February 2022 Newsletter

Dear members,

Globally age demographics is changing rapidly. World population is aging fast. For the first time in history, the amount of people over 65 exceeds the population of those under 5 years old. In 20 years, approximately 40% of the U.S. population will be over 65 years old. However, while aging had long been considered an inevitable process, strategies to delay and potentially even reverse the aging process have recently been developed. This is clearly a mini-revolution in terms of prospects for our health and lifespan.

During most of the 20th century aging was closely related with free radicals and DNA damage in stem cell compartments. However, beginning in the late 1980s a series of experiments on small organisms identified genetic mutations associated with an increase in average lifespan.

A single gene’s alteration could have a huge impact on an organism’s life expectancy. In the last twenty years scientists have identified the different genes associated with increased lifespans.

One of the most prominent scientists in the field of aging is David Sinclair, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging. His work is focused on why we age, and how to slow down or reverse the effect of aging. His

findings suggest behavioral, nutritional and supplementation intervention to delay and even reverse our biological age. Indeed, it is important to know that chronological age does not necessarily indicate age at cellular and molecular level. Biological aging is caused by loss of

maintenance and accumulation of unrepaired damage. While aging is the strongest risk factor for age-related diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers, and stroke, the research conducted by Dr Sinclair and his team suggests that those diseases may be de-coupled from aging, at least temporarily.

It is now believed that roughly 20% of our health is genetically inherited while 80% of our present and future health. Consequently, life expectancy is modifiable depending on our own choices. Knowing that aging can be controlled by genes, a large scope of research has focused

on understanding how to delay aging by using genes and supplements that turn on the body’s defenses. The underlying idea is to activate the identified “survival genes” in order that they speak to the rest of the cells to keep them healthy and alive. In other words, we need to promote mimetic adversity at cellular level through our behaviors and diet. 

Our society is built on comfort. The longevity defense normally activated by being cold, hungry or afraid are lethargic, which is negative for long-term health. We need to trick the body to get it out of its comfort zone and regularly activate the program to survive. It can be done in many different ways, for instance eating the right food, eating less often or burning fat.

Recent research conducted since the 2000s has proven that exercise promotes mimetic adversity efficiently. Exercise is not only beneficial for fitness and vitality, but it also stops disease, prevents cancer, protects against cardio vascular disease. It slows down our biological clock. In terms of aerobic exercise, there are two main parallel efficient ways to bring the body into adversity conditions:

Regular low-intensity exercise: ideally one should take 10 000 steps a day, but for people with a more sedentary work schedule a 4 000 step-a-day program would be the minimum.

Vigorous exercise two or three times a week: by bringing breathing and heart rate up oxygen level decreases (hypoxia), which automatically activate the defenses associated with good health: helpful genes are turned on, free radical are generated, NAD is produced, mitochondria are manufactured, new blood vessels are built. High intensity exercise should be conducted at least three times a week for a minimum of 15 minutes in each session.

Beside aerobic exercise, a parallel form of activity should also be privileged for a better aging process: 

Weight exercise: we lose 1% of our muscle mass every year as we grow older. We need to maintain or build up muscle mass. It maintains the ability to walk well, stay upright, have good posture and lessens the risk of a broken hip later on in life. Importantly muscle building also keeps hormone level high, such as testosterone. Large muscles, like thighs and back, should be privileged through pilates, push-ups, sit-ups and stretch for instance. 

Beyond exercise there are many other ways to explore in parallel in order to take your body out of its comfort zone and switch on the inner survival circuit. We have mentioned some of them in our previous Newsletters, such as cold bath and sauna. For instance, a recent study achieved in Finland shows a significant decrease (up to 20%) in the rate of cardio-vascular disease and mortality caused by heart attack for men sauna bathing a few times a week.Hyperbaric chamber therapy (also known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy) is also a new method to boost the body’s natural healing processes, but it is presently an expensive treatment. 

In terms of the science of aging we have gone in just three decades from a field where we had little clue on the processes involved to a new era with scientifically proven methodologies and treatments which can make people in just a few weeks biologically younger. Correct lifestyle and supplementation not only can slow the formation of senescent cells (the cells that are alive but cannot divide anymore and create havoc in our body, causing inflammation and even cancer), but we can also kill them off. Although it is still a new part of science, the results are extremely encouraging for our future.