WRITTEN BY ANTHONY NWORAH
The average life expectancy in the United States today is about seventy-two years as against forty-six in the earlier decades when medical facilities were poor. In fact, today, it is seventy-nine for women.

However, despite genetic make-up and medical care, no one seems to live much beyond one hundred and twenty years. Genes determine how long cells live. As cells die, the organs begin to malfunction, and eventually cannot maintain the biologic functions necessary to sustain life. Programmed senescence, that is, the process by which a living gets gradually worse with age, helps preserve specie’s older members dying at a rate that allows room for the young.
Nature created a group of atoms, called radicals, behaving as a unit in human body and certain compounds. They move freely in blood circulation, hence called free radicals. These free radicals ultimately damage the cells and cause the person to age and eventually die. Fortunately, these cells react differently to these free radicals hence the variation in dying ages.
The human bodies change in many noticeable ways with age, starting from reduction in the focusing ability of the eye, and often needing glasses. The body fat increases by about thirty per cent, with less of it going to skin and move to the buttocks, thus the skin becomes thinner, wrinkled, and more fragile.
Internal organs peak in the actions up to the age of thirty and from there start gradually to decline. These include the functions of the liver, kidney, brain, testes, adrenal glands, and, in the woman, the womb, ovaries, which, in addition, may affect fertility.
The blood flow to the kidney, liver and brain decreases, thus decreasing the kidney’s ability to clear toxins and drug diseases. The liver also declines in clearing toxins. And drug complications, as well as to metabolize food particles passed unto it into essential amino acids. The blood output from the heart decreases as the heart gradually gets weaker, glucose tolerance of the body decreases and hence diabetes often set in, and weakening often results with loss of breath at times, and increased amount of tapped air in the lungs. Infections have a field day as most immune bodies, and other infection fighting blood cells have decreased.
Among the elderly, the commonest health disorders are gastric symptoms like abdominal pains, sometimes sharp, with loss of appetite, with nausea and vomiting. Occasionally, bedsores may arise from lying too long on one side. Alzheimer disease, that is, over forgetfulness and dementia, may set in as well as cataracts, and glaucoma.
Fortunately, these diseases are readily treatable nowadays, but the best thing is to report in time to the doctor any change noticed in the body, despite the economic difficulties of the present era. It is safer to see the doctor before going to prayer houses, soothsayers and traditional practitioners at least to have a clear-cut diagnosis.
Every human being, including the doctor, must die, but one would prefer a quiet, peaceful death the cause of which is precisely known.

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