In attempts to develop a means of life prolongation the humankind has created more than three hundred theories of the aging; each of them offers the original cause of aging. However, none of them has given practical result by now. The majority of the theories have now only historical interest. There are several different theories that are mainly under consideration currently. They are based on reliable, proven evidence: the free radical theory, the protein error theory, the replicative senescence theory, the theory of reparation weakening, the immunological theory, several versions of neuroendocrinal theories, and programmed aging theory. The theory presented here is based on conception that the life as the phenomenon represents many of the interconnected physical and chemical processes propelled by energy of the mitochondrial bioenergetical machine. Gradual degradation of all vital processes is caused by the programmed decrease in level of bioenergetics. This theory unites all existing theories of aging constructed on authentic facts: it is shown, that such fundamental phenomena accompanying aging process as the increase in level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the decrease in the general level of protein synthesis, the limitation of cellular dividing (Haiflick limit), decrease in efficiency of reparation mechanisms are caused by bioenergetics attenuation. Each of these phenomena in turn generates a number of harmful secondary processes. Any of the theories bases on one of these destructive phenomena or their combination. Hence, each of them describes one of sides of process of the aging initially caused by programmed decrease of level of bioenergetics. This united theory gives the chance to understand the nature of aging clock and explains a phenomenon of increase in longevity at the condition of food restriction. Failures of attempts to develop means from aging are explained by that the manipulations with the separate secondary phenomena of attenuation of bioenergetics, now in use, are not capable to advance longevity beyond the bounds of its natural duration. There is only one way to achieve an unlimited healthy life--to find a way of bioenergetics management.
为了找到延长寿命的方法，人类已经创立了三百多种衰老理论；每种理论都提出了衰老的根源。然而，到目前为止，尚无一种理论取得实际成果。如今，大多数理论仅具有历史研究价值。目前主要有几种不同的理论正在被探讨。它们都基于可靠的、已被证实的证据：自由基理论、蛋白质错误理论、复制性衰老理论、修复功能衰退理论、免疫理论、神经内分泌理论的多个版本以及程序性衰老理论。本文提出的理论基于这样一种观念，即生命作为一种现象，是由线粒体生物能量机器的能量推动的许多相互关联的物理和化学过程的集合。所有生命过程的逐渐退化是由生物能量水平的程序性降低所导致的。该理论将基于确凿事实构建的所有现有衰老理论统一起来：研究表明，诸如活性氧（ROS）水平升高、蛋白质合成总体水平下降、细胞分裂受限（海弗利克极限）、修复机制效率降低等伴随衰老过程的基本现象，都是由生物能量衰减引起的。这些现象中的每一个又反过来引发了许多有害的次生过程。任何一种理论都基于这些破坏性现象中的一种或它们的组合。因此，它们各自描述了最初由生物能量水平程序性降低所引发的衰老过程的一个方面。这种统一的理论使我们有机会理解衰老时钟的本质，并解释了在食物限制条件下寿命延长的现象。此前开发抗衰老方法的尝试之所以失败，是因为目前所采用的针对生物能量衰减的个别次生现象的操作，无法将寿命延长至其自然期限之外。实现无限健康寿命的唯一途径是找到一种管理生物能量的方法。
