Hi LW. I think that this community's insight could help me with my problem. I may have an undiagnosed medical condition, and I wanted to present it here in order to get some ideas, either on what it is, or what I should try to do to figure it out.

I'm a relatively active and relatively healthy-eating 36 yo male, but over the last 5.5 years I've had a bunch of musculo-skeletal problems (joints, tendons, muscles) each lasting a long time. Each of these by themselves would not be that unusual, but most have not resolved, and they are just so widespread:

- r ankle (1 yr. minor catching, occasional worse pain)

 - both knees (5 yr. major pain, catching, crepitus)

- both hips, (1 yr. major pain, better right now, but not gone)

- r shoulder (major weakness resolved after 2y by aggressive stretching)

- neck (6 mo., helped by stretching upper back , but still a problem: can't swim)

- l elbow (3yr. minor pain and weakness)

Some (maybe all) of these feel like they could be due to muscles getting so tight or short that they overtax the connected tendons/bones/cartilage.

The knees are the worst right now, though the hips were just as bad. I'm not sure what made the hips get better, possibly strengthening hip abductors.

Additionally, approximately at the time this started, I became lactose intolerant, but am currently okay. I also started getting springtime allergies for the first time 5.5 yrs ago.

I started a gluten-free diet a couple of weeks ago, and have also stopped all exercise for the last 3 weeks, but no effect so far. Because I've been active and athletic for so long, the physical problems are a major impact on my life and have a huge negative impact on my mood. I've never felt worse in my life, honestly.

I'm presenting this here because I know the reponses I get will be well thought out.

I appreciate your time. Thanks!

Life extension is a relevant topic here, and I was wondering if people are aware of the apparently life-extending effects of calorie restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF). To the extent of my knowledge, this is the best method using currently realized technology that has shown repeated and significant life-extension benefits.

Studies show that reducing calories by 20% to 40% from ad libitum feeding (but maintaining the supply of required protein and micro-nutrients) gives improvements in markers related to aging, and extends life span in rodents and other organisms.

Other rodent studies have also shown similar results in subjects which were kept on various intermittent fasting schedules. Rats that were fed only on alternating days gained up to 25% lifespan (see Table 2).

The benefits of IF are seen even if the total calorie intake is the same as in ad libitum subjects.

There are ongoing full-lifespan studies in rhesus macaques to test the effects in primates, but none of these studies have completed. This abstract of the interim results appears promising, though.

Studies of CR and IF on humans have shown effects consistent with reduced mortality, including:
- Improved triglyceride profiles (a marker for heart disease)
- Increased insulin sensitivity
- Reduced cell proliferation (a marker for cancer)

Generally, these diet modifications appear to not just extend life span, but improve the quality of life too. In aged subjects they improve things like: muscle mass, cognition, energy, appearance, and activity level.

Have people heard about this or tried it? If you are trying to maximize your chance of surviving to the point that technology can lengthen lifespan indefinitely, it seems like something worth exploring.

I tried an IF schedule for about 6 months during 2010. I followed a schedule of 3 x ~thirty hour fasts every 7 days and found it somewhat tolerable. I exercise regularly and found that exercising on the non-fasting days was not a problem. I'm thinking of starting up such a schedule again.

I accidentally deleted my article titled "Reference Classes in the Doomsday Argument." There were some really thoughtful replies, and I sincerely apologize to everyone who commented. I'm new here and new to web forums in general, and I thought that I was deleting my saved draft. Aargh!

For those who were involved in the discussion, here is the permalink to the topic.

Edit: Renamed title to make the discussion easier to find (per nickernst's suggestion).