Lifespan - summary

In this post, we summarize learnings from Lifespan podcast, by David Sinclair and Matthew LaPlante. They also published a book few years ago on same subject as well.

TLDR

• Eat less
• Avoid sugar, meat, and processed food (including processed carbs)
• Exercise
• Metformin / berberine for anti-aging
• Use retinoid once a week to prevent wrinkles
• You cannot improve what you cannot measure

Eat less

Fasting is key mechanism in modern times to let your body activate its defense. Great starting place for most people is to simply avoid snacking or being full all the time. By being hungry, we activate our anti-aging genes and body’s defense mechanisms.

Multiple fasting options:

• Time-restricted eating - Skip breakfast first, then eventually also lunch (so eating 1 / day)
• Once a week intermittent fasting - Water only fasting on Saturdays to give your body reset

Notes:

• I have done fasting at True North for a week in 2019, had an excellent experience. Before the fasting retreat I was a heavy meat consumer (typically 2-3 a day), the fasting retreat basically provided my body a chance to reset. Also it was a necessary step for me to prove I can survive without eating meat (I have never skipped meat for a day before this day).

Foods to avoid

The most important point is to avoid sugar and limit carbs. Keeping your blood glucose steady is extremely important for longevity and prevent lifestyle related diseases. Here, I used Freestyle Libre 2 CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) via ageless.rx, you can read my learnings in a separate post.

Other takeaways on foods to limit:

• Processed foods (flour, white rice, outmeal, fast food, packaged foods, etc)
• Meat (fish seems to be somewhat exception due to Omega-3)

Notes:

• Oatmeal, rice, and bread had quite high impact on my blood glucose during my experiment. As a result, I have stopped my consumption of oatmeal and bread altogether and largely limiting my rice intake (once a month).

Exercise for longevity

Combination of cardio and strength training is known to increase lifespan and promote health living. It is critical to train your hips and larger muscles. Exercise is a natural way to boost our testesterone level as well.

Metformin and berberine

Metformin has been used for diabetes treatment for a long time (It’s perscription only in US). Berberine, on the other hand, is a supplement. Those 2 drugs seem to work roughly the same way: activate AMPK, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce blood glucose.

There are trials (example) showing early results on metformin’s potential benefits on increasing lifespan even on patients who do not have diabetes.

Healthy skin

• Do not smoke or drink - both are terrible for your skin health
• Retinoid is effective for preventing wrinkles but long term effect on longevity is unknown. Best to keep it 1 / week regime for now
• Use sunscreen everyday
• Measure Vitamin-D levels every year to avoid deficiency due to constant sunscreen use

Measure what you can

Ultimately, I need to take control of my health and focus on prevention. Unfortunately, US healthcare system is setup on a foundation that treats patients once sick rather than preventing onset of disease.

By measuring, I know what works and what doesn’t. Great example here is my experimentation with GCM, where I learned foods I’ve been eating everyday (latte, oatmeal, bread, etc) were consistently spiking my blood glucose.