Hi, thanks for the insights…I start to see it could be poor test or then some very temp condition in me that brought about the result. The other thing of course is that the test as a whole does not mean that much. In any case it does not hurt to test the microbiome, plus more deeply into the cholesterol levels found via my blood test.
I think I will write to Gordon Lauc as @Joseph recommended. Will share to this forum if I get some valuable insight.
I am kind of an ambitious guy and hope that over the next year I can take this bio age of 46.7 down to at least 42 with some improvement in the GlycanAge, cholesterol levels along with starting to take Rapamycin (an order is on the way from India but I am confident the Swedish customs will stop it ).
Thanks again for taking the time to share your insights. Brett
Unless we got the wrongly labelled card from the Longevity Centre, it is nearly impossible that lab mixed up the results. We analyse everything in triplicate starting from the blood stain. Any potential mistake would have to be done three times independently to pass the QC, which is close to being impossible.
On the other hand, it is also quite unlikely that GlycanAge is so much different from for example VO2 max, or arterial stiffness. They only thing that I could think off is either acute viral infection (severe covid or influenza), or a chronic inflammatory condition (inflammatory disease, dental problems, some other chronic infection). Did you perhaps check ferritin recently. Chronic infections usually come with elevated ferritin.
If you are not aware of any of these things, I am happy to offer you a complimentary retest, just to be sure. Let me know and I will see how to arrange this (I am not operationally involved in GlycanAge testing).
The second round of results came in and they are the same…I have the Glycan age of an 80 year old.
I had a consultation with them and we came up with the probable cause, that I exercise and fast too much. She recommended that I:
reduce the frequency of my 36 - 48 hour fasts from weekly to monthly.
widen my daily eating window from one hour to 6 hours
increase my rest days from 1-2 times every 14 days to 2x weekly.
I have not wrapped my head around what the poor glycan result really means, beyond that it is not good. But instead of investing more time, I think I will drop my endeavor to reduce my glycan age since what I am doing makes me feel great and all other tests show that things are going well.
Also, I suppose the day that I get my Rapamycin things should improve even at the glycan level. Right now my order from India is stuck in Swedish customs and a miracle will allow it to go through - so I wait for a friend to bring me a load next summer from the USA.
Interesting information. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you trying to accomplish with so much fasting and exercise? Are you recovering from or preparing for something?
I never pass up a chance to talk about myself, so very happy to answer.
As for the fasting, I just have experimented my way forward into doing what I am doing now. I have become lighter and overall feel better. But of course I am still experimenting and learning, for example that sugar and carbs are not that bad (or not that important to avoind) so I am letting more of it into my diet.
As for the exercise - that is kinda a non-negotiable. As an ex-ballet dancer and Pilates teacher (as a hobby) it is in my blood to be in great shape. Most of my workouts consist of Pilates, with 2 cardio’s a week. Here is a short example of what I do. The results are fantastic, in my opinion, and have no plan to change that area. Plus - I simply love the activity.
@Joseph_Lavelle I see from your avatar you are into intense work yourself?
@Brett_Miller Very nice program. I used to be more fixated on fitness and athletic performance than I am right now. My avatar is a photo of me racing in a velodrome. My interests (and my podcast, WiseAthletes) has shifted towards health. The argument is health is the foundation for athletic performance. I was curious to understand your goal since your program of frequent, longish fasting sounded stressful, physically. I do one 24 hour fast each week with my rapamycin dose. If I did more fasting than that I fear I would breakdown with my resistance training and now modest cardio training. I’m not trying to lose weight.
Oh, seeing this made me nostalgic. I was doing pilates few times a week from 2007 until 2020, when my pilates instructor decided to sell her studio and equipment. She was a ballet dancer herself too. I miss it so much, but could not find a decently furnished studio and capable instructor. Nov I do more yoga and calisthenics, but I miss pilates. My body in greatest shape.
I also do daily exercise. I recently modified BJ program and I am doing it 5 times a week and yoga on my rest days. How long do you exercise daily?
@Brett_Miller I like the workout video you posted. I need to do something like that. Currently I just do a floor routine every morning: side planks, front plank with leg lifts, runners stretches, bird dog, etc. but I feel I’m missing some core coordination that I used to get from climbing.
@scta123 Yeah, Pilates is worth loving…and if you love it, go and get trained and have it as a hobby. The knowledge from a high quality training will be SOOOO valuable, and you most likely will just love the study. Of course, Pilates has it’s ‘own world’, akin to ‘the advanced health nut world’ that we are in here. You will have a great time and have a profitable hobby until life’s end!
My workouts are 60 - 90 mins long. Today 80, yesterday, Monday, Sunday 60, Saturday 120 minutes (I teach 2 classes Saturdays where I also participate.)
@Joseph_Lavelle thanks - I think there is a VERY KEY factor to a healthy life that I do not hear about from all of the longevity gurus - and that is a flexible and balanced spine (= flexible strong body - but the spine is a key aspect). I predict over the next 5 years we will hear more about it - maybe when it is me that is the longevity expert, I will be the first (that was a joke, I have no such ambition)
Yes the CEO co- founder of GlycanAge Gordon Lauc shared in his podcast he over exercised hard work outs… nonstop hiking… too much. He aged faster as a result.
Brett, I’m curious if you’ve ever done the Levine Phenotypic age, or Aging.ai calculations and how they compared to your other test results. I’m wondering how well they are correlated with the Glycan Age test.
You know, when I listen to Petter Attia (which I do only occasionally since it feels like he encircles the point he wants to make like 10 times before coming to the point and it gets old) - his workout regimen seems way beyond mine, and in the past, really extreme, like 3-4 hours per day after getting up at zero-dark-thirty. I understand he has calmed down, nonetheless still beyond me.
I think Peter Attia is a great longevity expert, and he would not knowingly do something harmful to himself.
I don’t consider what I do to be extreme at all…pretty disciplined but not extreme.
What is your HbA1c and fasting glucose? It would probably be worth seeing your bloodwork to comment as to whether there seems to be any issue. I have not myself done glycanage and I don’t know how significant it is.
I am a strong supporter of functional tests driving the analysis of health over all. Blood biomarkers are a good part of this.
@John_Hemming - I don’t see a result for HbA1c in my results, and the glucose is measured to be 72 mg/dL.
@RapAdmin - I don’t have all of the required data, so perhaps in the future.
But again, with the ‘overtraining’ - I was listening to Peter Attia again and he was talking about ‘not becoming frail’ via training, but you only have 13-14 hours to work on that prevention. 13-14 hours? Wow, that in itself is 3-4 hours more than what I do.
Glycanage is weird, there’s no proof it contributes to further aging processes. It is only inflammatory in the context of C1p and other complement proteins.
But it could be an indication that the body’s protein-making machinery becomes simpler with time.
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