3 Min Read

Last Updated: 25.05.23

Brain Health & Longevity

In this episode, Sinclair & LaPlante breakdown aging and the brain. They review evidence related to the speed at which the brain ages, highlight the effects of aging on cognitive function, and behavioral and lifestyle interventions for optimal brain health.

Key Takeaways

High level takeaways from the episode.

The brain ages slower than the rest of the body.

More people are living with dementia and other age-related cognitive decline because we’re alive for a lot longer.

The neurological biological clock is ticking all the time – what you do in your 20s and 30s impacts cognition and aging later in life.

High blood sugar leads to dysfunction in all tissues, and is also bad for brain activity.

Older people now need to be able to adapt to new changes in environment and technology; for most of history, we didn’t need to learn new things later in life and rarely lived long enough to lose brain ability.

The three longevity pathways commonly discussed are just as relevant for brain aging — mToR, Sirtuins, AMPK.

Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet can protect against aging in the brain and even reverse some signs of aging in the brain.

If you lose NAD and Sirtuin functioning, you’ll age poorly and have poor sleep.

As you get older, you lose your ability to sleep well — and if you don’t sleep well, you lose your ability to fight aging. Important to take steps to optimize NAD, Sirtuins, sleep.

Protocols

Science-based tools and supplements that push the needle.

Omega-3s for Brain Longevity

1/4

Omega-3s are the building blocks of the brain.

2/4

Food sources:

Salmon, mackerel, krill, sardines
Flax seeds, chia seeds, seaweedAlpha
- Linoleic Acid (ALA) is converted by the body to EPA and DHA

3/4

Supplementation

Men: 1.6 grams/day
Women: 1.3 grams/day

4/4

NMN / NR for Brain Longevity

1/3

Both NMN and NR increase NAD, and decrease inflammation + slow aging.

2/3

Sinclair has stated he takes 1g/day of NMN.

3/3

Mediterranean Diet for Brain Longevity

1/3

Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet can protect against aging in the brain and even reverse some signs of aging in the brain.

2/3

Works in part because of:

Resveratrol in wine
Oleic acid from olive oil can activate enzymes
The xenohormetic molecules in plants

3/3

Metformin for Brain Longevity

1/4

Metformin has had good success in improving brain health.

2/4

Has shown improvements in executive function / focusing ability in patients with mild dementia.

3/4

Some studies have shown reduction in the onset of dementia by 55%.

4/4

Plant-Heavy Diets for Brain Longevity

1/5

Low levels of protein tricks the body into thinking the food supply is low and could run out → activates longevity pathways.

2/5

Important to use supplements to get proper nutrition on a plant-based diet

Folic Acid
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B12

3/5

These micronutrients help build up NAD for sirtuins.

4/5

Low levels of Vitamin B12 can cause deficiency + errors in DNA methylation, can accelerate heart disease, biological clock, and dementia.

5/5

Key Topics

Overview of topics covered in this episode.

1 The paradox of living longer — how the brain ages slower than the body.

2 Why we need healthy brains later in life more now than in our history.

3 How to use adversity mimetics to keep the brain healthy and young.

4 The role of Sirtuins, NAD, and Sleep for brain health.

Source

Full Notes

Horvath Aging Clock

Horvath Aging Clock is the most accurate measure of chronological age at a molecular level – it applies to all cells with DNA, tissues, organs.
Collected through a DNA sample
People age at different rates — some people appear older or younger than their chronological age

Cognitive decline begins in middle age — it’s not just a late stage life disease.

The neurological biological clock is ticking all the time – what you do in your 20s and 30s impacts cognition and aging later in life.

The Brain & Aging

The Paradox

The brain ages slower than the rest of the body
Modern medicine has succeeded in keeping the body healthy for longer
BUT — more people are living with dementia and other age-related cognitive decline because we’re alive for a lot longer

The brain ages significantly slower than the rest of the body, because it doesn’t ex-differentiate at the same pace as other cells in the body.

For most of our history, we didn’t need to learn new things later in life, and in any case, we were rarely living long enough to lose the ability.

But now — older people need to be able to adapt to new changes in environment and technology. We need healthy brains later in life.

Longevity Pathways

By keeping the body young, we can keep the brain healthy.

Adversity signals the survival circuits in the body, and turns on specific survival genes.

Adversity mimetics: things that mimic adversity biologically, and are conducive to healthspan / lifespan.

The three longevity pathways that Sinclair often discusses are relevant for brain longevity:

mTOR
AMPK
Siirtuins

High blood sugar leads to dysfunction in all tissues, and is also bad for brain activity.

High blood sugar leads to dysfunction in all tissues, and is also bad for brain activity.

Mediterranean Diet

Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet can protect against aging in the brain and even reverse some signs of aging in the brain.

The body needs fat to protect the brain against inflammation and damage.

Sirtuins + NAD

Sirtuins’ role is to repair the structure of the epigenome.

NAD activates Sirtuins.

As we age, we make less NAD, and burn more NAD. Supplementing with NAD can slow our biological clock.

Sirtuins in the brain

Turning up Sirtuins in nerve cells of the brain extends the lifespan of mice
Activating hippocampus with sirtuins or resveratrol improves memory in old age mice