2/28/2016, 5:00 p.m. – Eating healthy and exercising regularly should give us a better chance to live up to 80 years, but there are some who don’t mind going a little further (and a little stranger) to have a couple of years more. Would you try any of these practices?
Starve Yourself
You might have heard of calorie restriction as a means to lose weight, but apparently this is also proven to work is you want to live longer. In 1934, a study where rats where nearly starved to death exceeded their life expectancy in comparison to the rats that ate more. Since then, the study has been replicated with other species and shown similar results. The most recent is the 2009 study of the Rhesus Monkeys, Canto and Owen.
This practice is not as uncommon as you would think; in Okinawa, a Japanese island with the highest number of seniors in the world, there is the tradition of Hara Hachi Bu, or eating until you are 80 percent full. If you are willing to give up food, you can also join the CR Society, the official calorie restriction practitioner’s club.
Eat Raw Meat
The reasoning behind eating raw meat is this: When we cook, we get rid of some of the nutrients in our food. In the case of meat, we destroy vitamins B12 and B6, which help repair DNA from radiation and converts food into energy, respectively. While not proven to give us a higher life expectancy, eating raw meat does have some health benefits.
Some cultures such as Eskimos and Native Americans include raw meat in their diet as part of a tradition, and in some rare cases it is used as alternative medicine. One notable example is Derek Nance. After having an unidentified illness that made him throw up everything, Derek has been eating nothing but raw meat and organs for the last seven years. He even brushes his teeth with animal fat!
Or… Be a Vegetarian
It is true that vegetarians live 10 years longer on average than meat eaters, but the reason behind this is still unclear. On one hand, vegetarians eat fewer calories and fats that could cause cardiovascular problems later in life. On the other hand, vegetarians tend to exercise more, smoke less, and drink less alcohol. The diet itself has many benefits, but there are still too many factors to determine if the reason vegetarians live longer is because of the diet alone or their habits.
Embrace Stress!
Apparently, a little stress might be good for us. In an 80-year study called the Longevity Project, researchers found that when you have a meaningful job that you enjoy, the stress you experience is not hurtful. However, having a happy childhood might lower your chances of reaching old age: “The most cheerful, optimistic kids grew up to take more risks… By virtue of expecting good things to happen and feeling like nothing bad ever would, they predisposed themselves to be heavier drinkers, they tended to be smokers, and their hobbies were riskier.”
Bee Pollen… and Rattlesnakes?!
Ok, rattlesnake meat is mostly a superstition (and if you were wondering, so are caterpillar fungus and mushroom extract) and is really not much more nutritious than beef. The only added benefit of eating rattlesnakes is that they are very low in fat. So if you are interested in trying an exotic food, go for it, but it’s not going to make you live longer.
Bee pollen however, might not be a complete myth. Bee pollen has more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese. It also contains enzymes that help with digestion, antioxidants that strengthen blood vessels, and is shown to have antibiotic type properties that boost the immune system. It might not be the key to eternal life, but it certainly makes for a good supplement.
Shower Less
Many dermatologists agree that frequent showers can be less healthy than you think. If you shower with hot water, you have higher risk of irritation and you can get rid of good bacteria and have more infections, thus making us live shorter lives. If you want to be healthier, you should be showering every two or three days. Personally, I can’t do it.
No Sex! That includes the fappity-fap, fellas.
Kidding.
Back in October 2015, the media claimed that Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov of the Biogerontology Research Foundation in the UK said that without sex as a distraction, a person could easily live up to 150 years old, but this was a misquote. What he really said is that “delaying marriage and reproduction is a by-product of shifting your life expectancy horizons.” In other words, the fact that people are choosing to have families later in life is an indicator that people will live longer and are therefore making plans later in life. (Scientists predict that living up to a 100 will be normal soon.)
However, Zhavoronkov does think he can easily live 150 years. In an effort to live longer, he is using himself as a test subject and takes up to 100 different drugs and supplements, monitors his blood biochemistry and cell count, and follows the calorie restriction diet. We’ll keep an eye on him to see if all this really works.
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