Starting longevity in childhood: what do/would you do with your kids?

#18

As someone with ADD, I was bumming out, but I’m glad I read the article because, for me, it’s not as bad as the headline sounded, whew.

I had not heard ADD might be related to sleep issues!!! I had decades of poor sleep until my beloved rapa came into my life, but hopefully I can make up for lost sleep now.

“Barkley’s study found that the biggest predictors of shorter life expectancy in adults with ADHD were factors including lower incomes, fewer years of education, a greater likelihood of smoking, shorter sleep duration, less exercise, poorer nutrition and risky driving. He notes that most of these factors are linked to impulsivity — which can be treated.”

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#19

No, I don’t think thats true. The only truly “genetic diseases” are things like Fragile-X, Huntington’s’, Duchene muscular dystrophy, etc. Everything else - from ADHD to Schizophrenia is genes + environment. As they say, genes load the gun, environment pulls the trigger…

See: Genetic Disorders: What Are They, Types, Symptoms & Causes

schiz.risk

See: Schizophrenia.com - Preventing Schizophrenia, Risk Reduction

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#20

But if you don’t have the genes you really can’t get it, in the graph above it’s at 1%, while identical twins it’s at 48%, a 48x difference.

So if you have a high polygenic risk score, then of course avoid certain things to decrease risk as the base rate risk is already high.

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#21

  • Methylation testing (homocysteine and MTHFR would be the basic tests). If MTHFR is under-functioning, then supplement with appropriate dose of B-Vitamins, folate & TMG, which usually come in a combo (also, Phosphatidylcholine & creatine are great supporting agents, but not necessary to have on a daily basis). Methylation is fundamental for a large % of body’s biochemical processes, including energy metabolism and Phase 1&2 detox, neurotransmitter synthesis, etc etc

  • Multivitamin: A low dose, clean multivitamin (such as HIYA or equivalent) or dessicated organ/liver supplement: as a basic nutrition insurance policy. This would include quite a few micronutrients

  • Brain supporting nutrients: Fish / fish oil for brain development. Low dose Lithium 1mg is a great addition as well.

  • As much as possible/feasible, cook at home with traditional cooking methods such as soaking/sprouting/fermenting/pressure-cooking/rinsing/etc, to minimize anti-nutrients such as lectins/oxalates/phytates/etc (if consuming a heavy plant-based diet). Incorporate some dairy, eggs, ruminant meat and sea food (if your culture allows that, and your body is compatible with it)

  • Diet: Needless to say, whole food and minimally processed food, atleast 80% of the time

  • LP(a) testing: Yes, I believe this would be good to do at young age, but a lot of doctors (including functional/integrative medicine doctors downplay the importance/relevance of it)

  • Circadian alignment / consistency (as per their chronotype) as much as possible and sleep hyegine. I dim the light down throughout the house after 7:00pm. I have setup blue light blocking lamps in kids bed rooms. Low dose magnesium at night. I switch off modem before going to bed (to minimize unnecessary radiation). First thing in the morning = sun exposure (even if its cloudy) + barefoot on the grass + hydration + some movement.

  • Exposure to dirt / nature / outdoors (for immune resilience and to cultivate microbiome alpha-diversity)

  • Some form of mindfulness / meditation / humming / singing (to gravitate towards parasympathetic state, esp in the evening)

  • Needless to say, incorporating some sort of regular sports / excercise

  • Nurturing contribution / belongingness / self-esteem. Allowing freedom for kids to experiment and make mistakes (which is something that is still a work-in-progress for me, as a parent of 2)

  • The rest of the protocols would be as per personalized testing (e.g. allergy testing, micro-nutrient defeciency testing, etc on a need basis)

Those are just a few that comes to my mind

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#22

Thanks for the list! To be totally honest, some of them seem a little extreme. I wouldn’t dose my 4 year old with lithium, even though he can be a total asshole sometimes! That might even be unethical to give them prescription medications.

However, I agree with you about sleep, and we really emphasise getting them to bed at a set time, keeping a dark and cool room, having some “winding down time” before bed. Same for sport and exercise, exposure to nature, dirt and outdoors.

Lp(a) testing we have done, simply because mine is disastrous and it’s obviously genetic. There isn’t much we can do right now apart from just being extra vigilant about not letting them eat too many hotdogs and other junk.

The more I think about it, the more I am considering that mental health seems to be the most important. Physical we can almost take for granted, since they grow up in our house seeing my wife and I eating healthily, exercising, we have a home gym, the kids “lift weights” (like kettlebells etc) with me for fun, and we do a lot of play throwing and kicking balls around, running on the field etc. But mental health seems a real challenge in 2025. Keeping them away from social media seems like a no-brainer at the moment, given how miserable it makes people.

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#23

No - he’s talking about micro-dosing with the supplement version (not the mood disorder pharmaceutical). See this thread: A primer on Lithium, Lithium + Rapamycin, etc. potentially more stable and safer pharmacokinetics

and here: Lithium Supplementation

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#24

Speaking again of mental health and in preaching to the choir….

Not that we don’t already know META is damaging to our youth, I’ll share yet another thing I learned upon the release of the book Careless People. If I had kids and if they had SM, I would have ripped their phones out of their hands this week.

They are much more evil than I already knew they were… and the bar was pretty low.

From a confidential document leaked to the Australian press, FB offered advertisers the opportunity to target young girls with beauty and weight loss ads at their most vulnerable moments.

“Facebook could determine when users as young as 14 feel “defeated”, “overwhelmed”, “stressed”, “anxious”, “nervous”, “stupid”, “silly”, “useless” or a “failure”.

Apparently, deleting a selfie would trigger these ads with the thought that you only delete photos when you don’t think you look good.

This was old news but I had no idea they were that purposefully cruel.

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#25

Wow, that is just horrible. I read “the anxious generation” by Johnathon Haidt, and it says that girls seem to be much more negatively affected by social media. I guess this sort of thing helps explain why. (That said, guys are also targeted for muscle building, pickup artist, blah blah stuff)

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#26

Good point. This tracks because Scott Galloway (my personal hero!) talks a lot about what SM has done to young men.

#27

A recent commentary from “Longevity Docs” newsletter:

Should We Be Testing Teenagers for Longevity?

This week in the chat, a physician asked:

“Healthy tween/teen, wants baseline labs for hormonal, longevity and overall health. What would all be on your list?”

Some docs recommended core markers like lipids, Lp(a), ApoB, homocysteine, uric acid, vitamin D, and CBC . One added fasting insulin, C-peptide, leptin, adiponectin, resistin , and even DEXA when relevant.

Some advised caution. Others called it smart prevention — especially when subtle symptoms or family history are present.

The question sparked thoughtful clinical insights — and a bigger conversation around the future of prevention:
When does curiosity become pressure? And how do we guide wisely without overstepping?

✅ 5 Reasons You Should Test

  1. Family history matters: early cardiovascular or cancer makes a strong case for early screening.
  2. Early signs, often overlooked: fatigue, mood changes, weight shifts, or period irregularities may signal deeper issues.
  3. Common Deficiencies Go Undetected
    Low iron, D, B12, zinc, and omega-3s are frequently missed in “healthy” kids.
  4. Mental health has a metabolic link : hormonal and insulin dysregulation can mimic or magnify anxiety and depression.
  5. Good data builds good habits: testing can foster body literacy and long-term health confidence when done thoughtfully.

⚠️ 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t (Yet)

  1. No strong clinical reason: if a teen is thriving, testing might create stress without adding value.
  2. Testing can create obsession: especially in achievement-driven families, it can feed anxiety and fixation.
  3. Adult ranges aren’t always relevant: most labs aren’t calibrated for teens, making interpretation tricky.
  4. Risk of over-medicalizing normal: a dolescence is dynamic, not every deviation requires intervention.
  5. Data ≠ wisdom without context: results must be interpreted with clinical expertise, not Google searches.

Dr. David Luu’s Note

Testing should never be done in isolation.
It should be:

  • Doctor-driven
  • Based on clinical judgment
  • Paired with clear education and consent : from both the teen and the parents
  • Focused on outcomes , not just numbers
  • Integrated with lifestyle education , mental health, sleep, nutrition, and movement
  • Used to assess the whole human, not just the lab work

As more companies target Gen Z and tech makes lab data easier to access, interpret, and personalize, we’re entering a new era of proactive health .

And while caution around over-testing is important, it shouldn’t overshadow the daily, unspoken health risks our teens face: social media, ultra-processed food, alcohol, sleep loss, drug exposure.

We need to guide the next generation with context, consent, compassion - and real science.

Longevity medicine starts early — but it should never start without trust.

Let’s lead the next generation with wisdom.

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#28

For mental health:

  1. Have a structure around checking in with them every day. For us - dinner at the dinner table with conversation about our day + bedtime routine.
  2. Limit devices - for my kids, no phones until 13. No devices in bedrooms.
  3. Get a pet - cat or dog - something they can pat. Something that’ll provide them with comfort and unconditional love if the rest of the family happens to drop the ball…
  4. Give them as much independence as possible. Depends on where you live, but can they walk or bike to/from school by themselves, let them find their own way to/from a friends place for a play date, play outside unsupervised, send them to the shops with some money to buy milk
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#29

This is a very interesting point. I think, like most things, this is somewhat of a dichotomy or balancing act. It’s definitely damaging to children to force them to do mature too quickly or do things way outside of their comfort zones. I have seen parents before being super proud that a kid does whatever thing by themselves. However, it’s risky because it can leave them feeling very isolated because they have to adopt a “social, false self” (essentially bravado). My wife studies psychology and there’s this concept (Donald Winnicott, or Wilfred Bion) that you should provide a secure and loving environment, and then children will feel secure and capable. That means they should naturally pull away from their parents and will want to do things by themselves, and they’ll feel secure doing it. They also know that if they fail, you’re there for them - thus the social self and true self are more similar.

However, there’s obviously a reverse situation where parents do everything (so-called bulldozer parents, clearing the way) and the kid never actually learns to be independent, to take risks, or to deal with failure.

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#30

I would think starting good habits in adolescence would be vital to long term health. They’ll probably grow taller and have better developed brains throughout their lives, assuming they stick to somewhat good habits as adults.

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#31

In terms of diet, both of those things are highly heritable. So as long as people aren’t starving or having deficiencies (like iodine) it won’t have much of an effect.

#32

Heritable is of course the primary driver of height, but I think it is very reasonable to speculate that someone can grow up to be slightly taller if they are on good health routines from a young age.

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#33

Agreed. As countries get wealthy, people get taller. Look at South Korea and North Korea for an example of genetically very similar populations with dramatically different lifestyles.

Though there is definitely a plateau, and at some point the extra nutrition is just making people fat haha

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#34

Sure, I said this as well:

It won’t have any effect feeding kids granola bars or something to increase the height even further, might even have the opposite effect, and for parents who are tall their children will probably be shorter because of regression to the mean.

The term actually originated in population genetics, with Francis Galton, and its original meaning is captured in the title of his 1886 paper, “Regression toward mediocrity in hereditary stature.” That is, the children of unusually tall parents tend to be shorter than their parents.

As Galton put it, “When Mid-parents are shorter than mediocrity, their Children tend to be shorter than they. The Deviates of the Children are to those of their Mid-parents as 2 to 3.”

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Regression_to_the_mean

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#35

Funny timing, because this article came out today: not about height, but about brain volume

Study here: https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2211-1247(25)00336-5

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#36

Another thing to track for children:

Low Childhood Vitamin D Signals High CVD Risk in Adulthood

Levels of 25-hydroxy (OH) vitamin D below 37 nmol/L during childhood were significantly associated with an increased risk for adult-onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.

METHODOLOGY:

  • Researchers analysed data from a prospective study in Finland to evaluate the relationship between low levels of vitamin D during childhood and adult-onset atherosclerotic CVD events.
  • They included 3516 participants (mean age at baseline, 10.5 years; 50.9% girls) whose serum concentrations of 25-OH vitamin D were measured in 2010 from stored frozen samples collected in 1980 when the participants were 3-18 years old.
  • The association between atherosclerotic CVD outcomes during adulthood and 25-OH vitamin D level cut points ranging from 31 to 43 nmol/L during childhood was examined. Levels < 30 nmol/L were used as a cut point for vitamin D deficiency.

TAKEAWAY:

  • By 2018, 95 participants (2.7%) had been diagnosed with at least one atherosclerotic CVD event, with 47 years being the median age at the first event.
  • Low levels of 25-OH vitamin D during childhood were significantly associated with an increased risk for atherosclerotic CVD events during adulthood at cut points of 37 nmol/L (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.84), 35 nmol/L (aHR, 2.19), 33 nmol/L (aHR, 1.76), and 31 nmol/L (aHR, 2.07; P < .05 for all).

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/low-childhood-vitamin-d-signals-high-cvd-risk-adulthood-2025a1000ar2

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#37

HPV vaccinations for kids (boys and girls) for future cancer prevention:

What if I told you that there was a cancer vaccine that could potentially spare your child not one, but six kinds of cancer? You’d jump at the chance, right?

That already vaccine exists — it’s the shot for human papillomavirus, an extremely common sexually transmitted infection that can cause multiple types of cancers. Each year, HPV causes over 21,000 cases of cancer in women and 16,000 cases of cancer in men.

But despite evidence of the vaccine’s efficacy, many parents continue to eye it with suspicion. The roots of their fears are complex and doctors need to play a bigger role in alleviating them.

No cervical cancer cases in HPV-vaccinated women

A new study has found that no cases of cervical cancer have been detected in young women who have been fully-vaccinated as part of the HPV immunisation programme.

The Public Health Scotland (PHS) research said the HPV (human papillomavirus virus) vaccine was “highly effective” in preventing the development of the cancer.

HPV is a sexually transmitted infection and is responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer - the fourth most common cause of cancer in women worldwide.

The vaccination programme started in 2008 with girls offered the vaccine in their first year at secondary school, aged 12 or 13.

Related:

Bulgaria expands free HPV vaccination to include boys, and older girls

https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/bulgaria-expands-free-hpv-vaccination-to-include-boys-and-older-girls/

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