THE SCIENCE OF LONGEVITY: LESSONS FROM METHUSELAH
Written by Ronald Peters, MD, MPH, September 9, 2018CONTENTS
Lessons from Methuselah
Nutrition and Caloric Restriction
Movement and exercise
Stress and cortisol
Medical Perspective and lab testing
Consciousness – The Final Frontier
“People don’t grow old. When they stop growing, they become old.”
Anonymous
LESSONS FROM METHUSELAH

NUTRITION – CALORIC RESTRICTION
“Don’t dig your grave with your knife and fork.”
English Proverb
The wisdom of our English ancestors has been proven again and again by modern scientists: eat less and live longer. Reducing the number of calories consumed by all species tested so far, including, yeast, rotifers, nematodes, fruit flies, spiders, fish, rodents (hamsters, rats, mice), dogs, and chimpanzees, as well as humans will improve health and extend life span by 30 to 40%. The caloric restriction varies between 30 and 50% and may be significantly below that for maximum growth, but enough for maintaining overall health. The reduced calorie diets create “under-nutrition without malnutrition.” Caloric restriction is far and away the most researched and successful approach to life extension discovered so far. Thousands of published articles over 70 years have proven again and again that it works in every species tested. So why aren’t we all jumping on the caloric restriction bandwagon? We can’t stop eating; that’s why. We are flooded daily with images of yummy food and somehow along the way food has become self-directed psychotherapy. Surrounded by junk food, we eat when we are lonely, frustrated or depressed. It rewards us after a difficult day. Since the days of suckling at the breast of mother, food is curiously associated with love. It seems that if we are deficient in love in our lives, whether for another or for ourselves, we revert to the primal programming of the infant and eating moves beyond simply fueling the body and becomes an unconscious surrogate for love and well-being. But don’t worry, it is the same for chimpanzees. The caged chimps used in caloric restriction research had no choice. Living in captivity and given the opportunity to eat at will, they to will overeat, gain weight and often develop the same chronic diseases that we do. In contrast, chimps living in nature seldom gain weight. Living in nature affords them guidance in the principles of longevity: rich social lives, food prepared by mother nature and lots of exercise. Basically, they can live as they wish in accordance with the biological intelligence they are born with. Perhaps many of us are caged as well. However, the bars of our cages are the conscious and unconscious limiting beliefs conditioned into us from childhood which create the all too common dramas of modern life: unfulfilling employment, dysfunctional relationships, loss of creativity in life and chronic disease. We too are lacking in the natural guidance provided by honoring our emotions, following our excitement and generally loving ourselves and others. However, unlike the chimps we have the keys to our cages and we can fling the doors open. But I am getting ahead of myself. More on the high-powered tools for longevity later in this writing. Back to nutrition – you can achieve 30% caloric restriction by switching to a whole food, plant-based diet. You can eat as much as you want of gluten-free whole grains such as brown rice, millet, oats and quinoa, as well as a great variety of vegetables and beans. And, this happens to be the diet of the longest-lived peoples on the earth. These are the areas on our beautiful planet where people live long and free of common chronic diseases, often reaching into the 110s and 120s and beyond:Okinawa, the island off the coast of Japan
- Hunza Valley in the northern mountains of Pakistan
- Vilcabamba, “The Valley of Longevity”, tucked away deep in southern Ecuador
- Nicoya Peninsula on the West side of Costa Rica
- Icaria, the Greek Island
- Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California
- Sardinia, the Italian island in the Mediterranean
- Reduction in body temperature.
- Reduction in fat mass, including visceral adiposity,
- Increase in muscle mass.
- Restoration of hormonal secretions that tend to fall with age (DHEA and HGH).
- Enhanced cognitive function and mood.
- Improved ability for physical activity.
- Stimulation of growth factors e.g. BDNF
MOVEMENT AND EXERCISE
From the first appearance of vertebrate life on earth almost until the present century, our ancestors have been active and strong – “athletic” . . .. Viewed from the perspective of evolutionary time, sedentary existence, possible for great numbers of people only during the past century, represents a transient, unnatural aberration.
Boyd Eaton, Marjorie Shostak, and Melvin Konner MD, The Paleolithic Prescription, A Program of Diet and Exercise

STRESS AND CORTISOL
“Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older.”
Hans Seyle
The fight or flight human stress system has insured human survival on earth for tens of thousands of years; yet in modern times this powerful system is killing us through stress related diseases. Our hunter/gatherer ancestors ran from danger with the help of cortisol and adrenaline, while we modern “hunters” worry about an endless stream of imaginary dangers while sitting on the sofa or driving the car. All the while cortisol is doing its job of preparing us to run or fight, even though neither is appropriate for our modern “dangers”.
- Increased appetite and food cravings
- Increased body fat, especially in the abdomen
- Decreased muscle mass
- Decreased bone density, or, osteoporosis
- Increased cholesterol and triglycerides
- Increased depression
- Increased anxiety
- Mood swings
- Decreased sex drive and sexual performance
- Weakened immunity and increased infections
- Memory and learning impairment
- Brain atrophy
- Increased symptoms of PMS
- Increased menopausal side effects such as hot flashes and night sweats
- Obesity
- Coronary artery disease – angina and heart attack
- High blood pressure
- Insulin resistance and eventually diabetes
- Depression and anxiety
- Alzheimer’s disease due to shrinkage, or, atrophy of brain cells
- Osteoporosis due to accelerated bone breakdown
- Erectile dysfunction and loss of libido, or sex drive
- Recurrent infections due to impaired immunity
- Mild cognitive impairment with poor focus, concentration and memory
- Cancer
- Researchers measured the length telomeres,
- individuals with the most job stress had the shortest telomeres
- Those who did not experience work exhaustion had longer telomeres.
- 39 women ages 20 to 50 who had been experiencing grinding stress for years because they were caring for a child suffering from a serious chronic illness, such as autism or cerebral palsy, and 19 other very similar women whose children were healthy.
- Measured levels of telomerase
- The longer a woman had been caring for a sick child, the shorter her telomeres, the lower her levels of telomerase and the higher her levels of “oxidative stress.”
- The greater a woman’s perception of her stress in the study, the worse she scored on all these factors.
- Women with the highest perceived stress had telomeres equivalent to someone 10 years older.
- “It was just the same with oxidative stress — the worse the perceived psychological stress, the greater the oxidative stress. “
- The study involved 50 women, about half of them caring for relatives with dementia, and therefore presumably deal with daily stress were told that they would have to engage in public speaking or math problems.
- the researchers assessed cellular age by measuring telomeres, which are the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes. Short telomeres index older cellular age and are associated with increased risk for a host of chronic diseases of aging, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.
- those who felt most threatened by the anticipation of the stressful event exhibited greater signs of aging on the cellular level.
- The researchers proposed that greater anticipated threat levels in daily life may promote cellular aging in chronically stressed persons.
MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE: THEORIES OF AGING
- CORTISOL AND STRESS REDUCTION
Stress is the biggest toxin of all and deeply woven into the mind. High levels of cortisol over time will weaken the immune system, lower hormone levels, atrophy brain cells and contribute to most every disease.
- BLOOD GLUCOSE REGULATION
Maintain low normal blood glucose levels to avoid cross linking of sugars with proteins which will cause cell and organ damage [advanced glycation end products, or AGEs).
- REDUCE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION
Inflammation is at the heart of all diseases including chronic illness.
- DETOXIFICATION OF CHEMICALS AND HEAVY METALS
Reduces Free radical oxidative damage which is thought to be a key element of aging
- HOMOSYSTEINE AND METHYLATION
Transfer of methyl groups is the most fundamental biological reaction in the trillions of cells in your body. Compromised methylation will disturb neurotransmitter production, DNA repair, cellular energy production, detoxification of chemicals and heavy metals, immune function, cell membrane repair. Poor methylation may also shorten your life.
- IMMUNE SYSTEM
The immune system weakens due to persistently high cortisol as well as aging in general and is reflected in thymus shrinkage, auto-immunity and increasing incidence of cancer.
- HORMONAL DECLINE
DHEA is a natural steroid that plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of hormonal balance and youthful vitality. In addition to being the precursor to androgens and estrogens, it supports the immune system, modulates inflammation, protects bones, and helps us adapt to stress. Aging disrupts hormonal balance, with the levels of several critical hormones dramatically reduced in comparison with youthful levels. By age 80, levels of DHEA fall by as much as 80%–90% compared to what they were during young adulthood
Menopause and andropause greatly reduce estrogen, testosterone and progesterone, but the process is accelerated by stress. Optimal hormone level are associated with longer telomeres.
- MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION
Mitochondria convert the energy-rich nutrients in our food into the cellular energy source, ATP. Free radicals and oxidative stress are necessary by products of “burning” food and oxygen and are eliminated by intrinsic antioxidants as well as antioxidants from our diet. Antioxidant deficiency for a variety of reasons can damage mitochondria and reduce energy production needed for healthy organ function and create “mutant” mitochondria which generate even more oxidative stress.
And, as we toss toxic chemicals into the environment polluting the land, water, land air of our planet, we find the same toxins in the tissues of our bodies creating further damage to mitochondrial energy production
- DNA REPAIR
Perhaps the greatest mystery of life is the 100 trillion feet (about 19 billion miles) of DNA packed into the nucleus of every cell in your body. DNA contains the instructions for growth, reproduction and survival. Since DNA is constantly making new copies for new cells, DNA repair is essential in order to maintain cell vitality and survival as well as cancer prevention. However, DNA repair declines with age for reasons not fully understood.
Research at Harvard Medical School reveals many of the DNA repair enzymes are dependent on the signaling molecule NAD. In addition to energizing DNA repair enzymes, NAD improves cellular energy production, reduces cell damaging inflammation, and increases neurotransmitter production, it also activates the longevity related Sirtuins 1-7 genes. Next to the power of consciousness, intravenous NAD is one the most promising treatments for longevity.
- TELOMERE LENGTH
The telomere is the region of highly repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome which functions like a disposable buffer. Without telomeres, repeated cell division would quickly result in the loss of vital genetic information, which is needed to sustain a cell’s activities.
Age adjusted telomere length is the best method to date to determine accurately a person’s biological age which is compared to their chronological age. Serial evaluation of telomere length will determine how rapidly one ages relative to a normal population. Therapies directed at slowing the loss of telomere length will slow aging and age-related diseases
- DECLINE IN STEM CELLS
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Adult stem cells have been found throughout the body, including the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, muscles, skin, and the liver. Stem cell populations decline with age and they may become dysfunctional, which produces an impaired regenerative response to cellular and tissue or damage
CONSCIOUSNESS – THE FINAL FRONTIER
“. . .for the aging person it is a duty and a necessity to give serious attention to himself. After having lavished its light upon the world, the sun withdraws its rays in order to illumine itself.”
Carl Jung

- Optimism
- Happiness and life satisfaction
- Altruism
- Responsible emotional expression.
- Following your excitement, or passion, in life.
- Meditation – you are who is listening to your thoughts
- Understanding the healing power of disease
- Love of self, love of others, and human connection
- Self-actualization
MEDICAL RESEARCH:
Happy People Live Longer: Subjective Well-Being Contributes to Health and Longevity Ed Diener, Applied Psychology, 2011- Seven types of evidence are reviewed that indicate that high subjective well-being such as:
-
- life satisfaction,
- absence of negative emotions,
- optimism, and
- positive emotions
- Produce improved health and longevity.
“A study of nearly one thousand older adults followed for nine years concluded that people with high levels of optimism had a 23% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 55% lower risk of death from all causes compared to their pessimistic peers.”
Fulfillment at Any Age, by Aoife O’Donovan, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. University of California:- Researchers studied telomere length in the immune system cells of postmenopausal women ranging from 50 to 86 years old.
- pessimists have poorer immune system functioning, and
- shorter telomeres than the optimists.
- Handwritten autobiographies from 180 Catholic nuns, composed when participants were a mean age of 22 years, were scored for emotional content and related to survival during ages 75 to 95
- Positive emotional content in early-life autobiographies was strongly associated with longevity 6 decades later.
- Michigan study of 2,700 men studied over 10 years
- ½ of the men who engaged in regular volunteer activities had death rates half of those that did not.
“altruistic side effects include reduced stress; improved immune system functioning; a sense of joy, peace and well-being; and even relief from physical and emotional pain.”
Longevity Increased by Positive Self-Perceptions of Aging, Levy et al. ,J Pers Soc Psychol. August 2002- Older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier,
- lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging
Summarizes four personality types and links them to longevity.
-
- Life long pattern of hopelessness
- Life long pattern of blame or anger
- Bounce between hopelessness and anger
- Self-actualized
Based on work of Dr Hans Jurgen Eysenck – 20 year study of over 13,000 European subjects
-
- 75% of people who die of heart disease and 15% of those that die of cancer are members of the Lifelong Anger Club (Group 2)
- Group 1, Hopelessness, tend to die 35 years younger than those in Group 4 – 75% die of cancer and 15% of heart disease
- People in Group 4, self-actualizers, tend to die of old age, and less than 1% die of cancer or heart disease
- Compared 30 participants at a meditation retreat with matched controls on a waiting list for the retreat.
- Meditated six hours per day for three months.
- After three-months, researchers found that the meditators had on average about 30% more activity of the enzyme telomerase than the controls did.