Human cell division seen from an electron microscope.
I have to give my dad some credit. In growing up amidst an obesity epidemic, I can remember this subject coming up a lot in conversation at home. One thing that I remember my dad saying is that when you look at the very elderly, one thing that these people have in common is a healthy weight. Maybe it seems obvious, but as people age and deal with constant senescence, having unneeded body fat is something that must be harmful to an aging body. Interesting idea. It's been a lifelong difficulty for me maintaining a healthy weight, so I'm really interested in this subject.
However, on Saturday I was reading in my human development book about longevity and found out about research at a cellular level that might explain longevity, and it really made sense to me. The idea is that a lifelong tendency to have a low calorie diet that maintains the necessary nutrients slows cell division. Cell division is perfectly natural, but with each division, we loose a little bit of DNA. Over the years, these losses are seen as the aging process. So, slowing cell division improves longevity. It made me think about my time in Taiwan where the elderly seemed to have so much vitality. I think an eastern diet, at least a more traditional one, is usually more healthy with fewer calories, and this must have a lot to do with the healthy elderly people that are seen in a lot of Asian countries.
I find this interesting but also challenging. My western diet leaves me to crave so many of the foods that I should not be eating. But reading this is a good reminder that a healthy weight has little to do with vanity. It is really does come down to long-term health.
