Lifespan: Why We Age

Books · Management

(Read this in October 2019, adding to Notion in Feb 2021)

URL:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43723901-lifespan?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TYnG16aZyf&rank=1

There are multiple factors that affect longevity. Telomere length, presence of free radicals (which antioxidants were thought to cancel out), running out of stem cells, presence of senescent cells, all play a part

Much of these factors have to do with gene activation. If we can figure out a way to activate the right genes, we can have longer and healthier lifespans

Diet/Lifestyle

Calorie Restriction

Calorie restriction without malnutrition increases lifespan and health span for practically all life forms. Their DNA is significantly more compact — significantly delaying the inevitable erc accumulation, nuclear explosion, and sterility

IF can provide similar benefits to perpetual calorie restriction. IGF-1 level is significantly lowered in those who do IF.

A popular method is to skip breakfast and eat a late lunch (the 16+8 diet). Another is to eat 75% fewer calories for 2 days a week (the 5+2 diet). If you’re a bit more adventurous, you could skip eating for 2 days a week. Or as Peter Attia does, go without eating for an entire week every quarter.

What do eat

Getting the right amino acids is super important — particularly the 9 that out bodies can’t manufacture by itself. Meat contains all 9 of the needed Amino acids. But it comes with a cost. High animal-protein based diets are associated with higher cardiovascular mortality and cancer risks. Processed red meats are especially bad (colorectal, pancreatic, prostrate cancer).

Red meat also contains carnitine, which gut bacteria convert to Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) — a chemical that’s suspected of causing heart disease.

Substituting animal protein with plant protein has caused most forms of mortality to fall significantly.

When not recovering from physical stress or injury, it might be a good idea to shun even the “good” animal proteins like chicken and eggs

Exercise

High levels of exercise correlate with higher telomere length. Individuals who exercise more (at least half an hour of jogging 5 days a week) have telomeres that appear to be a decade younger than those who lead a more sedentary life.

Running 4-5 miles a day for people aged 65+ help reduce mortality rates by 40%. Running/cardio is much better than just walking (15 minutes of cardio a day)

When you give rats a high calorie diet, but make them run more to burn off the energy, there is minimal improvement in lifespan. Calorie Restriction + Exercise really helps to lengthen your lifespan

The Cold Front

Exposing your body to cold or heat is good for you. Colder temperatures rev up brown adipose tissue (brown fat), which is linked to both longer lifespan and a reduced incidence of diabetes.

You can also activate the mitochondria in your brown fat by being a bit cold — aircon in temperature climate or wearing clothes that are just short of comfortable in colder climates

Making brown fat becomes harder as you get older

Sauna is also extremely good for you.

Smoking and living in cities like Delhi does damage do your DNA (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718335228, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12646506, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29710643)

Nitrate-infused foods – including bacon, processed red meat, and beer – also cause DNA damage

Medicine/Drugs

Rhapamycin — leads to ~10% increase in lifespan in rats and fruit flies.

Suppresses then immune system, but might work in small and intermittent doses

Originally used for organ transplants

Metformin — helps reduce type 2 diabetes significantly, and also increases lifespan significantly. In mice, helps reduce cancer incidence and lowers cholesterol. Also reduces likelihood of dementia and depression

Risveretral— mimics calorie restriction. Found in grapes experiencing distress. Rats and Fruit flies lived 20% longer when fed the molecule. Human cells in culture dishes also got more resistant to DNA damage. Leads to less inflammation and lower blood sugar levels in mice.

When combined with intermittent fasting, this increases both average and maximum lifespan. However, it’s not easy to administer orally in humans

NAD/NMN/NR — helps regulate biological processes.  Linked to reduced risk of dementia and diabetes. Also increases endurance. These effects persist even when given late in life. Early signs Indicate that they may restore fertility in old women and horses

Body processes

If you put telomerase into cultured skin cells, they don’t ever become senescent. Telomerase is the enzyme that has been shown to increase telomere length

Getting rid of senescent cells (and reducing inflammation as a consequence) will significantly improve both duration and quality of life

Vaccines against senescent cells, and genetic engineering, are both avenues against ageing

The success of cloning shows that epigenetic corruption of DNA can be reversed

Yamanaka factor genes can potentially  reverse ageing when injected — as shown in mice. When injected with Yamanaka factor gene viruses, optic nerves in mice regenerated (previously thought impossible)