SECRETS OF OLD AGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 20 June 1932, Page 10

SECRETS OF OLD AGE

Sir Humphrey Kolleston, Regius Professor of Physic at Cambridge, declares that there is not any proof that the span of human life is extending towards 100 years. Premature retirement from an I active life does not tend to produce long | life. The influence of personal habits is ! not so easy to determine. Food in excess certainly des not lead to a long life, I while moderate drinking of alcohol and j smoking have little influence in shorten* img life. Most people, in fact, die of something else before smoking has time , to exert its very slow poisonous effect, j Few people die of old age, because some , disease will usually carry them off before the end of their natural span. “Man is as old as his arteries,” runs a much-quot-ed saying attributed to Cazalis, but, according to Sir Humphrey Rolleston, the inherent vitality of the nervous system is an even greater essential for longevity. After birth the nerve cells do not multiply and replace worn-out cells, as occurs in other structures of the body, so that gradual death of the nerve cells in tho brain and spinal cord means death of the individual. Will-power may, however, help to prolong the life of such cells. Old age may be contagious, in Lord Rhondda’s view, and. association with younger men may keep tho brain supple. “Fresh air, meagre fare, freedom from care,” sums up the hygiene of old age. j