9 steps towards eternal life

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber" published the book "Transcend. Nine Steps Towards Eternal Life. " It was translated into Russian by Anna Suslyakova. Especially for Lifehacker, Anna gave nine tips from the book that will help maintain health right now.

Long life is impossible without health, and health is impossible without our efforts. In what direction should we move towards eternal life, what new developments and methods proven over centuries will help us approach immortality?

1. Talk to your doctor

Remember to prevent disease and get regular checkups. Prepare information about your medical history in advance: this will help you more effectively use the time of your doctor's visit. A thorough physical examination by a doctor can provide a lot of valuable information.

The complex examination involves measuring not only height and weight, but also the volume of muscles and body fat. Analyze hair minerals, vitamin levels, free radicals, extensive cardiovascular examinations, and genetic testing.

If it is possible to detect atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries at an early stage and then active measures are taken to treat it, then in most cases, a heart attack can be avoided. Treatment (and often a complete cure) of cancer is easier if it is detected early - before it has a chance to spread throughout the body.

2. Look at life positively, remember to balance and do not give in to stress

The evolution of physiological systems helped to effectively solve the issues of life and death in two ways: by fight or flight.

Although life-threatening situations are relatively rare in today's world, the fight-or-flight mechanism is still ready for action, and if not used to escape a real threat, it is activated in response to everyday stressful situations.

From traffic jams and adolescent disobedience to an upcoming interview with an employer and a drop in the Moscow stock exchange index, the constant stimulation of the "fight or flight" mechanism without natural physical release can lead to a number of serious diseases. The key to successfully managing stress is finding a technique (meditation, exercise) that you will definitely use. Learn, explore, experiment.

3. Do self-examinations regularly

Take care of your health yourself: conduct self-examinations in order not to miss the primary manifestations of diseases. Disease prevention is primarily based on your lifestyle choices: diet, exercise, sleep, brain health, and stress management. Early diagnosis is mostly done by a physician.

However, there are many procedures that you can do at home on your own and preferably regularly. There are several components of a medical examination performed at home: self-examination of the genitourinary system, measurement of blood pressure and pulse, calculation of body fat, the ratio of waist to hip circumference, check of physical development. Doing these studies regularly should become a habitual part of your life.

4. Nutrition is one of the main factors in maintaining health and youth

An unhealthy diet harms your body and impairs your ability to respond to stress. Poor nutrition is associated with 13% of deaths worldwide. Eating a healthy diet lowers the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other serious illnesses, and therefore helps to avoid the extreme stress associated with these conditions.

Obviously, most people get too many calories from carbohydrates (foods high in sugar) and refined and "white" carbohydrates with a high glycemic index: white bread, polished rice, high-quality pasta and especially potatoes … All sources of calories are valuable, and it makes sense to eat a variety of foods of every type.

Drinking healthy water is important. It is imperative to filter tap water for drinking. Both polyethylene and chlorine are needed to preserve your food or water, but not your body.

5. With proper nutrition and intake of various dietary supplements, aging can be reversed

For a long time, it was believed that a balanced diet is all that is needed to obtain essential nutrients for health. But our food is not as rich in nutrients as it used to be. It has been found that taking certain dietary supplements along with a balanced diet improves memory, lowers cholesterol, prevents prostate problems, eases menopausal symptoms, reduces inflammation and reduces the risk of cataracts.

For example, calcium and vitamin D supplementation may help prevent bone loss in osteoporosis. And - by average estimates - more than 130,000 hip fractures could be avoided each year if everyone over 50 took a minimum of 1,200 mg of calcium per day.

What to take and in what dosages? It depends on who you are, what genes you have, and what environment you live in. However, it is clear that often a person needs much more than the recommended daily intake.

6. Obesity is not good: it is not only a source of stress, but also a threat to your health

Weight gain by 20% over optimal weight tripled the risk of high blood pressure and type II diabetes and increased the risk of heart disease by 60%, according to a 2002 report published by the New England Journal of Medicine. …

To extend life, cut back on portions and calories in your food.

People who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of stroke, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and several types of cancer. Perhaps the main difficulty with weight loss is that most people perceive the diet as a temporary change in dietary habits, a period of deprivation, followed by a return to a normal lifestyle when the extra pounds are gone. Such diets are practically useless. You can fix the problem by changing your diet for the rest of your life.

Sugar kills us - "white death". You need to eat it less, it is better to completely refuse and give preference to a balanced combination of low-starchy vegetables, lean protein foods and healthy fats.

7. Exercise is essential to stay healthy

We are talking about both strength and cardio exercises.

A 7.5-year study of 16,000 male veterans found that exercise reduced the risk of death by 50–70% (depending on the amount of exercise performed).

Even though almost everyone recognizes the universally recognized importance of regular physical activity for health, only a few remain true to them consistently. And the reason for this is one of the obvious and completely ignored facts: most people simply do not like sports.

But there is no doubt that the human body is designed for intense and regular physical activity. Already today, a few simple changes can transform your workout from hard work into a long-awaited event. Exercise to boost your levels of endorphins, chemicals that cause intense feelings of pleasure.

8. The future promises us extraordinary breakthroughs in medicine

And it's worth not only looking at them, it's worth using them to live another life.

Numerous genes provoke disease, aging, weight gain and other undesirable effects that we would like to get rid of, and today more than 1,000 drugs are being developed and tested, the action of which is based on RNA interference.

We also have effective methods of gene introduction using new forms of gene therapy.

For example, you can take a cell from the body and insert a new gene into it, then multiply to make millions of the same cells, and introduce these genetically improved variants back into the body.

So, in the future, not only "designer children" await us, but also the descendants of genetically "improved" people, because we will be able to significantly change the genes of adults in order to improve health and slow down aging.

9. Stay away from toxins and limit their effects on the body

Every year, billions of kilograms of toxic waste are released into the environment, seeping into the water we drink, accumulating in the food we eat, and being carried through the air we breathe.

We cannot avoid the effects of toxins, but we are able to limit their effects by strengthening the body's defense mechanisms and freeing ourselves from their accumulation.

Use air purifiers, purify drinking water, eat organic foods whenever possible, and stay away from electromagnetic radiation.