Anti-aging trends that are booming

We are in a time when people are concerned from an early age about how they will age and are adopting lifestyles with solid practices to slow down, or in other cases, reverse, ageing.  Find out what Silicon Valley billionaires like Jack Dorsey (former CEO of Twitter), Larry Page (co-founder of Google), Larry Ellison (co-founder of Oracle), and Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies) are trending.

Today we will look at some of the techniques currently being used to reverse the effects of biological age.

 

Cryotherapy or cold therapy

Cold exposure could be one of the best anti-aging and longevity methods along with exercise and fasting, as it increases mitochondria and improves their function. We need mitochondria to produce energy in cells, and this function decreases with aging or poor lifestyle habits. The degradation of mitochondria also inactivates brown fat and converts beige fat into white fat.

When it comes to turning on your longevity genes and aging well, an important term to keep in mind is called hormesis. Hormesis is your body's response to small, healthy stresses—for example, fasting for a short period of time, or doing short, very fast sprints if you're running.

These brief periods of adversity boost your body's anti-aging defenses without doing harm. Creating small, manageable challenges with regard to food, exercise, and, yes, short exposures to extreme temperatures (whether hot or cold), can help slow your body's natural decline due to aging.

One high-tech way to boost hormesis is cryotherapy. Typically, for two to five minutes, you stand in a specialized booth where liquid nitrogen drops your temperature to subarctic levels. Originally used as a clinical therapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, cryotherapy has gained traction among professional athletes and is now a routine treatment for the rest of us to help with exercise recovery and pain relief.

Whether you are physically active or a recreational athlete or more sedentary, this brief exposure to extremely low temperatures stimulates genetic pathways for longevity, increases mitochondrial production and helps reduce inflammation.

The best thing is that you don't have to resort to a cryotherapy cabin, as cold showers, ice baths and ice packs work perfectly.

Not only are genes and mitochondria activated by this practice, according to a study by the National Library of Medicine of the United States, exposure to cold is an emerging therapeutic approach to treat metabolic dysregulation in diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Repeated cold exposure may help improve insulin sensitivity, reduce fasting blood glucose, and improve dietary fatty acid management.

Further research is needed to understand the prolonged effects of cold exposure on glucose regulation, skeletal muscle recruitment, cardiovascular responses, and myocardial function in individuals with metabolic syndrome.

 

Fast

Calorie restriction and fasting are probably the two most studied methods for promoting health and preventing premature aging.

No matter which fasting or intermittent fasting method you choose, almost any periodic fasting diet that does not cause malnutrition can increase the expression of longevity genes, which could translate into a healthier life.

Hunger is good. The sensation of hunger is what triggers the activation of the process called autophagy, where cell regeneration occurs, releasing the human growth hormone and activating the anti-aging clock.

Not eating for 12 hours each night is not fasting, it is simply prolonging the time that your body rests and is ready to absorb the nutrients that you will ingest through the foods with which you break your fast.

 

Sun, red light therapy and/or vitamin D3

We have already talked in my article and video about the importance of exposing your skin to the sun, but remember:  Do it gradually, with small increments and without overdoing it. 

If you don't get enough sun exposure, which is a crucial nutrient for your health, or at least red light therapy, it's very possible to become deficient in vitamin D.  Vitamin D3 is a hormone and is crucial for important bodily functions, affecting bones, mental health and energy levels. Low vitamin D levels also cause muscle, bone and back pain, and extreme fatigue, to name just a few unpleasant symptoms. It causes calcium to be drawn out of the bones and deposited in the arteries.

 

Vitamin D3

The only nutritional forms of vitamin D found in humans are vitamin D2 , also known as ergocalciferol , and vitamin D3, known as cholecalciferol . The source of vitamin D2 is plant sterols, while D3 is produced by the skin.

Optimal absorption of calcium and phosphorus is crucial for the prevention of osteoporosis and the protection of bones. The total amount of calcium that the body absorbs from the diet depends on two main factors: One is the actual amount consumed and the other is the efficiency of the absorption process, which is regulated by vitamin D3.

Due to its essential role in many of the body's processes such as bone, neurological and immune health, vitamin D3 is an important anti-aging molecule to include in your longevity health regimen.

As we age, calcitriol production is reduced by 50% due to age-related decline in kidney function. Declining kidney function leads to decreased activity of the enzyme responsible for converting calcidiol to calcitriol.

On the other hand, one of the first signs of aging is the loss of muscle mass and decreased muscle function, known as sarcopenia.  Vitamin D3 has been shown to be vital in building and strengthening human skeletal muscle, as demonstrated by one study .

 

Exercise

Exercise increases blood flow, strengthens muscles, improves the cardiovascular system and forces the body to make all organs function to perform at their best during demanding activities such as resistance or strength training.

Therefore, it is the intensity rather than the duration of exercise that has been shown to provide the most anti-aging benefits.

Among the known alternatives are high intensity interval training.  As we have already mentioned, athletics training that combines sprints or very fast runs, as well as weight training or what is known as Blood Flow Restriction and is carried out with bands that reduce normal blood flow for a few minutes.

 

A sweaty workout will activate genes that restore your youth at the cellular level. These longevity genes lengthen telomeres, boost mitochondrial activity, and induce the growth of new microvessels that supply oxygen to cells. On the outside, this manifests itself in an agile body, youthful skin, and a youthful appearance.

 

Supplements

It is not uncommon for those who are serious about longevity to have a medicine cabinet full of supplements. Some of the following supplements such as Nicotinamide Mononucleotide and Ashwagandha have gained popularity and the others are my own additions.

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide

According to www.nmn.com , clinical trials on the effects of NMN on human aging have only just begun in recent years. So far, NMN has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, improve sleep and physical performance, increase exercise endurance, improve skin health, increase walking speed, and increase strength in middle-aged and older adults. These clinical trials suggest that much of the research demonstrating the anti-aging effects of NMN in animals is transferable to humans.

Still, more long-term studies are needed to assess the adverse effects that may occur with chronic NMN supplementation. If NMN is shown to be safe over the long term, larger studies could show even more significant anti-aging effects.

To obtain the mentioned results, it is recommended to consume 600-1000 milligrams per day of NMN for at least 12 weeks.

 

Ashwagandha

According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine of the United States, Ashwagandha is an excellent adaptogen that has been used since ancient times in Ayurvedic medicine. Traditionally, it is used for various ailments and general well-being, including the treatment of geriatric patients. Quality of life or QoL management remains a challenge for the elderly population, especially management of joint pain, sleep, and general well-being. With the increasing elderly population worldwide, quality of life management with effective medication and supplements is the primary healthcare need.

A recent study indicates that Ashwagandha may help maintain the length of key proteins at the end of chromosomes, known as telomeres. Telomeres typically shorten in the process of DNA replication with age, which has been pointed out as one of the main factors in "accelerating cellular aging and promoting degeneration processes."

Experiments have been conducted with Ashwagandha root extract and the results suggest that this extract is effective in improving quality of life (QoL), sleep quality, and mental alertness as self-reported by elderly participants. The recommended dose used in this study might be effective for the elderly population.

The concentration used was 300 mg. 2 times a day for 12 weeks to obtain the mentioned results.

 

Carnosine

Carnosine is a naturally occurring substance that appears to prolong the period of time during which cells continue to divide in a youthful manner. As we age, carnosine levels in the body decline, which may explain the reduction in muscle mass and function seen in aging humans. Carnosine has been shown to be effective in treating senile cataracts in dogs and preventing the development of cataracts in rabbits.

Laboratory research suggests that carnosine has the ability to rejuvenate cells nearing the end of the dividing cell life cycle, restoring normal appearance and prolonging cellular lifespan.

Carnosine stands out as a promising multimodal life-extension discovery. It prolongs life at the cellular and organismal level. Scientific evidence indicates that carnosine may help preserve the structural, functional, and genetic integrity of the organism naturally.

Some of the age-related conditions that carnosine may help prevent (and treat) include:

Neurological degeneration

Cellular senescence (cellular aging)

Cross-linking of the lens

Accumulation of damaged proteins

Muscle atrophy

Cerebral circulatory deficit

Cross-linking of skin collagen

Oxidation of LDL cholesterol

Chromosomal DNA damage

Formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs)

 

Molecular Hydrogen H ₂

According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, molecular hydrogen _H2 has antioxidant properties as it directly neutralizes hydroxyl radicals and reduces the level of peroxynitrite. It also activates Nrf2 and HO-1, which regulate many antioxidant enzymes and proteasomes.

Through its antioxidant effect, hydrogen maintains genomic stability, mitigates cellular senescence, and participates in histone modification, telomere maintenance, and proteostasis. In addition, hydrogen can prevent inflammation and regulate the nutrient-sensing mTOR system, autophagy, apoptosis, and mitochondria, all of which are factors related to aging.

Hydrogen can also be used for the prevention and treatment of various aging-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases, diabetes and cancer.

 

Medications

Some people in their quest for eternal youth are going even further and turning to prescription drugs.  The ones that are being used these days are mainly,

Metformin. Metformin is an orally effective, insulin-sensitizing, synthetic biguanide antidiabetic drug that is the first-line antihyperglycemic agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in most patients.  Hormonal therapy (testosterone/Estrogen) and Rapamycin.

According to an article in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology , genes and cell signaling pathways related to the cell cycle, DNA repair, cell death, mitochondria, immunity, nutrient signaling, and IGF-1 have been studied as targets for anti-aging strategies.

Metformin, a biguanide, has been suggested as a potential anti-aging drug due to its insulin-sensitizing action, which reduces insulin levels and normalizes IGF-1 levels, and its activation of AMPK, a key regulator of cellular pathways related to lifespan and health.

 

Dysregulation of mTOR signaling, a pathway linked to nutrient signaling and IGF-1-mediated growth, is associated with accelerated aging and various diseases, supporting the potential role of metformin as an anti-aging drug.

 

Rapamycin

For its part, the magazine www.healthnews.com   mentions that rapamycin acts by inhibiting the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). In humans, mTOR is a protein kinase encoded by the mTOR gene and plays a role in insulin, growth factor, and amino acid pathways; sensing of oxygen, energy, cellular levels, and nutrients; regulation of metabolism; and brain, muscle, liver, and tissue function.

Deregulation of mTOR has been linked to diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's disease, lupus, and lymphoproliferative diseases, as well as shortened lifespan (in fruit flies, some worms, and yeast). Thus, the ability of rapamycin to inhibit mTOR is linked to the prevention and treatment of these same conditions.

Using rapamycin to combat ageing is probably most effective if given to people before they develop age-related diseases, so that they can increase both their health and life expectancy. However, it is not a panacea, but rather a supplement that could be used alongside a healthy lifestyle and diet.

The anti-aging effects of rapamycin are complex because scientists still don't know exactly what causes aging. Disruption of cell division, loss of stem cells, damaged DNA and shortening of telomeres all appear to play a role in both body degeneration and age-related diseases that shorten lifespan, such as Alzheimer's.

It would increase longevity.  The role of rapamycin in longevity is related to its ability to enhance autophagy, a process that resolves damage to cellular organs and protects cells from stress.

When rapamycin inhibits mTOR, it appears to simultaneously boost autophagy. This, in turn, could delay the onset of the body's aging process and age-related diseases and give people a longer, healthier life. That's why some researchers believe we could use rapamycin for longevity.

 

Testosterone and estrogen hormone therapy

Testosterone replacement has been gaining popularity among men and women as it influences mood, libido and even metabolism.

Testosterone is produced in women by the ovaries and adrenal glands, increases libido and sexual response. It strengthens ligaments, builds strong muscles and bones, aids brain function and is associated with purposeful behaviour and a sense of well-being. Testosterone levels influence both endurance and restful sleep. It has a protective effect against cardiovascular disease in both men and women.