Will We Live To Over 100 In The Future?

The first recorded epic myth was the story of Gilgamesh’s quest to find eternal life. Mankind has been searching for this mysterious substance ever since. UK researchers estimate that about 450,000 people worldwide reach 100 or more. Scientists hope to increase that number by finding the elixir of youth and putting it in pill form.

There are three chemicals currently in the race for such a pill. These are resveratrol, spermidine and rapamycin. Perhaps in the near future, a fountain of youth pill may contain a combination of all three.

Resveratrol (sometimes known as SRT1720) is derived from Japanese seaweed, peanuts, some fruits and red wine. Initial reports that mega-doses in mice and rats proved promising, but many follow-up studies suggest that the first reports were wrong. Resveratrol is available as a nutritional supplement. The liver metabolizes resveratrol so quickly that it may be removed from the body before it can deliver any positive effects.

The second chemical is spermidine, which is found in semen. It helps hold cells together and is thought to help slow down the natural aging process. Spermidine is thought to be one of the reasons that sperm cells can live so long outside of their original body. A study in 2009 by the University of Washington reports that it extended the life of yeast, tiny worms called nematodes and fruit flies. Anecdotal reports are that semen can be directly applied to the skin to reduce wrinkles, but the effectiveness has yet to be proven. Suddenly, everybody wants to be a scientist.

So far, the best studied chemical for longer life is rapamycin. This drug was originally developed in 1965 to help reduce rejection rates for patients receiving transplanted organs. It is still used to help kidney transplant patients. Another 2009 study done on mice and rats increased the rodents’ life spans by 9 – 14%. This is good news for rodents, if not people. But rodents only live about two to three years. If extrapolated to a person’s life span, an increase of 9 -14% would add an extra decade or two.

But doctors and scientists still caution that anyone wanting to live to be 100 or more needs to quit smoking, exercise regularly and eat a varied, low-fat diet – with or without a fountain of youth pill. Scientists also urge people to conserve and recycle as much as possible in order not to exhaust the Earth’s natural resources.

Bild:  © Gabriel Moisa – iStockphoto.com

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