NOVOS Webinar Series: Longevity Nutrition [video]

CEO Chris Mirabile, Founder & CEO of NOVOS, is a serial entrepreneur and longevity expert, hosted a webinar focusing on all things longevity nutrition to slow down your aging. Chris discusses the NOVOS longevity diet, caloric restriction, fasting, and meal timing. At the end of the webinar, we open the floor to questions.

Full Transcript

Graciela: All right, it’s time to get started. I would like to give a warm welcome to NOVOS founder and CEO Chris Mirabile, a serial entrepreneur and longevity expert. Chris’ interest in health began when he was 12 and evolved into a passion after he cured a brain tumor when he was 16. Chris has researched and integrated longevity practices and interventions into his life for more than 10 years, and he has achieved a biological age 13.6 years younger than his chronological age. And according to epigenetic tests like DunedinPACE, he is aging 31% slower biologically than chronologically. He created NOVOS, a nutraceutical company with some of the world’s top longevity scientists and MDs that help people take control of their health spans and lifespans. Welcome Chris.

Chris: Thank you, Grace. So welcome to everyone today, the topic is the best diet and nutrition for human longevity. The topic I know a lot of us are very interested in. So the usual disclaimer is that this is not medical advice. Always consult with an expert like your medical team. So the agenda for today’s call is number one, an introduction, then going into the importance of nutrition for longevity, discussing which diet is best for longevity, looking at the diet of the longest lived people in the world, the scientific benefits of the the specific diet. Then an interesting question is, can we make an even better diet for longevity? We’ll dig into that before going into the components of diet. So specifically about macros and micros and how they relate to longevity. We’ll then talk about meal timing and fasting, a topic that a lot of people are interested in when it comes to longevity. And then finally, we’ll open up the floor for questions and answers.

So many of you have been joining us for all of our webinars, and some of you are newcomers. So this is our fifth webinar. If you go to our website, NOVOS labs.com, and you click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner, you can see you can do a search for webinar, and you’ll see that we’ve done it on Longevity supplements, longevity lifestyle, longevity tests, where we talk about epigenetic tests, the multiomic tests and more longevity technology was the last one. And also longevity tri nutrition, of course today will also be on our website once it’s available.

So as we typically do, we’ll, we’ll just talk about the primer here, which is healthspan versus lifespan. This is especially for the newcomers where we just wanna give an overview of what the difference is and why this is all relevant. So, longevity medicine, it seeks to extend both healthspan and lifespan, while also minimizing the time spent with disease or poor physical health. So if we look at the typical life journey, when someone is born, they’re born healthy for most people. And then unfortunately in modern day society, people start to decline in their health from a relatively early age. And then when they hit middle age, typically forties, fifties sometimes extending into sixties, their health span ends. So this is defined by having a chronic illness, a disease of aging like diabetes or cancer or heart disease, or neurodegenerative disorders and so on.

And then it’s a pretty rapid decline from there. Although the period in which you have this healthspan Life scan lifespan gap is actually larger than ever before. In other words, people are living with disease so a suboptimal life for an extended period of time when it comes to longevity, this is how we see the ideal health trajectory where you maintain your health throughout your life until at towards the very end of your life. you might be diagnosed with a chronic illness, ideally not, but you might be. And then at that point, it’s a relatively rapid period until death. So you are living a longer lifespan, you’re not getting sick until after most of your peers have already passed away. And then when you do pass away, it’s a short period in which you’re actually sick.

So what’s the importance of diet and nutrition for longevity? There are multiple factors that impact longevity. I always, as we spoke about in the longevity lifestyle webinar, everything from sleep to exercise, stress management, relationships, and purpose supplementation and more. So where does diet and life and nutrition fit in? it is among the most important lifestyle factors that can impact lifespan. There is a study published in The Lancet in 2009 17 that analyze data from over 130,000 participants across five studies. And they found that poor diet was responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor, including smoking and dietary risks. Accounted for 11 million deaths globally in 2017 were 22% of all deaths for that year.

So poor dietary habits and nutrient deficiencies are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. And conversely, a healthy diet that’s rich in nutrients has been associated with a longer healthspan and lifespan. There is a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. And a diet that’s high in processed foods and res refined sugars has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases and premature death, having a higher intake of fruits and vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk of mortality from all causes. And a study published in the journal, nutrients found that higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and all cause mortality.

So there are proponents for many different diets, and that’s for many different reasons. So the question is, what is the best diet for longevity? In other words, some diets might be better for body building some diets might be better for social cause like animal welfare. But what is the best diet specifically for longevity? Is it vegetarian or pescatarian? Vegan, paleo, ketogenic or dash? The Ornish diet Noom Zone, south Beach, Atkins. As you can see, there’s tons of them. Carnivore, raw food. The answer is the best diet so far for longevity has been consistently shown to be the Mediterranean diet. In fact, a study that was published just two weeks ago in 2023 found that the Mediterranean diet had the best outcomes of seven diets for all cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, stroke, and non-fatal myocardial infarction. So you can see here for diet number one, which is Mediterranean, it the dot being further left and having a smaller range is better and it is the best for practically all of these different markers.

So what exactly is the Mediterranean diet? It’s a way of eating based on the traditional cuisine of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, such as Greece, Italy, and Spain. And while there’s no single Mediterranean diet per se, the following are some general rules. So one is to have a lot of plant-based foods as the foundation of your diet. Everything from fruits to vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Number two is olive oil. Olive oil is the primary source of fat in the diet, and it’s used in cooking as a salad dressing. Olive oil contains oleic acid, which lowers inflammation and helps fight heart disease. And hydroxytyrosol, which is a polyphenol that reduces inflammation and activates and deactivates enzymes and receptors.

Next is fish and seafood. The diet includes moderate amounts of fish and seafood, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that support a healthy brain, heart and reduce inflammation, lean protein. So the diet includes lean protein sources such as poultry, eggs, and some dairy products. It has a limited amount of, of red meat. Red meat is consumed in small amounts and is often replaced by plant, based protein sources, herbs and spices. So the diet emphasizes the use of herbs and spices to add flavor to foods instead of over-relying on salt. And these herbs and spices are very high in polyphenols, which we’ll talk more about later. and then finally, red wine. For some red wine is consumed in moderation with meals, but we caution against this, which we’ll also talk about later. So how about the real world evidence of the Mediterranean diet?

Let’s look at the blue zones of the longest lived people in the world. So number one is iCare, Greece. The Mediterranean diet is a traditional dietary pattern in Greece and is likely a contributing factor to the longevity of the people in Icaria. In addition to the Mediterranean diet, the people of Icaria also practice intermittent fastening, which has been shown to have health benefits and will discuss towards the end of the presentation. Next is Sardina, Italy. The traditional Sardinian diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet with an emphasis on whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. However, the Sardinian diet also includes unique foods such as Pecorino cheese and goat milk, which are consumed in moderation. Number three is the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. And the traditional diet of the Coan people is largely plant-based with a focus on beans, corn, and squash, as well as fruits such as mangoes, papayas, and guas.

The Nicoya diet is also low in meat and dairy, which is consistent with the Mediterranean diet. Number four is Loma Linda, California. And while the Loma Linda community is not located in the Mediterranean region, many members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church who live in Loma Linda follow a vegetarian or semi vegetarian diet that is similar to the Mediterranean diet. This dietary pattern emphasizes plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, and limits the consumption of meat and dairy. And finally number five is Okinawa, Japan. The traditional Okinawa diet is low in calories and high-end nutrient dense foods such as sweet potatoes, leafy greens, soy products, and fish. And while the okina diet is not strictly Mediterranean, it shares many similarities with the Mediterranean diet in terms of its emphasis on plant-based foods and limited consumption of red meat. So what are the scientific benefits of the diet?

What makes the diet so good? Well, number one is improved cardiovascular health. The Mediterranean diet has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes, and it outperforms low fat diets in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. It has a lower risk of type two type diabetes. So adherence to the Mediterranean diet is linked to better blood sugar control and the lower risk of developing type two diabetes, weight management, obesity prevention. So the Mediterranean diet promotes long-term weight loss and maintenance. Number four is reduced cancer risk. So a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of various types of cancers. For example, colorectal cancer, breast and prostate cancers. It improves cognitive function and it reduces the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re seeing a trend here. These are diseases of aging. The Mediterranean diet is associated with better cognitive function, reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and slower cognitive decline.

Number six, enhanced mood and mental health. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is linked to a reduced risk of depression and improved mental health. Number seven, increased longevity and reduced mortality. The Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced overall mortality and increased life expectancy. It outperforms low fat and low carb diets in reducing all, all cause mortality. Finally, eight. Nutrient diversity. Mediterranean diet has a wide diversity of natural foods, which reduces the amount of nutrient deficiencies as compared to other diets, and it increases microbiome health and related benefits and compliance. So what good is a diet if you don’t follow it, the Mediterranean diet is more agreeable than most other diets, which means that it has a higher adherence and lower dropout rates.

So how does the Mediterranean diet impact the latest technology in longevity research? That being epigenetic biological age tests, there’s evidence there as well. So there is a study published in neuroscience which said, our results therefore suggest that the Mediterranean like diet has a pure rejuvenating impact on the biological clock, and that this result is unfounded by a potential effect of the intervention on the immune system. In other words, it also improved the immune system, and that’s not the only reason why or, or the only way that this improved biological aging. So the dietary factors that improve epigenetic age have been found to be fish consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, poultry consumption specifically for the immune system’s, biological age and then d n a maintenance co-factors. These are exa examples of these are vitamin, b12, folate, et cetera. And then what’s bad for it?

Well, high insulin and or glucose, which go hand in hand. High C reactive protein, which is a inflammatory marker, high body mass index and waist to hip ratio, high triglycerides, high systolic blood, pr, blood pressure, and low HDL cholesterol. If we dig a little bit deeper in, if you control the intake of eight dietary components, specifically increasing vegetables, increasing fruits, increasing nuts and legumes, increasing whole grains, low fat dairy as opposed to full fat dairy. But we’ll talk more about dairy soon, reducing red and processed meats, reducing sugar sweetened beverages, and reducing sodium results in lower biological ages for three of the latest epigenetic clocks. Number one, the most powerful third generation clock that you need in pace clock de declines from, from following these, these components. number two, grim age, which is a second generation clock, very accurate. And number three, the pheno age clock.

So how could we possibly do better than the Mediterranean diet? How can we upgrade it? This is where the NOVOS longevity diet comes into play, and this is how it differs. So based on the latest research we have made modifications to the traditional dietary patterns of the Mediterranean diet. Number one, we suggest you replace starches with more nutrient dense mushrooms, vegetables, legumes, or quinoa. To that earlier point about keeping glucose and insulin low, this will do so. And with the added benefit of the nutrient density, getting more polyphenols and vitamins and minerals, integrate teas and coffees to replace soft drinks and even water. So teas and coffees also have many antioxidants and polyphenols which are found to extend healthspan and lifespan replace dairy milk with plant-based alternatives, dairy, cheese and yogurt are okay, but in small quantities, eliminate alcohol to the greatest extent possible.

Maintain diet diversity, have ideally 30 or more natural ingredients per week, regularly consume fermented foods, then supplement to cover essential nutrient deficiencies, and finally, supplement with proven longevity ingredients. So we’ll go through each of these one by one to prove out the arguments for each of them. So first, mushrooms benefit of mushrooms on lifespan. While mushroom consumption has been linked to increased lifespan in animal studies, mushrooms contain bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides and the amino acid ergot theanine that have been shown to have anti-aging effects. Ergot theanine in particular, has been linked to longevity and is found in high concentrations in mushrooms such as shiitake and oyster.

Next is dysbiosis. So one of the hallmarks of aging, one of the latest additions to the 12 hallmarks of aging is dysbiosis. Mushrooms contain prebiotic fibers like beta glucans that can promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and prevent dysbiosis. In fact, in mice that are fed beta glucans, they were able to increase the beneficial gut bacteria such as bifido bacteria and lactobacillus, and they reduced harmful bacteria. Some mushrooms, like Rishi have been, have further antimicrobial properties that can prevent dysbiosis. And in a rat study, feeding Rishi mushrooms reduce the abundance of harmful bacteria like e coli and staph in the gut.

Further mushrooms contain polysaccharides and tri terpenoids shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which can help prevent and ameliorate multiple hallmarks of aging. In particular, beta-glucan and mushrooms have immunomodulatory effects that may help reduce inflammaging, a hallmark of aging. And a study on healthy elderly adults consuming a beta-glucan supplement from shiitake mushrooms, reduced markers of inflammation such as, as I mentioned earlier, c-reactive protein as well as interleukin six, another inflammatory marker. Now, benefits of tea and coffee for longevity. Tea consumption has been associated with increased lifespan in the study on over 100,000 Chinese adults, those who drank tea regularly at a 20% lower risk of all cause mortality compared to non tea drinkers. Now, coffee, coffee consumption has also been linked to increased lifespan and the study on over 500,000 European adults. Those who drank coffee had a lower risk of mortality from all causes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The only exception to that would be those who have very high blood pressure. coffee can actually increase the cardiovascular risk. So don’t consume coffee. If you have high blood pressure, though tea is actually okay. In that case, both tea and coffee contain polyphenols, which are plant compounds that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent and ameliorate many of the hallmarks of aging. T polyphenols such as E G C G found in green tea have been shown to have neuroprotective effects that can help prevent cognitive decline and neuro neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and coffee. Polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid have been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects that can help reduce inflammaging. Both tea and coffee have been shown to have cardio cardioprotective effects. Tea consumption has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke while coffee consumption has been linked to lower risk of heart failure.

Now, a truly contentious topic is dairy. So why do we recommend reduce dairy? Well, it has multiple aspects that are not ideal for longevity. First, let’s talk about the molecule galactose. It’s found naturally in lactose and is released when lactose is broken down by the small intestine. In animal studies, dietary galactose has been shown to increase oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and impair cognitive function. A study published in 2021 found that mice fed a high galactose diet, had accelerated cognitive decline and increased markers of inflammation in the brain. Compared to mice fed a controlled diet, galactose can also lead to cross-linking. Now it’s important to note that there are studies that actually administer galactose to mice specifically to accelerate aging. Another study showed that eight year old boys can be made insulin resistant just by making them drink 53 grams of protein from milk, rather than getting that dosage of protein from meat despite their youth. The study said in the milk group, fasting insulin concentrations doubled, which caused the insulin resistance to increase. Similarly, now these are eight year old boys who are closer, closer to being born than we are. As we age, we have a harder time dealing with sugars and insulin. we become less insulin sensitive. It’s also worth noting that humans are the only animals that continue to drink milk outside of being newborns.

Next stimulation of growth receptors. So milk contains various substances that stimulate growth receptors in cells like insulin receptors, mTOR insulin-like growth factor or IGF receptors. And in bio gerontology, which is the science of aging, is well-known that stimulation of these receptors accelerates aging in animals, increases their risk of aging related diseases and shortens lifespan. For example, too much stimulation of mTOR and IGF receptors causes cells to maintain themselves less effectively. They’ll repair their DNA less or recycle their components less efficiently. Next is association with cancers such as prostate cancers, immune system activation. So skin health issues like eczema are commonly reported from milk intake related to skin health. Increased levels of acne due to hormonal effects. And the large long-term study found that women who drink three or more glasses of milk per day had almost doubled the risk of dying compared to women who drank less than one glass per day.

There is also a strong dose response relationship. The more milk they drank, the higher the risk of dying, which suggests a direct causal relationship. And the study also found that higher milk intake was associated with increased d n a damage and inflammation. So if that’s not enough reasons to convince you to reduce your milk intake I’m not sure if we’ll ever convince you. Now, when it comes to alcohol, there are arguments that are pro alcohol. One is claims of heart health for very moderate drinking one to two glasses with the adage the dose makes the poison. red wine contains longevity compounds, or I should say quote unquote, longevity compounds like resveratrol, which have kind of disappointed in many ways. We’ll talk more about resveratrol later. is alcohol or medic, in other words, a slight stress on our body from which we come back stronger? Is it an overall psychological de-stressor? Are these reasons why we see what we see in this chart, which is that when someone has less than two drinks per day their relative risk of mortality declines before it goes back up above one at about two to three drinks?

Well, the anti-alcohol arguments are that ethanol is a potent toxin not likely to be hormetic. An example of this is poor alcohol onto bacteria or virus or cells. It destroys them typically in as little as a minute. it does the same thing within our bodies. cells are, are just as vulnerable internally as well. There’s a study of here’s, here’s a quote, 371,463 individuals genetic evidence supported a non-linear, consistently risk increasing association between all amounts of alcohol consumption and both hypertension and coronary artery disease with modest increases in risk with light alcohol intake and exponentially greater risk increases at higher levels of consumption. The study found moderate drinkers in the previous study where I showed that people with small amounts were doing better. It actually found that those people happened to exercise more, they ate more vegetables and smoked less, so they were overall healthier. And so they were more than accounting for the damaging effects of the alcohol. but it wasn’t the alcohol that was improving the health.

If we look at alcohol and epigenetic age, researchers found a 2.22 year age acceleration in individuals studied with alcohol use disorder. And in larger meta-analysis quote, they said, all four investigated clocks pointed to accelerated aging in alcohol users. Out of eight analyses conducted seven were statistically significant. So what’s NOVOS position on alcohol? Alcohol is not a longevity promoting compound. Having small doses on occasion may have a small enough impact on health risk if you’re otherwise healthy and have a low cardiovascular risk profile. And many centenarians, like sardinians do consume wine. However, the alcohol itself is not what leads to the old age. It’s that they have the combination of lifestyle, diet, sleep, genetics and so on, which enables them to withstand the damaging effects of alcohol more so than the average mortal, so to speak.

So next is diet diversity. What’s the value of a diverse diet? Number one is nutrient adequacy. Two is reduced risk of chronic diseases. A diverse diet has been associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as heart disease type two diabetes in certain forms of cancer. And it may be due in part to the fact that a diverse diet provides a range of beneficial compounds such as antioxidants and phytochemicals beyond just the vitamins and minerals. It also improves our gut health. A diverse diet can help promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which play a key role in digestion, immunity and overall health and consuming a wide range of plant-based foods in particular, can help support a healthy gut microbiome. To that point of microbiome is fermented foods, so it improves your gut health. Fermented foods contain beneficial bacteria or probiotics that can help support a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn can improve gut function and support a healthy immune system.

And for many people, this is more than enough. Forget about taking probiotic supplements. If you’re getting adequate fermented foods in your diet you’re going to get a much higher dosage of beneficial bacteria than you would get from any pill. Reduced inflammation. Some fermented foods such as kefir or keifer and kimchi contain anti-inflammatory compounds that may help reduce chronic inflammation in the body enhanced nutrient absorption. So fermented foods can also help enhance the absorption of certain nutrients, such as iron and zinc by breaking down antinutrients that exist in some plant-based foods that can inhibit their absorption.

It also improves mental health. The gut microbiome may play a role in mental health and consuming probiotics through fermented foods may have a positive impact on mood and stress levels. Studies have found that consuming fermented foods may be associated with reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression. This is something that oftentimes people turn to alcohol for. So this is, although it will take a longer time, it’s not an acute immediate effect like alcohol is. If you’re getting a healthier microbiome, many of the things you might turn to alcohol four might actually improve through this healthier approach. And potential disease prevention. Studies have suggested that preventive foods may be associated with a reduced risk of diseases. A 2020 study found that patients who took nato, the Japanese probiotic food for a year, reverse carotid artery, plaque and thickness by 36% and 22% respectively. The study said quote, the most unique features of NATO is that as a single compound, it possesses multiple cardiovascular disease, preventative and alleviating pharmacologic effects, namely antithrombotic, anti-hypertensive and anticoagulant, anti atherosclerotic and neuroprotective effects.

Now onto supplements. Why supplements? Let’s start with general health supplements. Micronutrients that are considered essential for health would be the general health supplements. This is vitamins like A, B, C, D, E, K, et cetera, and minerals like magnesium and sodium, potassium and so on. Why would you supplement? Well, first, the human body is not made to absorb nutrients properly. We see this with iron deficiencies, iodine deficiencies, choline more than 80, 90% of people are deficient in choline. B, vitamin deficiencies, vitamin C dependence. Other animals produce it. We need to get it externally through food and absorption. Further degrades as we age, our microbiomes don’t absorb the food as well as we get older and will not therefore absorb the nutrients as well. Next, our food is very different now compared to prehistoric times, it’s micronutrient. Poor c calorie rich processed foods. Also novel methods of agriculture today yield fewer nutrients in whole foods than they did when they were you know, wild plants, for example, that we had. Throughout the evolution.

We have different and inflammatory lifestyles. Now. We spend much more time indoor, indoors. We have little natural exercise. we have alcohol, smoking, pollution, we have higher levels of stress, allergies, leaky gut, et cetera. All of this increases inflammation in our body, which then therefore requires more nutrients for the body to be able to fend that off. Next, government recommended intakes for most nutrients are too low. When the government establishes these guidelines, they look at short-term studies for short-term disease avoidance like scurvy, but they don’t look at decades in trying to figure out how to reduce disease risk over the span of 5, 10, 20, 30 years.

Higher doses are necessary for optimal healthy aging, especially after you exit your twenties and get into your thirties and beyond. Now, next is longevity supplements. We’ll talk specifically about NOVOS Core and Boost. so the aim of longevity supplements is to go beyond basic health, to slow down our pace of aging and extend healthspan and lifespan. N NOVOS offers the very first and the most studied solution to address all 12 hallmarks of aging simultaneously, as you can see depicted here. Now, when we formulated NOVOS Core and Boost with a team of eight longevity scientists, MDs, and experts we, we set these standards. So each ingredient had to follow these 10 standards. So one, they have the ability to impact aging mechanisms or the hallmarks of aging, and ideally, two, they impact multiple mechanisms at the same time. Three, they have been able to extend lifespan in various animal models hinting at conserved evolutionary pathways across animals, including into humans. Four, they are associated with reduced risk of different aging related processes, hinting that they act on the underlying aging process. Five, they’re associated with reduced risk of mortality in humans. Six, they’re recognized as safe by the FDA, FSA and other organizations. Seven, they’re nature-based and by extension eight, ideally, in some cases they’re found into human body, but levels decrease with age nine. They have a very low side effect profile and 10, they’ve been used for many decades or even centuries to treat specific symptoms or afflictions in humans without any serious side effects.

So studies that we’ve conducted with NOVOS Core and Boost there are many ongoing, but here are some early results we can share. So first, in an in vitro human cell study, we showed that the reduction of d n a damage from irradiation was as high as 77%, and I believe 68% on average compared to untreated human cells. This number was off the charts. the lab that had done studies amounting to about 7 million with other ingredients pharmaceutical drugs and even components of NOVOS Core. But individual components as opposed to the synergistic formula had reported to us prior to the study that they did not find any significant effects. And they were very excited by the results we found with NOVOS Core and Boost. Another study conducted at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom found in vitro human cells a static effect on senescent cells.

And the results were comparable to the prescription gold standard longevity drug rapamycin. And in a recent human case study, we found that the participants, 73% of them had a reduced biological age to a statistically significant margin, and 0% had a statistically significant increase in biological age. And the p value or the confidence that this was not co coincidence is 0.001 or one in a thousand. Compare the to the typical biology P value requirement for statistical significance of zero five. This is 50 times more powerful than the typical minimum requirement by scientists. So let’s dig in and dissect the components of diet as they pertain to longevity. Let’s start with macronutrients and we’ll go with protein first. Protein is an essential, is essential for building and repairing tissues in the body, including muscles, organs, and bones. And the quality of protein is important for longevity because it affects the body’s ability to utilize the amino acids that the protein contains.

High quality protein sources provide the complete range of essential amino acids, while low quality sources may lack one or more EAAs. Now, essential amino acids are those that the body cannot produce on its own and needs to get through diet. Everything from histamine to methionine and phenol alanine and tryptophan and so on. Some amino acids such as methionine, may have negative effects on longevity when consumed in excess. It’s part of the reason why high consumption of animal proteins might not be ideal for longevity. Methionine restriction has been shown to increase lifespan in animal studies. Plant-based protein sources, which are lower in methionine, can be high quality if consumed in combination to provide a complete range of essential amino acids. For example, rice Pro protein on its own, would not have the complete spectrum, but combining it with beans, would animal-based protein sources such as meat, fish, and dairy are generally high quality sources of protein.

However, some studies suggest that excessive consumption of animal protein may have negative effects on health and longevity overall, having a balanced diet that includes a variety of high quality protein sources, both plant-based and animal-based, is important for promoting longevity and health span. Next, let’s look at carbohydrates. They’re an important source of energy for the body and are essential for brain function. And although the liver can produce sugar to, to keep the brain alive, it is a metabolically intense stressful process to do so. and ideally it’s easier on the body to provide that exogenously. In other words, through foods, different forms of carbohydrates have different effects on health and longevity. For example, high glycemic index carbohydrates. And from now on, you’re going to see words highlighted in red, orange or green. Red being things you want to avoid, orange being okay, but in limited doses and green being something you want to have as much of as you as as reasonably possible. So high glycemic carbohydrates, such as refined sugars and processed greens, have been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Whereas low glycemic index carbs such as whole greens, legumes, and vegetables, have been associated with improved health outcomes and increased lifespan. Prebiotic carbohydrates such as inulin, fructooligosaccharides or FOD and galactooligosaccharides of GOS can promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and improve gut health, which is linked to improved overall health and longevity.

Bos can be found in onions, chicory, garlic, asparagus, and banana, and goss can be found in legumes and beans. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that is not digested by the body, has been shown to have numerous health benefits, including improved gut health, lower risk of chronic diseases, and increased lifespan. And specific foods that are high in this are whole grains, such as oats and quinoa, legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans, vegetables like broccoli, spinach and sweet potatoes, fruits like berries, apples, citrus fruits. And overall a diet that includes a variety of high fiber, low glycemic index carbs along with prebiotic sources can promote longevity and health span. Now let’s look at fats for the sake of time, we only look at omega-3 fats because they’re amongst the most powerful for your health. Omega-3 fatty acids are a polyunsaturated fat that are essential for human health, and they’ve been linked to numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, improved brain function, and reduced risk of cognitive decline, reduced inflammation in the body, improved joint health, and reduced risk of arthritis, reduced risk of certain types of cancer.

And the three main types of omega-3 fatty acids are EPA, DHA, and ALA. EPA, and DHA are found primarily in fatty fish and other seafood, while ALA is a plant-based form of omega-3 found in flax seeds, chia seeds and walnuts. And while both animal source and plant-based omega-3s can provide certain health benefits, there are some differences between the two. Specifically, EPA and DHA are much more readily absorbed in the body and utilized than ALA and their benefits on brain health and heart health are more significant than ALA. But plant-based sources of omega-3s may also contain other beneficial compounds like fiber and antioxidants that we’ve been talking about that are not found in the animal sources. So overall, a diet that includes a balance of both animal source and these plant-based sources of omega-3 can provide numerous health benefits.

Now let’s go into the micronutrients. I’ll zip through these as fast as I can. So vitamin A is essential for healthy vision, immune system function and cell growth. And the top five foods are beef, liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, and kale. vitamin B one or thiamine supports energy metabolism nerve function, and helps prevent cardiovascular disease found in le yeast extract. You wanna be careful with that. For yeast overgrowths sunflower seeds, pork macadamia, nuts and lentils, vitamin b2, riboflavin is essential for cell growth, energy metabolism, and antioxidant function. Top five foods, you might see a theme here with beef, liver, almonds, fortified cereals, which we don’t recommend. Yogurt and mushrooms. Yogurt is ideally not a dairy form of yogurt. Vitamin b3, niacin, niacin supports energy metabolism, DNA repair and helps maintain healthy skin. Top five foods, tuna, chicken breasts, Turkey, salmon, and peanuts.

You need to be careful with peanuts because of mycotoxins. Vitamin b5, pantothenic acid is vital for energy metabolism, hormone production, and the synthesis of co-enzyme A, which supports overall health. Top five foods, beef, liver, sunflower seeds, shiitake mushrooms, avocado, salmon, b6, paridine is crucial for brain function, immune system support and amino acid metabolism. Top five foods, chickpeas, tuna, salmon, chicken, and Turkey. B seven or biotin plays a role in energy metabolism, gene regulation, and many of us know healthy hair, skin, and nails. Top five foods are egg yolks, sa almonds, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, and onions. B nine or folate is essential for DNA synthesis, cell division and proper brain function, which you get from spinach, lentils, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and avocado, B12 cobain. It’s crucial for nerve function, red blood cell production, and DNA synthesis. You get it from clams and oysters, beef, liver, sardine, salmon, and fortified nutritional yeast.

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that supports immune function, collagen synthesis, and helps protect against chronic diseases. You get it from guava, kiwi, bell peppers, strawberries and oranges. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption, immune function, and bone health supplementation for vitamin D is best, moderate sun exposure is also okay but for top five foods, cod liver oil has a fair amount in it and then significantly declining from there. Fatty fish, salmon, mackerel, fortified dairy products, which we don’t recommend, egg yolks and beef liver. Vitamin E is powerful. a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage and supports immune function. Easiest form is from food for the full spectrum of toof rolls and tocotrienols. You don’t want to focus only on one toof roll, for example because it has negative health outcomes at high dosages from supplements. So top five foods are almonds, sunflower seeds, hazelnut, spinach, and avocado.

Almost done. Vitamin K is crucial for blood clotting, bone health, and regulating inflammation. it works alongside vitamin D to make sure calcium ends up where it needs to end up in your bones rather than in your arteries and veins. Top five foods are fermented nano, as I mentioned earlier, as a really great healthy food tail. Spinach, Swiss charred, Brussels sprouts. Now essential minerals, calcium is essential for strong bones, teeth, proper muscle and nerve function and brain function. Top five foods, collared greens, dairy products, which we say to avoid sardines, fortify, plant-based milks, tofu, even protein powders. Make sure if you’re pulling out dairy, that you’re getting adequate calcium in your diet. I had a period where I wasn’t and I had to start supplementing and watching my food intake. Magnesium is vital for energy production, bone health and regulating muscle and nerve function.

Top five foods, pumpkin seeds, spinach, swiss chard, almonds, and quinoa. Potassium helps maintain fluid balance, supports muscle and cognitive function, and regulates blood pressure which promotes longevity. Less than 2% of Americans achieve the recommended daily intake of 4.7 grams. Top five foods are beet greens potatoes with the skin, white beans, bananas, avocado or potassium salt. You can get something for example called light salt, which is 50% sodium, 50% potassium. I use it every day, even post-workout instead of electrolyte drinks. To that point, sodium is essential for maintaining fluid balance, nerve and cognitive function and muscle contractions. You need a higher intake if you exercise regularly, if you’ve ever felt extremely fatigued after a long workout as I have, it turned out it was from inadequate sodium. And adding this light salt to multiple glasses of water gets me back on my feet right away.

Top five foods, salt, pickles, mini soups, shrimp, vegetable juices. Zinc is critical for immune function, wounds, healing and DNA synthesis. You get it from oysters, beef, pumpkin seeds, lentils and cashews. Copper plays a role in energy production, iron metabolism, and the maintenance of connective tissue, which you get from beef, liver, oysters, shiitake mushrooms, almonds and cashews. Manganese is important for bone health, energy metabolism, and antioxidant function, which you get from muscles, hazelnuts, pineapple, spinach, and pumpkin seeds. Boron supports bone health, brain function and may help reduce inflammation, which you get from raisins, almonds, hazel nuts, avocado and prunes. Iodine is essential for proper thyroid gland functioning, which regulates metabolism as well as cognitive function and fetal development. Most people are deficient in iodine. They turn to iodide salts as if that would give enough of a dosage of iodine. But the iodine actually dissipates over time from that salt shaker.

And you can become deficient pretty quickly. So you can get it from seaweed, cod, yogurt, shrimp and navy beans. Selenium, which works together with iodine supports thyroid function and can help reduce the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, which you get first and foremost, from Brazil. Nuts followed by yellow tuna, halibut, sardines, and Turkey. Next is phytonutrients or phytochemicals, which are biologically active compounds found in plants that are not considered essential nutrients, but have been shown to have a range of health benefits, which include the flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, stilbeans. And they’re important for human longevity because they have been shown to have antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer properties. And these properties can help protect against chronic disease that can shorten lifespan like cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes and certain forms of cancer. Additionally, they’ve been shown to have anti-aging effects, such as reducing oxidative stress in inflammation and improving cognitive function.

So here are a few anthocyanins for the sake of time. I won’t dig into these, but you can find them in blueberries, blackberries cherries and red cabbage cetin, which you can find in NOVOS Core and in strawberries has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer Neurodegenerative diseases might have anti-aging effects by reducing age-related inflammation and improving cognitive function. Cetin which you can find in apples resveratrol, which is a popular longevity ingredient. Though there’s a lot of controversy that most people aren’t aware of which is that the studies done in the early two thousands were not the, the strongest of studies and they haven’t been replicated, especially in humans. so it’s relatively disappointing. a substitute which is much more promising of pterostilbene, which is a close cousin they’ve been terras still. Bean is found in blueberries, grapes, and some tree bark.

It’s been found to have better oral absorption than rel a longer half life, and a benefit of having methyl groups attached, which can further improve methylation for your epigenome. And NAD+ production. It’s been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. It’s also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels. Some research suggests it might have neuroprotective effects and it might have anti-aging effects by activating certain genes involved in cellular repair and slowing down the aging process. Let’s go into meal timing. Now, when you eat can be nearly as important as what you eat. Not quite as important, but nearly as important circadian rhythms and metabolism. So disruption of circadian rhythms can lead to metabolic dysfunction, which is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases such as type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, and eating patterns that align with circadian rhythms such as consuming most calories earlier in the day have been shown to improve glucose regulation and reduce insulin resistance.

Number two is the impact on weight management. Glu glucose regulation and inflammation, irregular meal timing and eating at night have been linked to higher body weight, poorer glucose regulation and increased inflammation. Time restricted feeding a type of meal timing in which all calories are consumed within a limited window of time each day has been shown to improve weight management. Glucose regulation and inflammation eating earlier in the day and avoiding late night meals may also help improve weight management and me metabolic health. So time restrictive feeding involves consuming all calories within a limited window of time each day, typically eight to 12 hours. Common examples include 16 eight in which all calories are consumed within an eight hour window, and fasting for the remaining 16 hours and 1410 in which all calories are consumed within a 10 hour window and fasting for the remaining 14 hours. It has benefits for weight loss, metabolic health and longevity. T R F has been shown to improve weight loss and metabolic health in both animal and human studies. In addition to improving weight management and glucose regulation, T R F has been associated with reduced inflammation and improved markers of cardiovascular health, and they may also have anti-aging effects as it has been shown to improve cellular health and reduce oxidative stress.

So animal studies have shown that TRF can increase lifespan and delay the onset of age-related diseases. In the recent study on healthy adults found that 18 six T R F improved cardiometabolic risk factors and reduced hunger without affecting energy intake. So next is fasting. Intermittent fastening if involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting, typically with a daily eating window of four to 10 hours. Very similar and connected to time restricted feeding. a lot of carryover between the two. Periodic fasting involves longer periods of fasting, typically ranging from 24 hours to several days. The fasting mimicking diet is a low calorie plant-based diet designed to mimic the effects of fasting without the need for complete abstinence from food. Fasting has been shown to promote cellular repair processes such as autophagy in which cells break down and recycle old or damaged components. Fasting has also been shown to reduce inflammation in the body, which is a key contributor to many chronic diseases.

And animal studies have suggested that fasting can increase lifespan and delay the onset of age related diseases. A review of human studies on intermittent fasting concluded that it can improve metabolic health, reduce inflammation, and potentially increase lifespan. A randomized controlled trial found that periodic fasting improved cardiovascular risk factors and reduced markers of inflammation in adults at risk for heart disease. And the study on the fasting mimicking diet found that it improved markers of aging and disease risk in healthy adults. Animal studies have shown that periodic fasting can increase lifespan and improve markers of health and aging. And if we look at this in a epigenetic context, we find with the DunedinPACE clock and the calorie random randomized controlled trial, it was the first of its kind trial of long-term caloric restriction in healthy non-obese adults. and it found to ascertain the potential usefulness of DunedinPACE as a measure for trials of ger protector treatments, the algorithm was applied to DNA methylation data from a randomized trial of caloric restriction specifically the calorie trial. and sorry you can see in the chart here that those in the caloric restriction had a significant reduction in the pace of biological aging.

Again, with the DunedinPACE, combining the two and upgrading to the NOVOS longevity diet is likely the best way to slow down your pace of aging. We’re coming to a conclusion soon. bringing everything together. So this study of the Mediterranean Diet one and a half years epigenetically reversed with a personalized rep approach for the Mediterranean diet two three year re reduced biological age. In the Moly Sinai cohort, caloric restriction pace of aging is reduced by 0.41 years per one chronological year after reducing caloric intake by 11%. So let’s bring it all together in this concluding slide. The NOVOS Longevity Nutrition recommendations one is to consider the NOVOS Longevity Diet, otherwise the Mediterranean diet or diet that closely resembles them, specifically a low glycemic vegetable and fruit-based diet as the foundation, either a lot of cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, et cetera.

Berries, citrus and the rainbow of plants integrate diet diversity, 30 or more ingredients. This includes herbs, spices, mushrooms, legumes, and fermented foods. specific species count as a different ingredient. For example, shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms would count as two ingredients, moderate amounts of animal protein in order of priority, fatty fish, eggs, lean white meats, minimize red meat and dairy. How much protein, well 0.6 grams of protein per pound or 0.72 grams per pound for athletes. And those over 50 to 60 years old don’t char or overcook your foods. This produces advanced glycation and products in your food, it denatures proteins and it oxidizes the fats. Replace soft drinks with teas, coffee and decaf. Consider adding lemon or apple cider vinegar to your water with meals which can help with glucose control and digestion. Use olive oil as your main source of oil. Eat high polyphenol foods like 80% plus chocolate and flax seeds.

Supplement for nutrient deficiencies and proven longevity compounds that are found in NOVOS Core and NOVOS Boost. Use potassium salts or potassium plus sodium blends like light salt and then integrate time-restricted feeding and fastening. Start with a 10 hour eating window, then reduce it down to six to eight hours, shift that eating window earlier rather than later. So the, ideally you’re having breakfast and lunch and an early dinner rather than skipping breakfast. it’s not the end of the world if you do, but better health outcomes. If you’re eating earlier, don’t eat within three hours of bedtime and experiment with 24 hour or longer fast, assuming clearance from your medical doctor, assuming adequate body weight, assuming you don’t have too many other stressors on your body. many different assumptions you need to to make and you should look into it further before you actually do it.

So what we suggest that NOVOS is that you get started by tracking. You can track with NOVOS age. It is the world’s most accurate and precise biological age kit. There are other companies launching kits and even having famous scientists behind them. they don’t have the proof behind their clocks like the NOVOS Age Kit does using Columbia and Duke universities do need in pace clock as the foundation with an ICC value of greater than 0.96. Other companies don’t even publish this number. They might not even know their number. next is treat NOVOS Core treatment of longevity. So take NOVOS Core and Boost Core patent pending formulation is the first and most powerful and most studied supplement to address the 12 causes of aging. And you can learn more about this at novoslabs.com/bestsupplement. And then learn, learn more about longevity through things like this webinar the content we put together on our blog as a public benefit corporation, we offer lots of free resources for people, which you can learn more about novoslabs.com/blog. These are the scientific references for everything I’ve presented where I know you can’t see them, but anyone on YouTube in the future can. So with that said, I’ll open the floor to questions.

Graciela: Chris, thank you so much for that wonderful presentation. I am one starting to get very hungry seeing all these images and hearing about all this delicious food, and I’m also excited to start experimenting by adding some of these ingredients into my diet. We have a fantastic in the Q&A and we also had a bunch of pre-submitted questions, so I think we’ll get started with. For those of you who are interested in staying on, I know we’re going a little over, but we’re gonna be here for the next 10 to 15 minutes, having a q and a, and we’d love to have you stay on to start. Chris, we have a question about the gut microbiome. Research has shown that a healthy gut microbiome has great influence over our health. Assuming this is the case, how does NOVOS Core assist in this regard?

Chris: So I have to admit, this question was given to me before presenting, so I had some time to prepare a couple of slides to address this. So let me skip to those. So here is the research we pulled up specifically related to the gut biome or dysbiosis, one of the hallmarks of aging. And it shows that 11 out of 12 ingredients in NOVOS Core as well as Anand and NOVOS Boost, which we’ll get to in a moment, have evidence of favorable effects on dysbiosis. So you can see everything from alpha ketoglutarate to glycine, rhodiola, glucosamine, and so on. and you can quickly take a look at these different studies by their title, and then also the notes that we have here to get a rough idea of what they do for the microbiome and dysbiosis. So we’ll move on. This is the second slide with studies 14 through 26.

Now tyrosine is included cetin, microdose, lithium ginger, hyaluronic acid, and notice that many of these are actually in human studies, not only animal studies. and then the next slide the final slide in which it talks about altheine and then moves on to NOVOS Boost ingredient NMN and the impact that n mn has been shown in animal studies to promote a healthy balance of gut microbiota. So overall as as we’ve been updating we have more than 500 studies supporting the inclusion of all of the ingredients in NOVOS Core alone for the 12 hallmarks of aging. If you go to novoslabs.com/evidence and you scroll about three quarters of the way down the page, you’ll see a table with these 500 studies and you can search by specific keywords in, in this case, dysbiosis would yield these results. but there might be other things that you’re curious about. you can search brain or heart and so on and see which studies come up for ingredients in our formula. And then you can dig into those studies for yourself and make up your own minds with your own critical reasoning.

Graciela: Great. Thank you for sharing. I just linked out our evidence page so you can follow that link and scroll down to view the 500 studies we have on our ingredients. So I know you mentioned NOVOS Age previously. we’ve received a handful of questions in the chat and one pre-submitted question. More people want to know how the test works. Is it a blood test, is it a cheek swab? And then what makes NOVOS Age different from other tests on the market?

Chris: I’m happy you asked that question. so first of all, it is a blood test. It’s intentionally a blood test because cheek swabs as most people probably figure are not nearly as accurate and capable as blood tests are. and so as a company that’s focused on giving you the very best that is possible in the scientific arena it’s not necessarily about convenience as much as it is about getting you the very best. And when it comes to biological age tests, accuracy is of utmost importance. Otherwise, if you’re not accurate and you’re not precise, what is the point of taking the test in the first place? If you stepped on a scale and each time it told you that you’re a different weight and the variance was off by 10 or 20 pounds, what’s the point of stepping on that scale and paying hundreds of dollars for it?

So specifically I mentioned before an ICC. so the ICC is a measure of the accuracy of repeat tests of the epigenetic clock. The NOVOS Age Kit, which contains DunedinPACE as the foundational element, has an ICC value of 0.96, greater than 0.96. This is the highest of all biological age tests out there. There are private companies that sell their own biological age tests, quote unquote, oftentimes not actually measuring biological age. It’s just things that are loosely correlated with biological age. And they don’t publish I c c values either because they don’t know them or because their values are significantly below 0.96. So if you don’t get an ICC value from the company, you should first and foremost be very suspect of what they’re offering. Next is that we offer a third generation test. There are first generation Horvath tests, second generation grim age and pheno age tests.

And then one third generation test, which is DunedinPACE. It tracks 28 different biomarkers in a long longitudinal analysis. So it followed more than a thousand people throughout their lifetimes with all of these 28 plus metrics. and then built the algorithms around that. What better way to see how people age than to actually follow them on their life. Lifelong journey of aging and different people with different lifestyles and some smokers, some not, some abused as children, unfortunately, others, not all of these things were accounted for. And then looking at things like you know, white matter in the brain different blood biomarkers, sit, stand, gate speed, and so on. All of this is accounted for in the in the clock that we offer. More than 45 studies have been conducted on the DunedinPACE clock at more than 30 scientific labs across the world.

Most other clocks out there are corporate black boxes. They make it internally. they’re not accountable to you, the consumer. the clock we use, we sourced from academia because it is open source, so to speak. it is available for scientific scrutiny because we believe that’s how you get the best results, and that’s how you stay and remain the most honest, so to speak. By having that type of, that type of information publicly available. Pace of aging, which is what DunedinPACE tracks is the most sensitive to change and it’s forward looking or future looking, the rate at which you’re aging is going to influence you tomorrow, whereas your biological age, which is what most companies push, and we do offer that in our kit, but we don’t emphasize it, is more of the rear view mirror view. Right?

You’re looking back historically, what’s most important is improving your lifespan and health span from this point forward. we also include, as I mentioned, biological age as well as telomere length. So telomere length is not going to tell you your biological age despite what some people might claim. but it is a biomarker that’s relevant for longevity, and you can impact the rate at which your telomeres attrition takes place. and so, and that can be changed through lifestyle, diets, supplements, and so it’s something that we think is worthwhile for you to, to keep an eye on. and then a few other facts. The clocks that we use have been trained on 20,000 plus humans. Other companies offer clocks that are trained on eight, 8,000. Is a number that’s shown as being a big number.

Well, you know, it’s, it’s really not that big compared to what we’ve got. we have a wide range of ages from eight to 102 years old. We’ve got significant ethnic diversity across Asian, African Northern European across many, many different study cohorts. and others make the claim that they’re ethnic ethnically diverse, but they don’t give any specific examples as to how they are. So overall, I think you can tell, we are convinced that we have uncovered the best test out there and we were able to bring it to you, the consumer and we’ll continue to look for future innovations in the space to continue to bring you the very best. but we’re not married to one single test that we built internally. We are focused on bringing you the very best test available.

Graciela: Thanks for sharing. Chris, we have time for one or two more questions, if that’s all right with you?

Chris: Sure.

Graciela: Okay. Someone asked, my friend, switched to a full carnivore diet and is feeling fantastic. What is your opinion about this?

Chris: So, carnivore diets have become very popular lately. In fact, in some sense, I would say that they’ve even become somewhat political. I mean, it’s, I, I think it’s silly, but this idea of, you know vegans are associated with one side of the political aisle and meat eaters are with the other side of the political aisle. I don’t care to get into that. what I think is most important is looking through the context of longevity and health. What is going to be the best for us? and then you can decide with your own personal values, what you want to follow, but we’re about giving you that information. And so when it comes to the carnivore diet, first of all, why is your friend feeling so good? Well, I would say that it’s possibly because they have some sensitivities to certain foods that they were consuming.

They may have also been consuming unhealthy foods processed foods and so on that they have eliminated because they are now going on to a strict diet. And had they gone to a strict Mediterranean diet, they may have felt as good or better. Another idea or concept to be aware of is the idea of a, an elimination diet. So there are specific foods that people are highly sensitive to or there’s a higher chance that you have some sort of reaction or allergy to and those are foods like shellfish and eggs and nuts and so on. And so if you follow an elimination diet, you can detect or understand which foods might be making you feel suboptimally. For me, I did this and I discovered that nuts were making me feel fatigued after about two to three hours post consumption. So I would have a handful of nuts or sometimes a protein bar, meal replacement bar, a natural one made with nuts.

And about two, three hours later, I had to lay down on the couch and sleep for an hour or two. And when I woke up, I felt exhausted and I couldn’t figure it out for more than a year. And eventually with an elimination diet, I discovered it was nuts. I got rid of nuts, and I’ve never, for more than six, seven years now had that issue a single time. So that’s another thing to consider. Now, in terms of health and longevity, we wouldn’t recommend the carnivore diet for all of the reasons we discussed. Quick summary number one is you don’t wanna overdo the animal proteins because of all of the growth pathways they stimulate, like mTOR and IGF and so on. Over stimulation of those is not good for longevity. Number two is you’re not doing any good for your microbiome. So you’re not getting the fiber, you’re not getting the, the prebiotics. All of these things that help to colonize the gut and to build a diverse range of probiotics within your gut, which are shown to have many, many different health benefits. and you’re also probably going to be lacking some vitamins and minerals by only having this very narrow set of animal products of, of meat. so overall, no, we would not recommend the carnivore diet specifically for the sake of longevity.

Graciela: That makes sense. Thanks for sharing. For those of you who want to learn more about carnivore diets, I’m going to link a blog in the chat right now so you can dive into that. For our final question, we get this a lot. We get, you know, what should I prioritize? When is it too much? So someone asked, could I be overdoing it with biohacking and supplements? When is it too much? We’d love to hear your thoughts Chris.

Chris: Yes, well, so the quick answer is yes, you can be overdoing it. so there’s the psychological side of all of this, right? You, need to approach biohacking, so to speak, and longevity specifically from a very healthy psychological position. as we talked about in longevity lifestyle webinar, there are other aspects of health or of your life that impact your longevity, specifically psychological ones and relationship driven ones. So I’ve seen in my life people who are biohacking to such a degree that they can no longer go out to eat with their friends because there’s nothing that they can eat on the menu. or when they do go out to eat, they’re not eating anything and they’re making their friends or their partner feel awkward that they’re just sitting there. is that the most ideal for building relationships and having a strong healthy, enjoyable experience for yourself and, and for your loved ones?

I would argue, no, that’s probably not. So and then people can go to extremes with things. They can experiment with so many different substances, so many different lifestyle interventions that they end up hypothesizing or predicting that they know how to like flip another switch. And it’s like by adding something or removing something and that it’s going to then have a, a even more favorable health outcome only to learn that it doesn’t, because you’re dealing human biology is so complex, and when you get that specific in particular about everything and supplementing with so many different things, it’s hard to account for all of it. we, we see people biohackers in the longevity space, for example, who some of which get, get a healthy amount of press that are going in our estimation to an degree where they are, for example getting to extremely low body fat percentages, having very low caloric intake and then also adding things like testosterone replacement therapy and DHEA, these androgenic hormones, which are counter to longevity on top of it.

And it’s like, well, on the one hand, caloric restriction is good for longevity, possibly because it reduces androgenic hormones like testosterone and DHEA only to then be adding the T testosterone and DHEA on top of it again. So I, it’s just, I think that there is the possibility of going too far with all of this. And so we, as a company, we want to simplify it as much as possible. I know I, we cover a lot in this webinar. It’s because we have a more sophisticated viewership for this webinar. But overall, giving a simple supplement, for example, a drink mix that has the most powerful proven longevity ingredients so that you don’t have to go crazy, buying a dozen different bottles of pills and taking 19 of them as we did the calculation once telling you what foods you should eat and which ones you shouldn’t eat, and giving you a simple set of eight or 10 rules for what your diet should look like giving you the lifestyle advice and so on. We want to simplify this process and make it something achievable for everyone without having a negative impact on their psychological and social health, if you will.

Graciela: Thanks for sharing, Chris. I know that the blog is a great resource for me to get easy, digestible information, so I’m actually gonna link that for everyone. Now. We have over a hundred blogs on our website that give different tips and tricks on how to slow down aging. So I highly recommend taking a look. We have a search bar where you can type in different keywords to find blogs that you might be interested in. Before we sign off today, I want to let you all know that you can ask us questions anytime. We have a q and a form that you can fill out. I linked that in the chat right now, so you can ask us any longevity, biohacking related questions, and we’ll do our best to answer those questions during events like these today, across social media, email, and more. If you’re interested in learning more about how to live younger for longer, please make sure to follow and subscribe to our email newsletter and follow us on Instagram @novoslabs. That’s all I have on my end. Chris, did you have anything else?

Chris: No, I think that’s all I said. More than enough.

Graciela: Thank you all for coming. We look forward to hosting more events like these in the future.