Saturday, March 22, 2008

寿星特徵和长寿因素

近五十年来,人的平均寿命越来越长,社会渐渐老化,老人学也因此应运而生。 说人人想长寿,甚至想长生不老,大概也不为过。怎样才能长寿,是人人都想知道的秘诀,也是老人学研究的对象之一。比较注意老人学的人,大概或多或少,都知道一些长寿的因素,都知道这些因素不全是“想当然耳”的因素,也不全是常识。

我想引用一个1973 在纽约由朱维特博士(Dr.Stephen P.Jewett)所领导的团队的研究报告,作为例子,列出寿星的一般主要特征,与期望长寿的朋友分享。当然,研究对象是美国人,结论未必全适用于亚洲人。

寿星特征:
1. 生理特征
1.1 体重不太过高于或低于标准体重,
1.2 一生体重变化不大,
1.3 肌肉大体结实,
1.4 好手力,
1.5 皮肤没老化,
1.6 还在驾车,身体活跃。
2. 心理特征
2.1 天资高, 对时事充满兴趣,记忆力强,
2.2 没有忧虑,少生病,不易发愁,
2.3 独立自主,多数自己做老板,迟退休,
2.4 多数中年受大萧条打击,但从中打出新出路,
2.5 他们享受人生,都乐观,具幽默感,享受简单乐趣,待人生如探险,别人看见丑陋处他们看见美丽。
2.6 适应性强,别人怀念少年时,他们偏爱生活于多变的现下,
2.7 他们很少想到死亡,
2.8 他们满足地日过一日,
2.9 可以说是虔诚的,但不走极端、不争正统,
2.10 饮食中庸但愿意尝新,无严格规定,唯包括多样化高蛋白低脂肪食物,
2.11 都早起,平均每天睡六七小时,
2.12 没一致的饮酒习惯;有喝大量的,有不喝的,也有喝小量的,
2.13 没一致的吸烟习惯;有人不吸,也有少吸而早已停吸的,也有吸烟斗上瘾的,
2.14 极少使用药物。
2.15 多数爱喝咖啡。


大家应该会注意到几点:
1. 心理特征多于生理特征,也许心理因素更重要,
2. 有些特征有违常识,
3. 有些特征不属“想当然耳”

其他研究显示:保持体重不变最有助于减低死亡率;一直保持超重10%的人死亡率最低;体重过低于目前的标准体重者的死亡率最高;突减体重不健康;要长寿保持体重不变比维持不超重更重要。这还不是常识;“想当然耳”也未能及。

其他研究也显示:最不活动的男人比最活动的男人死亡率高三倍,女人与女人之比则是五倍;运动量大的人比运动量小的人更健康,但要长寿,不须要有很大的运动量,相当于每天步行半小时的运动量就够了,但几乎要天天运动才行。

只要吃得能维持体重不变,食物与长寿的关系似乎不很大。 我们根据常识而十分注重饮食也许是过了分,许多寿星公都过着贫穷的生活,一生辛苦劳碌,不一定能吃到很有营养很合卫生的食物,但不失其长寿。

许多有关吸烟与喝酒对健康的影响的研究,显示吸烟和肺癌有密切的关系,喝酒的影响则比较复杂暧昧。喝少量可以减低心赃病,但这益处是来自葡萄还是酒精呢,还是两者兼而有之?毕竟酒精是有毒的,会破坏脑细胞,降低小肠吸收能力。酒喝多量可能患上酒精中毒。这些大家不可不注意。

上述因素多是后天性的。2008年3月13日发表在Genome Research 的一分基因研究报告告诉我们,人类已知有15个基因与控制酵母(single-celled budding yeast)和roundworm C. elegans寿命的25个共同基因相似,而这些基因有些则与摄取热能和营养有关,这和以前发现控制摄取热能和食物有助长寿不谋而合。这些基因的发现,为研究长寿,老化疾病,癌症等的科学家,缩小研究目标的范围。这些基因的发现,也让人修正以前认为长寿基因不会在进化的长流中遗留下来的见解,为长寿提出了基因上的基础。

如果要个简化的总结,是否可以得到这样的结论:除了基因影响之外,好动,乐观,独立,心肠善良,热爱生命,随遇而安,容易满足,少用药物,不走极端,是长寿的因素?

2008年 3月 陶正“剽窃”

Saturday, March 15, 2008

'Bird boy'

It was reported by Pravda on 27/2/2008 that a 7-year old boy living his life in a flat filled with birds and cages in Volgograd, Russia, can only communicate by 'chirping'. According to the report, the bird boy’s 31 year old mother treated him like a bird, forcing him to learn avian language and did not talk to him.
The boy doesn’t understand human language at all. He just chirps. When he realizes he is not understood, he starts to wave his hands in the way birds winnow their wings.
Pravda reported that authorities believe the boy is suffering from Mowgli (1) syndrome, after the Jungle Book character who is raised by wolves and that “Mowgli syndrome” has become wide spread in recent years. For example, during the last 2 months 5 persons with the same symptoms were found elsewhere. In Cambodia a 27-year old wild woman was recently found living in the jungles, walking nude and doesn’t understand human language. A local policeman acknowledged her as his daughter that was lost 18 years ago at 8. In Africa a 10-year old boy was found among the pack of monkeys. In the USA 2 girls were found brought up by a pack of monkeys. In Russia a 9-year old boy became the head of wild dogs’ pack.
For those who are familiar with the Jungle Book they will know that Mowgli was raised by wolves and other wild animals and although he was a human being, he behaved more like an animal. Labeling people like them as suffering from a syndrome is looking at it negatively. If we adopt a more neutral approach, we are more likely to see how nature and nurture are both at work.
When we say we were born with some traits, we are referring to something not learned. These traits may or may not be there at birth on the dot. In the case of human being, some of these were developed in the first 2 years of birth. This we call nature.
Nurture, by definition, is acquired. In an earlier article, “dolphins speak”, I wrote that “Attending to or meditating on these patterns enables us to learn that language”. This bird boy, having attended to the avian language, speaks it on the one hand; and on the other hand, because he has not been exposed to human language, can not speak human language, despite the fact that, genetically, he is a human being.
Kittens are born with their eyes closed. Only after they have lived several days, do their eyes open for the first time. Scientists discovered that if they put blindfolds on the kittens for the first three days their eyes are open, they will be BLIND FOR LIFE. Why is this so? Is it because the exposure to light at this critical juncture is essential for the kittens to fully develop their optic nervous system or because it is important in the training of their brains' sight interpretation capability? Whatever is the case, it indicates that both nature and nurture are essential for the formation of traits.
That is at the creatures’ level. There is news coming from recent researches in the field of molecular biology that, at the molecular level, this seems to be true too.

Compiled by Hiew March 2008.