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The advantage of a low-carb diet is that it minimizes insulin spikes that can contribute to loss of insulin sensitivity=metabolic syndrome. The advantage of a low-protein diet is that it offers some of the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction, and is associated with lower all-cause mortality. Can the two be combined? The low-protein, low-carb diet … Read more

Last week’s focus was the evidence in favor of a low-protein diet.  In this context, high-carb diets came out on top.  But there is also evidence that for the average denizen of the developed world who does not restrict protein, there are dangers in a diet based on staple carbohydrates, especially sugars and simple starches … Read more

We all know that the less we eat, the longer we live, and that periods of fasting, long and short, can also trigger a longevity dividend. What about macronutrient proportions—protein, carbohydrates, and fat? The argument for carb restriction is that it helps keep insulin signaling down, and slows the inevitable advance of metabolic syndrome. The … Read more

…directly.  But in practice, the pain of arthritis limits activity and discourages exercise.  The chronic pain of arthritis wears people down, contributing to depression, which is a substantial mortality risk factor.  Limitations on mobility combined with disspiriting effects of pain can destroy the will to live.  There is no cure for arthritis yet, but anti-inflammatories … Read more

When we think about things we can do to have longer, healthier lives, it’s the metabolism that comes to mind—diet, exercise, supplements.  It’s a surprising fact that (at least until the next generation of anti-aging technology becomes available) the most effective things we can do are not just psychological—they’re social.  Perhaps because we were raised … Read more

Starve yourself.  Exercise until it hurts.  Buy expensive supplements and stay away from the foods you love most.  You may have the impression that living a long time is no fun at all. But the good news is that the most powerful life extension strategies are things we want to do anyway.  Live in a … Read more

Cracking the Aging Code, by Josh Mitteldorf and Dorion Sagan (2016) Link to buy the book Read the preface Read Chapter 2, about the huge variety of different modes of aging in nature Read the introduction (biographical background) Book Review (digital journal)  

I believe that all we have to do to make ourselves younger is to turn on the genes that were expressed when we were young, and turn off the genes that are expressed when we are old. This will require both knowledge and technique; (1) knowing which genes these are, and (2) having a targeted … Read more

Rapamycin is the best anti-aging treatment yet discovered.  Most treatments that work in flies and worms fail when they get to mammals, but rapamycin has consistently extended lifespan more than 20% in mice [review as or 2014].  It works even when administered late in life, and intermittent dosing works as well or sometimes better than … Read more

I wrote a few weeks ago about newly-discovered dynamics of DNA that make Lamarckian genetic inheritance more plausible than ever.  I wrote that there was now just one step missing from a fully-documented Lamarckian mechanism.  In a comment on that page, a reader pointed me to a paper that fills in that final step. Almost … Read more