"Our old age is a disease that must be treated like any other," Ilya Mechnikov, the founder of gerontology, said in the 1880s. In his report, the distinguished Russian scientist noted that aging is not necessary for the body to be a physiological process. Our life is, in fact, the process of cell division. A cell can divide endlessly under ideal conditions. Degradation of conditions leads to degradation of cell reproduction. And as a result to the process, which is usually called aging.
"People just do not want to die"
Throughout its history, mankind has lived and lives with the thought of death, a further aging body and a physiological process. More precisely, with reflections on how to defeat it. "People do not want to live forever, people just do not want to die," Stanislaw Lemm correctly stated. This desire is reflected in the daily greetings and festive toasts of many peoples. In religions in the form of faith in the afterlife, reincarnation, rebirth. In various epics, where the eternal elders and vedunes live. Every nation has been searching for its "recipe of youth" for centuries.
In ancient Egypt, metal cylinders were used. They can be seen in the hands of the pharaohs on the surviving frescoes. The cylinders - the Sun and Moon, each 150 mm in length and 28 mm in diameter - were filled in a certain sequence with mixtures of minerals. According to modern specialists, in the hands of these cylinders form two energy pillars, through which energy flows, circulating in the body, cleaning it and forming the protective field of the human body.
Example
Among the pharaohs were real long-livers: Peopi II ruled 94 years. Ramesses the Great is 67 years old. He survived 12 out of 187 of his children from 42 wives and concubines. For half a century more than 10 pharaohs reigned.
"Elixirs of Youth"
The stories of famous alchemists - seekers of the "elixir of longevity", an aging organism and a physiological process - are shrouded in secrets: many names, the lack of certainty over the years of life and the results of research. This is Jabir ibn Hayyan (or Geber), Francis Bacon, Theophrastus Paracelsus, Jacob Bruce, Wei Po-Yan, Vasily Valentin, Count Saint-Germain, Count Alexander Cagliostro (or Giuseppe Balsamo), etc.
Modern science continues to search for the "elixir of longevity", relying on a systemic and individual approach.
Cryonics - conservation (biostasis) using ultra-low temperatures. Patients are subjected to freezing. EXPERIENCE Priests and pharaohs were supposed to bathe the body in the morning, day and night, regularly shave the hair on the body (with the exception of the head) - so that the microbes do not penetrate; they almost did not eat fat pork and raw fish.
Ancient China created Qigong - the art of self-regulation of the body, the development of man as an individual. Many exercises are aimed at raising immunity and relaxation.
Qi is the energy that is present in heaven, on earth and in every living being. Yoga - one of the philosophical systems of ancient India, considers the recipe for increasing the vitality of rational nutrition, proper breathing and a positive mental attitude.
A large role is given to the spine in matters of resistance to disease. It must be flexible - "the running water does not rot, the door hinge does not spoil, such is the movement." In the "Treatise on the internal" it is noted:
Aging is the process of gradual disruption and loss of important body functions, in particular, the ability to reproduce and regenerate the aging organism and the physiological process.
Engaging in Qigong, a person absorbs the energy of heaven and earth, connecting them in themselves. So he approaches longevity and immortality. Classes should be regular for a number of years. Immortality in Taoism is material: it concerns both the soul and the body.
Tip
Taoists believe that doing good deeds lengthens life, and evil - shortens. He who wants immortality on earth must commit 300 good deeds, and thirsty for immortality in the sky - 1200. But even after the 1190th good deed.
"Exhaust to the end of his heavenly years, after counting a hundred years, go on."
One of the treatises of Tibetan medicine "Vaiduria-onbo" recommends rational nutrition, timely sleep, bathing, knowledge of the norms and rules of sexual life, and hygiene for health and prolongation of life. The recipe for "juices" is given, which contribute to longevity: mummies, feldspar, cane sugar, honey, butter. "If the heart pulse does not change for 100 strokes and is characterized by a good fullness, then a person with a normal way of life will live up to 100 years." Methuselah - the Old Testament patriarch - lived, as the Bible said, 969 years - he is considered the oldest person. Another antediluvian long-liver, Noah, who built the Ark, lived a few years less. The first man Adam was endowed with immortality, but as he departed from the covenants he shortened his life.
The average life expectancy of a person.
More than 80 years:
Japan, Switzerland, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore.
Less than 80 years:
Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe.
According to WHO, the world's average life expectancy is 48.5 years.
Why do we grow old?
Today there is no generally accepted theory of aging. There are several theories based on different causes and mechanisms of aging. The mechanisms themselves manifest themselves in a variety of changes at all levels - from molecular to physiological. Aging is a complex of processes, each of which reduces the body's resistance and vitality. The totality of processes increases the negative impact. Theories of aging are classified in different ways. They are divided into 2 groups: programmed aging and stochastic theories (randomness). Or into 3 groups: genetic, neuroendocrine and theories of damage accumulation. Any division is arbitrary, since the processes are interrelated.
Supporters of different theories are the main factors of full-fledged longevity: a healthy food system, a reasonable combination of work and leisure, a culture of behavior, the influence of ecology.
Biopeptide preparations , geroprotectors of the new generation. The bottom line: to help cells work. Peptides - proteins isolated by scientists - contribute to the restoration of the synthesis of its own protein in the body. Penetrating into a cage, restore its functions. Raw materials for drugs are the organs of young mammals (liver is taken for treatment of the liver, kidneys are treated with a kidney, etc.).
The basic theories of aging are formulated by scientists from different countries in different years.
Wear theory: the body is a mechanism that breaks down over time.
The theory of the catastrophe of errors: with age, genetic damage is accumulated as a result of mutations (spontaneous or caused by external factors).
The theory of stress damage: aging is the result of stress, the rate of wear of the human body depends on the amount of stress.
Theory of auto-toxification: the cause of aging is the accumulation of toxins in the intestine.
Evolutionary theory: the theory of programmed aging of a species.
The theory of information preservation: the constant change of information and its loss in the body both in the system, for example, in DNA, in metabolic processes.
Endocrine theory: the secret of "eternal life" in the pituitary and hypothalamus.
Immunological theory: a decrease in the ability to defend against stress.
The theory of cell membranes: aging due to damage to cell membranes, leading to accumulation of errors in the structure of proteins and preventing cell division.
Mitochondrial theory: reduction of the cell's energy potential with age. (Mitochondria is the organoid of a cell that ensures its breathing, as a result of which energy is accumulated).
The theory of trace elements : the reason for the trace elements contained in the human body in extremely small volumes is no more than 105 percent.
Free-radical theory: the influence of radicals underlies many pathologies, in particular, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, brain diseases. In the course of life, a small fraction of oxygen (from a huge flow passing through cells) forms active forms of oxygen (ROS) - parasitic compounds. AFCs live a moment and react with other cells, destroying them. As a result of attacks, mitochondria are damaged. The accumulation of such damage is the essence of aging.
The theory of "cross-linking": the role of active substances in this case is sugar, in particular, glucose. Molecules of sugars, when reacting with proteins, "sew" the protein molecules together. Cells start to work worse, they accumulate "garbage", tissues lose elasticity.
The theory of apoptosis: the launch of a program of cell suicide, self-destruction in certain situations, embedded in them.
Telomer theory: somatic cells can divide a certain number of times. It is connected with the mechanism of DNA doubling. The ends, edges of linear chromosomes (telomeres) after each division are shortened. Therefore, there comes a time when the cell can not be divided. The length of the telomere depends on the age of the person: the older it is, the mean length of telomeres is smaller.
Elevation theory: the mechanism of aging begins to work with a constant increase in the sensitivity threshold of the hypothalamus to the level of hormones in the blood. With age, various pathological conditions arise. Destructive processes in the body are triggered by a biological clock that will count the life time released to the body.
Long-aging organisms
Sea urchins live 200-300 years, without ceasing to grow (the larger, the older it means). And after 100 years of life can actively produce offspring.
Shellfish
Zhemchuzhnitsa Margaritifera lives up to 200 years, all life is capable of producing embryos, it does not die from illnesses, but from hunger, because all life grows.
And the real long-livers - more than 4 thousand years; more than 2,5 thousand years of pine and giant sequoia.
In the USA there is a pine "Methuselah", - the oldest tree on Earth. According to experts, the age of the pine is 4772 years.
With age, stem cells are getting smaller. Initially, the majority of them - the fertilized egg is divided, forming stem cells, which are transformed into others.
One stem cell can reproduce several thousand simple cells. During therapy, the patient receives 200-300 million stem cells. Unclaimed cells are sent to the body for temporary storage. In addition to own cells (stored in an individual "bank"), donor stem cells are used - from cord blood (most used today) and fetal ones - from abortive material. The latter cause questions, both ethical plan and influence on the body in the future. The very concept of "stem cells" was introduced in 1908 by the outstanding histologist and embryologist Alexander Maksimov (1874-1928), who last years of his life worked in emigration to the United States.