Researchers in Germany have found that a compound found in pomegranates may play a key role in fighting cancer.  

Human trials are needed to establish whether findings seen in mice and test tubes also apply to people, but early results look promising. 

Let's dive into the detail. 

Pomegranates and other foods, such as nuts, contain ellagitannins. We use them to produce Urolithin A (UA) which is important for the health of our mitochondria, the energy centers of cells. Scientists say it also improves the function of immune cells in their fight against cancer.  

We don't all produce UA at the same rate, but a supplement exists, in a highly pure form, which is used to boost cellular energy and muscle strength.  Could it also aid the body's natural defense against cancer?  

Dr. Dominic Denk, a physician at Frankfurt University Hospital was part of the team that carried out the latest research with the Frankfurt Cancer Institute.

In this interview we cover: 

• The complexities involved in researching and combatting different types of  cancer
• The "generous" nature of cancer cells and what drives the disease's progression
• The role of UA and the importance of mitophagy - the renewal of mitochondria
• The different extents to which we produce UA and the impact of aging
• What drives cancer and how the body responds to the disease
• The impact of exposing the immune system to UA and its impact on cancerous cells
• The next step:  Clinical trials with healthy people to assess the impact of UA, through supplementation, on T cells.
• The benefit of having already approved forms of UA supplementation to further the research
• Why "cure" is a dangerous word, especially when dealing with cancer
• A cautious approach to supplementation and the importance of tried and testing health interventions such as optimizing sleep and getting enough exercise. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Starting a fitness journey is one of the most challenging things we can do.  There are obstacles, excuses and setbacks that many find overwhelming.  Shebah Carfagna, a single mother of an autistic child, knew she had to be strong to confront the challenges she faced - not only for the sake of her son, but her own wellbeing. Pre-dawn workouts and a lifetime of learning led to a career in fitness, with movement at its core. The co-founder of Ageless Workout, a Miami-based health and wellness company, Shebah now empowers others to live their best lives.

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie with whom we share a common goal of helping people pursue a long healthspan.  The pioneering health and wellness destination, nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, combines preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, and offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier, and longer lives.

In this interview we cover: 

• Defining an ageless mindset
• A 3:45am gym routine that grew into a career around fitness
• Why movement first, rather than exercise?
• Addressing the barriers and obstacles to a fitness regime
• Maintaining personal strength to care for others
• Teaching the Joy Principle
• The power of walking
• Catering for the 80% of people who're lost and can'th fathom exercise
• Changing the messaging around fitness to be more inclusive
• Applying the Richard Simmons principle towards exercise, to bring people together
• Ecotherapy to nurture mind, body and soul. 
• Maintaining power, strength and purpose as we age.
• Defining a vision of the future for aging individuals in 2030

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Aging, according to Bill Rawls, MD, is the loss of functional cells as we go through life. An author and physician, Dr. Rawls is on a mission to elevate the importance of  caring for the basic building blocks of our body.  Our cells, he says, are the key to healthy longevity.   The fourth generation physician, from Raleigh in North Carolina,  confronted a mid-life health crisis of his own that transformed his view of personal wellness.  He now focusses his energies on holistic health interventions and the power of herbal supplements.  In his latest book, The Cellular Wellness Solution, Dr Rawls lays out what he sees as the limitations of modern medicine and the possibilities offered by alternative treatments. 

In this interview we cover:

• Confronting a mid-life health crisis that led to a transformative approach to wellness
• Understanding the link between a lack of sleep and stress
• Adopting herbal medicine 
• Defining the value of good cellular health
• What it means to lose cells as we age and why maximum lifespan appears to stop at about 120
• Carbs, fats and protein.  Getting the balance right. 
• The numbers game and hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c 
• Fasting and keto diets
• Applying the science to ourselves and where to start?
• Personal accountability and healthcare

Connect with Dr. Rawls:  Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube 
Books: The Cellular Wellness Solution | Unlocking Lyme

DISCOUNTS

▸ DoNotAge is offering listeners to LLAMA a 10% discount on its range of products, including NAD boosters. Use the use code LLAMA for purchases at DoNotAge.org
Health queries can be answered by emailing: [email protected]
▸ Recharge Health is offering LLAMA listeners a $30.00 discount on the purchase of FlexBeam, for red light therapy, which may help your body heal and promote  the health of skin and muscle tissue .  Use the code LLAMA at checkout.
▸ Time-line is offering LLAMA podcast listeners a 5% discount on its Mitopure products - Mitopure Powder, Softgels and Mitopure + Protein. Mitopure supports improvements in mitochondrial function and muscle strength. Use the code LLAMA at checkout

PartiQlar supplements

Enhance your wellness journey with PartiQlar supplements. No magic formulas, just pure single ingredients, like NMN, L-Glutathione, Spermidine, Resveratrol, TMG and Quercetin.
Get a 15% discount with the code MASTERAGING15 at PartiQlar

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Choosing the most appropriate supplementation for optimum health and longevity can be a perplexing process.  This episode is the first of a series, over the coming months, in which we will focus on a single nutrient and its importance for our every day health.  

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant.  It is important to maintain the immune system and cellular health. It is found in many foods but do our diets provide enough for our needs?  Dr. Barrie Tan is a leading expert on vitamin E.  A biochemist, he is the President of American River Nutrition, a natural health research and development company, located in Hadley, Massachusetts, and a longtime researcher into the health benefits from a form of the vitamin called tocotrienol. 

We explore how it differs from the more commonly known form, tocopherol, and why it matters.

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie with whom we share a common goal of helping people pursue a long healthspan.  The pioneering health and wellness destination, nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, combines preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, and offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier, and longer lives.

In this interview we cover:

• The discovery, in 1922, of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E - and four decades later, tocotrienol. 
• What's the difference?
• Dr. Tan's journey from Malaysia to Massachusetts
• The annatto plant - sometime called the  lipstick plant and its significance as a source of tocotrienol.  
• The importance of vitamin E for cellular health and especially cell walls.
• Can we get enough vitamin E from our diets?
• The relationship between vitamin E and stresses on the body
• Should vitamin E levels be a regular 
• Identifying signs of a vitamin E deficiency
• Differentiating between vitamin E supplements and why they don't all come equal
• Avoiding snake oil by scrutinizing indepenedent research
• Longevity aspirations
• Are multi-vitamins worth taking? 

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

The search for the Fountain of Youth has intrigued and challenged scientists for centuries. Now, longevity is a buzzword - a multi-billion dollar industry with myriad interventions that could help us live longer and better. But are we any closer to fully understanding what it takes to extend healthy lifespan or healthspan? Nicklas Brendborg is a biotechnology researcher and the author of Jellyfish Age Backwards: Nature's Secrets to Longevity. The Copenhagen-based PhD student explores, with a critical eye, some of the fundamental questions related to aging science and mankind's quest to push the boundaries of healthy living. In this LLAMA podcast, with Peter Bowes, Nicklas explains how some animals have already achieved immortality and why the mechanisms behind aging continue to challenge researchers.

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie with whom we share a common goal of helping people pursue a long healthspan.  The pioneering health and wellness destination, nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, combines preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, and offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier, and longer lives.

In this interview we cover:

• Defining the Fountain of Youth and what we mean by the aging process. 
• A critical analysis of aging research and the science of longevity
• Do jellyfish really age backwards? 
• The small animal advantage when it comes to living a long life
• The intriguing of people with Laron syndrome - why they appear able to avoid the killer diseases of old age
• The whole body factor and why mental health also plays a role in living a long life
• Calorie restriction and life extension in mice
• Time-restricted eating
• An appreciation of the pioneering researcher, Dr. Roy Walford
• Self-experimentation and understanding our own bodies

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Telling the stories of long, healthy and productive lives is what we do here.  We share insights into how people conduct themselves - the habits, hacks, lessons and learning curves that evolve over time.  We hear about relationships, athletic adventures and career achievements - the highs and the lows of a life well-lived.

One day, hopefully in the distant future, it will be obituary-time. A few paragraphs politely mentioning some of our milestones along with funeral arrangements and options for flowers.  But before it comes to that, have you ever thought about telling your own story?  

James R. Hagerty writes obituaries for The Wall Street Journal, but his new book focusses on the living. In Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer's Guide to Telling Your Story, James shares his skills and insight into how to record the pivotal moments of our lives.  He also explains how the process could prove life-enhancing or enlightening and a valuable resource for our loved-ones.

In this interview we cover:

• The value of having a life story preserved.
• The difference between an obituary and telling your own story
• James' story as a career obituary writer and journalist
• But I'm not famous or infamous - do I have a story to tell?
• How open do I need to be about every high and low in my life? 
• When discretion is the better part of valor
• Saving stories - from letter-writing to social media posts
• Is the process therapeutic? 
• How do others benefit from you writing your story?
• The skill of asking questions
• Realizing how little we know about each others' lives
• Enjoying a long life and career and staying engaged

DISCOUNTS

▸ DoNotAge is offering listeners to LLAMA a 10% discount on its range of products, including NAD boosters. Use the use code LLAMA for purchases at DoNotAge.org
Health queries can be answered by emailing: [email protected]
▸ Recharge Health is offering LLAMA listeners a $30.00 discount on the purchase of FlexBeam, for red light therapy, which may help your body heal and promote  the health of skin and muscle tissue .  Use the code LLAMA at checkout.
▸ Time-line is offering LLAMA podcast listeners a 5% discount on its Mitopure products - Mitopure Powder, Softgels and Mitopure + Protein. Mitopure supports improvements in mitochondrial function and muscle strength. Use the code LLAMA at checkout

PartiQlar supplements

Enhance your wellness journey with PartiQlar supplements. No magic formulas, just pure single ingredients, like NMN, L-Glutathione, Spermidine, Resveratrol, TMG and Quercetin.
Get a 15% discount with the code MASTERAGING15 at PartiQlar

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Our balancing skills start to decline as early as our late 20s and our ability to balance is high on the list of things that determine our lifespan. Toppling over and requiring hospital treatment could signal the beginning of the end, in fact the leading cause of injury-related death for people 65 and over is falling. How often have you heard that an older person 'had a fall' and was never the same again? In this episode, Nathan Estrada, a physical therapist with Denver-based Nymbl Science, explains the link between longevity and balancing skills. He also outlines the simple measures that can be taken to mitigate the dangers of falling and how technology can help. 

In this episode we cover:

• Defining balance and why we need it
• The role of mobility in meaningful lives
• Combining brain games and functional movement
• Stumbling, almost falling - the canary in the coal mine. 
• Why the fear of falling can lead to accidents in the future
• Why improving balancing skills should be on the agenda for everyone over 30
• Acting 'old' and how to avoid it
• Why "aging is not less"
• The problems posed by removing household obstacles that could help improve mobility
• Why the employees of nursing homes shuffle their feet
• The most helpful interventions to mitigate the risk of falling
• Why you don't want people to have to lie at your funeral

DISCOUNTS
▸ DoNotAge is offering listeners to LLAMA a 10% discount on its range of products, including NAD boosters. Use the use code LLAMA for purchases at DoNotAge.org
Health queries can be answered by emailing: [email protected]
▸ Recharge Health is offering LLAMA listeners a $30.00 discount on the purchase of FlexBeam, for red light therapy, which may help your body heal and promote  the health of skin and muscle tissue .  Use the code LLAMA at checkout.
▸ Time-line is offering LLAMA podcast listeners a 5% discount on its Mitopure products - Mitopure Powder, Softgels and Mitopure + Protein. Mitopure supports improvements in mitochondrial function and muscle strength. Use the code LLAMA at checkout

PartiQlar supplements

Enhance your wellness journey with PartiQlar supplements. No magic formulas, just pure single ingredients, like NMN, L-Glutathione, Spermidine, Resveratrol, TMG and Quercetin.
Get a 15% discount with the code MASTERAGING15 at PartiQlar

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

As we prepare to welcome 2023, what better time to kick start a new healthy longevity lifestyle.  We're excited at LLAMA to continue our never ending journey of learning, with this inspiring conversation about living for a million hours. Have a wonderful New Year! 

Dr. Alka Patel is a London-based General Practitioner who believes that it is possible to live for well over a century, with targeted self-care and "compassionate lifestyle changes." In this interview Dr. Patel shares her wisdom and enthusiasm for healthy aging interventions - some of which are based on her own struggles with stress and burnout.   

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie with whom we share a common goal of helping people pursue a long healthspan.  The pioneering health and wellness destination, nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, combines preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, and offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier, and longer lives.

We discuss:

• The role of a doctor - from treater of the sick to health care coach
• What it means to focus on minute-by-minute self-care
• The pivotal life moments that shaped Dr. Patel's approach to health coaching
• How health advice during moments of pain can be overwhelming
• Tracking lifestyle changes and being accountable to yourself
• Explaining the LQ - Lifestyle Quotient - test
• Why access to personal bio data is vital to understand your health
• Partnering up with a friend or qualified mentor to champion your healthcare journey.
• The Hawthorne Effect - the power of being observed
• The 'teachable moments" in life that challenge and ultimately inspire us
• Embracing the "reality of life" from the dark moments to the fun side of living. 
• Making fitness tech and wearable devices work for you
• Downtime, calendar white space and time to breath
• Diet dilemas and the power of fasting or restricted eating
• The different stages of sleep and why they matter
• Why Alka believes a million-hour-life is a realistic goal

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Of all the lifestyle interventions that could help us live longer and better, fasting has been hailed by some as the holy grail of health. It comes in many - and somewhat confusing - forms.  From time restricted eating to intermittent fasting and longer term food deprivation, fasting has a long and fascinating history.  Steve Hendricks is a freelance journalist and the author of The Oldest Cure in the World, Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting.  The book attempts to put into perspective what we know about fasting, how realistic a "cure" it is for some conditions and whether it is a practical option to fight disease and live longer.   

In this interview we cover:

• Discovering fasting through an exploration of caloric restriction and ways to live longer
• To what extent could fasting be considered a cure for certain diseases? 
• Repair mechanisms and how fasting can fix problems in cells
• How fasting can be considered an adventure in art as well as science
• Entering a "contemplative state" through fasting and the physiological reasons for it
• What does self-experimentation involve?
• Weight loss and fasting
• What it means to go into a ketogenic state
• Dealing with depression and idiopathic hypersomnia 
• Fasting and cancer
• Are some people better able than others to cope with fasting?
• What is a fasting mimicking diet? 
• Why people are motivated to fast and stick with the regime
• Fasting and mindset and how it changes our attitude towards food
• Time restricted eating and what happens when we stick to a narrower eating window during the day
• The science behind the old adage, 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper'

DISCOUNTS
▸ Recharge Health is offering LLAMA listeners a $30.00 discount on the purchase of FlexBeam, for red light therapy, which may help your body heal and promote  the health of skin and muscle tissue .  Use the code LLAMA at checkout.
▸ Time-line is offering LLAMA podcast listeners a 5% discount on its Mitopure products - Mitopure Powder, Softgels and Mitopure + Protein. Mitopure supports improvements in mitochondrial function and muscle strength. Use the code LLAMA at checkout
▸ DoNotAge is offering listeners to LLAMA a 10% discount on its range of products, including NAD boosters. Use the use code LLAMA for purchases at DoNotAge.org
Health queries can be answered by emailing: [email protected]

PartiQlar supplements

Enhance your wellness journey with PartiQlar supplements. No magic formulas, just pure single ingredients, like NMN, L-Glutathione, Spermidine, Resveratrol, TMG and Quercetin.
Get a 15% discount with the code MASTERAGING15 at PartiQlar

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

An understanding of the hallmarks of aging is at the heart Dr. Nick Bitz's mission to achieve a long healthy life.  The hallmarks are the functional mechanisms - such as mitochondrial health - that drive the aging process. The challenge is to identify how lifestyle interventions can be implemented to mitigate the decline in biological resilience of the human body.  Dr. Bitz is a Los Angeles-based naturopathic doctor specializing in integrative medicine. He works alongside other medical practitioners, biohackers and scientists - collectively called the Neurohacker Collective -  with the common goal of optimizing our quality of life.  

In this interview we cover:

• The mission to improve people's lives and optimize human performance
• Defining nootropics - cognitive enhancers - and their role in everyday health
• Dr. Bitz's health journey as a naturopathic physician specializing in Ayurveda
• What it means to be 'holistic'
• How dietary supplements can be used as a "tool" for longevity
• Covid, flu and immunity
• The Nine Hallmarks of Aging and why they matter
• Embracing senolytics, a new class of drugs to rejuvenate and regenerate the body's cells
• The "critical" importance of exercise
• The evidence that shows that a lifespan of 120 is "absolutely achievable"
• Panchakarma as a detox therapy
• Meditation, sun salutations and breathing exercises
• Reasons to aspire for longevity

DISCOUNTS
▸ Neurohacker Collective is offering LLAMA podcast listeners 15% off any its Qualia formulations, which are designed to help the body more effectively regulate its own biochemistry and restore homeostatic balance.
Use the code LLAMA at checkout

PartiQlar supplements

Enhance your wellness journey with PartiQlar supplements. No magic formulas, just pure single ingredients, like NMN, L-Glutathione, Spermidine, Resveratrol, TMG and Quercetin.
Get a 15% discount with the code MASTERAGING15 at PartiQlar

Support the show

The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.