The supplements I take are directed at specific body pathways focused on mitochondrial health, which is why the most critical aspects of my supplement intake relate to levels of NAD in my body. I’m proud that my NAD levels are in the optimal range, but as you can see from my test results, I beat out at least 75% of teenagers!
This is important because my NAD levels keep my mitochondria healthy and help correct DNA damage. DNA damage is a tremendous problem as we age, as we typically do not have enough NAD to go around.
This is because first and foremost, the cells must be supplied with NAD, as other repair processes go by the wayside if NAD is lacking. Compounding the problem is that our NAD levels will decrease by fifty percent every twenty years. This is why maintaining NAD levels can sustain your health and it brings us full circle back to my supplement regimen, which I will share with you now:
One prominent supplement in that mix is from the company HumanN (I am proud to be on their scientific board). This supplement will significantly increase nitric oxide in my body. Nitric oxide is an essential signaling molecule in the body that has ramifications in many pathways, from blood pressure to brain health.
Like NAD, the amount of nitric oxide in the body keeps diminishing as we age. Nitric oxide wears many hats, from increasing stem cell output to lowering blood pressure and boosting our immune system. It is essential to one’s health!
I also take a round of supplements in the afternoon, including those that stimulate autophagy (spermidine) and mitophagy (urolithin A), and the sirtuin pathway (pterostilbene).
Autophagy and mitophagy involve recycling parts of the cell, including the mitochondria: THIS IS A BIG DEAL.
Both autophagy and mitophagy are also encouraged by intermittent fasting, exercise, and diet. My afternoon supplements also include SuperBeets chews and a HumanN tart cherry—their taste rivals any delicious gummy. Both of these supplements stimulate critical pathways in the body.
For instance, HumanN tart cherry affects the AMPK pathway, which is a nutrient sensing pathway with profound implications for aging. It also controls and regulates our blood glucose levels.
To control blood glucose (and thus utilize its anti-aging effectiveness), some people take the diabetic drug metformin, which may have some anti-cancer benefits as well. I prefer berberine over metformin for various reasons, which you can read about [here].
Pay close attention to the anti-aging factors.
I am not a big fan of HGH since it may speed up aging. As we can see from the above diagram, IGF-1, the active form of HGH, is a pro-aging factor. Many people find this confusing but remember that speeding cell growth will cause aging. Knowledge of the pathways’ science can lessen some of the ill effects of HGH on aging but not eliminate them.
Another factor mentioned as pro-aging is mitochondrial respiration. Mitochondrial respiration mainly uses oxygen to make ATP, the body’s energy currency. The use of oxygen causes oxidative stress, which is a major culprit in aging, as it causes cell damage on multiple levels.
This is the main reason why we must take antioxidants, which are an essential aspect of my regimen. One of my go-to antioxidants is dark chocolate (no sugar). Scientists have found dark chocolate’s antioxidant content is even higher than “super fruits” like acai berry, blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate. I eat dark chocolate every night, as the antioxidants are believed to fight the damaging effects of oxidative stress on cells.
I am also meticulous about taking compounds to eliminate senescent cells in my body. Senescent cells are cells that are very much like zombie cells. They should have been destroyed, but they persist. They will affect normal cells and, in general, cause havoc. However, I do not constantly eliminate these cells since some are needed for normal body functions such as wound healing. I recently had the honor of designing a senescent cell remover for a major nutraceutical company. I take this supplement on a daily level for weeks at a time. It is called SenUltra from the company UltraBotanica.
Regarding my diet, I practice intermittent fasting, typically about 18 hours, and keep the carbs, especially the sugars, in check. My only red meat intake is an occasional half a hamburger. Alcohol is only a very infrequent glass of wine. But I have not given up my pizza; remember, I am Italian.
In my office, I take some occasional IV infusions in addition to the oral supplements I take daily. These include immune boosters and occasionally methylene blue, followed by 500 mg of NAD.
Luckily, I have several biohacking modalities available in the office.
For instance, I am also a huge fan of intermittent hypoxia therapy (IHT). This is an up-and-coming therapy where I breathe different oxygen concentrations, going from about 9% oxygen (same as about 23,000 ft altitude) to 40% oxygen, twice the amount at sea level. These changes occur rapidly over a few minutes. This therapy tricks the body into thinking there is a shortage of oxygen and sets off a host of changes in different body pathways.
For instance, this sets off a process in my body, stimulating specific pathways resulting in the lengthening of the telomeres of my immune system. Longer telomeres mean a younger immune cell, and a younger immune system leads to a younger body. (This hypothesis is from a famous Israeli study released about a year ago, showing that rapidly changing oxygen concentrations could profoundly affect anti-aging positively.)
An occasional EBO2 will filter my blood and significantly reduce inflammation in my body by stimulating the NRF2 pathway. Think of this pathway as a thermostat of anti-inflammation. Remember, inflammation is the leading cause of aging. And on that note, this deadly one-two combination of inflammation and aging have created a new word in our vocabulary called “inflammaging.”
An EBO2 procedure will also filter out toxins in my body, including glyphosate, commonly called “Roundup.”
Roundup kills plants by interfering with a biochemical pathway involved with synthesizing amino acids, called the shikimate pathway. This pathway is not found in humans, therefore, it was assumed that glyphosate does not harm humans. However, the pathway is found in bacteria, and humans depend on bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract to synthesize the essential amino acids. By interfering with the biochemistry of bacteria in our GI tract, glyphosate consumption depletes essential amino acids and predisposes humans to a host of chronic health problems. Unfortunately, glyphosate has now gotten into our food supply..
I am also a big fan of PhotoBioModulation, which I activate by using PUR-FORM’s red-light bed and infrared sauna (and being a gardener, plain old sunshine!).
All of these modalities have one thing in common: they keep both you and your mitochondria healthy. And if you have healthy mitochondria, you have healthier cells and a healthier body!
