Summary of book Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity by Nir Barzilai and Toni Robino

1. BOOK REVIEW

2. Founding director of the Institute of
Aging research at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Director of
F.Glenn Center of Biology of Aging
Research and of National Institute
of Health’s Nathan Shock Centers of
Excellence in Basic Biology of Aging.

3. One Hundred
Years Young
Why We Age
Cholesterol:
Is More Better?
Growth Hormone:
Less Is More
Unravelling the
Longevity
Mystery Deep
Inside our Cells
The Quest to Prove
Aging Can Be
Targeted
Making Eighty
the New Sixty
Stop the Clock
Bright Horizons
“… book will help you think of aging not as a certainty but as a phenomenon- like many
other diseases and misfortunes- that can be targeted, improved and even cured.”

4. Gerontology
/ˌdʒɛrənˈtɒlədʒi/
noun
the scientific study of old age, the
process of ageing, and the particular
problems of old people
Most chronic diseases are united by
one primary cause, including ‘the big
four’: diabetes, cancer, heart
disease, and Alzheimer’s –
the biology of aging itself
Growing old may seem as normal as
growing up, but when we look closer,
we see that it’s a complex and often
a painful mystery.
”
“

5. Why we Age?

6. Why we Age?
Biological
resources
needed for
reproduction
hurts as we
age
2 3
Shortening of
telomere
drives aging
Decline in
number and
function of
Mitochondria
1 4
Like CDs, cells
scratch with
time > limiting
functionality
5
External
environment
and practices
leads to Aging

7. Longevity is hereditary

8. Studying
Centenarians

9. The author studied more than 750 centenarians to
understand more about aging and to find if we can delay
aging or prevent it altogether.
We experience old age and illness as one and the same thing,
but at 70, SuperAgers have 20-30 more mostly disease-free
years ahead of them.
SuperAgers
The
Studying
Centenarians

10. Unusually high levels of some MDPs
(Mitochondrial-derived peptide)
These proteins originating from mitochondria –
some of which are found only in SuperAgers-builds
resilience against the stresses of aging.
Low level of the growth hormones
Low levels of Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)
This protein produced in liver helps to grow tissue.
Low levels of this shifts or energy from growth to
survival
High level of good cholesterol
HDL (good cholesterol) protects from heart attacks
and dementia. LDL (bad cholesterol) forms plaque
in our arteries constricting the flow of oxygen-rich
blood to heart and other organs
Longevity Genes Project

11. Stop the Clock
However, there are many things that can be done right now to slow aging process and stay
healthy.
Our maximum potential life span as a species is thought be about 115 years, but many people
die before the age of 80 years after suffering from an avg of 3 diseases

12. Calories matter
Caloric restriction for more healthy years.
In lab experiment, rats with caloric restriction diet lived
over 40% longer than control group
Eating less has effect on
slowing ageing
increasing average
maximal life span
increasing health span
reduce age-related diseases

13. Abdominal fat (visceral fat) is the marker for the onset of
diseases.
Results in decline in metabolism with age.
In lab experiment, rats which had visceral fat removed
outlived control group by 20%.
should be kept in control by doing a combination of exercise
and dietary control
Visceral Fat

14. Exercise
Exercise is the most important intervention for aging.
Helps improve
Cardiovascular health
Regulate weight
Lower our risk of type-2 diabetes
25 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week for elderly .

15. Micronutrients
Increasing protein for people after certain biological age is
not a right thing to do.
For source of protein meat is the most detrimental to
health.
Moderate amount of carbohydrate
(50-55%) appears to be better for longevity.
BMI around 27 is best range for lowest mortality.
Carrying a few extra pounds after we are 65 may reduce
our risk of disability and increase our longevity.

16. Microscopic
“Friends”
There is evidence linking the health of microbiome with
digestion, immune response, inflammation, bone density
and cognition.
Microbiome in gut seems to benefit from live bacterial
cultures present in food such as yogurt.
Food that appears not to benefit microbes are antibiotics,
laxatives, artificial sweeter, processed food , and a sedentary
lifestyle.

17. Mediterranean
Diet
Of all the popular diets, based on clinical studies, author has
suggested Mediterranean diet.
People eating Mediterranean diet had less diabetes, heart
diseases, and strokes, and they had less cognitive decline.
Author mentions that cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
is one of the most significant element of the diet.
Author refers olive oil as Liquid Gold.

18. Mediterranean
Diet

19. As we age, our bodies aren’t efficient in absorbing and using
vitamins and minerals.
Thus, supplements are required.
However, some vitamins taken in excess or in combination
with certain drugs can be harmful.
For example, combining exercise with large amount of
vitamin E can be fatal.
50+ aged people may need to boost the intake of Vitamin-
B12, Calcium and Vitamin-D.
Supplements

20. Health and longevity are affected not only by what we eat
and don’t eat but also by when we eat and how long we
fast between meals.
Recommended daily fasting for 16 hours – time body takes
to use up stored sugar.
Eating between early morning and early evening is healthier
than snacking at night.
Author also recommends skipping breakfast as part of
intermittent fasting may contribute to a longer, healthier life.
Fasting

21. Sufficient and sound sleep is one of the most important
aspect of healthy leaving.
Study suggest that people whose sleep was often disrupted
had a 1.68 times greater risk for cognitive impairment,
including Alzheimer’s, than people who slept well.
Sleep

22. Studies suggest that who engaged in mental exercises were
able to maintain the ability to reason and memory for
10 years longer than the control group
Stay Mentally
Sharp

23. There is a significant amount of data from scientific studies
that suggest people who have a strong sense of purpose
are healthier and enjoy a higher quality of life than people
who do not.
Purpose and
Positivity
Studies have found that being optimistic and positive is
associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events, while
being pessimistic is linked to higher risks of these events.

24. • Exercise
• Aerobics: Daily 3 miles running or 10 miles cycling
• Strength training: once a week
• Balanced nutrition and 16 hour Fasting
• Sufficient Sleep and sleep tracking with Fitbit
• Stay mentally sharp by doing research
• Supplements
• NMN+ (believed to activate genes that are related to longevity)
• Aspirin (to avoid deep vein thrombosis)
• Metformin
What Author
Does

25. Metformin
Metformin is a generic, relatively inexpensive, type-2 diabetes drug that helps correct
body’s faulty glucose production by improving insulin action on the liver.

26. Metformin
Evidence suggests metformin also targets cellular aging.
In human studies, it was seen that diabetics who were taking
metformin and suffering from other diseases had lower
mortality ( by 17%) than people who were not diabetic,
had less obesity and fewer diseases in general.
Metformin reduces cardiovascular-disease outcomes by 40%.

27. Metformin
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients taking metformin showed improvement in
executive function- such as attention and memory- after just 8 weeks.
Additional studies showed better survival rates among
the diabetes on metformin than among the control group.
Metformin has a restorative effect on cells that
ultimately delay onset of diseases and increases health span.
Author is currently doing Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) study to prove that
we can target the biology of aging itself.

28. Bright Horizons

29. 30,000 significant
difference between
centenarians and
control group
Protein based clock
to determine
Biological age
Personalized medicine
to target aging and
other diseases
Biomarker
identification for early
detection of diseases
High-oxygen treatment
in pressurized cabins
Reversing Cellular aging
The
“Yamanaka Factors”

30. Ability to reverse aging is already contained
within human body.
An embryo is formed by the genetic material
form Parents.
But Life of an embryo start at age zero.

31. THANK YOU

32. Key Takeaway
Exercise
BMI 27
Sleep
Mental exercise
Positivity
Purpose
Mediterranean Diet
Calorie restriction
16 Hour Fasting
Microbiome friendly
Vitamin supplement
Metformin
Food Body Mind Micronutrients