← The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance
The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance
The Boring Secret Behind Celebrities Who Don’t Age : 1364
00:14:50
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- [00:00]
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- [01:25]
Dave Asprey
Will Smith keeps his body ready for action films in his 50s and Kenna Reeves is 60 years old and he barely looks older than he did in the Matrix. And Jennifer Aniston looks the same today as she did over two decades ago in Friends. And people don't know that I'm going to be 87 years old in a long time. Most people assume maybe they're using Botox or expensive creams or celebrity only treatments. And maybe there's some of that. But the truth is stranger. Those celebrities share a practice that isn't cosmetic. It doesn't involve needles, does involve surgery or even supplements. But there is hard science that says it activates the same anti aging mechanism that strangely helps lobsters live beyond 100 years. Isn't it weird lobsters live longer than humans? What are they doing? Maybe we can do the same thing. Today I'm going to show you what that mechanism is and why lobsters might hold the key for human longevity even if you don't eat them and how you can do the same thing those celebrities do, starting right now. The problem starts with how we think about aging. Everyone thinks aging is just about time. Birthdays add up, gray hairs come in, energy drops, and that's just the way it is. But that's not how aging really works. Not at all. In truth, aging isn't about your calendar. It's about your cells. Every time one of your cells divides a small part of your genetic code, it gets shorter, and it's called a telomere. It's a protective cap on the ends of your chromosomes. Think of it like plastic tips on your shoelaces. It keeps them from fraying. And when those telomeres get short, your cells stop dividing, and they either die or they become what we would call senescent cells. You may have heard me write about them as zombie cells. Same thing. Those cells, they're alive, but they're dysfunctional, kind of like politicians. They spit out inflammatory molecules that accelerate aging throughout your body. And this is a cellular root of a lot of the aging process. It's shorter telomeres equals an older body, older brain, older metabolism. But lobsters don't know about this, so they don't have to follow the rule. They produce an enzyme called telomerase. And telomerase rebuilds those telomeres, that repairs the caps, and it prevents them from shortening. So your cells don't become zombie cells. That means lobster cells just keep dividing as long as lobster's alive. And they regenerate without the normal limits that we see as humans. That's why some lobsters actually make it to 140 years. Almost as long as I'm planning to live. Those lobsters keep growing larger, which I'd like to not do. £300 was enough for me. Those lobsters can regenerate lost limbs. I'm going to keep my limbs, but if I lose one, I'd like to regenerate it. And those lobsters stay fertile even at extreme ages. I don't think I want to be fertile, except I do, because fertility is a sign of youth. I just want enough testosterone. Scientists, though, are studying American lobsters, and they discovered they have very high levels of telomerase in almost every part of their body, even in places like the heart and the liver. That means that lobster anti aging systems work everywhere, all the time, not just in baby cells, like it is for most animals, including us. Now, I'm not saying lobsters are immune to death. Their shells eventually fail or some disease will get them, but they don't die of aging. I don't want to die from aging either. So maybe I want to be a lobster or better. Lobster biology resists aging at the cellular level, and we all want that. What I am saying is that understanding telomerase changes everything about how we think about aging. It Means aging isn't just an inevitable decline that just takes you to the hospital. Mother nature wrote it into your DNA, and you're helpless. It means it's one of the biological programs that, at least in theory, you, can influence or slow down. And lobsters are going to teach us how to do this. If you can mimic what lobsters actually do, you, could theoretically extend your lifespan. Lobsters just keep producing telomerase in every tissue of their body throughout their entire life. And most of us humans stop producing telomerase when we become adults. Then we start getting old in the early stages of life, when you're growing fast and rebuilding your body basically from scratch, every month, it feels like telomerase is switched on. Keeps your cells dividing rapidly and safely so your tissues develop the way they should. And as you reach adulthood, something shifts in most of your cells. Telomerase production just shuts down. And only a few exceptions remain. Your stem cells, which need to keep regenerating. Your reproductive cells, which need perfect genetic integrity. And strangely, cancer cells. Cancer cells hijack telomerase so they can stay alive and divide endlessly, which is one of the reasons tumors are so aggressive and hard to kill. And that makes increasing your telomerase kind of tricky. If you just flood your body with telomerase, there might be consequences. If you increase it too much, you could theoretically turn on the same immortality program that cancer uses. That's why you want to be cautious about artificially activating telomerase with drugs or injections. It's also why a lot of anti aging solutions don't even target telomerase. Because of that risk, they just focus on what you see in the mirror instead. Some creams on your skin for wrinkles, Some serums for elasticity, Supplements for collagen. They work. Those products can make the surface look better, at least temporarily. But they don't address one of the major causes of aging, Telomerase shortening at the cellular level. So the real breakthrough is finding ways to safely and naturally activate telomerase in humans without any cancer risk, without drugs, without side effects. We need approaches that switch telomeres on just enough to protect and rebuild telomeres, but not enough to push them into a dangerous overdrive that could eventually become cancer. So what's the solution that you can use right now? The same thing the celebrities do. Well, you could focus on foundational telomere protection. Don't smoke. If I even need to say that. Don't vape either. Minimize processed food. Make sure you get good quality restorative sleep, because all of those in studies directly affect the length of your telomeres. And the good news is, if you're young, it's easier to keep your telomeres than it is to wait till you're old and try and rebuild them. And it doesn't take much time or energy when you're young. It takes a lot of time and energy when you're old. The next thing you want to do is exercise moderately and do it consistently. Intense chronic cardio, doing it all the time shortens telomeres. And short high intensity sessions can actually support telomere health. So over training for long periods of time, not so good for you. Exposure to mild stressors like a cold shower or heat therapy or a sauna will activate repair pathways. But you've got to improve recovery. One thing to do, morning sunlight, which helps you to regulate circadian rhythm. This has been a core part of biohacking for the last 15 years. Go outside, take off your glasses, get some sunlight and make sure you sleep in total darkness. Black out that room like a cave. No LEDs, no light coming in through the windows. It's going to enhance your repair processes. They're foundational for slowing cellular declines and they're free. And most importantly of all, though, what the celebrities are doing reduce your stress. It doesn't mean just don't do anything stressful. Stress control isn't just a bonus, it's a requirement for telomerase activation. It means you handle your stress better. And there's one stress reducing practice in particular that you could use. Multiple peer reviewed scientific studies back this method and it naturally raises telomerase. No pills, no needles, no expense at all. And this is where this story takes a sharp turn. See, modern life makes stress unavoidable. It means your telomere damage to some extent is unavoidable. Our world today is built around chronic stress. Ultra processed foods that just cause inflammation. You get blue light exposure everywhere you go, even right before bed. And our culture glorifies overwork and keeps you stressed. Or maybe you don't want to overwork, but you just have to make rent. So you do. You probably wake up to a phone alarm, scroll through notifications as soon as you wake up and you stay up late staring at that same screen. All of those activities raise cortisol, which is your body's main stress hormone. You need some cortisol, but constant stimulation is not good because it shortens your telomeres and it's going to make your cells older. Scientists see that evidence firsthand. People who are Caregivers of chronically ill family members have telomeres as short as people a decade older. So being stressed because you're caring for someone can make you 10 years older. In other words, that stress can literally seal years of healthy life. That means a lot of us are biologically older than our birth certificates say we are, just because of our lifestyle. And funny enough, lobsters don't have that problem. Their biology protects them with constant telomerase production. So if stress doesn't get them the way, it ages us. Also, I think lobsters don't worry a lot.
- [10:40]
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Dave Asprey
Humans, though, we've got to actively control stress to protect our telomeres. And what I'm about to share is so powerful for protecting your telomeres. It's not from a pharmacy. It comes from inside you. And that secret method will slow down your cellular aging. And it's something that I do can activate telomerase. It's meditation. Now, most people think meditation is just something people do to relax. But science goes really deep and shows that meditation is deeper than relaxation. If you do meditation the right way, it's one of the strongest anti aging tools in the world. And that's just not my opinion. A 2011 study from UC Davis found that intensive meditation training increased telomerase activity in just three months. Another study showed long term meditators had significantly longer telomeres than non meditators of the same age. The researchers examined the telomere lengths of a group of 20 Zen meditation experts and another 20 heavily matched comparison participants who had not previously meditated. The meditators group had a longer median telomere length and a lower percentage of short telomeres in individual cells than those in the comparison group. What that means in English is that people who meditate regularly have longer telomeres than people who don't. And here's how. You can also use meditation regular to protect your telomeres starting today. Well, you can start small but consistent. Set aside just 10 minutes every day where you deliberately train your mind to become still. You don't need incense, you don't need a special cushion, you don't need a guru, you don't even need an app, although any of those might help. You just need a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and choose a style that works best for you. And I'm going to help you know how to do that in a minute. One option is mindfulness meditation. This is where you focus on your breath or what you feel inside your body. And you just notice thoughts as they come and go and just keep focusing on the feeling of your body. Another type of meditation is called mantra meditation, and it's fascinating if you've ever tried it. You just silently or even out loud, repeat a calming word or phrase to anchor your attention. And here's a pro tip, I've tried it. The word coffee is not a good mantra. There you go. Some people though prefer a guided meditation. You can use an app to follow gentle instructions so you don't have to think about coffee. And if you want to calm your nervous system fast, you could try box breathing, where breathing on top of meditation actually works better than meditation itself. And with box breathing, breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out slowly for four seconds, hold empty for four. Each side of the box is four seconds. Or maybe you don't even like to meditate. I get it. It's actually not that efficient. That's why I wrote a book hit the bestseller list. Number one philosophy and number one meditation book in the country. It's called Heavily Meditated. And in that book I just teach you the latest, most efficient, science backed ways you can upgrade your brain that work better than meditation or work with meditation to give you more results. And one of the results we're looking for is longer telomeres. That way you get the benefits of meditating without spending as much time and energy doing it. But whatever style you choose, remember the goal isn't to eliminate thoughts you simply want to teach your nervous system how to shift out of stress mode so so that you can be in peace mode. And that's good for your cells. When your mind wanders during meditation, you just bring it back. You don't have to be mad at yourself for that. And minds do all sorts of weird stuff. It's that single act of constantly and calmly returning focus. That's what strengthens your resilience to stress. It's not as hard as it sounds. Usually we just beat ourselves up because we didn't do what we wanted to do. You don't have to do that to meditate. It works better if you do it at the same time every day, like when you wake up or right before you go to bed. So it becomes automatic, like brushing your teeth. At first you'll just feel calmer, you'll sleep better. But something bigger happens on the inside. Your cortisol levels go down, your inflammation gets better, and your telomerase starts to increase. The longer you practice, the deeper the effects. A few weeks of regular meditation will build up your resilience to stress. You might not notice it in the first week, but second week, third week, fourth week, it's like you have some waterproof membrane and stuff that would have really gotten to you just doesn't anymore. And a few months will measurably change your biology. It'll protect your telomeres, it'll slow down your cellular aging. Some people eventually experiment with longer sessions or even weekend meditation retreats. But you don't have to start there. Just 10 minutes a day is enough to shift the aging of your cells. And that's why celebrities like Will Smith or Robert Downey Jr. Or Jennifer Aniston or me make meditation a daily, non negotiable habit. It's the real secret weapon for staying biologically younger. And you can do it. And it doesn't cost anything. So you should start today. Just take back control of your stress response. When you do that, you're hacking the same anti aging pathway that lobsters use naturally. And you're doing it. No Botox, no cost, no expensive creams.
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Podcast Disclaimer Narrator
A human upgrade, formerly Bulletproof Radio, was created and is hosted by Dave Asprey. The information contained in this podcast is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended for the purposes of diagnosing, treating, curing or preventing any disease. Before using any products referenced on the podcast, consult with your healthcare provider, carefully read all labels and heed all directions and cautions that accompany the products. Information found or received through the podcast should not be used in place of a consultation or advice from a healthcare provider. If you suspect you have a medical problem or should you have any healthcare questions, please promptly call or see your healthcare provider. This podcast, including Dave Asprey and the producers, disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained here. Opinions of guests are their own and this podcast does not endorse or accept responsibility for statements made by guests. This podcast does not make any representations or warranties about guest qualifications or credibility. This podcast may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on this podcast may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to herein. This podcast is owned by Bulletproof Media.