My life is a little bit different now than many past years.
I have made three circles in my life, these are somehow overlapping: the circle of passion, the circle of experience, and the circle of skill.
My circle of passion revolves around my health, lifestyle, diet, financial independence, and knowledge transfer.
My circle of experience revolves around science, chemistry and biochemistry, medicine, and body physiology.
My circle of skill is synthesis and characterization of API, active pharmaceutical ingredients, simply put as making and characterizing medicines.
At the moment, I am living in a small overlapped region of all these big three circles, but my overlapped region is really small now.
To be honest, what I experienced over the years is living in a small overlapped region is not the problem but the expansion of that overlapped region is really challenging.
This expansion means we need to know how to be a generalist after spending some time as a specialist.
The CEO of any company or any head of the government on the planet is not a specialist, he or she is a generalist
We humans are trained to be specialists, not generalists from evolution.
Our education system and society doesn’t support being a generalist, that’s a kind of society’s tag as jack of all but master of none.
Now, in this technological age of AI, specialists might have a hard time to cope in the looming future if we are only thinking linearly in a field of our specialization.
A lot of my core specialists friends are moving in many different directions very quickly to preserve their professions by sacrificing their family time and health.
They are no longer in their twenties and thirties anymore, most of them are in their forties now.
What I realized is they are still unaware or they are still not trying to understand how our life works, what to sacrifice and what not to.
We cannot sacrifice our health for something else. Period.
Why ‘period’?
If you want to know, read Steve Jobs’s biography when he was waiting death on bed from pancreatic cancer as a multi billionaire.
Most of my friends have PhDs, MDs, and MBAs but are unaware why they look so old and overweight so early, and why they already have at least some kind of disease.
Most of them have just passed halfway through life if everything remains normal, and many are on some kind of regular medication.
I might be wrong, this is just my study from my own experiences, my study says we are not learning how to be generalists, which by the way society also doesn’t teach us.
It completely depends on our personal decision.
Just one example.
The CEO of any company or any head of the government across the globe is not a specialist, he or she is a generalist.
He or she learns a lot of general principles of life to reach the top position.
In the end, he or she hires specialists to run their organization or the country, if needed.
This is the rule of success.
If you eat purple or orange mashed sweet potatoes with cloves and cinnamon, you will get more antioxidants to curb free radicals than a normal American diet in a week
I sometimes wonder why it’s so hard to be a generalist.
Because very few of us are able to connect dots in life and most importantly, very few of us are good at pattern recognition of the evolving society.
To excel in all of these things and especially to be a good generalist after being a specialist for some time, we need to be healthy and young for a very long period of time.
What is an option for us, be healthy first.
Know how our body works, and how to preserve this body without rust and corrosion.
We need to acquire some minimum knowledge about our body, health, diet, body’s biochemistry and physiology, and most importantly, act on it, apply it seriously in daily use.
Take action, not just read and forget.
In my view, these are basic principles to be a good generalist in life.
For example, I don’t want to age too fast and too quickly biologically, but the chronological number as our age is not under our control, it keeps increasing every year.
I don’t want to take any medicines lightly until and unless I really need to, because there is a heavy price I have to pay from the side effects of it later in life.
Research is showing that a lot of older age diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, heart disease are due to continuous medication side effects accumulated over a long period of time.
Remember, faster aging invites quicker death triggered by many different diseases.
Let’s see what aging is and how to slow it down.
Aging is an oxidation of our body like rusting of a metal bar.
As we become older, we have wrinkles, brown spots, and also we become more forgetful.
These all happen because of oxidative stress in our body.
Oxidative stress happens due to illness, smoking, pollution, wrong diet, lack of exercise, and sleep deprivation.
Mainly, oxidative stress means the presence of excess free radicals in our body, which are the culprits of fast aging.
The imbalance between free radicals and inadequate antioxidant defense in our body initiates oxidative stress.
This gives cellular damage and consequently accelerates aging.
There are different ways to prevent aging.
One way to reduce aging is by lowering mitochondrial free radical production.
This can be done by regular exercise and dietary switching like more plant based foods instead of animal products and meat.
Always remember the power of a plant based diet to lower free radical production.
For example, if you eat purple or orange mashed sweet potatoes with cloves and cinnamon powder as a spice, you will get more antioxidants to curb free radicals than a normal American diet in a week.
Curbing faster aging means avoid pro-inflammatory foods like saturated fat, endotoxins, NEU5GC, and sodium by minimizing intake of meat, dairy, oils, and salt
The fact is, all anti-inflammatory foods are anti-aging foods.
If you want to be young biologically, eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods: legumes, berries, greens, tomato juice and paste, oats, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, purple fleshed potatoes, purple and orange sweet potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, turmeric, ginger and ginger powder, garlic and garlic powder, cloves, rosemary, cinnamon especially ceylon, cocoa powder, dill, green and chamomile tea, fibers, anthocyanins, and salicylic acid rich foods like black cumin seeds.
Remember, ground cumin seeds are the most salicylic acid containing natural food to substitute over the counter aspirin.
Berries, brightly colored pigments with anthocyanins, are purely anti-inflammatory.
Just keep in mind, the number one killer in the United States and on the planet is a bad diet and it is also the main cause of faster aging.
Michael Greger, MD, founder of NutritionFacts.org and author of ‘How Not to Diet’ and ‘How Not to Age’ said, “In the dietary inflammatory index, the spice turmeric is the single most anti-inflammatory food we need. Ginger, garlic, and tea are also very anti-inflammatory.”
Foods rich in fiber and flavones are also anti-inflammatory.
Flavones are in fruits, herbs, and vegetables like apples, oranges, parsley, celery, and bell peppers.
Chamomile tea is the most flavone-filled beverage.
Research shows that those who eat more fiber rich foods, they live longer.
Dietary fiber is in plant foods like whole grains and legumes like chickpeas, beans, lentils, and split peas.
Remember, interleukin 10, IL-10, is a potent anti-inflammatory cellular messenger in our blood.
By eating more fiber, we can boost IL-10 levels in our body.
According to research done in all kinds of foods, by eating more legumes is the single most aging preventer.
Legumes are loaded with protein, zinc, and iron but low in sodium and saturated fat.
Keep in mind, legumes have zero cholesterol.
They are also packed with fiber, potassium, and folate.
Same kind of research done by Dan Buettner, author of Blue Zones, centenarians and supercentenarians take a daily dose of legumes in their diets.
There are some other major ways to slow aging, the takeaway message is take good foods and avoid bad foods.
-We have to reduce dietary and endogenous exposure to inflammatory AGEs. AGEs are Advanced Glycation End Products which are genronto toxins, they make us age faster and invite many age related diseases. The main causes of AGEs are smoking, eating foods like bacon, hot dogs, foods from broiling and frying from high temperature, and high glycemic foods.
-By avoiding high AGE foods, Alzheimer’s epidemic can be controlled. Higher the intake of AGEs, lower the sirtuin expression, a type of protein involved in regulating cellular processes like aging and death of cells.
AGEs are produced when proteins react with sugars, mostly at higher temperatures like broiling, grilling, and frying.
AGEs trigger chronic and systemic inflammation in our body.
Higher the rate of AGEs formation, the shorter our lifespan is.
Remember, HbA1c in diabetes, it means, if 6.5 percent or higher amount of hemoglobin in our blood is under glycation means react with blood sugar, we are diabetic.
-We have to boost autophagy to help clear out inflammatory cellular debris in our body. For example, coffee is a good autophagy stimulant. Coffee contains more than 1000 bioactive compounds but the polyphenol chlorogenic acid is the most abundant. Remember, chlorogenic acid removes the trash of our cells.
-Most importantly, we have to avoid pro-inflammatory foods, saturated fat, endotoxins, NEU5GC, and sodium by minimizing intake of meat, dairy, tropical oils, and salt. NEU5GC is an acidic sugar in meat and dairy, contributing to the higher rates of cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases.
It is found in most mammals, amphibians, and fish.
The highest levels are also found in goat meat.
The highest levels of endotoxins are in meat and dairy.
All blue zones food habits include 95 to 100 percent plant based foods, whole foods as much as possible, daily dose of beans, and mostly eliminate eggs, sugar, dairy, and meat
There are certain supplements we cannot ignore.
We have to take supplements like 2500 mcg vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin, at least, once a week or 250 mcg a day.
Remember, vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the main causes of reversible dementia.
We have to take long chain omega 3s daily.
Taking 250 mg of pollution free long chain omega -3s directly helps to curb faster aging.
Short chain omega-3s from flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts are very effective but the long chain omega-3s EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid, and DHA, docosahexaenoic acid, found in fish fat works pretty well.
If we eat some really fatty meat, all the common markers of inflammation- CRP, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) go up within a few hours of consumption.
Remember, one lousy breakfast or lunch meal can double C-reactive protein levels within four hours.
This clearly indicates why we should avoid a bad diet.
According to medical literature, Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s LIFE, Low Inflammatory Foods Everyday, diet is the fastest diet to reduce CRP in our body.
Rapamycin is another universal anti-aging drug that lengthens our lifespan.
Rapamycin inhibits an enzyme called mTOR, mechanistic target of rapamycin.
Inhibiting mTOR is regarded as the best validated aging regulator for us.
The compound DIM, diindolylmethane, which is made by indole-3-carbinol in cruciferous vegetables combined with stomach acid, suppresses mTOR activation.
Remember the powder of sulforaphane in broccoli that also suppresses mTOR.
Green tea contains EGCG, epigallocatechin gallate, a flavonoid type of polyphenol antioxidant that also suppresses mTOR activity.
The bottom line: to slow down aging, we have to slow down mTOR activity, this is possible by restricting certain amino acids like methionine and leucine, certain proteins, and full dietary control.
Choosing plant based protein sources whenever or wherever possible is the best way to go.
The five blue zones are Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica, The island of Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, and Loma Linda, California, USA.
All blue zones food habits include 95 to 100 percent plant based foods, whole foods as much as possible, daily dose of beans, and mostly eliminate eggs, sugar, dairy, and meat.
Drinking tea and coffee over soda and milk and eating cruciferous vegetables regularly is crucial for lengthening our telomeres and expanding our lifespan
One of the major anti-aging pathways is elevating cellular NAD+ levels and activating AMPK.
David A. Sinclair, PhD, Harvard professor, scientist, and author of ‘Lifespan’ said, “There is a requirement of a molecule called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD, the loss of NAD as we age, and the resulting decline in sirtuin activity, is thought to be a primary reason our bodies develop diseases when we are old but not when we are young.”
Sirtuins are a class of protein regulators that protect us from many age related diseases.
Protection and preservation of telomeres, which are caps in our DNA, is key for stopping faster aging.
Accelerated telomere shortening is a key biomarker for accelerated aging, disease, and diminished longevity.
Whether our telomere lengthens or shortens and at what rate is determined by external factors like environment, lifestyle, and diet.
The main drivers for faster telomere loss is again due to oxidative stress and inflammation, having pro-inflammatory food like saturated fat.
If we want to maintain longer telomeres, we have to take enough vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, foods high in fiber, and antioxidants.
Dean Ornish, MD, author of ‘UnDo It’ and Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, author of ‘The Telomere Effect’ reported a joint research that shows a healthy plant based diet and lifestyle can boost telomerase enzyme activity and effectively reverse cellular aging.
The best food for telomere lengthening is fiber, this is also the most anti-inflammatory food.
Foods containing plant pigments like beta-carotene are also essential for telomere.
Remember, the supplement vitamin D3 that delays telomere shortening.
Supplying 800-2000 IU vitamin D3 a day is very essential if our vitamin D blood level is under 20 ng/mL.
Making a habit like drinking tea and coffee over soda and milk and eating cruciferous vegetables regularly is crucial for lengthening our telomeres and expanding our lifespan.
Conclusion
Remember, the aging pathways are interconnected in a complex circle in our body.
So, we need a balanced act to curb our aging, mainly food, exercise, and sleep.
For example, a boost in AMPK downregulates mTOR but upregulates autophagy and NAD+ levels in our body, that raises the sirtuin activity and then lowers IGF-1 and feeds back on AMPK.
We have to know that they share the common triggers in our body.
Keep in mind, these terms like AMPK, mTOR, NAD, sirtuin, IGF-1, they look difficult in the beginning but once we start to connect these terms with our daily food and activities, they all become common.
This is the reason that diet and lifestyle approaches are the best because they can target multiple aging pathways at the same time.
Research shows that metformin, the common diabetes medication, extends the lifespan of mice by boosting AMPK and rapamycin by suppressing mTOR.
When both metformin and rapamycin are taken together, they work synergistically better.
I would like to end this content with a note which many of you may not be aware of.
This also indicates why we need minimum knowledge of the body’s biochemistry, nutrition, and physiology for healthy aging.
If we eat cheese, the source of saturated fat, and crackers, processed food, with red wine, the source of alcohol, we will increase our triglycerides at least five times in our bloodstream.
But if we do the same with water, there is no increment of triglycerides.
This means the villain is wine.
Remember, the marketed grape polyphenols in red wine which only act as antioxidants in isolation like eating red grapes separately.
But the same antioxidant when combined with alcohol becomes pro-oxidant which increases the markers of oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress means we are getting aged faster and catching diseases earlier like Alzheimer’s, parkinson’s, and heart diseases.
One research fact, oxidized cholesterol, mainly from meat and dairy products, is the driving force behind the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Additionally, non-alcoholic red wine lowers blood pressure but regular red wine doesn’t.
Alcohol, by any means, is no good in our lives, it is the host and accelerator of aging and disease.
When alcohol oxidizes in our body, it makes acetaldehyde, a carcinogen.
So alcohol means no, no, no. Period.
Yam Timsina, PhD, writes primarily on health basics, scientific progress, social upliftment, and value creation.
Disclaimer: “Please note that some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.”