READ THIS BOOK IF…
- Interesado kang pahabain ang buhay mo
- Ang concepts na “aging is a disease” at “we have the right to choose how we die” ay controversial sayo at gusto mong malaman bakit nasabi yun nung author
- You don’t mind learning a few scientific terms (like methionine and epigenome) and some scientific explanations (the longer your telomeres are, the better)
May shinare yung author about sa lola nya:
She told me to enjoy my youth, to savor the feeling of being young. Adults, she said, always ruined things. Don’t grow up, she said. Never grow up.
Lola nung author
Wala naman ako masyadong realization about dun sa sinabi ng lola nya. Shinare ko lang kasi interesting and I kind of agree. Wag maging laging seryoso sa buhay. Minsan kelangan natin maging playful at mag-try ng mga bagay bagay. Kasi ang mga bata diba laging curious.
Gusto ko yung concept dito sa book na ang goal daw is hindi lang pahabain ang buhay, kundi pahabain yung mga taon sa buhay mo na masigla at malusog ka. Kasi ang pangit nga naman kung mahaba nga ang buhay mo, umabot ka nga ng 70 or 80, pero para ka namang weakling. Ang dami mong hindi magawa. Ang dami mong karamdaman.
Naalala ko yung sinabi ko kay Kenneth na kung magkasakit ako at para lang akong lantang gulay na nakahiga sa ospital at respirator machine na lang ang bumubuhay sakin, please, pull the plug. Nagiging perwisyo lang ako at kung naaawa sila sakin at hindi pa nila ako kayang i-let go, mas nakakaawa naman yung gising yung diwa ko pero hindi naman ako makakilos at makapagsalita. Ang sama. Para kang tinotorture.
Ang sagot ni Kenneth madali lang daw sabihin yun ngayon pero pag nasa sitwasyon na daw, parang ang hirap daw gawin. Sabi ko, “Isipin mo na lang mas nahihirapan ako pag ganun ang lagay ko.” Tapos nagalit na sya. Haha. Ayaw na daw nyang pagusapan.
Pero seryoso ako dun. Please take note Kenneth and family.
There’s a difference between extending life and prolonging vitality.
So back sa libro, imbis daw na pahabain ang lifespan, dapat daw ang papahabain ay yung healthspan. Yung definition nya ng healthspan is:
healthspan ▪︎ the portion of our lives spent without disease or disability
So pano na nga pahahabain ang healthspan? Kung tamad ka nang basahin yung buong book report, eto raw:
- Exercise
- Intermittent fasting
- Low-protein diet
- Exposure to hot and cold temperatures
Dinescribe nya ‘tong mga to as stressors. So kung gusto mo palang humaba ang buhay mo, kelangan mong ma-stress. Pero etong mga naka-enumerate na ‘to, eto yung mga good types of stress. Hindi sya nakaka-cause ng cell damage. At kung gusto nating maging technical, ang tawag daw dito ay hormesis.
…the little bit of stress that occurs when the genes are activated prompts the rest of the system to conserve, to survive a little longer. That’s the start of longevity.
Merong very scientific akong natutunan. I understood what epigenome is. Eto daw yung mga chemical compounds that can attach to our DNA at nagdidicate which genes to turn on or off. Nakakafascinate na each and every cell in our body has the same DNA pero dahil sa epigenome, nagkakaron sila ng iba-ibang structures and functions.
Every one of our cells has the same DNA, of course, so what differentiates a nerve cell from a skin cell is the epigenome, the collective term for the control systems and cellular structures that tell the cell which genes should be turned on and which should remain off. And this, far more than our genes, is what actually controls much of our lives.
So I guess, yung bulleted list kanina, sila yung nakakaapekto sa epigenome natin in a good way. And kung merong good stress, syempre meron ding bad stress na kabaliktaran yung effect. So yun naman yung mga nagpapatanda satin.
There will always be good and bad choices. And that starts with what we put into our bodies. And what we don’t.
Yung concept na sinasabi nya rin dito sa book, aging daw is a disease. And, the author believes that it is treatable. Hmm 🤔 So yung masasabi ko dito, for the longest time kasi, people see aging as normal and natural. Pero dito sinasabi nya na it’s a disease. Hmm 🤔
Well, open-minded naman ako. And hindi ko naman kelangan magkaron ng conclusion kung ano bang mas pinapaniwalaan ko. Ita-try ko na lang gawin yung mga advice nya kasi wala namang mawawala.
Commercial muna pero medyo (?) related pa rin. Hinighlight ko kasi ‘to. Skl. Another fun fact:
…the ancient bristlecone pine trees of California’s White Mountains strike haunting silhouettes against the dewy morning sun. The oldest of these trees have been here since before the pyramids of Egypt were built, before the construction of Stonehenge, and before the last of the woolly mammoths left our world.
So back to the epigenome. Ang good news daw ay it’s something that we can control. Meron tayong say kung anong gusto nating mangyari sa cells natin by how we live our lives.
I think etong libro na ‘to ay isang reminder lang na kelangan nating mag-exercise, kumain ng masustansya, umiwas sa mga bagay na hindi nakakadulot ng maganda sa buhay natin, etc. Parang yun lang naman yung message talaga. Nag-deep dive lang yung author since tinackle nya yung basic unit of life which is the cell. Tanda nyo pa ba yun. Parang Grade 4 ata tayo nung pina-drawing ng Science teacher natin satin to:
Medyo madami na kong nabasa na books about health. Halos yun lang talaga lagi yung bottomline: Mag-exercise at kumain ng healthy. Bale yung nadagdag lang dito na medyo kakaiba ay yung fasting at exposure to hot and cold temperatures. Sa ibang book ang dinadagdag naman nila ay yoga at meditation. Pero basta laging andun yung exercise at healthy eating.
Eating healthy
As always, eto yung mga hindi magagandang kainin:
Processed red meats are especially bad. Hot dogs, sausage, ham, and bacon might be gloriously delicious, but they’re ingloriously carcinogenic, according to hundreds of studies that have demonstrated a link between these foods and colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancer.
I would say, nag-improve na talaga ako when it comes to healthy eating. At good reminder ‘tong paggawa ko ng book report kasi bumibili nanaman ako ng tocino at corned beef. Parang may moment kasi na ilang months talaga na hindi ako bumibili ng processed meats. Kahit hotdog or bacon. Sobrang hilig ko pa naman sa bacon. Kaso medyo bumalik lang ngayon kasi nagtitipid kami at ang hirap magisip ng kakainin araw-araw. Pero thank you sa reminder.
inhibiting this particular longevity gene is really as simple as limiting your intake of meat and dairy.
Okay. So may bago nanaman tayong matutunan na term. At eto ang methionine. Bakit ito importante? Kasi marami daw methionine content ang beef, poultry, pork at eggs. Meron daw nasstimulate na chemical ang methionine (called homocysteine) na pag tumaas yung level ng chemical na ‘to sa blood natin, it may cause heart disease and can also promote the growth of some tumors. Hala baka kaya ako nagka endometriosis?
We can’t live without methionine. But we can do a better job of restricting the amount of it we put into our bodies.
Ano ba yan ang hirap naman. Kain na lang tayo ng damo. O sige ita-try ko na lang na mas i-limit pa. Ang hirap na ngang magplano ng kakainin araw-araw mas humirap pa. Lalo na at kino-consider ko rin si Kenneth. Ang hilig pa naman nun sa beef.
All of these findings may explain why vegetarians suffer significantly lower rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer than meat eaters. The lower calorie content, increased polyphenols, and feeling of superiority over your fellow human beings are also helpful. All of these, except the last, are valid explanations for why vegetarians live longer and stay healthier.
Nakapag-joke pa nga sya dun. Ganun ba talaga ang nafi-feel ng mga vegetarians? Feeling ba talaga nila mas superior sila? Pero parang I kind of agree 😂 Nakakabilib naman talaga.
Exercise
If you have a sedentary lifestyle, read this:
He was a computer guy at a pathology company. That meant he spent a lot of his time sitting in front of a screen and on his behind—another thing experts say is devastatingly bad for our health. Some researchers have even suggested it could be as bad for us as smoking.
Eto pa ang isang interesting thing na natutunan ko. I learned about telomeres. Telowhatt? So eto ang telomeres:
Ngayong alam na natin ang connection ng telomeres sa aging, ang sabi daw sa studies, the older a person is, the shorter his/her telomeres are. So ang gusto natin, ma-maintain na mahaba ang telomeres natin para ma-retain ang youthfulness ng mga cells natin. At eto ang isa pang reason kung bakit kailangan natin mag-exercise. Kasi raw yung mga tao daw na may active lifestyle, mas mahahaba yung mga telomeres nila.
…individuals who exercise more—the equivalent of at least a half hour of jogging five days a week—have telomeres that appear to be nearly a decade younger than those who live a more sedentary life
At yung pinaka magandang type of exercise daw for this ay yung HIIT.
Mayo Clinic researchers studying the effects of different types of exercise on different age groups found that although many forms of exercise have positive health effects, it’s high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—the sort that significantly raises your heart and respiration rates—that engages the greatest number of health-promoting genes, and more of them in older exercisers.
Tapos samahan mo pa daw ng intermittent fasting, ayun. Congratulations sayo.
Exposure to hot and cold temperatures
May napanood ako na post ng BuzzFeed. Parang may challenge dun sa mga Buzzfeed employees na gawin yung ‘The Billionaire Morning Routine’. Tapos isa dun yung taking a cold shower in the morning. That time di ko magets. Naisip ko baka lang para magising ka at maging active agad yung utak mo sa umaga. Tas nung nabasa ko ‘to, baka eto talaga yung main reason?
Di ko na maalala kung pano nya napapahaba ang buhay kasi kulang yung highlights ko para maintindihan ko yung explanation; pero it has something to do with the mitochondria and brown fat. So eto daw yung mga pwede mong gawin:
- taking a cold shower
- a brisk walk in a t-shirt during winter days
- going to the sauna
Others
- Take Metformin – can prevent cancer, dementia, heart disease, frailty, and depression
- Governments should put more funding into health care – aside from obvious reasons, it’s more economical
A few years back, however, Goldman began to realize that there was a difference between extending lives and extending healthy lives. As it stands, aging presents a double economic whammy, because adults who get sick stop making money and contributing to society at the same time they start costing a whole lot to keep alive.
- We should have the right to choose how we die – I agree
…the way most of us die is barbaric. We go through a long period of decline, and we’ve come up with ways to extend that period of pain, grief, confusion, and fear so that we must experience even more pain, even more grief, even more confusion, and even more fear. The sorrow, sacrifice, and turmoil this creates for our families and friends are protracted and traumatic, so that when we finally pass on, it often comes as a relief to those who love us.
So how should we die?
The answer we should strive for—just as much as we strive for prolonged vitality—is “when we are ready, then quickly and painlessly.”
- Cultivate relationships – it makes no senses kung mahaba nga ang buhay mo at healthy ka, pero di ka naman masaya
Gusto ko yung sagot nung author dun sa mga natatanggap nyang criticisms about why extending human lives yung focus ng study nya and how it sounds “unnatural”.
On a plane from Boston to Tokyo recently, I introduced myself to a man sitting next to me and we chatted about our work. When I told him that I was endeavoring to extend human lives, he curled his upper lip. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “It sounds unnatural.” I gestured for him to look around. “We are in reclinable chairs, flying at six hundred miles an hour seven miles above the North Pole, at night, breathing pressurized air, drinking gin and tonics, texting our partners, and watching on-demand movies,” I said. “What about any of this is natural?” You don’t have to be in an airplane to be removed from the natural world. Look around. What about your current situation is “natural”?
RATING [3.5 🌟]
Gusto ko na yung book na ‘to made me more aware and naging open ako sa new ideas about prolonging life and ending it. Medyo mahilig din ako sa Science kaya na-appreciate ko yung medical tidbits. Kaso may times na too overwhelming na.
Click to view my digital bookshelf.
OTHER QUOTES
Girl power
If females and males are in the same environment, in general, females will live longer. It’s a common theme throughout the animal kingdom.
Those with a double dose of the X lived longer, even if they had testes and especially if they didn’t, thus proving once and for all that female is the stronger sex.
Rich people live longer (thus become richer)
Riches are not just invested into companies; they provide rich people with access to the world’s leading doctors (there are about five in the United States that they all seem to use), nutritionists, personal trainers, yoga instructors, and the latest medical therapies—stem cell injections, hormones, longevity drugs—which mean they stay healthier and live longer, which allows them to accumulate even more wealth during their lifetimes.
On death
Like most people, I don’t want unlimited years, just ones filled with less sickness and more love.
the fight against aging isn’t about ending death; it’s about prolonging healthy life and giving more people the chance to meet death on far better terms—indeed, on their own terms. Quickly and painlessly. When they are ready.
Love this quote that the author shared. Kaka-good vibes.
“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day,” said Pooh.
Gleniz Da Menace 