Is the Fear of Death Rational?

You guys are all focused on the wrong things here and making this issue much harder than it needs to be. To avoid heart attacks, the best medicine is An eyeful a day keeps the doctor away. Now that's a cardiovascular program that I can endorse. :-)

Regards,
--
Jeff

Post 21

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 2:43pm

Just so people don't get too carried away with Jeff's suggestion...

http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/breasts.asp

Jordan

Post 22

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 3:39pm

Damn! :-(

Don't tell my wife!

BTW, that reminds me of another study my wife brought to my attention years ago that showed that married men live longer than unmarried ones. I told he that I didn't know if it was true or not, but it certainly felt like it was a lot longer! That's when she threw something at me. :-)

Regards,
--
Jeff

(Edited by C. Jeffery Small on 1/23, 3:47pm)

Post 23

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 3:41pm

Your wife has a problem with you looking at her breasts, Jeff?

(Luke, this is the sort of thing I was talking about.)

(Edited by Ted Keer on 1/23, 4:03pm)

Post 24

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 3:46pm

Ted, you sure like to live dangerously.

Post 25

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 6:31pm

"Your wife has a problem with you looking at her breasts, Jeff?"

My wife is very committed to making sure that I don't have a heart attack!

Post 26

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 7:23pm

I'm sorry, but there's just nothing I can say in mixed company. I keep thinking of the scene in A Clockwork Orange where they demonstrate the effectiveness of the aversion therapy with the model on the stage.

Post 27

Friday, January 23, 2009 - 10:13pm

Jeff,

"My wife is very committed to making sure that I don't have a heart attack!"

Mine too! My wife gave me a Concept 2 rower for Christmas! I've rowed about 50,000 meters since Christmas. God, I'm so tired...

Post 28

Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 4:39am

Ahhhhhhhhh - ye finally made it across the English Channel, huh... ;-)

[used to have a rowing machine - was great relaxation device, as got rid of a lot of tension... unfortunately, no room in this place for it, so had to get rid of it [well, lasted 20 years, so did good time]... am thinking maybe a bow-flex be good...

Post 29

Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 10:21am

Robert,

The Concept 2 can store upright and fits under an 8' ceiling so takes up far less space than a bowflex and I think costs much less. I also do Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" barbell workouts three days a week interspersed with rowing. I'm rehabbing a couple of injuries for a few months then plan on going back to crossfit (diablocrossfit.com) maybe in the spring. I absolutely LOVE the rower. I believe free weights and full range functional movements are the only way to go for strength training but you must go light until you can execute the form perfectly. Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" is the best way to learn perfect form. Crossfit is the best functional fitness protocol ever devised. Scalable for anyone, any age. I already have my spectator tickets for all three days of the crossfit games in Aramos, California in July.

Post 30

Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 8:50pm

Sam,

There are two amino acids that appear to be beneficial for people with congestive heart failure: Taurine and L-Carnitine (or Acetyl-L-Carnitine). For the benefits of Taurine, see:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1538580

L-Carnitine works by reducing muscle apoptosis (cell suicide) through actions on gene expression and on apoptosis-related proteins or cytokines. Congestive heart failure is associated with myopathy (death of heart muscle cells, often due to apoptosis). L-carnitine increases gene expression of Bcl-2 protein and reduces gene expression of caspases, thereby reducing apoptosis. Chronic inflammation associated with heart failure leads to high levels of the cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF−α), which promotes apoptosis. L-carnitine results in reduced serum TNF−α levels [American Journal of Physiology, Cell Physiology; Vescovo,G; 283:C802-C810 (2002)].

- Bill

Post 31

Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 9:09pm

For those of you who don't know Mike Erickson, here's a guy who's 60 years old and has the physical fitness of a 30 year old. I hope Mike doesn't mind my saying so, but he was once able to do 5 -- that's FIVE -- one armed chin ups. He's still pretty darn strong. But 5 one-arm chins is, well, spectacular!

- Bill

Post 32

Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 9:11pm

Go Mike!

Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 9:40pm

Holy Crap!

Monday, January 26, 2009 - 12:51am

I do not follow this fitness area closely, so I don't know if this is new or old news, but this evening on 60 minutes, there was a story about a chemical called Resveratrol that is found naturally in the skin of grapes, that researchers believe may make it possible to trigger a gene in humans that will retard many of the ill effects of aging and allow individuals that take large doses in pill form, to forestall diabetes, heart attacks, Alzheimer's, etc. and allow for active lives well in to the 90's. The effect is the same as being achieved by people who basically starve themselves, which has proven to extend a healthy life. Human studies are underway and the researcher indicated that this may be on the market within five years. The link above will take you to the story.

Regards,
--
Jeff

Post 35

Monday, January 26, 2009 - 4:03am

I found this interesting - http://www.frankcovino.com/ - his book Rage Against Age...

Post 36

Monday, January 26, 2009 - 9:00am

"physical fitness of a 30-year old"

arghh...if it were only true.

Jeff,
"it possible to trigger a gene in humans that will retard many of the ill effects of aging"

I believe high intensity exercise accomplishes this. But an optimized diet is very important.

Post 37

Monday, January 26, 2009 - 1:02pm

Ah - that's celery and peanut butter, right? ;-)
[along with the vitamin pills ;-)]

Post 38

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 12:30am

Jeff,

Resveratrol is already on the market. You can get it in any health-food store. The problem is it's stability in pill form. There is some question as to how stable it is and therefore how effective the pills actually are. If that problem can be solved and the manufacturer can guarantee the supplement's stability, you've got a great life-extension supplement. I used to take it, but when questions about its stability surfaced, I stopped taking it. I haven't researched the latest products though. Maybe the stuff that's now on the market is fairly stable. I just don't know.

- Bill

Post 39

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 7:04am