Science hasn’t figured out a way to let humans live past 120, says Jacqueline Detwiler in Popular Mechanics. But many are trying to pause the ageing process long enough to reach “longevity escape velocity” – slowing it sufficiently to take advantage of each new medical advance. The stats are daunting: the Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality states that the risk of death after turning 30 doubles every eight years.
In the battle against death and “deathism”, David Sinclair is the leading boffin. The 52-year-old geneticist, who runs labs at Harvard and the University of South Wales, has developed a unified theory of ageing. “I think ageing stops cells from reading the right genes to remember how to be a brain cell or a liver cell,” he says. It’s like an old CD: the music might be fine, but there’s wear and tear on the surface.
Sinclair has successfully restored vision to ageing mice using gene therapy, but thinks no human will crack everlasting life in the next 500 years. A big problem is establishing our true biological – as opposed to chronological – age. Sinclair and others are developing convenient technology to do just that. He also follows an anti-ageing supplement regimen: vitamins D and K, aspirin, the diabetes drug metformin, the grape extract resveratrol and a booster for sirtuins, which repair damaged DNA.
Where to start for mere mortals? Try the 16:8 diet, which involves eating during an eight-hour window and fasting for the rest of the day. “If I could only give one recommendation,” says Sinclair, “it would be to eat less often.”
Variety is the spice of workout life
Doing a variety of workouts is the best way to keep fit, says Rachel Lapidos in Bustle. It stops you getting bored and disheartened, which means you’ll exercise more frequently. How can you dread the “several rounds of chaturanga” coming up if you haven’t done that yoga class before?
Variety also prevents “plateauing”. When you do the same exercise every day, “your muscles check out and you stop seeing progress”. But if you’re frequently trying something new, whether it be boxing, yoga or running, your body has to use different muscles. The result is “newfound strength” – and hopefully a fun hobby.
The bottom line for skincare
Skincare guru Eve Lom “scoffs at any mention of anti-wrinkle cream”, says The Oldie. She thinks they’re “a load of rubbish”, and all you can really do is clean, protect and moisturise the skin – and “hope for the best”. The only product she cares for is Imedeen, a Finnish pill that “smells like fish” and is made of marine plants, calcium, zinc, vitamin C and fish cartilage. At £25 for 60 tablets, “it is the only thing I have seen which is natural and has an effect”, she says. “After two months of taking it, my skin is like a baby’s bottom.”