IIN Chief Wellness Officer Deepak Chopra continues to be at the forefront of holistic health and wellness. He’s always innovating and leveraging the latest technology and research to make the world a happier, healthier, more grounded place. The bestselling author sat down with menopause advocate, author, Emmy-award winning television host, and IIN Certified Health Coach Tamsen Fadal for a wide-ranging, in-depth conversation about health and wellness. In this portion, Tamsen asks Deepak his thoughts on longevity, how emerging technology is shaping it, and the upper limit of humans’ life span.
Tamsen Fadal: The word longevity is being repeated now more than ever. It’s such a hot topic in wellness circles. What does longevity really mean to you?
Deepak Chopra: Right now, the science shows that less than 5 percent of chronic illness is due to what are called fully penetrant gene mutations. So, for example, there are 43 or so gene mutations that are associated with, say, Alzheimer's. Maybe two or three guarantee the disease. Similarly, there are many, many genes associated with cancer, but less than 5 percent guarantee the disease. And these genes that guarantee the disease are called fully penetrant genes. We will soon see emerging technologies like gene editing, so metaphorically speaking, we'll be able to delete the gene that causes the disease and insert the gene. Just imagine — again, metaphorically speaking — you read the barcode of a gene, delete the defective gene, and insert the gene. It's like you're cutting and pasting your emails.
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‘All of These Diseases Will Be Eliminated’
That will happen sooner or later. Gene editing is approved for sickle cell anemia and a couple of neurological disorders, but it will become quite common. That's one thing that is a major revolution. And because of this technology called Messenger RNA (mRNA), we can make vaccines much more expeditiously than before. There's a lot of research right now on vaccines for cancer, heart disease, autoimmune illness, Alzheimer's, and others. Sooner or later, all of these diseases will be eliminated, more or less. However, 95 percent of disease-related gene mutations are under the influence of what we call epigenetics.
It is very obvious that humans are going to live much longer, and not only live longer, but also have what is called a health span. Right now, 90 percent of medical resources are spent in the last few years of life, on chronic disease and people being intubated in ICUs, hospitals, and nursing homes. There's also AI and the ability to create new forms of treatment, like digiceuticals, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality to actually change gene expression in the direction of self-regulation and healing.
We are looking at a new era for health span, and the Chopra Foundation is doing a lot of research on this. We have partnered with the Human Longevity Institute in California, the people who deciphered the gene and the genetic code. But they also realize it's not genes, it's more epigenetics. So, we're working with them to see how we can combine what they call gene analysis and the ability for early detection through scanning, and combine that with lifestyle. The major revolutions in technology include artificial intelligence and the whole area of extended reality. Virtual reality has a huge promise in treating diseases because our physical body is an extension of our consciousness.
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The Upper Limit of a Life Span: 120 Years?
We are part of a virtual reality, but now with the extended reality, you'll see a new form of intervention, electroceuticals, digiceuticals, and metaceuticals. And with yoga and Pranayama, and by increasing vagal tone, you are going to see healthy people that are living longer lives. I don’t know what the upper limit is, but it’s believed to be 120 years.
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Tamsen Fadal: What is the main goal of the Chopra Foundation right now? What is the main focus? I've seen you do so many different things, and I know longevity is part of that, but I also think there's so much revolving around purpose and practice.
Deepak Chopra: Leadership is one area. The second area is mental health, and the third area is longevity. But the big vision is to reach a critical mass of people for a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier, and joyful world.
Read More: Deepak Chopra on Menopause, Reconnecting With Yourself at Midlife, and His Favorite Supplements
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