Expert on Aging Sees Average Life Span of 120 Years as Reasonable Goal
A reasonable goal for the average person’s life span in the near future is 120 years, according to a 73-year-old expert on aging.
In a talk to a convention of surgeons, endocrinologist Estelle Ramey said the human heart, if receiving a normal supply of blood and nutrition, has a life expectancy of 150 years and the brain 200 years.
“We age because we have to eat, oxidize food and we need sunlight, three things that ultimately kill us,” Ramey said in a symposium at the 74th annual gathering of the American Assn. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
However, she said researchers have found ways to slow down the aging process and revitalize the body, thus increasing longevity. Essential to the scenario, she said, is getting the right chemical balance with nutrition, vitamins and drugs.
“There is hope on the horizon,” said the Bethesda, Md., expert on metabolism, enzymes and hormones. “The goal is to die young at a late age. I’d say 120 years looks like a good goal.”
To help rid the body of “oxidizing radicals” or molecules released in the eating process that cause fat buildup and other problems, Ramey said the vitamins A (specifically beta-carotene, since vitamin A pills can be toxic), C and E are essential, especially for men. Women, she said, naturally get rid of oxidizing agents faster, and thus live longer, than males.
Natural Vitamin C
In studies of older men in Japan, she said, increased vitamin C, found naturally in fruits, reduced cataract problems and increased the effectiveness of the body’s immune system. Vitamin E, she said, has shown the ability to slow the rate at which cells age.
She said four other substances are needed to slow aging, but are deficient in the average American diet:
* Chromium--An ideal scavenger for the “oxidizing radicals” released by eating. Found in oysters and beer.
* Magnesium--A compound lost in the processing of food. Supplements of 200 to 400 milligrams a day suggested.
* Boron--Needed particularly by women for strong bones. Found in apples, pears and grapes.
* Potassium--Reduces the chance of stroke. Found naturally in salt, which many people have eliminated from their diets.
In her talk, “Sex Hormones and Longevity,” Ramey noted that women outlive men by an average of seven or eight years, and she blamed the earlier mortality rate on the male hormones.
Males, she said, show a more damaging vascular response to stress than do females, a fact reflected in the earlier onset of heart disease in men and a ratio of almost 3 to 1 in the death rate between the ages of 35 and 55.
Testosterone Role Cited
“Our work has shown that the male hormone testosterone plays a central role in intensifying the release of stress hormones with subsequent damage to the endothelium of the vessels,” she said.
In contrast, she said, estrogen released by women actually protects their blood vessels by increasing their elasticity.
“It’s an automatic fact. Women are engineered to make sure a baby (fetus) isn’t subject to high internal pressure.”
Men, she said, confronted by anger, fear or anxiety, respond biologically the same way they did in the days of cave men, by releasing stress hormones that prepare the body to react to the danger.
“This is great, except that in the 20th-Century world, men have to usually just sit and take it,” she said. “This results in damage to the lining of the blood vessels.”
Because males need physical release to balance the effects of these hormones, she said, exercise is “absolutely critical” for men, along with the lowering of body fat in order to lower the risk of heart disease.
“It appears the male was designed for a short, brutal life,” she said, adding, “and the female for a long, difficult one.”
She said more studies are needed on why females live longer, rather than focusing most of the research on why men die sooner. Pinpointing the biochemical differences, she said, could lead to a formula for increased longevity.
“What is clear is we can make a change in life expectancy by diet, particularly in men.”
