Time has for ever been the eternal enemy of youth. And who would argue that living a longer and healthier life is an aspiration that grows stronger for most of us as each year passes. This fact is perhaps the foundation over why research into how people can live longer and better has preoccupied many great minds throughout the years.
What prevents scientists from providing clear and convincing evidence that we can substantially increase our lifespan by the concept of calorie restriction described below revolves around how hard it is for people to religiously follow a diet when they are exposed daily to foods that have been highly processed to make them irresistible and that until now the maximum human lifespan has been between 110 and 120 years. Extending these numbers by 30% theoretically means we could live to around 150 which is a very long time for scientists to study specifically and with any confidence how this was achieved.
What can be said with a degree of reliability is that following an “appropriate” diet won’t ever prevent the onset onset of old age and eventual death. What it can do when combined with exercise and measures to combat stress is to buy us time and delay the onset of many diseases including diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and Parkinson’s. That in itself should be enough to persuade most people of the value of what can be described as “healthy and enjoyable living”.
However, the prospect of eternal, or at least an extended life well beyond what is considered to be normal in the developed world, has continued to be as elusive as an alchemist’s dream of turning base metal into gold.
Looking back at the more recent past, anti-aging began to attract more widespread attention in the scientific community in the 1930s and 1940s after researchers in the US published some extraordinary findings about how certain diets seemed to be able to reduce the aging process, at least in animals such as laboratory mice.
These novel revelations naturally heightened public interest in anti-aging. During the years that followed there spawned a litany of anti-aging diets, as well as numerous books, articles, and scientific studies, offering the irresistible prospect of helping people live longer as a consequence of healthier living.
An influential early publication was the “120 Year Diet” by the late Dr. Roy Walford, M.D., which drew on previous works by other authors and anti-aging research. The book was first published in 1986 and Dr. Walford subsequently developed the topic in several other works such as “Beyond the 120 Year Diet” in 2000 and as a co-author “The Anti-Aging Plan” in 1994. He, Lisa Walford, and Brian M. Delaney proposed the adoption of what they termed the CRON diet, which was an acronym for Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition. The hypothesis was that if a person followed this diet from an appropriately early age, such as in their mid-20s, and they reduced their calorific intake by up to 50%, they had the astonishing and hardly believable prospect of living a healthy life of up to 120 years and beyond.
While the diet was based on his own research and that of other scientists it also drew on his experience as chief physician of the Biosphere 2 project in the Sonora Desert at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona in the early 1990s. The project’s purpose was to illustrate how humans would be able to live in an artificial ecological system closed off from the outside world. He was one of eight who were sealed in Biosphere 2 from 1991 to 1993 but the project was not universally welcomed because of accusations over low oxygen levels causing the unnecessary death of plants and animals.
However, despite the criticisms valuable data was collected, including for future travel in Space, another subject that continues to fire the imagination of many people as our knowledge of the universe grows and distant planets that could potentially support life are discovered.
The Biosphere 2 project has changed hands several times over the years and is now part of the university of Arizona where it has evolved into the world’s largest controlled environment dedicated to understanding the impacts of climate change, a subject that draws wildly opposing views despite volumes of scientific evidence of the harm humans continue to cause.
Walford’s Anti-Aging Plan was predicated on a diet composed of a set of daily menus containing a maximum of 1,800 calories. These diets were generated by computer and were available from the Calorie Restriction Society, which he co-founded in 1994. The menus contained the full set of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Recommended Daily Allowances of vitamins and other essential nutrients at the time, but interestingly, and far from what we know today, exercise played no part in the diet. The guidelines have changed from time to time and you can download those recommended for 2020-2025.
In the mid-1980s the idea that someone could live for 120 years and longer was regarded in some quarters as preposterous and ridiculed. It was also suggested, wrongly it seems, that the title of the book must have been foisted upon Walford by his publishers. And some observers later pointed to Dr. Walford’s death in 2004 at the “early” age of 79 to further question the claim a calorie restricted diet could lead to such an extended lifespan.
Nevertheless, anti-aging also received the attention of twice Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. In his 1986 book “How to Live Longer and Feel Better” he wrote about how avoiding stress, not smoking, and taking a daily dose of 6 to 18 g Vitamin C, 400, 800 or 1600 IU of Vitamin E, one or two Vitamin B complex tablets, and 25,000 IU of Vitamin A can have a beneficial impact on overall health and the aging process.
It is hardly surprising that the topic of longevity remained more than just a passing interest to many people. As 1990s came round anti-aging diets evolved from calorie restriction to encompass other aspects beyond dietary changes and include additional lifestyle factors. For example, new books, such as “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind” by Deepak Chopra advanced the benefits of a balanced diet rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and healthy fats and included the importance of regular exercise and the avoidance of stressful situations.
As time has passed there has been no letup in the scientific focus on how diet and aging may be connected. Research has shown that links do appear to exist. For example, high fiber diets containing vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium when accompanied by fruits and vegetables and lean protein, seem to help slow the aging process and prevent the early onset of age-related ailments like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.
There will always be a degree of skepticism about the effectiveness of diet on the aging process. Some experts argue that there isn’t yet enough compelling scientific evidence about its effects. Others, however, assert that it raises awareness and in doing so encourages people to adopt a healthier lifestyle which can only be beneficial in relation to longevity.
But one event that continues to cast doubt on the issue is that humans have over the last 50 or more years tended to live longer through a combination of factors including lifestyle changes, advances in medicine, dentistry, and even the use of sun cream. A very few people have attained ages between 110 to 120. This has clearly made it harder to demonstrate solid evidence that humans can further increase their lifespans simply by, for example, restricting calories.
Despite the ongoing debate, the wide assortment of diets that claim to provide anti-aging benefits have continued to rise in popularity particularly as the availability of information has increased exponentially with the spread of the internet and social media. There are even computer programs and apps available today that will give you a pretty good and sometimes depressing simulation of how you will look at any given age.
Increasing numbers of publications continue appear as do multimedia productions such as videos on YouTube, where clickbait can unfortunately obscure really good content. In the case of publications aimed at the general public, one popular book that has gained in popularity is “The Official Anti-Aging Revolution” by Dr. Ronald Klatz. The book examines how a combination of Hormone Replacement Therapy, diet, vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, can be beneficial in raising hormone levels naturally. Why is it beneficial to raise hormone levels? The answer is that hormones play a vital role in regulating various bodily functions and maintaining overall health. As we grow older it is normal for the levels to reduce and lead to issues like decreased energy worsening muscle mass and increasing unhealthy body fat. Declining hormones can also cause a decrease in bone density and skin elasticity, as well as exposing the body to additional ailments as a result of a diminished immune system.
Like other authors, Dr. Klatz’s book also focuses on the benefits to be had of regular exercise and avoiding stress as a means to slow the impact of aging not only on the body but also the mind.
Dr Katz’s book is by no means the only popular work out there. Others which you might be interested in reading include:
Most of these works, and others, explore the existing science and research behind anti-aging diets, the sorts of foods and nutrients regarded as vital in promoting longevity, and offer practical advice on how to include anti-aging lifestyle changes. It is not unusual to also find advice that underlines how important it is to cut out the intake of processed and high-calorie foods, especially those that are high in sugar and unhealthy fats. Experts say there is ample evidence that highly processed foods and sugar in particular are the root cause of the huge increase in unhealthy weight gain, a condition which leads to a multitude of diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Instead, the authors often advise the adoption of a balanced diet containing soy, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, nuts, avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish. These provide healthy nutrients and fats, such as omega 3, and should be accompanied by water and green or black tea. Such a diet is said to reduce oxidative stress, improve cardiovascular health and cognitive function, help to prevent depression, and improve sleep, all of which lower the risk of death.
Restricting calories is a complicated business. For example, those who are in their formative years, many of whom may nowadays be overweight, may find that their normal physical and mental growth are negatively affected.
We all age in different ways and while the purpose of anti-aging diets is to slow the aging process and extend the human lifespan its sudden adoption can lead to the kind of uncontrolled weight loss that may even shorten the lifespan. Anyone thinking of an anti-aging diet would do well to allow for a prolonged period of adjustment. Furthermore, those with medical conditions are advised to exercise particular care and talk to their doctor before starting a diet that severely restricts calories as experts warn it could lead to a dangerous deficiency in essential nutrients.
There are many other factors that need to be considered before adopting an anti-aging diet. They include physical, mental, social aspects, all of which need to be explored beforehand. Just one example is the family meal which plays such an important social role in cementing family life, and individual changes in eating habits can have a serious impact on relationships.
If that were not enough, there are also the possible long-term psychological effects to consider. A diet that severely reduces calories involves a major change in how the body and mind function and could lead to issues such as an obsession about food and eating and even anorexia.
There has been an explosion in the range of beauty products for both women and men that can help reduce the signs of aging. Skincare treatments, creams and serums abound, and even injections such as Botox are in widespread use. They are all designed and marketed as an essential means to give the user a more youthful and attractive appearance. Many of the products contain a variety of chemicals and antioxidants which help to neutralize free radicals caused, for example, by the sun’s UV radiation and general contamination in the air, and protect the skin from the damage they do to cells which accelerate the skin’s aging process.
In addition to skincare products, there has also been a rise in popularity of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, such as micro needling using sterilized micro needles to generate collagen to tone skin, and chemical peels, which remove unsightly blackhead and dead skin leaving it smoother. Many users find these treatments more convenient because they don’t involve lengthy and more invasive procedures such as plastic surgery.
Unfortunately, at least for the foreseeable future, while these treatments can to varying degrees diminish the signs of aging, none of them can halt the effects of aging. While that is true, we should keep in mind that a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise to keep weight within normal limits, will do a lot to help keep you looking younger than your years.
We should perhaps also look at the fashion industry and how clothes can affect to some extent how we look to others. For example, it is possible to look older than you are by wearing clothes older people wear. The converse is also true.
Though the annual value of the anti-aging industry is difficult to calculate, estimates suggest that it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars on a global scale. And this value is set to continue to rise each year as humans demand more effective products and treatments that make them look younger.
In response to a growing demand, industries are rapidly evolving with new technologies and products and we are bound to see more advanced and effective treatments such as the use of stem cells and gene therapy in the future.
Some may see it as paradoxical that when we were young we often found ourselves longing to look older. And although research has identified 21 as the age at which most are happy, the tendency thereafter to want to look younger than our years increases exponentially for many of us as we grow older. Interestingly, our later years is a time when we may have more disposable income particularly in western society. That is an extremely powerful incentive for industries to continue to invest heavily in anti-aging products, including products such as clothing, to match and fulfil the demand.
One person who is often in the news is Bryan Johnson, a wealthy tech entrepreneur who according to reports spends $2 million each year in an effort to reverse the effects of aging. The protocols he has adopted appear to be extreme and are well beyond the means of the vast majority of people. And only time will tell how effective they have been and whether it was worth making the required sacrifices.
But, at least for now, we are still a long way from achieving the dream of eternal youth.