In a Ted talk I watched long ago, a doctor stated that "old age" isn't a bona fide cause of death. People die from organ or other body failures or damage.
He explained that cancer patients die not from the tumors themselves, but from the damage the tumors do to critical body functions.
I have always been wondering why I have to die.
Aside from accidental death or diseases, just looking at what causes death in old age, there are several possibilities.
The body constantly repairs and rejuvenates itself, but why is it failing to do so indefinitely?
The end tip of a chromosome is a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become shorter, eventually leading to cell death when they become too short.
And there is the cell cycle that generates new cells by cell division. But I have a gap in my knowledge why, on the one hand, cells die; but on the other hand, they still divide.
When too many cells die, then certain body parts start failing; and when too many body parts are failing, then life eventually can no longer sustain itself.
I noticed that, the older you grow, the more likely your breathing becomes shallow; and your feet do no longer lift off the ground but shuffle along the floor. In other words, you just become tired and start slowing down.
Life cannot be reversed; but more likely than not, it's in your power to prolong it by taking care of yourself.
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