Embracing the Aging Process

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You can use Fetch for any vet in the U. S and Canada. Every vet is in network. Go to fetch com slash save right now for your free quote. That's fetchpet. com slash save I don't see it being worse living to a hundred. That sounds way too long. Look forward to seeing a rose bloom to see the sunrise. You should always be in awe about everything. But inevitably if you outlive your family and your friends then you're the last one there My grandmother lived to be ninety seven She was active in church, had long friendships with her sorority sisters, and saw all six of her grandchildren go off to college And by the time she passed She'd done just about everything she wanted to do With those jeans, I feel like I've got a good chance of living long too But I'm also exercising, trying to eat right, resting Doing all the things to stack the deck in my favor There's an entire movement of people who are working text in their lives And some of them are going to extremes I'm Johon Vlenhel And this week on exxplain it to me from Vox, The quest to Live Forever Or at least to one hundred and fifty. Sarah Todd is a reporter for Stat News, where she covers health And recently, she went to the Burning man of the Longevity Mment This was called Vitalist Bay. It takes place in Berkeley, California, and this was just its second year of being in existence. It's an outgrowth of a movement of people who call themselves vitalists and their focus is on beating death. At Vitalist Bay, you'll experience the healthiest, most productive your It's a combination of people who are general longevity enthusiasts as well as people who are investing in companies working on different drugs, researchers, you know people from sort of all across sections of the longevity world. Join us at Vitalist Bay And let's make aging history You know, when I think of people who are trying to live forever, I think of a very certain Bro billionaire did you meet at this conference? What were the people like? Was it all Billionaires? Interestingly no, and this was something that took me by surprise. You know, I had the same idea. We think of Brian Johnson, the rich guy who, you know transfuses the blood of his firstborn son. And I thought it would be pretty epic if my son My father and I completed The world's first multig genererational plasma exchange. Actually, I don't think he does that anymore, but he used to for longevity reasons. But the people at this conference, you know, I would certainly say they were people who are doing well for themselves or you know a fair amount of people who work in tech, that kind of thing, but they were not rich in the way that billionaires are rich And it was also a more diverse group than I had been expecting. There were a fair amount of women and people of color there. so that was really interesting to see Are there particular reasons that these folks want to live longer? What's the motivating factor behind this? A lot of people were very outspoken about the idea that they're not afraid of death per se. They are more aware of death, I would say than a lot of people in our average lives The people who I spoke with about this, a lot of them said what they really wanted out of longevity was to have enough time to do all the things that they wanted to do in life. They're worried that the average lifespan isn't long enough. And they were also really concerned not just about lifespan, but about healthspan, you the idea of being healthy well into your old age into your eighties and nineties and beyond A lot of folks had relatives with Alzheimer's or dementia. know what people want when it comes to the health of the mind and the brain, they want to remain themselves for as long as they can. There was one company that had a booth called Neuroge. Their idea is that you can measure the the biological a of your brain And with that data, which they draw from a combination of MRI scans and blood tests, they say, maybe we can help you figure out how to address certain things. The founder I spoke with said that she had grown her hippocampus by one point five percent or something like that. you know clinically validated with lots and lots of human trials. this is a business, but it's certainly an area that a lot of companies are looking to get into. What were some of the more out there ideas you heard about Okay, so there were some really interesting ones One that I hadn't heard about before going is the concept of bodyoids. I take you, it's me, your bodyid. So this is an idea. There were two people from different startups that are working on this right now of producing basically headless stacks of organs that you would then harvest in order to replace other failing organs. I don't have a brain, but if you need a heart, a liver, a kidney Maybe an eber Got it Oh, okay. well, one that sounds creepy and upsetting Also it's giving like Ship of Theseus like At some point this is no longer me if it's not my original like, I don't know E Totally. That's one hundred percent a concern. And you know, I spoke with somebody, one of the other conference attendees who said basically that, he was like, if you're replacing these organs, even if it's not your brain itself, you know what are you doing to your consciousness and to your personality? Is it still you? Come on, still you take you D give it Pressure And you know understandably, there's a lot of sort of like people who find the idea of doing this in humans to be quite creepy. rightight now, the startups that are working on this are not focused on humans. They're looking at doing this in animals like pigs and monkeys. And there are some interesting implications, not just for the longevity movement, but we do have a consistent problem with the lack of supply of organs for people need or who need a new kidney So that's one really interesting idea. And the idea of organ replacement overall is really popular. One person, one speaker there, outlined this idea of injecting bone marrow in your forties, your kidney in your fifties, your heart in your sixties and so on. and then potentially a whole body transplant by the time that you were ninety, so that you would be in a whole new body and be biologically eighteen years old That seems very wild and far off. Is there a timeline for this and some of the other technology they talked about? You know, I think that a lot of people predict like maybe T ten years, twenty years, but nobody really knows, right when all this stuff is going to come together. I do think that there are a lot of products out right now though, that are less wild and far out. There was a van there offering full body scans, for example. We did a mass blood test together. I wondered at the time that this was some sort of Guinness World record for blood tests because it was hundreds of people all sitting together doing it So yeah, there are definitely a lot of longevity products out there right now. Their scientific validity is another question, but they're certainly available for purchase. I think there's an irony here, you know People have been wanting to live longer forever, but you cannot beat the inevitable. Death is the great equalizer. It comes for us all Why are these folks so hopeful when You know, this is the one fact of life. We all die Yeah, it's a great question. I think know, one is that oververall, the people who are drawn to the longevity movement tend to be very optimistic. So they're going to think on average that there's a better chance of beating death than I think the average person might consider Then the other thing, I think is a lot of faith in technology and scientific progress. Some people I spoke with said, yeah, it's true that you for most of human history, there hasn't been anything that we could do about it despite lots of people who have tried, you since going back to the ancient Egyptians and Chinese emperors But at the same time, they say now it's different We've got AI, we've got the possibility of cryop preservation. We've got all of these different types of things that could potentially help people live longer. So I think that's the idea. It's a lot of faith in technology and progress Some of the ways we might live longer sound like they're right out of a sci fi. Next What you can do for longevity right here Right now The bo for today explained comes from Fetch Pet Insurance. Here's what surprises a lot of pet owners Something like every six seconds a pet owner in the US gets hit with a vet bill over a thousand dollars. 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ShipSation is an end to end order fulfillment platform for e commerce Shhipsttation adapts to your unique business letting you know when stock is low, recommending the best carrier selections and rates and automating tasks to save you time. Also, you can stay one step ahead. theirir features eliminate the need for multiple tools in your workflow like inventory syncing across your sales channels, A branded returns portal that helps turn returns into revenue, automatic rate shopping, plus integrations with accounting and CRM software The sooner you switch, the sooner you start saving time and money, get started with ship station today and get sixty days for shiphip station. . com with code today, that's shipstation. com code today, shipstation d. com code today taxes and fees applied I'm JQ, back with Ma, exxplain it to me Brian Walsh is an editorial director here at Vox He's also an editor for our Future Perfect section, which basically looks at ways to make our world better. Recently, he went to the doctor's office for a routine checkup. And he left with something to write about onn top of like, Thankfully like mostly just no bad news, which is the best you can kind of hope for. At this age, I asked my doctor about something new, which was the Singles vaccine And I asked him about that not because I'm even eligible for it, You're not eligible until you' fifty, or even that I was necessarily worried about shingles at the moment, but because I've heard and looked at studies that indicate that it might have a pretty powerful protective effect against neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alheimer's What does the Singles vaccine have to do with dementia? That is an excellent question that scientists are still looking into. So basically this began with a study that happened in Wales a few years ago where there was basically an age cuto offff among people who were eligible to get this vaccines. And what they found was that the vaccinated group was twenty percent less likely to develop dementia over like seven years following getting that vaccine. In people who have established dementia, it prevents progression or slows progression of the disease, which is truly a remarkable finding. And then there have been other studies that have kind of replicated this finding. There was actually one that came out this month here in the US and that found that there was a twenty four percent lower risk of developing dementia in a study that was like five hundred thousand people, which is pretty impressive Why that is is not entirely clear and it hasn't always been found. There have been other trials that sort of didn't quite see this effect But there's some thought that the virus itself might actually, when it gets reactivated, cause neuro inflammation that could be connected to dementia It's also possible that simply the immune boosting effects of these vaccines may seem to sort of protect yourself against whatever it is that's connected with dementia. So it's almost like it has a side effect that would be really, really helpful because that's a big effect if that actually holds. So the Singles vaccine is a good example of a possible longevity hack. I'm curious in terms of things that are available right now to anyone, what's in your power rankings? There's things everyone can do right now to really help themselves. And I'd say just starting kind of like a countdown Good afternoon. It's your driveime longevity tips from,, Brian. Wha coming in. Num four. Be social. As we get older, isolation does tend to set in. like you actually see this in data. peopleople like see fewer people, they're less and less connected. and that really has a risk to your brain. People who are socially isolated some studies have found, they have something like a thirty two percent higher risk of early death. you can actually see it sometimes in imaging studies. whatever you can do to begin to work ups you know more and more social connections or just maintain the ones you have because Just like your body tends to break down as you get older, those social connections can too. You know, notot only will that ideally help protect your brain for the long term, but also you know it will make you happier. It will make you feel more connected in the moment too. And now number three. So eating there's really a lot of evidence that the Mediterranean diet, which is basically you know, a diet that uses olive oil rather than butter, a lot of vegetables, whole grains fish as the protein, very little red meat. that's been found to really have an impact on reducing cancer heart disease, even serious cognitive decline. That's probably a single diet that's most connected. and certainly like it's something I try to do. L at my home, you know, we eat a lot of fish. like reducing saturated fat It doesn't mean like you can't eat these other things. Yeah, I was gonna say, RFK told me that red meat and saturated fat are actually so cool right now. We're ending the war on saturated fats. It's funny because like saturated fat was like the devil in nutrition for a very long time. I think we over corrected on that one. L some saturated fats, some dairy is actually Probably fine. But you know, would I eat steak every day like apparently RFK does? I would not to get strong. What we're really learning is that when it comes to that can be done on the body to really ensure that you have a body that can last for the distance. Strength training is really, really important. Basically after your twenties, muscle mass just will continually fall. If you build it now, it's like banking more so you can lose that later, which unfortunately is Inevitable But but you can put it off as long as possible by building muscle, by building strength right now and, you know brings me to something really important here, which is like when we talk about healthy longevity It's not necessarily the final number that you hit. What people really want to maximize and really focus on is what we call health span, which is the number of years you have of healthy life. And that's where the good eating, the social connection, the strength training helps to maximize and make those years as long as possible. because I think that's what you really want at the end of the day If you did not start lifting or like getting strong in your twenties are you cooked? Like is it so over for you? Do you like or No,, it's never over. I mean, it's never it's literally never too late. An hour resist's work a week will get you most of the benefit you need And you don't have to be crazy about it, but you do have to do it Okay What is your number one recommendation to fight father time? And number one, it is sleep Oh, that's the hardest one. It weirdly is the hardest one. You think it would be the easiest one, right? Literally all you do is lie down and close your eyes. But that really is the difference. And we really do know. Seven plus hours on a regular basis is tied to lower risk of heart disease Low risk diabetes, low risk of cancer. It's probably the most neuroprotective thing you can do for your brain on a regular basis And beyond that, what's really important is not just getting lots of sleep but trying to get deep sleep specifically Deep sleep seems to the one that really has the neuroprotective effect against dementia and things like that I think at times I can be skeptical of longevity strategies. L all of these things are part of a healthy lifestyle, yes But it's really easy to fixate and to let it sort of become your whole life to the point that You're so busy working on living a longer life, living a healthier life. that you're not enjoying the things that make life worth living. How do you square that? How do you think about that What I'm focusing on is like, I want to feel good now. I want to, you know, have the best life I have now because that's the time I know I'll have. I mean There there's no guarantee to anyone in the future. you can, you know, you could be the most Longevity, obsessed wellness influener and you know, a terrible thing can happen to you at fifty five That's why you should like what you're doing. And like with all these things, you know, whether it's the diet, whether it's the sleep, whether it's exercise, like find ways that you want to do them. Because if you feel like you're just forcing yourself to do it You're not good. No no one has that willpower. It certainly doesn't have that willpower to like get a goal that won't pay off for, you know, fifteen, twenty, thirty years Let's say, you lock in, do what you can and have the good fortune of living into your eighties, nineties. Maybe even one hundred. Then what actually makes life worth living That's coming up The for Take Spreing comes from Policy Genius. 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You can headit to chime d. com slash explain. That is chime d. com slash explained It only takes a few minutes to sign up. Chim is Fintech, not a bank, banking services for Pay and Chimeard provided by Chime's bank partners, optional products andvices have fees charg, stated ann percentage yield cash back for Chim prime, minimum balance requred. T taking account ranking bas on JP Powerurvey published octber twenty, twenty five. For for information on APY rates, pay, sppot me and travel perks, go to Chime. com slash disclos JQ, back with Explain it to me Roger Rosenblad, I'm a writer, former professor of English and writing at Harvard and a few other places. Georgetown, Columbia and Stoningbrook. So you recently published a book called More Rules for Aging. It's the sequel to a book you wrote twenty five years ago called Rules for Aing. What do you know about aging now in your mid eighties that you didn't know when you initially wrote that first book Well, the interesting thing is actually because I've done it. I've aged The when I wrote that book twenty five years ago, it really wasn't for aging. It was it was sort of general kind of funny, I guess rules on how to get old, how to make it. in other words, how to achieve old age Then once having achieved it, if you call that an achievement, I' I've been able to understand All the complexities that go with being old and they are multiple How do you balance the things you love about aging with the things that you don't love about it? That is the essential question things I don't love about it is the frailty of the body. I used to play sports, I used to walk, I used to breathe. And all of the functions of the body that you take for granted as you get older, start to fade and fade precipitously at age eighty. I would love to know what you make of the longevity movement, this desire to live longer and longer and maybe not die at all Well, there are a lot of people who are dead and don't know it. so they are walking contradictions of the rule. But the other part of it is rather than wondering about how science will keep us living longer It's a question of how to liose And that to me is a far more serious question, onene that I was trying to toy with this morning thinking of another essay on the idea of peace and the achievement of peace in old age. And by peace, I do not mean the absence of strife or the absence of war. I mean an understanding of the comprehensible complex. and changing Beautiful world around us. to achieve that kind of pie is something that only comes of old age because you've had a long enough time to see it all. I have a wonderful view of the East River, technically an estuary from my apartment in New York City The river goes on and on beyond certain islands and then disappears into eventually, into the Atlantic. But what I can see from my river boats and people and people walking and cars driving and ducks in a row. and dogs being walked U and birds in the air. and trees that are blooming in different seasons. I can see it all from my I'm lucky. I can see it all from my window and what I am seeing is the varieated Wow, world. that deserves appreciation and and love, frankly And so the piece that I'm talking about is really learning to love the world You know, a lot of people want to live into their eighties, nineties, one hundreds, but they want to do that with the body of a twenty year old. If science gets to that point, if that happens Do you think they'll lose something that people often gain age? Well, unless the twenty year old is as stupid as the actual twenty year old that you were, I wouldn't worry about it. It's the idea of how you're thinking about it. It'd be great, sure it'd be great to have I would do anything, anything. I used to play basketball. anything to be able to play basketball. I do anything to be able to lift a basketball now That is not to be But I can see, you know, I can I can see the world in a generous way The way the world, I believe has been given to us in a generous way And that I only have achieved in the last few years If science got to that point, would you want to live to one hundred and fifty? Like that's the number a lot of the folks in the longevity space mention I wonder what you think of that? If my marbles are in use for that time and I don't bother anyone else, my wife, my children my grandchildren with taking care of me. if that were the case then I wouldn't mind living one hundred and fifty years or any number of years. But if the mind were to go, that is if the mind were to become less observant, I don't mean it's such a good mind. I mean it is an observant mind I've been blessed with that. If that were to go, then I would say draw the curtain I want to I want to play some tape for you You're enjoying your later years, but that is not true for everyone. Miles, who's producing this show, his grandpa's ninety. I am Jack Morrell I'm a ninety year old former academic, now living in a one room assisted living room in Greencastle, Indiana. He's not moving around as much as he used to, but his mind is totally there. And he told Miles that this is sometimes made aging even harder. I get ideas and there's no one to bounce them off of I used to be able to watch ball games from beginning to end and I get more bored more easily My wife died on Easter Day twenty twenty four So it's That's a lonely life. Do you have any advice for someone like Jack, you know, people who are your peers who've outlived a lot of loved ones and are still struggling to find meaning in this particular season of life. It is truly a problem. and if you have outlived all your loved ones, and have no one It's not so much to bounce ideas off. I usually have friends. I have a gang of guys who will outlive me because each one is about ten years younger And so and we called the meatheads. and we have been friends for fifty years, started out just going to see bad movies together. and then then we meet once a month and just kid around. That is a valuable thing Actually, I fortified myself by building a whole coterie of friends who will grow old with me, providing that we all do I'm in my mid thirties. I don't consider myself quite in midlife yet. I'm giving myself a little bit more. Oh you are a kid. Actuarily, you're a kid and you are Mid thirties is nothing I would say you you start to understand the definitions of middle age when you hit your late forties. What advice do you have for me What's a better way to approach my own aging How do I embrace this so that I can sort of have that sense of peace now and into hopefully my eighties. Well, one way you' certainly been going to waste your time talking to people like me, but But one way I seriously mean, I realize how repetitive I sound.