We need to begin by taking aging for what it is. Aging is no one’s friend. Aging is our enemy. A fundamental principle of antiaging medicine is, in fact, that aging can be regarded as a disease, an enemy. And, as with any enemy, we must fight it with all the tools and weapons at our disposal: with multiple independent methodologies. We don’t go to war with one soldier or one weapon. If we want to win, we attack our enemy with everything we have. Since aging is our enemy, we should use everything we have to fight it. But, on the road to longevity, we have other enemies as well. We need to acknowledge that we are our own worst enemies. We sabotage our health by making poor lifestyle choices. We know we shouldn’t eat doughnuts or potato chips, but we do. We know we should exercise regularly and control the stress in our lives, but we don’t. We ignore our genetics. We know that lung cancer runs in our family, but we smoke anyway. We know alcohol-related liver disease and cirrhosis runs in our family, but we still drink alcohol.
In addition, the disease processes themselves are our enemy. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, pneumonia, and Alzheimer’s disease are nobody’s friend. In addition, there is a vocal body of opposition to longevity research. For instance, some researchers feel any efforts to extend human longevity beyond its current 80 or so years are actually immoral.7 This was epitomized by an enormously insensitive statement made by former governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, who stated in 1984 that the elderly ‘‘have a duty to die.’’8 Some two decades later, Mr. Lamm is now approaching his 70th birthday. One wonders if he still feels the same way (and if he thinks it applies to him).
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