Human life expectancy...

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
All jokes aside, there'll be no life expectancy growing by leaps and bounds simply through eating green vegetables.

Look at this graph:

View attachment 79387

Lower infant mortality, and better nutrition, medicine, and technology has inflated the area under the curve over the past 100 years, but, there is, and always has been a brick wall between 100 and 110 years old. IMHO, only genetic engineering will start pushing this graph right-ward. Not food.
Very interesting article from the BBC discussing the possibility of significantly expanding, and even reversing, the ageing process:

The idea of slowing down the ageing process and living healthier, more productive lives is hugely appealing.
It’s led to a growing trend for people looking to take control of their own biology, optimising their bodies and minds through ‘biohacking’.

But how safe and ethical is this pursuit of longevity? And are there more natural ways of expanding your healthy lifespan?
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,063
It's probably far to late for me to worry about this. I am already in my 80's and have resigned myself to maybe another 15 years if I am lucky.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
It's probably far to late for me to worry about this. I am already in my 80's and have resigned myself to maybe another 15 years if I am lucky.
And I'm right behind you, my friend... I can only hope to be able to reach your age and with an active mind such as yours.
 

justtrying

Joined Mar 9, 2011
439
https://www.sciencealert.com/oxygen...k-the-sands-of-time-on-our-body-s-aging-cells

Hyperbaric chambers will be making a comeback!

On a more serious note, i do believe that what whatever we make to extend lifespan, will be counterbalanced by something else that we dont know about. We will likely be seeing lifespan drop going forward as average diet is very poor, with declining water and air quality. Clean water access is a big issue and not just in 3rd world countries
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
All jokes aside, there'll be no life expectancy growing by leaps and bounds simply through eating green vegetables.
...
IMHO, only genetic engineering will start pushing this graph right-ward. Not food.
The two are not mutually exclusive. There's a ton of work going on now to link genes to dietary recommendations. Recommendations by governments at the population level can only address the most gross effects, although of course they think they are all-knowing. In reality, we are very different from one another and have different dietary needs, due both to nature and nurture, our genes and our situation in life.

We're a long way from sorting it out. The day will come though that restaurants can tailor-make a menu to our individual needs and preferences. It's the future of food science but there's a long way to go.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
The day will come though that restaurants can tailor-make a menu to our individual needs and preferences. It's the future of food science but there's a long way to go.
And I'm all for it ... as long as tacos and paella remain in the menu
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,814
Wouldn’t it b a bummer if you had tried to eat a healthy diet for years and a DNA test showed you should have been eating nothing but KFC and Big Macs?

Bob
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
Wouldn’t it b a bummer if you had tried to eat a healthy diet for years and a DNA test showed you should have been eating nothing but KFC and Big Macs?

Bob
Jokes aside... there are people out there with DNA encoded to tolerate junk food, smoke, drink in excess, and yet live for a long long time. I call that the "Dagwood Bumstead" syndrome. Life is simply not fair.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Life is simply not fair.
Indeed there would be no life if it were. Evolution of lifeforms is the epitome of "unfair", in the current (equal outcome) way of defining it.

It sure would be nice to at least know what unfairnesses have been levied upon us. I mean, it's obvious I'm not cut out to play in the NBA but am I genetically predisposed to need more selenium or iodine or whatever and would live 10 years longer if I only knew that? Our grandkids will know such things.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
That looks like a hell of an event. Are those different styles of paella or different stages of preparation?
These are all different paella recipes and ingredients. Here is the seafood paella and calamari on the left.
This was at an outdoor farmer's market in the south of France. They come one day each week during the summer. I could never believe that they would sell out at the end of market day. I can only imagine that they go to another location the next day.

paella_2.jpg
 
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