How to live till 100+

.

Summary of video:

1. Move ( find ways to move mindlessly, make moving unavoidable )

2. Plan de Vida ( know your purpose in life )

3. Down Shift ( work less, slow down, rest, take vacation )

4. 80% Rule ( stop eating when you're 80% full )

5. Plant-Power ( more veggies, less protein and processed foods )

6. Red Wine ( consistency and moderation )

7. Belong ( create a healthy social network )

8. Beliefs ( spiritual or religious participation )

9. Your Tribe ( make family a priority )

.

"How to live a long healthy life", BBC documentary:

For other posts in this blog about 'life extension', click here

.

For those of you who are reading from facebook, click here

The Futurists 8d - Life Extension

13 May 2009

This week we revisited about "Life Extension" as the last time, some of us were not around in the meeting. This meeting is not very well recorded as I was not feeling very well.

.

Some people are against Life Extension and Immortality. But when you ask, "Who wants to die?" Then, you get a different reaction.

.

How do we die?

When we stop breathing? or when the heart stops? or when the brain stops?

.

In evolutionary history, we die from predators before we get into a discrepit state. May be there are evolutionary disadvantage of living a long life.

.

But what if we succeed in cloning? Let's say if I clone you, then which one is the real you? Is it the original or the clone? Or let's say, if I clone you and I kill the original, are you still alive? 

At this point, one of the participant replied: "If you kill me, I'll kill you!"

.

That threw most of us off guard and off-logic, as obviously the preceeding supposition is for the purpose of hypothesis. It seems that some people cannot cope up very well with the concept of hypothesis; and therefore sidetracked from the main question of "Which one is the real you? You you or the clone? Not "if you kill me, I'll kill you". This is comical!!!!! :)

.

So who is the real you?

What is 'self'?

.

Is SELF = CONSCIOUSNESS + MEMORY ?

.

Ten years from now we will achieve Singularity (that means computers can reach human levels of thinking and in some cases like calculations, supersede human abilities, more powerfully so) - claimed Stefan. Kit thinks not and both of them made a bet. The loser pays a steak dinner. 

.

But what made Stefan thinks it'll be so soon?

For one adoption rates for technologies like the Internet and mobile phones are happening at a much faster rate than that of radio in the past. Now, there are several technologies that changes your life so much, such as:

RSS, podcast, ipod, youtube, internet radio, peer-to-peer technologies like bitorrent...etc.

.

MY POST MORTEM:

As communications technologies progressed, the quality of conversations deteriorates. So will technological advances necesarily prolong our lives or improve its quality? 

The Futurists 8c - Life Extension

Another talk by Dr Aubrey De Grey about 'Life Extension'. This is a similar talk to the previous one, but more details spoken.

.

.

Basically, he spoke about repairing the damages in the cells due to entropy (ageing). If repairs start when the subject is younger, say in the 30s, there are better chance of getting 'younger'.

.

.

If you are reading this on facebook and cannot see the video, click here

.

.

.

To read the previous posts, click here

The Futurists 8b - Life Extension

I found these two fabulous TED talks:

.

David Bolinsky's "Fantastic voyage inside a cell"

.
.
Alan Russell's "Why can't we grow new body parts?"

.

Read also: 

The Futurists 8a - Life Extension

The Futurists - Life Extension

.

.

The Futurists 8a - Life Extension

In the previous Futurist post, Aubrey de Grey spoke about life extension by repairing our bodies at cellular level.

.

Last weekend, I chanced upon two products that is said to operate at the cellular level. This is a rare commercial post in this blog, but please bear with me, as they seem to be interesting.

.

1. Metta

This is what it says in its website:

"A healthy body begins with healthy cells. METTA Herbal Health Tonic utilizes the healing powers of Mother Nature and helps to repair the body at a cellular level. Being a 'whole body tonic,' METTA ensures healthy cell division and repair which will help restore and maintain balance throughout the whole body system... more "

.

I have registered online and got myself a free bottle to try. Here are my results:

.

On the first day, after sipping 15ml of the tonic, I felt a sudden rush of fluid through my body and a tension around the neck, then I felt sleepy and went to bed. 

.

The next day, I felt this abundance of energy and (strangely) enthusiasm for everything. In the evening, I again took another 15ml. This time, I felt as if I have just done a marathon, as my legs felt that way! Again, I felt sleepy and went to bed.

.

Next day, again I felt this rush of energy in me. This has now gone on for four days. I will keep you posted on the results as I progress.

.

I spoke to the founder of Metta and he told me the sudden tension/fatigue is due to the detoxification of the cells when I consume the tonic. If my body is cleaner, then I won't have the fatigue. It is amazing to me how though cells exist separately to each other, the effect of the tonic was felt instantly when consumed. It is akin to the instantaneous pain of a needle prick on the finger tip,  although the event had to be communicated to the brain and back.

If you want  a free bottle, click here.

[Declaration: I will benefit financially if you join. Sorry, this happens to be network marketing stuff. :) But actually without the usual nastiness, as there is no membership fees, no minimum sale targets, no need to keep (buy) stock...etc.  Yet you may make money from it if you work on it.]

.

2. Emtech

Its website says, "Emtech uses High electric, Magnetic, Heat and Far Infrared energy source to influence the body energy balance.  It is a holistic approach to stimulate the mind and body's own healing response... more."

.

I tried the one my family bought, on my feet. I felt little bubbles of energy circulating in my feet and my shanks. It was a relaxing feeling, the same as in acupuncture. I didn't feel any changes after that, but my mother who uses it an hour daily has got rid of her back pains and bowel problems. My sister uses it daily and lost 3.5kg in 2 months.

.

I am not a member of this one, but I can get you a free 15 trial voucher  on the machine if you are residing in Singapore. I will not make any money from this one.

The Futurists 8 - Life Extension

.
.
.

.

I asked Stefan if he was serious about discussing about "Life Extension" on April Fool's day. On the very day, on arrival in Chinatown, Global Sounds Cafe was closed for reasons unknown to us. Stefan was late and called to say that he met up with an accident on his way. So, we had to hang around, expecting to wait for a bit.

.

Ten minutes later, Stefan arrived looking unscathed. He told us it was an April Fool's joke and he didn't have an accident. He thought that I was playing an April Fool's joke on him - that Global Sounds Cafe was closed! It was not a joke - the cafe was indeed closed!

.

Jokes aside, we then moved on to the street stalls and had our meeting there. There was only three of us and we decided to discuss about life in general rather than "Life Extension". There are two books that Stefan introduced. The first one is from the speaker above.

.

This is a summary of "Ending Ageing" from amazon:

.

MUST WE AGE?

A long life in a healthy, vigorous, youthful body has always been one of humanity’s greatest dreams. Recent progress in genetic manipulations and calorie-restricted diets in laboratory animals hold forth the promise that someday science will enable us to exert total control over our own biological aging.

.

Nearly all scientists who study the biology of aging agree that we will someday be able to substantially slow down the aging process, extending our productive, youthful lives. Dr. Aubrey de Grey is perhaps the most bullish of all such researchers. As has been reported in media outlets ranging from 60 Minutes to The New York Times, Dr. de Grey believes that the key biomedical technology required to eliminate aging-derived debilitation and death entirely—technology that would not only slow but periodically reverse age-related physiological decay, leaving us biologically young into an indefinite future—is now within reach.

 

In Ending Aging, Dr. de Grey and his research assistant Michael Rae describe the details of this biotechnology. They explain that the aging of the human body, just like the aging of man-made machines, results from an accumulation of various types of damage.  As with man-made machines, this damage can periodically be repaired, leading to indefinite extension of the machine’s fully functional lifetime, just as is routinely done with classic cars.  We already know what types of damage accumulate in the human body, and we are moving rapidly toward the comprehensive development of technologies to remove that damage.  By demystifying aging and its postponement for the nonspecialist reader, de Grey and Rae systematically dismantle the fatalist presumption that aging will forever defeat the efforts of medical science.

.

.

.

I browsed through the second book (below) and found it to be possibly an easier read.

.

A summary of "A Scientific Conquest of Death" in Amazon:

Nineteen scientists, doctors and philosophers share their perspective on what is arguably the most significant scientific development that humanity has ever faced - the eradication of aging and mortality. This anthology is both a gentle introduction to the multitude of cutting-edge scientific developments, and a thoughtful, multidisciplinary discussion of the ethics, politics and philosophy behind the scientific conquest of aging.

.

.

One of the key issues is that if we were to live forever, then are we allowed to have children?

Also, isn't reincarnation a better way? In that we still live forever, but our bodies are recycled and renewed in each of our incarnation? That is, if you believe in reincarnation.

.

Stefan said that it may be better also to have a scientific alternative to extend life, just in case, reincarnation doesn't really happen. :)