Could you live to be 120?
A leading biochemist believes it is possible. The key, he says, is a
naturaly occuring hormone called DHEA. By restoring levels of this hormone
to those found in a normal thirty year old, Stephen Cherniske (pictured) claims we can
increase our current life-expectancy of 77 years by a factor of over 50 per
cent.
He explains that the human prime of life is between 20 and 30. Thereafter
it is a steady decline into old age as we move into the downward curve of
"catabolic metabolism". The secret, he says, is to reverse the metabolism
of old age. Our bodies replace an incredible 300 billion cells every day,
but the ageing process means that replacement cells get progressively
weaker.
Cherniske¹s Metabolic Anti-Ageing Plan focuses on using DHEA to restore the
anabolic "rebuild, repair and restore" metabolism which boosts muscle mass,
reaction time, hormone levels and immune strength, while reducing body fat.
Then age, allegedly, becomes not a matter of chronology but biology.
Cherniske, though, is keen to point out that hormones alone will not
produce the desired result. To enjoy such longevity peace and happiness are
required. Vital to his anti-ageing plan, along with strictly controlled
doses of the hormone, are yoga and meditation plus a strict diet, free of
junk food.
Cherniske maintains "that the mind, more than anything else, desires peace."
Without the right state of mind and a carefully planned, radical lifestyle
change to go with it, living well past 100 will, he thinks, prove difficult.
Mark Winter
