Components of longevity
Yuri Konev: "Don't surrender to the years!"
Elena Nechayenko, AIF from 18.02.2010
If there is no eternal life on earth, we can only hope for at least a long life. How to achieve active longevity, to keep up spirits, excellent health and a clear head until the last days?
We decided to talk about this with Yuri Konev, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Therapy, Geriatrics and Apitherapy of the Moscow State Medical and Dental University.
Biological records
"AiF": – Yuri Vladimirovich, one of the greatest achievements of the XX century is a significant increase in the average life expectancy of a person. Over a hundred years, this indicator has grown by almost a third. Do you think that humanity is waiting for further records to increase the life span?
Yuri Konev: – There are two aspects to this issue: biological and social. The increase in life expectancy that occurred in the last century was achieved mainly due to social changes: improvement of living conditions, the level of medical science, etc. After all, for example, croup pneumonia used to be considered almost a sentence, and smallpox, which is now recognized by WHO as a completely exterminated infection, once claimed millions of lives. But if we talk exclusively about physiology, then we have to admit that a person, as a representative of a particular biological species, has a certain limit of earthly life.
"AiF": – And what is this limit?
Yu. K.: – The maximum recorded by scientists for the entire history of observations is 121 years. This is how long the Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment lived, who throughout her life never moved from her native home to the outskirts of Paris. So far, no one has managed to break this record. Of course, from time to time stories about 150-year-old centenarians slip through the press, but this information cannot be considered reliable, because they do not stand up to strict verification. According to statistics, the oldest living person turned "only" 114 years old.
"AiF": – It turns out that longevity is an achievement of civilization?
Yu. K.: – By no means, centenarians existed in the past centuries, just their number was small. So, if we talk about an increase in life expectancy, it would be more correct to say that it is not the maximum age of a person that is growing, but the number of people who live to old age. The main changes concern not only the calendar, but the biological age of a person, its values are gradually decreasing, thereby delaying the onset of the inevitable signs of aging.
Young "old men"
"AiF": – Does this mean that old age comes to our contemporaries much later than to people who lived in previous centuries?
Yu. K.: – Of course! It is enough to recall "old Larina" from "Eugene Onegin", who is barely 40 years old. Or one of Turgenev's heroes – "a deeply old man of 45 years." Even Chekhov's Firs, who is usually portrayed in the theater as a senile, gray-haired old man who has lost his mind, if you compare some of the facts mentioned in the play, turns out to be a little more than 50 years old. But Leo Tolstoy went the furthest, in one of his novels there is the phrase "an elderly lady of 32 years entered the hall."
Of course, today's 50- and 60-year-olds cannot be called old people in any way. Most of them actively live and work, create families, play sports. According to the official classification, up to 60 years of age a person is in the period of his maturity. The elderly age lasts from 60 to 74 years, from 75 to 89 years - senile. A person over 90 years old is considered a long–liver, after 100 years - a super-long-liver. In terms of the number of people who celebrated their centenary, Japan is the leader – there are 41 thousand such people. Unfortunately, not only do we have many times fewer super-long-livers, but the average life expectancy is much lower.
"AiF": – What can explain the Japanese phenomenon? High standard of living, favorable climate and ecology?
Yu. K.: – Of course, the Japanese were much more lucky with the climate than we were. Living in warmth, and even above sea level, is very useful for health. Unfortunately, our weather and natural conditions are not conducive to longevity. But it's not just the climate. For example, rational nutrition plays a huge role. Japanese people eat a lot of fish and seafood, vegetables and fruits, unrefined products and quite a bit of meat, fatty, smoked, salted and refined food. In addition, Japanese culture welcomes moderation in food, while our people, especially older people, often overeat.
Many of us, unfortunately, expend energy several times less than they consume, and the food itself often does not meet the needs of the body either in terms of the amount of dietary fiber or the content of vitamins and minerals. But if our elderly people started their morning not with porridge and eggs, but with a portion of vegetables and fruits (preferably those that have undergone a small heat treatment), thickly seasoned with vegetable oil, then at least half of them would have solved the problem of constipation, and some other health problems.
Components of longevity
"AiF": – And how do you feel about taking alcohol in old age?
Yu. K.: – It all depends on the dose. A century and a half ago, doctors treated weak and infirm patients by giving them one tablespoon of vodka (or cahors) before meals. And it helped! This remedy or its alternative in the form of one glass of high-quality dry red wine a day (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon) can be recommended even now, but the problem is that few Russian people are able to resist an "overdose".
"AiF": – What factors are still important for longevity?
Yu. K.: – Sufficient sleep. Its duration is an individual value, it depends on the psychotype, someone has enough and 5 hours a day, and someone needs at least 9-10 hours. The main thing is that a person gets enough sleep. In addition, elderly people need regular physical activity, consistent with the capabilities of the body. For example, fashionable jogging after 50 years should be banned: such loads on the spine can lead not only to back problems, but also to heart attack and stroke.
"AiF": – How can an elderly person keep himself in shape?
Yu. K.: – Optimal types of physical activity are walking (preferably on rough, hilly terrain) and swimming (ideally – in the sea, ocean, since sea water is very close to our blood plasma in composition). Another favorable factor for longevity is family status. Based on statistics, people who are married live much longer than bachelors.
It is also known that the chances of living a long life are higher for people with a positive attitude. And finally, the chances of longevity increases the sense of need, human and professional relevance. Therefore, such a low retirement age, which is set in our country (and nowhere else in the world!), in my opinion, has done our people a disservice. A person, still full of strength and energy, completely falls out of society. At the same time, the impoverished level of pension does not allow him to maintain the same standard of living – all this is such a stress that many newly-made pensioners cannot survive.
"AiF": – And what, in your opinion, is there in our national character that prevents us from living happily ever after?
Yu. K.: – Elderly Russians really like to be treated and believe in a miracle pill that will cure them of all diseases. At the same time, they are very impatient and expect an immediate result. For example, in my medical practice, I begin acquaintance with elderly patients not with prescribing medications, but with canceling some of them. After all, an excess of medicines is very harmful to the health of any person. Especially for an older person.
The main thing to understand is that our health is 60% dependent on lifestyle and only 10-20% on medicine. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our compatriots are distinguished by dependency – 70 years of Soviet power have weaned us from the need to take care of ourselves, not to wait for outside help. But self–esteem is also an important part of therapy aimed at increasing life expectancy.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
18.02.2010