Carl Bourhenne's Fitness and Long Life Manual |
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Youthful and Attractive |
Our beautiful bodies and our intelligent brains are entirely
the product of the genes which we inherited from our parents. Each one of our genes,
and the combinations of our genes are crucial to the way that we look and function.
Perhaps no single fact shows this more dramatically than the small, yet so notable gene
differences between man and the chimpanzee: Anthropologists tell us that we are
evolutionary descendants of the chimpanzee. These creatures seem so very different
from us, and yet our genes are 98.2 percent identical to the chimpanzee! So each one
of our genes, and our gene combinations are vital to our make-up and our health.
In additional to determining our make-up, our genes also determine how healthy we will be, and how long we can live. As I mentioned in the OVERVIEW, the research of Richard G. Cutler of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health has shown that our genes presently limit human lifespan to an absolute maximum of about 120 years.
I mentioned that Cutler's studies of the evolution of human genes shows that, although the lifespan of our evolving species was growing rapidly, it leveled off about 100,000 years ago at about 120 years, and has remained there ever since. Once the mapping of the human genome is completed, Genetic Engineering may extend our youthful health and lifespan by...who knows how much? And, as I also pointed out in the OVERVIEW, diseases and handicaps of all kinds may slide into history, just as penicillin and other "miraculous" advancements have put so many infirmities into our history. Once the mapping of the human genome is completed, Genetic Engineering may allow us to cure and prevent every illness known to man, and even re-grow lost body parts. And since our genes control our lifespan, who knows how much we could extend the length of our lives?
In order to best use the information available to us, such as the information in "How To Live The Longest Life Possible", we must each look at our own genes as closely as possible and make special provisions for the weaknesses that we each may have inherited.
Each of us must pay special attention to our genetic background in order to provide for our own special needs for preventive medicine, special nutrition, and the other lifestyle factors that promote health and long life.
We can each adopt two strategies to assess our own genes: We can look at our family history ourselves and observe the health and longevity factors of our relatives and predecessors, and we can hire the services of a geneticist to do a more in-depth study.
The results could be the avoidance of minor and major illnesses, and the maximization of our own potential lifespan.
After assessing our genes we can contact the appropriate organizations for guidance in maximizing our health and long life. For example, if we have a family history of heart trouble, we can contact the American Heart Association for guidance. If there is a family history of a particular type of cancer, we contact one of the major cancer research organizations such as the American Cancer Society, and so on.
There is a new area of medicine called "Darwinian Medicine", which examines the traits developed during the long line of the evolution of man. One of the goals is to look at our inherited traits with the view toward compensating for those traits which are no longer useful and might be harmful, and enhancing those traits which are indeed beneficial.
It is important to note that we do not necessarily inherit any particular characteristic of either of our parents. Our gene pool is affected by previous generations as well as by our own parents. In fact, generally speaking, we stand only about a 25 percent chance of displaying any one particular characteristic of either of our parents. Whether or not we display a particular parental characteristic is the result of a combination of "dominant" and "recessive" genes which we inherited from both of them for that characteristic.
The information in "How To Live The Longest Life Possible" is generally for everyone. Adjustments may be made in the use of the information, based on your personal genetic background, but only after consulting your physician.
Carl Bourhenne, MA
