Super Human

by Dave Asprey

  When I learned about this research, I decided it was a good strategy to extract and culture my own NK cells, something that is usually reserved for people suffering from certain types of cancer. I worked with Dr. Matt Cook again, this time to have my blood drawn during the Bulletproof Conference in 2017. He met me at a hotel in Pasadena and pulled vial after vial of my blood during an advisory meeting with a few slightly pale start-up entrepreneurs who pitched me on their crypto start-up as the vials filled. Dr. Cook shipped my blood off to an undisclosed lab, and six weeks later I learned that they had successfully cultured 2.07 billion NK cells—a huge amount. Then I traveled out of the country to have them injected via IV.

  Did this increase my perforin levels and cause my body to dump senescent cells, shoring up one of the Seven Pillars of Aging? Almost certainly. Over the next ten days without changing my diet or exercise routines, I lost ten pounds, and my body fat dropped by more than 2 percent. What percentage of that weight came from senescent fat cells? The anti-aging doctors doing this type of treatment say it can help your immune system function like it is twenty years younger. Given my history of poor immune function, that’s an important strategy for my longevity.

  That said, this is an absurdly expensive procedure, and it’s not even on the menu unless you know who to ask, though if you have certain medical conditions you can get infusions of donated or lab-grown NK cells. The reason I’m writing about it here is because the more people who know about these kinds of treatments, the more demand will grow and costs will go down. There’s no reason this treatment should be so expensive and no reason you should have to leave the country to get it. Once this work is allowed to progress, costs will drop and it will be a standard anti-aging therapy that adds years to your life, or at least life to your years. Every single one of us could benefit from a better immune system, not to mention what it could do for people who are seriously ill.

  Let’s assume you’re not going to grow your own NK cells in a lab for a couple more years. There are still things you can do to improve your existing NK function. For example, simply spending more time in nature, particularly surrounded by trees, can boost NK cells. Many evergreen trees give off aromatic compounds called phytoncides that increase NK cells. In fact, cypress essential oil in a diffuser at night significantly increases NK activity and perforin levels!21 Likewise, avoiding toxic mold will help, as mold breaks NK function.22 Managing stress is also hugely important, as chronic exposure to stress hormones suppresses NK cell function. This is just one more reason that managing your stress is not optional if you want to become Super Human.

  BATHE YOUR CELLS IN VIRGIN BLOOD

  For hundreds of years, there have been stories of people who sought immortality via a slightly eccentric route: the blood of virgins. Take Countess Erzsébet Báthory de Ecsed, a Hungarian noblewoman who was born in 1560 and allegedly murdered hundreds of young girls. Why? Bathing in the blood of virgins was an important part of her beauty routine, of course. And we all know that vampires had a taste for virgin blood, too.

  Whether or not virginity has anything to do with healthy blood, it certainly seems that youth does. Doctors noticed many years ago that hemophiliacs, who routinely received blood transfusions, could tell the difference in how they felt after receiving blood from a young person as opposed to an old person. When they got blood from a young person, they felt more energetic. And while this is anecdotal, there’s good science to back it up. A 2014 study in Nature Medicine reported that exposing an aged animal to young blood can counteract and reverse preexisting effects of brain aging at the molecular, structural, functional, and cognitive levels.23 Sounds pretty good to me!

  This led researchers to begin studying exactly which components of youthful blood are responsible for these effects. And it’s led companies to begin buying blood from young people, such as college students, and then selling it to older folks, who receive it via IV. One could say this is morally ambiguous, especially since the treatment costs $8,000—of which the students themselves are getting a very small percentage. However, donating blood extends your life by decreasing your levels of ferritin, a blood cell protein found in iron. High ferritin levels are incredibly aging. So if college students are being paid and are also benefiting physically from their blood donations, I’m okay with it. (Not that it’s up to me.) What I’m not okay with, however, is the fact that there are diseases carried in the blood that may not be detected by conventional testing. Additionally, that there are no actual studies to prove that “young blood” transfusions offer any real benefit, despite the fact that, at the time of writing, 104 people have paid a jaw-dropping $8,000 per transfusion.

  Don’t have eight grand to drop on young blood? That’s okay. We already know about some of the substances that make it so rejuvenating. And it’s much simpler and less expensive to supplement with those substances than it is to get a transfusion. I’m sure that within the next few years we’ll discover much more about exactly what makes young blood so special. For now, we know about a few of its important components.

  KLOTHO

  One of the precious ingredients in young people’s blood is Klotho, a protein produced primarily by the kidneys. It is named after Clotho, one of the three Greek goddesses who, according to mythology, determined how long each human being would live.

  A Japanese physician named Dr. Makoto Kuro-o inadvertently discovered Klotho when he was conducting research in a different area and created mice that lacked the gene that told their bodies to produce Klotho. The mice lived only 20 percent of their normal life-span and died of apparent old age.24 They had wrinkled skin and were very frail, with kidney failure and cognitive problems. After a few more years of experimentation, Kuro-o successfully created mice that produced more than the normal amount of Klotho and lived 20 to 30 percent longer than normal.25 Don’t you want that, too?

  Recent research on elderly people shows that Klotho influences human life-span as well. (It’s almost as influential as Clotho herself!) Studies show that seniors with the lowest Klotho levels have a 78 percent higher risk of death over a six-year period than those with the highest Klotho levels, even after correcting for sex, age, and health status.26

  There are some naturally occurring variations in the Klotho gene. A quarter to a fifth of us have a single copy of a modification in the Klotho gene (the KL-VS variant), which results in higher levels of Klotho in the blood.27 These individuals tend to live a long time. They also have larger than normal prefrontal cortexes and better cognitive skills than people with the standard Klotho gene.28

  The kidneys produce the vast majority of the Klotho in the body, so patients suffering from kidney disease see a sharp decline in blood Klotho levels. But it’s unclear whether the kidney disease causes low Klotho levels or low Klotho levels cause kidney disease. We do know that injecting synthetic Klotho into mice with acute and chronic kidney disease reduces kidney damage and fibrosis, slows progression of the disease, and promotes healing. Klotho injection also reduces damage to the heart and resulting heart failure, a common cause of death in patients with kidney disease.29

  This has led scientists to investigate the relationship between Klotho and other diseases of aging. They’ve found that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have decreased Klotho levels in their cerebrospinal fluid. And increasing Klotho levels in mice with Alzheimer’s disease decreased brain cell dysfunction and ameliorated cognitive and behavioral deficits.30 Klotho injection in both young and old mice also increased cognitive skills and learning ability,31 while reducing tumor growth and metastasis in lung, breast, and prostate cancer.32

  Further, patients with type 2 diabetes have decreased levels of Klotho, and a lack of Klotho is associated with decreased insulin production.33 When diabetic mice were treated with Klotho for two weeks, they saw a significant decrease in blood glucose levels and an increase in insulin levels. Finally, older adults with lower than normal Klotho levels have poor skeletal muscle strength.34 Researchers believe that Klotho s
uppresses aging in tissues throughout the body and stimulates muscle vitality.35

  My friend Jim Plante, a longtime entrepreneur and former CEO of a genetic testing company, developed polycystic kidney disease and started a company called Klotho Therapeutics to synthesize Klotho and offer treatments. Of course I volunteered to be one of his first guinea pigs as soon as it is available, and I will likely have tried it before this book is in your hands. Until then, you can improve your own Klotho levels by:

  Avoiding stress. A high-stress environment substantially lowers Klotho levels.

  Exercising. This raises Klotho levels.36

  Supplementing with vitamin D3. People who take this vitamin have increased Klotho levels.37 (Always take D3 with vitamin K2 and vitamin A.)

  Controlling your blood pressure. Angiotensin II, the hormone responsible for increased blood pressure, also suppresses Klotho levels.38

  Maintaining healthy hormone levels. In particular, higher levels of testosterone are related to higher Klotho levels.39

  COPPER PEPTIDES

  Another one of the main components in young blood that makes it so powerful for anti-aging is GHK-Cu (copper peptide). This chain of amino acids is plentiful in your blood when you are young but normally declines as you age. Your body releases GHK after you get injured, which may help explain why younger people heal so much faster than older people … until now.

  You can supplement with GHK that’s not derived from child blood because it is easy to synthesize. Sadly, it is unlikely to be a focus of big-time research budgets because it can’t be patented. You can buy and use GHK by applying it topically or injecting it into the muscle, via IV, or under the skin. This peptide attracts immune and skin cells to injury sites for rapid wound healing and increased collagen synthesis. In one study, GHK gel applied topically helped heal people’s skin ulcers three times faster than a placebo.40 GHK also reduces inflammation and scarring and acts as a powerful antioxidant.41 Remember how chronic inflammation leads to tissue cross-linking? GHK to the rescue. You’ve probably seen skin-care ads mentioning copper peptide—it’s the same stuff we’re talking about here, just smeared on the skin instead of used internally.

  GHK is also incredibly rejuvenating for your brain. It helps neurons grow faster and strengthens neural connections. In rodents, supplementing with GHK improves symptoms of dementia.42 And because of its impact on collagen synthesis, GHK can tighten skin, improve elasticity, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and improve discoloration from skin damage and aging.43

  There’s even some evidence that GHK injections can increase hair growth and help hair maintain its color,44 two things I’m not ashamed to admit I think about when it comes to aging. To some extent, genetics influence both balding and grayness. My mom went completely gray in her twenties, and pretty much all the men in my family are bald. I started getting noticeably grayer within the last few years, and I wanted to stop this from progressing any further. I like to think it’s not vanity—just a desire to look as young as I feel.

  I started researching what actually causes grayness and found that one cause is a copper deficiency. So after I used a blood test to determine that I did not have copper overload, I developed a copper/zinc formula, and I have worked with physicians to inject GHK intravenously without any virgin blood. My number of gray hairs has reduced quite substantially, but you’ll read all about that in the next chapter. GHK also caused some baby hairs to start growing back into my slightly receding hairline. I’m hopeful that by the time I’m a hundred and eighty I’ll have a full head of hair that’s not gray (without dyeing it).

  I also use GHK topically with profound results. Look for a skin-care cream with at least 2 percent GHK for younger-looking skin or as a way to heal from cuts and bruises. My friend Andy Hnilo uses GHK copper peptides in his Alitura skin-care line, which helped him recover with almost no scarring from a horrific car accident that broke his jaw in five places. I use the Alitura Gold Serum every day because it contains GHK and other cofactors.

  It’s a good idea to take care of your skin, but you want to do it in combination with other techniques to age backward from the inside out. It sounds like a cliché, but beauty really does come from within. If your cells are biologically young, you will look young—end of story. So I strongly recommend pairing skin care with other anti-aging techniques to speed healing and age backward both inside and out, which leads us to the next chapter …

  * * *

  Bottom Line

  Want to heal like a deity? Do these things right now:

  •Spend more time in nature to boost your own natural killer cells and enhance your immune system; bonus points for frequently visiting a forest with lots of evergreen trees. Or at least use some forest-based essential oils like cypress.

  •Consider boron supplements for stem cells, as well as the other listed stem cell enhancers. Calcium fructoborate or food-grade boron (tetraborate) work well.

  •Make sure your sexual function is that of a young person. If it isn’t, get your hormone levels checked and look at any prescription meds that may be causing a problem. To improve sexual function, consider GAINSWave treatments or simply practice Kegel exercises on a daily basis.

  •Try using copper peptides topically or via injection or IV to enhance your body’s ability to heal.

  •If you want to pull out all the stops or have major injuries that need healing, look into available stem cell treatments. These aren’t cheap, but they’re often similar to the price of surgery without many of the risks.

  * * *

  13

  DON’T LOOK LIKE AN ALIEN

  AVOIDING BALDNESS, GRAYS, AND WRINKLES

  Type the words “anti-aging” into any Internet search engine, and you can guarantee that the majority of results are links to skin-care products and ads for plastic surgery. As a culture, we seem to be more afraid of looking old than actually being old. Having experienced the metabolic state of an old person when I was young, I can say with authority that I’d rather look old if it meant I could feel young. But why not aim for both? The good news is that if you use the recommendations in this book to make yourself young inside, your outside will look younger, too.

  In fact, you’ll actually look your best when you stop aging at its source—your mitochondria—because the same cuts that age your mitochondria and cause inflammation also create the visible signs of aging. It’s no big mystery—your skin and hair follicles are made of cells, which are powered by mitochondria. If those cells are full of waste products or can’t produce energy efficiently, you are going to look old no matter how much money you spend on eye cream. And if you hack your skin and hair but keep eating inflammatory foods or exposing yourself to a toxic environment, you’re not going to get the best possible return on your investment.

  That’s why this chapter appears toward the end of the book. There are specific techniques you can use to reverse visible signs of aging, but you’ll get much better and faster results after you remove the rest of the hits from your environment. Remember the number one rule of biohacking—first remove the things that are making you weak (or old). Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a much greater ROI on the techniques that follow.

  BUILD NEW SKIN, JOINTS, BONES, AND GUT LINING WITH COLLAGEN

  Maintaining youthful-looking skin as you get older means continuing to build youthful collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body, and it acts as a building block for your bones, teeth, muscles, skin, and all other connective tissues. Maintaining youthful collagen as you age isn’t just about your skin. To stay young and regenerate like a badass you need healthy collagen in all of your muscles and tissues, too.

  Your body contains at least twenty-eight different types of collagen. But the vast majority (80 to 90 percent) of the collagen in your body is type 1, type 2, or type 3. Types 1 and 3 provide structure for your skin, muscles, and ligaments, while type 2 is found in cartilage and your eyes. Collagen makes up nearly 80 percent of your skin, and it’s f
ound in the middle layer called the dermis. It works together with another protein called elastin to strengthen the skin and help it snap back into place when stretched. Sagging, crepey skin is a clear sign of a lack of healthy collagen.

  As is true of most of the interventions in this book, the younger you are when you start working on building healthy collagen, the better. Taking care of your skin when you’re young is a much more effective way to avoid aging than trying to reverse the damage later. We know that the half-life of collagen in skin is fifteen years,1 so if you start supplementing with collagen itself or collagen-building supplements now, in fifteen years, half of your collagen will look a lot better than it would have otherwise.

  This is a must because collagen production slows down as you get older—and it happens sooner than you’d think. After the age of twenty-five, you break down more collagen than you build, and this is often when you begin to see your first fine lines and wrinkles. From there, you start losing about 1 percent of your collagen each year.2 And that’s just the average. Excess sun exposure, smoking, and too much UV light exposure all degrade collagen even more quickly.3

  One percent might not seem like a lot, but if you join me on the quest to live a long time and don’t hack those statistics, you’ll end up with exactly 16.38 percent of your collagen left on your hundred and eightieth birthday. While it might be kind of cool to be able to look through your skin at your own liver, there are better things you can be doing at that age. If you slow your rate of collagen loss by 50 percent, you’ll have 2.5 times more collagen in your skin when you’re a hundred and eighty. And if you occasionally stimulate new collagen to grow, you’re going to like how you look as each year passes.