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Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

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Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#21

Post by t-3 »

otikik wrote: post #19
t-3 wrote: post #10

Get rich. The average or even moderately wealthy probably won't have any chance at access to these technologies if they come to fruition. You'll also need a lot of extra wealth to keep yourself from an extra-long dotage in poverty. For myself, I plan to die before I hit 60. I'm not going to spend decades in pain and misery for no reason, life already sucks without my body falling apart. Kevorkian diet all the way!

You will have stopped existing way before your body reaches 60. What I mean by this is that current-you and 60-year-old you will be so different from each other that they could be different individuals entirely. You will likely still share some atoms by mere chance, but most of your 60yo body will be made of different atoms. 60yo’s mind will have many memories and experiences in common with you, but also a bunch of d…

> Think about 10-year-old you. Did they have plans for current-you?

No.

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#22

Post by more_corn »

efkiel wrote: post #18
biguanide wrote: post #11

Among the most promising anti-aging drugs is metformin. Type 2 diabetics on metformin live 15% longer than non-diabetics. This is remarkable considering how big a health disadvantage diabetes itself is. Metformin seems to mimic fasting somehow, by interfering with mitochondrial function. For more information I refer you to David Sinclair's numerous discussions on this topic. He takes 1 gram of metformin per day with…

IIRC metformin may also cause fertility problem in men, after prolonged use (which is required to get slow-aging effect).

Infertility is not necessarily a problem.

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#23

Post by JonChesterfield »

biguanide wrote: post #20
efkiel wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC metformin may also cause fertility problem in men, after prolonged use (which is required to get slow-aging effect).

That is correct. Metformin has a number of downsides. You will lose your appetite and it will be hard to want to eat. You will tend to lose weight and eat just enough. It can make you nauseous and you will probably find the bitter taste and fishy (amine) smell of the pills to be repulsive. It is not an easy drug to take, and like you said, it may also affect male fertility. But it is well-studied and safe, and offers…

Longevity with weight loss and reduced risk of kids should be saleable

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#24

Post by more_corn »

otikik wrote: post #19
t-3 wrote: post #10

Get rich. The average or even moderately wealthy probably won't have any chance at access to these technologies if they come to fruition. You'll also need a lot of extra wealth to keep yourself from an extra-long dotage in poverty. For myself, I plan to die before I hit 60. I'm not going to spend decades in pain and misery for no reason, life already sucks without my body falling apart. Kevorkian diet all the way!

You will have stopped existing way before your body reaches 60. What I mean by this is that current-you and 60-year-old you will be so different from each other that they could be different individuals entirely. You will likely still share some atoms by mere chance, but most of your 60yo body will be made of different atoms. 60yo’s mind will have many memories and experiences in common with you, but also a bunch of d…

I’ve had a surprisingly consistent sense of self. At least as far as I can remember. My personality, sense of fairness, hopes dreams, interests. All consistent. I’ll certainly be the same person at 60. Hopefully wiser and handsomer.

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#25

Post by gregjor »

qgin wrote: post #12
gregjor wrote: post #8

Have children. That’s the easy natural way to prolong the life of your genes, the unit evolution and natural selection works with. Kids and grandkids also keep you on your toes and help you feel younger. Technology to extend the life of an individual so far only extends the more grim elderly part, which unfairly imposes costs on the young with no offsetting benefit. Wanting to live forever or get revived somehow in t…

Having children or grandchildren is even more of a reason to be interested in research that prevents the diseases of aging (longevity). When you get the diseases of aging that precede death, like Alzheimer’s or cancer or heart disease or just simply becoming frail, your children and grandchildren suffer greatly. What is narcissistic about not wanting your children and grandchildren to watch you suffer one or more of…

The history of extending human life through sanitation, disease prevention (vaccines and antibiotics), and treatment for chronic conditions has so far led to even worse conditions brought on by age. Centuries ago almost no one lived long enough to die from heart disease, cancer, or dementia. Now those are common, diseases of old age, imposing tremendous costs. I don’t propose going back to 35 year lifespans or some kind on Logan’s Run future, but we may have to acknowledge diminishing returns of extending lifespans through treatment of (not cures for) chronic conditions of aging. Nature seems to have imposed limits on lifespan, and viewing aging as a condition to cure seems both unnatural and narcissistic. It’s also a path that will be available mainly to the wealthy and powerful.

As much as I’d like to live to 120 to see my own grandkids grow up, I’m not sure I want 100-year-old members of Congress, or Presidents, or business tycoons. We all need to make room for the next generation at some point.

I’m 61 with grandkids. I don’t look forward to my body and mind falling apart, a process already well underway. I hope to die suddenly and unexpectedly (as Julius Caesar supposedly said) rather than lingering on for years in a bed fed through a tube while my family feels obligated to keep me alive as long as technologically possible.

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#26

Post by kbelder »

t-3 wrote: post #10

Get rich. The average or even moderately wealthy probably won't have any chance at access to these technologies if they come to fruition. You'll also need a lot of extra wealth to keep yourself from an extra-long dotage in poverty. For myself, I plan to die before I hit 60. I'm not going to spend decades in pain and misery for no reason, life already sucks without my body falling apart. Kevorkian diet all the way!

With a little bit of care, your physical and mental health can be excellent well past 60, believe it or not. Not every day is a misery for many 70-year-olds.

But, on the other hand, if you think your life sucks before you're 60, you'll probably think it sucks after you're 60. It's probably more about personality than physical health.

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#29

Post by 4g »

biguanide wrote: post #11

Among the most promising anti-aging drugs is metformin. Type 2 diabetics on metformin live 15% longer than non-diabetics. This is remarkable considering how big a health disadvantage diabetes itself is. Metformin seems to mimic fasting somehow, by interfering with mitochondrial function. For more information I refer you to David Sinclair's numerous discussions on this topic. He takes 1 gram of metformin per day with…

Seems like simply fasting should yeild the same results without the side effects. Any reason not to recommend fasting then?

Re: Ask HN: What can I do today to prepare for anti-aging tech of the future?

#30

Post by nly »

qgin wrote: post #15

The NIH Interventions Testing Program has identified 6 compounds that significantly extend HEALTHY life (in model animals). Some of these compounds have been tested in multiple model animals and the effect is conserved across all of them. Human trials are expensive and obviously take multiple decades, so you’ll be dead before to see that data. The compounds so far are: rapamycin, acarbose, 17-alpha-estradiol, canagli…

So where does one ingest these?
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