Tag: longevity

Is Olive Oil Good Medicine?

A study found that olive oil increased longevity and reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases, but it only showed correlation, not causation.

/ August 23, 2022

Eat for Life: Joel Fuhrman’s Nutritarian Diet

Joel Fuhrman thinks his Nutritarian diet will increase longevity and prevent or treat most chronic diseases. He claims it is based on science, but his evidence is far from convincing.

/ January 4, 2022

Blue Zones Diet: Speculation Based on Misinformation

The Blue Zones where people live longer may be a myth. The Blue Zone Diet is based on speculation, not solid science.

/ October 12, 2021

Aging: Is It a Preventable Disease?

David Sinclair says aging is a disease that can be prevented and treated, and there is no reason life must end. The evidence he presents from scientific studies is intriguing, but far from definitive.

/ November 12, 2019

Is Ageing a Disease That Can Be Cured?

There is an ongoing debate that has come to the fore recently about the ultimate limits of human longevity. The ultimate goal of medicine is to optimize health, with the result of maximizing the duration and quality of life. This is accomplished through health promotion, disease prevention, and disease treatment. There is no question that this approach has increased life expectancy, which...

/ October 19, 2016

Intermittent Fasting

Fasting can mean anything from total abstinence from food and beverages to restricting specific foods or the hours of food intake. Many religions have traditions of fasting, with various restrictions. There is a good summary of those traditions on Wikipedia. The reason for religious fasting is not to improve health, but for other reasons like improving discipline and demonstrating devotion. There are...

/ December 15, 2015

Aging and Longevity: Science for Spring Chickens

We’re all going to die, but we don’t like to think about it. I’ll reach the proverbial threescore years and ten next month, so I’ve been thinking more about it, wishing I knew some reliable way to ensure that I would live many more years and remain fully functional until I suddenly collapsed like the Deacon’s wonderful one-hoss shay. There are myriad...

/ June 16, 2015

The Health Benefits of Moderate Drinking

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread–and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness– Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!” – The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam   Alcoholic beverages have always inspired strong opinions pro and con. Omar Khayyam included wine in his vision of Paradise; Carrie Nation took a hatchet to saloons. Humans have...

/ December 30, 2014

Product B: Here We Go Again

New health products are constantly appearing on the market in such numbers that I can’t hope to keep up. Product B was new to me. I was introduced to it by a doctor who said a family member was “quite enthusiastic” about its potential to “lengthen telomeres and thereby address a myriad of health issues.” Of course, I immediately asked “What exactly...

/ November 25, 2014

“Alternative” cancer cures in 1979: How little things have changed

When it comes to quackery, the decades and names change, but the song remains the same, as it has since the era of disco and earlier.

/ April 29, 2013