What Actually Causes Aging?

This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Athletic Greens. To understand and combat rapid aging, we need to understand what causes aging, chronic diseases, and decline. We call these things the hallmarks of aging—the underlying common pathways or mechanisms of aging. Each hallmark is influenced by the others and affected by various imbalances—too much or too little of certain inputs that can negatively impact the expression and progression of the hallmark. Understanding those interactions and weblike connections is the key to solving the puzzle of aging. In today’s episode of my series I’m calling Health Bites, I dive into the 10 distinct hallmarks of aging and how to address them. What I’ve discovered has blown my mind and changed the way I approach my own health and the health of my patients. I’ve compiled it all into a new book called Young Forever, which comes out on February 21, 2023. Learn more and preorder the book at youngforeverbook.com. This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Athletic Greens. Rupa Health is a place where Functional Medicine practitioners can access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests from over 20 labs like DUTCH, Vibrant America, Genova, and Great Plains. You can check out a free, live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com. AG1 contains 75 high-quality vitamins, minerals, whole-food sourced superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens to support your entire body. Right now when you purchase AG1 from Athletic Greens, you will receive 10 FREE travel packs with your first purchase by visiting athleticgreens.com/hyman. Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version): Disrupted hormonal and nutrient signaling (8:08 / 4:40) DNA damage and mutations (17:38 / 14:12) Telomere shortening (19:19 / 15:52) Damaged proteins (20:32 / 17:04) Epigenetic damage (22:56 / 19:29) Senescent cells (otherwise known as zombie cells) (25:11 / 21:43) Depleted energy and mitochondrial decline (26:44 / 23:17) The link between gut health and longevity (28:33 / 25:07) Stem cell exhaustion (30:38 / 27:14) Inflammaging and dysfunction in immune functioning (32:00 / 28:32)