This is the fourth post in a series about slowing and reversing biological aging. The first three posts are:

1. 7 Steps to Slow and Even Reverse Aging
2. Regenerating the Thymus Gland and Immune Function
3. Understand Your Aging Process: The 12 "Hallmarks of Aging"

In this post we look at what I call "youth factors" that can prevent, counteract, or reverse most of the "hallmarks of aging" described in the previous post.

Youth Factors

The following list is not a complete list of potential youth factors, but it includes mechanisms that are readily modifiable by most people. 

1. Circadian rhythm and sleep
2. Toxin elimination
3. Control of oxidative stress
4. Control of inflammation and senescent cells
5. Insulin sensitivity
6. Nutrient sufficiency or abundance 
7. AMPK activation, autophagy, and mTOR management
8. Sirtuins, DNA methylation, telomeres
9. Thymus gland and immune function
10. Control of cortisol and optimization of hormones and neurotransmitters
11. Voltage, current, and light
12. Mitochondrial optimization, metabolism, and metabolic rate
13. Microbiome diversity
14. Lean body mass
15. Physical fitness (VO2 max, agility, strength, flexibility)
16. Neuroplasticity, purpose, social connection, and meaning

Circadian Rhythm and Sleep

A strong circadian rhythm is arguably the most foundational (and probably the least sexy) youth factor. Broadly speaking, your circadian rhythm is the internal "clock" by which your body knows when it is time to be awake and active, and when it is time to be asleep and regenerating. 

The quality of your sleep depends heavily on the strength of your circadian rhythm. And the strength of your circadian rhythm is based largely on circadian signals like blue and green light and darkness. It is also influenced by the timing of meals, exercise., and other factors.

Circadian rhythm is by no means the only factor influencing sleep, and sometimes it's not even the most important influence on sleep. Inflammation (especially in the gut, liver, or brain), oxidative stress, stress hormones, mitochondrial dysfunction, insufficient caloric intake, and many other factors can affect sleep. This is why fixing problems with sleep can require some sleuthing of the kind that we do in the Bio-Individual Blueprint program.

Without sufficient high-quality sleep, nothing else works well. Detoxification processes stall, Stress hormones rise. Insulin resistance develops. Hunger signals become distorted. Microbiome diversity plummets, and dysbiosis develops. Immune system activity becomes abberrant. and inflammatory processes become chronic. Oxidative stress escalates. And all of this starts to happen with one night of poor sleep. Fortunately, these things are quickly reversible with sufficient high-quality sleep, but they become harder to reverse after a long period of low-quality sleep and a weak or disordered circadian rhythm. 

In addition to your sleep-oriented circadian rhythm, your organs have their own circadian rhythms that differ from your sleep-oriented circadian rhythm. But that topic is for a different post.

Toxin Elimination

I am using the word "toxin" broadly to refer to both toxins (byproducts of normal metabolism that the body must eliminate) and toxicants (substances that are foreign to the body interfere with normal processes in the body).

Toxins can cause oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, protein misfolding, mitochondrial damage and dysfunction, insulin resistance and diabetes, obesity, cancer, neurodegeneration, and other processes that are either hallmarks of aging or contribute to hallmarks of aging. 

So to slow and reverse aging, toxins must be efficiently eliminated from the body (and avoided in the first place). Toxin elimination is by necessity one of the most important but challenging steps in the Bio-Individual Blueprint process.

Control of Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is the excess activity of oxidants (electron "stealers") compared to the activity of reducing agents (electron donors). Oxidative stress is driven by a variety of factors, including toxins, immune system activity, stress, nutrient deficiencies, genetic predispositions, mitochondrial dysfunction, aberrant energy metabolism, and more.

Oxidative stress is the main mechanism by which toxins cause damage. And chronic oxidative stress drives chronic inflammation, one of the hallmarks of aging. Chronic inflammation in turn increases oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress also results from a deficiency of voltage (available electrons) in the body, which can occur via a variety of mechanisms. For more information about voltage, see the series of articles that begins with Healing Is Voltage (Part 1). 

Oxidative stress is controlled in the body by antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. And oxidative stress is also controlled by having sufficient voltage in the body, which depends in part on sufficient energy production in the mitochondria. Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to deficient energy production, deficient voltage, and oxidative stress, which is one of the reasons that mitochondrial dysfunction is another hallmark of aging.

Controlling oxidative stress involves steps like eliminating toxins, avoiding chronic inflammation, optimizing the production of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, maintaining healthy mitochondrial energy production, and possessing normal voltage and voltage distribution in the body's electrical energy circuits (muscles and fascia). In addition, sometimes individual genetic vulnerabilities or nutritional deficiencies require targeted nutritional support to control oxidative stress.

Controlling oxidative stress is a major focus in the Bio-Individual Blueprint program. 

Control of Inflammation and Senescent Cells

Chronic inflammation is the most insidious hallmark of aging, which is why it is called "inflammaging". Key drivers of inflammation include the following:

• Toxins and oxidative stress, as discussed above
• Chronic infections and chronic immune system activation
• Intestinal dysbiosis and elevated production of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), aka "endotoxin", via gram-negative bacteria
• Intestinal hyperpermeability ("leaky gut") and intestinal inflammation
• Senescent ("zombie") cells

Senescent cells, as described in the previous post about the 12 hallmarks of aging, are cells that have stopped dividing and can often start secreting inflammatory substances and recruiting other cells to become like them, earning them the nickname "zombie cells". Research in mice suggests that senecent immune system cells cause systemic damage to organs and tissues throughout the body. One way to eliminate senescent cells is to consume "senolytic" substances like fisetin, quercetin, and the drug dasatinib. This a major area of anti-aging research.

Eliminating the causes of chronic inflammation, many of which are hidden and undiagnosed, is at the heart of what I do with clients in the Bio-Individual Blueprint program. 

Insulin Sensitivity

Insulin resistance is one of the main drivers of degenerative disease and unfavorable epigenetic changes. So maintaining insulin sensitivity is an important youth factor. Addressing the four previous youth factors (circadian rhythm and sleep, toxin elimination, control of oxidative stress, and control of inflammation) go a long way toward avoiding insulin resistance and maintaining insulin sensivity. 

The following factors are also important to maintaining Insulin sensitivity:

• Avoiding obesity
• Physical activity and avoidance of sedentary behavior
• Minimizing stress or other causes of chronically elevated cortisol
• Minimizing intake of polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable seed oils
• A diverse intestinal microbiome and avoidance of dysbiosis and intestinal hyperpermeability ("leaky gut")
• A healthy oral microbiome and avoidance of gingivitis, periodontitis, and jawbone cavitations
• Normal thyroid function and avoidance of hypothyroidism
• Avoidance of sleep apnea
• Nutritional sufficiency and avoidance of deficiencies in key nutrients like B vitamins and minerals involved in glucose regulation 
• A diet matched to metabolic type and carbohydrate tolerance / need

If you want to reverse insulin resistance and restore insulin sensitivity, you can accomplish this through the Bio-Individual Blueprint program. 

Nutrient Sufficiency or Abundance

Nutritional deficiencies are one of the most important contributors to disease and accelerated aging, so maintaining sufficient levels of nutrients helps to prevent premature aging and maintain youthful function, all other things being equal. This simple fact underscores the importance of periodic nutritional testing and monitoring, which is one of the things that I do with my clients in the Bio-Individual Blueprint program. 

Nutrients can be broadly categorized as "micronutrients" (vitamins and minerals) and macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). A major area of research on aging is the supply of calories and amino acids, and the research has been interpreted to mean that restricting calories and certain amino acids, and perhaps protein in general, promotes longevity. But there are reasons to question the validity of conclusions drawn from this research, or at least the applicability of these conclusions to aging humans because most of this research has been done in organisms that bear little resemblance to humans, beginning with worms and insects. This topic will probably be explored in a future post in this series. 

Controversial Youth Factors

Additional youth factors from the list at the beginning of this post will be covered in future posts, which is where it really starts to get interesting, and controversial.  

Get Support to Slow and Reverse Aging

To get personalized support to slow and reverse your aging process, download the Bio-Individual Blueprint Roadmap and watch the walkthrough video. From there you can schedule a call to discuss your goals, needs, and questions to see if we might be a fit to work together.