Ayurveda and the science of aging

Since time immemorial, humanity has been concerned with developing and preserving youthful vigor, and extending longevity by stopping or delaying the aging process. By 2030, one in five of the world population will be over 65 years old. Longevity and old age are accompanied with a variety of health challenges and population studies indicate that the elderly will use between three to five times more healthcare services compared to the younger population. Modern medicine has made a great deal of progress in understanding the aging process and in controlling age-associated health issues including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer, senility, and arthritis. Thus, every individual is now looking forward to a youthful, productive lifespan of 100 or more years filled with unlimited health and opportunity. Research by aging experts is focused on ways to go against the natural order of the aging process in order to delay it. Interventions include among other things anti-aging pills, restricted food consumption and cloning body parts to stay young and delay biological aging. Ayurveda, one of the world's most authoritative mind-body-spirit medicinal systems, offers various concepts of the aging process. This system of medicine includes therapies for healthy aging so as to create an optimal health and lengthen an individual's healthspan by living in harmony with nature. This review will explore various aspects of aging and longevity by comparing the science of aging as defined by modern medicine with the Ayurvedic treatise of Jara and Vriddhavastha.