 
THE

YOUTH

CONTINUUM

Published by John Northern at Smashwords

© Copyright 2011 by John Northern

No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, which includes, but is not exclusive to: electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer or an author, who may quote brief passages.

An amazing new discovery can change your life from short-living to long-living.

In this non fiction book I will tell you a true story about the amazing outcome of a scientific experiment.—But most of you won't believe it.

But even if you don't, a new discovery in this book will tell you how you can live longer and healthier than today's average person.

DISCLAIMER

This book has been written in a general context, and the information within it does not claim to meet any specific individual's health needs. It is understood that all people have health problems or assets, which are unique to their own human body. For this reason, it is herein stated that no person should use the information in this book to replace the services of a physician, nor is it meant to encourage diagnosis and treatment of illness, disease or other health problems by any living creature. Any application of the recommendations set forth in this book is at the reader's discretion and sole risk. If you are under a physician's care for any condition, he or she can advise you about whether the program described in this book is suitable for you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE

Chapter 1 \- The Fear of Aging

Chapter 2 \- The long-living People

Chapter 3 \- Vilcabamba

Chapter 4 \- The Himalayan Mountains

Chapter 5 \- Georgia & Azerbaijan

Chapter 6 \- Similarities

Chapter 7 \- Abuse

Chapter 8 \- The Number One Abuse

Chapter 9 \- Semi starvation

Chapter 10 \- Fasting

Chapter 11 \- You Choose

PART TWO

Chapter 12 \- Electromagnetic Energy

Chapter 13 \- Ionizing Radiation

Chapter 14 \- Shielding Radiation

Chapter 15 \- The Rate of Aging

Chapter 16 \- Irradiating the Fruit Fly

Chapter 17 \- The Missing Factor

Chapter 18 \- The Cause of Aging

Chapter 19 \- Considering the Facts

Chapter 20 \- Living to 120

Chapter 21 \- The Portland Experiments

Chapter 22 \- How Can This Book Help You?

Chapter 23 \- Speculation

Appendix A \- Theories on Aging

Appendix B \- Average Life spans

Appendix C \- Taxonomy

Appendix D \- Facts

Bibliography

Reference Bibliography

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

THE FEAR OF AGING

There are a lot of people who would rather die at a young or middle age, than to live to be old, senile, and decrepit, but these individuals are unaware of the joys and fulfillment experienced by the long-living citizens found in three different locations in the world.

When some Americans are presented with the idea of living to be older than the age of one hundred, a look of horror crosses their faces and they emphatically state that they do not want to be imprisoned in an 'old' body. Obviously, Americans envision the aged as senile, fragile, decrepit, and diseased. This creates a fear of aging, which is understandable since none of us want to suffer and live in an old folks home, wearing diapers and being lifted in and out of bed. The dread of becoming old is so strong in some people that they talk of ending their lives before it can happen. A friend of mine told me that when he was sixty years old he was going to drive his car off a cliff, so he wouldn't have to experience the symptoms and signs of old age.

In the United States this type of thinking begins at a young age when a youth observes the old folks—either a relative, grandma or grandpa or a stranger, in pain caused by various diseases, and decrepitude caused by pathological aging. Old people, hunched over and walking slowly down the street, having to use a walker, or pulling an oxygen tank behind them with a tube running from the tank to a mask on their faces, or using a cane to steady themselves, or often times being forgetful of the simplest of things, can leave a lasting impression on young minds, which leads to fear as they travel through middle age approaching old age.

But this fear need not be a part of our lives as these impressions are not representative of all the 'old' people on the Earth. You might think if a person lived to be one hundred twenty years of age, or longer, and was more youthful than most people at seventy, had no senility, and no major illnesses, then it could be stated that this person has experienced the magic of Shangri la and the elixir of life. According to statistics, most people in the United States do not live past the age of seventy-five, and when they die it usually involves some painful disease.

When someone lives to be older than a hundred years, the reason for it is unknown, as the scientists cannot explain it, and it is seen as a rare occurrence in the industrialized nations.

Nevertheless, there are three geographical locations in three different third world nations where it is reported that many people live to the age of 120 years or older with no senility, no disabling diseases, and no lack of energy, in other words these people are active and healthy until the day they pass away, and magic and the elixir of life has nothing to do with it, and more importantly, neither does genetics, nor race. But why do these people live so long and so healthy when most people in the United States and the other industrialized countries die before the age of 75 years?

Scientists have been asking this question for many decades, every since they discovered these three locations

The mystery remains.

Why is it some people age faster than others? Why is it that a person can be seventy years of age and 'old,' living only a short period of time; or seventy years of age and 'young,' living another forty or more years? Does the geographical location make a difference?

The Long-living People

Because of the new studies in longevity, and because of the increased numbers of people living longer lives, new terms have been adopted to describe the age of the longer living. It is believed that it won't be long until they will have to coin new terms to denote people living between the ages of one hundred twenty and one hundred seventy.

70 - 79 years of age: septuagenarians

80 - 89 years of age: octogenarians

90 - 99 years of age: nonagenarians

100 – 109 years of age: centenarians

110 – 119 years of age: centedecinarians

CHAPTER TWO

THE LONG-LIVING PEOPLE

Most of the long-living people reside at high elevations where the sun shines and the air is free of pollution. Does this have anything to do with them being long-living?

The three geographical locations, where there is a high percentage of the long-living people in their population are Vilcabamba in Ecuador, the Himalayan Mountains in Pakistan, and Georgia and Azerbaijan of the late Soviet Union.

Researchers, composed mostly of scientists and medical doctors, have swarmed to these areas to conduct studies in order to determine why and how these long-living people are living to the age of one hundred and twenty years or older. The research they have performed can be broken down into categories, which include demographics (population, growth, density, distribution, and vital statistics); the radiation levels of the ground upon which they live and farm; elevations at which they live; climactic conditions; nearness to the oceans; nutrition; smoking and drinking habits; the surrounding environment—especially urban versus rural; family structure, which includes how many brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and so on; how long did their parents, siblings, and other relatives live; exercise; education; occupation; and family trees. Also, they performed physical examinations, which included blood tests, urinalysis, X-rays, and physiological function tests. They studied their eating habits, their drinking habits, their smoking habits, their exercise habits, and their stress levels.

In conjunction with these studies, the researchers also had to authenticate the ages being reported by the long-living. Are they as old as they say they are?

Because many scientists are skeptical and are unwilling to believe that people can live to one hundred and twenty years or older, there have been intense debates as to the authenticity of the ages. In those parts of the world where the long-living are reported in high numbers, there are some whose ages are reported as being hundred and forty years of age. Unfortunately, and the reason for the debates is that these ages cannot be verified with any kind of documentation, that is, birth certificates, baptismal records, or notations in the city's history. One person in the late Soviet Union was reported as being one hundred and sixty-eight years old when he died. Although the Soviet scientists stated that this was true, they never presented any evidence to support it.

In spite of the fact that one hundred and forty, and one hundred and sixty-eight years of age cannot be verified, there is overwhelming evidence, including recorded documents, that there are many people in these areas who are living to be one hundred and twenty. This is enough evidence that skeptical scientists can no longer refute it.

So, once again, the questions become, how do they live so long?

Elevation

When conducting a study of this type, researchers are looking for similarities among the long-living of the three locations. One such similarity that they found was elevation. It had been observed by many researchers that most of the long-living reside in mountainous regions. In his book, Life Styles for Long Life – Longevity in Bulgaria, Dr. Hadjihristev lists nineteen authors and twenty-four literary sources, which agree that their studies show most of the long-living residing at higher elevations than the general population. (At least ninety percent of the world's population lives at low elevations, from sea level to fifteen hundred feet). The People of Vilcabamba, Ecuador reside at an elevation of forty-five hundred feet and have high numbers of centedecinarians. The Hunza's, who live in the Himalayan Mountains, reside at an elevation of eight thousand feet. And, according to Dr. Hadjihristev, the greatest number of long-living people of Romania and Bulgaria live at high elevations.

CHAPTER THREE

VILCABAMBA

Researchers, when trying to determine why the viejos are living so long, have overlooked, and therefore failed to consider a very important factor.

The centedecinarian viejos are one hundred ten years of age or older, and they are younger in mind and body than many of the seventy year old people who live in the United States. They walk for miles, climb hills, work in their fields, and carry water to their homes. They have simple lives with no modern conveniences, no electrical appliances, no automobiles, no plumbing, nothing which makes life as easy as it is in the United States. In spite of this, or partly because of it, these people live long, healthy lives, and more importantly, they never become senile.

Many of the researchers believe that the long-living people of Vilcabamba have inherited genetic structure, which allows them to be more resistant to disease and more resistant to the fast pace of aging. But there are studies which oppose this theory.

When searching records of the long-living people throughout the world, it has been found that there is no relationship between long-living and other family members, which means heredity does not play a role. If you think about it, that's good for us. If heredity is not involved in long living, that means anyone with a normal human body should be able to attain the age of one hundred twenty years or more while, at the same time, being mentally alert and in good health.

There are other researchers who are convinced that the longevity of these people is due to the simple, stress-free lifestyles and the moderation in eating, drinking, smoking, and no drugs. With all the scientific research available today this theory would have to be considered as part of the answer to the question, 'why do they live so long?'

Finally, there are those scientists who believe that the elevation and the cooler climate cause the human body to burn oxygen at a slower rate, which slows down oxygen reactions and increases longevity. They use laboratory experiments to back up their theory. For years scientists experimented with human cell division trying to get the human cell to divide more than fifty times, but they were never able to break that barrier, until Dr. Lester Packer of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory added vitamin E to the cultures. This vitamin is a natural antioxidant, which slows down oxygen reactions and decreases the need for oxygen in a human cell. By the addition of vitamin E they found that the human cell would divide in excess of two hundred times.

Even though lifestyles and cooler climates can be considered as possible reasons for people living so long, it cannot be the entire answer, if it were, then most of the people living simpler lifestyles in cooler climates would be centedecinarians. But observations reveals this is not true.

So, why are the viejos living to be one hundred twenty years of age?

Vilcabamba

This village is nestled, at an elevation of forty-five hundred feet, in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador and is surrounded by farmlands.

Studies have shown that there are a larger number of centenarians, per capita, in Vilcabamba than in the United States or any of the other industrialized nations. But why? If a person was born in the United States and then went to Vilcabamba to live, would they experience a long life and better health, even as the viejos?

In 1959, an article appeared in Prevention Magazine, in which Albert Kramer stated that in spite of a heart condition, he felt better than he could ever remember after visiting this area. This has been seen in other cases, not only in Vilcabamba, but also in the other areas of the world which has a high number of long-living people. Whenever a person in a bad state of health visited these areas and lived there for a while, they experienced a revival in their health.

Vilcabamba and the other two areas of the world in which the long-living are found, have been under a tremendous amount of scrutiny by scientists and lay people for a number of years. They want to know why these people are living so long and so healthy. If they can answer these questions, then they can find the answers to other questions, and perhaps discover the cause of aging.

In 1974 Grace Halsell went to Vilcabamba, Ecuador to find out if what she had read and been told about these people was true, and, if so, why? It had been reported that the viejos and most of the other people in the region did not experience any of the major diseases found in the United States, which included heart disease, diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes), and cancer.

She lived with these people and observed them for a number of months, interviewing and making record of everything she experienced, before she returned to the United States. While there, she was joined by four medical doctors who had come for the same reason.

Before they started, they had to determine if these people were really as old as they claimed to be. Baptismal records, birth records, and conversations with relatives and other villagers were used to construct family trees dating back as far as they could go. Once they accumulated enough information to prove that the people they were studying were more than one hundred years old, they began their tests and observations on the old people and on the environment.

Exercise: In Vilcabamba and the surrounding area, walking is the only mode of transportation. Occasionally visitors or land owners use horses, and the centedecinarians use donkeys to carry water or goods to their simple huts, but transportation for the viejos is walking.

It is not uncommon for a Viejo, at one hundred twenty years of age, to get up early in the morning, walk a long, steep incline, and work most of the day in the field under the sun, tilling the soil, planting the seeds, or harvesting the crop by hand. The viejos know exercise. They do not have the modern conveniences, which are found in the United States, and consequently, they have to do physical labor for their food and other necessities of life. But this is good for their health. Medical scientists have compiled more and more evidence, which proves exercise, in moderate doses, is necessary for a healthy body.

Exercise strengthens bones. When bones are stressed during exercise the body naturally puts calcium and other necessary minerals into the bones to keep them strong so that they might perform their tasks. Lack of exercise weakens bones. When bones are not stressed the body does not keep them strong and the dreaded osteoporosis develops. (If you look in the Merck Manual, you will discover that osteoporosis was once considered a "woman's disease," but now that women are working-out more and putting stress into the bones the incidence of osteoporosis, in the female population, has greatly decreased.)

Exercise keeps the fluids circulating. The blood circulatory system utilizes a pump, the heart, to keep blood flowing through the arterial system transporting oxygen and other essential nutrients to the all the cells of the body and transporting waste materials through the venous system away from the cells to the appropriate organs of elimination. Exercise works the heart and keeps it strong and healthy.

Unbeknownst to most people there is another circulatory system, which is extremely dependent on exercise. The lymph system moves fluid through vessels, which transports antibodies for the purpose of fighting infection and killing cancer cells and for the purpose of carrying away detrimental molecules, particles, and dead cancer cells to be eliminated. Like the blood system, the lymph system has vessels to move the lymph to all the parts and all the cells of the body, but it does not have a pump like the heart. The movement of lymph through its circulatory system is dependent on muscle contraction and relaxation. Without exercise a person becomes less resistant to infectious diseases and cancer, because the lymph becomes somewhat stagnant.

Diet: In the United States most people eat meat three, or a minimum of two times a day, and fried, greasy foods are consumed in great abundance. This leads to high blood cholesterol, which leads to clogging of the arteries in the heart, causing heart disease, or in the pancreas, causing sugar diabetes, or in the brain, causing a stroke.

In Vilcabamba meat and fried foods are seldom eaten. These people eat mostly fruits such as papayas, bananas, mangoes, figs, pineapple, watermelon, and oranges. They eat vegetables, corn, barley, wheat, beans, and cheese.

And mostly, they eat very little. Food is not in great abundance as it is in the United States. They do not have the luxury of overtaxing their systems with gluttony. (When a United States centenarian was asked what was the secret to his long life, he replied that he always left the dinner table hungry.)

Attitude: Another observation made of the viejos is the lack of stress in their lives. They do not allow unpleasant situations to become an obsession with them. Even when they are treated unjustly (usually by the wealthy landowners), they simply shrug it off with an attitude that it is a part of life.

On the other hand, there is not much stress in their lives anyway. They have little money and no great desire to have enormous quantities of money. They don't have bills to worry about. They don't have great worldly possessions to protect. Consequently they don't have to buy insurance. They don't have to worry about losing everything to flood, famine, fire, earthquake, nor lawsuit.

They simply meet each day as it comes. They have few concerns. They take life pleasantly, and they enjoy it to the fullest. Stress is virtually absent.

There is no evidence to support the idea that the lack of stress is a factor for lengthening a person's life, but obviously, it certainly can't hurt.

Climate: Since Vilcabamba is at a high altitude, but only four degrees south of the equator, the temperature stays fairly constant at sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. There is no air pollution. The air is thinner at this altitude and therefore the people have larger lung capacities.

Since they are near the equator, they get the full blast of the sun.

Conclusion

Scientists have done studies on the blood of the viejos trying to discover the reason for their longevity, but after a long and exhausting work-up they found that their blood was no different than the blood of any normal person on the planet.

After they correlated all their information, the researchers concluded that the longevity of the viejos is due to their lifestyles—the foods they eat, their exercise, and their attitude, and their environment—clean air, good weather, and lots of sunshine.

But this scenario fits thousands of people who live in the United States and other industrialized nations, and yet, they are not living to be a hundred, let alone one hundred and twenty in good health and no senility.

Why is this?

The study of the Vilcabambans gives us no insights into the discovery of how to slow down the aging process. Most of the people in the United States who live right, live to one hundred give or take a few years, while most of the people in Vilcabamba who live right, live to be one hundred and twenty years of age or older. With only this information it is obvious that this study has given us no evidence to determine why a higher percentage of people in Vilcabamba live longer than those in the industrialized nations.

Why is there a different rate of aging between these two groups of people?

CHAPTER FOUR

THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS

Dr. Wrench reported in his writings that there is another valley, populated with people, high in the Himalayans on the other side of the mountain from the Hunzas, but unlike the Hunzas these people are short-lived. He also noted that this valley, due to its location in the mountains, receives very little sunlight.

Hunza, in the Himalayan Mountains of Pakistan, is another land where a large number of people live well past one hundred years of age.

In 1928 G. T. Wrench, M.D. published a book describing the Hunzas, and emphasizing their lifestyle, especially nutrition, and their lack of disease. Throughout the book Dr. Wrench discusses the experiments and literary writings of a Dr. Robert McCarrison. His presence as a doctor of medicine and a researcher in India and Pakistan prove to be most valuable for describing the Hunzas. "These people are unsurpassed by any Indian race in perfection of physique; they are long lived, vigorous in youth and age, capable of great endurance and enjoy a remarkable freedom from disease in general."

The purpose of Dr. Wrench's book is to prove that the Hunzas live longer and are healthier in old age than the people of the industrialized nations, because of the manner in which they raise and prepare their food before they eat it. He presents his evidence by discussing the food that they eat. "They have wheaten bread, barley and millet, a variety of vegetables and fruits. They have milk, buttermilk, clarified butter, and curd-cheese. They have occasional meat. They rarely have any fish or game. They take wine, mostly about the time of Christmas." He discusses the fact that when they prepare their wheat it is not ground to a fine white flour and sifted. Their flour is prepared in such a manner as to be whole-wheat flour.

Dr. Wrench has discovered that good eating habits can make a person live a longer life; or abuse or over eating or eating the wrong foods can drastically shorten a person's life. (What's remarkable about Dr. Wrench's observation is that it was made before nutrition had any popularity.) The Hunzas eat a good diet, and they do not over eat because food is not as abundant as it is in the industrialized nations.

In 1963 Ms. Renee Taylor went to the homeland of the Hunzas to visit and study the people. She was fascinated with what she had read about the longevity of these people and wanted to know if she could find the secret. So, she obtained the necessary papers, passport, stamps, visas, and permission from the government officials in charge and with a group of other Americans, traveled to the very remote land of the Hunzas. There they stayed for a period of time. They visited. They talked. They studied. They filmed. They lived the lives of these people, and then they went home.

After Ms. Taylor returned to the United States she wrote a book describing her adventure with the people of Hunza. She tells of the people, and she presents her ideas on why they live so long. The following are some of her descriptions of what she experienced while visiting the land high in the Himalayan Mountains. (You can google, 'Renee Taylor goes to Hunza' for more information.)

Environment: The people of Hunza live at an elevation of eight thousand feet on rocky land, which has been terraced with soil hauled in from other areas of the Himalayan Mountains for the purpose of growing fruits and vegetables. As in Vilcabamba, food is scarce, but no one starves as all the men and women, old and young, and all the children work side by side. Everyone works hard to grow, harvest, and store food for all the seasons, and especially for the coming winter.

Most of the homes are built of stone and are two stories high with the lower floor having a fire pit in the middle of the room. During the winter nights a fire is built in the pit to warm the occupants as they sleep. In the summer they sleep on the second story floor. There is very little furniture. No electricity. No kerosene. No candles.

Everyone in the land goes to bed when the sun goes down. The next morning they get up at first light, before the sun rises and get ready for work.

In this land there is no money, no crime, no delinquency, and no jails. Some might think it a primitive way of life, but their stress levels are minimal.

Food: Their food comes only from Hunza (nothing imported) and are natural with no preservatives, no dyes, no chemicals, no additives, and no insecticides being sprayed on or being injected into it. The Hunzas eat a lot of grain including wheat, buckwheat, barley, and other small grains; green, leafy vegetables; potatoes; root vegetables; peas and beans; gram of chick pea; fresh milk, buttermilk, and sour milk; clarified butter; cheese; fruit, mostly apricots and mulberries, fresh and sun dried; meat rarely, because it is difficult to obtain; and wine made from their own grapes. These are the foods they eat, but there is not an over abundance of them. The list may be long, but the supply is short.

In the late spring, just before harvest, the Hunzakuts are forced to become extremely conservative with their food as the cupboards begin to run bare.

Exercise: The Hunzakuts do not have the modern conveniences with which to do their work, and therefore they must do it by hand. This makes exercise a way of life for them, especially when the entire family is in the fields tilling the soil, planting the seeds, or harvesting the crops.

They live like the long-lived of Vilcabamba. They walk a lot, and they work hard, and consequently they do not experience all the diseases that go with overeating and lack of exercise. Their bodies are strong and healthy.

They even exercise when having fun. The men get together and play volleyball, the youngsters against the seniors, 16 to 50 years of age against 51 years of age and older. Ms. Taylor, in her book, stated that in spite of their years, the seniors played a very good game. While she watched, she was uncertain who was going to win, but right at the end the youngsters pulled it out with a stunning victory. Later she tells us that the youngsters don't win all the time.

They also play a serious game of polo, riding horses across a grassy field and swinging at a ball with a long wooden mallet, turning their horses on a dime when the ball changes direction. When one of the teams finally scores nine goals, they win and the game ends with the victors being congratulated by the losers.

Ms. Taylor states that as she watched she began to realize how violent the game was, being played with horses, which were being slammed into each other as two riders tried to get to the ball first. She states that injury is not uncommon.

As can be seen in either play or work, there is no doubt that in their everyday life the Hunzas exercise frequently. They do not have the usual diseases associated with lack of exercise as is seen in the United States and the other industrialized nations. There is no osteoporosis, no run down immune systems, no flabby muscles, nor any other condition or disease associated with the couch syndrome. They are healthy and strong.

Lack of Stress: Scientists believe that a major factor to consider in studying the longevity of the Hunzas is their lack of stress. In a land where money is not used there are fewer stresses in life, especially when there are no bills to pay, and when they don't have to worry about capital gains, nor taxes, nor write offs, nor investments, nor retirement funds. And great wealth is not something they desire. From the moment they are conceived until the day they die they never develop the desire to own great numbers of possessions. It is not a way of life for them, and consequently, they don't have ulcers. They don't have worry lines. They don't have anxiety attacks or mental depression. They don't have suicide.

You might describe them as 'down to earth.' It's just the people and the land. Life is simple. The materialistic concerns are few. Stress is low.

Respect: In the land of Hunza even as it is in Vilcabamba, it is reported that the youth envy the aged; their wisdom, their experiences, their knowledge. It is said the youth, at 60 or younger, would like to fib about their age. They would like to tell you that they are older than they really are. The old ones are treated with respect and reverence, a scenario, which is not seen too often in the United States due to the fear of aging and the intolerance for senility.

Age: During her conversation with one of the centenarians, Ms Taylor asked him how old he was. He didn't hesitate to reply that, "My age is none of my business." And later he said that dwelling on age was to become a slave to it.

Because of their long lives the Hunzas have an extended timetable involving natural occurrences. It is reported that women conceive at the age of 50, and men are still able to create offspring at 90.

Restoration of Health: Mrs. Hansen, a seventy year old woman living in the United States, was told by her medical doctors that she would not live another two months. It was, at that time, the Mir (the ruler of Hunza), invited her to stay in his country.

She accepted and made the perilous journey, which involved traveling to the lower cities of the Himalayan Mountains, and then flying in a small plane dangerously close to the walls of narrow gorges, all the while rising in elevation to another small village, where the treacherous trek by foot along a small, icy, narrow path finally leads to the valley of the Hunzas at eight thousand feet in elevation.

Once in the land of Hunza her health improved immediately. She was soon getting about easily and was once again enjoying good health. Two years later she had the vitality of a younger woman.

Conclusion

A journey to Hunza will produce a number of long-living people for researchers to study, even as a trip to Vilcabamba, but after correlating the information gathered on these two cultures, the question about aging has not been answered. It is true, scientists say that people in the industrialized nations can live to one hundred years of age by eating right, exercising right, and thinking right, it is true that many of the Hunzas and the Vilcabambans live right, but they are not living to the age of one hundred years, many of them are living to the age of one hundred twenty and older. But why?

From this information it must be concluded that living longer is dependent on a factor, which hasn't yet been discussed, a factor other than nutrition, attitude, exercise, climate, and stress. (There are always those scientists who, when they cannot find the answer to a question about health, will credit or blame genetics as the cause, but it has already been shown, from previous studies that genetics has nothing to do with longevity, considering that no correlation can be found between the long-living and their relatives.)

There is one factor, according to Dr. Hadjihristev in his book on the long-living, which may have an effect on longevity, and that is elevation. He claims that all the long-living people in Bulgaria live at a high elevation. He lists nineteen other researchers who have made the same observation.

And it is a fact that the Hunzas live at an elevation of 8,000 feet, and the Vilcabambans live at an elevation of 4,500 feet, but many people in the United States live at high elevations and they are not living to be one hundred and twenty years of age. Why not? Probably because to live long you must couple 'living right' with high elevation. Most of the people in the United States do not live right, eat right (which takes a tremendous amount of will power when food is so abundant), exercise right, and think right.

CHAPTER FIVE

GEORGIA & AZERBAIJAN

Doctor Pitskhelauri's has made a conclusion that elevation is not a factor, when considering the longevity of the long-living people in Georgia and Azerbaijan, but this will be shown to be false. Indeed, elevation is a most important factor.

In the Caucasus Mountains and the surrounding area of the late Southern Soviet Union it has been determined that there are an unusually high number of people who are older than 110 years of age. When studying the long-living people, the first problem that must be dealt with is that of authenticating the ages. It has been found by those doing the research that some of the centenarians have a tendency to exaggerate their age. Dr. Pitskhelauri states that laboratory procedures have been developed which will determine the ages of the elderly. In conjunction with this, ages can be verified with birth certificates, religious records—such as baptismal records, marriage certificates, and the piecing together of family trees. The process is oftentimes long and arduous, but it is essential in order for the data, graphs, and charts to have a high degree of relevancy.

Once the researchers were convinced that the ages of the long-living in Georgia and Azerbaijan were authentic, and once it was determined that these people are living longer than normal life spans, studies were conducted in order to ascertain why or how so many of these people were long-living. Scientists, medical researchers, and lay people from Russia and other countries have gathered information on these people. Their data and statistics have led the scientists to believe that it is not just a single factor, which is responsible for the longevity. Instead, they have concluded it is the effect of a number of factors within the climatogeographic, socioeconomic, and cultural environments.

In his book, The long-living of Soviet Georgia, G. Z. Pitskhelauri, M.D., discusses the different facets of the long-living. With the resultant statistics, gleaned from the studies, he constructs graphs, which give a clearer picture of the relationships among the lifestyles, the environmental factors, and the histories of the centenarians.

Aging Theories: Dr. Pitskhelauri states that there are more than two hundred theories on why and how aging occurs. Since there are so many theories it becomes obvious that the cause of aging is a complete mystery. It is an elusive fact, which is so subtle in nature that it has led scientists in many different directions for many years.

Some of the more popular theories are presented in Appendix A.

Zones of Longevity: A detailed study has been performed to describe the characteristics of the geographical locations of the centedecinarians in Georgia. This description includes the elevation of the land; rural versus urban; the climate; the radiation given off from the soil; solar radiation, including ultraviolet radiation; the geochemistry; and the proximity to the sea.

The information gathered by Dr. Pitskhelauri, shows that the majority of the centenarians are women, a ratio of two to one, women to men. And the majority of all the centenarians, 85% live in the rural areas. This should not be surprising, considering that a more peaceful existence with less air pollution are some of the characteristics found in the rural areas.

The elevation at which most of the centenarians live is quite varied within the state of Georgia. The range is from 1,500 feet to 4,500 feet. This variance, at first, might bring one to conclude that elevation is not a factor in longevity. There are many long-living in Georgia who live at high elevations, but there are also a number of them living at lower elevations.

From his studies and observations, Dr. Pitskhelauri has concluded that there must be a number of factors involved in longevity (but elevation is not one of them). Most of his conclusions parallel those of the scientists who studied the long-living in Vilcabamba and Hunza.

Social and Family Support: One of the factors, which Dr. Pitskhelauri believes is important for longevity, is social and family support. He states that positive relationships between the long-living and other people is as important as any biological factor for effecting long life. With positive support from friends and family, and even strangers, the long-living are encouraged to continue with their participation in life.

The people in this region of the world, as in Hunza and Vilcabamba, admire and show respect for the senior citizens.

These conclusions, by the doctor, are obviously speculation. It would be difficult to prove, and, in actuality, it would be just as easy to say the opposite: friends and family are positive and supportive because the long-living are active and participating in life. If the long-living were bed ridden and sullen, the people around them would tend to pay less attention to them. They would then become a burden on their families, and joy and happiness would be less.

Work and Exercise: All of the centenarians in Georgia are hard working and get a lot of daily exercise. Some of the centenarians are very wealthy. They have a lot of money and own a lot of worldly possessions; but even these centenarians work everyday. Hard work is a part of their lives and is essential for good health.

Work and exercise burns calories, keeps the muscles strong, keeps the bones strong and healthy, and keeps the lymph flowing and thereby keeps the immune system healthy. Hard work and exercise help prevent pathological aging.

Heredity: Dr. Pitskhelauri believes heredity plays a part in longevity. He has put together statistics gathered from the long-living in Georgia and Azerbaijan, which shows that the parents of the long-living were also long-living.

Contrary to his study, there have been other studies by other scientists, which show the opposite. And the conclusion is that no matter who your parents are, as long as you have a normal body, you have just as much chance of being a centenarian as any one else.

Since there are so many long-living in Georgia and Azerbaijan, It is easy to understand how Dr. Pitskhelauri could have come to his conclusion erroneously. If the child of the long-living continues with the same life styles as the parents, and if he or she continues to live in the same geographical location and at the same elevation, then the child will also be long-living. This makes it appear that genetics is involved, when in actuality it is not.

Nutrition and Eating Habits: The eating habits of the long-living in all the regions of Georgia, are found to have one feature in common, that of moderation. They never overeat nor gorge themselves nor eat to a state of satiety. They never have that 'full feeling.' It is their belief that under-eating is better than over-eating, and because of their beliefs, this manner of under-eating has become a custom of habit. In the United States many of us are taught that if we don't feel full whenever we finish eating, we will become skinny and sickly.

85% of the long-living in Georgia eat a mixed diet, 8% to 10% eat a lacto vegetarian diet, and 5% to 7% eat a diet with meat on a regular basis. The greatest amount of food is consumed at midday. The usual diet of the long-living in Georgia consists of food, which they prepare themselves, including milk products such as cheese and sour milk, and other preparations such as bread, cornmeal, hominy, wild plum sauce, walnut sauce, and for a sweetener they use honey. White sugar is seldom seen in their diet. They use red and black pepper as seasonings. They consume large quantities of grapes, and they always drink wine before each meal.

Most of the centenarians do not smoke.

Causes of Death: In Georgia, a large segment of the population (not including the centenarians or centedecinarians) abuse their bodies by overeating, even as most of the people in other parts of the world. With the Georgians it is no different—overeating is a serious form of abuse of the human body and leads to serious diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and so on. This abuse leads to premature aging and early death.

A study conducted on 1,169 autopsies at the Gerontology Center at Tbilisi showed that the highest mortality rate was from the ages of 55 to 70. This study revealed that death was caused by the following.

Number one: cardiovascular disease

Number two: cancer

Number three: genitourinary disease

Number four: respiratory disease

Number five: diabetes and other diseases of the digestive organs

This study has been included to show that there is very little difference, if any, between countries when pathological aging is considered, even in countries where there are a large number of centenarians. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are always vying for the number one spot in the United States. As we know, these diseases, most of the time, can be avoided by simply eating right, exercising right, and thinking right.

Conclusion

It is observed that the life of the centenarians in Georgia is not like that of the centenarians in Vilcabamba and Hunza. The Georgians live in a more industrialized nation. They have money. They have worldly goods. Many of them have electricity. Life is easier, yet unlike the other industrialized nations they have many centedecinarians. One person was reported living to 168 years of age.

CHAPTER SIX

SIMILARITIES

Among the three locations of the long-living, there are no similarities of any importance.

The centenarians and centedecinarians in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, and those in Hunza, Pakistan, are similar in many ways. They live at high elevations. They work hard. They do not use a monetary system. They live in small, simple homes with dirt floors. They usually walk wherever they go. Food is not abundant, and therefore, they are forced to eat moderately. Most of them do not smoke, and they drink very little in the way of alcoholic beverages.

It is noted that the long-lived in Georgia, in the late Southern Soviet Union, also have similarities with the Vilcabambans and the Hunzas. They work hard, get a lot of exercise, and eat moderately.

In contrast, however, the Georgians live at high and low elevations. They use money, in fact, some of the centenarians and centedecinarians are very wealthy, live in luxurious homes, and possess many worldly goods. They have different modes of transportation—cars, buses, horses, and so on. There is plenty of food. And all the Georgians, including the centedecinarians, drink wine before meals.

With this information it was almost impossible to draw any conclusions. The Vilcabambans and the Hunzas are similar, but the Georgians do not fit the same pattern. Once you delete the differences, the only two factors these three groups have in common is working hard and moderate eating. But there are people all over the world who work hard, don't drink or smoke excessively, and eat moderately. Why don't they live to 120 years of age or older? And why is it the Georgians, who drink more and live at low altitudes, have more centenarians (one of whom was reported to have lived to the age of 168) than the Hunzas or the Vilcabambans?

Conclusion

It is not surprising that the study of these three groups of people has shed no light on the cause of aging. By studying the information gathered on these people we are no closer to understanding life extension than we were before. Elevation was thought to be a factor, but there are centedecinarians who live at low elevations in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Eating, exercising, and thinking right was thought to be a factor, but there are people in the United States who do this and only live to ninety or a hundred.

If we had to construct a hypothesis, in regards to aging, from this information, and, indeed, if we did, it would be suspect. There is not enough information available to form a logical hypothesis.

If we are to find the reason for the longevity of the centedecinarians, we must conclude that there is still, at least, one factor which has been overlooked.

CHAPTER SEVEN

ABUSE

Someday there will be a machine, which will make old people young again, but until that day, if you want to live a long healthy life, then the vices, or excesses, which abuse the human body must be kept under control. As the wise man once said, "moderation in everything."

In the fifteen hundreds, Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer, combed the Florida Keys searching for the mythical fountain of youth, in hopes of extending his life forever. He had heard there was such a fountain in Florida, so off he went looking for the thing that everybody wants—to live forever in a good state of health.

Mr. de Leon was unsuccessful in his quest and no one has ever found the fountain, which he was told exists.

It may be that there is no fountain of youth, that a person cannot live forever, but with the knowledge gathered by medical scientists, it has been found that people can live much longer than most people do and live healthier by eating right, thinking right, and exercising right.

What is Pathological Aging? After reading a number of books on the long-living people of the world, it becomes apparent that the one life shortening effect that all the long-living people have been able to avoid is pathological aging.

It has been determined by scientists that people, in the United States and the other industrialized nations, who have normal human bodies, can live to be one hundred years of age, give or take a few years, if they eat right, exercise right, and think right. However, since the average lifespan in the United States is seventy-one, it becomes obvious that in the land of plenty most people do not follow the rules, which leads to a long life.

"Pathological aging" is a term denoting a process, which takes place when persons develop diseases and die earlier than their time allotted by Nature, due to an abusive lifestyle. This does not include other causes of early death such as accidents, hereditary defects, or pathological bacteria or viruses. But it does include abuse to the human body, such as overeating or overeating the wrong foods, which can cause a myriad of diseases; drinking alcohol in excess, which causes cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, or both; smoking cigarettes, cigars, pipes, which causes lung cancer; undergoing harsh environmental conditions; lack of exercise; and emotional stress. Pathological aging is a process, which, under most circumstances in the industrialized nations, can be avoided.

Some scientists believe that pathological aging is a part of natural aging, but most scientists agree that disease and aging do not have the same origin. Carl Eisdorfer, director for the study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University, states that there is no necessary relationship between aging and disease.

The only factor that Natural aging and pathological aging, have in common is the end result—death.

Even though both types of aging have little in common, when the metabolism slows down, due to Natural aging, disease, caused by abuse to the human body, is more difficult to repair. Statistics show that by the time a person is 85 years of age, the chances of her or him dying are 100 times greater than at the age of 35.

Disease: Most of the diseases listed in pathology textbooks are caused by pathological aging (abuse to the human body). Obviously, some are caused by other sources such as viruses, bacteria, or genetic defects, but most are caused by abuse.

The definition of a disease is any process, which produces abnormal signs and symptoms in the human body and results in causing temporary or permanent damage, or death. It affects the functions of the human body on all levels: molecular, cellular, multicellular, or systematically. If the abnormal functions do not cause death right away, the continuance of the disease will eventually end life sooner than the normal one hundred year lifespan.

Pathological aging in the United States causes three major diseases: heart attacks, diabetes mellitus, and cancer.

Heart Attack: A heart attack (myocardial infarction) is usually caused by arteriosclerosis (plaquing) of the coronary artery, which reduces the inside diameter of the artery to the extent that there is not enough blood flowing to the heart. When a muscle, in this case, the heart, does not receive enough oxygen carrying blood, it begins to die, thus causing it to malfunction.

The cause of arteriosclerosis is overeating.

Diabetes mellitus: Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) is a disease wherein the pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin or the body is no longer able to utilize the insulin to keep the blood sugar at a normal level. Some or many of the cells of the pancreas can no longer perform their specialized task of producing insulin.

Sugar diabetes can be a result of heredity, but this form usually manifests as juvenile diabetes, otherwise sugar diabetes is caused by overeating, which causes plaquing of the arteries that feed blood to the pancreas, or is caused by eating too much white sugar, which overtaxes the insulin producing cells of the pancreas and results in decreased production of insulin.

Cancer: Cancer is a group of cells, which are growing out of proportion, no longer performing their physiological function, and crowding out cells that are. When normal cells are invaded, symptoms and signs manifest.

Cancer can be caused by high doses of ionizing radiation, by high doses of ultraviolet radiation, by smoking, by excessive alcohol consumption, by overeating, and by any abuse to the human body that puts stress on the immune system.

It has been theorized that everybody gets cancer. These abnormal cells are simply cells in which the genetic material has been damaged by some means or has been constructed in an aberrant manner. The cell, then, develops into a huge, uncontrollable, invading organic unit which can do damage to surrounding tissues if it gets out of hand.

A normal immune system is able to destroy these cells and carry them away for disposal. But if the immune system is compromised, due to pathological aging, then it cannot effectively control these run away cells, and cancer develops.

Conclusion:

There may not be a fountain of youth, but assuming you are genetically normal, there is a lot of scientific evidence to support the idea that if you eat, think, and exercise right (barring any accidents or unusual serious illnesses), you can live to be 100 years of age, relatively pain free and without becoming senile. The statements, statistics, and experiments offered in this chapter should be enough to make one realize that a long, healthy life is not out of reach. In comparison to most citizens of the industrialized nations you can add another 30 or 40 years to your life simply by avoiding pathological aging.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE NUMBER ONE ABUSE

The long-living people, either by choice or by a lack of food, have a restrictive diet, which helps them to avoid pathological aging.

If people live the normal lifespan of 100 years, then natural aging will proceed. They will not die of heart disease or cancer, or any other disease. They will simply die of old age. All functions just stop. And this is reasonable, but when people are dying at the age of 60 or 70, this is not reasonable. They are not dying because of aging, instead they are dying because of the abuse they inflict on their bodies.

An Experiment with Rats: In the 1960's and 70's Morris Ross of the Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia performed a series of experiments to determine the effects of diet restriction on laboratory rats. The control rats, which were fed a normal diet, lived a maximum lifespan of 1,099 days. The experimental rats, which were fed a restricted, or less than normal diet, lived a maximum lifespan of 1,699 days. The rats that ate less had a 55 percent increase in their lifespan.

For the rats, it can be concluded that eating less than normal is beneficial for living longer.

Diseases Related to Overeating: Under most circumstances, a person cannot be obese and expect to live past the age of 60 or 70. Obesity increases the workload on the heart. Literally miles of new blood vessels have to be formed to supply the excessive fat tissues. And also with obesity comes plaquing of the arteries. It decreases the amount of blood being delivered to vital parts of the body. This includes the heart. The tissues of the heart have to have a blood supply, too. The heart also has to have oxygen, nutrients, and other necessary elements for survival.

The large artery, which leaves the heart to take blood to the body, is called the aorta. The first branch off the aorta is a small artery called the coronary artery. It is responsible for transporting blood back to the heart. When plaquing occurs in the coronary artery, heart attacks can occur. The heart begins to falter, and death occurs. In the recent past, coronary bypass surgery has been developed. And with its development many years have been added to the lives of many coronary heart patients. Still it cannot get them to the 100 year mark. And, therefore, it is not a substitute for eating right.

Another occurrence with plaquing of the arteries is stroke. When the blood supply to the brain is reduced to a certain point, the cells of the brain begin to die (not enough oxygen and nutrients). Once the cells die the disease known as stroke manifests. That part of the brain can no longer control that part of the body. Oftentimes, unilateral paralysis results.

Arteriosclerosis can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). Usually this form of hypertension can be corrected in only a few days to a few weeks by fasting or by an extremely low caloric intake diet.

Diabetes is a common disease associated with overeating, especially overeating a diet consisting of white sugar and high in cholesterol. Research conducted at Yale University and research done by medical scientists around the nation has shown that white sugar drastically increases the insulin level in the blood. If this is continued over the years, symptoms become manifest. The pancreas is abused to the point where it can no longer produce a sufficient amount of insulin. At this time diabetes becomes a disease in the body. This is especially true for those who have a genetically weak pancreas. (Even though it is weak, if they did not overindulge in sugars, they would be less likely to develop diabetes).

It has been estimated that the average American consumes 125 pounds of white sugar a year. This is approximately two and a half pounds a week and with this amount of sugar, it is only a matter of time before the pancreas gives up.

If a person eats a diet high in cholesterol it can cause plaquing of the arteries supplying the pancreas with blood, which can result in cellular death of the pancreatic cells, thereby causing diabetes.

Theories on Obesity:

There are many theories on why a person becomes obese, including 'psychological/emotional,' 'thyroid,' 'the love of food,' 'larger than normal number of fat cells,' and others, BUT the one fact that cannot be overlooked is that no matter how you fit into this picture, you cannot gain weight unless you are overeating food and/or consuming large volumes of beverages. If you were on a total fast and drinking nothing but water, you could do nothing but lose weight. If you are not on a fast, but are burning more calories than what you are consuming, you can do nothing but lose weight. This is the bottom line, and there is no other way it can work.

If you have 300 billion fat cells and a high set point, you can still lose weight. You can still be slim and trim. It's only a matter of what you eat, how much and how often, and how much exercise you get. If you want to live a long and healthy life, if you want to avoid the diseases associated with obesity (and the list is long and fatal), and if you want to avoid senility, you need to put forth the energy and the will power to eat less, while eating the right foods.

CHAPTER NINE

SEMISTARVATION

There are only a few factors that the long-living people of Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgia of the late Soviet Union have in common. And, from the research found in human biochemistry it would have to be concluded that the most important factor, which they have in common, is that they eat slim.

In 1980 an article was published in a Chiropractic periodical, The ACA Journal of Chiropractic, March 1980, Volume 17, Number 3, entitled, "Fasting and Diet Restriction in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease." It was written by Alan M. Immerman, B.S., and at the end of the article he listed 132 references. Most of these references, and consequently, most of the information in this article came from medical research.

The main thrust of this article is that under-eating has a life lengthening effect on the human body. After all, you're not going to live long if you keep having strokes or heart attacks.

Author's Note

It must be understood that there is an important difference between starvation and under-eating. When the human body experiences starvation, there is a break down of muscle tissue (which can never be replaced), converting the protein into glucose to be used for energy by the brain, other bodily organs, and the rest of the body. If starvation continues long enough, death will occur. On the other hand, when under-eating is experienced, no damage is done to the body, and in actuality, it has a beneficial effect, in that there is enough of everything, but not so much as to lead to obesity; and especially, to pathological aging.

Under eating (semi starvation): During World War II food became scarce in Europe, Scandinavia, and the U.S.S.R. It was the effects of this food scarcity on the human body that became the subject of study for medical scientists after the war.

Dr. H. Malmros studied the effect of food restriction in the Scandinavian countries. He states that the mortality from arterio and cardiosclerosis declined in Finland, Norway, and Sweden during the lean years of the war.

"It is remarkable that no latency period of appreciable length is found between changes of the composition of the diet and displacements in the course of the mortality curves. In Sweden the mortality from arteriosclerosis already fell in 1942, which was the first lean year of the war."

Drs. A. Strom and R.A. Jensen have also investigated the effect of food restriction on mortality from circulatory diseases. They studied this problem in Norway during World War II, and their observations showed that before the war mortality from diseases of the circulatory system was rising each year in Norway. This rise ceased during the war, and from 1941 to 1945 there was a well marked fall in mortality from these diseases. After the war, there was a rapid rise in mortality towards the prewar level. The wartime decline coincided with severe dietary restrictions. The supply of calories was reduced, and this reduction consisted principally of foods containing fat, including those rich in cholesterol.

Dr. F. Henschen echoes this finding: "The regulation of provisions was no doubt very favorable for the healthy, and the common state of health has never been as good in Sweden as during this time. The mortality decreased to a minimum, owing mainly to a very marked decrease of the mortality from arteriosclerosis and arteriosclerotic heart disease. Also, Gallstones were less frequently found at autopsy."

Findings from Leningrad during the siege that occurred soon after the U.S.S.R. entered the war confirm the above statements: "It is interesting to note the diseases that were reported to be quite rare during the period of semistarvation. Among these are coronary artery disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), congestive heart failure, gastric and duodenal ulcer and appendicitis, acute nephritis and exacerbations of chronic nephritis, cholecystitis and hepatitis, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, allergic states, acute upper respiratory infection, and rheumatic fever."

Conclusion

Under eating is not an easy task during the time of plenty and in the land of plenty, but if you want to live a long, healthy life, then you must overcome temptation and eat lean.

CHAPTER TEN

FASTING

Fasting gives all the major organs, especially the organs involved in digestion, a rest, and therefore decreases the expenditure of energy.

There are a lot of laboratory studies, and consequently statistics, to show that, not only is health at a high level during times of periodic fasting, but the longevity of the animal is also increased. (As most of you know, humans are animals.)

Fasting Rats: In the 1940's Professors A. H. Carlson and F. Folzel performed a series of experiments to determine the effects of intermittent fasting on the lifespan of rats. The control group was raised under normal living standards, fed a normal daily diet from the moment of weaning, and left alone. But the experimental rats were divided into three groups from the moment of weaning, with the first group fasting every other day, the second group fasting every third day, and the third group fasting every fourth day.

The maximum lifespan of the control group was 800 days. In comparison the maximum lifespan of the experimental rats (the fasting rats) was 1,100 days. This is a 38 percent increase in the lifespan of the fasting rats (Walford, 1983).

Fasting Mice: In 1979 Dr. Walford and his colleagues concluded a series of experiments, which were performed to determine the beneficial effects when starting a fasting program during the adult life. Laboratory mice were allowed to consume a normal diet until they were adults. Their ages corresponded roughly to a 35 year old human being. The experimental group was then put on a restricted diet.

The graphs constructed from these experiments showed a 17 percent increase in the lifespan of the restricted mice. Dr. Walford concluded that this was a positive finding. He theorizes that a human being can start diet restriction in the adult life and still increase longevity.

These studies present us with at least two questions: Why does food restriction increase the lifespan of rats and mice? And, will it work on human beings?

For the first question, one can only form a theory by considering several facts:

Fact number one: Digesting food takes a tremendous amount of energy. The less food an animal eats, the less energy is expended.

Fact number two: Staying slim, and thereby keeping the bulk down, puts less stress on the heart and the circulatory system.

Fact number three: Staying slim puts less stress on the immune system.

The theory, then, would be that the animal lives longer because less energy is spent and pathological aging is kept at a minimum.

Studies show that fasting has the same effect on the human body. If a person is experiencing pathological aging by overeating, it can be reversed by fasting or by food restriction. Scientists have shown that atheromas (plaquing of cholesterol and other elements on the inner walls of the arteries) can be reabsorbed during fasting or severe food restriction. Since this is true, arteriosclerosis can be reversed with fasting.

It is interesting to understand how the scientists were able to perform these experiments. With the use of radioactive cholesterol introduced into the human body and especially into the blood stream, they were able to track the production and reduction of the atheromas or plaquing on the inner arterial walls. Since cholesterol is the major component in an atheroma it was important to determine whether or not cholesterol was mobile, and whether or not it would move in and out of atheromas; or was it permanent once it formed a plaque. By following the radioactive cholesterol, scientists discovered it was, indeed, not a permanent fixture in the atheroma. And once the cholesterol is removed, the atheroma begins to disintegrate.

Studies have also shown that fasting or severe caloric restriction causes the body to decrease its synthesis of cholesterol. With this near absence of cholesterol, and since the body needs cholesterol for many of the physiological functions, the decreased blood level of cholesterol pulls it out of the plaques due to natural balancing as seen in osmosis. The blood level comes closer to normal.

Once the plaquing of the arteries has decreased, the blood flows more abundantly, and the body becomes healthier.

Hypertension: A number of independent medical researchers have performed experiments on high blood pressure patients. They found that placing the patients on a fast for a certain period of time (usually two to four days) brought the blood pressure down to normal. (The amount of time varies with the seriousness of the hypertension. Some patients may take longer than four days.)

These results are not isolated to just a few studies. They have been achieved many times, and they are on record. Also, the same results were found during the food shortage of World War II. A report from Holland stated there was a definite decrease in hypertension during the food shortage.

Correlation: So, how does the food restriction experiments on rats and mice relate to human beings?

By correlating the information from the experiments on the rats and mice with the information gathered on semistarvation on people in Scandinavia, Europe, and Russia during world war two, it can be concluded that eating lean prevents most forms of pathological aging and increases the lifespan of humans and animals.

Eat less food, live longer. (Remember, food restriction, eating lean, or semistarvation is different from starvation and malnutrition.)

When studying the long lived people in Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgia of the late Soviet Union, it is found that they do not eat a great abundance of food—no fast food restaurants and no supermarkets. In fact, in Hunza food becomes rather scarce during the latter part of their winter.

Conclusion

It has been stated that getting old is not for 'sissies.' The fact is, however, if a person does not abuse the body, if a person does not overeat, does not over indulge, does not gorge, does not stuff one's face, does not eat an overabundance of high cholesterol foods; if a person stays on a planned or supervised exercise program (planned or supervised by a licensed fitness councilor or health care professional), if a person eats lean to moderate (in accordance with the exercise program) and always balanced (the appropriate amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, low in saturated fats and an appropriate amount of cholesterol); if a person maintains a moderate emotional release for daily stress (able to release emotions without constant anger, fear, repression, hate); then getting old is not so painful, not so uncomfortable, and not so debilitating. Indeed, it can be for 'sissies.'

Author's Note

Most often it will be seen that going from one extreme to another is not conducive to the health of the human body. This is especially important to understand when a person is fasting or eating lean. In New York City there are quite a number of high fashion models who eat lean to fasting in order to stay thin for their performances on the stage and for their photography layouts in the high fashion periodicals. Recently one of these models who was between jobs, suddenly went from fasting and eating lean to gorging. In the magazine article written about this tragic event one of her friends is quoted as describing the amount of food she ate as being 'the entire menu.' (After reading the article you wouldn't think that someone that thin could eat so much). It was obvious that this model didn't understand the dangers involved in switching from one extreme to the other, and the next day she was dead.

When a person fasts or eats lean for a period of time and then suddenly starts gorging, the bacteria in the intestinal tract began multiplying quickly and in deadly numbers. (They go crazy with this great quantity of food.) And this causes an intestinal tract infection which can lead to death.

There was another woman who fasted for two days and then started gorging. The next day, in pain and agony, she was rushed to the hospital to have her appendix taken out. The intestinal tract infection wasn't so terrible as to cause her death, but it did cause serious inflammation of her appendix. A man ate a half gallon of ice cream before he went on a two day fast. This is almost suicidal. The great quantity of white sugar from the ice cream caused the pancreas to produce and introduce an abnormally high amount of insulin into the blood stream, then suddenly, because of the fasting, the blood sugar became dangerously low. And before he even came off the fast he started having severe central nervous system symptoms.

From these kinds of observations doctors have learned that the day before going on and the day after coming off a fast a person must eat moderately with no foods that have the three infamous poisons: white sugar, white rice, and white flour. Eat mostly fruits and vegetables with some cooked foods, perhaps even a small amount of meat.

Because of the risks involved, it is important that you don't take a chance with your health. If you are inexperienced and have never fasted before, or if you have health problems, then you should check with a doctor before fasting.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

YOU CHOOSE

Are you willing to sacrifice a few pleasures in order to add many years to your life—to become one of the long-living?

Getting Old in the U.S.A.

Most people in the United States consider it to be fanciful to live much past the age of one hundred. If you lived to be 120 years of age, or longer; and if you felt youthful, had no senility, and no major illnesses, then the people around you would say that you had found the mythical and magical "Fountain of Youth." You have lived longer than a human being is allowed by Nature.

But the books written on the long-living people say different. These people are outliving the people in the industrialized nations because of their lifestyles and their geographic locations. And they never feel old.

Indeed, where does youth end and old age begin? If a person is 90 years of age, but is socially and sexually active, loving and caring, has interests, sports, hobbies, reading, writing, learning, working; if life is fun and stimulating; if this person is physically capable and gets around without pain and stiffness, then life is still something he or she wants, and youth is still a part of their existence.

On the other hand, if a 90 year old person has severe arthritis or some other disease, is bedridden and in a lot of pain, is depressed and has no interest in life, then this person is old and not only wants to die, but is about to die.

It is not possible to draw a line at a particular age and say, 'this is where youth ends and old age begins.' Youth and old age are not dependent on time. They are dependent on the energy levels in the human body, and this energy level manifests itself in physical condition and mental alertness.

How Old Can We Get? Scientists now believe that the average person should be able to live to the age of one hundred years. Through document verification, they also believe that there are people in the world who have lived to the age of one hundred and twenty, and it is speculated that there are some who have lived much longer. They experience no major illnesses and no senility. When they die it is with physical peace and a sense of fulfillment. They die of old age, which has been long and slow, and not of illness or disease.

If you are interested in living longer and healthier, the evidence has been gathered to tell you how. And when the scientists say you can live to one hundred years of age, they aren't hypothesizing. It's a fact.

By practicing certain lifestyles and by living in specific geographical locations, a person can extend her or his lifespan to almost twice the average length of life of those in the industrialized nations. This includes no senility and no major illnesses.

This does not mean you will have to move to some exotic and strange place. Science has shown that you can stay in the industrialized nations, enjoy modern conveniences, and still live to be older than 100, perhaps even to 120.

The Choice Is Ours: In spite of the confusing studies on these three groups of long-lived people, science has presented us with enough information to give us a choice on our longevity.

There are people in the United States who would die at 50, 60, or 70 with a painful disease, or at the age of 80 in a state of senility rather than give up smoking, drinking, an excess of fried foods or foods high in fat and cholesterol, deserts, and overeating. And exercise!? Forget it. They would rather lounge on the couch and watch TV.

But this is acceptable, for this is their choice.

So, the point is, it becomes a question of how much you are willing to give up. There is truth in the saying that if you want to live long and healthy, when you see something you like, especially something good to eat, you can't have it. Many people will never live long lives, because they will not give up nor cut down on the base pleasures in life. So, they might be interested in life extension, but they are not willing to make the sacrifice it takes to live a normal lifespan of ninety or a hundred years.

The other extreme is to move to Hunza or Vilcabamba. Give up all the modern conveniences of life. Give up electricity, TV, VCR's, computers, Nintendo's, refrigerators, telephones, microwaves, automobiles, super markets, movie theaters, money, . . . Trade in an easy life for hard work and little food in order to live to 120 or older. There are some who would enjoy this kind of life. Live long in the mountains with fresh air and good food, although scarce. Enjoy Nature as it was meant to be, without all the stresses of 'modern life.'

But in between, there is a point in moderation, which appeals to many in the industrialized nations. It is already happening. More and more people are eating better diets, not smoking and drinking, exercising more, and tempering their attitudes. Most of these people will live a normal lifespan of 100 years without senility and disease. They wouldn't mind living to 120 years or older, but they are not willing to make the big sacrifice by moving to Hunza or Vilcabamba. A point in moderation is good enough, and should be good enough for the sensible person.

But wouldn't it be great to be able to do both: live a life of moderation with all the conveniences of modern life and be able to also live to 120 or older?

It can happen. A genetically normal person can live to be 120 years of age or older without having to move out of the United States.

Conclusion

The "Fountain of Youth" has been sought after for centuries. It promises a continuance of life in the physical plane, and the gratification of the senses is never ending. The fear of the afterlife, the fear of no existence through the door of death, obscurity, or the fear of the unknown after death is alleviated. In spite of the fact that life is not always fun, most are unwilling to let go. There are those who enjoy life with its ups and downs. And there are those who fear the afterlife, or the possibility of no afterlife. (No matter how you speculate, whether through the logic of science or through the faith of religion, in our reality it is not possible to know what is in the afterlife until the time of death). And so, there are many who would prolong their lives, not forever, but at least for a longer time. And their reasons are not always the same.

And no matter what the reason, the person who desires the "Fountain of Youth," desires a longer life. You would think if a person cannot find the "Fountain of Youth," she would be happy adding another hundred years to her life. And if she couldn't do that, she would be happy adding another forty or fifty years to her life. Another forty years can be a long time to accomplish goals and enjoy the good times.

The fact is, most people can add another forty or fifty years to their lives by simply living right. There is a vast store of knowledge today, gathered in the laboratories and in the human population, (such as the semistarvation in Europe, Scandinavia, and the U.S.S.R. during WWII) which proves that most people die before they reach the end of their normal lifespan. Through research scientists have come to the conclusion that the normal lifespan of a person is one hundred years of age. This means that today in our society most people are dying thirty, forty, or fifty years before they should.

If you, like many people, would like to find the "Fountain of Youth," then start with the knowledge at hand. Make the sacrifice. Live right, and live to be a hundred years of age. This includes no major diseases, no painful symptoms, no disabling conditions, and no senility. Life is vibrant and active. Death comes, after a long life, in a peaceful sleep.

(If you want a longer life, then there are times when you must weigh the outcome of your actions. Do you sacrifice too much or not enough? If you sacrifice too much, life will be dull and boring. If you sacrifice too little, you will drastically shorten your life. You must be willing to give a little, to gain a lot. Life can still be fun with a little sacrifice.)

PART TWO

CHAPTER TWELVE

ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY

Do you remember at the beginning of this book when I said I was going to tell you a true story that most of you won't believe? Well, now I'm going to do that. But first, I have to explain a few concepts, such as 'electromagnetic energy,' and why living at higher elevations will increase your life span.

Can the small, high-energy particles of ionizing radiation impart energy to the human body without causing damage to the cells? Without causing cancer or other diseases? Can this have an effect on longevity?

The question as to why the long-living in Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgia of the late Soviet Union are living to the age of one hundred twenty or longer has not been answered by the information thus far reported.

Sources of radiation: There are two main categories for grouping the sources of radiation, which can strike and penetrate into the human body—Natural and Artificial.

Natural radiation comes from those objects, which emit particles traveling in wavelike motion at the speed of light. (Some scientists describe it as photons or particles traveling in electromagnetic waves.)

Sources of natural radiation include the stars, the sun, and other heavenly bodies. This radiation travels great distances before reaching the earth.

Much of this radiation, mostly solar radiation, is filtered out by the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The radiation, however, that readily passes through the ozone layer and reaches the Earth's crust is X-rays, gamma rays, cosmic rays, and ultraviolet.

Another source of natural radiation is the Earth's crust. It contains certain minerals which are radioactive, and which emit radiation into the air, and more specifically, for our interests, into human beings. In some parts of the world radioactive soil is more highly concentrated than in other parts of the world.

Sources of artificial radiation include nuclear bombs, radioactive material used in power plants and nuclear medicine, televisions, computer screens, luminous dial watches and clocks, toys that glow in the dark, and so on.

(By the way, an interesting note for all of you who are worried about cell phones causing cancer. Notice that the cancer causing waves, i.e., cosmic rays, gamma rays, and X-rays have extremely high frequencies from 1016 to 1023 cycles per second. On the chart you will notice that this is not true for radio waves, which have a frequency of 108 or less (non-ionizing radiation). Cell phones operate on radio wave frequencies, which means you will not get cancer from cell phones. Only high energy, ionizing radiation can cause cancer.

Radiation can be grouped into two categories depending entirely on whether or not the radiation can create ions \- depending on whether or not it has enough energy to knock an electron out of its orbit. If a particular form of radiation does not have enough energy to knock an electron out of orbit, it is a form of low energy radiation, non-ionizing. If a particular form of radiation does have enough energy to knock an electron out of orbit, it is a form of high energy radiation and has the ability to form ions, thus called ionizing radiation.

Low Energy, Non Ionizing Radiation: The following is a list of some of the lower energy or non ionizing radiations (See the table on "The Electromagnetic Spectrum.")

1. Ultraviolet light

2. Visible light

3. Infrared

4. Radio waves

High Energy, Ionizing Radiation: When radiation has enough energy to knock an electron out of its orbit, it is called ionizing radiation. When it strikes a substance, it can create ions. Whether or not it creates ions depends on the type of atom being struck and the type of ionizing radiation (the amount of energy it has) that strikes the substance. If the electrons are in close to the nucleus of an atom, the bond is stronger, and therefore, more difficult to knock the electron out of orbit. The different types of ionizing radiation have different levels of energy. X-radiation, for example, has less energy than gamma radiation. It is therefore seen that gamma radiation can knock an electron out of orbit more readily than X-radiation. So, even though a particular form of radiation may be considered ionizing, it can have different effects depending on the type of radiation and the substance being irradiated.

The following is a list of high energy, ionizing radiation. (See the table on "The Electromagnetic Spectrum.")

1. Cosmic rays

2. Gamma rays

3. X-rays

These three forms of energy are extremely important for human longevity and life extension. It is these forms of energy that will lead us to increased longevity.

Conclusion

Many different forms of radiation strike the human body continually.

The different situations determine what type and how much.

Most of the scientific community considers all forms and quantities of ionizing radiation to be harmful to the human body

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

IONIZING RADIATION

All the people on Earth are constantly being bombarded by ionizing radiation, however the long-living people—those living to one hundred and twenty or older, are being bombarded by higher doses—not pathologically high, but higher than that experienced by the people who are living naturally to the age of one hundred years.

Medical scientists and others believe that high doses or frequent moderate doses of X-radiation and other ionizing radiation are detrimental to the human body. There is a lot of laboratory evidence—experiments on animals, and a lot of studies and observations of the human population to support this conclusion. Studies of the human beings who experienced the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings with nuclear weapons have sadly proven this point. Other examples are the observations of people who are involved in nuclear accidents. Also, children in the United States were experimented on by medical doctors in the 1940's. Oftentimes the results were disastrous.

There is enough evidence to consider this conclusion a fact—high doses of ionizing radiation are detrimental to the human body.

When ionizing radiation strikes matter, including the human body, it gives up energy to that matter. (It's like a cue ball striking the stationary eight ball. Energy is imparted from the cue ball, and the eight ball begins to move; one piece of matter in motion giving motion to another piece of matter.) There are times, depending on the circumstances, when this energy can be disruptive to the matter that it strikes. In the case of a human cell, if the energy is of such a nature, it can damage the genetic material, or other intracellular or extra-cellular components. This, then, can lead to cancer or other diseases caused by radiation.

Ionizing Radiation: Alpha Particles are heavy, positive particles which, when penetrating matter, cause electrons to be knocked from their orbits. It is the high energy that enables them to ionize atoms, but they are heavy, so heavy that they only travel one thousandth of a centimeter in water, and that is why they are short lived. When they are formed in the atmosphere they never reach the Earth's surface. Humans rarely come in contact with this form of ionizing radiation.

Alpha particles, even as all ionizing radiation, impart energy to the matter that it strikes.

Beta Particles, which are another form of ionizing radiation, are also short lived. After they are formed, betas travel very short distances and then dissipate. Because of their short lifespan, humans seldom experience these particles. Normally it is only during nuclear war, or when there is a nuclear accident that people experience this type of radiation.

Because X-rays and gamma rays are a higher form of energy, but not so heavy, they can travel longer distances, and they penetrate much deeper into matter than alphas or betas. These rays penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and travel to the Earth's crust. This means that people are irradiated by this form of radiation everyday.

Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Living Tissue: There are specialized cells in the human body that produce "repair enzymes," which are utilized to repair DNA damaged by radiation. Sometimes, however, the damage is too great and the repair enzymes are not sufficient enough to repair the damage. The injured cells lose the ability to divide (a process for forming new cells), or, depending on the type of damage, mutations may occur and cause cancer.

There are well documented cases revealing that the exposure to high doses of radiation can cause cancer in humans.

Total Body Irradiation: When the whole body receives hundreds of thousands of rads, death will occur in a short period of time, that is, hours or days. The only time this might occur is during nuclear war, accidents in nuclear research, accidents in the handling of nuclear materials, or accidents in nuclear power plants.

Local Irradiation: When localized areas of the body are irradiated, higher doses can be tolerated than when the whole body is irradiated. This is used to the advantage of Medical Doctors in treating cancer with radiation (fighting fire with fire). Under specific circumstances high doses of radiation, as much as 6,000 to 7,000 rads, is administered to a particular area of the body (where the cancer is growing) in as short a time as a seven week period. This procedure is used in order to stop the growth of the cancer, to inhibit the spread and invasion of the disease, and to effectively kill the abnormal cells.

Ultraviolet Radiation (uv): This radiation is viewed in a negative light as it can cause skin cancer. There is a theory that darker skinned people are not as prone to skin cancer as lighter skinned people because of a pigment called melanin, which absorbs the uv rays and prevents damage to the genetic material. Melanin is found inside the skin cells of the darker skinned people.

This theory is obviously oversimplified. The ultraviolet radiation is a factor in the cause of skin cancer, but there are certainly other factors involved. A compromised immune system usually has a role in the cause of cancer. Other factors might include emotional stress, decreased blood supply due to arteriosclerosis, decreased oxygen transport due to smoking cigarettes, and anything else which causes pathological aging and a slow down of metabolism.

Rather than concluding ultraviolet radiation is the cause of cancer, it would be more reasonable to theorize that a natural, solar radiation called ultraviolet, is only one factor in the cause skin cancer, and only when a particular set of circumstances are present.

There is a lot of evidence which shows that natural radiation is not only not harmful, but beneficial to the human body. As a matter of fact, human biochemists know that ultraviolet radiation is responsible for producing vitamin D in the skin of human beings.

Conclusion

It cannot be disputed that high doses of artificial, ionizing radiation are harmful to the human body. This has been proven through observation of irradiated humans and through laboratory research.

However, in relation to life extension, the important concept to remember, concerning longevity, is that radiation imparts energy to matter. It imparts energy to the substance that it strikes.

This is not a theory. This is a fact.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SHIELDING RADIATION

Do the long-living people of Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgia of the late Soviet Union receive more natural ionizing radiation than the short-living people?

Whenever a scientist correlates information gleaned from laboratory experiments or from observations of nature, care must be taken to make sure the conclusions, derived from the data, are logical. The science of correct reasoning, called "logic," will eventually lead to correct conclusions, truths, and facts. If the method of reasoning veers off the path of logic, incorrect conclusions can be propositioned as the truth. Take, for example, the following steps to an illogical conclusion.

1. In Detroit more popsicles are sold in June, July, and August than any other time of the year.

2. In Lake Michigan more people drown in June, July, and August than any other time of the year.

3. Since more people drown during the sale of popsicles, then it is only logical to conclude that the sale of popsicles, during the summer months, is responsible for the increase in the people drowning in Lake Michigan.

4. If the sale of popsicles is banned in Detroit, then the number of people drowning in Lake Michigan will be greatly reduced.

This is such an obvious illogical conclusion, that it is not even necessary to explain. But there are times in science and other fields of study that the illogical conclusions are not so obvious. They are very subtle, difficult to detect, and lead to erroneous actions. This can lead to serious consequences and can cause lengthy delays in future scientific discoveries along those particular lines.

A good scientist will study every factor and every deduction or induction with scrutiny. She will not make a conclusion until all the possible illogical factors, obvious and subtle, have been eliminated. Every possible facet will be studied, examined, and re-examined. This is necessary to insure that subtle, illogical conclusions do not become a wayward step when working toward a new discovery.

Natural Radiation: Because high doses of artificial, ionizing radiation is detrimental to the human body, most scientists have concluded that all ionizing radiation, in any dose, is harmful to the human body. This includes small, daily doses of artificial or natural, ionizing radiation.

These scientists make statements that, because of natural radiation, humankind suffers the dreaded disease, cancer. 1,700 people out of every 10,000 people in the United States die of cancer caused by natural radiation. That's almost one out of every five people. If there are five people in your family, the chances are one of you will die from cancer caused by a natural source of radiation.

This is the usual consensus of the scientific community, "natural radiation is unhealthy for the human body. Many people's survival is being threatened by this force of Nature."

This, however, is popsicle logic. The only evidence they have to support this hypothesis is the observations of the effects of high doses of artificial, ionizing radiation. A conclusion drawn from this evidence is lacking. There is not enough support. To say that mild or moderate doses of artificial or natural radiation are harmful because high doses are harmful is like drawing the following conclusion from the following observation.

1. If five tons of dirt falls on top of you, it will kill you.

2. Therefore, don't use facial mudpacks. They will be bad for your health.

After correlating evidence on nutrition and eating habits, it is more logical to conclude that nearly one out of every five people in the United States die of cancer because they abuse their bodies. As has already been discussed in previous chapters, there is enough evidence to support this conclusion. (Remember, eat right, exercise right, and think right, and, under normal circumstances, that is, barring any serious genetic defects, you will never get cancer.) It has nothing to do with mild or moderate doses of radiation.

The Proof: The proof that increased mild or moderate doses of ionizing radiation is not responsible for causing cancer can be seen in the fact that scientists have irradiated many different animals with mild or moderate doses, and the animals have never contracted cancer. In addition, not only is there no cancer involved, but these doses of radiation are seen to have a positive effect on the lifespan of the animal.

For many years scientists have been convinced that any dosage of ionizing radiation is harmful to all animal life, so in 1973 Planel and Giess performed an experiment using fruit flies and X-radiation to prove it. The experiment, however, was very disconcerting, as it revealed the opposite of what they expected.

Concerning radiation, it was one of the most puzzling observations made by Planel and Giess. They found that when rearing and maintaining Drosophila Melanogaster (a fruit fly) in a lead chamber, which protected the flies from natural ionizing radiation, it resulted in a reduction in their longevity. In other words, they lived a shorter than normal lifespan.

These experiments were performed in such a manner that all life factors were kept normal, with the exception of the lead chamber. This means food, air, population density, temperature, and other factors affecting the length of life were kept within normal limits. In conclusion, the absence of natural, ionizing radiation shortened the lifespan of the fruit fly.

Energy: The body of an animal, or more specifically—a fruit fly, can be viewed as an enclosed system, which continually looses energy, thus experiencing a state of entropy during its entire lifetime. As the energy decreases in a living system, it eventually causes aging and death.

Since it is a fact that radiation imparts energy to the substance that it strikes, then it is also a fact that natural ionizing radiation imparts energy to the cells of the fruit fly. If this animal lives a shorter lifespan when all natural, ionizing radiation is shielded from it, then it is logical to conclude that the loss of energy from the radiation caused its reduction in age.

Conclusion

If you consult appendix A to check out some of the other theories on the cause of aging, you will find that, no matter how you look at it, all the theories of aging, in an overall picture, are pointing toward the loss of energy. As the metabolism slows down, cell division slows down, tissues become weaker and less flexible, cross linking occurs, and all the characteristics of the other theories take place. Energy is lost and aging is the result. In the case of the fruit fly, radiation is adding energy to his body. This can be concluded from the fact that he experiences less energy when shielded from Natural, ionizing radiation. He ages faster and dies sooner. To live a normal lifespan, the fruit fly must have the radiation.

This, then, raises an interesting question: "If the rate of aging can be speeded up to shorten the lifespan by shielding the fruit fly from ionizing radiation, is there a way to slow it down to lengthen the lifespan. In other words, can the rate of aging be manipulated?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE RATE OF AGING

When observing Nature, one sees the aging process all around. Everything ages—all the animals, including humans, all the birds, the Reptiles, the fishes, the insects, the plants, even the gigantic boulders eventually crumble and fall to dust. But even though aging encompasses all things, it has been found that it can vary greatly from one individual human to another.

The one observable life process that everybody in the world has in common is that everybody ages. At first glance, it seems to be a natural process. If a person does not abuse her or his body and lives the normal lifespan of a hundred years, then during the latter years that person develops characteristics of aging, that is, wrinkled skin, spots on the skin, graying hair, loss of hair (with most men), walking and moving slower. But at second glance, if a person delves deeper into the facts, it becomes apparent that not all people age at the same rate. If there are two people, and one of them lives on a farm in Kansas, and the other lives on a farm in Georgia, of the late Soviet Union; and if they both eat right, exercise right, and think right, then the probability is that the one in Kansas will live to be 100 years of age and the one in Georgia will live to be 120 or older. There is a reported case of a person living to be 168 in Georgia.

When we use the term, 'Natural,' we assume that the process takes place automatically and is always the same, barring any intervention by humans. But in the case of aging, this definition of the term does not apply. One person can 'Naturally' live to be 100, while another can 'Naturally' live to be 120 or older. In this instance it appears that Nature is changing the rules from one location to another. We can therefore conclude that aging and death are not set 'Naturally' at one specific limit.

Hundreds of theories have been proposed as to why aging occurs. Up to this point, however, no one has correlated enough facts, in a logical format to be able to say, "This is the answer." Until now, many theories have been stated and postulated, argued and hypothesized, but there hasn't been enough concrete evidence presented to support them; thus, they remain only ideas. In order for a theory to become a fact there must be enough evidence that it can no longer be refuted by any sensible person. It is with this intent that we will review the evidence presented thus far; and then continue with more.

1. The long-living people in Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgia are living to the age of one hundred twenty years or older, while the long-living people of the United States are living to the age of one hundred.

2. Through laboratory experiments it has been discovered that fruit flies live a shorter lifespan when natural, ionizing radiation is shielded from them.

Both of these support our hypothesis, but there is not enough data to call it a fact. More data must be added before it can stand alone.

More Evidence: In the book Analysis of Roentgen Signs in General Radiology, Volume One, published in 1973 by W.B. Saunders Company, on page 27, it states:

"There are some experiments in rodents, however, where very small doses of radiation, accumulated over periods of time, actually produced a life-lengthening effect."

The radiation in this case was ionizing X-rays. Rodents and dogs were being irradiated in a laboratory setting so that charts could be developed and limits could be determined. Regulations needed to be set so that people would not be over irradiated, especially by doctors using X-rays in the field of health.

These results clearly show that ionizing radiation changes the rate of aging. If rodents are living longer, then the X-radiation must be imparting energy into the system, and thereby slowing down the process of entropy. It has been known by physicists and other scientists for some time that radiation imparts energy into the matter it strikes. But because radiation has had such a bad reputation, no one has considered the fact that this energy, under moderate, controlled conditions could be beneficial.

When ionizing radiation strikes a piece of matter, various interactions take place between them. Energy is transformed and transferred from the radiation to the matter in all of these interactions. Ultimately the ionizing radiation is completely absorbed by the matter. If the rats are living longer with small daily doses of X-radiation, then the transference of energy is the factor involved in this increased longevity.

Dr. Hugh F. Henry, Ph.D. in biology, makes the following statement concerning the effects of X-radiation on dogs. "High-level radiation exposures can produce sterility; usually this is temporary. However, any given dose, if fractionated, apparently has more effect in producing sterility than does the same total dose if applied in a single exposure. On the other hand, dogs receiving low levels of chronic exposure apparently maintain their spermatogenesis processes longer than do control animals."

Again, it can be theorized that this experiment shows a transference of energy, which allows the dogs to produce sperm for a longer period of time.

Controversy: Dr. Henry and a few other scientists believe that these experiments show that ionizing radiation can be beneficial in controlled doses, but the majority of the scientific community do not agree. They are staunch in their belief that any ionizing radiation is harmful to animal life. They contend that these particular experiments on the dogs and rats are not conclusive, or that the data was misinterpreted, or that the experiments were biased, or that the experiments were not conducted properly, and so on. They contend that there is enough evidence to show that any ionizing radiation is harmful to all animal life.

Conclusion

Even though most scientists did not agree, there is now enough evidence to prove that Dr. Henry and his associates were correct when they stated that their experiments revealed an increased lifespan of the rat and an increased longevity of sperm production in the dog with mild daily doses of ionizing radiation.

Too often scientists are so involved in their specialty that they do not have the time to study experiments in other fields. Biologists, for example, who specialize in the study of rats, are usually unaware of the fruit fly experiments or the research on the long-living in Georgia. Today knowledge, scientific papers, and studies are so numerous that it is not possible for scientists to keep up with all the research, especially in fields outside of their studies. (They cannot study the forest when they are lost in the trees.)

It seems reasonable then if these scientists were to correlate all the information on the fruit flies, the rats, and the dogs, they would be less likely to argue against the life extension properties of ionizing radiation, and more likely to admit that more research needs to be conducted. How can a scientist or a layman study this information and not see a possible correlation?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

IRRADIATING THE FRUIT FLY

With all the evidence accumulated about the effects of high doses of ionizing radiation, it is not surprising that scientists and the general public have a preconceived idea that all radiation is bad.

But let's study further.

Drosophila: Biologists, especially geneticists, use the fruit fly, Genus Drosophila, upon which to perform many experiments because the fruit fly has a naturally short lifespan, and the scientists get quick feedback on their experiments. For many years they performed lifespan experiments on fruit flies in order to find out more about the process of aging. More than seventy years ago Raymond Pearl realized that the fruit fly was in many ways an ideal animal for studies of longevity and aging. It was his contention that this animal has a great advantage over others that could be used. Its lifespan characteristics and behavior (including genetic studies) are more thoroughly understood than those of any other animal. (Pearl attributes this compilation of knowledge about the fruit fly to the studies and research of Morgan and his students.)

He goes on to state that another advantage, under controlled laboratory conditions, is its lifespan comparison. When compared to that of human beings, one day in the life of a fly corresponds roughly to one year in the life of a man. Drosophila is now probably the most widely used animal in gerontological research and there is a large amount of information about its longevity and the factors, which influence its lifespan.

The average lifespan of Drosophila under optimal conditions is approximately fifty to seventy days. The fact is, however, their lifespan varies greatly form one laboratory to the next. The longevity of adult flies is greatly influenced by the environmental conditions in which they are kept, and also by the conditions which existed in the preadult stages. The methods of rearing and keeping flies vary from one laboratory to another, and it is not unusual to find that scientists from different laboratories give the average lifespan for the same strain of flies as differing by many weeks. It is therefore not possible to give standard lifespan charts or tables for any species, strain or mutant, and this makes it very difficult to compare and assess the lifespan data from one laboratory to another.

For this and other reasons the experimenter always keeps one set of control flies upon which no experimenting is performed. Obviously, the control flies and the experimental flies need to have eclosed (metamorphosed into flies) within the same twelve hour period. In this manner the lifespan of the control flies can be compared to the lifespan of the flies experimented on in the same laboratory.

The Optimum Environment: In order for flies to live a normal lifespan, in addition to the medium (the food that they eat), there are three major considerations:

1. Temperature must be between 12 and 32 degrees C for normal living to occur. For most experiments. 25 degrees C is more convenient, but many laboratories keep their flies at 17 or 18 degrees C because it saves on labor.

2. Humidity. Reasonably high humidity's (over 70%) are essential to insure a normal lifespan of most Drosophila species. Even in laboratories built in geographical areas with high humidity, it is necessary to use moisture trays in 29 degree C incubators. If the humidity in the vial drops lower than 60 %, the mortality rate is very high.

3. Population Density. Through experimentation it has been shown that optimal population is between 35 and 55 flies per vial. Higher or lower than this results in a decrease in longevity. (Canon, 1966) In one of the studies of longevity it was discovered that a crowded population cage would decrease the lifespan of D. melanogaster (fruit fly) to approximately nine days.

Radiation Experiments: Experimenters have found that irradiating Drosophila with low daily doses of X-radiation increases their lifespan. Sacher found that the mean lifespan of male fruit flies was increased following irradiation with low daily doses of X-rays, and noted that the increase in the mean lifespan was accompanied by a reduction in variance relative to the controls. This means that the death of the controls varied in relation to the cause, but the death of the experimental flies was more uniform in time.

It must be realized that it was the low daily doses of X-radiation that had the life lengthening effect on the fruit flies. In another experiment Lamb was attempting to determine the effect of population densities on longevity. During the testing, radiation was used to eliminate their reproductive abilities. It was found that this lengthens the longevity of the female fruit flies. (They hypothesized that this is due to the fact that the production of eggs utilizes a lot of energy and therefore shortens the lifespan of the females.) But during the course of radiating the fruit flies, a discovery was made that had nothing to do with population density. It was found that not only were the female fruit flies living longer with radiation, so too were the males. The lives of both genders were lengthened at a dose that does not sterilize them.

Conclusion

I. Once again, the scientists who specialize in studies on the fruit fly are trying to explain away the possibility that it is the X-radiation causing the increased lifespan. Unlike the scientists who specialize in rats and dogs, however, most of these scientists agree that it is a fact that the fruit flies are living longer with small daily doses of ionizing radiation. Their experiments prove that the flies are living longer.

Nevertheless, most of them do not attribute the increase in longevity to the ionizing radiation. It has been proposed by these scientists that the radiation is killing a pest or neutralizing some unknown factor, which under normal circumstances shortens the life of the fruit fly. Once this factor is eliminated by the radiation the fruit fly lives longer.

This is not logical considering they also believe that ionizing radiation is harmful to animals. In this situation not only should the pest or unknown factor be dying earlier, the flies should also be dying earlier.

II. The fact that two separate groups of scientists report increased lifespan on two, totally different animals is too much of a coincidence. If the involved scientists knew about each other's experiments, then logically they would have to agree that it is possible that it is the ionizing radiation, which is increasing the lifespan of these animals.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE MISSING FACTOR

Textbooks and scientific journals explain that all life on Earth has always been and always will be exposed to radiation from natural sources. This includes cosmic rays, gamma rays, and X-rays from space, and radioactive substances in the soil.

The average human exposure to natural ionizing radiation is 90 millirems a year, though in some areas of the world, life, or more significantly, human life, receives more. Humans can receive up to 1,200 millirems a year of natural ionizing radiation.

Along with natural ionizing radiation, the human body is subject to even more radiation from man made sources.

1. Fallout contributes approximately 5 millirems per year.

2. Medical X-rays contribute approximately 75 millirems per year.

3. Television contributes approximately 0.5 millirems per year.

4. Jet travel, coast to coast (or in the neighborhood of 3,500 miles), contributes approximately 2 millirems per flight.

5. Luminous dial wristwatches contribute approximately 2 millirems per year.

Elevation: The elevation at which one lives, is a factor, which determines how much ionizing radiation, a person will experience during his or her lifetime. The higher the altitude the more the radiation. At a higher altitude there is less atmosphere to absorb the radiation and consequently there is more radiation to penetrate the human body.

This is not a theory. This is a fact.

Scientists have determined that a person's dosage is increased by 1 millirem per year when living at an elevation 30 meters (100 feet) higher than sea level. If a person were living at an altitude of 1,000 feet, his dosage of radiation would be increased approximately 10 millirem more per year as compared to living at sea level.

Research has shown that a person flying from San Francisco to New York will receive an extra two millirems just in the short time that it takes to make the flight. It is a fact: the higher the altitude, the less the atmosphere, the more the radiation.

Since most of the population of the Earth lives at or near sea level, and since the atmosphere is thicker at lower altitudes, there is not much variation in the radiation absorbed dose for most of the human population. Most people of the Earth receive 90 millirems per year. Considering the contemporary belief about radiation this would appear to be good. Live at a lower altitude. Receive less radiation. Have a slimmer chance of contracting cancer.

Are low doses of ionizing radiation responsible for the cause of cancer, or is it a stressed immune system and abnormal stress on other systems of the human body? Is it because of overeating, or eating too much of the wrong foods? Why is it when cancer is so little understood, natural radiation has been assigned as the cause? There is no doubt, high doses cause cancer. Radiation in high, acute doses will disrupt genetic material, and this will lead to abnormal cell division. There is no evidence, however, that low, chronic doses can have detrimental effects. Indeed, evidence has already been presented in this book to indicate the reverse. Increasing radiation, with small daily doses, increases the lifespan of the rat and the fruit fly.

The Vilcabambans and the Hunzas: For years scientists have been studying these people, trying to determine why they live so long. Finally, they have only been able to conclude that these people live longer because they have a less stressful life, and because, generally speaking, they eat better and exercise better. It's not much of a conclusion. There are people in the general population of the industrialized nations who eat right, think right, and exercise right, but they don't live to be 120 years of age or older.

The Missing Factor: When studying the Vilcabambans and the Hunzas the scientists have overlooked the most important piece of information. And, indeed, it is the missing factor.

These two groups of people live at high altitudes, higher than the general population of the Earth. And they spend a lot of time outside, working under the sun. These people receive more chronic, low doses of natural ionizing radiation than the general population. More energy is absorbed by their bodies, and entropy is retarded. When these people eat right, think right, and exercise right they live to be a hundred and twenty or even a reported hundred and forty years or older because of the increased ionizing radiation.

This is the reason why some of them can abuse their bodies and still live to be a centenarian. Smoking and drinking usually abuses the body enough that cancer or other diseases develop, but at a higher elevation, the radiation keeps the immune system young enough to fight off the diseases that people usually contract after smoking or drinking 30 or 40 years at lower elevations. (This, however, is not a guarantee that people who live at high altitudes, and who drink or smoke, will not contract the associated diseases. In fact. the centenarian who lives at a high altitude and drinks or smokes would probably live longer if he or she didn't.)

(If a person wonders why the Vilcabambans who live at an elevation of 4,500 feet can have approximately the same ratio of centedecinarians as the Hunzas who live at an elevation of 8,000 feet, it's because the Vilcabambans live much closer to the equator and therefore receive the same quantity of ionizing radiation at a lower elevation as do the Hunzakuts at a higher elevation.)

If this is true, then why don't other people who live at high altitudes live longer? The answer is, "They do." To this date there have been enough studies done on a lot of the small population of the Earth's people who live at high altitudes to support this conclusion. Even in Ecuador it has been reported that Ecuadorian doctors believe there are a large number of long-living people not only in Vilcabamba, but also in the nearby town of Loja (elevation 7000 feet).

The Vilcabambans and the Hunzas, who do not abuse their bodies, especially by overeating, live longer than the long-living people at lower altitudes because they receive more ionizing radiation. If you want to live as long as these people, but you don't want to move to Vilcabamba or Hunza and live in a house with a dirt floor, and give up all the modern conveniences of our society, then you need only move to an elevation of six thousand to ten thousand feet (eight thousand is probably ideal, but no research has been conducted) in the United States (probably in the Rocky Mountains), or at a high elevation in one of the other industrialized nations, spend time in the sun, and eat right, think right, and exercise right. The amount of chronic low dose ionizing radiation will be increased, and your lifespan will be lengthened. (Remember to pick a location that receives a lot of sunlight.)

The Georgians: When studying these people it might, at first, seem confusing. There are more centenarians per capita in Georgia and Azerbaijan than any other geographic location in the world, and they are living longer, in mass, than the Hunzas and the Vilcabambans.

At the same time it is noted that they are not all living at high elevations. They are living at varied elevations, and some of the centenarians and the longer lived are living at elevations as low as 1,500 feet. This seems to be a contradiction to the evidence thus far presented. Why are they living at a lower elevation and still living longer?

When correlating the information, this fact is puzzling. It seems to be a contradiction to the fruit fly, rat, and dog experiments, and to the observations of the Vilcabambans and the Hunzas. But the mystery is cleared up when you read a passage in Dr. Pitskhelauri's book, which ironically stated that he believed the long-living people of Georgia would be even longer living if it wasn't for the high concentration of radiation in the soil where these long living people lived.

Now, it is easily explained. These people are receiving as much ionizing radiation or more than the Vilcabambans or the Hunzas because of the elevated levels of natural ionizing radiation present in the Earth's soil.

Scientists have concluded through research that the natural sources of soil radiation are extremely high in some parts of the world. Georgia and Azerbaijan is an area in the world that has higher soil radiation than most others. And the people, in terms of longevity, are reaping the benefits.

Conclusion

Aging does not have a set limit. In other words, your body doesn't have fifty cell divisions, and then you die. The evidence presented tells us that a change in ionizing radiation will change the rate of aging.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE CAUSE OF AGING

Over the years, the metabolism of some people does not slow down as fast as others, consequently, they become the long-living people, and the others live shorter lives.

In the case of longevity, enough information has been gathered to show that aging is caused by a loss of energy from the system (the human body). It has been discovered that increasing ionizing radiation increases the lifespan. Now, it can be theorized that rather than just ATP energy(food and drink), the body also needs another form of energy. When this other energy is introduced in higher chronic doses, aging slows down.

Several theories can be derived from this discovery:

1. The human body needs two or more forms of energy for long-living.

2. Aging does not have a fixed rate of occurrence.

3. Death does not have a fixed end point.

4. Under the right circumstances, and barring accidents, the human body can live forever.

Whenever science attempts to arrive at an answer it must first put together enough information to form a picture.

For example, when a doctor attempts to determine a diagnosis on a patient, he cannot do it with just one piece of the puzzle. If the patient points to his back and says, "It hurts here," the doctor cannot form a diagnosis on this small amount of information. There must be more for the doctor to specify a diagnosis. He must do a physical examination which might include patient history, X-rays, blood tests, MRI, CT scan, EKG, EEG, any combination of these and more. Now, he can put all the pieces of the puzzle together and come up with a reasonable diagnosis.

If the doctor only had, "It hurts here," to go on, then his diagnosis could and would be suspect. Is it a correct diagnosis? Could it be something else? Should we take recommendations for treatment on this diagnosis? Should we do surgery? The doctor would be mostly making an educated guess. It's not good enough.

The same can be seen with the proposal of slowing down entropy. If the only piece of the puzzle was "The length of the fruit fly's life can be extended with mild daily doses of ionizing radiation," then arguments, which have been presented by skeptical scientists, could have some validity. It would be possible that an unknown pest, which shortens the lifespan of the fruit fly, is killed by the radiation.

But this is not the only piece of information. There is now enough that the picture is clear. The evidence presented comes from many different researchers. And the evidence has been accumulated on four different types of animals with the same result—low doses of ionizing radiation does, indeed, extend the lifespan.

This process is seen over and over again in many different aspects of science: the fruit fly, the dogs, the rats, the Vilcabambans, the Hunzas, the Georgians, and the Azerbaijans.

For centuries scientists have been looking for the cause of aging. In the many different disciplines of science (already mentioned) researchers have brought forth their bit of information, their contribution to the overall effort, but it has taken time to bring all the information together, to correlate it, and to form a picture. As more and more evidence has been accumulated the cause of aging is now obvious.

Aging is caused because the body looses energy. And over a period of time the metabolism slows down. Cell division slows down. The tissues of the body become loose and less organized. Wrinkles in the skin occur. Hair turns gray. Cross linking occurs. The systems of the body cannot function as efficiently.

When this loss of energy is slowed down, the organism lives longer. The fruit flies, receiving mild daily doses of X-radiation, live longer. The rats, receiving mild daily doses of X-radiation, live longer. Dogs receiving mild daily doses of X-radiation produce sperm longer. People who live at higher elevations, and thus receiving higher daily doses of solar, ionizing radiation live longer and healthier. People who live in geographic areas of increased soil ionizing radiation live longer and healthier.

It is logical to conclude that if ionizing radiation can slow down entropy (the cause of aging), then the right amount of modified, ionizing radiation should be able to stop entropy altogether. If the speed of the radiation is unified and controlled at a speed that is not harmful to the genetic material of the cells, then it will add enough energy, over a period of time, to counter the effects of entropy.

We are studying four different animals. And in all four of these, experiments and observations show that the age limit can be redefined and set for a longer period of time.

The chances of all of these factors being coincidentally incorrect are astronomically small. So small, in fact, that for practical scientific purposes it must be considered nonexistent. With this much evidence, the conclusion has to be that higher levels of natural and more chronic doses of ionizing radiation will extend the lifespan of animals, and more for our purpose, the human being. (There is a line at which doses too high will cause cancer and the break down of tissues, but after a fair amount of research, this line has been well established.)

Conclusion

1. Since energy is the key concept in longevity, and since the loss of energy is the cause of aging, it is logical to conclude that energy reintroduced into the human body, under controlled conditions and in the correct dosage, will stop the aging process.

2. Finally, there is enough evidence to deem it worthwhile to perform further experimentation.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CONSIDERING THE FACTS

The metabolism of the long-living people continues to remain active longer than that of the short-living people because of the higher doses of radiation that their bodies receive from natural sources.

For years scientists have been performing experiments, accumulating evidence, and formulating theories about aging. They have produced the cross linking theory, the limited cell division theory, the free radical theory, the toxic waste accumulation theory, and the wear and tear theory, just to name a few of the more popular theories out of more than 200 theories on aging. In the literature and on the podium they have been proposing their theories and supporting them with their experiments. They argue back and forth, but the evidence is not enough, and the secret of aging remains locked behind a door of mystery. Meanwhile, the evidence keeps on accumulating.

Finally, there is enough evidence accumulated from the experiments conducted by the different groups of scientists and from their observations of Natural aging that a reasonable theory of aging begins to take shape.

There is too much evidence to dispute the conclusion. (Of course, there will still be those who will, but a reasonable person will see the writing on the wall.)

Let's view the observations which must be considered facts, even without the support of the others. Remember, a fact is only a fact when there is enough evidence that it can no longer be considered a theory. But this is a relative line, which must be drawn by you. Some people need more evidence before they consider a theory a fact. Some people need less.

1. It is a fact that radiation imparts energy to matter. It imparts energy to the substance, which it strikes.

2. It is a fact that fruit flies, in the laboratory, receiving increased daily doses of artificial X-radiation, lived longer lives than the control flies, which didn't receive, increased doses.

3. It is a fact that fruit flies receiving normal doses of ionizing radiation live a normal lifespan.

4. It is a fact that fruit flies shielded from natural radiation lived shorter life spans than the controls. The scientists never argued this observation. What's there to argue? The experiment clearly shows that the only variable is ionizing radiation.

5. It is a fact that people living at higher altitudes receive higher doses of natural ionizing radiation on a 24 hour basis. Over a period of years this amounts to tremendously higher doses of radiation as compared to the general populace, which lives near sea level. Scientists have known this fact for many years. They have even charted the increase in radiation in relation to the increase in altitude.

6. It is a fact that there is a higher ratio of centenarians who live at higher altitudes as compared to the number of centenarians who live in the general populace near sea level. This has been verified with baptismal records, marriage records, birth certificates, and family trees.

7. It is a fact that the Georgians and Azerbaijans have a large number of centedecinarians. It is a fact that they live in an area of higher soil concentration of ionizing radiation than most geographic locations in the world. This has been verified by scientists who measure the soil concentration for levels of radioactivity.

This leaves only two observations, which were arguable. Scientists disputed Dr. Henry about the validity of these observations. But with the correlation of the above facts, these observations must also be considered as supporting facts. There is now too much evidence.

8. It is a fact that dogs, in the laboratory, receiving small daily doses of X-radiation were able to produce sperm longer than the controls not receiving these doses. Before this book was written, there was a minority of scientists who proposed that chronic doses of ionizing radiation enabled the dogs to produce sperm longer than normal.

9. It is a fact that rats, in the laboratory, receiving small daily doses of X-radiation lived longer lives than the controls not receiving these doses. Again, it was proposed by a minority of scientists that chronic doses of ionizing radiation enabled the rats to live longer than normal.

With these facts it is easy to conclude that ionizing radiation is a form of energy that slows down the entropy of aging. The high energy radiating particles impart energy to the cells of living animals, specifically to the cell's intercellular substance. It raises the vibrations of the molecules and gives the entire cell more energy.

In essence, ionizing radiation is a more pure form of energy than ATP. Among other attributes, there is no transport necessary – blood vessels, no energy production necessary – mitochondria, and no waste product after burning the energy.

Conclusion

If you want to live to be 120 years of age or older, then you must not only eat right, think right, and exercise right, you must also live in an area which will give you a higher, but moderate, daily dose of ionizing radiation. There are cities in the United States and other industrialized nations where the elevation is 8,000 feet or higher. If you live in such a city, one that gets plenty of sunshine – not nestled in the shadow of the mountains, and if you spend a fair amount of time outside (the walls, the roof, and the insulation decrease the amount of solar ionizing radiation), then you should live to be 120 to 140 years of age.

If you want to live to be 120 in a state of good health, you must remember that longevity and good health is like anything else in life: if you want it, you have to work for it. It doesn't just happen. Be willing to put forth the energy and reap the rewards of your work.

CHAPTER TWENTY

LIVING TO 120

Scientists who do research in longevity, especially those who study the effects of under eating are taking advantage of the knowledge they have accumulated. Dr. Walford, for example, reports in his book that he fasts two consecutive days a week, so that he will live longer.

There is a theory, which states that the life forms expending the least amount of energy live the longest (see appendix A). The slow moving tortoise lives one hundred fifty years. The sea anemome, which is sessile (non-mobile, and attached to either a rock or to coral), lives one hundred years. Trees live for thousands of years. Some of the desert creosote bushes in California have been dated at ten thousand years. Sponges are also very long living.

Reduced Temperature: It has been observed that invertebrates and vertebrates live longer when the surrounding temperature is lowered. Experiments on fruit flies reveal that they live longer when their normal surrounding temperature is slightly reduced. Fence lizards live two years in cold climates and one year in warm climates.

Roy Walford, M.D. (a renowned researcher at UCLA) in his book Maximum Lifespan, discusses his experiments in which he was able to double the lifespan of the Annual Fish by decreasing its normal water temperature.

To gather more evidence on the temperature effects on longevity, Dr. Walford traveled to India to perform temperature experiments on Yogis. He had come across literature, which stated that they could lower their internal temperature. If he could verify this and find records to authenticate their ages, he could draw a correlation between lowered temperature and increased age.

After much journeying through India, he finally found a few yogis whose body temperatures were permanently fixed at three or four degrees lower than normal. They lived in caves in the Himalayan Mountains, and consumed a very low caloric diet. Unfortunately he was unable to verify their ages.

He didn't feel the trip was unsuccessful, however. In spite of the lowered body temperature, the yogis were mentally alert and active. Once again this indicates that even though the temperature is lowered, the metabolism is not.

An interesting logical correlation, of the preceding information, concludes that there is less energy expenditure under these circumstances. As the temperature is lowered the atoms come closer together. As in the case of the Annual Fish, the surrounding temperature is lowered, but the metabolism stays the same. Since the atoms are closer together, they can perform the same metabolic functions with less energy expenditure.

Since less energy is being utilized, entropy has been slowed down, and the life form lives longer.

Conclusion

There are two major factors to consider when looking for a way to increase longevity.

1. Living a lifestyle which leads to decreasing energy expenditure.

2. Living a lifestyle which leads to Increased energy uptake.

Living the maximum lifespan includes the correct amount of exercise to tone the muscles, to increase circulation of blood and lymph, and to prevent osteoporosis by forcing the body to put calcium into the bones. However, too much exercise causes wear and tear on the body and expends a lot of energy.

Be moderate about your exercise. People who over-exercise develop health problems.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE PORTLAND EXPERIMENTS

(Finally, I'm going to relate this true story to you. And why do I know it's true? Because I performed the experiments.

I thought about keeping the information on X-ray modification a secret, but I've done that for twenty-five years, and I realized that that's long enough. I would rather see someone or some organization take this information and develop it.

Whoever finally runs the full gamut of these experiments has to keep in mind that X-radiation does not have enough energy for the human body. Once the Parameters are established for fruit flies, the experiments will need to be performed on small mice, and X-radiation will be used. But from there when the experiments move to larger mammals, X-radiation will have to be replaced by gamma radiation, which has a higher energy level, and that means nuclear material will have to be used. I have some ideas about how to do this, but I know that whoever is conducting these experiments will come up with the same ideas, or better ones; therefore, I'm not going to go into any more detail.

If you want cellular rejuvenation to happen sooner, then spread the word about this book.

Now, let's continue with this chapter.)

If aging can be manipulated, that is, slowed down or speeded up, then isn't it possible that it could be stopped altogether, or even reversed?

In 1987, "the Portland experiments" were conducted.

These experiments consisted of using the fruit fly as the experimental animal and X-radiation as the source of ionizing energy, (but not mild daily doses of X-radiation as used previously by other scientists). New procedures and untried methods were used. And the results, one in particular, was not only a new result, but startling and unexpected.

As in experiments performed by scientists previously, the X-radiation was controlled. But, in the Portland experiments, a method was developed in which the X-rays were not only controlled but also modified. The modification allowed me to use high, acute doses of X-radiation rather than lose dose X-radiation used by scientists earlier.

The Modification: My theory involved lasers:

1. Visible light is a radiation that is unorganized. It contains many different colors (the colors of the rainbow), and the photons (the light particles) have different wavelengths, different energy levels, and different speeds (in spite of what scientists presently think, different particles of light do not travel at the same speed---they have different wavelengths, so how can they be traveling at the same speed?).

2. A red ruby laser organizes the photons. The visible light is turned into a light of one color, and all the emitted photons have the same wavelength, the same energy level, and the same speed.

3. It was my theory that passing the X-radiation through a crystal would organize the X-radiation particles, and allow me to find the parameters which would pass energy to animal cells without causing cancer.

4. I, therefore, created colored water crystals (ice with food coloring) blue and red; and then, performed the experiments. I used different colors in order to change the uniform wavelengths.

Fruit Flies: When fruit flies are young they exhibit a light colored abdomen. They are very active in movement. Their wings and bristles are complete. They have active mating ability. And they show a constant geotactic response, that is, when they are young they spend most of their time at the top of the vial hanging upside down.

When fruit flies are old they exhibit a dark colored abdomen. They are lethargic and move about in an unsteady fashion. They have broken bristles, and oftentimes one or both of their wings are broken, their mating ability decreases and parallels a decrease in geotactic response, that is, they spend most of their time at the bottom on thevial on the food medium.

Experiments Performed: The following experiments were performed using controlled and modified X-radiation.

June 18, 1986: The necessary equipment, to perform limited experiments, was purchased at Carolina Biological Supply in Gladstone, Oregon:

12 empty vials with foam rubber plugs

12 packages of medium (food)

2 vials with cultures (fruit flies - Drosophila melanogaster)

2 camel hair brushes

2 measuring cups (for the medium)

1 fly nap kit (to put the flies to sleep when moving them or studying them under the magnifying glass)

1 magnifying glass

June 19, 1986: Eight flies were put in eight different vials, labeled one through eight, and were set aside for experimentation. The remainder of the flies were used as control flies; that is, they were maintained under normal laboratory conditions with no excess radiation and no abnormal parameters. These experiments were being conducted in an attempt to find the parameters for stopping entropy in a living animal.

I performed the first experiment on 1 female and 1 male. They were labeled #1 and #2 respectively. Both flies were old and lethargic. (The lab attendant at Carolina Biological said the flies in the two cultures were old and would be dying soon. She said to wait for the new flies, which would be developing in a few days. Of course, she was unaware that the experiments would be on whole body rejuvenation, and that it was the old flies that were needed.)

The parameters used in the experiment for fly #1:

1. 40 kilovolts

2. 300 milliamps

3. 1/120 of a second

4. distance from the X-ray tube 4 inches

5. blue water crystal 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep

The parameters used in the experiment for fly #2:

1. 54 kilovolts

2. 50 milliamps

3. 3 seconds

4. distance from the X-ray tube 4 inches

5. blue water crystal 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep

Observation of the flies after 24 hours revealed no noticeable change.

These two flies died of old age five days later.

June 20, 1986: An experiment was performed on the other six experimental flies, number three through number eight, using higher parameters. There were still no noticeable effects. Later it was determined that the parameters were still not high enough. This especially included the time of exposure.

June 25, 1986: One control fly died of old age.

June 28, 1986: Another experiment was performed on two flies using higher parameters. These two flies had been in the June 20th experiment and were kept in vials number 4 and number 6.

The X-ray parameters for fly #4:

1. 52 kilovolts

2. 100 milliamps

3. 30 seconds

4. distance from the X-ray tube 4 inches

5. blue water crystal 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep

The X-ray parameters for fly #6:

1. 52 kilovolts

2. 100 milliamps

3. 42 seconds

4. distance from the X-ray tube 4 inches

5. red water crystal 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep

Observation, after 12 hours, showed fly #4 having greatly increased vitality and a lighter colored abdomen.

After 12 hours fly #6 had died. There large bumps all over his body. Without having the proper equipment I could only assume that the bumps were cancer. The experiment perform on fly #4 on July 20th proves that it was not the difference in time that caused #6's death, but rather the color of the water crystal.

July 4, 5, and 6: Young flies are emerging from the pupal stage in the 2 unmarked cultures (the original cultures).

July 6, 1986: Numbers three, five, seven, and eight died of old age. All of the experimental flies have now died, except number 4.

Of the control flies there are seven females and four males still alive.

July 8, 1986: There is only one control fly still alive, a female.

July 11, 1986: The female control fly died of old age.

July 20, 1986: Another experiment is performed on number 4. The X-ray parameters were changed.

The X-ray parameters for fly #4:

1. 50 kilovolts

2. 100 milliamps

3. 42 seconds

4. distance from the X-ray tube 4 inches

5. blue water crystal 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep

July 21, 1986: #4 has increased vitality; #4 has a lighter colored abdomen; #4's ragged wing has regenerated, except for a small portion at the top. (Regeneration of a wing has never before been seen in laboratory experiments.)

It was obvious that I was getting closer to the correct parameters for complete reversal of old age(also named by me 'cellular rejuvenation,' or 'the fountain of youth' as it was called in myths of old).

July 23, 1986: It is now 36 days since the purchase of #4. He is still very active. He exhibits increased energy and spends most of his time at the top of the vial. And keep in mind that he was old when I bought him.

August 4, 1986: Number 4 dies of old age. It is concluded that his life was increased due to modified X-radiation. He outlived the oldest control fly by 23 days. (That is 23 years in human time.)

My experiments were cut short due to personal problems. A number of years later, after I moved to Las Vegas, I purchased the equipment, along with an incubator and a humidifier, to conduct the experiments again. But I quickly found out that on a small scale of equipment it is impossible to keep the flies alive long enough to perform the experiments. The lack of humidity in the southern Nevada desert is too much. Shortly thereafter I found that UNLV has a walk-in chamber where they raise fruit flies, but I couldn't find any of the professors who were interested in running these experiments with me. They all had projects of their own.

OBSERVATIONS

There are three significant observations in these experiments:

1. Number 4 outlived all the other flies by at a third of a lifetime.

2. Number 4 re-acquired the vitality of a younger fly. His wing was regenerated. And he went from spending most of his time on the medium to spending most of his time at the top of the vial showing an increase in geotactic response.

The importance of this observation is that number 4 not only lived longer than all the other flies, but that his characteristics revealed him to be more youthful. It appears that he experienced rejuvenation.

3. With modified X-radiation, number 4 did not have to receive daily doses; instead, he received only two doses in which the parameters had an effect.

This shows that modified and controlled X-radiation is more effective than small, unmodified daily doses of X-radiation.

Conclusion

1. The experiments reported in this chapter were successful, but they cannot be viewed as conclusive. It is only one set of experiments, and the equipment was not such that detailed information could be obtained from very specific observations and measurements.

Further experimentation needs to be conducted utilizing controlled and modified X-radiation.

2. These experiments need to be conducted with more sophisticated equipment, including an electron microscope. And thousands of flies need to be used. Then the results can be viewed as more conclusive.

3. Nevertheless, the results obtained from these experiments makes further experiments along these lines not just worthwhile, but a necessity.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

HOW CAN THIS BOOK HELP YOU?

1. Radiation imparts energy to matter.

2. Fruit flies, in the laboratory, receiving increased daily doses of artificial X-radiation, live longer lives than the control flies.

3. Fruit flies receiving normal doses of ionizing radiation live a normal lifespan.

4. Fruit flies shielded from natural radiation live shorter life spans.

5. People living at higher altitudes receive higher doses of natural ionizing radiation than people at lower elevations.

6. There is a higher ratio of centenarians who live at higher elevations than those that live at lower elevations.

7. The Georgians and Azerbaijans have a large number of centedecinarians.

8. The Georgians and Azerbaijans live in a geographical area that has higher concentrations of soil radiation.

9. Dogs, in the laboratory, receiving small daily doses of X-radiation were able to produce sperm longer than the controls.

10. Rats, in the laboratory, receiving small daily doses of X-radiation lived longer lives than the controls.

With these facts it is easy to conclude that ionizing radiation is a form of energy that slows down the entropy of aging. The high energy radiating particles impart energy to the cells of living animals, specifically to the cell's intercellular substance. It raises the vibrations of the molecules and gives the entire cell more energy.

In essence, ionizing radiation is a more pure form of energy than ATP. This can be seen in the fact that ionizing radiation does not expend energy to make energy. ATP needs blood vessels to transport the nutrients. ATP needs cellular mitochondria to produce the ATP. And then the waste products need to be eliminated. Ionizing radiation needs none of this.



So, the question now becomes, 'How has this book helped you?' Since I'm not YOU, I can't answer this question, but I can report the following observations.

1. The research on semi-starvation during WWII, plus the fasting experiments on laboratory animals has proven that eating slim will greatly improve your health and life's longevity.

If you want to live longer and healthier, eat slim, fast, or both.

2. The research on elevation has proven that if you move to a higher elevation, you will increase your life's longevity—make sure it's a sunny elevation. And make it a daily habit to get out into the sun for at least a couple of hours.

If you want to live longer and healthier, move to a higher elevation that's sunny—around six or seven thousand feet.

3. The Portland experiments gives us all hope that someday they will build a machine which will keep us continually young.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SPECULATION

Imagination is the key for the advancement of science and technology, to bring forth the marvels of infinite knowledge locked away in the corners of our minds.

Speculation is the advancement of science. Somebody or some scientist is always trying to create the impossible.

The following statements are mostly speculation. It is based on the knowledge of ionizing radiation, presented in this book, and therefore has some credence. It is easy to speculate that once the cause of aging has been discovered, it should be possible to discover how to reverse it. But speculation is just that. There is not enough evidence to substantiate it. The most we can say is that it is hypothetical with a possibility of someday becoming a reality.

As more research is done, it is possible that scientists will find a way to modify and control ionizing radiation in order to stop aging altogether.

From the fact that moderate, chronic doses of ionizing radiation impart energy to an animal's cells, slows down entropy, and increases its lifespan; it is easy to hypothesize that in quantities great enough and under controlled conditions, it will stop it and reverse it; thus, the fountain of youth. If enough energy can be imparted to replace all of the energy lost to entropy, then aging will not occur. Indeed, if enough energy is imparted, the cells will be rejuvenated, and the body will become young again.

This idea stirs an interest in more experimentation. It proposes that eventually there will be a rejuvenation machine. Scientists will discover that the higher form of ionizing radiation, that is, gamma radiation, will be the most effective. When the scientists build the rejuvenation chamber, it will be utilizing controlled and modified gamma radiation.

The essence of this hypothesis proposes that the fountain of youth can be discovered with further research.

The Unreachable: For thousands of years humanity has been searching for three unreachable dreams. Out of these three, technology has brought alchemy into reality, has brought the panacea a long way through medical research, and then there is the third one, the fountain of youth.

1. Alchemy—changing base metals into gold.

2. The panacea (elixir of life) the cure for human ailments.

3. The fountain of youth.

I. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century it was thought impossible to change other metals into gold; however, with the advent of particle acceleration, transmutation (changing metals into other metals) became a reality. The change takes place on a subatomic level. Electrons are displaced and one metal can be changed into another. So, it turns out that it can be done.

It is found, however, that working on a subatomic level to change metals takes a tremendous amount of energy; and therefore, in dollars and cents, it takes more money to create the gold than the gold is worth.

II. The panacea is a substance believed to have the power to cure all diseases.

It is obvious that with present-day technology; the understanding of the human body and the understanding of parasites, microbes, and submicroscopic viruses is the panacea of human ailments. It is not totally complete yet, but as knowledge increases, the diseases afflicting the human body decrease. The understanding of cleanliness, the understanding of the human nervous system and how to balance it, the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics, and the utilization of vaccinations have virtually eliminated many of the diseases from the human race. As these fields continue to advance, more and more diseases are no longer a threat to the human race. The understanding of the human body is so advanced at this time that most people only need to heed the information presented in this book in order to stay healthy and live a long life.

The panacea is almost complete.

III. Similarly, stopping or reversing entropy on a cellular level in animals will take a tremendous amount of energy. High amounts of ionizing radiation must impart energy to cell walls, to the inner cellular components, to the inner cellular substance, and to the outer cellular substance. The radiation must be modified and controlled. The speed of the radiation must be uniform and cannot be at such a speed as to do damage to the genetic material. Also, the larger, heavier particles of ionizing radiation, must be filtered out.

Consider that an eighty year old man steps into a machine. It's just large enough for him to stand or sit comfortably, or walk around in a small area. There are no sounds and no gadgets. The walls, the floor, and the ceiling are bare. The door that was shut behind him is solid. There are no windows in the room. He has been instructed to get into any position, which he finds comfortable. He can stand, walk, sit, lie down, or any combination of these. He knows he will be staying here for 24 hours, but what he will get in return, makes it worth the slight discomfort.

Once he leaves the machine, and over a period of the next three months his body experiences progressive cellular rejuvenation. At the end of that time he once again has the body he had at 22 years of age. This is, indeed, the classical fountain of youth.

This idea is difficult for most people to consider. In the past, with the search for the fountain of youth having been a futile attempt, and with the failure upon failure to find it, it has become understood to the realists and the scientists of the twentieth century that the fountain of youth is nothing more than a myth; nothing more than a reach for the nonexistent. It is considered by most that there is no such magical fountain. There will never be extended life, let alone turning from the aged to the youthful person again.

These are the beliefs of most of the scientist and layman alike, but science has a way of catching up with the imagination. There have been many great discoveries and accomplishments, which the educated society believed were unattainable. Yet, somewhere along the line a scientist has made the discovery, and now, we have them. We use them. And most of us are grateful for them. Consider what it was like without the automobile, the telephone, the TV, or the computer. It wasn't that long ago that none of these were in use, undiscovered.

Before they were discovered, what would it have been like to try to convince someone these conveniences could become a reality? Most would have laughed. Some would have thought you a scam artist. Others would have thought you crazy.

Yet, all of these discoveries came about, and now we take them for granted. No one considers how amazing these discoveries are. Talking to someone around the world on a piece of wire or through the airwaves. How remarkable. Most people don't even know how telephones work, but since they use this discovery everyday, an everyday occurrence, it no longer seems like reaching the unattainable.

Does the fountain of youth seem more unreachable than discovering the telephone? It certainly does now, but what about before the telephone was discovered. Then, they would have both seemed as fanciful. How absurd to talk to someone clear across the United States on a piece of wire. How absurd to make an old person young again.

But as long as we have an imagination, science moves forward.

The fountain of youth is now a probability.

APPENDIX A

THEORIES ON AGING

There is a lot of controversy in the scientific community as to what causes aging. A number of theories have been proposed, but the evidence gathered by the scientists to support the ideas behind their theories is not enough to formulate a strong conclusion—a lot of suppositions, a lot of conjecturing, and a lot of wordy descriptions, but not enough evidence.

When delving into the more popular theories proposed by other scientists, it will be seen that, in most cases, they are leading to, and fall just short of the theory that aging is caused by a loss of energy from the human body. If the logic of these other theories is taken one step further, it will be seen that the loss of energy becomes the final factor.

The Free Radical Theory: This theory proposes that aging occurs because of free radicals. Oxygen combines, abnormally, inside the human cell, with other elements or compounds, and thereby causes damage to the cell. Free radicals are compounds, which are produced by radiation, by the oxidation of fats, by food and drink contaminants, and by air pollution. Free radicals can cause damage to RNA and DNA (the genetic material of the cell). This, in turn, leads to cell death and aging.

Rebuttal: abnormal amounts of radiation, excessive oxidation of fats (overeating and not enough exercise), food and drink contaminants, and air pollution are all abuses of the human body. Indeed, they can lead to cancer or other diseases. They do cause damage to RNA and DNA. But this is not aging.

There are societies in which none of these causes of free radical production are experienced. There is no air pollution. There are no food and drink contaminants. The radiation is not excessive. These people get plenty of exercise and do not consume abnormal amounts of fatty foods. Yet, these people age and die.

During youth the metabolism is quick to clean out waste products and injurious products such as cancer cells and free radicals, but with aging the metabolism slows down, and the body cannot eliminate the free radicals as quickly.

Thus, it is a loss of energy from the human body, which causes the metabolism to slow down and the free radicals to build up. In this light it can be seen that free radicals are not the cause of aging but merely one step in the process of aging.

Toxic Waste Accumulation Theory: This theory proposes that there is a waste material left over, called cellular ash; just like burning wood in a fireplace, when the cells of the body burn fuel for energy. Over a period of time the cells cannot get rid of this waste material fast enough. An accumulation of the waste leads to aging characteristics such as 'old age spots.' These become signs that waste products are building up, and as they do, they interfere with the functions of the body.

Rebuttal: the accumulation of the waste products is seen as a result of a decrease in energy. The cells lose vitality with age, and as their functions slow down they can no longer remove the waste products efficiently.

Again we are seeing a loss of energy from the body, which results in a slow down of the metabolism. As the metabolism slows down the waste products are not removed as efficiently.

The Limited Number of Cell Division Theory: This theory proposes that the human cells, in a laboratory culture, will undergo approximately 50 cell divisions, and no more. This observation is found again and again with no change. Even when the tissue is frozen after 20 divisions and then thawed out, it will continue to 50 before it stops dividing.

It is obvious that the human body is given just enough energy and that the genetic structure is coded for 50 divisions. When this limit is met the divisions stop.

It is, therefore, concluded that as the metabolism slows down, as the cell divisions approach 50, and as the energy decreases, aging becomes more and more apparent. Eventually there is not enough energy to sustain life.

Rebuttal: these experiments are run in a test tube environment. To accept these results as viable is to say that the cells do not need nerve energy. It is to say that energy from the nervous system is not important in cell division. It is more rational to assume that without nerve energy the cells have enough energy of their own to divide 50 times.

Second, a researcher in California has gotten human cells in the test tube environment to divide 200 times by adding vitamin E to the culture. This vitamin slows down oxidation and adds energy to the cells. With this change in the cell's environment the cells divide four times longer. This shows that by improving the environment the cells are able to divide longer. If the environment could be improved even more, there is no reason why the cells couldn't divide indefinitely.

Aging is not a result of genetics. There is not a limited amount of inborn energy. If this were true, everybody would live approximately the same number of years and then die.

The Radiation Theory: There have been a lot of experiments conducted on life forms with radiation. The results of these experiments are always the same: excessive radiation shortens the lifespan. In books that deal with radiation and aging, numerous graphs and charts can be found which prove that radiation is a life shortening agent.

Radiation has a detrimental effect on the DNA and RNA. It causes defects in the genetic material, which in turn, leads to cell death. As cell death occurs all the characteristics of aging become manifest, and the functions of the body slow down.

Since radiation is all around us, we cannot escape it, and we cannot stay young.

Rebuttal: the experiments do, indeed, show that excessive amounts of radiation causes genetic aberrations, cancer, other diseases, cell death, and whole body death. But these are "excessive amounts." But excessive amounts of radiation are rarely experienced by a human being. It only occurs during nuclear accidents, as in power plants, or in nuclear war.

There are, in fact, other experiments which show life forms live a longer than normal life with increased mild daily doses of radiation.

The Cross Linking Theory: As we get older we get stiffer. Some scientists attribute this to the cross linking of the proteins of connective tissue. They propose that this occurrence is caused by smoking cigarettes, breathing smog, drinking alcohol, eating food additives, and being bombarded by ionizing radiation. Because of this wide diversity of causes, it is impossible to avoid cross linking.

Cross linking occurs at the molecular level and affects mostly a connective protein called collagen.

The tissues of the body, which support and hold the body together, are called connective tissue. When specific chemical reactions take place in the body due to smoking, drinking, . . . , cross linking takes place involving the molecules of their tissues. Collagen, elastin, and other proteins of connective tissues are being welded together. When two freely moving molecules are bound to each other by free radicals, they have been crossed linked.

Cross linking has the effect of progressive reduction of bodily functions. The connective tissues become tighter and stiffer. These tissues, which are composed of collagen, elastin, and other proteins, become less extensible and therefore less flexible as the body ages. This has an effect on the overall metabolism. Among other losses of function it causes the permeability of the blood vessels to be decreased. The blood vessels can no longer allow necessary nutrients, hormones, enzymes, and other essential materials to move through the vessel walls and into the cells at a normal pace; nor can the waste material (cellular ash) move out of the cells and into the blood vessels (to be carried off and disposed of) at a normal rate. The functioning of the body, therefore, slows down, aging occurs, and eventually the body dies.

Collagen makes up approximately one third of the total body protein. So, as cross linking occurs, it has a dramatic affect on the entire body.

Rebuttal: when oxidized, unsaturated fats produce aldehydes, peroxides, and free radicals. All of these are cross linkers. And these are formed even during youth. If cross linking was the cause of aging, then aging would begin before a child was fully grown.

Smoking cigarettes, breathing smog, drinking large quantities of alcohol, and eating food additives are abuses of the body which causes pathological aging, and this includes cross linking. But they can be avoided, and are avoided by a certain percentage of the world population.

It is obvious that excessive radiation is harmful to the human body, but most people do not experience this. And, it has been shown that mild daily doses of ionizing radiation actually have a life lengthening effect.

When the body is young it has the ability to deal effectively with cross linking. It is therefore reasonable to assume that cross linking does not cause aging, but that aging and metabolism slow down causes an increase in cross linking.

We're back to the same logic: as the body loses energy, the metabolism slows down, and the body can no longer deal with cross linking as effectively as when the metabolism was faster in youth.

Change in Non-Dividing Cells Theory: In the beginning, all the cells of the human body divide and reproduce, as is seen in the fetus as it develops. However, the cells of neurons (nerve cells) and cardiac and skeletal muscle lose the capacity to divide soon after birth. According to researchers these cells begin to die when the growth period has stopped. From this point on they never again divide. And when they are destroyed due to abuse, they are never replaced. These cells are called post mitotic or non-dividing cells.

Proponents of this theory state that as the non-dividing cells die, they effect the structures involved in such a way as to decrease its function. It has been observed that organs, with cells that do not divide, age readily.

The overall effect is to slow down the metabolism, cause whole body aging, and lead to death.

Rebuttal: if too many cells were lost, it would impair the function of the organs and structures. Fortunately, research has shown that these tissues have at least four times the necessary number of cells needed to sustain life in the human body. One or more of these organs or structures can lose 75 percent of their cells and still keep the body alive. It is possible that this is an overestimate by the scientists, but the conclusion is the same, the body can lose a great deal of its non-dividing cells and continue to function in a normal capacity.

If the organs can lose a great deal of their cells and still function in a normal capacity, it would lead one to conclude that the loss of non-dividing cells is not responsible for aging. People who abuse their bodies minimally do not lose many of their non-dividing cells; yet, they age.

Change in Dividing Cells Theory: In contrast to the post-mitotic cells, the pre-mitotic cells are those that continue to divide throughout the life of the human body. The parts of the body made up by these cells include the skin, the liver, the reticuloendothelial system (part of the immune system), and the intestinal epithelium. As these cells continue to divide, they are able to replace older, worn out cells. This is a means of insuring a continuance of the functioning of the organs and other related tissues.

When injury occurs these cells can quickly divide in order to replace the injured and destroyed cells.

As the body ages, cell division slows down, and thus, injured tissues cannot be repaired as quickly as in the young. Overall, skin and other tissues heal better and faster in the young than in the aged. Skin injuries in the aged leave more obvious scars. The young have a faster metabolism which means the cells can utilize accessible materials for duplication and division more quickly.

When cell division slows down, the skin wrinkles, hair follicles are lost and balding occurs, the organs composed of dividing cells function slower and begin to wither, the metabolism slows down, aging occurs, and the body dies.

Rebuttal: it may be seen that, in the aged, there is a loss of cells from non-dividing tissues; there is a slow down of the dividing cells; and the overall metabolism of the body has slowed down. But this is a result of aging, not a cause of aging.

If the energy level of the human body could be kept at a maximum, the metabolism would not slow down and cell division would remain at a high level of efficiency.

The Wear and Tear Theory (Rate of Living): We have a certain amount of innate (inborn) energy. This energy works with ATP (food energy \- what we eat) to maintain the metabolism of the body. As the innate energy is used it cannot be replaced. Once the innate energy is depleted to a certain degree, the body dies.

There are experiments on rats, which show that eating a less than normal diet will increase their lifespan. Digesting food takes a tremendous amount of energy. This is why most people get tired after eating, and this is why people who are fasting need less sleep and have more energy.

ATP can be replenished by eating, and excess amounts can be stored as fat. Innate energy cannot. Once it's gone, it's gone. Overeating, not only burns ATP, it also expends more than the normal amount of innate energy. It increases the rate of living (the amount of energy being used) and decreases the lifespan.

If a person lives a fast and hard life, they will not live as long as a relatively sedate person. Eat less, slow down, live more sedately, and live longer.

Rebuttal: this theory assumes that innate energy cannot be replaced. This is not true. There are experiments which show that life forms live longer than their average lifespan with mild daily doses of X-radiation.

There are three forms of energy being used by the human body.

1. Innate energy (where does this come from? That's a good question)

2. ATP

3. Ionizing radiation

Experiments have been performed which clearly show the relationship of the energies: two sets of fruit flies have eclosed on the same day (they are the same age in days). The first set is raised exactly as the second set; except the second set receives mild daily doses of X-radiation. All of the flies of the second set not only live longer, they live significantly longer.

This shows that the ionizing radiation is replenishing the innate energy, not 100%, but enough to make the flies live longer.

Conclusion

Scientists have not been able to agree on why or how aging occurs. And down through the years many different theories have been developed.

The ideas on aging are usually grouped into four main categories:

1. A slow accumulation of waste products in the cells. (Cells produce waste products when they utilize ATP. This waste is moved out of the cell and, eventually, into one of the four systems of elimination which results in: feces, urine, perspiration, or respiration). When the waste accumulates in the cell it can eventually cause cell inefficiencies or cell death. This is considered by some scientists as the cause for aging.

2. The stress of living and of disease.

3. Cellular mutation

4. Radiation

It is the goal of scientists to use the knowledge they have discovered in the laboratory, in Nature, and in literary research, to come up with new ideas; then, by experimentation they try to prove or disprove these new ideas, and thus, bring forth more knowledge for the advancement of technology.

With aging, however, no one has yet been able to prove or disprove the ideas. To this point they have not been able to devise an experiment which will show what causes aging.

But now, with the knowledge gained from the experiments on the fruit flies, dogs, rats, and the observations of the long-living people, a logical conclusion as to the cause of aging can be stated.

1. In the beginning the waste products are moved out of the cells very efficiently. There are two major processes which move waste products out of the cell: active transport and exocytosis. As long as these transport systems are functioning properly there is no accumulation of waste products in the cell.

So, it is not the accumulation of the waste product that causes aging; it is whatever causes the slow down of their movement out of the cell. It is obvious that active transport and exocytosis are not functioning at a normal rate. If they were, the waste products would not accumulate in the cell.

2. There are human beings who have very little stress in their lives. They do not smoke nor drink alcohol nor any detrimental beverage. They do not eat foods that are stressful to the human body. Their emotional state is peaceful and without incident. Their genetic makeup is normal. They have the optimum physical activities. They rarely get sick. In essence, they have very little stress in their lives, yet, they still get old.

Living a life free of pathological aging can certainly give a person a long, happy life; with no diseases and no senility. But it cannot stop aging.

3. All abnormal cells are destroyed and removed from the body by the immune system. This is the role of the immune system. If it becomes deficient in its function, then these cells could accumulate and cause disease and possibly death.

But once again, there has to be a slow down of function, in this case, that of the immune system. It is therefore not the abnormal or mutant cells that are the cause of aging; but whatever causes the immune system to slow down.

4. It is believed by most medical scientists that everybody has cancer cells in their bodies. It is the immune system's responsibility to remove these cells from the body and keep cancer from becoming manifest.

This, however, is a disease and has nothing to do with aging. The cause of cancer is usually a result of stress.

All the characteristics of aging, both on a systemic level and on a cellular/molecular level, point to entropy, a loss of energy from the system. As the metabolism slows down all the processes in the body, which depend on it, also slow down. This, in turn, causes all the signs of aging from which other scientists formulate their theories as to the cause of aging.

By reviewing all the evidence it can seen that the cause of aging is a loss of energy from the body. And this, then, raises the question, if energy is kept at the same level, will this keep aging from occurring?

The answer is yes.

APPENDIX B

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN

In order to get a better understanding of aging, scientists over the years have made many comparisons between species of mammals, and between mammals and the other classes of life.

From this study has come an approximation of the average lifespan, in years, months, and days of many of the life forms of the Earth.

This information, gathered in Nature and in captivity, has been correlated and put into tables in order to present an easy comparison.

Some life forms live shorter lives in the wild, while others live shorter lives in captivity.

Considering all the variables, it is not possible for the information in these tables to be exact. When animals live in captivity they oftentimes live longer lives than in the wild. The natural habitat is harsh on many species of animals; especially animals of prey. On the other hand, some species of life live better in their natural environment rather than in captivity.

Even though the information in these tables is not exact, it is reasonable data. If you examine these tables closely, you will notice that the slow-living life forms, those that expend little energy in motion, are also those that live the longest. While this is not a steadfast rule in relation to these charts, it is obvious that there is a trend.

Trees, which have very little purposeful motion, live the longest. They also receive most of their energy from solar ionizing radiation. The slow moving Galapagos Tortoise lives 150 years. The turkey vulture, a slow moving bird, which lives at high altitudes and flies only when necessary, lives 118 years. The sea anemone are sessile life forms, attached to rocks on the ocean floor and non-mobile. They live 90 years.

APPENDIX C

TAXONOMY

Taxonomy is the modern scientific classification of life. Observing natural relationships and comparing or contrasting similar or different characteristics determines whether or not two forms of life will be put together in the same category. This method of grouping life forms makes it easier for the researcher to compare the results of one life form to other life forms.

When classifying and dividing the life forms, the largest and most comprehensive of the categories is called the "Kingdom."

Of the Kingdom categories there are five subdivisions: Kingdom Monera; Kingdom Protista; Kingdom Fungi; Kingdom Plantae; and Kingdom Animalia. The main characteristics that separate these Kingdoms are:

1. Kingdom Monera: These life forms have prokaryotic cells, which means their cells are lacking a nuclear membrane and membrane bound organelles. In contrast to this, the other four Kingdoms have membranes around the organelles in the cells. This type of cell is called eukaryotic.

2. Kingdom Protista: These life forms have only one cell. In contrast to this, the life forms of the last three Kingdoms have many cells.

The last three Kingdoms are separated according to the mode of nutritional intake. How do they consume their food?

3. Kingdom Fungi: These multicellular organisms absorb their food directly through their cell membranes.

4. Kingdom Plantae: Most plants use sunlight (photosynthesis) and absorption (they absorb water and minerals from their environment).

5. Kingdom Animalia: Animals swallow their food. The following are examples of those being used to support our theory on aging.

The four forms of life being considered in this book for the study of aging and longevity are all found in Kingdom Animalia—they are all animals.

APPENDIX D

IDEAS, THEORIES, HYPOTHESES, AND FACTS

It will be found that, even in the scientific community, there are terms which are used loosely, or are not agreed upon by all the scientists. For the sake of clarity, whenever these terms are used in a document there must be an understanding between the reader and the author. For this reason the following terms are defined for a better understanding within the confines of this book:

1. Known Universe

2. Idea, concept, or thought

3. Fact

4. Theory

5. Hypothesis

The Known Universe: Within the realm of infinity, the Known Universe is that part of space, matter, energy, and consciousness of which we have knowledge and understanding. It is an understanding of our brain, our body, and all of the surrounding environment. It is our knowledge that reaches deep into the Earth and that which reaches far into space. Scientists and laymen have brought forth knowledge over a period of thousands of years (most in the twentieth century) to give us our present understanding of the Known Universe.

Not everyone's Known Universe is the same. The Australian Aborigine, for example, may not have the same, nor even a similar, Known Universe as an astronomer. This is not to say, however, that one is better than the other. To broach this subject would be purely philosophical. The Aborigine may have a different Known Universe than the astronomer, but between these two possible extremes, most people in the industrialized nations have a similar knowledge of this, our small part of infinity.

Ideas: Ideas come from our knowledge of the Known Universe. Ideas come from the mind and are created by the knowledge of the mind from which it comes. It is a generalized category in the realm of knowledge. It includes assertions, assumptions, opinions, beliefs, notions, thoughts, concepts, and others.

From this description it is obvious that ideas can be based on fact or simply assertions with no facts to back them up. Ideas can be false or they can be true. Ideas can be backed by a lot of evidence or by no evidence at all.

Ideas come from the mind from past experiences. Sometimes the mind that creates them needs to discard them immediately. For the mind realizes that this particular idea is useless or absurd. Other ideas are worth pondering. And some ideas are worth acting upon.

When the idea has value, it needs to be given substance. In one instance you might look in the refrigerator and decide you need milk. So, you act on the idea and off to the store you go. This idea springs from past experience, from the gaining of knowledge in the past.

In another instance, while reading a book an idea suddenly occurred to me that ionizing radiation is a source of life extension. It seemed reasonable because of knowledge from past readings. At that point the idea needed to be backed with evidence. So, more literary research was conducted. Then, laboratory research was conducted. And finally enough evidence was collected to consider this to be no longer just an idea.

Facts: Facts are concepts that are known with absolute certainty and have enough objective verification to be known to be the truth. There is enough evidence that it cannot be disputed. It is a truth that will stand against any test. And it will stand against time.

Jumping to conclusions without the evidence to support a concept is not acceptable in the scientific community. Scientists cannot deem a concept to be a fact until they have presented enough supporting evidence to make it so. They are attempting to distinguish between truths and untruths. This brings forth discoveries, which oftentimes can be used by humankind.

Theories: A theory is an idea or a concept, which is backed by enough evidence to call it a theory, but not enough evidence to call it a fact. Past knowledge gleaned from scientific experiments or observations in the environment is correlated in such a manner that a theory is formulated to further describe these gathered facts.

If there are not enough facts to support it, then the idea or concept cannot be considered a theory. It is nothing but a notion, an idea, or a concept. A theory is more than a concept or an idea, but less than a fact.

A theory is one concept or a set of related concepts, which do not have to be bound by time or finite space. For this reason, some theories can neither be proven nor disproven. For example, one of the theories of this book is one which states that the body of a human being is physiologically structured such that it can live forever. Obviously, we don't have enough time to prove nor disprove this theory, but there is enough evidence to consider it a theory.

There are other theories, which even though they do not have to be bound by time nor finite space, have been created within this framework. These theories can be proven or disproven. For example, there was once a theory called the "Geocentric Theory." This theory proposed that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Today we know that this theory is false. It was proven to be so with the advance of technology.

Whenever a theory falls within the limits of time or finite space, it is necessary for technology to advance far enough to determine whether or not this particular theory is true or false.

A theory must fall with in certain guidelines. If it does not, then it needs to be re-evaluated and redefined:

1. Are there enough facts to support it?

2. Does the theory predict an outcome?

3. Does it stimulate interest in further research?

When a theory falls within these guidelines, then it is a valid theory for scientific purposes.

Hypothesis: The following rules apply to a hypothesis.

1. A hypothesis is a concept, which has been spun off of or derived from a theory.

2. It is a proposition formed within the theory.

3. Many hypotheses may be generated by one theory.

4. A hypothesis can always be proved or disproved. For example, one or more hypotheses can be derived from the theory that a human being has the physiological capability of living forever. We could hypothesis from this theory that a person could live 300 years. This hypothesis can be proven or disproven. (But it will have to wait for technology to catch up with it.)

5. A hypothesis demands more experiments to be conducted, and/or more observations to be made. It utilized some or all of the facts behind the theory to devise experiments. Once enough evidence is gathered it can be used to prove or disprove the hypothesis.

6. One hypothesis may prove or disprove a relative theory from which it springs. But usually it takes many hypotheses to perform this feat.

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