My
eight-year old son said to me the other day ‘Dad, I don’t ever want to
die’. I had to agree with him – I don’t ever want to die either and the
longer I believe I can live in reasonably good health the better I’ll
feel now. But as I have no faith in religion, suspect cryonics-type techniques will not work for quite a quite a while yet (I was fairly impressed with its endorsement by Thomas Donaldson when I did a maths unit of his at the ANU in 1976), and, no, I could never stick to a rigid calorie-restriction regime, which does however have bizarre, uncomfortable, live-lengthening potential.
Exercise does seem to be life-extending (studies here)
but not remarkably so. What about drugs such as hormones? These are the
billion dollar rage in the US these days. ‘Will pills and potions
help?’ An article in the Online Business Week Forum, Selling the Promise of Youth by Arlene Weintraub summarizes what is known.
Main points
77
million US baby boomers are now approaching retirement and the new
field of anti-aging medicine is greedily racing to keep up with us.
Anti-aging doctors seek to turn back the internal hands of time by
prescribing human growth hormone (HGH), DHEA, antioxidant vitamins C and E, glucosamine, Omega-3 oils and more.
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)
suggests the industry now pulls in $56 billion/year but there is little
scientific data to support claims that any of these potions extend life
or promote ‘rectangularization’ , or years of healthy living followed
by a short, acute decline rather than a slow, triangle-like descent to
the grave (here).
The
supplements sold are not regulated and do not go through rigorous
safety and efficacy testing. Some hormone products are made by
pharmacists who may not be adhering to standards of consistency and
purity as mass-market drug manufacturers.
HGH is a controversial
supplement. Lately the anti-aging industry has latched on to HGH as a
tool for boosting immunity, memory, heart function, muscle mass, and
more. HGH can cost as much as $2,000 a month. There are claims HGH can
cause cancer, high blood pressure, blood clots and structural changes in
the hands and feet. As there's no exact science to diagnosing adult HGH
deficiency prescribing doctors have lots of leeway. Moreover, again,
there is no evidence it works, as Dr Steven Barrett’s Quackwatch.org points out.
Many
anti-aging advocates have an almost cult-like faith. What's missing is
any firm scientific proof that these regimens actually slow down or
reverse aging. A scientific study would have to span several decades and
include a control group that's taking a placebo. It would be difficult
to devise such a trial given the moral issues involved in dispensing
what you know is a placebo. .
Chelation therapy
involves infusing a patient with chemicals believed to bind to toxic
metals and clear them out of the body. It is expensive and unproven.
Again Barrett’s Quackwatch.org debunks the treatment.
There might be some valuable placebo effects
in some (or all) of these treatments but in the main they look like
attempts to cash into the fears of baby boomers like myself who just
don’t want to die.
Religion is a cheaper placebo and probably safer!
Thank you very much for your comments