Many of you will have heard people say, or even been guilty of saying it yourself, that how long you’ll live for is all 'genetic’ and there’s nothing you can do about it. When your time is up – it’s up!
Well, you’re right……and you’re wrong!
We are conditioned by society to think that we’ve had a good a 'good innings’ if we make it to our mid 70’s before dying. You see it all around you – people complaining about feeling more stiffness and pain. You see older friends and family being prescribed ever increasing numbers of drug medications. More and more ageing signs showing up such as grey hair, wrinkles, sagging skin, and failing eyesight. Even your premiums on life, funeral, and disability insurances go up after 50 years of age.
It’s correct that your genes are involved in your lifespan. However, dying at 75 is not 'programmed’ in your genes. You’re not too old at 50 or 60 to start new adventures, and you don’t have to get anxious about when to book into the nursing home when you turn 70.
So – what is ageing? Why are you experiencing more and more health problems as you get into your 60's?
The most concise and simplest definition of ageing I've heard is – 'the exponential increase in frailty, suffering, and death with time'.
We tend to have good health and energy for the first 40 to 50 years and then the body starts to experience a slowdown and we decline into old age or our 'twilight years'.
No one is talking about old age or death. No one wants to think about this happening to them. But the reality is we are all going to pass over at some stage. We can't bargain with death. We can't escape it.
However, the good news is that we can affect how we pass and when!
We can choose to do nothing for our own health and wellbeing, and end up getting preventable, chronic disease that we fight for a couple of decades and then pass away in misery, Or we can directly target our genes and make proper lifestyle choices which will enable us to add many health years and decades to our life and pass on when we are ready and at a time of our choosing.
One of my favourites sayings is “we should work hard on dying as old as possible”!
So where do we start working on our health to enable us to live a long and prosperous life? No one has ever told us this is possible so where do you start?
First – let's get some simple understandings of ageing and some of the exciting discoveries scientist have been making over the last decade.
Back in 2013, a group of scientists were given the task of collating all the then known science of genetics, disease mechanisms, and age progression. The culmination of all this research was a list of hallmarks, or attributes, of ageing – processes that characterised and occurred to a human body over time that led to deterioration and death.
These are those Nine Hallmarks of Ageing:
1. Unstable genes - causing DNA damage and genetic CODE corruption
2. Loss of telomere end caps on our chromosomes - telomere shortening
3. Alterations in our cellular epigenetics - errors in gene expression and signalling
4. Dysregulation of cellular proteins - our proteins become less functional
5. Problems with nutrient sensing and repair in the cell - imbalanced metabolism
6. Mitochondrial dysfunction - malfunctioning of the body's energy production machinery
7. Cellular senescence - cells don't die when they're supposed to and clog up our organs
8. Stem cell exhaustion - decline in the ability to replenish and regrow damaged tissue
9. Altered cell to cell communication - inefficient cell communication and signalling
Our aim at Longevity Code is to deal with each of these Hallmarks simultaneously. To improve the function of genes, to up-regulate genetic signalling, to repair and regenerate the intracellular matrix, and to activate all the cellular pathways associated with each of these 9 Hallmarks of Ageing.
To reverse ageing effectively, you need to focus on treating and activating your Longevity Genes – FOXO, Sirtuins, AMPK, Nrf2, and mTOR – and many more that make up our Longevity Gene Network. We'll spend time discussing each of these genes in other blogs.
If you are going to be successful at reversing your biological age, prevent chronic diseases from starting in your body, and regain the energy of your younger years, you are going to have to identify which Hallmarks are affecting you and target them with the strongest molecules and most effective lifestyle interventions.
To live over 120 and feel like you are still 40, you must be focussed, you have to be committed to living the best version of you. You must test and measure yourself regularly and make sure you are taking the most specific nutraceuticals for your changing body. This is a lifelong process but a rewarding process as you avoid disease, slow down the ravages of time, and look and feel younger each year.
I have six fundamental ageing mechanisms that I test for and treat – these are the vital Pathways to Longevity and are designed to repair and regenerate your genetic CODE.
- Epigenetic Optimisation – improving the way your genes express themselves. Switching protective genes on and switching disease forming genes off. Making changes to your lifestyle – physical, mental, emotional, and Spiritual.
- Inflammation Control – inflammation is the 'silent killer'. Testing for the presence of inflammation biomarkers specifically associated with cellular damage and DNA destruction
- Mitochondrial Function – boosting the energy produced by these powerhouses of our cells. Increasing the growth of more mitochondria and help them repair your DNA. Mitochondrial dysfunction directly impacts 6 of the 9 hallmarks of ageing!
- Upregulate your Nrf2 Cellular Defences – our cells are dependent on our Redox balance and the ability of our cells to defend themselves against free radicals and oxidative damage. Our cells battle constantly against these damaging molecules and require adequate antioxidant levels, one of the most important being glutathione.
- Stem Cell Stimulation – we must bolster the production and circulation of depleted stem cell numbers to drive the repair and regeneration of all our organs, glands, muscles, and tissue.
- Microbiome Diversity and Digestive Health – all disease has its origin in a faulty, overwhelmed gut. We need to improve the environment of the gut, upregulate the assimilation of nutrients from our food, and activate the trillions of DNA of our beneficial probiotics residing in the gut to talk to our own human DNA.
Longevity Code was founded with a passion for cutting-edge cellular science and a mission to help you live longer using scientific education and therapeutic interventions - to extend your life and regain your youth.
Imaging being 65 years old, looking like you're only 50, and having the energy and vitality of the 35-year-old you.
You CAN live over 120 with energy and happiness – but you must start working on YOU now!
We're creating a vision for your future, which is both exciting and achievable, so you can spend more time with the ones you love and extra years to enjoy the things that fulfill your life.