Future of Longevity and Summary

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Hi, I'm Catherine Ryan and welcome back to Dr. Nicola's Second Opinion, the place where aging myths get busted and the latest research gets a glow-up. Coming up, Dr. Nick straight up from the lab to give you a heads up on hard science. We've got your questions lined up, and as always, she'll finish up with a quick fix to help you stay younger from the inside out . This week we're getting personal with Dr. Nicola herself. What do we know about her biological age and what other secrets is she keeping from us? Dr. Nicola's second opinion. Hello and welcome to back Second Opinion and for this final episode I wanted to do something a little bit different because throughout the series we've talked a lot about all of the things that influence our biological age, but today I am gonna talk about what I actually do because this is a question I get asked all of the time because my biological age is 20 and I am chronologically 38. So today I'm gonna walk you through a typical day in my life and explain all the things that I personally do to support my biological age. So, first of all, one of my absolute non-negotiabis is just getting out side in the morning and getting some natural daylight. Now, I live in the UK, so this isn't always bright sunshine, but quite often it's gray and cloudy, but that doesn't matter because it's not about the sun, it's about getting some light on your skin. And when light enters the eyes in the morning, it signals to your brain that the day has started. And this really helps reset your circadian rhythm. So this is your internal body clock, and that controls everything from your hormones to your metabolism to even helping with your sleep later that night. So it quite literally switches on and off thousands of different genes that control your body. So this simple act of me just stepping outside in the morning really does set the tone for my entire day. So that is the first thing I do. And I do that pretty much every day. And I usually pair that with movement. So uh to go outside I'll get out and I'll go for a walk most mornings. So sometimes it'll just be a really short walk or sometimes a bit longer, depending on how much time I've got. But that is usually how I start my day. I do also go to the gym. So I usually go to the gym around four times a week. I love going to the gym and I do both strength and cardio training. But for me, that everyday movement, that just getting out and having a walk is just as important as the gym. I like to get my steps in, especially when I'm traveling and I might not be able to mate the gym, this is what I do instead, and it just keeps my body in a more naturally active state . Now, if I'm not able to get as much natural daylight as I'd like, especially in winter, what I do use is a red light panel that I've got at home, and I literally just sit in front of it for around 20 to 30 minutes. And this is because red and near infrared light in particular interact with our mitochondria, these energy producing powerhouses in the cells. And this really does help to support energy production, it reduces inflammation, it's very good for your skin and for collagen production. The other thing I'm also a fan of when it comes to more techie type stuff is sauna because there is so much evidence that something as simple as heat exposure and just sitting in a hot sauna has been linked to improved health and longevity. And I also do quite like an ice bath. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I do like it. I don't do this every day, maybe twice a week, as the dopamine hit that you get from it really boosts my mood. And it's also a good way to stimulate the production of mitochondria again for energy production. So it does really give you this energy boost. And I'm lucky that I do have both of these things in my local gym. So I'll usually pair these things with my gym time . Now, when it comes to food, I don't personally follow a strict diet, but I do follow a couple of principles. For example, one thing that I do is I tend to leave at least 12 hours between my last meal of the day and my first meal of the next day. So I get this sort of gentle overnight fast. It's not an extreme fast, but it's enough time to give my body a break from constant digestion. And we know that when you do this and you have this fasting period, it switches on a process in our cells called autophagy, which is essentially like a cellular recycling system that helps to clear out any damage. And when I do eat foods, I focus on whole good quality food. So I love to cook. To cook things from scratch, I like to know what's in my food. I aim for plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds. Perhaps not surprising given how often I talk about eating 30 different plants a week. I really do try to do this myself. And the other thing is I try to avoid ultra-processed foods wherever I can. Now I'm the first to admit that I am definitely not perfect. Um if you ask anyone that knows me, I definitely have a sweet tooth, but broadly I a im for about an 80-20 balance of 80% whole food and 20% is a little bit more flexible, having some things that are perhaps a little bit naughty. Now, the other thing that I think is really important is for me to understand my own biology. So what I regularly get done is my blood work. So usually around every six months, um, you can get some quite good at-home finger prick blood tests to do this now, and that's all I use. And I keep it quite broad. I look at my vitamins, my minerals, liver function, hormones, thyroid, glucose, inflammation, all of these foundational markers. And the reason I do this is not because I'm expecting something to be wrong, but I really want to understand what's normal for me when I feel good. Because if you know your baselines, then if something changes, like if you feel more tired or your mood shifts or your energy drops, then you've kind of got something to compare to, and you can look at something and go, Oh, do you know what I've been become deficient in this or this has changed. So I think it's really important to get to know your own body and your own biology and what's normal for you when you're feeling fit and well . The other thing that I really do work quite hard to keep on top of is stress . Because if anyone looked at my diary or if they looked at my life on paper, they would probably say, Oh my goodness, how do you survive? Um, because I work a lot, I travel, I have a daughter, I have a very hectic life. So for me, stress management is absolutely critical. And I'm never going to be able to remove it completely. That's not realistic. But how I manage stress is by how I respond to it. I'd say that over the years I've learnt to become quite a calm person. I don't tend to sweat the small stuff. I've learned not to. And I think that really matters because it's not short bursts of stress that actually drive ag ing. We know it's this chronic unrelenting stress. And if you've got a busy life, then this can easily creep up on you, raising your cortisol, increasing inflammation and just pushing that biological age up as we know . So my tips are nothing crazy actually. It's just whenever I find that things are getting too much. For me, the antidote is one of two things. It's either getting out in nature, getting outdoors, going for a walk and getting some fresh air to reset, or it's listening to music. So music again for me is something that just really helps me unwind and switch off. So even just 10 minutes of outside nature or some music can personally reset me and bring my stress levels down . Now, I probably can't get away without talking about supplements as it's probably the number one thing that I get asked. And my honest answer is that yes, I do take supplements, but what I do take is personalized to me and probably won't be applicable to you because it's based on my own blood tests and my genetics, which have highlighted certain deficiencies that I have in things like folate. Having said that, there are some general things that I think most people can do with more of that I take, things like omega-3, vitamin D, and K2, which have actually been shown to improve markers of biological age. I also take functional mushrooms, so I like to take ras hi, which is very good for immune protection, and also lion's mane for brain health. And then there's NAD, which I'm also a big fan of. And as a scientist, personally, I have spent many years of my career studying this. NAD is an exciting molecule in the longevity space. It's something that declines with age , but it's essential in our cells for energy and repair. And I take a supplement that supports my body's natural production of NAD to help switch these repair pathways back on . And finally, I just want to mention sleep because I still think sleep is probably the most powerful tool that we have when it comes to longevity. I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. That's actually really important for sleep quality, and I aim for around seven to eight hours sleep. Now I track my sleep with an aura ring. Everyone's probably seen me wearing this, and this um really helps you understand what helps you sleep well and what disrupts your sleep. So for me, I know that a room that is too warm will absolutely destroy my sleep. So I actually have the radiator switched off in my bedroom. And the other thing is alcohol. has That a massive impact on my sleep. So I tend to only drink occasionally. I'll have a glass of wine as a treat if I'm going for a nice meal or something. Um, but that's it . So that's me. You might be surprised that I'm not doing anything completely crazy. Um or there again, if you've been listening to the podcast, you might not be so surprised because you will know that it is absolutely the basic things that count. There's no magic form ula, there's no perfect routine, but if you do the basics consistently, it really does pay off. Dr. Nicola's second opinion. So this week I've been inundated with questions about me. So I will do my best to answer as many as I can as truthfully as I can. And Catherine is gonna read the first one. Carrie, thanks for your question. She says, Dr. Nick, I follow you on the gram, and I'd love to know how you personally balance work, rest, and well-being. Do you actively rest if that makes sense? And has your own relationship with aging changed over the years? Oh, so I love this idea of actively resting because I think that's exactly what it is. My life is busy. I work a lot. I travel. So I don't really have the opportunity for long periods of doing nothing. So instead, what I do is build recovery into my life in smaller ways. So that might be my morning walk, my time with family, or just switching off in the evening. So these are all forms of rest, even though I'm not just sitting doing nothing. Because rest isn't always about stopping completely. It's about giving your body opportunity just to come out of that constant go state. And in terms of aging, I would say yes, my relationship with Ageen is definitely changed because earlier in my career it felt probably more like something I just studied. But now as I'm older, I definitely feel like it's something I have to support and put into practice what I've learned. And the next question is from Priere, and she says, Hi Dr. Nicola, what is the biggest myth you've heard about aging? Ooh, okay. Um, so I think the biggest myth that I've heard about aging is that it's purely genetic and it's out of your control . Because what we do know is that whilst genetics does play a role, the majority of aging is actually influenced by your lifestyle and your environment. So it's estimated that only around 20% is your genetics and the rest is lifestyle. So 80% is lifestyle, which means that how we age is actually largely within our control . So let's get another question. Michelle is 49 and she says, Hi, Dr. Nick. I'd love to know what daily habits you personally prioritize for your own longevity. Could you share the non-negotiables in your own routine? So for me, Michelle, the non-negotiab les are actually the really simple things. So the morning light, the daily movement, the whole good quality food, and the sleep. So those are the anchors. Everything else that I do, the supplements, treatment s, tracking, anything else, they all sit on top of that. So if I had to strip it back completely, I'd just keep the basics because those are the things that consistently move the needle . And the next question says, Hi Dr. Nick, it's Laura. I'd love to know what first sparked your interest in longevity science and whether there was a personal moment that you set out on this path. Could you share what motivates you to keep exploring this field? Ooh, that's a really nice question, actually. So my background is actually in drug development, and I remember learning that aging itself is our biggest risk factor for almost every single disease that drugs companies are trying to treat, things like heart disease, cancer, dementia. And that really stopped me in my tracks because we tend to think of all these different things as separate conditions, but actually they're all linked by the same underlying process, which is age. Our age is our biggest risk factor for all of these things. Now, at the same time, I became very aware of the gap between our lifespan and our health span. So we're living longer than ever, but we're not necessarily living those extra years in good health. And I saw that in my own grandparents, which I just found really sad. And that really motivated me was that if there was a way that we can slow or even support Aging at the cellular level, then maybe we could change this, maybe we could improve our health span. Because I think it's not just about adding years for the sake of it. It's actually about trying to improve the quality of those years. And I think that's what the science has really shown over the past decade. This episode of What's My Age Again is sponsored by MedExpress , the UK online pharmacy. If you've been trying to manage your weight but feel like nothing's really working, MedExpress connects you with UK registered clinicians who assess your situation and create a treatment plan to support your weight management goals . With over 1.5 million customers, MedExpress is one of the country's leading online pharmacies, and they offer access to licensed, evidence-based treatment under medical supervision. And the whole process happens from your laptop or phone. There's no need for face-to-face appointments. They'll post your approved treatment to your door each month. You don't have to worry about getting locked into a contract or subscription either. You can cancel anytime. Your relationship with your body can change over the years, but MedExpress is there to offer you discrete and convenient professional guidance supporting your weight management journey. Visit medExpress.co.uk to check your eligibility and get 40 pounds off with code W MAA . British Gas have this thing. We call it home care. We'll fix all sorts, and it's unlimited repairs. Expert engineers will solve the upset of boilers, not boiling or tap s that won't wet, electrics playing tricks, or a pipe that's broke. We're there for everyone. Even blue furry folk. Your home won't feel booby trapped. It'll feel just like new British gas taking care of things and looking after you. 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