Here’s what we’ll cover in this blog post:
- Will longevity lead to overpopulation?
- Does longevity mean being frail for longer?
- Do genetics control our health?
- Are longevity therapies accessible?
- Is longevity pseudoscience?
We know more about aging now than ever before. But there are still plenty of questions about longevity that we have yet to answer, and as such, there’s also plenty of enduring misconceptions.
So, we want to quickly debunk some myths about aging and explain why they shouldn’t keep you from your journey towards more healthy years. Here are the most common facts and myths about longevity.
Myth: Longevity Will Lead to Overpopulation
Fact: Longevity doesn’t mean the end of death. It just means living longer and with less disease.
This myth seems to be based on a misguided assumption of the goals of longevity science. It’s easy to see longevity as a quest for the fountain of youth that will save us from the inevitable clutches of death.
But the truth is that longevity science doesn’t aim to end death—the goal is to slow aging. By targeting the underlying biology that drives aging, scientists aim to reduce disease and frailty to the very last fraction of our lives.
To illustrate, let’s apply this logic to cancer: no one is delaying the search for a cure from fear of overpopulation. When we treat aging similarly as a disease, this assumption becomes more myth than fact. Just as curing cancer will not end death, neither will slowing aging.
Myth: Longevity Means Being Frail for Longer
Fact: Longevity isn’t just about living longer. It’s also about living healthier for longer. That means living for as long as possible without debilitating diseases or health conditions that we associate with aging.
This touches on the difference between lifespan and healthspan. Our lifespan is simply how many years we live, while our healthspan is how many years we live free of disease and frailty. The difference is like quantity versus quality. But when it comes to our longevity, why can’t we have both?
While we want to enjoy as many years as possible, it’s not enough to focus solely on our lifespan if those extra years are spent living with disease. Our goal should also be to increase our healthspan, which means more healthy years, and thus a better quality of life.
Myth: Genetics Largely Control Our Health, So Why Should I Bother?
Fact: Our genetics only influence about 20% of our overall longevity, which means we’re in control of our health.
The idea here is that our overall health isn’t up to us—it’s up to our genes. The assumption is that, if we can’t control our health, then we shouldn’t make so much effort to improve our health. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s true that our genetic code influences some of our health, which can make us more susceptible to diseases and conditions that lower our quality of life. However, we shouldn’t overestimate the extent to which our genes impact our health.
The impact of exercise and other lifestyle choices on our health is evidence that we can directly impact many aspects of our longevity. Just like exercising, we won’t see results by sitting back and letting our genetics do the job for us: we must take an active role in improving our lifespan and healthspan with diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
Additionally, techniques like gene editing could further limit how much genes control our health. By directly modifying damaged or disease-carrying genes, doctors can help treat and prevent age-related diseases. In the meantime, regular check-ups with your primary care physician can help us make healthy lifestyle decisions while keeping our risk of diseases in check.
Myth: Longevity Therapies Are Only for the Rich
Fact: Most longevity therapies are inexpensive and accessible. It’s true that some longevity clinics charge $100,000 or more, but these are the exception, not the rule.
Just take Metformin for example, which is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Metformin isn’t just celebrated for its potential longevity benefits. It’s also among one of the most inexpensive and accessible medications in the world, least of all for its ability to treat type 2 diabetes.
However, early press for Metformin often centered around which celebrities were taking it, which painted the drug as somewhat of a celebrity fad. The assumption is that only people with means and status have access to new and cutting-edge therapies like Rapamycin.
But “cutting edge” doesn’t mean “only for the rich and famous.” In fact, our mission at AgelessRx is to keep the latest longevity therapies affordable and accessible by offering free virtual visits and free delivery. This way, anyone can enjoy more healthy years.
Myth: Longevity Is Pseudoscience
Fact: Longevity is backed by real-world science that confirms we can delay the onset of aging by targeting the cellular processes that drive aging.
It’s easy to think that longevity science is too good to be true. Do we really have drugs available that can help us live longer? Can we really reduce disease and frailty to the last fraction of our lives?
The answer to both is a resounding yes, and you don’t have to take our word for it. Scientists at the Interventions Testing Program (ITP) have been working since 2002 to test potential drugs that may delay aging. Since then, they’ve confirmed nine drugs that significantly increase lifespan, including Acarbose and Rapamycin.
But the ITP also isn’t the only official study on longevity. Countless studies exist to confirm the efficacy of longevity therapies, and countless more are either in progress or preparing to launch. Among these are the PEARL trial, the first nationwide telemedicine trial and the first large-scale intervention trial on longevity.
Longevity science isn’t science fiction, it’s just science. All our treatments that we offer are backed by advanced scientific studies from leading researchers and institutions, including Dr. Terry Grossman of the Grossman Wellness Center in Denver, and Dr. Sandra Kaufman of the University of Maryland, both of whom serve on our Scientific Advisory Board.
Longevity: More Fact Than Myth
The fact is that there’s more truth to longevity than myth. Though longevity science is still new in the eyes of the greater public, it’s also still science. That means there are thousands of experts out there working to discover which lifestyle choices and interventions can help us live the healthiest for the longest.
We count ourselves lucky to have many of these experts call AgelessRx their home. From our Scientific Advisory Board to our Applied Sciences and Medical teams, our combined expertise is helping dispel these myths and transform studies to actionable insights.
Our experts are available to help show you how longevity science can help you live healthier, for longer. Should you ever have any questions, you can get started with a longevity consultation to better understand what options are available, and see what’s right for you. You can also try a free longevity assessment to see how your lifestyle choices are impacting your overall health.
With these insights in your back pocket, you’re one step closer to a longer life with lower risk of disease.
Note: The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.