Castrated and live to 100? Or intact and live to 70?

[Dezerte]

Depends on the quality of those extra years.

[Lemons]

My grandpa is 75, and judging by the current state of him I'd say he's still got another 10 years in him if not more. So I'm just going to bank on my genes and abstain from mutilating myself.

[Grummgug]

The pace of medical advances suggest we will be able to cure aging in 20 years. 30 years if we are truly unlucky. So the question is moot. I'll take neither and just stick with what I have now. We should be able to live incredibly long lives. Thousands of years. Even way longer.

But that's the truth about progress. True progress is about technological advancement. Not government. Obamacare won't solve our medical problems. It will be scientists who cure aging and make Obamacare a useless edifice.

[smelltheglove]

I'm scared shitless of hospitals and just medical facilities in general so its very very unlikely I would ever voluntarily have some guy cut off part of my body, let alone my balls.

you could always go to a vet. i mean really, who else could possible have that particular art form nailed down as well?

[Mongoose19]

So I read on Cracked today that apparently men who get castrated live longer. Significantly longer. Like... regularly living to 70-80, even 100+ in a time when leaches were considered a miracle cure.

This same phenomenon is also present in other animals.

So with that in mind, the question at hand.

Would you rather live to 100 without your nuts? Or would you prefer to die 10-20 years sooner?

I have to admit, if the benefit were only 5 years I'd rather die sooner. But 10-20? That actually makes it a tough call....

No after 70 your health is shit anyway so why drag such horrible state for 30 years?

[Laize]

No after 70 your health is shit anyway so why drag such horrible state for 30 years?

Your health doesn't have to be shit. My grandfather is pushing 95 and still up and walking around, playing golf. Grandmother is 92 and the same way.

It's all in how active you stay in your winter years.

[semaphore]

I have to wonder if women would receive the same benefit?

Like, removing the ovaries?

If it actually works it'd be a nice deal, though I find the research suspect.

[Laize]

Like, removing the ovaries?

If it actually works it'd be a nice deal, though I find the research suspect.

I've always been led to believe that lack of estrogen is what causes osteoporosis in women. Based solely on that I can't imagine quality of life improving via radical hysterectomy. Length of life I'm not sure about.

The research regarding men and castration seems pretty sound.

Strangely, I understand that plenty of castrated men (as long as they were castrated in adulthood) are still perfectly capable of getting it up and having sex. I can't imagine their actual sex drive is all that, though.

I believe testosterone might have negative effects on the cardiovascular system and that might be the underlying factor in why castration seems to be healthy.

[PACOX]

Your health doesn't have to be shit. My grandfather is pushing 95 and still up and walking around, playing golf. Grandmother is 92 and the same way.

It's all in how active you stay in your winter years.

The fact is that most people start to deteriorate after 70. You may be blessed with super genes but after 70, it down hill for most people. I would rather die on my own accord and happy then decrepit in a hospital bed. Most of my family has lived relatively decent lives after 70, but 70 seems to be the natural limit of modern technology.

[mvaliz]

...most men live to 70-80 anyways... I'm not understanding this. o_O

[Anakso]

...most men live to 70-80 anyways... I'm not understanding this. o_O

The 70-80 mark was for ancient times when people on average lived much shorter lives than now, and castration was more common.

Nowadays if it actually does lengthen life you'd probably live to 100 or more, but it might not be a continued growth because the older you get, the more likely it is you'll die of something like cancer.

Also the people who got castrated generally worked for rich people/royalty in those days didn't they? So might have led better and healthier lives than the average person.

O.T
Unless it was a 100% guarantee, no. If it was guaranteed to add 20 years on my life...maybe. I'd have to think about it.

[semaphore]

I've always been led to believe that lack of estrogen is what causes osteoporosis in women. Based solely on that I can't imagine quality of life improving via radical hysterectomy. Length of life I'm not sure about.

Yeah I was just responding to the musing of whether it could work in women. I don't really think it will either.

The research regarding men and castration seems pretty sound.

Not really. Their sample size was 81, out of a recorded population of 385. I'm not saying castration isn't a factor, just that the effect size seems suspicious. A decade+ longevity could very well be attributable to diet and lifestyle - eunuchs are a pretty unique group afterall. Simply comparing social status is harzardous. Or maybe shortlived eunuchsa didn't make it into the record, I don't know enough about Korea to say.

Anyway, "However, there have been contradictory results regarding the existence of such a trade-off in humans."

[Laize]

Yeah I was just responding to the musing of whether it could work in women. I don't really think it will either.

Not really. Their sample size was 81, out of a recorded population of 385. I'm not saying castration isn't a factor, just that the effect size seems suspicious. A decade+ longevity could very well be attributable to diet and lifestyle - eunuchs are a pretty unique group afterall. Simply comparing social status is harzardous. Or maybe shortlived eunuchsa didn't make it into the record, I don't know enough about Korea to say.

Anyway, "However, there have been contradictory results regarding the existence of such a trade-off in humans."

In fairness there were also meticulous records kept from a time when castration was how one advanced in society in Korea. As such it was much more common back then and a correlation of eunuchs living 15-20 years longer despite being of the same socioeconomic status emerged.

[Lumocolor]

Who wants to live to 100 anyway?

There aren't many people even near 100 that have a decent quality of life. I'd even rather die at 50 than forget my name and everyone i've ever known, need a stranger to dress me, sit in a wheel chair all day, be deaf and almost blind, sh!t my pants...

[PizzaSHARK]

So I read on Cracked today that apparently men who get castrated live longer. Significantly longer. Like... regularly living to 70-80, even 100+ in a time when leaches were considered a miracle cure.

This same phenomenon is also present in other animals.

So with that in mind, the question at hand.

Would you rather live to 100 without your nuts? Or would you prefer to die 10-20 years sooner?

I have to admit, if the benefit were only 5 years I'd rather die sooner. But 10-20? That actually makes it a tough call....

Assuming that they developed hormone replacement therapy with zero chance of side effects, sure. It'd be nice not having to worry about my balls threatening to override my brain every time I see a cute chick, anyway.

[Deleted]

Doubt the quality of life that those extra years would have, not to mention I have no children yet so that's a big fat "stay the hell away from my balls".

[Deleted]

If it would work the same with ovaries, sure. I'd like to have 1 or 2 children first though. My biggest fear is looking older though.. living for 50+ years, looking like a granny, scary

[Domiku]

I already have a kid, and I would get them cut off if my quality of life was ok when I was older. I would hate to be blind, or unable to game, or take a crap by myself etc etc.. If my QOL was bad I would not.

However I am sure they could make something a sort of drug to make you live longer anyway. Supress the effects of having balls or something. There are other ways to live longer than cutting your nuts off and those ways also give you a better QOL when you are older in most cases. I.e Veggi Diet and fasting.

[Letmesleep]

If I don't have my nuts, what would I dip on the faces of my defeated foes? No thanks, if I can't taunt my enemies I may as well be dead.

[Itisamuh]

I think I will just stick with a vasectomy and take my chances with death. I would do a sex change before I would just be castrated...