Archive for category: Human Optimization

Your brain is complicated; even scientists don’t understand how it all works. There are physical structures, electric impulses, chemical reactions, and cellular communication systems that go far beyond any computer ever dreamed of. At the Institute for Human Optimization, we take brain health seriously and aim to educate our patients about how the brain works and how to keep it operating well into old age. In part two of our Brain Health series, we discussed neurotransmitters and how they affect your mood, focus, and overall health. This week, we’re covering what happens to the brain as we age and proactive steps you can take to decrease your risk for neural-degenerative diseases.

When you think about aging well, what does it look like? Are you able to run? Touch your toes? Move around unassisted? Do you want radiant skin? Clear eyes? A nice smile?

Lifespan and healthspan are two different discussions. You can lengthen your life span and live to be a hundred, but what’s the benefit if the last twenty years are spent in a cognitive haze?

Transneuronal degeneration is when neurons lose a degree of intracellular proteins and can no longer maintain their normal transmembrane potential. This is the pathological process that creates the cognitive decline we see in Alzheimer’s and dementia. The loss of intracellular machinery leads to neurons that are quick to be excited, and also quickly fatigued.

As we age our brains begin to shrink, especially in the frontal cortex which is the part of the brain that handles reasoning, personality, decision making, and social behavior. Memory decline is another symptom we associate with aging and may be caused by the brain attempting to compensate for other areas experiencing weakened functions.

It’s important to know that while chronological aging is as irreversible as time itself, it is possible to reverse biological age and reduce the possibility of suffering from dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Promoters of Neuronal Degeneration  

Age itself is never the reason for a disease, rather, it is the snowball effect of all the variables in a person’s life that attributes to the length of their healthspan. Like any machine, the brain and body will break down from constant wear and tear without maintenance.

In the case of neuronal degeneration and the many diseases it leads to, there are a variety of factors that can accelerate the process:

• Lack of Neuronal Stimulation– A lazy brain tends to stay a lazy brain.
• Inflammatory Responses– Eating a diet full of inflammatory foods puts your body in a constant state of inflammation, which can lead to neuron degeneration and death.
• Microglia Activation – Microglial cells are your immune system’s trash collectors. They’re responsible for clearing out cellular debris and mediating immune responses in the central nervous system. If your body is in a constant state of chronic neuro-inflammation (the underlying cause of most neurodegenerative diseases), too many microglia are activated at once, leading to more inflammation and neuron death.
• Blood Sugar Dysregulation – It’s well-documented that people with Type-2 diabetes have a higher chance of developing neurodegenerative diseases due to insulin being neuro-protective.
• Methylation Imbalances – Methylation is the atomic process that essentially turns on and off your biological systems. It helps your metabolism, DNA production, neurotransmitter production, liver health, detoxification, and so much more. When this process becomes imbalanced, serious health problems can arise.
• Deficiency of Nutrients– Eating a balanced diet is the best way to ward off cognitive illnesses. Many studies show “a diet that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids supports cognitive processes in humans and upregulates genes that are important for maintaining synaptic function and plasticity in rodents. In turn, diets that are high in saturated fat are becoming notorious for reducing molecular substrates that support cognitive processing and increase the risk of neurological dysfunction in both humans and animals.”

Signs of an Aging Brain

Most researchers agree your brain starts to show its first signs of degeneration around age thirty with beginning signs of cognitive decline after fifty.

The earliest signs of an aging brain are:

• Fatigue when performing cognitive activities such as driving, reading, and learning.
• Depression, a sign of unhealthy neuron activity or imbalanced neurotransmitters.
• Poor digestive function as around 90% of the brain’s output is responsible for keeping the digestive system functioning properly.

Moderate signs of an aging brain are:

• An inability to focus or concentrate.
• Difficulty learning new tasks.
• Chronic constipation as a result of intestinal overgrowth and digestive enzyme insufficiency.
• Increased blood pressure, increased resting heart rate, and poor blood flow resulting from overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Significant brain aging may cause:

• The inability to work professionally due to cognitive difficulties.
• An inability to appreciate life.
• An inability to perceive your own neurological loss.
• Tremors
• Increased difficulty in finding directions.

And severe brain aging, correlated with neurological disease, may cause:

• Uncontrolled bowel movements
• Bowel obstruction and inability to digest food.
• Inability to smell, taste, or develop social relationships.
• Total dependence on family and medical staff for daily functions.

6 Steps for Preventing Neurodegeneration

Despite what you might think, aging and neurodegeneration doesn’t have to go hand in hand.

Blue zones are locations on the planet where people are living longer than everyone else and recently, a team of researchers set out to discover what they were doing right.

“In the blue zones region of Ikaria, Greece, dementia among people over 85 is rare — over 75 percent less common than it is in the United States. (About half of Americans over 85 years old show signs of Alzheimer’s disease.)”

Blue Zones. “Diet and Dementia: What Foods Increase or Decrease Alzheimer’s Risk?”

These blue zones show that with a variety of lifestyle changes (what Blue Zones’ founder calls the Power 9) aging doesn’t have to mean losing your mental faculties. With the knowledge of how your brain works and some simple tips, you can take proactive steps towards improving your own neural health and keeping a functioning mind through the years.

1. Normalize blood sugar imbalances and promote optimal mitochondrial function. This means avoiding foods and beverages that will spike your blood sugar levels and throw off your insulin production. Stay away from sweets, sodas, and processed foods. Stick with natural, whole foods like lean meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
2. Improve Phase I and II detoxification. This is all about helping your liver do its job of removing toxins from your body. The best way to aid this process is by reducing the toxins you’re putting in so your liver isn’t overloaded. Eating organic foods, avoiding environmental toxins (like smoke), and supplementing with key nutrients all help improve Phase I and II detoxes.
3. Optimize essential fatty acid metabolism. You’ll find most preventative medicine focused heavily on diet and exercise, and this is tip is no different. Studies show “maximal rates of fat oxidation have been shown to be reached at intensities between 59% and 64% of maximum oxygen consumption in trained individuals and between 47% and 52% of maximum oxygen consumption in a large sample of the general population.” This means steady, consistent exercise to get your heart rate up can greatly reduce the symptoms of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
4. Optimize glutathione production. Glutathione is an antioxidant produced in cells. Having a reduced amount can affect many health markers and even increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Eating plants with natural sulfur such as broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, and legumes can boost glutathione production. Getting quality sleep also helps optimize glutathione production.
5. Optimize gastrointestinal pathogens. There is always something growing in your stomach. Some of its helpful. some of it may be harmful. The best way to keep your gastro-flora healthy is by eating whole foods, including fermented foods such as kimchi and kombucha, or supplementing with a quality probiotic formula. For the full scoop on gut bacteria, check out our “Keeping a Healthy Microbiome” article.
6. Optimize methylation. Methylation is the atomic process that turns on and off your biological systems. It helps your metabolism, DNA production, neurotransmitter production, liver health, detoxification, and many other mechanisms. You can optimize methylation in your own body by adding key nutrients such as folate, choline, and B vitamins into your diet.

At the Institute for Human Optimization, we believe brain aging doesn’t have to be a part of chronological aging. It all begins with you and your lifestyle choices. We strive to give our patients personalized preventative care to keep their minds sharp as they age. To discuss how we can help you on your journey to a longer healthspan, schedule a discovery call today.

Everything begins in the brain. Hormone production, sensory perceptions, vision, hearing, touch, organ regulation- it is truly the control center of the body. That’s why for the next four weeks, we’ll be focusing exclusively on brain functions, structures, and how you can remain mentally sharp well into old age. This week, we’ll discuss the structures and functions of the brain so you can have a better idea of what’s going on inside your own head.

There is something special about the human brain, and we’re still unsure exactly what it is. It’s not the largest or the most complex. It doesn’t have more neurons than our primate relatives. Yet somehow, we are the only creatures on earth able to manipulate our environments, create smartphones, and walk on the moon.

A 2015 study suggested that the chimpanzees inherit their cortical organization through genetics, meaning a baby chimp’s brain is organized almost identically to that of its parents. There isn’t much room for modification.

Humans, on the other hand, have a more relaxed genetic control of their cortical organization. This means we organize our brains after we’re born, shaping our behavior and intellect by the environment and culture we exist in. Perhaps this is how we were able to jump so quickly from the stone age to the tech age, each generation building on the knowledge of the ones that came before instead of relying on pre-programmed instinct alone.

Regardless of why the human brain is unique, it remains a fascinating organ that researchers still don’t completely understand. It is a symbiotic mixture of tissues, chemical signals, and electrical impulses that have provided the inspiration for the development of the modern computer- the poor-mans brain.

How do these physical brain structures translate the human experience?

Neurons

Neurons are brain cells- the building blocks of your entire nervous system. They are the Wifi for your body, responsible for all communications. Anytime your body does something, neurons made it happen. Without neurons, there would be no communication between your body and your brain. You’d basically be a cabbage.

Neurons in the outer layer of your brain handle sensory information. When you see, hear, or touch something, the information is “saved” here. New experiences create new neurons and when you have the same experience again, the same neurons are activated- this is called memory.

Your memories are vital, they help you can perceive the world without even trying. You already know what rain on your skin feels like because the experience is “recorded” in your cells. There are around 86 billion neurons in your body, and not all of them are located in your brain. They cluster in your stomach and also your heart, bringing some validity to the ideas of “going with your gut” or “following your heart” when it comes to making decisions in life.

Neurons make things happen through action potential. For example, a mosquito lands on your arm. The stimulus is picked up by the tiny hairs on your skin which alerts the neuron. The neuron sends an electrical signal immediately. Like telephone wires, the signal is sent through the neurons to the muscle cells, causing a few of your arm muscles to contract and slap the mosquito within seconds.

These nerve action potentials are instantaneous and the cells are able to relate the intensity of the stimulus to the appropriate action. A mosquito gently landing creates a different response than if someone were to poke you with their finger. It’s amazing how tuned in our neurons are to the world around us and how quickly they act to help us respond to our environments without conscious thought.

As we age, our neurons become less efficient at determining what stimulus deserves what response. They begin reaching action potential faster from trivial stimuli, creating increased sensitivity to lights, smells, and temperatures.

That’s why it’s important for us to take care of our physical brains now, to prevent break down later.

Synapses

A synapse is a structure between neurons that allows them to pass information along. There are two ways synapses work- electrically and chemically.

Electric synapses work by passing electric currents through special channels called gap junctions between cells. It’s a complicated mechanism in which the first neuron changes the voltage in the next, creating a signal that can travel rapidly from cell to cell. This is how your brain communicates the need for certain hormones to be released at certain times.

Chemical synapses operate through the use of neurotransmitters (we’ll go over these in-depth later in the series). Neurotransmitters are biochemicals that bind to receptors in the cells and initiate an electrical response. This happens more slowly than with electric synapses and can have different effects depending on what chemical is released. For example, glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter that creates excitability.

Neurons and synapses work together to create an unimaginably complex communication system that allows you to go about your life.

Other Brain Structures

The brain is separated into two parts, called hemispheres. The left side of the brain is responsible for objectivity, spoken language, reasoning, logic, numbers, scientific thinking, and other analytical functions. The right hemisphere contains the structures used for art appreciation, intuition, creativity, face recognition, emotions, and imagination. The brain still operates as a single organ through a bundle of fibers in the middle known as the corpus callosum.

Your brain is also separated into lobes. Different structures are responsible for different functions. In a nutshell, the frontal lobe controls your behavior, memory, movement, and intelligence. The parietal lobe is located on the top of the head and aids you with language, reading, and interpreting sensations. The occipital lobe is in the back of the skull and allows you to see and comprehend spatial orientation so you don’t bump into walls or hit your head on low ceilings.

The cerebellum lays near the brain stem, which connects to your spinal cord, and coordinates your balance and involuntary functions such as swallowing, breathing, and heart rate. And the temporal lobe is located approximately where your ears are, responsible for speech, vision, hearing, and long-term memory.

All of these structures form your perception of the world around you and your health in general. As the control system for your entire body, it is important to keep the brain functioning well by making sure we’re getting proper nutrients.

Dr. David Perlmutter discusses the importance of avoiding gluten and other inflammatory foods to promote brain health and reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimers. He recommends eating fresh, whole foods such as vegetables, lean unprocessed meats, fruits, and nuts as the staples in your diet. He also recommends coffee to fight off oxidative stress and supplementing with DHA (commonly found in fish oil) for improved brain health.

At the Institute for Human Optimization, we take brain health seriously and work with our patients to improve brain function before problems arise. Prevention is the key to our practice and we take all of your diet, lifestyle, and genetic history into consideration when recommending health care. Our client intake process includes a full brain consultation. To discuss how we can help you optimize your health, schedule a discovery call here.

At the Institute for Human Optimization, we take an integrative approach to healthcare. One of the most important subjects we cover with our patients is diet and how it affects the millions of microscopic organisms that exist in our digestive systems. Having a healthy microbiome is crucial for extending your healthspan and preventing the diseases associated with aging. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the major health issues that can arise from an unhealthy gut, what causes it, and the facts behind elimination diets.

You’re never alone. Inside your gut are millions of tiny, nearly invisible life forms that rely on you for nourishment. This isn’t to say they aren’t paying you back. In fact, you wouldn’t be able to digest your food and receive vital nutrients without them. We evolved in a synchronistic relationship with these little organisms and though our food has changed drastically over the last hundred thousand years, they haven’t.

Your microbiome doesn’t just handle digestion either. In fact, researchers have linked gut bacteria to a wide range of body functions such as immunity, hormone balance, and even mood. There are over 100 million neurons located in the gut, which is why it is often called ” the second brain” and perhaps why people often say “go with your gut” when talking about making tough decisions.

Due to the popularity of processed and sugary foods, our microbiomes today look much different than past humans. The organisms in your body change depending on what you’re feeding them. The bacteria we need to maintain a healthy gut are called probiotics and they require plant-based fibers from whole foods like onions, apples, bananas, and garlic to multiply. When we eat a diet full of processed foods and sugar, we get a different kind of bacteria that causes havoc on our body systems.

Disease Starts in the Gut

It’s amazing how much is going on in our guts. There is a whole eco-system of organisms in there multiplying and making things happen.

The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is a group of researchers who aim to categorize all the microbes of the human body and determine their functions. This is a monumental project encompassing decades of work collecting samples from “healthy” people and doing case studies to see how microbes play into the grand scheme of human health.

One of the more interesting findings is the microbes’ effects on the immune system. Immune dysfunction is a component of many chronic diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and even autism spectrum disorders. All of these problems are associated with poor gut health and depletion of certain bacteria.

Bad gut bacteria are also to blame for the wide variety of digestive issues plaguing humans today. Crohn’s disease, for instance, may be caused by a lack of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the gut. IBD, ulcerative colitis, and constant bloating or diarrhea can also be tied to decreased variability of gut microbes.

You may have also heard the term “gut-brain axis” relating the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract to the central nervous system. A number of behavioral disorders have been linked to poor gut health. Mice that were fed high-fat diets that depleted the amount of Lactobacillus (an important bacteria) in their guts produced offspring with higher levels of SFCAs and ammonia metabolites, which are considered neurotoxic, having negative effects on cognitive ability. In humans, the neurological effects of an unhealthy microbiome look like depression, anxiety, and perhaps even autism. What happens in your gut affects your brain and therefore, your mind.

Other symptoms of poor gut health include:

• allergies
• food sensitivities (over time your body becomes sensitive to foods you eat often)
• sugar cravings (the more you eat, the more the bacteria thrives, the more it makes you crave)
• gas/bloating
• diarrhea
• mood changes
• depression/anxiety (there are over 100 million neurons in your gut and they communicate directly with your brain)
• acne
• eczema
• weight gain (sugar cravings make this worse)
• fatigue
• autoimmune disorders
• hormone imbalances
• nutrient deficiencies (the microbes are supposed to help pull nutrients from the food you eat but if are unhealthy, have a hard time doing so)

It may seem overwhelming to take responsibility for millions of microscopic organisms you’ll never see. But your health begins in your gut and the only way to keep a good variety of microbes is by mindfully controlling what you put into it.

Elimination Diet

If you’re having any of the symptoms or disorders discussed above, many functional medicine practitioners recommend an Elimination Diet as part of treatment.

Basically, an elimination diet cuts out all the junk that may be causing poor gut health and resets your system. Not all humans have the same microbiota just as not everyone has the same reactions to foods. Some people have adverse reactions to eggs and some people can eat three a day without a problem. The idea behind an elimination diet is to eliminate ALL possible food irritants and then re-introduce them one by one to give you an accurate determination of how you should be eating. It also aims to help good bacteria flourish, helping with cravings, brain fog, and general energy levels.

Start with eliminating sugar, gluten (bread, cereal, etc), dairy, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods. Desirable gut bacteria love fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi so try and incorporate those into your diet. You can also invest in a good probiotic supplement, making sure it includes lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.

If you’re interested in trying an elimination diet, eat only the foods below for three weeks. Afterward, if you’d like, you can start adding back other foods to see how your body reacts. In this manner, it becomes clear what’s causing unwanted side effects and what to avoid in the future.

Always consult with your physician before trying an elimination diet.

At the Institute for Human Optimization, we offer our patients an in-depth look into their microbiome and what’s happening in their gut. We understand the vast amount of data that shows how important gut health is for overall health and longevity. We’ll show you how to manage your diet in a way that promotes desirable bacteria growth while letting you eat a wide variety of enjoyable foods.

We try to limit the use of antibiotics whenever possible with our patients so as not to disrupt the microbiome. Though very effective at killing bacteria, antibiotics also kill desirable organisms that we work hard to cultivate using diet and supplementation.

If you’re interested in your own personal microbiome and how we can work together to optimize your gut health, schedule a call with us.

If you read our “Hallmarks of Aging” post, you know the build up of cytokines and other cellular debris is one of the main reasons we age. This week we’re focusing on the inflammatory state that leads to aging, also known as “inflammaging.” We’ll go into the cellular mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon as well as some practical changes you can make to reduce inflammaging and feel healthy into your golden years.

Aging is the ultimate bane of human existence. Researchers and medical professionals have spent countless hours studying cells and tissues, trying to find out why we age and how we can thwart the process. The anti-aging industry is globally worth 50-billion US dollars and the beauty industry is constantly touting new products to stave off wrinkles and keep you looking young.

But in the end, inflammation is the main culprit. In 2000, Claudio Franceschi coined the term “inflammaging“, referring to the persistent, low-grade state of inflammation that is responsible for all the problems that come with aging.

Your cells are born, reproduce, and die by the millions and your body is generally adept at flushing out the waste. However, as we go about our lives, there are countless environmental factors that chip away at these mechanisms, making the body less efficient at clearing cellular debris. When this cellular debris piles up, proteins known as cytokines alert the immune system, causing inflammation and even damaging healthy cells nearby. This is the inflammaging process- a constant state of mild inflammation that eventually leads to the physical and mental decline we associate with getting older.

Researchers are always working to unearth the “fountain of youth” that may be buried somewhere in our genes. Until then, you can take proactive steps to reduce inflammaging by eliminating inflammatory responses as much as possible.

Anti-inflammatory diet

There is a bustling kingdom inside your gut; a colony of bacteria responsible for breaking down food, producing vitamins and regulating your immune system. This is called your microbiome and the more we study it, the more we realize that having a flourishing array of healthy gut bacteria is vital for aging well and avoiding disease.

Your gut has evolved to handle a wide variety of fiber and polyphenol-rich foods, developed over millions of years of evolution. It’s no shock that when we switched to a nutrient-poor Western-style diet our gut kingdoms revolted, causing havoc on our immune system. Your stomach doesn’t understand french fries as real food and alerts the immune system to a threat, causing low-grade inflammation.

The best way to decrease the effects of inflammaging therefore, it to eat a diet similar to what our ancestors ate. This is a loaded question, as dietary studies are numerous and often unreliable due to countless variables. The diet you should be consuming somewhat depends on your genetics; what causes inflammation for some people, can be innocuous for others.

A good place to start is by eliminating processed foods. Chips, cookies, crackers- basically anything packaged with a shelf life contains un-natural substances unfit for a healthy microbiome. Foods that are generally considered inflammatory include refined flours, sugar, gluten, milk, cheese, red meat, and trans- and saturated fatty acids.

A study published in March 2020 put individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (a debilitating inflammatory autoimmune disorder) on a diet that eliminated pro-inflammatory foods and replaced them with whole, natural foods containing plenty of polyphenols and flavonoids. Even if you’re not suffering from a disorder, you can still take note of the study’s creation of a diet with a high content of known potential anti-inflammatory ingredients:

• fatty fish such as sardines or tuna, twice per week
• daily intake of chia seeds and flaxseed oil
• daily intake of nuts, avocado, and/or sesame seeds or tahini
• avoid pre-cooked food, red meat, and processed meat
• cook by baking, boiling or vapor- avoid frying
• include daily green leafy vegetables (arugula, lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, green beans)
• include daily fruits
• consume whole grains and avoid refined flours
• daily yogurt (a brand that contains Lactobacillus Casei among other species or miso)
• substitute plant-based milk (almond, rice, coconut) for dairy
• season with turmeric, black pepper, and ginger (black pepper and ginger should be used at the same time)
• keep salt intake low by eliminating pre-cooked food
• increase consumption of garlic, onion, purple carrot and zucchini
• substitute sugar for honey and avoid sodas and juices
• try a daily dose of apple cider vinegar

There are a host of other doctors, nutritionists, and researchers that have created diet plans to benefit your microbiome and reduce the effects of inflammaging. Dr. Andrew Weil has his anti-inflammatory pyramid. Dr. Susan Blum recommends “rainbow dieting” or, eating natural foods of every color every day to get the full range of anti-inflammatory polyphenols.

As you can see, these diets are not restrictive and are a great way to lower your body’s inflammation response and increase your healthspan.

Autophagy

When it comes to aging and longevity, we never stop talking about autophagy, the cellular housekeeping your body does to clear out damaged cells and make room for new ones. We already know inflammaging is a direct result of the piling up of senescent (or “zombie”) cells, triggering an immune response and causing problems over time. Initiating autophagy is one of many solutions to low-grade, chronic inflammation.

You can do this by going approximately 18-20 hours a day without eating. This is commonly known as time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting.

In rodent studies, a fasting routine was proven to be effective in reducing risk factors for age-related diseases. It lowered the risk of metabolic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity and increased cognitive ability. This is a simple hack that mimics the natural feeding/fasting cycles of our ancestors and allows the microbiome and immune system to function properly.

Please check with your physician before attempting extended fasts.

Turmeric

You’ve probably seen this yellow powder on the spice shelves or have even used it for its flavoring. Turmeric is the ground up version of the turmeric rhizome, a perennial plant that resembles a large orange ginger root. it has been used throughout human history for its health properties and has become a staple in any biohackers kitchen.

This is because turmeric contains a very important polyphenol called curcumin, a known antioxidant. This substance gives turmeric its vibrant color and also inhibits enzymes that mediate inflammatory processes, making it anti-inflammatory by nature.

To take the hack one step further, it’s recommended to use turmeric and black pepper together, as the piperine in the pepper enhances curcumin absorption into the body, making sure you’re getting the full bang for your buck. So sprinkle some turmeric and pepper on your salads, soups, or even smoothies to get the full benefits of this anti-inflammatory spice.

Omega 3

The inflammaging process is complicated and involves many mechanisms happening at once. Senescent cells build up, certain compounds are created to alert the immune system, and inflammation is the by-product.

Thankfully, studies have been conducted on the intricate cellular functions that cause this and it’s been found that Omega-3 (commonly supplemented as fish oil) changes the fatty acid composition of cells involved in the inflammatory response, having a positive effect on overall health.

You can get Omega-3 fatty acids by eating plenty of fish and flaxseed, or by supplementing orally. Always try to purchase supplements from a reputable company to ensure quality.

Inflammation is neither friend nor foe. It is a vital part of immunosurveillance and defense, yet can also be a symptom of chronic disease. When it occurs consistently due to poor gut health or inefficient autophagy, it serves as a risk factor for age-related diseases and is known as inflammaging,

By being proactive with your life choices- eating anti-inflammatory foods, incorporating fasting, and supplementing with turmeric and Omega-3, you can lower your inflammatory markers and have positive effects on your healthspan and day-to-day well-being.

At the Institute for Human Optimization, we take inflammaging seriously. Instead of waiting for the effects of chronic inflammation to present themselves, we encourage our patients to eat according to their genome and test for specific biomarkers for a personalized approach to healthcare.

The goal of functional medicine is to get to the root cause of disease. This almost always stems from purposeful prevention. Nothing manifests overnight. It is your everyday habits that create your healthspan, whether you see the effects or not. We give you a deep dive into what’s really happening in your body so you can make educated decisions to age well and live better.

Schedule a call to discuss how we can optimize your health.

This week on the Institute for Human Optimization blog, we discuss an important subject in the world of longevity research- autophagy. Autophagy is your body’s way of clearing out damaged cells to make way for new ones. As we age, this cleaning system becomes less efficient, causing an accumulation of senescent (or “zombie”) cells that can cause inflammation and a host of other problems. Here, we’ll describe some of the science behind autophagy and what you can do to enhance this vital process and stay feeling younger longer. 

Your cells have their own busy lives inside of your body. At all hours of the day, they are eating, communicating, using energy, and taking out the trash. If your goal is to stay healthy as long as possible, you have to support the natural functions of your cells and make sure they have everything they need to keep you going.

In 2016, cell-biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize for his many years of research on the way cells break down and recycle their contents. Thanks to this brilliant scientist, there are now over 5,000 scientific papers written about what has been termed “autophagy”.

Autophagy is the housekeeping process. When cells have reached the end of their lives or have irreparable damage, they become senescent. These senescent cells give off signals, alerting the immune system to come and clear them out and make room for healthy ones in the process. As we age, even the immune system cells start to break down and become senescent, which is why the elderly have less autophagy happening and become more prone to illness.

When our senescent cells build up, the proteins that alert the immune system (called cytokines) cause inflammation and can even damage other cells nearby. This is why the autophagy process is so essential and why longevity research covers it so heavily. Increased autophagy is one of the critical factors in having a body that functions well even in later years.

Rapamycin and mTor

Rapamycin is a term you’ll come across often when researching anti-aging literature. Originally developed as an anti-fungal compound, it was found to repress the immune system and today is used mainly for organ transplant patients to reduce the chance of rejection.

When researchers gave rapamycin to lab animals, their lifespans increased 15-25%. This unprecedented side-effect eventually led to the discovery of another important regulator in the body- mechanistic target of rapamycin or mTOR.

mTOR’s job is to determine if your body is getting enough nutrients. If you are, it flips the anabolism switch- this builds up new cells and tissues. If you’re not getting enough nutrients (fasting), it triggers autophagy instead, breaking down old cells and recycling the proteins for future use.

Rapamycin was found to not only inhibit the immune system cells but also inhibit mTOR. That means your body reacts as though you’re in a fasted state even though you might not be. This triggers autophagy and could be the reason for the longer lifespans in the animals given the compound in lab studies.

There are no studies yet that show rapamycin’s effect on the human lifespan, but there are things you can do to inhibit mTOR and increase autophagy yourself.

Intermittent Fasting

Now that you understand the basics of how autophagy works, you can start to hack your body to achieve the results you want. One of the best ways to naturally inhibit mTOR and get that housekeeping process going is intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting, or IF, means becoming conscious of the times you choose to eat and increasing the time you’re not consuming calories. It can also be termed “time-restricted eating.”

Valter Longo, Director of the Longevity Research Institute, helped popularize what he calls a “fasting-mimicking diet”. His research showed that mice that fasted intermittently had improved life spans, reduced inflammation, increased cognitive ability, and that this mechanism could be used in humans for similar results.

Autophagy is hard to measure outside of a lab, but most experts agree that it initiates in humans after 18-20 hours of fasting with maximum benefits happening around the 48-hour mark. When you’re not consuming calories, mTOR flips the autophagy switch, putting your body in a cleanup mode and getting rid of the cellular waste that can build up and cause health issues. Many people who practice intermittent fasting as a health hack report having more energy during the day, fewer cravings, clearer skin, and weight loss. 

There are a variety of apps that can help you track your fasts, remind you when to eat, and provide more information on how to benefit from this practice.

Berberine

Berberine is an alkaloid compound naturally occurring in a variety of plants such as the Oregon grape, Californian poppy, and cork tree. Though it has a long history of being used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, it is being researched today for its pharmacological effects against chronic health conditions such as depression, gastrointestinal disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. It has also been shown to have anti-aging properties in rodent studies.

Naturally-aged mice that were given berberine lived about 17% longer than their counterparts and experienced positive changes in their fur density, behavior, and healthspan.

The main driver of berberine’s success as an anti-aging compound revolves around its activation of AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase). AMPK’s main job is to monitor cellular energy and determine if your cells are operating efficiently. If AMPK is not activated, it can’t do its job, and damaged cells can fall through the cracks, ultimately avoiding getting cleared out by autophagy.

Berberine has also been found to reduce blood sugar levels in people with type-2 diabetes. Lowering blood sugar is essential for metabolic health and can do a lot towards increasing your overall healthspan. Berberine is currently available on the market, but please speak with your physician before starting any supplement regimen and use a company that is reputable for quality.

(Here is a great article on berberine by Dr. Rhonda Patrick if you’d like to learn more.)

When it comes to longevity, autophagy is the MVP. We can’t have zombie cells floating around in our bodies, causing upregulation of cytokines and all the damage that comes with them. Instead, we can work with our cells, giving them everything they need to take out the trash and make room for new, healthy cells to thrive.

Through intermittent fasting and using natural compounds like berberine, we can take active steps to increase our health spans and feel amazing well into old age. Autophagy will be an encompassing theme for this blog and future projects as we strive to bring you the latest information on optimizing human health.

If you’re interested in becoming a patient of the Institute for Human Optimization, schedule a discovery call and let’s discuss what we can do to hack your lifestyle to improve your healthspan.