Sunday my last day of no world affairs that can really make me cranky…..
For centuries man has searched high and low for a way to extend his/her life span……I even heard of one Chinese dude who drank pure mercury because it was thought it would make him immortal….I would put that one in the category as a bit extreme……
There is a new study (there is always a study) about a possible link to long life and a habit that some of us cannot seem to break…..
If you smoke for most of your life and still live to a ripe, old age, you might have more than luck on your side. Though smokers can generally expect to live 10 years less than non-smokers, this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Jeanne Calment, for example, smoked every day from the age of 21, yet was the oldest person in the world when she died at age 122 in 1997, reports the Washington Post. To understand such cases, scientists at UCLA carried out a study on long-lived smokers, comparing 90 smokers who lived past 80 with 730 who died before 70. They identified genetic markers that allows some to endure damage from stressors such as cigarette smoke better than the rest of us. In fact, the markers “seem to promote longevity,” study author Morgan Levine says in a release.
“Many of these markers are in pathways that were discovered to be important for aging and lifespan in animal models,” says Levine, noting the genes “may facilitate lifespan extension by increasing cellular maintenance and repair.” When researchers compared those with the gene variants to 6,447 non-smokers, they found the former group was 22% more likely to survive into their 90s, and three times more likely to reach 100, reports UPI. They also had a lesser risk of cancer. Genetic tests might someday allow people to easily learn whether they are among this “biologically distinct” group. Just don’t bet on good news: Levine notes it’s “extremely small,” and “even among those who are genetically predisposed to longevity, smoking cessation is likely still one of the best things they can do for their health.” (Want to live longer? You might try chili peppers.)
I am almost 70 now…maybe there is hope for me yet…..LOL
Thoughts?
Laughing helps too!
I love chilli peppers!
I am going to live long enough to see this Tory government off!
And pelt them with rotten eggs!
Off with their privileged heads!
Eat harissa and live forever….LOL
Just wish I knew which category I’m in – before I hit 70 !!! 😉
Hmm. My dad died at the age of 67. His dad died at the age of 88. Both smoked multiple packs of cigs. Grandpa drank more. They may want to retweak the genetics theory.
my grandfather died at 98….smoked, drank and eat lots of fat….
I hope you follow suit. I just recently found you and gigiod and both of your pearls of wisdom and I want to read them for a very long time.
Great!
Gigoid…dang autocorrect.
My keyboard cannot spell either….LOL
Almost 70??? Shit, you & Woodgate should be in a museum! The display would be entitled:
“Fossils whose brains still function better than 99% of young people.”
Mind you, most of today’s youth would actually be better off with old rocks in their heads instead of what they got.
Yep….I should be displayed with a T. Rex with a saddle….LOL
I figure the urge toward living longer is merely another way to express our inner fear of dying; else, why would so many people, who live life in agony and pain, wish to extend it? Only because their fear of the unknown is greater than their fear of pain they already understand, if not enjoy.We humans have a VERY old saying; better the devil you know than the one you don’t…which never made much sense to me… Maybe the NEW devil is a nicer guy?…. Who knows; I don’t, but, I never worried overmuch about dying; Hell is a construct of human fear, not reality….
If people only understood Life, they would realize Death is nothing to fear; it is only a change of consciousness, from what we perceive now, to whatever our perceptive abilities will be after undergoing the process of dying. Change, not end…. Life/consciousness is a form of energy, which, in our Universe, is never destroyed; it only changes form. Why would our form of energy be any different?
People do like to blame their fear on something else, though; hence, the past 5000 years of delusional thinking, and a history based on a poor reaction to fear of the unknown…. to wit, meeting it with ignorance, denial, ;and, fear, rather than curiosity, courage, and joy….
gigoid, the dubious
Amen….just another adventure I look forward to traveling….chuq
I smoked filterless full-flavor cigarettes from the time I was 16 years old and I am now 77. My x-rays show clear lungs — I have no respiratory problems — no heart problems — can ride a bicycle hard for 12 miles a day — still lift weights at the gym — still walk, jog and do a little running for up to 5 or 6 miles at a time — It doesn’t seem to have bothered me all that much …. cross my fingers.
You are one of the lucky…..