Looking for Magic

The article titled “No Magic Pill Will Get You to 100” published in the March 11, 2018 edition of The New York Times was thought-provoking. In this article, the writer provided interesting examples of a number of scholarly educated individuals pursuing a long or extended life. For example, geologist Anatoli Brouchkov ingested bacteria that he harvested from the Arctic. This bacteria was injected into female mice that seemed to extend their youth. The geologist said. “If you found some prehistoric microbes, how could you not put them in your mouth?” Then there was Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California Longevity Institute. Dr. Longo [per findings of Satchidananda Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies] undertakes long intermittent fasting. On the other hand, Dr. Charles Brenner, a biochemist, adds high doses of nicotinamide riboside to his milk regime in the hopes that it slows down his aging process. Turning to the research lab, Clive McKay, nutritionist, fed his rats a low-calorie diet while at Cornell. Today, from that study, there exists two male white rats that are 130 years of age equivalent to man years. Despite that Dr. McKay Incorporated a low-calorie diet, this athletic individual had two strokes and died at age 69. Another prominent scientist Dr. Roy Walford published “The 120 Year Diet “and “Beyond the 120 Year Diet” but unfortunately died of ALS at the age of 79. Then we find out that wild foods enthusiast Euell Gibbons died at age 64 of an aortic aneurysm. Unfortunately, he was born with a genetic disorder that predisposed him to heart problems. Another nutritionist, Adele Davis studied the dangers of refined foods like white bread. Unfortunately, she contracted cancer and passed away at the youthful age of 70. Physicians, familiar names and best-selling diet authors Nathan Pritikin [low-fat] and Robert Atkins [low carb] passed at age 69. To Be Continued