13y Younger Biological Age (Blood Test #6 in 2024; Test #54 Since 2015)

[@bestdoom1236]

Hi Mike. All metrics look good in relation to your prior tests except MCV and RDW moved up. Besides correlations with food and other markers, mechanistically do you know why MCV and RDW moved up. E.g., what causes them to move up. It is easy to understand what causes glucose to move up, but what causes MCV and RDW to move up?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Hi @bestdoom1236, I can't say in terms of causation, but in my correlations, a higher cacao intake is significantly correlated with a lower MCV, so that's one of the experiments for the next test.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

The increase in RDW is a good size for someone calorie restricted. There is also the increase in white blood cells, both together potentially indicating you changed something that is increasing production and turnover of all blood cells. Since RDW is a measure over 60-90 days, its unlikely to be something in the environment, unless its seasonal.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

I'd prefer it to be lower-we'll see what I can do to avoid the age-related increase...

[@richardheck3794]

Thanks for mentioning the lowered limit for hscrp to

[@justsaying7065]

Hi Mike, In future videos, can you include the screenshots of the PhenoAge calculation for the current test and the previous test so that we can see which biomarkers changed? Thanks.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Hi @justsaying7065, yes, I can do that!

[@LandonPark]

As always your videos and path are enlightening. I wonder if you’ve ever done a video about how you “feel”? Meaning, do you believe you feel like a 25-30 year old when thinking back. I know it’s not a “scientific” viewpoint, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts about the changes you feel have you feeling “older” regardless of your attempts, and also your perspective on what’s improved.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @LandonPark. Feel is challenging to quantify, but a big part of the approach is trying to feel my best, all the time. I have room for improvement in that space, too...

[@LandonPark]

@@conqueragingordietrying123 hey, although it’s not your style, I know a lot of us would love to know how you “feel” as well. You’re kind of a big deal to us ;)

[@UniCatt-hc5dz]

Hi, do you think that if the only goal for someone is to reduce aging and extend lifespan (without thinking about the loss of muscle mass) do you think calorie restriction or protein restriction is better? Thank you

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Hi @UniCatt-hc5dz, my bet would be on CR, but the only way to know would be for the person to test themselves often, to sort it out... Exercise is an important part of this equation, though, I wouldn't solely focus on CR. Others in the CR community disagree.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@UniCatt-hc5dz If you restrict protein you will eventually see declines in performance, including brain, muscle, mood etc. The answer is personal because it depends on what an individual values and is able to notice.

[@startingtoday4663]

Great info as always. QUESTION. Since creatinine is a questionable measure of kidney function (affected by strength training and creatine supplements) DO you think it would be valid to substitute with Cystatin C ?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @startingtoday4663, that's a great question, and I've had that same thought. When considering that lower is generally better for both creatinine and Cystatin C, it could be a good switch. In addition, too low for creatinine can be found in sarcopenia, making very low creatinine value a potential false positive for health-that issue isn't the same for Cystatin C...

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@startingtoday4663 You can use it as an additional measure but you can't rescale it and substitute it in clocks which dont have it, that messes up the entire analysis.

[@EVanDoren]

If your muscle mass isn't standard, then cystatin-C is better. My eGFR was 10% better with cystatin-C because of the higher muscle mass.

[@startingtoday4663]

@@EVanDoren thanks for the reply. Going for blood test tomorrow, so I stopped creatine two days ago.

[@whatthefunction9140]

Have you tried any continuous glucose monitors yet

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Yep, I did a few years ago. No major spikes > 120-130 on a diet that is similar to now. Also, the most recent HbA1c result was 5.1%, so probably on the right track for insulin sensitivity.

[@zepintoferreira8431]

I must be an idiot or at least severely decaffeinated: Where can we find the link for the downloadable excel file? I followed most of your links but couldn't see it. Is it in the Patreon? Apologies if it's obvious!

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Ah, my apologies, @zepintoferreira8431! Now included in the video's description, and michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age/

[@mariav1234]

Look on the internet for the Morgan Levine calculator. It is available for free. You do not need the excel file of the author of this video.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

@@mariav1234 Many of those sites use an old, incorrect version. A correction was published-the version on my website is up-to-date.

[@ricke6854]

What was your A1C ? Is that better or worse than comparing Glucose ?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

5.1%, potentially better in terms of a long-term marker

[@Battery-kf4vu]

It might be a high homocysteine caused by NAD boosters that could have caused your high RBW. Study: "Red blood cell distribution width predicts homocysteine levels in adult population without vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies" Also you say that you follow the correlations, but it is a wild guess, you don't know if the correlation is causation.

[@arihaviv8510]

Do you use any kind of hepa air purification?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

I do! One in each room, Coway air filters, H13 Hepa

[@davidford8539]

What causes of death is associated with a higher Mcv?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

All causes...

[@jamesgilmore8192]

With the Urea and Uric acid measurements at baseline and higher sardine intake, you are in a unique position to compare what happens with specific amino acid supplementation, namely glycine, proline, cysteine.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Yep! And, the potential impact on homocysteine, Horvath, DNAmTL

[@ChessMasterNate]

Taurine as well.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@ChessMasterNate That's a good point Nate. Im running a collagen experiment at the moment and I'll add taurine to the list to try. Taurine is a tricky one, in terms of knowing what it might do and what to measure.

[@bogrunberger]

Maybe the outliers could be an allergy issue. I can see immediately on my RHR and HRV when my allergies kick in - even if I don't feel any symptoms.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Yep, thanks @bogrunberger-seasonal allergies usually hit me in June-July, with a big dent on HRV and RHR, but not late Aug/early Sept. Last year, I think I triggered a gut infection with tryptophan supplementation. This year, I may be battling a different gut infection, from eating contaminated broccoli sprouts.

[@CharlesOffdensen]

11.66 years difference, not bad.

[@albeb87]

Which food are positively correlated to hdl? I was able to raise it to 53 now back to 43, could be eggs or coconut in my case…

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

In my case, high amounts of collard greens

[@chris-lk4ml]

Have you got any data for women for RDW?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Yes, lower is generally better, with values ~12 being more likely in youth and associated with maximally reduced all-cause mortality risk.

[@EVanDoren]

Low uric acid is probably just a consequence of a lowered fructose intake. Therefore, it isn't pathological.

[@Aryeh-o]

Fasted glucose can range from 70-100mg/dL typically going up. (Look at CGM data) Since you tested at 7:00AM I assume you got a low result compared to someone testing at 9:30AM

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

The study in the video shows 80-94 to be associated with an increased mortality risk in more than 12 million people What's optimal is not necessarily the same as the the reference range (70 - 100) I'm not sure that a 730 test will be different form 930, but maybe morning vs afternoon, though. The fasting duration could influence the test, too, i.e. 8hr vs longer. I fast for a similar duration before each test (~17h) to minimize that variability,.

[@chris-lk4ml]

Last time you mentioned that Vitamine E increases RHR. In my case,RHR was very high at 67-72 But I supplemented with omega3 capsules (high in VitE). So I started eating more sardines and salmon instead. RHR went below 60! Thats incredible! Thx!

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

There must be a misunderstanding-I've never said that Vitamin E raises the RHR...

[@chris-lk4ml]

Okay, sorry. Maybe I got something wrong. O.o

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

@@chris-lk4ml Great news on your RHR, though!

[@LVArturs]

Looking forward to the upcoming video with the glorious nutrition tables.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @LVArturs, that's next (Wednesday)!

[@Abbale]

Any others are as knowledgeable on their bio markers as Michael trying biohacking?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

I have a unique background, as knowledgable is less likely. Trying to optimize biomarkers, there are now many...

[@Abbale]

@@conqueragingordietrying123 one of a kind

[@sooooooooDark]

iirc u didnt like nutrional yeast but yea may wanna give it a try (raises protein, and uric acid, but may contain "too much and many b vitamins to stay in ur ranges") wouldnt i feel eating more sardines may become a bit sus (possible weird polutants and whatnot, tho yea i know they have constantly been great for ur numbers so i guess there isnt really a problem)

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

I have elevated Candida IgG, so adding more yeast to the equation may not be good news

[@jonathonmills3563]

My pheno age is currently 53 vs 68 chronological. With the same blood lab values if I change my chronological age in the algorithm my pheno age decreases proportionally. That’s why I consider PhenoAge a health measure not a biological age measurement

[@jamesgilmore8192]

Yes phenoage is tethered to age, thats how they constructed it. There are newer clocks and approaches now that don't need that assumption. In any event looking at individual biomarkers is probably more helpful than focusing on an overall biological age.

[@AndroidSon]

I do not any blood tests.

[@valeriegse4182]

How much sardines are you eating everyday and do you test for mercury and other contaminants? 🤔

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Current average sardine intake is 150g/d, for Test #6 it was lower Diet composition is coming next-I haven't tested for mercury, but lead levels are below the detection limit

[@chris-lk4ml]

Good point. I have to recheck my data, since Im on 180g sardines/day.

[@georgesamaras2922]

the smaller the fish the less heavy metal accumulation. the fish guts are usually thrown away. if you are extremly worried you can try a chlorella course for chelation

[@ChessMasterNate]

I suspect your boost in selenium is responsible for the anomalous MCV.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

That's not what the MCV correlations show, though...

[@ChessMasterNate]

@@conqueragingordietrying123 I guess I lose that bet. I look forward to your analysis. In an earlier video, selenium intake was associated with higher RDW. I figured cell volume would not be completely independent of the size distribution. But reasoning is no substitute for science.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Good hypothesis@@ChessMasterNate, I appreciate it!

[@newdata]

larger mcv associated with b12 and folate deficiency. the agingclock phenoage statistics say that higher cholesterol levels associated with lower speed of aging.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @newdata, but that's not likely in my case, as folate intake is 2-3x the RDA, and B12 is 5-6x. Cholesterol isn't included in PhenoAge, but TC is low and youth and advanced age...

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@conqueragingordietrying123 It might be worth trying methyl folate and b12 as maybe it's a methylation problem. Saturated fat restriction is also possible, given its a membrane measurement. It could be related to the delivery side in which case it could be anything.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @@jamesgilmore8192. I've tried methyl-folate + methylB12 (with and without additional B6), but also only methyl-B12, with similar effects on homocysteine as without methyl-folate and B6.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@conqueragingordietrying123 Did MCV change much in those experiments? I recall there was a test that looked at the lipids in the red cell membrane that might help (omega 3 index?).

[@KoiRun50]

My last triglyceride is 19. Try running or jogging. It would be interesting.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Nice on the TGs-I'm planning on including HIIT back into the approach, but that's a later (summer 2025) vs sooner project...

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@KoiRun50 What are you doing to get it that low. Kudos. Are there any obvious factors?

[@KoiRun50]

Running. My triglycerides seem to climb a bit when I’m injured.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@KoiRun50 OK interesting given the whole line of research on muscle and TG metabolism and mitochronia transport.

[@jamesgilmore8192]

@@KoiRun50 OK interesting given the whole line of research on muscle and TG metabolism and mitochronia transport.

[@paulfiedler6820]

Are you eating basically the same diet you have been? Lots of organic frozen strawberries, fresh vegetables, and sardines for protein? Do you ever have a glass of red wine? I remember you had said at some point you would consider trying rapamysin. Still not at that point? I asked my doctor for a prescription for sirolimus, which is available through my insurance, but he turned me down flat. I guess sirolimus would be a last resort for you.

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Diet composition is coming next-the core of the diet (macros, micros) is close to optimal based on ~25 biomrkers, but I'm making relatively small changes to try to improve weak spots without blowing up the system.

[@davidford8539]

Ragweed?

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Probably not, but good idea-seasonal allergies are usually an issue in June-July, not late Aug/Sept...

[@eliaspfeffer]

Comment for the algo

[@conqueragingordietrying123]

Thanks @eliaspfeffer!