[extropy-chat] clarifications RE: CR and free-rad theory of aging...

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Ensel Sharon
> Subject: [extropy-chat] clarifications RE: CR and free-rad theory of
> aging...
> 
> 
> As you may have guessed from my recent postings, I am delving into the
> free-rad theory of aging and calorie restriction.  I have some basic
> questions that I am not finding clear answers for:...

> All comments/suggestions appreciated.  I realize this is not a CR list - I
> just like the quality of discussion here.



No apologies necessary Ensel.  Many of us here are all about surviving to
see the singularity, or if not that, living long enough to see some waaay
cool new technologies that promise to make our final years more comfortable,
more fun, and more numerous.  CR is apparently in first place for current
known life extension techniques.

The following is not a direct answer to any of your questions, but rather a
commentary or theory I would like to toss into extro-space for the cluey
ones to devour.

Fat cells need to form from stem cells, right?  And stem cells that are used
up forming flab are not available for more health-restoring purposes, such
as repairing damaged organs and such.  So perhaps one of the reasons CR
results in life extension is that it keeps more stem cells available.  

I expect this effect to be second to the more obvious advantage: if one does
CR, one is thin, so one can walk more easily, therefore one is more likely
to do more the form of exercise that is most available to the elderly:
walking.  Consider that you don't many see really old geezers pumping iron
down at the gym, not many of them playing soccer or skating, but plenty of
them (or 'us' depending on one's point of view) out walking the trails, and
nearly all of those elderly walkers are thin.

This observation tempts one to theorize that CR isn't what actually extends
life, but rather the immediate and direct side effect: thinness, resulting
in more exercise, along with all the well known side benefits, such a
protection from the long list of flab-related diseases that we have come to
know so very well in these well-fed and sedentary times.

spike