How to live more than a hundred years

The trees are several hundred years old. You, too, can live as long, provided that you live to the time when the anti-aging pill is invented.

In the recently published book Homo deus. A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari, who along with Stephen Pinker is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 21st century, the thesis is put forward that there may be people among us today who will live, if not forever, then at least over 100 years.

The development of medicine, especially transplantation, stem cells and genetic therapy, is developing so dynamically that if scientists manage to maintain this pace, it is very likely that at the end of the 21st century, diseases will be conquered and, perhaps, scientists will stop, or at least, will significantly slow down the natural aging process.

Clinics of the future

The following scenario is quite likely: in the XXII century, people (at least the richest) will regularly visit anti-aging clinics every few years, where their bodies will undergo a process of renewal, more or less similar to how women visit plastic surgery clinics today.

The difference will be that not only the skin will be rejuvenated, but also the heart, liver, intestines, pancreas, etc. It sounds like a science fiction scenario, but 80 years ago you would have thought the same about today's reality. No one would have believed that while riding a 400 km / h train in Shanghai, you would be talking through a small rectangle with a friend who is currently in America. And that, without interrupting the conversation, you can show him (in color) the impressive Chinese skyscrapers, and then instantly share this video with all your friends.

Although there was already television in 1939, a railway, telephones, radio communications, and color photography, most people probably shook their heads in disbelief. With the same disbelief with which people today hear about the future of medicine. You won't be joining a group of skeptics so you won't regret it later, will you? It is better now to believe that it is possible to extend your life to several hundred years, and to do everything possible to wait for this moment in the best condition, because it is much easier to improve your body than to change it to a new one. See what you can do to stop aging and live in an age where humans become gods.

Diagnosed too late

The fact that something is obvious does not mean that it can be neglected. Obviously, if you set your hand on fire for a few seconds, you will burn it. It is also obvious that a disease that is detected later is more difficult to cure. Why, then, are 46% of cancer patients diagnosed too late and, according to the British Journal of Cancer, one in four patients is diagnosed only during an emergency hospitalization? To a large extent, this is the result of our male reluctance to be examined regularly. So let's get smarter and start taking care of ourselves.

Your plan: Check your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels every 5 years. After age 45, begin examining the prostate. This is not necessarily a trip to the urologist, you can do a home PSA test. Get a colonoscopy on your 50th birthday. This test helps detect bowel cancer and remove precancerous lesions. Repeat every 10 years. And look for health monitoring apps - this is the future of diagnostics.

Depression

No, depression is not what you feel when you come to work on Monday morning. Depression is a serious illness in which you lose interest in life, in 33% of cases it causes a decrease in pain tolerance. According to the most rigorous research, depression doubles the risk of suicide. A more pessimistic estimate is that up to 15% of people with depression die.

Your plan: Leave Facebook and Instagram for a while. Instead, go out with friends for a beer, hike in the mountains, go fishing, or do something out of the ordinary. Create a family. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that the wider the circle of close friends and family, the lower the risk of developing depression. Remember that friendships formed in youth are the longest, so don't forget friends. Not alcohol abuse, it can also lead to depression.

Atherosclerosis and joint diseases

Elderly people are most often affected by two diseases: chronic ischemia of the lower extremities, manifested by severe pain in the legs after several tens of steps, and osteoarthritis - OA - affects almost 70% of people over 70 years of age. Chronic limb ischemia is not only painful - it often ends in amputation. A person with advanced OA cannot stand or hold anything heavier than a pen.

Your plan: The easiest way is to walk more often and take long walks. Being overweight increases the risk of OA fivefold, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In addition, regular moderate exercise reduces the risk of atherosclerosis by about half. Buy a pedometer (or turn it on on your phone) and try to take 10,000 steps every day.

Caries

On average, a person has caries on 13 teeth, and 57% of people over 40 wear dentures. 43% of people aged 65-74 do not have their own teeth. Further calculation does not make sense - the statistics are dramatic, and since the OMS allocates a little money for dentistry, it becomes clear that if you do not want to spend so much money in old age that would be enough for a car to put implants, you should take care of your teeth now ... The sooner you start, the less you will spend.

Your plan: Brush your teeth at least twice a day, always in the evening, because at night you produce less saliva, which controls the bacteria that fight tooth decay. See your dentist once a year. Stem cell research is still in its infancy, so there is no point in waiting.

Deafness, diabetes, glaucoma

Do you understand that our senses are responsible for all pleasant sensations? And we must treat them very carefully. The biggest threat to hearing is noise. The Journal of the American Medical Association warns that addiction to listening to music loudly through headphones is increasingly leading to hearing loss in 20-year-olds. Glaucoma and cataracts are the biggest threats to vision, and diabetes is the most common cause of blindness in young people.

Your plan: If you are young and do not have diabetes, your risk of blindness is low, but if you are sick, see an ophthalmologist once a year. An epidemiological study of diabetic retinopathy in Wisconsin found that half of the people blinded by diabetes can be saved if they get to an ophthalmologist on time.

A visit to an “eye doctor” can also save eyes at risk of glaucoma, because half of the patients do not know they are sick, and the development of glaucoma can be slowed down by medication. Hearing protection is easier: just do not turn the volume up to maximum, and in noisy places (for example, at concerts or at a construction site), put on earplugs.

Alzheimer's disease

The most common cause of severe senile dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Fight her because this disease robs you of your memory: you cannot find your way home, you don’t recognize your children, life becomes a nightmare.

Your plan: We do not give a guarantee because Alzheimer's is very insidious, but according to the British Medical Journal, you need to take care of your memory: you need to play chess, solve puzzles, learn foreign languages ​​and play musical instruments.

Another study found that regular memory training reduced the risk of Alzheimer's by about 30%. Memory also protects B vitamins. They can be found in meat, eggs, and dietary supplements.

Lung cancer, COPD

Everyone has probably heard of lung cancer. But have you heard of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? This mysterious acronym is COPD. This disease was once called emphysema. The Ministry of Health estimates that around 600 million people worldwide suffer from COPD. 2.75 million people die from COPD every year. This is more than from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver combined! It starts innocently - with a morning cough. Then, while walking, shortness of breath occurs, and after climbing to the second floor, you cannot catch your breath, even if you are not overweight.

Your plan : You probably guessed it by now, but there is only one effective way to protect against COPD and lung cancer. Quit smoking now. The risk of cancer and COPD is greatly reduced if you protect yourself from smog. For example, wear a mask.

Potency

An interesting study of the sexuality of older people showed that the most common cause of loss of interest in sex in men was ... poor health. As many as 57% of men and only 13% of women cited this as the reason. It can be assumed that when talking about poor health, a significant portion of the guys were referring to erection problems. The most common cause of erectile dysfunction is cardiovascular disease.

Your plan: We would like to write that it is enough to take one capsule of substance X per day to avoid erection problems, but there is no such pill.