vitamin E and beta carotine on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers". New England Journal of Medicine 330 (330): 1029–35. PMID: 8127329.
• Omenn GS, Goodman GE, Thornquist MD, Balmes J, Cullen MR, Glass A, et.al. (1996). "Effects of a combination of beta carotine and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease". New England Journal of Medicine 334 (334): 1150–5. PMID: 8602180.
• Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Simonetti RG, Gluud C (2004). "Antioxidant supplements for prevention of gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis". Lancet 364 (364): 1219–28. PMID: 15464182.
• Miller ER 3rd, Pastor-Barriuso R, Dalal D, Riemersma RA, Appel LG, Guallar E. (2005). "Meta-analysis: High-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality". Annals of Internal Medicine 142 (142): 37–46. PMID 15537682. Link.
• Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group (2002). "MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of antioxidant vitamin supplementation in 20,356 high-risk individuals: a randomised placebo-controlled trial". Lancet 360 (360): 23–33. PMID: 12114037.
• Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group (2001). "A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E and beta carotine for age-related cataract and vision loss: AREDS report no. 9". Arch Ophthalmol 119 (119): 1439–52. PMC 1472812. PMID 11594943. Link.

 

Perhaps life is the disease?

 

...all of which can be addressed by lifestyle choices. I understand your cynicism, Will, and will not claim that merely exercising enough to stop your muscle cell telemeres from shortening will extend your life indefinately.

However, merely walking for 20 minutes a few times every week will flip the switch on some 350 - odd exogenomes in your thighs, enabling a bunch of genes that were not enabled before you did that. Eating a diet low in saturated fats and high in mono and poly unsaturated fats can drop your chances of developing that atherosclerosis that leads to your stroke or heart attack. Regular aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure and increases the flexibility of your blood vessels. Stuff like this changes your body in ways that are not only beneficial but can extend your life.

If you have a genetic propensity towards the development of aneurysms but then maintain a healthy life style, eat right and watch your blood pressure you will likely never develop one. You do have some control over how your body ages. It is not all written in your genes such that you cannot alter your destiny. You have the choice.

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keith

You are right.

Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.

 

It sure feels like some type of disease, although I did not notice the symptoms until I was about 70.

 

I have been noticing a few at 60 myself.

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