Longevity doctor shares tips on how to stay youthful for longer

We live in a time where technological advancements have enabled scientists and people to test the parameters behind remaining youthful forever through cosmetic procedures or even reversing the process of aging by using treatments and peptides.

Dr Cathy Davies, a medical doctor and longevity scientist, and Kim Hullet, the CEO of Biosciences, share tips from shifting one’s focus from health span improvements to peak span at the Singularity Summit South Africa event that was hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre this week.

Various spans of life

Introducing the concept of peak span, Hullet reflected on being healthy and disease-free, and shifted the focus towards the quality of life lived when one is devoted to performing at their peak.

When asked how one can live a longer and healthier lifespan, Davies’ advice was simply an acronym: “DWYMTY”, which simply means to do what your mother told you.

‘Do what your mum told you’

“It’s to do what your mum told you. Really that’s the foundation: sleep well, eat well, wake up in the morning sun, breathe well.

“And if we don’t get these foundational things right, then none of what we’ll actually talk about will help you,” Davies asserted.

She explained the differences between lifespan, health span and peak span.

“Lifespan is just how long you live, health span is how many years you live without disease,” Davies said.

“But the way I like to look at health span from my patients, I look at capability.”

‘Living capably’

She described a scenario she witnessed on her flight from Cape Town to the event where she observed an elderly lady who was frail and uncomfortable in her wheelchair, needing to be lifted up and into her seat.

Then another elderly lady capably walked onto the plane with a hand wrapped around her granddaughter.

“And she put her granddaughter’s little pink case in the overhead compartment, and sat on her seat quite happily,” Davies said.

“So for me, health span is way more important than just living without disease, its about living capably.

“And then, of course, this whole revolution to peak span is really about your peak and to different people, that can mean different things, but it is about keeping your peak for as long as possible.”

Davies explained that for some it could mean being fit enough to do the splits and dance on tables at 100 years old, while for others it may mean keeping the brain as creative and sharp as possible.

Radical life extension

Then there’s radical life extension. She described it as people who want to live past 120 to 200 years.

“And the science is pretty radical with what these people are using: gene therapy, Klotho gene therapy, and interestingly enough, there’s a small limitation for these people called the FDA ethics (US Food and Drug Administration).

“So the amazing and exciting science is not necessarily approved.”

Cheat death on an island

Davies spoke of a beautiful island in Honduras, called Roatán, where there is a network society project focused on radical life extension, biohacking and anti-aging therapies.

Many experimental gene therapies are offered as it is the home to biotech start-ups attracting high-profile longevity advocates and tech investors.

It is also known as the paradise island where millionaires go to cheat the concept of death using methods that often have not yet been FDA-approved.

Fewer limiting laws

“So they live in this zone, and the laws here are more relaxed because it has its own governance, and they do all these exciting therapies.

“They even sign themselves up for cryotherapy and cryo-freeze themselves, and in case that it’s not approved by the time they die, they might come back and then live until 200,” Davies suggests.

She said that no matter what treatment you are doing, whether it’s DWYMTY, using peptides or high-end supplements, the main goal is to look as youthful as possible.

Process of aging cells

“So for example, if we take an old liver and put it in young blood, the liver cells start to behave like younger cells,” Davies said.

“And we realised that it’s not because the [liver] cell is old that it doesn’t get to live longer, but because behaviour and signals are telling it to behave old.

“So all we are trying to do with these processes is to signal to that cell to behave like a young and fresh apple, compared to an aged, wrinkly one.”

Biohacking peptides

Davies said that a protein consists of a chain of amino acids that are 40 links or longer. However, if the amino acid chain is less than 39 links, it is considered a peptide.

“We have used them in medicine for many years; GLP-1s are peptides, and that’s what everyone wants to hear about: the biohacking peptides.”

‘Where can it all go wrong?’

Both Davies and Hullet warned about the dangers of peptides.

“I mean, who can’t be excited about all the promises of peptides, but I think some of us are a bit sceptical and scared, especially when you hear about people sourcing peptides from wherever and injecting themselves in the bathroom,” Hullet added.

Davies warned that there are many places where peptides can go wrong.

“The biggest thing about peptides is the source. If it is being ethically sourced, it comes through a SAHPRA facility that will tell you the cold chain process hasn’t been broken. It can test what’s in there, that it actually is what it says, and the dose that it says it is, ensuring there are no endotoxins or heavy metals in there.

“So if you don’t know where you are buying it from, you don’t know if any of these processes have been followed, and even if the peptide starts working, you don’t know whether there are any harmful chemicals present.”

Dangers

Davies added that people using these peptides will only experience side effects later down the line, which can be detrimental to their overall health and well-being.

She also noted the importance of how people store peptides, which also contributes to how effective it is.

“Are you leaving it in the fridge next to the rotten lettuce?”

Davies concluded by noting that dodgy peptides can definitely pose a danger to your health and encouraged people to focus on the foundational aspects that result in a healthy and overall peak lifespan.