Life Extension and Anti-Aging: What Works? What Doesn't?

by Nils Osmar. October 26, 2023
This post is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice.
See full Medical Disclaimer

Anti-Aging is becoming a big business, and products have started flooding the market which claim to help us accomplish it. So it can be helpful to take a step back and review some basics.

What works?

The approaches that are actually most helpful, from my perspective as a 70 year old male hoping to stay fit and healthy as the decades go by, appear to be:

Eating a highly nutritious diet based on whole natural foods – rich in all of the nutrients needed by bodies for optimal health. Stop eating junk. Whether we choose to eat plant-based, animal-based, or both, certain nutrients are needed by our cells and tissues. We can’t “live longer” if we’re not giving our bodies what they need to be healthy.
Many people assume that plant-based diets are best; after trying plant-based and anima-based diets (and testing the results) I’ve come to a different conclusion. My current diet includes foods from both plant and animal sources, includingfish, meat, eggs, poultry, avocados, onions, garlic, and fermented vegetables. When eating food from animal sources, I make sure they were raised naturally and are free of synthetic hormones; for example, I eat organic grass fed beef, pastured eggs and non-farmed fish. When eating plants, I try to avoid foods high on oxalates, which have been found to damage the mitochondria, and also minimize or avoid foods high in lectins and phytates)
Moving, stretching and exercising – HIIT, aerobics, Zone 2 and resistance training. I’m currently doing resistance training two or three days a week and doing HIIT, aerobics and Zone 2 on the other days.
Rest, sleep and recovery – which includes both physical and emotional recovery. Getting. 7-9 hours of sleep/night may be ideal.
Restoring NAD+ to youthful levels (How: exercise; cold showers; taking supplements such as NMN, NR, apigenin)
Activating the sirtuin (survival) genes. (How: cold baths and showers; saunas; supplements such as fucoidan and cyanidin) II’m currently taking a form of fucoidan called SIRT6 Activator) (each batch is actually tested to verify that it’s activating the sirtuin 6 gene, something unique to the product).
Restoring glutathione to youthful levels. (How: taking GlyNAC (half glycine, half NAC) and/or eating whey)
Maintaining high nitric oxide levels. (How: humming; eating fermented beets – and raising glutathione also raised NO levels.) See article: Five Ways to Boost Nitric Oxide
Restoring sex hormones to youthful levels. (How: Supplements such as Icariin, fadogia agrestis, cistanche, tongkat Ali)
Restoring hGH to youthful levels (as in the TRIIM trial) See article: Boosting hGH Levels: Is It Wise to Do So? And If We Decide To – What Works?
Restoring AKG to youthful levels (I’m currently taking Ca-AKG) See article: My Supplements: Ca-AKG
Maintaining healthy lipids. Keeping our cholesterol from going too low or too high or imbalanced. For me, that means taking niacin along with berberine, and getting lots of exercise. I’m focusing on trying to keep triglycerides low and HDL high.
Measuring and testing to get a clear sense of what’s going on inside of our bodies (The key tests, in my opinion, are Aging.ai; PhenoAge; AnthropoAge; PhysiAge calculators)
Still being alive and kicking, and, hopefully, fit and healthy, when more effective interventions come along.

What doesn’t work?

Some approaches which have been tested and shown promise in animals, aren’t necessarily too promising in people. And even in animals, there are reasons to question how much they really extend lifespan.
For example, caloric restriction only “works” in mice if they’re fed a terrible diet; if they’re fed a healthy species-appropriate diet, it appears to have no benefits. See study.
Low protein diets activate AMPK, the longevity pathway…. which in theory should be beneficial… but they shut down the immune system. Diets with ample protein are needed to keep the immune system strong as people and animals age. See study.
An alternative approach is to go ahead and eat a high protein diet (which activates mTOR and supports immunity), but balance it out with lots of fasting and intermittent fasting (another way of activating AMPK).

Me at 70 in my home gym

I’m an immortalist at heart. I’d love it if the human race could solve its problems and we could all live forever. Till that happens, we can aim to stay healthy and happy and keep improving the world. “Good lives for everyone” seems to me to be a reasonable goal.

My supplements

The supplements I’m taking include NAD+ boosters; testosterone boosters; hGH boosters; glutathione and nitric oxide boosters. I also take the pharmaceutical drug rapamycin once a week.

Not medical advice

This article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. I’m not advising that people eat any particular diet or take any particular supplement(s), just reporting on what I’m doing. Supplements, like medications and other interventions, can have side effects; I would encourage people to research both possible benefits and side effects before starting on any supplementation regimen, and consult with a medical professional about any issues which might have a medical component. See full Medical Disclaimer

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