The Benjamin Button effect. A 2008 movie featuring actor Brad Pitt is born looking like a 70-year-old man as he grows old in years, his body becomes younger. There is a lot more to the movie with a very intriguing sequence of events but ultimately let’s focus on the idea of growing older and our body becoming younger. The title is catchy and hopefully it enticed you to stop, click and listen. I’m a wellness advocate, biohacker, health coach, wellness center founder and consumer of all things related to maintaining vitality, youth and slowing down the aging process.

I approach life this way with little fear of death but a desire to live life fully. It can be hard to live life fully if your health is in the dumps. Now that I’m well into my 40’s and what society considers the second stage of life, I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor, studies and hard work. As we get older, we tend to have a few extra dollars in our pocket if we made a good choices compared to the days of being 21, young, broke, dumb and full of…… This pondering thought of, man, wouldn’t it be crappy if I finally get to a place where I can travel more, have more disposable income to create new experiences but be too slow, sick and lethargic to actually enjoy it fully. Let’s not forget the pros of having a healthy sex life well into our middle-aged years too. What exactly is considered middle age these days anyway?

So, how can one shine so bright and increase their vitality by reconnecting with nature and some good ol’ fashion discipline? My journey continues to prove to myself that I can slow down the cellular aging process by essentially taking good care of my cells. I consider myself a bit of a pragmatist, so what I will share with you is biologically and cost effective. Before we get started, I want to warn you there is no quick trick. It requires a lifestyle change that will pay dividends for your earthly experience.

Mitochondrial Health and Inflammation:

Untitled design-2.png — Mitochondria computer image

Our cells have engines called mitochondria; the “powerhouse” responsible for producing ATP energy. Mitochondria generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the cell's biochemical reactions. Decline in mitochondrial health contributes to a faster aging process. “A decline in mitochondrial quality and activity has been associated with normal aging and correlated with the development of a wide range of age-related diseases.” One of the hallmarks of aging is the development of a low-grade, chronic, sterile inflammatory state often deemed ‘inflammaging’. The development of this state, characterized in part by increased circulating inflammatory biomarkers such as IL-6 and C-reactive protein, is a known risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality in the elderly (Franceschi et al., 2000).

So, with that being said many of these lifestyle changes will focus on mitochondrial health, giving our cells much needed TLC and reducing chronic inflammation. “Based on visual observation, the ancients characterized inflammation by five cardinal signs, namely redness (rubor), swelling (tumour), heat (calor; only applicable to the body' extremities), pain (dolor) and loss of function (functio laesa)”. Inflammation is a response of the immune system to tissue damage and infection, although not all infection gives rise to inflammation. The word inflammation has a bad condemnation but is a necessary process of our immune system and assists with the repair of damage cells. When inflammation is chronic which is more common that one might think in our western culture, it become highly problematic.

Autophagy:

Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University. “Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.” Lifestyle changes will help with the process of this self-eating mechanisms but requires mindset, discipline and smart choices.

Below you can find practices and lifestyle changes that give our cells some TLC, reduce inflammation, and increase autophagy. As I mentioned earlier, I would include natural, cost effective processes and lifestyle changes. I never said they were easy. This list of things you want to start and stop doing can help you to achieve the Benjamin Button Effect from my personal experience and research.

Things we can start doing

Fasting:

Cost 0 dollars with huge upswing of potential gains. Fasting gives your body a rest from digestion and can increase energy, clarity and boost autophagy. Fasting can also help you to get into ketosis and use fat for energy rather than glucose (sugar). Fasting will also assist in lowering blood sugar and insulin spikes. It’s easier to start with intermittent fasting (15 hours from last meal to first meal) , skipping breakfast and having a smaller feeding window to your waking day. Fasting before sleep at least 3 hours can also improve your deep sleep and improve heart rate variability. Check out our October article written by Sami Mattos, Everything you Need to Know to start fasting to understand the science and protocol to create this new habit. Lastly fasting reduces inflammation and improves chronic inflammatory diseases. You can view the study here. So the reason why I fast is because it checks all the boxes. Additionally, fasting is not optimal for all people, such those who are pregnant, who have eating disorders, or who have type 1 diabetes.

Cold Exposure:

Untitled design-8.png — Photo taken at Wim Hof Method Course in Hermosillo, Mexico

Cold showers, ice baths, full body cryotherapy (cold therapy), cold water swimming, you get the point. This “faddish” new health recovery tool is not so new. Used by our ancestors all over the globe, cold water therapy has been around for thousands of years. Quero’s the closest relative to the Inca of South America bathed in freezing cold lakes in the Andes mountains and claimed the cold water restored the body’s vital energy. I can go on about multiple cultures using this method but let’s get into the health and longevity benefits. Cold water therapy reduces inflammatory markers. “At the core of many chronic diseases and the aging process is one common feature: inflammation. Cryotherapy, however, appears to reduce inflammation. One way it does this is via its influence on norepinephrine, which decreases levels of tumor necrosis alpha, a proinflammatory cytokine instrumental in promoting systemic inflammation. Another critical factor in chronic disease is immune function”.

Cold therapies also assist in reducing visceral fat (inflammatory) through activation of brown adipose tissue, a thermogenesis process that helps our body warm up and find balance. I also want to mention cold shock proteins (RBM3) a term many are not familiar with. RNA-binding protein 3 (RBM3) is a cold shock protein found in your brain, heart, liver, and skeletal muscle that turns on in response to cold exposure. They have been shown to speed up muscle repair, prevent muscle loss due to age, triggers DNA repair and makes our cells more efficient and bounce back from damage faster. RBM3 also acts an antioxidant, protecting against cell death from oxidative stress and free radical damage. Ok, the benefit list goes on but I think you get the point why I choose to suffer for gains by taking multiple ice baths per week. Additionally, cold therapy is not optimal for those who are pregnant, have a pacemaker, have cardiovascular issues and an autoimmune disease called Raynaud's.

Heat Exposure (Sauna) :

Untitled design-4.png — Clearlight Infrared Sauna located at Optimyze
Photo by The Good Vibe Media Company

Just like cold therapy, heat has its many benefits and has stood the test of time. Also used by our ancestors all over the globe, makeshift sauna and sweat lodge is no new human health resource. I use a sauna 5-7 days per week for approximately 20-25 minutes but rarely less than 20 minutes. Studies have shown the wide range of longevity benefits. Research condensed best by Dr Rhonda Patrick for a deeper dive, I highly recommend you go down this rabbit hole of health. Here are a few things that stick out.

Cardiovascular health and improved blood circulation. Our heart rate increase, we sweat and blood flows to the extremities while increasing blood volume. Shock proteins reverse damage from sudden changes in temperature, protect our cells, and trigger full-body repair. Heat stress, a positive type of hormesis and a controlled stress can make our proteins in our cells more resilient to stress and help to slow down cellular aging process. I have personally subscribed to daily use of infrared sauna, a technology using far, near and mid wavelength infrared rays to heat my body from the inside out. This cost effective, simple and accessible therapy provides big cellular gains, mitochondrial biogenesis, cardiovascular health and more. “Sauna use also stimulates the production of growth hormone, necessary for the reinforcement of bone, muscle growth and longevity, and plays a role in homeostasis. In one study, using a sauna for 30 minutes seven times doubled the amount of growth hormone produced and increased the amount of prolactin in participants.” It feels great, gives me time to be with myself, collect my thoughts and help my cells slow down the aging process.

Breathing Exercises and Oxygen Deprivation:

Breathing exercises like the Wim Hof Method include breath holds decreasing blood oxygen saturation levels and creating controlled hypoxic states while also building CO2 tolerance. Our bodies learn how to operate in an oxygen deprived environment simulating altitude training. 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine explains how our body adjust to different levels of oxygen and the positive impact it has on our cells when we practice controlled, safe, oxygen deprivation. Signaling new red blood cells, new blood vessels, and can help our cells become more resilient. Beside the benefits from controlled hypoxic breathing exercises can help you to manage and decrease chronic stress. There are breathing exercises designed to take you out of the fight or flight nervous system mode (sympathetic) and into more relaxed states (parasympathetic). We learned earlier how chronic stress plays a negative role in the aging process and also causes inflammation. Some theories suggest constant states of chronic stress staying in a fight or flight mode can lead to autoimmune issues and possibly cancer. So my mantra is find ways to let that shit go and make sure you have an inner focus practice.

Movement and Muscle:

This one’s a no brainer, as humans we have to move. There are so many modalities that you can choose from and everyone has their own view of what’s best. I’m sure I can find a scientific study for most modalities but what I encourage you to do is move. Not only move daily but maintain your muscle mass. By keeping your muscle mass and building more of it your body stays metabolically active. What exactly is metabolism? It’s the amount of energy in calories. We burn calories doing just about everything but that increases with cardiovascular training. We even burn calories at rest, called Resting Metabolic Rate. How can we improve this, build more muscle mass? Doesn’t mean you have to adopt bodybuilding lifestyle but by adding more muscle mass we increase our resting metabolic rate and that helps to burn more calories overall. So, if you like stretching, hiking, walking, great, keep with it, but make sure to add some resistance training that best fits your comfort zone. When we move, our bodies create glutathione. This important antioxidant helps our body to clean up free radicals.

“Due to its role in preventing cellular damage, many people believe that glutathione can offer numerous health benefits. For example, it may:

reduce inflammation and oxidative damage
promote cardiovascular health
slow cancer progression
slow aging processes
improve immune function
prevent neurodegenerative conditions
minimize cell damage from liver disease
improve insulin resistance (Medical News Today)”

Antioxidants

What exactly are antioxidants and where can find them? Antioxidants are molecules that push back against free radicals. In high levels, free radicals can cause harm and lead to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Free radicals are constantly being formed and we have an internal production of antioxidants that push back but there are plants, foods and vitamins that asisst. I personally supplement with glutathione both in IV drip, intramuscular injections and started have a daily dose of high-quality green tea. All very cost and biologically effective. Your body needs to maintain a certain balance between free radicals and antioxidants. When this balance is disrupted, it can lead to oxidative stress. Prolonged oxidative stress increases the risk of negative health outcomes like cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers.

Photobiomodulation (Light Therapy)

Untitled design-7.png — Joovv RLT Device located at Optimyze, Phoenix.
Photo by The Good Vibe Media

Originally developed by NASA scientists in the 1950’s for their plant growth experiments in space. The scientist demonstrated that red LED wavelengths could boost plant growth but coincidentally helped the scientist skin lesions heal faster. Light energy is absorbed through the skin, nitric oxide (NO) is released, and ATP energy increases, and oxidative stress is decreased. This noninvasive technology helps in the production of ATP and NO providing overall cellular energy. When your mitochondria are healthy and the cells do their job more efficiently, good things happen such as reduced inflammation, production of collagen assisting in skin repair and health and even the ability to increase energy in the Leydig cells responsible for testosterone production in males. I use red-light and near infrared therapy device 5 times per week for 10 minutes a day. Simple, feels good and cost/time effective. Keep in mind not all RLT devices are not created equal. In order to have the benefit one must meet a certain power output demand. This technology mimics the sun, the sun gives off more red light during sunrise and sunset but how much exposure are we getting is up for debate. It also might be difficult to stand outside naked 2x a day depending on your living arrangement.

There are many things you will also have to stop doing that I will discuss in a later article, but for now these are accessible and available. These therapies mimic nature such as the sun (light therapy) hydrotherapy (water) fire (sauna therapy), air (breathing exercises) and vitamins /antioxidants (earth element). Hopefully you can see that nature has the answers if we find our way back to her. All of this work requires lifestyle change and good old fashion discipline. Following through with your plan even when it’s not always convenient to do so… I wish you well on your journey. Stay connected for my next article and follow me on social. IG @Michael_the_arc

Disclaimer:

All information posted is merely for education and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional or medical advice. Please consult with your Primary Care Physician if you have any concerns or questions. Should you decide to act upon any information on this website, you do so at your own risk.