…These are only two examples. But most of us have friends or relatives who are octogenarians, who are active, energetic and not incapacitated. Some are highly gifted with remarkably positive outlooks. But in my experience, the majority have lived active lives and consumed a moderate, balanced diet. Here again are the same conditions that help prevent not only heart disease and cancer, but also the changes typically associated with aging.
How long could a person live if there was no death gene?
The answer is tied to the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Everything in the universe eventually winds down. No material thing can last forever, since it requires energy to keep it intact. Why, even the sun is fizzling out, albeit very, very slowly. (Scientists calculate this may take another billion years or so to happen, though, so don’t lose any sleep over it.)
What is the upper limit of the human life span? The growth rate of various organs over the first 20 years varies tremendously. The brain is almost at its full size at five years of age, but the reproductive organs are not fully mature until about age 20. Most mammals living in the wild live about eight times longer than their sexually mature age. So if a horse matures at two to three years, it is likely to live 16 to 24 years. Some horses actually live longer, if under human care.
Since humans mature sexually at about 20 years of age, we could potentially have a life span of 8 x 20 = 160 years. However, I would not place this as the upper limit since, as we learn more, we could side-step many other diseases. Once we have learned how to protect our cellular mitochondria from oxygen damage, we could theoretically live well over 200 years!
Consider this: If we were able to conquer all the known diseases on earth that currently kill us, we would only add about 19 years to our present life expectancy. So it is not the diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, that we should be looking at for research funding. We may find cures for them, even in our present lifetime. Rather, we should invest in research on the chronic oxidative changes that impair the quality of life and cut it tragically short.
For anyone who wants to ward off the effects of aging, I recommend at least one 250-mg capsule of shark liver oil, three times a day. During times of emotional or physical stress, I would double that to 500 mg, three times daily. Continue this supplementation for a month, and then discontinue for a couple of weeks before starting again. This is a wise course to follow, since the liver tends to store fish oil-derived vitamin A for long periods of time. By doing this, you are reducing your risk of vitamin A overload.