How might you answer the following question from a friend in his 60’s or 70’s who positioned his question the following way?
I follow a Mediterranean diet. Not perfectly, but close and I consume EVOO and many different vegetables across the days and weeks.
I’m in the gym lifting weights a couple times a week and out running, cycling, or hiking another two or three times a week. I had my VO2max assessed a few times and it is well above average.
Life was stressful when I was younger raising my family but now it is difficult to imagine my stress being any lower.
I sleep well, averaging 7-1/2 hours a night and am rarely tired during the day.
I take a good multi-vitamin supplement with a separate magnesium tablet.
I don’t smoke or drink and the results of my annual physicals, including blood tests, are average or above average in all areas. I’m rarely ill and now that the kids are grown, I don’t even get colds.
Most of my family lived well into their 80’s, a few well into their 90’s and a couple only into their 70’s. I see no pattern in the illnesses that eventually took their lives.
I have been reading about the new drugs and supplements that scientists believe will increase healthspan. I’m willing to take one of more of those supplements – prescription or OTC – if the evidence is decent but I don’t want to take a large number of them or take something that requires that I spend time in the weeds following its effects on my body chemistry. My definition of “decent evidence” is that the possibility of benefit is well above 50% and the possibility of harm is very low. I would not say that cost is no object but leave cost out of it, temporarily at least. If you were to recommend only one supplement, what would it be? How about two or three supplements. No more than that.
Your comment on walking backwards @Joseph_Lavelle prompted me to walk backwards across the house because it occurred to me it had been decades since I did something like this. Even though the walking, per se, was easy, it was discouraging to observe my balance. I was even a little dizzy after I stopped. At 79, I have judged my overall balance to be less than it was at 50 or even 60, but still decent. Today’s experiment suggests that I have undergone more unnoticed brain deterioration than I would have thought. It could be partially inner-ear issues but I’m not especially susceptible to those and, even if, inner ear balance issues are often brain related as well.
Do you recommend special exercises other than walking backwards on a treadmill?
@RobTuck Im sure there are people here who can provide expert opinion but I can tell you what I do. When I walk, I periodically spin around to the left to walk backwards and then left again to face forward. Then I do it to the right. It’s like dancing.
But don’t fall down. I would do this on a treadmill (with handrails) at first to get used to it.
The walking backwards on an unpowered treadmill is more akin to walking uphill backwards, which is a good thing to do.
This is actually a pretty significant challenge. Rapamycin would be out for this person, as I think you need to be somewhat aware of following body chemistry (LDL’s/Blood Sugar, etc.).
Assuming this person is male, perhaps the easiest (lowest risk of side effects), and highest ROI (return on investment), my personal bet would likely be canagliflozin or another SGLT2 inhibitor. Side effects are pretty rare from my experience, the benefit in the ITP trial was very significant with approx. 15% lifespan improvement. Canagliflozin - Another Top Anti-aging Drug
Muscle strength. Tai chi can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. When practiced regularly, tai chi can be comparable to resistance training and brisk walking.
Although you aren’t working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body. Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.
Flexibility. Tai chi can boost upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.
Balance. Tai chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space — declines with age. Tai chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.
Harvard even offers online classes.
A well regarded DVD is from Paul Lam, a Chinese-Australian physician.
You can start with the “short form”. Each style/school (Yang, Wu, Sun, Wu-Hao) has a short form - an abbreviated sequence of the whole (usually twenty minute) set.
You can use a regular treadmill. I elevate to 15 (max) at the end of my regular 30 minute zone 2 walk, bring the speed down to 1.5 or 2 mph and turn around backwards and walk for 5 minutes or so. good for the knees (knees over toes).
Metformin for non diabetics. (for its anti mTOR1 effects, etc. ) . Little to no side effects. Decreases risk of most aging diseases ( cardio, cancer,etc. ). Very inexpensive( Pennies per pill).
Everyone does not tolerate metformin. I took metformin for decades before developing an intolerance.
Metformin is at or near the top of many medication lists for causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and flatulence.
“What commonly prescribed medications are most likely to cause gastrointestinal Issues?”
“Metformin
Use: Commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes.
GI Issues: Metformin can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and flatulence.
Mechanism: The exact mechanism is not fully understood, but it may involve alterations in gut motility and microbiota.”
At 55 I’m casting my net wide with risks accepted such as rapamycin. If I were starting in 70s with clean bill of health then I would opt for low risk and potentially high impact interventions. I say potentially because evidence will be lacking in most longevity interventions to the level of above 50%.
In stages:
I would start with mayo clinic protocol of fisetin as a senolytic.
Half way into it (3 months) , I would start nad booster combination with TMG for 6 months.
3 months into nad boosters, I would start with synthetic injectable peptides: bcp157, tb500, Thymosin alpha 1 for 6 weeks followed by 1 year of cyclical 12 or so oral peptides including ofcourse epithalon.
After year and 8 months passed as above, I would start the cycle again with fisetin.
Exercise with taurine, whey protein and creatine monohydrate and red light therapy.
Avoid all processed food and sweets, bread, pasta and alcohol.
