7 replies to this topic

[Florian Xavier]

http://www.nature.co...is2014520a.html

 

In Slavic folklore, Koschei the Immortal was bony, thin and lean. Was his condition caused by severe calorie restriction (CR)? CR deactivates the target of rapamycin pathway and slows down aging. But the life-extending effect of severe CR is limited by starvation. What if Koschei’s anti-aging formula included rapamycin? And was rapamycin (or another rapalog) combined with commonly available drugs such as metformin, aspirin, propranolol, angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

 

 

very interesting

[niner]

You do know that rapamycin, metformin, propranolol, angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are all products of the twentieth century, right?

[Danail Bulgaria]

He could be ageless only because of his genetics.

 

The big question is, was he real? It is the same with Matusaleh and the bible. They both - Matusaleh and Koshtchei exist only for the people, who believe in them.

[xEva]

He could be ageless only because of his genetics.

 

The big question is, was he real? It is the same with Matusaleh and the bible. They both - Matusaleh and Koshtchei exist only for the people, who believe in them.

 

Naah, Koshtchey the Deathless character was born out of an old observation that CR makes people live apparently 'forever'. As you know (but English-speakers don't) the root of is name comes from bones -- for he was just 'bones and hide', yet possessed incredible strength that must have come from tendon power (a topic also in Chinese martial arts). 

 

His female counterpart, Baba Yaga, was not portrayed as skinny and was known to eat misbehaving children for breakfast, but no one ever saw Koshtchey eat, no? 

Edited by xEva, 06 June 2015 - 04:37 PM.

[corb]

Well as far as I know most immortal creatures in slavic mythology were skinny - our vampires, dryads, etc.
And Baby Yaga as well in most depictions and stories is a skinny old woman.
It could be observations or it could just be completely random, we've never had a history of being obese, neither northern nor southern slavs.

[Danail Bulgaria]

OK, but not having fat people also may have led to the empirical finding, that restricting calories makes you live longer....

[niner]

OK, but not having fat people also may have led to the empirical finding, that restricting calories makes you live longer....

 

I suspect that in those days, most people either had adequate nutrition or they were malnourished.  A small number might have been over-nourished.  I doubt anyone was practicing CR, where you still get adequate protein and micronutrients.   I think the message everyone would have taken is that if you don't eat enough, you will die sooner.   Infection resistance, ability to fend off violence, and ability to avoid starvation were probably the biggest factors in lifespan.  I don't think there's useful life-extension knowledge to be gained from religious stories and folk tales. 

[Danail Bulgaria]

You can be right. In that time, however, people have been producing their own food. There may have been some small number of people, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and "cheap" sources of proteins (chicken, fish, eggs whites, milk with tooken out butter and milk products made from such a milk), proportiously, but in smaller quantities, just like the CR.

Edited by seivtcho, 07 June 2015 - 06:37 PM.