Longevity myths

This article is about myths related to humans or other beings living to extreme ages. For validated specific supercentenarian claims by modern standards, see List of the verified oldest people. For modern, or complete, unvalidated supercentenarian claims, see Longevity claims.

Jurōjin, the Japanese god of longevity, one of the Seven Lucky Gods

Longevity myths are traditions about long-lived people (generally supercentenarians), either as individuals or groups of people, and practices that have been believed to confer longevity, but which current scientific evidence does not support, nor the reasons for the claims.[1][2] While literal interpretations of such myths may appear to indicate extraordinarily long lifespans, experts believe such figures may be the result of incorrect translations of number systems through various languages, coupled along with the cultural and symbolic significance of certain numbers.[3]

The phrase "longevity tradition" may include "purifications, rituals, longevity practices, meditations, and alchemy"[4] that have been believed to confer greater human longevity, especially in Chinese culture.[1][2]

Modern science indicates various ways in which genetics, diet, and lifestyle affect human longevity. It also allows us to determine the age of human remains with a fair degree of precision.

The record for the maximum verified lifespan in the modern world is 122+1⁄2 years for women (Jeanne Calment) and 116 years for men (Jiroemon Kimura). Some scientists estimate that in case of the most ideal conditions people can live up to 127 years.[5][6] This does not exclude the theoretical possibility that in the case of a fortunate combination of mutations there could be a person who lives longer. Though the lifespan of humans is one of the longest in nature, there are animals that live longer. For example, some individuals of the Galapagos tortoise live more than 175 years,[7] and some individuals of the bowhead whale more than 200 years.[8] Some scientists cautiously suggest that the human body can have sufficient resources to live up to 150 years.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b Ni, Maoshing (2006). Secrets of Longevity. Chronicle Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-8118-4949-4. Chuan xiong ... has long been a key herb in the longevity tradition of China, prized for its powers to boost the immune system, activate blood circulation, and relieve pain.
  2. ^ a b Fulder, Stephen (1983). An End to Ageing: Remedies for Life. Destiny Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-89281-044-4. Taoist devotion to immortality is important to us for two reasons. The techniques may be of considerable value to our goal of a healthy old age, if we can understand and adapt them. Secondly, the Taoist longevity tradition has brought us many interesting remedies.
  3. ^ Hokisson, Paul Y. (January 2010). "Number Manipulation for Profit, or Just for Fun?". Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. 30 (6): 3.
  4. ^ Kohn, Livia (2001). Daoism and Chinese Culture. Three Pines Press. pp. 4, 84. ISBN 978-1-931483-00-1. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  5. ^ Anderson, Stacy L.; Sebastiani, Paola; Dworkis, Daniel A.; Feldman, Lori; Perls, Thomas T. (1 April 2012). "Health Span Approximates Life Span Among Many Supercentenarians: Compression of Morbidity at the Approximate Limit of Life Span". The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. 67A (4): 395–405. doi:10.1093/gerona/glr223. PMC 3309876. PMID 22219514. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ^ B. M. Weon; J. H. Je (17 June 2008). "Theoretical estimation of maximum human lifespan". Biogerontology. 10 (1): 65–71. doi:10.1007/s10522-008-9156-4. PMID 18560989. S2CID 8554128.
  7. ^ "Galapagos tortoise in the database AnAge". Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Bowhead whale in the database AnAge". Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Danny (25 May 2021). "Aging experts hail new study, which finds that solving the decline in our ability to recover as we age may hold the key to dramatically extending human lifespan". Longevity Technology. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021. Extrapolation of this data shows a complete loss of human body resilience at around 120-150 years of age – indicating the current limit of human lifespan
  10. ^ Willingham, Emily (25 May 2021). "Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.