WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF LONGEVITYThe world today is fast progressing and we live in the unprecedented times. There is a boom of advances in every field, from the art to the science and technology. This includes health science, too. The wonderful advances in the field of medical science make it possible to cure acute disorders and, thus, avoiding untimely demise. The chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. can be efficiently managed leading to virtual freedom from their complications. There is, in general, an appreciable increase in life expectancy and lifespan. The ideology apart, health is the prime instrument that lets us enjoy life. The preservation of health is the best formula for longevity. A healthy food, adequate physical activity and wholesome lifestyle keep the daily attrition-related damage at minimum and retard ageing. An optimal healthcare adds further. An individual's life course may appear unpredictable, but it is not. The genetic and environmental factors, both being of equal importance, and behavioral patterns can successfully predict the life expectancy. The longer life is not separate from ageing slowly. They are mutually related.The life is an eternal truth. We are because we live. We find people ageing; we ourselves age and grow older. The phenomenon of ageing is universal in the kingdom of living. With time, all living beings age. Yet, ageing is an enigma. We do not understand it. We do not exactly know, what makes us age and grow old, finally losing vitality of life? Living a healthy and long life is a common dream. All of us nourish the dream; all of us wish to realize it. But various disorders and infirmities annihilate the dream. Falling prey to them, we lose our health and fitness, and pass through an abridged life. There have been immense developments in scientific research, including medical science. There has evolved a whole novel understanding of the biology of ageing. A vast body of knowledge can explain the changes that take place with ageing at molecular and cellular level. At the same time, the progress in healthcare and technology makes it possible to slow ageing. The science has progressed and there are futuristic visions of achieving significant longevity. There are possibilities of being able to reverse the ageing process. The eternal dream of immortality, is on the verge of becoming a reality. This book aims to provide answers to the questions related to ageing. It aims to explain ageing and charts out a program for slowing ageing. It also gives a peep into the futuristic visions of longevity and suggests scientific ways for a long life. Simultaneously, it is designed to educate you for fitness and to lead a healthy life. As you read through the book, you will find long-held views interspersed with shattering myths, and scientific facts intermingled with results from research and studies, which are still not out of the lab doors. It may seem at times, but the book is not a fiction. Neither, it is a concocted dream. The book is based on current state of scientific knowledge and gerontological research. I intend to share with you the current state of knowledge relating to ageing and gerontology. There are, to share with you, the facts and visions more eloquent than imaginations, and amazing thoughts amounting to the reality-pregnant-early-morning dreams. You will notice few things as you read through the book. Using certain words has been avoided. You will only rarely find the words like aged, old, etc. The words like elderly have been used very sparingly. This has been done purposely and is well in line with the central thought of the book, which is to come out of our age-old prejudices against the old age. So, I request you to read on. After all, theme of the book ageing slowly and living longer, as indicated by the title chosen, is of the prime concern to all of us. Your partner in healthy long life, Dr Vinod Nikhra, M.D.
