Live a long life
How much is a long life? 120 years or maybe 150 years. What I’m about to tell you will blow your mind away.
Today the average life expectancy is 70-80 years. Of course, a lot of it depends on where you live. If you live in Japan, it is 85 years and if you live in Somalia, it is 60 years. In India, it’s 70 years.
Most importantly, your lifespan will be dictated by your lifestyle. Diet, exercise, sleep, work, and your habits. Do genes have a role in how long you live? And the answer is ‘little’. Only about 1%. People often make the mistake of attributing diseases to hereditary causes. Well, there is a role of ancestry, but medical science has discovered that this percentage is far too trivial. What matters is epigenetics. (epi=above) Epigenetics is the study of how cells control gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. Most of your genes can be turned ‘on’ and ‘off’ by external stimulation. For example, DNA methylation involves the attachment of small chemical groups called methyl groups (each consisting of one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms) to DNA building blocks. When methyl groups are present on a gene, that gene is turned off or silenced, and no protein is produced from that gene. Similarly, there are histone modifications, etc.
Most diseases are manifested by the environment and not the gene. That is the reason lifestyle is important. Take stress for example. Prolonged exposure to stress can shorten the lifespan by triggering unwanted diseases. So how do you live longer? You see at the end of our chromosomes is a protein structure called telomeres. These telomeres indicate our longevity. When a cell divides, the telomeres get shortened to such a point that no more of it is left and then the cell dies. Eating legumes, nuts, seaweed, etc. is known to lengthen the telomeres whereas red meat, alcohol, etc., have the opposite effect of shortening these structures. A gene doesn’t cause a disease. If it turns ‘on’ then only it does and now we know that this happens because of a bad lifestyle, mostly.
There are life-prolonging drugs like rapamycin, metformin, rilmenidine, etc. on the market. But use it under an expert’s advice only. For eg: metformin is a type-2 diabetes drug that incidentally also increases your longevity, but if you have kidney or liver problems, you are advised not to take this drug. You can go for herbs like cilantro, garlic, ginseng, etc. which are known to be beneficial. Green Tea is a good choice. Although these can make a difference, we really cannot predict how much. The reason is simple. Every human is unique in his/her DNA imprint. No two are alike. As we age our DNA changes. External stimuli are the main factor that causes a mutation in the gene and the likelihood of a disease like cancer. We have just spoken of physical aspects. What we feed the mind also makes a big difference. The mind can alter the DNA and hence we can be a balanced individual or accidentally have a skewed personality. Mental health problems are rising, simply because of the way we have structured our life. Today there is so much noise in the world that we must be selective in what goes inside us and stays. Please live a conscious, not reactive life.
Now it’s 2024. The age of machines. AlphaFold (A deep mind algorithm) has discovered how protein folding’s happen and this has also led to the discovery of proteins unknown to mankind. Clinical trials of drugs are shortening. A pharma company that used to release 4-5 drugs in a year, is now slated to make that 25-30 because of AI. The pace has gone up and I see a promising future. NeuraLink (Elon Musk) is putting chips inside our brains (invasive) to control our thought-action equation. Meta is building a multiverse with 3 senses (taste and smell not yet) that can give us an experience where we no longer must plan for a vacation. Personalized medicine (drugs catered to your DNA) is gaining traction. The cost points are dropping year after year. Many such promising technologies are on the horizon.
We live in exciting times. On the one hand, we see all these developments that will catapult humanity to the next level. On the other, we see war, poverty, drug abuse, civil unrest, etc. which pull us back. We are 8 billion people today. Every one of us is entitled to a happy and dignified life. And that won’t be possible with 1 or 100 people, a group, a state, or a country. We must come together as one life that echoes the sentiment ‘I want to live forever’. But before that, we must build a world that can make this epiphany come true. With a little forethought, with a little sacrifice, and with lots of love for each other. As Lord Krishna has said, ‘Even one person suffering, know that your job is not done’. When all of us rise from the ashes and have compassion for others, this world will be a heaven upon earth. A world where people are joyful and do not have to put up with distress. And that is a world that we should be able to see and leave as a legacy for our children.
God Bless !
