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Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?
Given the state of anti-aging research today, is it clear yet which technologies will be the first to have some success at prolonging life? If we have a general idea of what classes of technology will be available in 20-30 years, then we should be able to guess what it will not be able to do, or what constraints it might have that increase its effectiveness.
What anti-aging technologies will be available in 20-30 years, and what can I do today to prepare to derive maximum benefit from them when they arrive?
I’m looking for answers beyond the obvious exercise and be healthy, although I should probably start with that. :)
- nyhwtt 4y agoYou can sign up for cryogenic conservation of your body in case your near death so that you can be woken up when scientists find a way to revive you.
- tompark 4y agoSince life extending technologies may or may not yield ways to repair serious body damage, you should make sure to maintain parts that may not be fully repairable, like gums/teeth, knees/joints, neck/posture (vertebrae fusing), etc. Not sure what maintenance you can do about the eyes though (most people need reading glasses by mid/late-40's). Let's suppose that real results come out of current research into NAD-boosting and other methods for reducing defects when cells split and for reducing senescence of cells. That would extend your potential lifetime but you can still die from accidents/violence, cancer, and diseases incl heart disease, so you need to take preventative measures for those factors. David Sinclair suggests that you should cut sugar/desserts from your diet (because it encourages cell splitting), and reduce damage to your body, e.g. use sunscreen (because cell defects arise when repairing cell damage). If humans could grow biblically old, like 600-900 years, one thing to consider is it's possible they might start looking like Ferengi, since cartilage just keeps growing.
- nootropicat 4y agoI think hype is way ahead of reality. I'm not aware of any experiments that reliably extended the lifespan of healthy mice (ie. not one intentionally modified to have some specific illness). I will believe it's actually starting to happen when it becomes possible to pay money to get new hair (not hair transplants, or blocking DHT). Hair is infinitely simpler than repairing complex organs and we can't even do that. Artificial organs appear much more achievable - as in only requiring investments into engineering problems rather than completely new discoveries.
- robot 4y agoThe low hanging fruit is to eat less. It is a known fact that people with diabetes live longer due to the stringent diet they are on perpetually. Processing food and burning energy speeds up aging.
- acqbu 4y agoneat advice, thanks
- gingersnap 4y agoThe question is, do you actually live longer or does it only feel that way?
- gregjor 4y agoHave children. That’s the easy natural way to prolong the life of your genes, the unit evolution and natural selection works with. Kids and grandkids also keep you on your toes and help you feel younger. Technology to extend the life of an individual so far only extends the more grim elderly part, which unfairly imposes costs on the young with no offsetting benefit. Wanting to live forever or get revived somehow in the future seems deeply narcissistic and no different from believing in an afterlife. Better to make the most of every day you have than put your hopes into getting more days.
- qgin 4y agoHaving children or grandchildren is even more of a reason to be interested in research that prevents the diseases of aging (longevity). When you get the diseases of aging that precede death, like Alzheimer’s or cancer or heart disease or just simply becoming frail, your children and grandchildren suffer greatly. What is narcissistic about not wanting your children and grandchildren to watch you suffer one or more of the extremely predictable diseases of aging and perhaps need to stop their own lives to become your caretaker? Longevity research has never been about extending the sick part of life. It’s about avoiding the sick part of life for as long as possible.
- gregjor 4y agoThe history of extending human life through sanitation, disease prevention (vaccines and antibiotics), and treatment for chronic conditions has so far led to even worse conditions brought on by age. Centuries ago almost no one lived long enough to die from heart disease, cancer, or dementia. Now those are common, diseases of old age, imposing tremendous costs. I don’t propose going back to 35 year lifespans or some kind on Logan’s Run future, but we may have to acknowledge diminishing returns of extending lifespans through treatment of (not cures for) chronic conditions of aging. Nature seems to have imposed limits on lifespan, and viewing aging as a condition to cure seems both unnatural and narcissistic. It’s also a path that will be available mainly to the wealthy and powerful. As much as I’d like to live to 120 to see my own grandkids grow up, I’m not sure I want 100-year-old members of Congress, or Presidents, or business tycoons. We all need to make room for the next generation at some point. I’m 61 with grandkids. I don’t look forward to my body and mind falling apart, a process already well underway. I hope to die suddenly and unexpectedly (as Julius Caesar supposedly said) rather than lingering on for years in a bed fed through a tube while my family feels obligated to keep me alive as long as technologically possible.
- t-3 4y agoGet rich. The average or even moderately wealthy probably won't have any chance at access to these technologies if they come to fruition. You'll also need a lot of extra wealth to keep yourself from an extra-long dotage in poverty. For myself, I plan to die before I hit 60. I'm not going to spend decades in pain and misery for no reason, life already sucks without my body falling apart. Kevorkian diet all the way!
- altdataseller 4y agoWhat happens if you are still alive at the age of 60?
- t-3 4y agoIf I'm not in pain, I don't care. If I live in pain, I'll get myself some painkillers and take them all probably.
- qgin 4y agoNo other medical treatments work this way. Private insurance and socialized healthcare systems will jump at the chance to prevent their members from becoming afflicted with the extremely predictable and expensive diseases of aging (Alzheimers, cancer, heart disease…) People say “if it ever comes it will only be for the super rich” because they are afraid to let themselves experience the emotion of wanting something that might not be possible.
- hasbot 4y agoI've known several active people in their mid-70s. If you're generally healthy and active you should be okay until 70.
- otikik 4y agoYou will have stopped existing way before your body reaches 60. What I mean by this is that current-you and 60-year-old you will be so different from each other that they could be different individuals entirely. You will likely still share some atoms by mere chance, but most of your 60yo body will be made of different atoms. 60yo’s mind will have many memories and experiences in common with you, but also a bunch of different ones. And their circumstances will also be different. Think about 10-year-old you. Did they have plans for current-you? Have you fulfilled those plans?
- biguanide 4y agoAmong the most promising anti-aging drugs is metformin. Type 2 diabetics on metformin live 15% longer than non-diabetics. This is remarkable considering how big a health disadvantage diabetes itself is. Metformin seems to mimic fasting somehow, by interfering with mitochondrial function. For more information I refer you to David Sinclair's numerous discussions on this topic. He takes 1 gram of metformin per day with his evening meal. This is not medical advice.
- efkiel 4y agoIIRC metformin may also cause fertility problem in men, after prolonged use (which is required to get slow-aging effect).
- biguanide 4y agoThat is correct. Metformin has a number of downsides. You will lose your appetite and it will be hard to want to eat. You will tend to lose weight and eat just enough. It can make you nauseous and you will probably find the bitter taste and fishy (amine) smell of the pills to be repulsive. It is not an easy drug to take, and like you said, it may also affect male fertility. But it is well-studied and safe, and offers various benefits.
- JonChesterfield 4y agoLongevity with weight loss and reduced risk of kids should be saleable
- more_corn 4y agoInfertility is not necessarily a problem.
- 4g 4y agoSeems like simply fasting should yeild the same results without the side effects. Any reason not to recommend fasting then?
- qgin 4y agoThe NIH Interventions Testing Program has identified 6 compounds that significantly extend HEALTHY life (in model animals). Some of these compounds have been tested in multiple model animals and the effect is conserved across all of them. Human trials are expensive and obviously take multiple decades, so you’ll be dead before to see that data. The compounds so far are: rapamycin, acarbose, 17-alpha-estradiol, canagliflozin, asthaxanthin, meclizine
- nly 4y agoSo where does one ingest these?
- qgin 4y agoAstaxanthin is a relatively safe, readily available supplement. For the rest of those, you really would want to be under the supervision of a doctor. https://www.rapamycin.news/t/doctors-who-prescribe-rapamycin-part-2/69 https://www.rapamycin.news/t/doctors-who-prescribe-rapamycin...
- anamax 4y ago> meclizine The anti-nausea drug?
- qgin 4y agoThat’s the one. It apparently is also an inhibitor of mtorc1
- chmaynard 4y agoStay alive! Disclaimer: I'm 73 and I hope to be gone long before this brave new world emerges. The rest of you will be stuck with Larry Ellison ... forever.
- cyanydeez 4y agoBe rich.
- demygale 4y agoIf wealth disparity continues to increase these treatments will likely be unavailable to average people. Get rich or support economic policies that prevent oligarchs and billionaires.
- hrgiger 4y agoNope, I dont agree, if this kind of cancellation was a motive our progress in academic research should already slowed down.
- DantesKite 4y agoAvoid accidents that could trivially kill you. Cycling and motorcycles are ones people underestimate the danger of.
- t0suj4 4y agoIIRC the longest living people kept doing physical activity. So I second that. Also having good relations with people around you can take you miles.
- sn9 4y agoThe fountain of youth is regular strength training, cardio, quality sleep, good relationships, indulging your curiosity and learning new things, and a diet high in protein (for the exercise) and plenty of plant based whole foods like leafy green vegetables. You'll delay as many of the diseases of aging as much as you can by doing those things. Packaging their effects in a pill would make you the richest person in history.
- reducesuffering 4y agoWhile nutrition science is short on proofs, generally everything I've read on the latest science points to a correlation between high protein intake and reduced longevity.
- sn9 4y agoI suppose you'd have to ask yourself if you want longevity at any cost or a high quality of life for however many years you get. Every study looking at strength training has shown it has huge effects for quality of life and health and strength training requires high protein intake. That doesn't mean you can't still get the majority of your calories from whole food plant sources.
- meristohm 4y agoWhat do you think about adding "acceptance of death" to that list?
- sn9 4y agoProbably great for your day-to-day mood, but I don't think it's in the same category of the things I listed in terms of your long-term health.
- meristohm 4y agoAs a teacher and a parent (and friend, neighbor, acquaintance, etc--person who interacts with other people), one of the ways I can live on is to help others learn and grow. I've mostly accepted that I will die, and that gets easier as I observe all the living and dying of plants, fungi, and animals every day. I am not so important as the stories I value, and those can live on for thousands of years.