The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [187]
Cancel our reservations at the Cheesecake Factory! In fact, it’s time to cancel dinner forever!
Or, wait a second, is that really all there is to the story? Roger Cohen, whose father, a doctor, studied baboons all his life, shared a less sensationalized perspective in a New York Times op-ed titled “The Meaning of Life,” excerpted here:
Which brings me to low-cal Canto and high-cal Owen: Canto looks drawn, weary, ashen and miserable in his thinness, mouth slightly agape, features pinched, eyes blank, his expression screaming, “Please, no, not another plateful of seeds!”
Well-fed Owen, by contrast, is a happy camper with a wry smile, every inch the laid-back simian, plump, eyes twinkling, full mouth relaxed, skin glowing, exuding wisdom as if he’s just read Kierkegaard and concluded that “Life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backward.”
It’s the difference between the guy who got the marbleized rib-eye and the guy who got the oh-so-lean filet. Or between the guy who got a Château Grand Pontet St. Emilion with his brie and the guy who got water. As Edgar notes in King Lear, “Ripeness is all.” You don’t get to ripeness by eating apple peel for breakfast.…
When life extension supplants life quality as a goal, you get the desolation of Canto the monkey. Living to 120 holds zero appeal for me. Canto looks like he’s itching to be put out of his misery.…
We don’t understand what the mind secretes. The process of aging remains full of enigma. But I’d bet on jovial Owen outliving wretched Canto.…
Laughter extends life. There’s little of it in the low-cal world and little doubt pudgy Owen will have the last laugh. 1
If your goal is to live as long as possible, there is a long list, an endless list, of things to avoid. The good news is that life-extension need not be complicated.
For the gents, it may be as simple as blocking a few websites and curbing a little maleness. The pro-ejaculation lobby slipped up in 1992, when the New York Times broke the story:
IN WORM, AT LEAST, MAKING SPERM IS FOUND TO SHORTEN A MALE’S LIFE
See, Dr. Wayne Van Voorhies of the University of Arizona had allowed nematodes, also called “roundworms,” to kill themselves by copulating. In his research, nematodes prevented from mating lived an average of 11.1 days. Nematodes allowed to drop their drawers lived a scant 8.1 days. Never got to see the grandkids grow up, never got to play golf at St. Andrews.
It’s a sad tale of weary scrotums (or whatever worms have as scrotums).
“The genes and biochemical processes nematodes use are the same as those that humans and other mammals use,” elaborated Dr. Philip Anderson of the University of Wisconsin.
The Times connected the logical dots in their conclusion: “Ceaseless sperm production takes its toll on a male, perhaps requiring the use of complex enzymes or biochemical processes that have harmful metabolic effects … the difference in lifespan between men and women [women live an average of 6 years longer] just may be linked to sperm production.”
Finally, no more ejaculating! It’s like finding out that flossing is bad for you. No more tiring sex or aching wrists. Hassle removed. And you might live 37% longer!
In the quest for longer life, it pays dividends to err on the side of caution, to avoid any unnecessary risks or unknowns. To live, after all, you don’t need much. Air, water, gruel with some protein, and shelter will cover all the bases. One could therefore suggest no venturing outside the home, no driving or traveling, and certainly no exposure to other humans, who could be sick with cat flu or diaper