No one wants to die an untimely death. And our perception of what is untimely has been extended in the last 100 years thanks to basic advances in medicine, society, sanitation and food science. 

But there are limits to what biohacking can achieve. 

And the two terrific quotes below capture the current conundrum. A good chunk of affluent society has the tools and tricks needed to live a long life. We can even optimise it for quality. But to live much longer and ensure quality, there need to be some very fundamental advances in our understanding of ageing and how we deal with it. 

Basic advances have enabled us to live longer than ever before. But quality of life is not guaranteed. Simply because living longer does not guarantee optimal quality of life. All the traits we associate with higher quality of life require active effort and are not granted by virtue of just being alive. We exercise to ensure our bones remain as dense as possible as we age. Similarly, we train to retain as much muscle as possible. But exercise does not fundamentally alter the basic reality of what Smil and Olshansky are referring to. Our capacity to synthesis elastin and other proteins diminishes with age. The rate at which bones accrete (become denser and stronger) cannot be altered. 

The key ideas that biohacking pursues;
*Improved lean mass and bone density 
*Maintain low body fat levels
*Train the heart to pump out as much blood with each beat and work at a variety of intensities
*Ensure the body gets the minimum doses needed of all macronutrients and micronutrients it cannot synthesise in the most optimal bio available form possible. 
*If any nutrient or chemical exhibits even a fringe benefit for the body through its role in a basic biological process, consume it. Ensure there are no chemical bottlenecks in your basic functioning. It can be as simple as a pill to as complex as blood transplants from your child and as absurd as consuming raw organ meat. 
*Aggressively throw money and/or time at any aspect of life that stresses you out or diminishes recovery. Get as much quality sleep and manage your time and interactions carefully. Being rich makes this easier. 

I am entirely onboard with the first four interventions. The last two points are where my enthusiasm for longevity wanes (maybe this will change with age). Do your best to sleep well and manage stress. And take a good multivitamin. But there might be no end to the quest for the next molecule that can change your life. And for anyone who is not fabulously wealthy, there is a limit to how much you can avoid the interactions that are stressful but necessary. 

Doing the best that you can with the time and resources you have is all you can do. And some among us have the resources to do bonkers things !