Health
How Can You Keep Your DNA Young?
Telomeres protect our chromosomes, with telomere length related to several age-related diseases, cancer, and lifespan.
Faust, the eponymous protagonist in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous play, asks Mephistopheles in the chapter Hexenküche (Witches’ kitchen) what he can do to improve his life. The erudite protagonist is bored and depressed with his life as a scholar.
Contemplating suicide, Faust goes for a walk as nearby Easter celebrations start. Walking with his assistant Wagner, Faust is followed home by a stray poodle. In Faust’s study, the poodle transforms into Mephistopheles. The devil provides some advice, which I will paraphrase: Seek out a life of moderation, stop being lazy, exercise regularly by plowing the field, and avoid unhealthy foods!
Faust did not respond positively. He does not like manual labor and opts for a magic youth potion. In essence, Faust trades his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge. Mephistopheles offers Faust magical powers for a set number of years, but at the end of the term, the Devil will claim Faust’s soul, and Faust will be eternally enslaved.
Let’s explore what I think is a reasonable alternative pathway to longer life: Slowing telomere shortening…
