The Power Of Youth. How To Tune Our Mind And Body For A Long And Healthy Life

Project Manager Yu. Semenova

English proofreader K. Akhmetov

Computer layout by N. Astakhova

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© A. Fomenko, 2023

© Alpina PRO LLC, 2023

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INTRODUCTION

IS IT POSSIBLE TO LIVE 100 YEARS? MANY WOULD ANSWER THAT IT'S GOOD ENOUGH TO REACH AT LEAST THE AGE OF 80, BUT TO LIVE A CENTURY IS RATHER AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE AND A CHANCE THAT ONLY LUCKY ONES GET.

But what if it is far from that? There is a more optimistic scenario, which extrapolates: living to 100 or more and staying healthy and active is a real possibility for everyone.

It is almost everyone's biggest dream to live a long life. But various age-related problems, manifested in the form of physical weakness, mental decline, developing diseases, and other pathological changes, can block the path to this dream. Usually, all the average person can do to avoid it is to start exercising, quit using harmful substances, change their diet to include more healthy products, and try to avoid contact with infections. This is certainly important. But is it enough?

There is a lot of information nowadays about different ways to delay aging and prolong life. Theories, reviews, perspectives, and research findings we receive from paper and digital sources are varied, not all of them congruent, but often contradictory. There are lots of opinions on whether fasting is good for the body, what diet is the most effective, how much exercise we need, whether we should take vitamin supplements, how much time we should spare to get a daytime sleep, etc. Search engines "answer" these and other questions with millions of links.

But what if it comes to the prolongation of life and youth? Some specialists would say that if you want to live a long life, you need to strictly follow the laws of a healthy lifestyle; others would say that it is necessary to take as many geroprotectors^[1] as possible; still, others would insist on continuous monitoring of health outcomes: measure physiological data and take regular tests. When it comes to our health, how not to get lost in the informational flow and ignore the unnecessary? What should we rely on?

Existing approaches to the problem of aging and prolongation of life are often flawed and rather one-sided. We should keep in mind that the problem is larger than it appears, so we need to consider it more broadly and consider many views. There are many ways to live a long life, and we will find out which of them are the most effective.

This book is a kind of "encyclopedia of aging" – it contains all the most important things you need to know about this process, as well as ways to prolong life and youth. Here you will find all the information about aging mechanisms, how to slow it down, how to prevent age-related diseases, and the lifestyle and mindset of long-livers.

After reading this book, you will gain the knowledge to acquire extra years of life, and you will learn how to apply them in practice, i.e., turn them into skills to control and even manage all physiological changes to achieve better health and longevity.

The knowledge gathered here comes from years of work on the VSH25^[2] project. Its goal is not just to prolong life, but to preserve youth and stop aging with an experimental biological program.

There are a lot of long-living animals and plants in the world, from turtles and sharks that live hundreds of years to baobabs and sequoias that live thousands of years. Some do not age at all. The attention of biologists and gerontologists has been drawn to naked mole rats for decades: these small rodents live an unusually long time compared to their relatives, and at the same time practically do not age or get sick. Another phenomenon is the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii: it can live forever. At maturity or under adverse conditions, this animal can "go back to childhood" – to the very first stage of the life cycle, which makes the jellyfish immortal.

Humans do not live that long compared to the record-breakers of wildlife. Before the twentieth century, the average life expectancy was about 40 years. However, this figure was almost doubled, and now, according to official data, it is about 73 years old. This happened not only due to medical advances, but also because the consciousness of mankind is gradually shifting, and the idea of life prolongation is more and more actively embodied in life. In the XXI century, new futuristic projections suggest a life expectancy of 150 and even 200 years.

Science and medicine have taken a great step towards understanding mechanisms underlying longevity, and so many discoveries lie ahead! Future breakthroughs in rejuvenation, gene therapy, stem cells, regenerative medicine, and organ replacement will one day allow people not to age or have a finite lifespan.

Living as long as possible is a goal that humanity shall give top priority. At the same time, each needs to remain motivated to maintain their health and prolong life: to learn about new medical advances, to read more on these topics, including materials on various scientific areas – even those, not obvious ones, such as mathematics and physics. Because knowing such universal concepts as brain, body, consciousness, time, evolution, death, and immortality will help to look at the problem of life prolongation from a completely different angle and to think about other scenarios for human development.

It is important to prolong not only life but youth – even if a third of the people on the planet do it, the world will change for the better. It is not a fantasy or an elusive goal. There is no need for lots of energy-consuming efforts or expensive means. All you need is to realize the responsibility for yourself and your life, understand how to "turn on" the body's defenses, and maintain the desire to live long, learning about new advances in the world of science and medicine.

SCIENTISTS HAVE PROVED

1. EXPECTATION OF LIFE PROLONGATION IS ALREADY PROLONGING LIFE.

2. OPTIMISTIC PEOPLE LIVE LONGER AND ARE LESS LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM PAIN. SADNESS AND DISSATISFACTION WITH LIFE CAN SHORTEN IT BY 13 YEARS (AS WELL AS SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES).

3. MEANINGFUL EXISTENCE PROLONGS LIFE.

4. A SUBJECTIVE FEELING OF OUR AGE PROLONGS LIFE.

5. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO PROVEN OR APPROVED ANTI-AGING DRUGS IN THE WORLD.

6. PLACEBO WORKS EVEN WHEN A PERSON KNOWS IT IS A PLACEBO.

7. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PLACEBO COMPARED TO MEDICATIONS IS INCREASING.

8. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PLACEBO IS INCREASING IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.

9. MANY MEDICATIONS HAVE ALMOST THE SAME EFFECT AS A PLACEBO, BUT ALSO CREATE SIDE EFFECTS.

10. EXPECTATION TO FEEL BETTER AFFECTS THE SYMPTOMS OF A DISEASE.

11. WE CAN "TURN ON" THE NECESSARY GENES AND "TURN OFF" THE UNNECESSARY ONES.

12. 95 % OF DISEASES CAN BE AFFECTED BY THE PERSON.

13. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES HELP US FEEL HAPPY AND HEALTHY.

14. THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF SOCIAL TIES AFFECT LIFE SPAN.

15. CONCENTRATION OF ATTENTION IS AN IMPORTANT SKILL TO ACHIEVE ANY GOAL, INCLUDING PROLONGATION OF LIFE AND YOUTH.

16. HABITS AFFECT OUR LIVES AND OUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CONDITION.

17. MOST THINGS WE DO UNCONSCIOUSLY. THEREFORE, THE FORMATION OF USEFUL HABITS AFFECTS 90 % OF OUR ACTIONS AND LEADS TO A QUALITATIVE CHANGE IN ALL LIFE.

18. PASSION FOR ART HELPS PROLONG LIFE BY 30 %.

19. CONSCIENTIOUS PEOPLE LIVE LONGER SINCE THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS BETTER (DUE TO LOW LEVELS OF B-CELL STIMULATORY FACTOR 2).

20. THE THOMAS THEOREM SAYS: "IF MEN DEFINE SITUATIONS AS REAL, THEY ARE REAL IN THEIR CONSEQUENCES."

CHAPTER 1
AGING AND YOUTH

THE DREAM OF A LONG LIFE IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT RESOLVING THE AGING PROBLEM – MEMORY IMPAIRMENT (OR COMPLETE MEMORY LOSS), WORSENING FRAILTY, NEED FOR CONTINUOUS CARE, A BUNCH OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES, HUGE NUMBER OF MEDICATIONS TO SUPPORT A FADING BODY, ETC.

Such prospects do not please anybody. At the same time, we can look at aging from essentially different points of view. You can resign yourself, and take age-related decline and diseases as an inevitability and part of human destiny. However, there is another point of view. Just look at people who live longer than others having a healthy, strong body, a clear mind, and a zest for life. We might wonder how they do it. To find the answer, it is very important to get onto aging, and scientific views about the nature of this phenomenon. And then to learn about studies revealing mechanisms of preserving youth and increasing longevity.

WHAT BODY CHANGES ARE CAUSED DUE TO AGING?

As a person grows older, their appearance, health, and the function of most organs change. The set of these metamorphoses, which manifest both externally and internally, is called aging. Here are some signs characteristic of aging.

● Hearing impairment: children can hear high-frequency sounds (above 20 Hz) – this ability is usually lost by the end of adolescence. After age 75, more than half of older adults hearing gets worse so much that it prevents normal communication.

● Vision problems: after the age of 35, the tone of the ciliary muscle, responsible for accommodation^[3] (change in the curvature of the lens) decreases. As a result, farsightedness (presbyopia) develops and progresses after the age of 40 – a deterioration in the ability to see near objects. In addition, over the years, the risk of cataracts (clouding of the lens) increases.

● Change in skin tone: due to lower production of hyaluronic acid, collagen, and elastin fibers over the years, the skin loses elasticity, which leads to wrinkles.

● Over the years, the function of cells producing melanin, the substance that determines hair color, suffers, and graying comes with this process. In addition, as we age, our hair begins to fall out more actively, and the risk of alopecia (hair loss) increases.

● As we age, we lose muscle mass and strength, and muscle's ability to regenerate deteriorates.

● After the age of 25, fertility (ability to conceive) in women starts to decline. At the age of 44 to 55 years, (there can be deviations in either direction) menopause occurs, and loss of the ability to childbirth. Men's sexual function also deteriorates over the years, increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, and decreases the fecundating ability.

● Cognitive function often deteriorates over the years: learning and memory deficit, the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, increases.

● There is a higher risk for several diseases: osteoporosis (brittleness of the bones), osteoarthrosis, atherosclerosis, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, immune deficiency, etc.

In addition to symptoms of aging, changes at the cellular and molecular levels develop with age, and it has an impact on our bodies. Scientists from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Oviedo (Spain) state that aging is based on the following biological processes^[4].

● Accumulation of mutations in cells (genomic instability), which increases the risk of developing diseases and malignant tumors.

● Shortening of telomeres, end sections of chromosomes, that protect genetic material from damage. It also causes errors in the genome, protein production, and dysfunction of cell and organ function.

● Accumulation of so-called senescent cells, incapable of division or apoptosis (planned cell death leading to tissue renewal). Such cells do not die, but partially or completely lose their functions, leading to organ malfunction.

● Decreased sensitivity of cells to "positive" growth factors, and hormones, activating energy exchange in cells, which stimulate regeneration. At the same time, the sensitivity of cells to the action of damaging factors, such as radiation, toxic substances, antibiotics, etc., increases with age.

● Depletion of stem cells, which are "samples" for functional cells of various organs.

● Deterioration of intercellular communication, signaling between cells, which ensures a coordinated work of the body.

There is such a concept as biomarkers of aging – a set of physiological and biochemical indicators, that allow us to judge the biological age of a person. A table listing the basic biomarkers of aging is given at the end of the chapter.

THEORIES OF AGING

Although since antiquity, humans have tried to understand what biological aging is and how to prevent it, scientists have not yet come to a common understanding of the nature of aging. Today there are many theories explaining the reasons for the physical and mental decline that occurs with age. All these theories can be divided into two large categories: damage theories and evolutionary theories – theories of programmed aging^[5].

AGING AS A PROCESS PROGRAMMED BY NATURE

Evolutionary theories of aging imply that aging is the result of the organism following a biological "schedule" regulating the main stages of human life: birth, growth and development, growth impairment, stagnation, biodegradation, and death. In the view of advocates of this approach, aging gives an advantage in the survival of a particular population and is evolutionary "beneficial" for species. In the first place, it is about resource allocation: individuals who have lost their reproduction capability shall age and die in order not to compete for resources with the younger generation.

There are some examples of the evolutionary theories of aging.

● Theory of programmed longevity. Throughout life, certain genes are "turned on" and others are "turned off" by nature, i.e., regulation of aging processes is embedded at the DNA level.

● Neuroendocrine theory. It suggests that aging is an impaired hormonal balance. This theory appeared in the XIX century, and in the early XX century experiments on transplanting various endocrine glands (ovaries and testicles, adrenal glands, basal glands) from young animals to elderly ones became popular. Today, some scientists associate aging with changes in insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling^[6].

● Immunologic theory of aging. It views aging as a consequence of an evolutionarily programmed process of "immunological decline" that occurs with age. The efficiency of immunity peaks during adolescence. The ability to resist infections, destroy harmful microbes, identify mutated cells, and respond to vaccines, decreases over the which makes the body vulnerable to the negative joint action of external and internal factors, leading to disease and death. One of the key aspects underlying immunologic aging is the immunosenescence^[7] – age-related changes in the thymus gland responsible for training immune cells^[8].

AGING AS A RESULT OF DAMAGE (ERRORS) ACCUMULATION

While supporters of "programmed aging" theories view age-adverse changes as the result of an inevitable evolutionary program, followers of "damage theory" do not consider aging a "genetic doom." They believe that the body accumulates many "breakdowns" with age due to the influence of external factors, stress, etc. A gradual accumulation of such damages leads to the development of age-related diseases and, eventually, to death.

There are examples of damage accumulation theories.

● DNA damage theory. During cell division and copying of DNA molecules, there is always a risk of genetic errors (mutations) that accumulate with age and result in age-related diseases, primarily malignant tumors. In addition, adverse mutations, accumulating with age, can occur under the influence of factors external to the cell: ultraviolet radiation, virus entry, inserting their genome into hereditary material, etc.^[9].

● Genetic instability theory. It is not about mutations associated with damage, but rather about various changes in the genome occurring in the chromosome division. For example, such things as aneuploidy, the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, are identified in the fetal brain at all stages of intrauterine development. After birth, the number of such neurons decreases significantly, but some of them remain and can cause brain cancer^[10].

● Free radical theory. Supporters of this theory affirm that free radicals (particles, containing oxygen with one missing electron) are the cause of cellular malfunction. They are needed for many biochemical processes and are constantly formed in the body during breathing. By leaving the place where they needed, they sort of "take" an electron from the body, and this is called an oxidative reaction. Free radicals are a serious threat to cell activity because they damage proteins and lipids^[11].

Among the numerous theories of aging today, the following concepts are also emphasized.

● Apoptosis theory. Body tissues are constantly updated: "worn-out" cells whose function is deteriorating, as well as cells damaged by infection, having genetic mutations, regularly commit "suicide." Programmed cellular self-destruction is called apoptosis. In Greek, ἀπόπτωσις means "leaf fall": old cells die, like autumn leaves, to make way for the younger generation. There is an apoptosis gene in the DNA of each cell that triggers cellular self-destruction in response to molecular signals. The problem is that over the years, the sensitivity of cells to signals, activating their "suicide," decreases, leading to an accumulation of damaged, low-functioning cells. The aging process is based on the decreased ability of tissues to remove aged cells^[12].

● Elevational (ontogenetic) theory of aging. In the mid-twentieth century, the Soviet gerontologist V. M. Dilman related aging and ontogeny^[13] (individual development) of the homeostatic systems of the organism. The scientist named an elevation in the hypothalamus sensitivity threshold – the "conductor" of an endocrine system – to homeostatic signals as the key mechanism of aging. In a series of experiments, it was proved that this mechanism is based on the adverse changes in the reproductive, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which provides the necessary number of glucocorticoids in the blood (the so-called stress hormones) and increases their secretion under stress, which eventually leads to hyperadaptosis, i.e., a condition of excessive body adaptation to stress. The same mechanism in the metabolic homeostasis system causes the accumulation of body fat, a decrease in tissue sensitivity to insulin, and the development of atherosclerosis. Dilman found that age-related transformations occurred because of homeostatic ontogenesis, creating conditions for the formation of malignancies. Thus, the scientist concluded that aging is not programmed, but is a byproduct of the genetic developmental program. This led to the belief that aging can be slowed down if homeostasis is stabilized at the level achieved by the end of the organism's development.

● Telomere theory of aging. The number of divisions of each cell in the body is limited. This is because the protective structures at the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, shorten with each cell division^[14]. Telomere shortening may be a molecular "clock" triggering aging. It was found that the enzyme telomerase, which protects telomeres from shortening, is actively produced in cancer cells, that can divide almost infinitely. Telomerase activity has been detected in more than 85 % of malignant tumors, whereas it is absent in cells of healthy tissues^[15].

● Inflammatory theory of aging. This concept intersects with the immunologic theory of aging, but the priority here is given to the overblown immune response to various factors, including autoimmune responses – "aggression" directed at one's tissues – and not on the loss of the ability to fight off infections and recognize mutations. Under this theory, which is considered one of the most relevant today, aging is a general inflammatory process affecting all organs. It is inflammation that underlies the development of such age-related diseases as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus type II^[16].

We told only some theories of aging – there are many more. This large number of views on the causes and nature of age-related changes demonstrates the lack of a unified understanding of the process. It also suggests that aging is based not on a single mechanism, affecting which could indefinitely prolong youth, but on a complex set of causes operating at the genetic, molecular, and evolutionary levels. The multifactorial nature of aging helps us to understand that prevention of aging shall also be comprehensive and diversified.