In life, no one makes it out alive. While this statement is harsh on the surface, it does indeed reflect a very specific truth: no one lives forever. That said, we as a society continually search for ways to help us lead longer, healthier, prettier lives than those who came before us. With the thought-provoking documentary series “A User’s Guide to Cheating Death,” host Tim Caulfield takes a deep look into the lengths people will go to (hopefully) lead a more fruitful life.

Throughout the series, Caulfield converses with those who are convinced that certain scientifically unproven health treatments, diets, natural supplements and genetic analysis will help them achieve optimal health, wellness and beauty. Then, Caulfield speaks with those capable of debunking these beliefs, all the while sharing his personal insight into each matter.

One subject that pops up often throughout A User’s Guide to Cheating Death is analyzing how much influence celebrity culture has on society. More specifically, we learn that some people now put more stock into the celebrity endorsement of a product/treatment, than scientific evidence.

“I do think there is a little bit of erosion of trust in the traditional sources of scientific information,” explained Caulfield during an interview with EverythingZoomer.com. “And whether that has to do with the involvement of industry or the involvement of particular political agendas, it’s causing people to look to other sources of information. And I think that celebrities are filling that void to some degree. People don’t necessarily turn to celebrities for advice, but the mere fact that they’re talking about this stuff, whether it’s [actress] Gwyneth Paltrow or [NFL player] Tom Brady (pictured above with his supermodel wife, Giselle Bündchen), they hear this stuff and it helps to validate crazy ideas about how we’re supposed to be healthy.”

Whether you choose the side of science or celebrity, one thing Caulfield truly views as important is focusing on the quality of life, as opposed to focusing on not dying.

“We’ve always tried to cheat death, but now we’re obsessed with every moment,” offered Caulfield. “We really do obsess and I think the idea of focusing on your quality of life will perhaps change how [you] think. We’re never going to live forever, but I think the goal is to really focus on the quality of life and the quality of our relationships. That’s what matters.”

He continued: “I think that there is sort of a rational length of time that human beings are supposed to live, [but] I’m not sure what that is right now.

-Adam Grant

Discover when you can watch/stream A User’s Guide to Cheating Death on VisionTV.