we get deeper into the techniques that make you Super Human.
SLASH YOUR RISK
Despite overwhelming evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction and the resulting inflammation leads to the Four Killers, we live in a society in which an inevitable decline in mitochondrial function is considered a normal part of aging. Of course we expect to die from one of these diseases! Between the ages of thirty and seventy, you experience a decrease in efficiency of the average mitochondrion by about 50 percent, setting the stage for you to develop these killers.
Since you’re reading this book, you obviously have no intention of aging like an average person, and you shouldn’t. By the time I discovered the importance of mitochondria, mine were already trashed from years of toxic mold exposure. The mold had weakened my system and aged me prematurely, so in many ways I was the canary in the coal mine. I felt the “cuts” that affect all of us much sooner than most people because I started off in a weaker spot. In order to get to a basic level of functionality, I had to find out what was causing these cuts and work on eliminating them.
Feeling the cuts so early and so deeply allowed me to experience real-time feedback and determine which environmental factors impacted my health and performance the most. This turned out to be an enormous gift because I was able to learn—and can now teach you—how to stop damaging your own body with thousands of invisible cuts by focusing on the basics: good nutrition, quality sleep, and a healthy environment free of toxins that cause more cuts.
Before we move on to learn how to do that, let’s take a closer look at exactly what these cuts do to our bodies. Obviously, you won’t go from eating an inflammatory meal to developing degenerative disease in one fell swoop. Instead, the cuts from your environment cause invisible damage on the subcellular level. This damage doesn’t age you at once, but it does so cumulatively, day after day, year after year. By the time you become aware of this damage, you’re old. But you can take action now to stop this damage before it stacks up. So after you take the steps to avoid the Four Killers, it’s time to focus on cheating death the way Super Humans do—by avoiding the Seven Pillars of Aging. These are the processes in your body that break as you age, and there’s a lot you can do to control them.
Bottom Line
If you are average …
• You have a 23 percent risk of dying from heart disease.
• You have a 25 percent risk of diabetes.
• You have a 10 percent risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
• You have a 40 percent risk of cancer and a 20 percent risk of dying from it.
So start hacking. Do these things right now:
• If you have joint pain or blood sugar issues, consider taking glucosamine, which helps control blood sugar and extends the life-span of mice (and probably humans).
• Consume more antioxidants to fight off free radicals. Berries, herbs, spices, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate are good sources. There are also medical spas in most cities that offer antioxidant therapy via IV. It may be worth looking into if you travel frequently or need an energy boost.
• Short periods of fasting stimulate autophagy. You’ll read more about the longevity benefits of fasting and how to do it without hunger later, but it’s worth starting now to benefit right away from increased autophagy.
• To help with cardiovascular issues, try the Zona Plus, a digitally controlled handheld device that uses the science behind isometric exercise to increase both vascular flexibility (thus decreasing blood pressure) and the production and flow of nitric oxide throughout the body, which is linked to treating various cardiovascular conditions, erectile dysfunction, and muscle fatigue. It’s a cool biohack for anyone who wants to improve their cardiovascular health.
• While it is most useful to look at how the environment will control your energy levels and your aging, it’s not like your DNA is meaningless. The area of functional genomics is just getting going. Like functional medicine, it is the study of what you can actually do to influence risk besides worry about it. For instance, a functional review of my genome from the DNA Company revealed that I should take extra steps to take care of the tight membranes in my arteries, including taking the supplements in this book. Check out their tests to discover your weaknesses and learn how to combat them.
Okay, now you’ve decided not to let the Four Killers take you out. That means it’s time to shore up the Seven Pillars of Aging. When I was working to reverse my early aging as a young man, I learned that there are specific forms of cellular aging that drive all forms of aging and disease, even my premature symptoms of aging. Later, I gleaned more detail from longevity experts such as Aubrey de Grey, who is the chief science officer at the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Research Foundation, which has the ambitious mission of curing aging by funding anti-aging research around the world. A lot of my elite anti-aging longevity friends (yes, I have weird and awesome friends) are focused on what SENS calls the “classes of cellular and molecular damage that constitute aging.” I call them the Seven Pillars of Aging.
THE SEVEN PILLARS OF AGING
It’s important to understand how the Seven Pillars of Aging affect your body on the cellular level. While some degeneration over time is a given, there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself from the worst of it. From simple and inexpensive lifestyle changes and nutritional modifications to high-end technologies that are rapidly becoming more affordable, I’ll outline multiple strategies to hack the aging process—most of which I’ve tried out myself.
Is this anti-aging science still nascent? Yes. Do we have ironclad evidence that these strategies work perfectly? No. But we do have some pretty compelling research that suggests they will help you spend more quality years on this planet. Plus, they’re not going to kill you—and aging definitely will. So why not give them a shot?
First, let’s take a closer look at each of the aging pathways and how they affect us.
PILLAR 1—SHRINKING TISSUES
When you are young, your body has a multitude of stem cells—undifferentiated cells that are capable of giving rise to many more cells of the same type. When cells die via apoptosis, your stem cells spring into action to replace them. As you age, however, a few things happen. Your stem cell reserves dwindle, your stem cells themselves age and thus become less efficient at replacing dead cells, and your mitochondria may not trigger apoptosis at the right times. Some cells die before they’re supposed to. Others aren’t quickly replaced. As a result, tissues throughout your body lose more and more cells and begin to atrophy, or break down.
Quick, picture a stereotypical “old person.” In your mind’s eye you probably see a frail person with loose skin, no muscle tone, shaky hands, and a foggy memory—right? The truth is that these things happen as we age and cells die and are not replaced. In fact, loss of muscle tissue is so common that it has its own name, sarcopenia, a condition that can lead to falls and broken bones and even impairs the body from fully recovering after those tumbles (or a surgery).1 In most people, sarcopenia sets in as
