Do you still associate “rejuvenation” with steely discipline, austere routines and complex monitoring?
Obviously, you can do rejuvenation the hard way; witness, e.g., biohacker Bryan Johnson…
But in the ZDF Terra Xplore documentary “Can you stop ageing?”, broadcasted on 26.11.2023, host and biologist Jamina Neudecker together with Beate Proske, a middle-aged biohacker and mountain biker, demonstrate that rejuvenation needn’t spell grey drudgery. Of course, you may need to tweak your lifestyle, but it can be fun and really inspiring!
So, host Neudecker takes us to Proske’s idyllic South German haunt in the Black Forest. There, they not only discuss ice bathing, the biohacker actually encourages the host to literally take the plunge into a freezing vat. After being coached by a breath therapist to avoid hyperventilating, the host overcomes the shock with flying colours.
Then the pair go on to enjoy the cold-induced high, while nibbling on chocolate and discussing… fasting strategies. Never does the tone of the conversation become preachy or do-or-die (pun intended!): the biohacker’s philosophy is clearly aimed at ageing healthfully but gracefully. And her relaxed demeanour and infectious smile make it eminently plausible.
The little experiment is framed by a very discreet but reliable guest, namely the epiAge test, which the two women carry out in the course of the programme. While the host’s chronological and biological ages roughly overlap, the biohacker is delighted to find out that she is biologically significantly younger.
Additional scientific backing is provided by visits to two ageing specialists in Cologne. Dr Hyun Ju Lee, a biochemist at the CECAD age research institute of Cologne University shows how cooling the environment of pin worms not only impressively increases their lifespan but also helps them overcome neurological conditions. Killifish can also rejuvenate as demonstrated by Dr Roberto Ripa, a molecular biologist at the Max-Planck-Institute for the Biology of Aging, who uses fasting as an experimental intervention. Both strategies appear very promising for human biology (and have been applied since times immemorial for their health-inducing effects!) but there needs to be more large-cohort longitudinal studies to prove their longevity effects. The TV host concludes that ageing is a complex and multifactorial process that should be tackled with a variety of strategies.
So, when are you getting started with rejuvenation? You needn’t go cold turkey(!) with ice bathing, fasting or mountain-biking: you could start with cooler showers, intermittent fasting and regular biking or just walking…
And epiAge will be happy to assist you with monitoring your progress!
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Source
„Kannst Du das Altern aufhalten?“, TerraXplore, ZDF, Ausstrahlung: 26.11.2023. Online: https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/terra-xplore/s09f02-kannst-du-das-altern-aufhalten-100.html
Illustration
ZDF / https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/terra-xplore
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