lewrockwell--2020-02-06--Gun Seizures Could Lead to Civil War

Gun Seizures Could Lead to Civil War

“ Hell yes , we ’ re going to take your AR-15 , ” declared “ Beto ” O ’ Rourke at a Democratic party presidential candidate debate in September .
Compelling Americans to surrender their so-called assault weapons is “ the newest purity test ” for Democratic presidential candidates , according to the Washington Post .
O ’ Rourke and other Democratic presidential candidates , including Cory Booker , Kristin Gillibrand , and Bill de Blasio ( now withdrawn from the race , as are Gillibrand and O ’ Rourke ) have all endorsed mandatory buy-backs of assault weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profitable , they could start a cascade of public-policy dominoes that ends in civil war .
When Australia and New Zealand mandated buy-backs of assault weapons , most gun owners ignored the decrees despite politicians repeatedly ratcheting up their threats .
Similar noncompliance to laws requiring surrender or registration of assault weapons has occurred in California , New York , Connecticut , New Jersey , and elsewhere .
Congress passed an assault-weapons ban in 1994 that lasted for a decade .
The original assault-weapons ban protected Americans from being shot with rifles that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bayonet lugs , or other detailing whose primary impact was to fuel the phobias of gun haters .
By James Bovard - Lost ... aa Best Price : $ 3.35 Shortly after the 1994 ban was passed , a Washington Post editorial admitted , “ Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime .
The provision is mainly symbolic ; its virtue will be if it turns out to be , as hoped , a stepping stone to broader gun control.
” Post columnist Charles Krauthammer , in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Not Yet , ” explained the “ real logic of the ban ” : “ Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.
” Krauthammer , who was revered by much of the nation ’ s mainstream media , trumpeted his support for “ real steps ” on gun control including “ the banning of handguns.
” There is not a clear , consistent definition of “ assault weapon ” but most politicians are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 10 million firearms .
Almost all the ban advocates favor prohibiting rifles built on the AR-15 design .
Though these firearms have been endlessly demonized , they are involved in a very small percent of homicides .
All types of rifles account for only 3 percent of homicides , and AR-15-style weapons are only a small fraction of the rifle-related homicides .
But that doesn ’ t matter to politicians who are crusading against guns the way Temperance activists crusaded for Prohibition a hundred years ago .
Assault-weapons laws resemble hate-speech laws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few words that almost no one approves of .
Once the system for controlling and punishing “ hate speech ” is put into place , there is little or nothing to stop it from expanding to punish more and more types of everyday speech .
Similarly , once an assault-weapons law is on the books , there is little to prevent politicians from vastly increasing the number of weapons banned under the law .
Rep. Eric Swalwell ( D-Cal . )
has been among the most outspoken anti-gun politicians .
Swalwell says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for retroactively banned weapons and then forcibly confiscate them one by one if necessary .
Swalwell declares that his “ mandatory national ban ” of assault weapons is “ bold and … it rightly treats gun violence as a life-or-death matter.
” A Twitter critic summarized Swalwell ’ s pitch : “ We ’ re not taking anyone ’ s legal guns , we ’ re just changing the law so the guns are illegal and then we will take them.
” When a conservative activist suggested that gun grabbers wanted a war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be a short war , my friend .
The government has nukes .
Too many of them .
But they ’ re legit.
” Swalwell did not specify how many bombs he would be willing to drop to end violence .
His anti-gun zealotry made him an instant hero , persuading him to briefly run for the Democratic nomination for president .
Other Democratic candidates have also warned of the grave perils facing anyone who would resist a government-disarmament command .
Former Vice President Joe Biden scoffed in September , “ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government , you ’ re going to need at least an F-15 ” fighter jet .
But Americans resisting mass gun confiscation will not need to defeat the feds .
They would merely need to wait until government agents commit horrific blunders that turn millions more Americans against Washington .
That pattern has repeated itself in American history in federal gun crackdowns gone awry .
And if the government attempts seizures ?
In clashes between government agents and citizens , weaponry is not destiny .
In August 1992 , in the initial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a camouflaged team of U.S. marshals with submachine guns was routed by a 14-year-old boy with a Ruger Mini-14 and a 25-year-old guy with a 30.06 rifle .
False statements by federal officials during and after the siege at the Weavers ’ cabin helped destroy the credibility of the criminal prosecution of the survivors the following year .
In February 1993 , an assault by more than 70 federal Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms agents was routed by the Branch Davidians near Waco , Texas , despite the ATF ’ s having automatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helicopters flying over the Davidians ’ home .
The ATF never sought to peacefully serve a search warrant on David Koresh and his followers .
Instead , the agency ’ s code name for the attack was “ Showtime ” and local television stations had been alerted ahead of time to cover the glorious assault .
After each of those initial debacles , the FBI came in and made the situation far worse .
FBI snipers at Ruby Ridge were given an unconstitutional “ if you see them , shoot them ” rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Vicki Weaver as she stood in her cabin door holding her baby .
At Waco , the FBI launched a tank and gas assault that included firing pyrotechnic grenades at the Davidians ’ ramshackle dwelling ; the subsequent fire left 80 people dead .
In both cases , the feds were spooked by popular resistance .
At Ruby Ridge , the FBI and their law-enforcement allies were becoming encircled by armed private citizens , many of whom opposed the feds .
Attorney General Janet Reno declared that the “ first and foremost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assault at Waco was that “ law-enforcement agents on the ground concluded that the perimeter had become unstable and posed a risk both to them and to the surrounding homes and farms .
Individuals sympathetic to Koresh were threatening to take matters into their own hands to end the stalemate and were at various times reportedly on the way.
” Any firearms crackdown will be applauded by politicians and activists who hate gun owners as much as they hate guns if not more .
Fair play is irrelevant when officialdom is saving humanity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same politicians and media outlets who portray practically every privately owned firearm as a school massacre in waiting will scorn the rights of government victims .
Many rural gun owners are as unlikely to surrender their guns as they are to give up their Bibles .
Escalating government force will create martyrs that multiply resistance .
The British government ’ s heavy-handed repression of all Bostonians for a “ tea party ” by a smattering of activists helped turn the 13 colonies against King George .
Any vigorous attempt to forcibly commandeer millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government will sometimes lose — especially given the record of police who either freeze up or cower in crisis situations , such as the Parkland School shooting , the Las Vegas Mandalay Hotel carnage , and the Orlando Pulse Nightclub massacre .
Any attempt to enforce widespread gun confiscation will require suspending Americans ’ constitutional right to trial by jury .
An Idaho jury found Ruby Ridge defendants not guilty : “ Government witnesses cause case to collapse , ” a Washington Post headline later declared .
In 1994 , a Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guilty of murdering federal agents in a verdict the New York Times described as a “ stunning defeat ” for the feds .
Juries in Montana , for instance , might resist convicting firearms violators the way that Massachusetts juries in the 1850s often refused to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act .
Juries would not defer to the assertion of federal agents whom some people viewed as the equivalent of foreign invaders .
The First Amendment could be another gun-grab casualty .
During the final day at Waco , the FBI continually broadcast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as its tanks collapsed 20 percent of the Davidians ’ home .
The videos of the FBI tank assault swayed far more Americans to completely reject not just the federal claims on Waco but to question whether the entire government had far too much power for the safety of American citizens .
Almost everybody with a cell phone has a video camera within reach , and film clips of federal agents smashing into homes and assailing defiant citizens would be more incendiary than any presidential tweet .
Such optics will prove disastrous unless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ videos to the Internet .
If the government seeks to preemptively prevent exposures of its enforcement campaign , then it will lose the support of vast numbers of Americans who are not gun zealots .
Freedom in Chains : Th ... James Bovard Best Price : $ 1.12 Buy New $ 8.50 Congress and their bureaucratic allies can not count on local officials to carry out Washington ’ s commands .
Sheriffs in New York state , New Mexico , and Colorado have already publicly refused to enforce what they consider unjust gun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out mass seizures of weapons in many parts of the nation would be by declaring martial law .
But that would be perilous because many National Guard members might refuse to carry out orders , especially after enforcement efforts killed innocent civilians .
Losing the loyalty of the troops would be the final straw to cause confiscation to collapse — but not until vast damage had been done to the government and private citizens .
The more force the U.S. government uses , the more certain it is that federal credibility will collapse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be only the first domino to fall — the “ stepping stone , ” as the Washington Post admitted decades ago .
After an assault-weapons ban fails to end shootings , advocates will demand that all semi-automatic firearms be prohibited and confiscated .
( The vast majority of rifles sold in recent decades have been semi-automatic . )
And if such a ban was proclaimed and still failed to end violence , then politicians would of course have no choice but to confiscate all handguns .
Each failed government intervention would provide the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Americans .
Citizens should remember that the government that claims a right to seize their firearms also denies that it has any legal obligation to protect individuals from violent criminals .
Almost no one is holding politicians advocating mass gun confiscation liable for the carnage their proposals would produce .
Instead , gun-ban proposals are being treated as moral imperatives or viewed as a chance for national atonement .
Unfortunately , politicians can win votes in primary elections for championing policies that would ravage much of the nation .
This article was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Future of Freedom .
Reprinted with permission from The Future of Freedom Foundation .
The Best of James Bovard

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,” declared “Beto” O’Rourke at a Democratic party presidential candidate debate in September. Compelling Americans to surrender their so-called assault weapons is “the newest purity test” for Democratic presidential candidates, according to the Washington Post. O’Rourke and other Democratic presidential candidates, including Cory Booker, Kristin Gillibrand, and Bill de Blasio (now withdrawn from the race, as are Gillibrand and O’Rourke) have all endorsed mandatory buy-backs of assault weapons. Though such proposals are momentarily politically profitable, they could start a cascade of public-policy dominoes that ends in civil war.
When Australia and New Zealand mandated buy-backs of assault weapons, most gun owners ignored the decrees despite politicians repeatedly ratcheting up their threats. Similar noncompliance to laws requiring surrender or registration of assault weapons has occurred in California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and elsewhere.
Congress passed an assault-weapons ban in 1994 that lasted for a decade. The original assault-weapons ban protected Americans from being shot with rifles that included features such as grenade launchers, bayonet lugs, or other detailing whose primary impact was to fuel the phobias of gun haters.
By James Bovard - Lost... aa Best Price: $3.35 (as of 10:50 UTC - Details) Shortly after the 1994 ban was passed, a Washington Post editorial admitted, “Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime. The provision is mainly symbolic; its virtue will be if it turns out to be, as hoped, a stepping stone to broader gun control.” Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, in an article headlined, “Disarm the Citizenry. But Not Yet,” explained the “real logic of the ban”: “Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.” Krauthammer, who was revered by much of the nation’s mainstream media, trumpeted his support for “real steps” on gun control including “the banning of handguns.”
There is not a clear, consistent definition of “assault weapon” but most politicians are using vague terms that could include more than 10 million firearms. Almost all the ban advocates favor prohibiting rifles built on the AR-15 design. Though these firearms have been endlessly demonized, they are involved in a very small percent of homicides. All types of rifles account for only 3 percent of homicides, and AR-15-style weapons are only a small fraction of the rifle-related homicides.
But that doesn’t matter to politicians who are crusading against guns the way Temperance activists crusaded for Prohibition a hundred years ago. Assault-weapons laws resemble hate-speech laws. Hate-speech laws usually begin by targeting a few words that almost no one approves of. Once the system for controlling and punishing “hate speech” is put into place, there is little or nothing to stop it from expanding to punish more and more types of everyday speech. Similarly, once an assault-weapons law is on the books, there is little to prevent politicians from vastly increasing the number of weapons banned under the law.
Revving up the rhetoric
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Cal.) has been among the most outspoken anti-gun politicians. Swalwell says the government should first offer a buy-back for retroactively banned weapons and then forcibly confiscate them one by one if necessary. Swalwell declares that his “mandatory national ban” of assault weapons is “bold and … it rightly treats gun violence as a life-or-death matter.” A Twitter critic summarized Swalwell’s pitch: “We’re not taking anyone’s legal guns, we’re just changing the law so the guns are illegal and then we will take them.”
When a conservative activist suggested that gun grabbers wanted a war, Swalwell replied, “And it would be a short war, my friend. The government has nukes. Too many of them. But they’re legit.” Swalwell did not specify how many bombs he would be willing to drop to end violence. His anti-gun zealotry made him an instant hero, persuading him to briefly run for the Democratic nomination for president.
Other Democratic candidates have also warned of the grave perils facing anyone who would resist a government-disarmament command. Former Vice President Joe Biden scoffed in September, “If you want to protect yourself against the federal government, you’re going to need at least an F-15” fighter jet.
But Americans resisting mass gun confiscation will not need to defeat the feds. They would merely need to wait until government agents commit horrific blunders that turn millions more Americans against Washington. That pattern has repeated itself in American history in federal gun crackdowns gone awry.
And if the government attempts seizures?
In clashes between government agents and citizens, weaponry is not destiny. In August 1992, in the initial firefight at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, a camouflaged team of U.S. marshals with submachine guns was routed by a 14-year-old boy with a Ruger Mini-14 and a 25-year-old guy with a 30.06 rifle. False statements by federal officials during and after the siege at the Weavers’ cabin helped destroy the credibility of the criminal prosecution of the survivors the following year.
In February 1993, an assault by more than 70 federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents was routed by the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas, despite the ATF’s having automatic weapons and being supported by National Guard helicopters flying over the Davidians’ home. The ATF never sought to peacefully serve a search warrant on David Koresh and his followers. Instead, the agency’s code name for the attack was “Showtime” and local television stations had been alerted ahead of time to cover the glorious assault.
After each of those initial debacles, the FBI came in and made the situation far worse. FBI snipers at Ruby Ridge were given an unconstitutional “if you see them, shoot them” rule of engagement that resulted in the killing of Vicki Weaver as she stood in her cabin door holding her baby. At Waco, the FBI launched a tank and gas assault that included firing pyrotechnic grenades at the Davidians’ ramshackle dwelling; the subsequent fire left 80 people dead.
In both cases, the feds were spooked by popular resistance. At Ruby Ridge, the FBI and their law-enforcement allies were becoming encircled by armed private citizens, many of whom opposed the feds. Attorney General Janet Reno declared that the “first and foremost” reason she approved the final FBI assault at Waco was that “law-enforcement agents on the ground concluded that the perimeter had become unstable and posed a risk both to them and to the surrounding homes and farms. Individuals sympathetic to Koresh were threatening to take matters into their own hands to end the stalemate and were at various times reportedly on the way.”
Any firearms crackdown will be applauded by politicians and activists who hate gun owners as much as they hate guns if not more. Fair play is irrelevant when officialdom is saving humanity — especially women and children. The same politicians and media outlets who portray practically every privately owned firearm as a school massacre in waiting will scorn the rights of government victims.
Many rural gun owners are as unlikely to surrender their guns as they are to give up their Bibles. Escalating government force will create martyrs that multiply resistance. The British government’s heavy-handed repression of all Bostonians for a “tea party” by a smattering of activists helped turn the 13 colonies against King George. Any vigorous attempt to forcibly commandeer millions of weapons will result in clashes that the government will sometimes lose — especially given the record of police who either freeze up or cower in crisis situations, such as the Parkland School shooting, the Las Vegas Mandalay Hotel carnage, and the Orlando Pulse Nightclub massacre.
Any attempt to enforce widespread gun confiscation will require suspending Americans’ constitutional right to trial by jury. An Idaho jury found Ruby Ridge defendants not guilty: “Government witnesses cause case to collapse,” a Washington Post headline later declared. In 1994, a Texas jury rejected charges that Branch Davidians were guilty of murdering federal agents in a verdict the New York Times described as a “stunning defeat” for the feds. Juries in Montana, for instance, might resist convicting firearms violators the way that Massachusetts juries in the 1850s often refused to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. Juries would not defer to the assertion of federal agents whom some people viewed as the equivalent of foreign invaders.
The First Amendment could be another gun-grab casualty. During the final day at Waco, the FBI continually broadcast “this is not an assault” as its tanks collapsed 20 percent of the Davidians’ home. The videos of the FBI tank assault swayed far more Americans to completely reject not just the federal claims on Waco but to question whether the entire government had far too much power for the safety of American citizens. Almost everybody with a cell phone has a video camera within reach, and film clips of federal agents smashing into homes and assailing defiant citizens would be more incendiary than any presidential tweet. Such optics will prove disastrous unless the government can prevent uploading any such videos to the Internet. If the government seeks to preemptively prevent exposures of its enforcement campaign, then it will lose the support of vast numbers of Americans who are not gun zealots.
Freedom in Chains : Th... Bovard, James Best Price: $1.69 Buy New $8.50 (as of 03:20 UTC - Details) Congress and their bureaucratic allies cannot count on local officials to carry out Washington’s commands. Sheriffs in New York state, New Mexico, and Colorado have already publicly refused to enforce what they consider unjust gun laws. The only way to carry out mass seizures of weapons in many parts of the nation would be by declaring martial law. But that would be perilous because many National Guard members might refuse to carry out orders, especially after enforcement efforts killed innocent civilians. Losing the loyalty of the troops would be the final straw to cause confiscation to collapse — but not until vast damage had been done to the government and private citizens. The more force the U.S. government uses, the more certain it is that federal credibility will collapse.
A ban on assault weapons would be only the first domino to fall — the “stepping stone,” as the Washington Post admitted decades ago. After an assault-weapons ban fails to end shootings, advocates will demand that all semi-automatic firearms be prohibited and confiscated. (The vast majority of rifles sold in recent decades have been semi-automatic.) And if such a ban was proclaimed and still failed to end violence, then politicians would of course have no choice but to confiscate all handguns. Each failed government intervention would provide the pretext for politicians to redouble their repression of Americans.
Citizens should remember that the government that claims a right to seize their firearms also denies that it has any legal obligation to protect individuals from violent criminals. Almost no one is holding politicians advocating mass gun confiscation liable for the carnage their proposals would produce. Instead, gun-ban proposals are being treated as moral imperatives or viewed as a chance for national atonement. Unfortunately, politicians can win votes in primary elections for championing policies that would ravage much of the nation.
This article was originally published in the December 2019 edition of Future of Freedom.
Reprinted with permission from The Future of Freedom Foundation.
The Best of James Bovard


lewrockwell--2020-02-06--Brexit: Why the Threat of Higher Tariffs Wasn’t Enough To Prevent It

Chris Johns at the Irish Times is dismayed by all the support he sees for Brexit among the Brits .
Brexit has always been a divisive issue , with about half the voters supporting it .
But Johns is vexed by the fact so many of Brexit ’ s boosters are — in Johns ’ s eyes—rooting against their own economic interests .
Johns notes , for example , that Brexit is likely to take a significant toll on British manufacturing , and will be problematic for incomes and tax revenues .
Resigned to Brexit as a fact , Johns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ painless as possible , but insists , “ Britain will either be poorer or much poorer.
” In other words , in the best case the UK will find a way to minimize the damage of Brexit .
That Brexit will be a net loss for British people is a given among Remainers .
But that notion , so far , has been a tough sell .
The official economic metrics—i.e.
, the government statistics—have pointed toward continued economic gains for the UK , even in the face of the supposed “ uncertainty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if these numbers start to look less good , they still don ’ t tell the whole story .
As some honest economists have admitted , there are just too many moving parts here to say with certainty the degree to which the UK economy has been affected by Brexit .
Left of Bang : How the ... Patrick Van Horne , Jas ... Best Price : $ 12.13 Buy New $ 14.63 We Can ’ t Put a Number on the Opportunity Cost of EU Membership The data in itself is problematic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ devised to keep track of identifiable and countable events and dollar amounts .
This is why numbers such as “ unemployment rates ” and “ median incomes ” form the backbone of government stats .
They can be identified and counted with relative ease based on survey data or even direct observation .
But much of the concern over EU membership has focused on issues that are far harder to quantify , such as government regulations and lost opportunities .
How exactly does one quantify a new regulation on British businesses handed down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be able to hazard a guess , but aggregate data is far less reliable and far less available .
Even harder to count is the opportunity cost of EU membership .
As noted by EU critics , membership in the EU has limited the ability of the UK to expand trade outside the EU bloc .
There ’ s no way to put a number on how much these lost opportunities have cost British households .
Certainly some researchers have tried .
But we end up debating the accuracy and relevance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requires a judgment call as to whether or not EU membership is “ worth it ” to a specific person .
The “ Psychic Profit ” of Leaving the EU Other things are even harder to quantify than lost opportunities .
These are what many voters perceive as the cultural benefits of leaving the EU .
For example , a pro-Brexit voter might argue that British laws should be decided in Britain—even if this means paying a higher tariff to trade with France .
This voter is saying that political independence is more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lower tariff rate .
Obviously , there ’ s no way to determine exactly how many dollars or pounds or euros “ political independence ” produces .
We ’ re now in the realm of “ psychic profit , ” which is the profit that a person perceives in his own mind from a certain action or state of affairs .
The problem with psychic profits is that they are not quantifiable as money profits are .
As economist Ludwig von Mises noted , “ psychic qualities and not reducible to any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mises notes that the “ psychic phenomena ” from which these valuations derive involve “ incalculable intensive magnitudes.
” Even if a person values Brexit more than low-tariff trade , it ’ s impossible to put a number on how much more .
A similar accounting problem arises with the immigration issue .
Some voters support Brexit because they suspect or hope that it will reduce immigration .
In this case , some have concluded that their psychic profits are improved by being surrounded by people of similar language and culture .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on migrant labor could push up the cost of living , some may conclude the psychic cost of immigration is greater than the cost of an increased price for groceries .
All of this should illustrate that when we ’ re talking about a voter ’ s decision to support a certain policy , we ’ re not exactly employing an exact science .
By supporting policies that might ultimately produce higher prices or higher foreign tariffs , one is not necessarily falling victim to economic illiteracy .
One is simply taking a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mind , something that can ’ t be measured in pounds is more valuable than something that can be measured in pounds .
There is a rational—and possibly well-informed—process of calculation going on here .
It ’ s just a calculation that ’ s impossible to quantify .
Some economists find this sort of thing quite irksome , however .
Johns , for instance , bemoans the fact that the “ culture war ” behind Brexit has led to ” the economy tak [ ing ] acceptable collateral damage.
” He apparently means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be sound economic thinking in favor of “ benefits ” that can ’ t be counted on any ledger .
And this is the problem we so often run into with economists who continue to wallow in notions like “ homo economicus ” or the idea that things only matter if they can be quantified in an economic model .
In the minds of pundits like Johns , people are irrational if they chose a policy that might reduce their incomes as measured in dollars or pounds .
The reasonable thing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to weigh every policy by its benefits , measured by countable jobs or income units .
This sort of analysis is helpful in political activism .
It allows economists and pundits to say , “ Look at how irrational these pro-Brexit crazies are !
They ’ d rather impoverish themselves in the name of ‘ self-government ’ than be part of the European Union !
” The implication is that knowledge of economics , rational thinking , and common sense all point toward EU membership as the “ correct ” choice .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ psychic profit many believe they gain from a certain policy change .
Johns himself slips this into his column by emphasizing that Brexit voters are relatively old , white , have “ low educational attainment ” and engage in “ infrequent use of smartphones.
” Translation : Brexit voters are unsophisticated , uneducated , and probably racist and senile .
The fact that pro-Brexit voters are more rational than their opponents give them credit for doesn ’ t mean that everything is fine , though .
There is a political problem here that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem doesn ’ t stem from the fact that people are taking positions based on ideological values rather than “ hard numbers.
” The problem comes from the democratic majority ’ s ability to impose a preferred policy on the losing minority .
In the case of Brexit , for example , nearly half the population appears to be either indifferent to membership in the EU or actively in support of it .
And just as statistical economic data can ’ t tell us whether or not pro-Brexit supporters are “ right , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judgment about EU supporters .
Many EU advocates simply like the fact the EU hands down lots of environmental regulations to all member states .
Supporters may like that EU membership ( presumably ) increases total immigration for reasons totally unrelated to economic factors .
Some gain psychic profit just from supporting the idea of a politically united Europe .
But this doesn ’ t mean that this minority of voters ought to be forced into leaving the EU because 51 percent of the population says so .
The ideology underlying democracy offers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a situation in which about half of the population believes that it profits ( psychically or otherwise ) from one policy .
But about half of the population believes it profits from the opposite policy .
This problem becomes even worse when reduced to a regional level .
An outright majority of residents in Scotland , for example , opposes Brexit , and now that Brexit is a reality , a slim majority of Scots support independence .
It would seem to violate basic notions of justice to insist that Scotland be held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forever .
Scottish Separatists Are Now the “ Crazy ” Ones ?
Killing History : The F ... Mr. L.K .
Samuels Best Price : $ 15.95 Buy New $ 19.95 In spite of years of being told how economically inept they are for supporting Brexit , some are are now turning the same arguments on the Scots .
This pundit , for example , might as well be saying “ look at those crazy Scots .
They want to cut themselves off from their best trading partner ( England ) !
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the dictates of economic good sense mean that Scotland should stay in the UK .
But the anti-independence pundits may be making the same mistake the anti-Brexit pundits were making .
It may very well be that pro-independence Scots feel that they would gain more from independence than from unity—even if government stats say otherwise .
If many Scots truly believe this strongly , it will be very hard to convince them otherwise , no matter how many studies by economists are trotted out .
Ultimately , we ’ re still left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be solved by insisting all the intelligent people agree with us because our spreadsheets and bean counters tell us which political position is “ best ” for us .
None of this should be construed to suggest that sound economics is wrong .
Of course low tariffs are better than high tariffs .
Of course business owners ought to be free to hire workers regardless of what country those workers are from .
Of course government regulations on businesses are a destructive burden , whether imposed by London or by Brussels .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ really about whether high tariffs are better than low tariffs .
It was about who should decide tariffs , and where and how .
It was about issues far beyond whether or not an additional 1 percent growth could be wrung out of GDP .
Many have tried to turn Brexit into just a debate about economic policy .
But economics has never been a reliable guide as to what the right position on Brexit is .
Note : The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute .
@ @ @ @ @

Chris Johns at the Irish Times is dismayed by all the support he sees for Brexit among the Brits. Brexit has always been a divisive issue, with about half the voters supporting it. But Johns is vexed by the fact so many of Brexit’s boosters are — in Johns’s eyes—rooting against their own economic interests.
Johns notes, for example, that Brexit is likely to take a significant toll on British manufacturing, and will be problematic for incomes and tax revenues. Resigned to Brexit as a fact, Johns suggests trying to make the transition as painless as possible, but insists, “Britain will either be poorer or much poorer.” In other words, in the best case the UK will find a way to minimize the damage of Brexit.
That Brexit will be a net loss for British people is a given among Remainers. But that notion, so far, has been a tough sell. The official economic metrics—i.e., the government statistics—have pointed toward continued economic gains for the UK, even in the face of the supposed “uncertainty” triggered by Brexit.
But even if these numbers start to look less good, they still don’t tell the whole story. As some honest economists have admitted, there are just too many moving parts here to say with certainty the degree to which the UK economy has been affected by Brexit. Left of Bang: How the ... Patrick Van Horne, Jas... Best Price: $12.13 Buy New $14.63 (as of 08:15 UTC - Details)
We Can’t Put a Number on the Opportunity Cost of EU Membership
The data in itself is problematic, too. Government statistics have been devised to keep track of identifiable and countable events and dollar amounts. This is why numbers such as “unemployment rates” and “median incomes” form the backbone of government stats. They can be identified and counted with relative ease based on survey data or even direct observation.
But much of the concern over EU membership has focused on issues that are far harder to quantify, such as government regulations and lost opportunities. How exactly does one quantify a new regulation on British businesses handed down by EU bureaucrats? An individual business might be able to hazard a guess, but aggregate data is far less reliable and far less available.
Even harder to count is the opportunity cost of EU membership. As noted by EU critics, membership in the EU has limited the ability of the UK to expand trade outside the EU bloc. There’s no way to put a number on how much these lost opportunities have cost British households. Certainly some researchers have tried. But we end up debating the accuracy and relevance of the research. Ultimately, it all requires a judgment call as to whether or not EU membership is “worth it” to a specific person.
The “Psychic Profit” of Leaving the EU
Other things are even harder to quantify than lost opportunities. These are what many voters perceive as the cultural benefits of leaving the EU.
For example, a pro-Brexit voter might argue that British laws should be decided in Britain—even if this means paying a higher tariff to trade with France. This voter is saying that political independence is more valuable than selling goods to France at a lower tariff rate. Obviously, there’s no way to determine exactly how many dollars or pounds or euros “political independence” produces.
We’re now in the realm of “psychic profit,” which is the profit that a person perceives in his own mind from a certain action or state of affairs. The problem with psychic profits is that they are not quantifiable as money profits are. As economist Ludwig von Mises noted, “psychic qualities and not reducible to any interpersonal description in quantitative terms.” Moreover, Mises notes that the “psychic phenomena” from which these valuations derive involve “incalculable intensive magnitudes.” Even if a person values Brexit more than low-tariff trade, it’s impossible to put a number on how much more.
A similar accounting problem arises with the immigration issue. Some voters support Brexit because they suspect or hope that it will reduce immigration. In this case, some have concluded that their psychic profits are improved by being surrounded by people of similar language and culture.
Faced with the idea that greater controls on migrant labor could push up the cost of living, some may conclude the psychic cost of immigration is greater than the cost of an increased price for groceries.
All of this should illustrate that when we’re talking about a voter’s decision to support a certain policy, we’re not exactly employing an exact science. By supporting policies that might ultimately produce higher prices or higher foreign tariffs, one is not necessarily falling victim to economic illiteracy. One is simply taking a position that, in one’s mind, something that can’t be measured in pounds is more valuable than something that can be measured in pounds. There is a rational—and possibly well-informed—process of calculation going on here. It’s just a calculation that’s impossible to quantify.
Some economists find this sort of thing quite irksome, however. Johns, for instance, bemoans the fact that the “culture war” behind Brexit has led to ” the economy tak[ing] acceptable collateral damage.” He apparently means that voters have abandoned what he considers to be sound economic thinking in favor of “benefits” that can’t be counted on any ledger.
And this is the problem we so often run into with economists who continue to wallow in notions like “homo economicus” or the idea that things only matter if they can be quantified in an economic model. In the minds of pundits like Johns, people are irrational if they chose a policy that might reduce their incomes as measured in dollars or pounds. The reasonable thing to do, it is assumed, is to weigh every policy by its benefits, measured by countable jobs or income units.
A Political Problem: Who Profits?
This sort of analysis is helpful in political activism. It allows economists and pundits to say, “Look at how irrational these pro-Brexit crazies are! They’d rather impoverish themselves in the name of ‘self-government’ than be part of the European Union!” The implication is that knowledge of economics, rational thinking, and common sense all point toward EU membership as the “correct” choice. This sort of analysis relies on discounting the psychic profit many believe they gain from a certain policy change. Johns himself slips this into his column by emphasizing that Brexit voters are relatively old, white, have “low educational attainment” and engage in “infrequent use of smartphones.” Translation: Brexit voters are unsophisticated, uneducated, and probably racist and senile.
The fact that pro-Brexit voters are more rational than their opponents give them credit for doesn’t mean that everything is fine, though.
There is a political problem here that the economists often miss. But the problem doesn’t stem from the fact that people are taking positions based on ideological values rather than “hard numbers.”
The problem comes from the democratic majority’s ability to impose a preferred policy on the losing minority. In the case of Brexit, for example, nearly half the population appears to be either indifferent to membership in the EU or actively in support of it. And just as statistical economic data can’t tell us whether or not pro-Brexit supporters are “right,” it can’t make a judgment about EU supporters. Many EU advocates simply like the fact the EU hands down lots of environmental regulations to all member states. Supporters may like that EU membership (presumably) increases total immigration for reasons totally unrelated to economic factors. Some gain psychic profit just from supporting the idea of a politically united Europe.
But this doesn’t mean that this minority of voters ought to be forced into leaving the EU because 51 percent of the population says so.
The ideology underlying democracy offers no answer to this. We have a situation in which about half of the population believes that it profits (psychically or otherwise) from one policy. But about half of the population believes it profits from the opposite policy. This problem becomes even worse when reduced to a regional level. An outright majority of residents in Scotland, for example, opposes Brexit, and now that Brexit is a reality, a slim majority of Scots support independence. It would seem to violate basic notions of justice to insist that Scotland be held to the dictates of the English majority forever.
Scottish Separatists Are Now the “Crazy” Ones?
Killing History: The F... Mr. L.K. Samuels Best Price: $15.95 Buy New $19.95 (as of 12:00 UTC - Details) In spite of years of being told how economically inept they are for supporting Brexit, some are are now turning the same arguments on the Scots. This pundit, for example, might as well be saying “look at those crazy Scots. They want to cut themselves off from their best trading partner (England)!” In the minds of those opposing independence, the dictates of economic good sense mean that Scotland should stay in the UK. But the anti-independence pundits may be making the same mistake the anti-Brexit pundits were making. It may very well be that pro-independence Scots feel that they would gain more from independence than from unity—even if government stats say otherwise. If many Scots truly believe this strongly, it will be very hard to convince them otherwise, no matter how many studies by economists are trotted out.
Ultimately, we’re still left with a political problem that can’t be solved by insisting all the intelligent people agree with us because our spreadsheets and bean counters tell us which political position is “best” for us.
None of this should be construed to suggest that sound economics is wrong. Of course low tariffs are better than high tariffs. Of course business owners ought to be free to hire workers regardless of what country those workers are from. Of course government regulations on businesses are a destructive burden, whether imposed by London or by Brussels. But the Brexit debate wasn’t really about whether high tariffs are better than low tariffs. It was about who should decide tariffs, and where and how. It was about issues far beyond whether or not an additional 1 percent growth could be wrung out of GDP. Many have tried to turn Brexit into just a debate about economic policy. But economics has never been a reliable guide as to what the right position on Brexit is.
Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.
The Best of Ryan McMaken


lewrockwell--2020-02-07--Modern Man May Be Closer to the Discovery of an Anti-Aging Pill Than You Think; But You Have To Give

Modern Man May Be Closer to the Discovery of an Anti-Aging Pill Than You Think; But You Have To Give Yourself Permission To Take It

• The medical industry serves an an impediment to the discovery and adoption of an anti-aging pill .
• Government has made it illegal to claim any natural substance remedies aging .
• The rapid expansion of the volume of scientific information suggests the eradication of all diseases and aging itself is not beyond the reach of modern medicine today .
• The time it takes to make such a discovery is shortening due to the “ law of accelerating returns.
” Futurists predict the eradication of all disease as well as aging itself .
• There is a boom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who reached 100-years of age without consciously making an effort to do so .
Just wait till an anti-aging pill gains traction .
• Government overseers and life insurance companies need the public to die on time .
Don ’ t expect any medical institute or governmental agency approve an anti-aging pill .
The personal discovery of an anti-aging pill is left for each individual to explore .
• Valid strategies and practices now exist to reliably make 120-year lifespans and health spans common ; namely fasting , calorie-restriction and blood-letting .
These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saving on food ) .
Intermittent fasting is gaining traction , but for reasons of weight control , not the pursuit of longevity .
• Food deprivation is not expected to be popular .
A pill that molecularly mimics fasting would augment or even replace the above restrictive dietary measures .
• Longevity seekers can readily find an anti-aging pill once they understand the cause of aging , which is over-mineralization .
• Genes do not control aging , minerals do .
• It is not fewer calories that produces an anti-aging effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumed when limited calorie diets are practiced .
• Various natural molecules ( resveratrol , quercetin , fisetin , rice bran ) chelate ( bind to ) key minerals ( iron , copper , calcium ) that drive aging and would serve as an anti-aging pill .
• A combination of natural molecules works synergistically to chelate ( bind to ) minerals and dispose of them .
• A long-ignored study showed a combination of natural molecules was superior to calorie-restriction in its ability to favorably alter anti-aging genes .
• If humans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an indefinitely long and healthy life is at hand .
You don ’ t need a doctor ’ s permission slip to take an anti-aging pill .
An anti-aging pill is not something to be realized at some indefinite time in the future .
There are numerous strategies at hand that literally cost next-to-nothing that can help you live 100 healthy years and beyond .
Why isn ’ t your doctor telling you about this ?
Because modern medicine has no financial incentives to tell you about them .
Doctor Yourself : Natur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 15.00 Buy New $ 18.21 You don ’ t need to understand complicated science to be convinced some simple practices can deliver a quality and quantity of life beyond what you could ever have imagined .
The scientific quest to find the holy grail of human aging is disingenuous .
Failure to reach scientific consensus on the primary cause of aging is a shame .
Aging is a challenge that is no longer beyond the reach of modern medicine .
Certainly , geneticists should have sorted out why humans age by now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t telling you .
Futurist Ray Kurzweil says the increase in the volume of information is now exponential ( example : ten times ten , times ten , X ad infinitum ) to produce what he calls the “ law of accelerating returns.
” The cure for aging is not insurmountable .
Existing knowledge can be employed to produce an indefinitely long rather than a limited lifespan , that is , if a fearful and trepidatious public wants it .
Kurzweil cites the speed which new discoveries are now being made .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ radio or computers , for example , was many years .
But now as discovery times are drastically shortened , humanity is on the cusp of conquering its ultimate challenge — aging .
That is , if it has not already been discovered and thrown under the rug .
If you read Kurzweil you will discover the cure for cancer should be announced any time now .
Kurzweil is talking about the end of disease altogether !
But modern medicine is dragging its feet .
It is in “ jobs protection mode.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for most prescription drugs and indefinitely delay or avert common maladies of old age such as cataracts , high blood pressure , liver disease , failing memory , stiff joints , bone loss and myriads of sources of pain .
The reason modern medicine moves so slowly is because the pace of any discovery is going to take the professional lifetime of any researcher to ensure an income + pension .
It was Upton Sinclair who is credited with saying : “ It is difficult to get a man to understand something , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understanding it.
” Foot dragging is prevalent .
There is stagnant progress to implement of advances that will revolutionize human life as we know it , and this delay is not just confined to modern medicine .
On a parallel front , recognize Volkswagen has introduced composite-body automobile that won ’ t dent and gets 260-miles per gallon of fuel .
Congress won ’ t allow its entry into the U.S. market .
Kurzweil ’ s theory of “ accelerating returns ” is being undermined by the need to amortize ( pay off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new technology is introduced ; and to forestall progress in order to maintain present income streams – and stock prices .
Now a felony to make an anti-aging claim Cloaked under consumer protection legislation , the Department of Justice now bans any dietary supplement company that makes anti-aging claims for its products , even if there is scientific evidence to back that claim , and considers violations subject to criminal prosecution even though no risks or side effects from such products are demonstrated .
Categorically there can not be an anti-aging pill outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand , Social Security and Medicare trust funds would be rapidly depleted if everyone started living 100 years and beyond .
Social Security has financial incentives if a retiree waits to apply for a government pension , hoping the retiree will die before payouts begin .
This may have been a reason why public health authorities were slow to ostracize and regulate tobacco companies , given that smoking cigarettes shortens life by about 10 years .
Government saves a lot of money if you die early .
The masses must die on time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Many Americans are now outliving their term life insurance policies .
There are an estimated 80,000 centenarians in America today ( 2020 ) .
And virtually all of them reached that golden age WITHOUT an anti-aging pill .
Just imagine what would happen if a significant percentage of Americans began to intentionally and conscientiously pursue a long and healthy live by taking an anti-aging pill ?
A report entitled “ Happy 100th Birthday – Outliving Your Life Insurance ” explains that longevinarians may need to file a 1035 exchange to convert their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 121 .
Life insurance companies tip off the greatest demographic change in modern history – the rise of supercentenarians .
From the professional side of the issue , no medical research institute is going to get off second base and slide into home plate with an anti-aging pill till doctors and hospitals can figure out how to profit from such an advancement .
If aging is to be “ cured , ” it is going to happen on modern medicine ’ s terms .
A cure for aging has to fit the profit-making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never be allowed to happen .
With this realization , the quest for longevity becomes an unguided pursuit .
Doctors have no answers beyond the common claim that the latest anti-aging elixir “ is unproven.
” Yes , but not disproven .
Then they never put an anti-aging pill to the test and sweep any convincing evidence back into the research closet .
Oh , you will read about the proposed human trial to test whether an anti-diabetic medication ( metformin ) will prolong human life .
But that anti-aging pill would only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % .
For comparison , a calorie-restricted diet , or an anti-aging pill that molecularly mimics a limited-calorie diet , would theoretically double human life expectancy as it does in the animal lab .
This study is just a distraction to keep the public appease a growing public demand for an anti-aging pill .
The problem with the need to produce conclusive evidence for an anti-aging pill is that such a study would take decades , require a gabillion dollars , and would be impractical ( study would last longer than the researchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers use short-lived animals like rodents ( 2-3 years ) to test anti-aging pills .
Only those longevity seekers who ignore modern medicine ’ s nostrums and embark on their own course will have any chance of finding an anti-aging pill .
If you want to live 120-healthy years , don ’ t look for a physician with a Mayo Clinic diploma on the wall .
Doctors , both conventional or alternative , are disease hunters , and they are clueless and turn a blind eye on any practices that prolong the lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doctoring .
What if a day comes when there is no age-related disease to treat , as Kurzweil predicts ?
Health care in America has become an income/job-producing asset rather than what it really is — a burdensome line item on the expense ledger .
So , longevity-seekers are on their own .
Alternative doctors may be less invasive , but they too are searching for codes to bill insurance , not cures for disease , let alone aging !
We know why humans age — they rust and calcify .
Reduction of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to produce exceptional longevity .
I explained in my treatise THE OVERMINERALIZATIO THEORY OF AGING ( 2007 ) that humans age at three different speeds : ( 1 ) Childhood growth ; children have birthdays ( calendar aging ) but aren ’ t biologically aging .
During growth years iron in hemoglobin is needed to make red blood cells ; calcium is needed for bones and copper for connective tissue .
( 2 ) With full growth achieved , men begin to age first , accumulating iron and copper and calcium , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ menstrual flow and donate calcium to their offspring , and delay aging till early hysterectomy or cessation of menstruation ( menopause ) occurs .
Only then does iron accumulate in females .
Which explains why women generally live longer than men .
By age 40 a man has 4 times as much calcium and twice as much iron stored in their body and experiences twice as much diabetes , cancer and heart disease compared to women .
A woman who has an early hysterectomy develops the same health problems as males .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached a steady state ( barrel is full ) and the rate of aging subsides , even halts altogether .
Just having birthdays : biological aging ceases in old age It is surprising to learn , biological aging actually slows to a complete halt in old age .
“ The discovery that aging ceases is one of the most significant discoveries in recent aging research , with potentially revolutionary implications , ” says Michael R. Rose and colleagues at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California , Irvine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aging Stop ?
” This cessation of biological aging correlates with a decline in blood iron levels in old animals .
Be mindful , scientifically speaking , there are vast volumes of published studies that reveal habitual fasting and/or blood-letting ( known since 1950 ) to reduce iron load are convincing anti-aging practices , but they don ’ t produce profits for doctors , hospitals and drug companies .
According to the Iron Disorders Institute , each 500 cc blood donation reduces the amount of blood in the body by ~250 milligrams and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) by 30 nanograms/milliliter of blood .
Calorie-restriction is another approach to achieve longevity , contrasted with fasting which is short-term ( no longer than 40-day ) zero-calorie intake .
It is not the calories but the fact that eating less food delivers less iron , copper and calcium , that then produces longer/healthier lifespans both in lab animals and humans .
Short-term intermittent fasting is gaining traction in America , but with the objective of weight control , not longevity .
Iron and copper , two of the most abundant metallic minerals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here is just some of the evidence : • Ferritin is a protein that stores iron in the body .
A recent study reveals that adults with the highest levels of ferritin ( stored iron ) are at greater mortality risk .
Even men with no major chronic diseases with the highest ferritin levels are at increased risk for death .
• The only internal organ that can be visualized from outside is the human eye .
The eye is a window to the body .
It has recently been discovered that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the back of the eyes correlates with progressive aging .
• Iron accumulation , as measured by ferritin testing , correlates with aging in the brain .
• Iron chelators reverse accumulation of plaque in the brain which has implications in age-related brain disease .
• It is not a coincidence that just when women are losing control of iron via the cessation of menopause ( menstrual flow expels ~30 milligrams of iron/month ) that iron levels increase in the skin which obviously accelerates skin aging .
Of interest , oral contraceptives increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which may predispose females to premature aging .
• Consistent with the over-mineralization theory of aging is a report that shows when women lose their ability to control iron ( cessation of menstruation/ menopause ) , aging accelerates .
The earlier menopause sets in and the longer the period of time since the onset of menopause , accelerates aging .
• Higher brain levels of iron are characteristically found in men compared to women which associates with brain disorders .
• There are gender-related differences in the incidence of age-related brain diseases .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ early hysterectomy have higher brain/iron levels than women who continue to menstruate , and have equal brain/iron levels to men .
• Men accumulate iron rapidly up to age 30 and then the ferritin levels stabilize .
It is not uncommon for physicians to discover ferritin levels exceeding 1000 in adult males which are often overlooked .
( Healthy ferritin/iron levels are 20-90 nanograms/milliliter blood sample . )
• Over 90 % of iron in the body is in red blood cells .
Blood donation effectively reduces stored iron ( ferritin ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the healthiest and have a 30 % less mortality risk compared to non-donors .
Beyond food deprivation and blood-letting , will an anti-aging pill do ?
The question this report attempts to address is , is there an anti-aging pill that can be taken instead of food deprivation or blood-letting ?
Such a pill would feature mineral chelators ( key-lay-tors ) that bind to iron , copper and calcium and impair absorption or facilitate disposal of these minerals .
What You Must Know Abo ... Jeffrey Anshel OD Best Price : $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the use of pharmacologic chelators is that they are fraught with side effects and can be toxic to genes .
However , nature ’ s chelator , oral IP6 rice bran extract , abundant in high fiber diets , is non-toxic .
The red wine molecule resveratrol ( rez-vair-a-trol ) exclusively binds to copper and is non-toxic .
Fisetin extract , abundant in strawberries , is a new natural iron chelator .
There is so much hoopla over the Sirtuin1 survival gene , said to be activated by limited-calorie diets and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved but aren ’ t the master controllers of aging .
Age-related accumulation of minerals activates disease-related genes .
Mineral chelators are posited to even reverse aging .
Antioxidant pills fail ; or did they ?
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E have been proposed as anti-aging agents .
A small percentage ( ~5 % ) of the oxygen atoms we breathe lose an electron and become what is called a “ free radical ” that destroys cells and tissues .
Antioxidants donate an electron and rebalance atoms .
So , as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damage results in aging .
A temporary supply of antioxidants can not possibly prevent or slow down aging , say antioxidant researchers .
The “ free radical theory of aging is dead ” claim scientists .
These know-it-alls go so far as to say “ increased antioxidant protection may even lead to shortened lifespans.
” But what goes unmentioned is that mild-dose biological stressors , like the red wine molecule resveratrol , which initially promote oxidation , then defensively activate an array of internal enzymatic antioxidants ( glutathione , catalase , superoxide dismutase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the brain and heart from damage .
It ’ s not the antioxidant vitamin pills you take that slow or reverse aging per se .
It is internally-produced antioxidants that do .
While the oxygen and nitrogen that humans breathe can induce destructive oxidation , after childhood growth is achieved , iron and copper accumulate in the human body over time and generate most of the “ free radical ” injury to tissues and organs and most of the age-related diseases .
A gene-controlling factor called Nrf2 is involved in this endogenous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longevity .
A low-dose toxin activates internal antioxidants , a biological phenomenon called hormesis .
This is why modest wine drinkers live longer than tee-totalers .
It was Hippocrates , the father of medicine , who said : “ Wine is a thing wonderfully appropriate to man if , in health as in disease , it is administered with appropriate and just measure according to the individual constitution.
” Or said in another way : “ Let us drink fewer , but drink better , to live older.
” Wine without the alcohol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what a resveratrol pill is .
Cell senescence ; not the end-all of aging Researchers thought they had the cause of aging in their grasp — cell senescence .
Over time a significant percentage of cells in the human body become zombies – they don ’ t renew themselves like young cells do .
Around age 20 , after full growth is achieved , the human body begins to accumulate senescent cells .
Over time senescent cells represent 1-3 % of the body ’ s total cells , which roughly amounts to 370 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Over a period of 45 years , from age 20-65 , let ’ s presume these senescent cells accumulate at a steady rate .
That would come to ~22,500 cells/day becoming senescent or ~8 million per year .
But now anti-senescent molecules have been identified and have been demonstrated to completely eradicate senescent cells .
And why do living cells become senescent ?
Because they accumulate up to 30-fold more iron and considerably more copper than younger cells .
Natural molecules like fisetin ( found in strawberries ) and resveratrol ( in grapes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ) iron and copper respectively to effectively eliminate senescent cells .
But as promising as the recent research on cell senescence is , Steve Horvath , UCLA researcher , says cellular aging is distinct from cellular senescence .
In fact , cellular aging is independent of DNA damage or telomere length .
Horvath shows slowing or abolishing cellular senescence is beneficial , it would have little impact on epigenetic aging .
Mitochondrial theory of aging : ironing out the cause of aging The mitochondrial theory of aging has received much attention .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ cells that produce cellular energy .
And yes , mitochondria typically begin to fail and cell energy wanes as humans age .
This is critically important in the heart where muscle cells require energy to keep the heart pumping blood .
Weakened mitochondria are involved in any aging theory , but there is often no mention as to why the mitochondria fail .
Iron chelators have been demonstrated to prevent destruction of mitochondria .
In fact , mitochondria actually renew themselves when resveratrol , a natural copper chelator naturally extracted from grapes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also an anti-aging strategy .
There is a central genetic mechanism that drives aging .
It is called NF-kappa B – a group of proteins that controls cell growth , survival , immunity and inflammation .
Inflammation is such a key component of aging that aging itself has been coined as “ inflammaging.
” Any proposed anti-aging pill must inhibit NF-kappa B proteins .
Inhibition of NF-kappa B slows or halts aging altogether .
Disruption of this single gene has been demonstrated to reverse aging as we know it .
Don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are 785 natural and synthetic NF-kappa-B inhibitors .
Calorie restricted diets , fasting , reduction of iron load via use of iron chelators , grape molecules ( resveratrol , quercetin ) , all inhibit NF-kappa B proteins .
Caffeine in coffee and tea extends the lifespan of various organisms and is considered an anti-aging agent for its ability to inhibit NF-kappa B .
Modern medicine need not wait for a patentable synthetic NF-kappa B inhibitor .
Yet at least 19 prescription drugs inhibit NF-kappa B could be utilized as anti-aging molecules but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ natural and prescription synthetic NF-kappa B inhibitors represent molecules that modern medicine keeps hidden in the research closet .
The medical establishment is an impediment The medical establishment is the greatest impediment to discovery of an anti-aging pill .
The medical research community derives billions of research dollars , largely from the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , and should an anti-aging pill be found , it would literally abolish the need for large budgets to explore the origins of each and every disease , given that aging is the primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society .
There are 27 empires within the NIH that would largely be eliminated by an anti-aging pill .
Modern medicine is organized to preserve incomes and the status quo , not to be progressive .
There is overwhelming unequivocal evidence that the speed of aging is caused by the rate of mineralization in the human body .
Investigators continue to report the sequelae ( diseases ) that emanate from rusting and calcification of organs and tissues with advancing age in the human body .
This is hidden science , kept from public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be erased and it continues to grow .
While biologists selectively ignore evidence that aging is caused by over-mineralization , the fear of a new paradigm for aging in biology and the advent of an anti-aging pill is matched by the public ’ s fear of living the last decades of life in a debilitated state .
Adults fear old-age will be experienced as loss of independence ( driver ’ s license ) , immobility ( wheelchair ) , poor bowel control ( diapers ) , failing eyesight ( macular degeneration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t remember names or faces ) , and lots of pain and suffering , and also fear outliving their pension plans .
Many people simply can ’ t imagine long lifespan would be accompanied by a prolonged healthspan .
Modern medicine covertly creates greater reliance upon drugs , doctoring and treatment of symptoms rather than causes .
Knowledgeable adults can ’ t imagine modern medicine schemes to ensure there is plenty of disease to treat .
Discussion about anti-aging pill is not a public narrative .
A survey conducted years ago by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the top five discoveries the public desired .
Workers in America are threatened by robotics ( around 25 % of all boring and repetitive jobs like taxi and truck drivers , stock clerks , soldiers , factory and assembly , lawyers , proofreaders , telemarketers , bookkeepers , etc. )
.
But recognize a bona fide anti-aging pill would push a lot of doctors and pharmacists into being taxi drivers !
No one has an answer to all the lost jobs an anti-aging pill would produce .
Facetiously , better to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not like an anti-aging pill is unavailable today .
Once the primary cause of aging is understood , it only requires a longevity seeker to find molecules that address the cause of aging .
Then what ?
The closest thing to an anti-aging pill so far A multi-chelator anti-aging pill would work synergistically to combat aging .
A landmark study reveals that neither resveratrol , quercetin or catechin molecules individually arrested tumor growth , but when combined they exerted demonstrably beneficial effects .
Such a pill that I formulated was put to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested in laboratory animals and compared with a calorie-restricted diet and plain resveratrol .
For comparison , a prior animal study showed a life-long calorie-restricted diet activated 831 genes in laboratory mice .
A 12-week limited-calorie diet activated 198 genes ; plain resveratrol 225 genes ; a proprietary combination of resveratrol/ quercetin/ IP6 rice bran , 1711 genes .
So , a synergistic combination of natural molecules produced a more demonstrable effect in just 12 weeks than life-long calorie restriction .
This is the closest humanity has come to creating an anti-aging pill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restriction .
This also means plain resveratrol pills on store shelves may disappoint if for no other reason than they would take a lifetime to fully yield health benefits .
In adulthood ( past age 40 ) , consumption of less iron-rich red meat and calcium-rich dairy products would also slow aging .
I have written of a strategy that prolongs the “ fasting signal ” in the body , given that humans fast during sleep .
The strategy consists of taking a morning pill that mimics fasting thus prolonging the fasting time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not eat till noon and then take an anti-aging pill at that time .
( See graphic below )

MAIN POINTS
The medical industry serves an an impediment to the discovery and adoption of an anti-aging pill.
Government has made it illegal to claim any natural substance remedies aging.
The rapid expansion of the volume of scientific information suggests the eradication of all diseases and aging itself is not beyond the reach of modern medicine today.
The time it takes to make such a discovery is shortening due to the “law of accelerating returns.” Futurists predict the eradication of all disease as well as aging itself.
There is a boom in the number of centenarians, all who reached 100-years of age without consciously making an effort to do so. Just wait till an anti-aging pill gains traction.
Government overseers and life insurance companies need the public to die on time. Don’t expect any medical institute or governmental agency approve an anti-aging pill. The personal discovery of an anti-aging pill is left for each individual to explore.
Valid strategies and practices now exist to reliably make 120-year lifespans and health spans common; namely fasting, calorie-restriction and blood-letting. These are no-cost practices (even less-cost by saving on food). Intermittent fasting is gaining traction, but for reasons of weight control, not the pursuit of longevity.
Food deprivation is not expected to be popular. A pill that molecularly mimics fasting would augment or even replace the above restrictive dietary measures.
Longevity seekers can readily find an anti-aging pill once they understand the cause of aging, which is over-mineralization.
Genes do not control aging, minerals do.
It is not fewer calories that produces an anti-aging effect, but the fact fewer minerals are consumed when limited calorie diets are practiced.
Various natural molecules (resveratrol, quercetin, fisetin, rice bran) chelate (bind to) key minerals (iron, copper, calcium) that drive aging and would serve as an anti-aging pill.
A combination of natural molecules works synergistically to chelate (bind to) minerals and dispose of them.
A long-ignored study showed a combination of natural molecules was superior to calorie-restriction in its ability to favorably alter anti-aging genes.
If humans can overcome their fear of longevity, an indefinitely long and healthy life is at hand.
You don’t need a doctor’s permission slip to take an anti-aging pill. An anti-aging pill is not something to be realized at some indefinite time in the future. There are numerous strategies at hand that literally cost next-to-nothing that can help you live 100 healthy years and beyond. Why isn’t your doctor telling you about this? Because modern medicine has no financial incentives to tell you about them. Doctor Yourself: Natur... Andrew W. Saul Best Price: $15.00 Buy New $18.21 (as of 10:15 UTC - Details)
You don’t need to understand complicated science to be convinced some simple practices can deliver a quality and quantity of life beyond what you could ever have imagined.
The scientific quest to find the holy grail of human aging is disingenuous. Failure to reach scientific consensus on the primary cause of aging is a shame. Aging is a challenge that is no longer beyond the reach of modern medicine. Certainly, geneticists should have sorted out why humans age by now. Maybe they already have and aren’t telling you.
The law of accelerating returns
Futurist Ray Kurzweil says the increase in the volume of information is now exponential (example: ten times ten, times ten, X ad infinitum) to produce what he calls the “law of accelerating returns.” The cure for aging is not insurmountable. Existing knowledge can be employed to produce an indefinitely long rather than a limited lifespan, that is, if a fearful and trepidatious public wants it.
Kurzweil cites the speed which new discoveries are now being made. The time it took to invent the radio or computers, for example, was many years. But now as discovery times are drastically shortened, humanity is on the cusp of conquering its ultimate challenge — aging. That is, if it has not already been discovered and thrown under the rug. If you read Kurzweil you will discover the cure for cancer should be announced any time now. Kurzweil is talking about the end of disease altogether!
Foot dragging
But modern medicine is dragging its feet. It is in “jobs protection mode.” An anti-aging pill would replace the need for most prescription drugs and indefinitely delay or avert common maladies of old age such as cataracts, high blood pressure, liver disease, failing memory, stiff joints, bone loss and myriads of sources of pain.
The reason modern medicine moves so slowly is because the pace of any discovery is going to take the professional lifetime of any researcher to ensure an income + pension.
It was Upton Sinclair who is credited with saying: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Parallel example
Foot dragging is prevalent. There is stagnant progress to implement of advances that will revolutionize human life as we know it, and this delay is not just confined to modern medicine. On a parallel front, recognize Volkswagen has introduced composite-body automobile that won’t dent and gets 260-miles per gallon of fuel. Congress won’t allow its entry into the U.S. market. Kurzweil’s theory of “accelerating returns” is being undermined by the need to amortize (pay off) R&D debts before any new technology is introduced; and to forestall progress in order to maintain present income streams – and stock prices.
Now a felony to make an anti-aging claim
Cloaked under consumer protection legislation, the Department of Justice now bans any dietary supplement company that makes anti-aging claims for its products, even if there is scientific evidence to back that claim, and considers violations subject to criminal prosecution even though no risks or side effects from such products are demonstrated. Categorically there cannot be an anti-aging pill outside of Big Pharma.
Does the public understand, Social Security and Medicare trust funds would be rapidly depleted if everyone started living 100 years and beyond. Social Security has financial incentives if a retiree waits to apply for a government pension, hoping the retiree will die before payouts begin. This may have been a reason why public health authorities were slow to ostracize and regulate tobacco companies, given that smoking cigarettes shortens life by about 10 years. Government saves a lot of money if you die early.
The masses must die on time for life insurance companies to earn profits. Many Americans are now outliving their term life insurance policies. There are an estimated 80,000 centenarians in America today (2020). And virtually all of them reached that golden age WITHOUT an anti-aging pill. Just imagine what would happen if a significant percentage of Americans began to intentionally and conscientiously pursue a long and healthy live by taking an anti-aging pill?
A report entitled “Happy 100th Birthday – Outliving Your Life Insurance” explains that longevinarians may need to file a 1035 exchange to convert their policy into one that expires at age 121. Life insurance companies tip off the greatest demographic change in modern history – the rise of supercentenarians.
Anti-aging pill only on modern medicine’s terms
From the professional side of the issue, no medical research institute is going to get off second base and slide into home plate with an anti-aging pill till doctors and hospitals can figure out how to profit from such an advancement. If aging is to be “cured,” it is going to happen on modern medicine’s terms. A cure for aging has to fit the profit-making schemes of modern medicine or it will never be allowed to happen.
With this realization, the quest for longevity becomes an unguided pursuit. Doctors have no answers beyond the common claim that the latest anti-aging elixir “is unproven.” Yes, but not disproven. Then they never put an anti-aging pill to the test and sweep any convincing evidence back into the research closet.
Oh, you will read about the proposed human trial to test whether an anti-diabetic medication (metformin) will prolong human life. But that anti-aging pill would only be expected to prolong lifespan another 4-6%. For comparison, a calorie-restricted diet, or an anti-aging pill that molecularly mimics a limited-calorie diet, would theoretically double human life expectancy as it does in the animal lab. This study is just a distraction to keep the public appease a growing public demand for an anti-aging pill.
The problem with the need to produce conclusive evidence for an anti-aging pill is that such a study would take decades, require a gabillion dollars, and would be impractical (study would last longer than the researchers themselves). Which is why lab researchers use short-lived animals like rodents (2-3 years) to test anti-aging pills.
Only those longevity seekers who ignore modern medicine’s nostrums and embark on their own course will have any chance of finding an anti-aging pill. If you want to live 120-healthy years, don’t look for a physician with a Mayo Clinic diploma on the wall. Doctors, both conventional or alternative, are disease hunters, and they are clueless and turn a blind eye on any practices that prolong the lives of their patients reduce the need for doctoring.
What if a day comes when there is no age-related disease to treat, as Kurzweil predicts? Health care in America has become an income/job-producing asset rather than what it really is — a burdensome line item on the expense ledger.
So, longevity-seekers are on their own. Alternative doctors may be less invasive, but they too are searching for codes to bill insurance, not cures for disease, let alone aging!
The over-mineralization theory of aging.
We know why humans age — they rust and calcify.
Reduction of iron stores in the body is reported to produce exceptional longevity.
I explained in my treatise THE OVERMINERALIZATIO THEORY OF AGING (2007) that humans age at three different speeds:
(1) Childhood growth; children have birthdays (calendar aging) but aren’t biologically aging. During growth years iron in hemoglobin is needed to make red blood cells; calcium is needed for bones and copper for connective tissue.
(2) With full growth achieved, men begin to age first, accumulating iron and copper and calcium, while fertile women dump iron in their monthly menstrual flow and donate calcium to their offspring, and delay aging till early hysterectomy or cessation of menstruation (menopause) occurs. Only then does iron accumulate in females. Which explains why women generally live longer than men.
By age 40 a man has 4 times as much calcium and twice as much iron stored in their body and experiences twice as much diabetes, cancer and heart disease compared to women. A woman who has an early hysterectomy develops the same health problems as males.
(3) In late life mineralization has reached a steady state (barrel is full) and the rate of aging subsides, even halts altogether.
Just having birthdays: biological aging ceases in old age
It is surprising to learn, biological aging actually slows to a complete halt in old age. “The discovery that aging ceases is one of the most significant discoveries in recent aging research, with potentially revolutionary implications,” says Michael R. Rose and colleagues at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, author of the book entitled Does Aging Stop?” This cessation of biological aging correlates with a decline in blood iron levels in old animals.
Minerals: the drivers of aging
Be mindful, scientifically speaking, there are vast volumes of published studies that reveal habitual fasting and/or blood-letting (known since 1950) to reduce iron load are convincing anti-aging practices, but they don’t produce profits for doctors, hospitals and drug companies.
According to the Iron Disorders Institute, each 500 cc blood donation reduces the amount of blood in the body by ~250 milligrams and lowers typically lowers ferritin (iron storage) by 30 nanograms/milliliter of blood.
Calorie-restriction is another approach to achieve longevity, contrasted with fasting which is short-term (no longer than 40-day) zero-calorie intake. It is not the calories but the fact that eating less food delivers less iron, copper and calcium, that then produces longer/healthier lifespans both in lab animals and humans. Short-term intermittent fasting is gaining traction in America, but with the objective of weight control, not longevity.
Iron & copper drive aging
Iron and copper, two of the most abundant metallic minerals in the human body, drive aging. Here is just some of the evidence:
Beyond food deprivation and blood-letting, will an anti-aging pill do?
The question this report attempts to address is, is there an anti-aging pill that can be taken instead of food deprivation or blood-letting? Such a pill would feature mineral chelators (key-lay-tors) that bind to iron, copper and calcium and impair absorption or facilitate disposal of these minerals. What You Must Know Abo... Anshel OD, Jeffrey Best Price: $3.56 Buy New $11.75 (as of 10:45 UTC - Details)
Iron chelators are proposed as anti-aging agents.
A roadblock to the use of pharmacologic chelators is that they are fraught with side effects and can be toxic to genes. However, nature’s chelator, oral IP6 rice bran extract, abundant in high fiber diets, is non-toxic. The red wine molecule resveratrol (rez-vair-a-trol) exclusively binds to copper and is non-toxic. Fisetin extract, abundant in strawberries, is a new natural iron chelator.
Genes don’t control aging, but minerals do
There is so much hoopla over the Sirtuin1 survival gene, said to be activated by limited-calorie diets and the red wine molecule resveratrol. Genes are involved but aren’t the master controllers of aging. Age-related accumulation of minerals activates disease-related genes. Mineral chelators are posited to even reverse aging.
Antioxidant pills fail; or did they?
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E have been proposed as anti-aging agents. A small percentage (~5%) of the oxygen atoms we breathe lose an electron and become what is called a “free radical” that destroys cells and tissues. Antioxidants donate an electron and rebalance atoms. So, as the antioxidant theory of aging goes, accumulated damage results in aging. A temporary supply of antioxidants cannot possibly prevent or slow down aging, say antioxidant researchers. The “free radical theory of aging is dead” claim scientists. These know-it-alls go so far as to say “increased antioxidant protection may even lead to shortened lifespans.”
But what goes unmentioned is that mild-dose biological stressors, like the red wine molecule resveratrol, which initially promote oxidation, then defensively activate an array of internal enzymatic antioxidants (glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase) that pre-protect vulnerable and un-regenerative tissues in the brain and heart from damage. It’s not the antioxidant vitamin pills you take that slow or reverse aging per se. It is internally-produced antioxidants that do.
While the oxygen and nitrogen that humans breathe can induce destructive oxidation, after childhood growth is achieved, iron and copper accumulate in the human body over time and generate most of the “free radical” injury to tissues and organs and most of the age-related diseases.
A gene-controlling factor called Nrf2 is involved in this endogenous antioxidant system and is thought to regulate longevity. A low-dose toxin activates internal antioxidants, a biological phenomenon called hormesis. This is why modest wine drinkers live longer than tee-totalers.
It was Hippocrates, the father of medicine, who said: “Wine is a thing wonderfully appropriate to man if, in health as in disease, it is administered with appropriate and just measure according to the individual constitution.” Or said in another way: “Let us drink fewer, but drink better, to live older.” Wine without the alcohol would be ideal. That is precisely what a resveratrol pill is.
Cell senescence; not the end-all of aging
Researchers thought they had the cause of aging in their grasp — cell senescence. Over time a significant percentage of cells in the human body become zombies – they don’t renew themselves like young cells do. Around age 20, after full growth is achieved, the human body begins to accumulate senescent cells. Over time senescent cells represent 1-3% of the body’s total cells, which roughly amounts to 370 million to 1.110 billion senescent cells. Over a period of 45 years, from age 20-65, let’s presume these senescent cells accumulate at a steady rate. That would come to ~22,500 cells/day becoming senescent or ~8 million per year.
But now anti-senescent molecules have been identified and have been demonstrated to completely eradicate senescent cells. And why do living cells become senescent? Because they accumulate up to 30-fold more iron and considerably more copper than younger cells. Natural molecules like fisetin (found in strawberries) and resveratrol (in grapes and red wine) chelate (bind to) iron and copper respectively to effectively eliminate senescent cells.
But as promising as the recent research on cell senescence is, Steve Horvath, UCLA researcher, says cellular aging is distinct from cellular senescence. In fact, cellular aging is independent of DNA damage or telomere length. Horvath shows slowing or abolishing cellular senescence is beneficial, it would have little impact on epigenetic aging.
Mitochondrial theory of aging: ironing out the cause of aging
The mitochondrial theory of aging has received much attention. Mitochondria are the atomic power plants inside cells that produce cellular energy. And yes, mitochondria typically begin to fail and cell energy wanes as humans age. This is critically important in the heart where muscle cells require energy to keep the heart pumping blood.
Weakened mitochondria are involved in any aging theory, but there is often no mention as to why the mitochondria fail. Iron chelators have been demonstrated to prevent destruction of mitochondria. In fact, mitochondria actually renew themselves when resveratrol, a natural copper chelator naturally extracted from grapes, is employed, which researchers claim is also an anti-aging strategy.
The main genetic pathway to aging
There is a central genetic mechanism that drives aging. It is called NF-kappa B – a group of proteins that controls cell growth, survival, immunity and inflammation. Inflammation is such a key component of aging that aging itself has been coined as “inflammaging.”
Any proposed anti-aging pill must inhibit NF-kappa B proteins. Inhibition of NF-kappa B slows or halts aging altogether. Disruption of this single gene has been demonstrated to reverse aging as we know it.
Don’t say there are no anti-aging pills. There are 785 natural and synthetic NF-kappa-B inhibitors. Calorie restricted diets, fasting, reduction of iron load via use of iron chelators, grape molecules (resveratrol, quercetin), all inhibit NF-kappa B proteins. Caffeine in coffee and tea extends the lifespan of various organisms and is considered an anti-aging agent for its ability to inhibit NF-kappa B.
Modern medicine need not wait for a patentable synthetic NF-kappa B inhibitor. Yet at least 19 prescription drugs inhibit NF-kappa B could be utilized as anti-aging molecules but go unused for that purpose. Both natural and prescription synthetic NF-kappa B inhibitors represent molecules that modern medicine keeps hidden in the research closet.
The medical establishment is an impediment
The medical establishment is the greatest impediment to discovery of an anti-aging pill. The medical research community derives billions of research dollars, largely from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and should an anti-aging pill be found, it would literally abolish the need for large budgets to explore the origins of each and every disease, given that aging is the primary cause of age-related maladies that predominate in society. There are 27 empires within the NIH that would largely be eliminated by an anti-aging pill. Modern medicine is organized to preserve incomes and the status quo, not to be progressive.
There is overwhelming unequivocal evidence that the speed of aging is caused by the rate of mineralization in the human body. Investigators continue to report the sequelae (diseases) that emanate from rusting and calcification of organs and tissues with advancing age in the human body. This is hidden science, kept from public view and interpretation. But it can’t be erased and it continues to grow.
Public fear
While biologists selectively ignore evidence that aging is caused by over-mineralization, the fear of a new paradigm for aging in biology and the advent of an anti-aging pill is matched by the public’s fear of living the last decades of life in a debilitated state.
Adults fear old-age will be experienced as loss of independence (driver’s license), immobility (wheelchair), poor bowel control (diapers), failing eyesight (macular degeneration), loss of memory (can’t remember names or faces), and lots of pain and suffering, and also fear outliving their pension plans. Many people simply can’t imagine long lifespan would be accompanied by a prolonged healthspan.
Modern medicine covertly creates greater reliance upon drugs, doctoring and treatment of symptoms rather than causes. Knowledgeable adults can’t imagine modern medicine schemes to ensure there is plenty of disease to treat. Discussion about anti-aging pill is not a public narrative. A survey conducted years ago by MIT showed an anti-aging pill was not in the top five discoveries the public desired.
Workers in America are threatened by robotics (around 25% of all boring and repetitive jobs like taxi and truck drivers, stock clerks, soldiers, factory and assembly, lawyers, proofreaders, telemarketers, bookkeepers, etc.). But recognize a bona fide anti-aging pill would push a lot of doctors and pharmacists into being taxi drivers! No one has an answer to all the lost jobs an anti-aging pill would produce. Facetiously, better to have disease and die prematurely.
It’s not like an anti-aging pill is unavailable today. Once the primary cause of aging is understood, it only requires a longevity seeker to find molecules that address the cause of aging. Then what?
The closest thing to an anti-aging pill so far
A multi-chelator anti-aging pill would work synergistically to combat aging. A landmark study reveals that neither resveratrol, quercetin or catechin molecules individually arrested tumor growth, but when combined they exerted demonstrably beneficial effects.
Such a pill that I formulated was put to the test in 2008. It was tested in laboratory animals and compared with a calorie-restricted diet and plain resveratrol. For comparison, a prior animal study showed a life-long calorie-restricted diet activated 831 genes in laboratory mice.
A 12-week limited-calorie diet activated 198 genes; plain resveratrol 225 genes; a proprietary combination of resveratrol/ quercetin/ IP6 rice bran, 1711 genes. So, a synergistic combination of natural molecules produced a more demonstrable effect in just 12 weeks than life-long calorie restriction. This is the closest humanity has come to creating an anti-aging pill that mimics the lifespan/healthspan doubling of calorie restriction. This also means plain resveratrol pills on store shelves may disappoint if for no other reason than they would take a lifetime to fully yield health benefits.
In adulthood (past age 40), consumption of less iron-rich red meat and calcium-rich dairy products would also slow aging.
Prolonging the fasting signal
I have written of a strategy that prolongs the “fasting signal” in the body, given that humans fast during sleep. The strategy consists of taking a morning pill that mimics fasting thus prolonging the fasting time. An alternative is to skip breakfast and not eat till noon and then take an anti-aging pill at that time. (See graphic below)