‘I Spent 36 Hours At A Longevity Summit. Here’s What I Learned About Life…And Death’
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I never gave much thought to longevity until I became a mother for the first time at 36. Of course, I’ve always hoped to live a long, healthy life, but I also recognize that the reality of reaching 100+ years is sometimes better in theory than in practice. I grew up with a mother who reminded me of the “circle of life” every time a pet goldfish died; it made me comfortable with the idea that death is an inevitable, natural process that paves way for new life.
That all changed with the birth of my son, when I realized that if he waited as long as I did to have children, I’d be 72 at the birth of my first grandchild, and I’d have to live until 90 to see that munchkin graduate from high school.
So when I made my way to the inaugural Livelong Summit—an event where regular people (like me!) could hear directly from experts specializing in the art of longevity—I was hoping to pick up a few practical tips to set myself up for at least, say, six more good decades. (Based on the number of dad jokes I heard throughout the weekend about “living forever,” my goal was actually pretty conservative.)
The summit, which was held in mid-March in West Palm Beach, Florida, had a stacked lineup, featuring experts like David Sinclair, PhD, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and author of Lifespan: Why We Age—And Why We Don't Have To; Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, 15-time New York Times bestselling author and functional medicine expert; and Daisy Robinton, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Oviva Therapeutics, a company specifically focused on developing therapeutics to target aging in women, among other things.
Once I navigated the lobby full of sponsors pedaling products that may or may not unlock the keys to the fountain of youth (peep me trying on the PNOE device, which promises to analyze your metabolism, VO2 max, and biological age via breath analysis, in the photo above), I can honestly say the 36 hours of programming kept me riveted.
The longevity experts featured didn’t all agree on their tactics, but there were definitely some common threads.
Here’s what I learned about the wild world of longevity research.
You need to be savvy about supplements.
Resveratrol. Vitamin D. Omega-3. These were just a handful of the alphabet soup of supplements referenced and touted by various longevity experts throughout the summit. Sinclair even posted a slide featuring his entire personal eight-supplement regimen complete with the dosages. (I’ve never seen so many Boomers whip out their iPhones that quickly.)
By far, the most common questions the audience posed throughout the weekend revolved around supps. What did the experts recommend? How much and how often? And how the heck do you know if they’re working?
It’s no surprise that there’s a lot of confusion out there, given that supplements aren’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (which means the ingredients, strength, and dosages aren’t monitored), and the fact that many MDs and RDs will tell you they aren’t necessary at all.
One thing every expert agreed on was that you shouldn’t start taking a new supplement without consulting your physician first, and that it’s smart to try to monitor changes in bloodwork before and after beginning a new regimen to see if it’s actually making a difference for you.
I can’t say I came out of the Summit with more motivation to take anything other than my usual multivitamin and vitamin D regimen, but it was a good reminder to make sure anything I buy comes stamped with GMP (good manufacturing practices) or NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) labels, verifying it emerged from a lab that has undergone third-party certification and/or testing.
A slew of anti-aging prescription drugs might be in our future.
Sinclair views aging as a “treatable condition,” likening the process of getting older—and sicker—to the software of a computer getting corrupted. His goal is to prevent that “corruption” by developing a pharmaceutical that dramatically slows—and even reverses—cell aging. (In 2020, he made the cover of Nature magazine for a study that successfully reversed age-related blindness in mice.)
His studies specifically focus on utilizing the body’s naturally occurring molecule NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) to increase levels of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a coenzyme that is involved in many bodily functions but decreases as we age. Human trials will be underway by this time next year, Sinclair said.
“I think we’ve finally arrived where scientists, and the public, realize age is no longer a unidirectional process, and that we can change not just how fast we age, but also control how long we live, how well we live, and perhaps even within our lifetime, choose the day we die,” Sinclair told the crowd. “This is my hope for humanity.”
For women, the ovaries play a huge role in aging.
Women reach an inflection point in their aging process that men don’t, according to Robinton: Menopause. “When our ovaries decline in function, there's a number of other organ systems that are impacted by the loss of the hormones that are produced by the ovaries,” she says. “And that essentially accelerates aging in your body.”
The ovaries don’t just support fertility—they’re endocrine organs that are responsible for producing hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and many more, adds Jennifer Garrison, PhD, a neuroscientist and assistant professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and the co-founder and director of the Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality. “Cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline, autoimmune disease, [risk for] all of these things go up dramatically the minute your ovaries stop working.”
Yes, women do live slightly longer than men on average, Garrison notes, but “a significant portion of those extra years are [lived] in poor health, and that is absolutely related to menopause,” she says.
So what can you do about it? Robinton is a huge advocate for hormone therapy during perimenopause and menopause (the earlier the better!), noting that research shows that this treatment can be “largely life-changing” for women whose doctors decide they are good candidates for a prescription. “It can support an evening of the playing field, or at least a closing of the gap in terms of how men and women experience declines as they age,” she says. Garrison agrees, saying that for most women, hormone therapy can help stave off osteoporosis, preserve cardiovascular health and cognitive function, and more.
But Robinton also has her own longevity drug in the research pipeline–one that seeks to preserve ovarian function, delay menopause, and ultimately preserve lifespan. She hopes that her drug will begin clinical trials within a few years.
Protein is your friend.
But should you go plant-based, or dig into a good old fashioned steak? Well, that's up for debate.
Sinclair advocated for a veggie-rich Mediterranean diet. Dr. Hyman told the crowd to eat 30 to 40 grams of protein first thing in the morning. Michael Greger, MD, a vegan, and the founder of NutritionFacts.org, touted “legumes for longevity” and cautioned against both eggs and burgers in his talk.
While there was notable discourse on what type of protein is best, everyone agreed that protein is crucial to help maintain a strong, healthy body that can withstand the inevitable hurdles that come along with aging.
Be your own biggest advocate.
Most speakers at the conference heavily stressed that the U.S. healthcare system isn’t really designed to help you live longer—unless you’re already ill.
“Our healthcare system is focused on sick care, it’s not focused on health care, and certainly not focused on prevention,” said Brad Inman, journalist and creator of the Livelong Summit, in his welcoming speech.
This rang true for me. The last time I got a physical, I saw the doctor for less than 10 minutes, and I got the impression my bloodwork was being analyzed for major red flags as opposed to the beige flags that could either add up over time, or potentially be rectified with a few lifestyle tweaks.
Most people are basically on their own when it comes to navigating preventive care, the experts at the conference agreed. "Knowledge is power," Garrison said, noting that taking proactive measures like asking for additional testing, or advocating for options like hormone therapy, can be "the most important thing women can do to take control of their health."
Seek out doctors who will take the time to listen to you, and don’t stop asking questions until you feel you’ve gotten answers. “It's going to be on women to be their own agents of health,” said Robinton, and that’s especially true when it comes to topics like menopause, since most doctors practicing today never received significant training on the topic.
Fight for more research in women.
I can’t wrap up this article without pointing out that the vast majority of the speakers at the Summit were white and male, which mirrors the makeup of subjects in the lion’s share of research in this field as well. Without representation in research, experts will never have the data they need to unlock the keys to female longevity.
“Most of the research that's been done to date has excluded women or had such a small number of women that it's not something that you can apply across the female population,” Robinton said.
Garrison pointed out to me that it wasn’t until 2016 that the National Institutes of Health required grant recipients to use both male and female animals in their studies. “We do not understand how female bodies work, full stop,” she said. That’s why her work focuses on funding grants that can support scientists studying ovarian aging all over the world.
But both women agreed that it will take more than just research and funding to make a difference. “I think part of that solution is bringing women into more positions of power and leadership and decision making across the healthcare system,” Robinton said.
Do I think this information will help me live to dance at a grandchild’s wedding? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing I know for sure is that I’ll be speaking up more frequently at my doctor’s visits. And eating a lot more protein.
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