Curation for Longevity 🧬🛍 4 - Psychological Aging, Pet Longevity, Replacing Aging.
Hello 👋 and welcome to Curation for Longevity by Laura Minquini. I am the founder of MYKIGAI - a platform to try new science-backed longevity brands.
In this newsletter, I look into what could help make longevity the next big DTC (Direct To Consumer) category. 🚀
The importance of mindset in aging 🧠
The conversation of managing our mindset is always at the forefront of mental health, and general well-being, most recently highlighted by athletes Simone Biles, and Naomi Osaka who have been being very open about their own struggle.
Unsurprisingly, there is also an optimal mindset for aging.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that a lower subjective age is associated with better mental and physical health, cognitive functions, well-being, and satisfaction with life. Psychological aging, depression, and well-being
Translation: a positive (and younger) self-perception of your age helps your health.
Curiosity, learning, experimenting - things we attribute to youth - we should have for life.
I chose Cher to illustrate this idea because she takes the brunt of critics on her use of plastic surgery (can we agree hers is looking great?), never mind that at 73 she had a $60 million contract a year in Vegas. Cher is incredibly fit, and dancing on stage, she is not just taking care of her appearance but also of her physical health. The woman is Longevity personified.
The other reason is I chose her is because there is a train of thought on how we need to let people do what they want - including plastic surgery - to attain their ideal and personal positive self-perception of aging. I am fully behind this idea.
This week Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, a prominent scientists researcher in the field of longevity, he is the CEO is Insilico Medicine an AI-powered drug discovery platform, who is advocating for the importance of our minds in aging, wrote an article on Forbes on the importance of psychological age and 10 tips for reversing it.
Here are some of my favorite, with comments:
1. Set ambiguous longevity expectations This is like a vision board but for how long your want to live, and how you want to look older. Mine include Super Bowl Jlo (Read the comments on the video).
2. Imagine yourself as you will be at the age of 100 (or 120) and thank yourself from the future for the right choices you are making today. Take care of your health now. What we do today is compounded tomorrow.
5. Attend a conference dedicated to longevity research and listen to serious scientists presenting their research. Or attend some of the great online events there are now, including The Future of Longevity panels I co-host with my friends Nathan Cheng, and Avi Roy. Yes, some self promotion never hurts…
6. Form meaningful social relationships with the people who also want to live longer and stay younger. Become my friend.
7. Follow the famous biogerontologists on social networks to learn about their work first-hand. Yes! The internet is a wonderful place, we have more access to incredible minds than ever before.
FRIENDLY REMINDER 💙😊
Chronological Age - Forget it. Only good for throwing yourself a party.
Biological Age - Take care of it. Invest in your health as you invest in wealth.
Psychological Age - Let’s focus on it more. Figure out what is your optimal mindset.
Pet Longevity 🐶
We are willing to do more for our furry friends than for ourselves, and Millennials are also more likely to have a pet than a baby these days. I myself can understand Brittany Furlan…
The focus on dog and pet longevity makes sense, not only because our priorities are skewed, but also because we can learn so much from studying them. Let’s just say that we are closer to extending human healthy lifespan when we manage to do it with dogs, than just mice.
Yesterday I had the honor of interviewing professor Matt Kaeberlein who is a great spokesperson for longevity; rigorous on the science, realistic, and yet supremely optimistic. I am a big fan, also because he is also the co-director of The Dog Aging Project, a lifespan study of dogs, something that is made possible by their rapid aging.
If you are in the US, enroll your dog. Imagine being able to have your dog’s age biomarkers tested every year of their life and know so much about their health? I would if I could. Or donate to help their cause!
Please follow The Pet Longevity series to find out our next speakers, when the interviews will be published and please send us your dog photos and health practices. I am into dog health tips more than tips for myself! 🐶🙏🏼
Pecadillos 👻 and our journey to health.
Choosing health is not something that happens naturally or right away for everyone. I have immense admiration for all the longevity enthusiasts who are so committed to their health and trying to live longer from an early age. I was not.
I have stayed up to see the sunrise many a time, smoked when I lived in Paris because it was part of mon sexy look. And if I was to become a politician there are some videos out there TMZ would get me unelected: from dancing in a bikini on a stage in Mykonos to eating pizza at 4 am while practically sleeping. Yes, this is humanly possible. I am sure I would look 18 if I had not had a stint in the wildlife…
I am grateful for not having had any major disease. It strengthens my respect for those who overcame health problems.
On your journey to health don’t compare yourself to others and don’t get anxious if you are not there. I promise you there are also the longevity people who smoke, drink, and are not in any protocol. (🤫🤐)
Start small, do what you can, but start.
LONGEVITY BOOK TO READ 📘
In the meantime, I am hoping Dr. Jean M. Hébert, professor of Neuroscience and Genetics, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine - whose theory of solving aging is based on tissue engineering and transplanted cells - does succeed.
The Hébert lab – Moving toward restoration of brain function with tissue engineering
The neocortex is the part of our brain that performs our highest cognitive functions. In recent years, the mechanisms underlying how stem cells in the embryo generate the neocortex have become better understood. Armed with this knowledge, the Hébert Lab is developing stem cell transplantation approaches to regenerate adult neocortical tissue after age-related degeneration.
I highly recommend his book Replacing Aging, where he explains his theory and perspective on approaching aging. I found it engaging and insightful, and though you might think a book by a professor of neuroscience and genetics might be too technical, Hébert made it quite easy to understand the concepts. Bonus: it is not a long book.
He is also one of those genuinely nice, good energy people. I am ready to have my brain cells replaced when he is! 🧠🧬
If you liked what you read, please share the potential of longevity with others! 🙏🏼
Our Longevity Challenge is cominggggg - It’s arriving centenarian turtle style, taking its time…but on its way!
Remember to fill out the form to be part of the first cohort. More details coming! 👉🏼 MYKIGAI
