The Optispan Podcast with Matt Kaeberlein

If you're listening to this podcast, you've probably caught wind of at least some of the many things you can do to improve and take control of your health and wellbeing. For every legitimate healthspan intervention supported by rigorous research that's out there, there exist a bunch of dubious longevity solutions that have no real scientific backing behind them. The challenge lies not just in identifying what works, but also in resisting the allure of snake oil solutions that promise effortless transformations. Which interventions are actually crucial for optimizing your healthspan, which are just "nice-to-have", and which are downright pointless?

In this episode, Matt and Nick go through over twenty popular strategies for healthspan optimization and grade their usefulness from A to F.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

Oral health for an ageing population: the importance of a natural dentition in older adults

Matt gave an A grade to regular dental visits and oral care as strategies for improving healthspan. This article makes the case for several benefits of maintaining natural teeth and oral function in older adults. One of these is an improved diet, as the loss of chewing ability and/or efficiency that often accompanies tooth loss can bring about a change in diet due to the limited foods one is able to consume. Tooth loss can also lead to issues such as bad breath or an altered facial appearance, which can then impact the social activity that is also an important component of wellbeing.

Does maintaining the number of present and functional teeth benefit the longevity of life in older people requiring nursing care?: A prospective cohort study

This preprint describes a one-year investigation into how the number of "present and functional" teeth in older Japanese people affects mortality. The study found no significant impact of the number of remaining teeth on mortality in these adults, possibly because of the participants' access to sound nutrition and oral care services.

Visceral Fat Is an Independent Predictor of All-cause Mortality in Men

In this study, researchers found that visceral fat, abdominal subcutaneous fat, liver fat, and waist circumference were all associated with a higher death risk for men, and that visceral fat was the sole mortality risk predictor among the four after adjusting for other measures of fat. DEXA scans help you measure your visceral fat levels.

Effects of Wearable Fitness Trackers and Activity Adequacy Mindsets on Affect, Behavior, and Health: Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial

According to this study, information about physical activity parameters such as step counts influence people's health and wellbeing. When participants received artificially deflated step counts, they experienced various negative effects, including worse mental health, higher blood pressure and heart rate, and poorer eating. Meanwhile, when participants received accurate feedback about their step counts, their mental health improved and they ate healthier foods.

How Old Do I Look?

If you want to see whether your "facial pores score" beats Nick's, here is the skin aging clock he used.

A DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan is an advanced imaging procedure for measuring bone density and composition. DEXA scans utilize two different energy levels of low-dose X-ray beams—one absorbed mostly by soft tissue, and the other absorbed mainly by bone—to differentiate between bone, fat, and lean tissue. In so doing, they provide noninvasive and detailed information about bone health, risk of osteoporosis or fractures, and body composition. While medical practioners typically perform DEXA scans on the lower spine and hips, they can also perform DEXA scans on the whole body for the purposes of early detection and intervention.

In our multi-part DEXA series, we go deep into DEXA scans: what they measure, how to interpret them, and how to use information from your own DEXA scan for healthspan optimization. Part I covers fundamental concepts related to body composition and its evaluation, current tools available for measuring body composition as well as their strengths and limitations, and Matt's personal experiences with DEXA scans.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

Optispan uses the BodySpec DEXA scan in its concierge and corporate offerings.

What Is a DEXA Scan and How Can It Help You?

This is an introduction to DEXA scans that covers the history of DEXA scans, how DEXA scans work, what happens during a DEXA scan, and how DEXA scans compare to imaging techniques such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and x-rays.

DEXA FAQ

This list of FAQs covers many questions people have about DEXA scans, including how much radiation exposure we receive from DEXA scans, height and weight limits, the safety of DEXA scans for pregnant wome, and more.

Unexpected DEXA Scan Results? Here are Some Potential Causes

You may have gotten your DEXA scan results back and balked at what you saw. This list addresses some possible reasons for DEXA scan surprises.

Role of Visceral Adipose Tissue in Aging

This paper reviews and summarizes evidence suggesting that visceral fat accumulation and abdominal obesity predict high disease and mortality risk. It describes studies demonstrating that visceral fat removal from rats extends lifespan, and discusses the potential role visceral fat plays in the lifespan-extending effects of caloric restriction. It also reviews several treatment strategies for tackling visceral fat such as leptin administration.

Visceral Fat Is an Independent Predictor of All-cause Mortality in Men

In this study, researchers found that visceral fat, abdominal subcutaneous fat, liver fat, and waist circumference were all associated with a higher death risk for men, and that visceral fat was the sole mortality risk predictor among the four after adjusting for other measures of fat.

We talk a lot about making a shift from reactive disease care—a 20th century healthcare mindset—to preventative and proactive health measures designed to optimize longevity and healthspan before disease sets in. Rather than waiting for chronic conditions to manifest and treating their symptoms post hoc, we encourage investing resources in preemptive care and empowering individuals to act as partners with healthcare providers in their own wellbeing.

Preventative medicine can feel like a lot—cancer screenings, for example, are crucial for early detection and treatment, but can be logistically and emotionally daunting. But proactive healthcare doesn't always need to be complicated. In this episode, Matt goes through what he sees as low-hanging fruit in preventative medicine: simple steps that lend themselves to straightforward measurement, are easy to improve without invasive intervention or drastic lifestyle changes, and will pay dividends in increasing our overall health.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

Examine.com

Examine is an independently-funded (no gifts, donors, sponsors, consulting clients, advertisements, or affliations) database of supplement research that provides information about benefits, dietary sources, dosage, side effects, and more about pretty much any supplement you can think of. It provides further references from the primary literature about each supplement it discusses.

Global and regional prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in population-based studies from 2000 to 2022: A pooled analysis of 7.9 million participants

This study found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency globally from the years 2000 to 2022. Women and people living in high-latitude areas, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and lower-middle-income countries were more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in winter-spring was nearly twice that in summer-autumn.

Vitamin D deficiency 2.0: an update on the current status worldwide

This study reviews the literature on vitamin D deficiency and its nuances. It discusses prior research about the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation, the impact of vitamin D supplementation on various endpoints, different vitamin D dosing regimes, vitamin D toxicity, and populations for which vitamin D supplementation is likely to be most useful.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin D

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

These fact sheets from the National Institutes of Health discuss recommended intakes, vitamin B12/D/omega-3 fatty acid sources, groups at risk of vitamin B12/D/omega-3 fatty acid deficiency, and more.

A DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan is an advanced imaging procedure for measuring bone density and composition. DEXA scans utilize two different energy levels of low-dose X-ray beams—one absorbed mostly by soft tissue, and the other absorbed mainly by bone—to differentiate between bone, fat, and lean tissue. In so doing, they provide noninvasive and detailed information about bone health, risk of osteoporosis or fractures, and body composition. While medical practioners typically perform DEXA scans on the lower spine and hips, they can also perform DEXA scans on the whole body for the purposes of early detection and intervention.

In our multi-part DEXA series, we go deep into DEXA scans: what they measure, how to interpret them, and how to use information from your own DEXA scan for healthspan optimization. Part I covers fundamental concepts related to body composition and its evaluation, current tools available for measuring body composition as well as their strengths and limitations, and Matt's personal experiences with DEXA scans.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

What Is a DEXA Scan and How Can It Help You?

This is an introduction to DEXA scans that covers the history of DEXA scans, how DEXA scans work, what happens during a DEXA scan, and how DEXA scans compare to imaging techniques such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and x-rays.

DEXA FAQ

This list of FAQs covers many questions people have about DEXA scans, including how much radiation exposure we receive from DEXA scans, height and weight limits, the safety of DEXA scans for pregnant wome, and more.

Unexpected DEXA Scan Results? Here are Some Potential Causes

You may have gotten your DEXA scan results back and balked at what you saw. This list addresses some possible reasons for DEXA scan surprises.

Abdominal fat analyzed by DEXA scan reflects visceral body fat and improves the phenotype description and the assessment of metabolic risk in mice

This study found a high correlation between visceral fat content measured by DEXA scans and the actual excised visceral fat content of mice, suggesting that DEXA scans are accurate tools for noninvasive fat distribution measurement.

At its best, healthcare isn't just about extending lifespan—it's also about enhancing the vitality of our years. Over the last century, the healthcare system has made enormous strides in keeping sick people alive. The next step is to use proactive, preventative healthcare to stop them from getting sick at all. The Lost Decade—the 10 or so years that many people spend suffering from poor health and/or disability in older age—doesn't have to be a given.

In this episode, Matt discusses why he left academia to help start a healthcare revolution, why sickness and decline don't have to define our final years, how decades of geroscience research have informed his views of healthcare, and what he thinks healthspan optimization should look like.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

Healthy aging: The ultimate preventative medicine

Matt and colleagues make the case for placing greater emphasis on research into the biology of aging in a review for the journal Science. Traditional biomedical research has created significant advances in medical care by focusing primarily on understanding and treating individual diseases, but has not addressed the accumulation of age-related morbidities in aging populations. The study of aging biology, or geroscience, aims to plug this gap by identifying the mechanisms that underlie aging and developing interventions to extend healthy lifespan. By targeting aging processes themselves rather than individual diseases, researchers hope to delay the onset and progression of various age-related conditions.

It is Time to Embrace 21st-Century Medicine

In the journal Public Policy & Aging Report, Matt asserts that we are in a good position to extend human healthspan through more effective means than the 20th century’s reactive disease care model. Instead of taking a one-by-one approach to healthcare, where we tackle diseases one at a time as they occur, we should directly target the biological aging process—and in so doing, add years to people’s health- and lifespan. He lists sources of federal funding for geroscience research and calls for more initiatives within the biomedical research community that center on research into the biology of aging.

Translational geroscience: A new paradigm for 21st century medicine

Matt provides a high-level overview of the geroscience approach and its potential impact. He introduces several efforts to translate current research to the clinic, including clinical trials of rapamycin in humans and dogs as well as the Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) trial, which aims to investigate the impact of the antidiabetic drug metformin on non-diabetes comorbidities in older patients. The article also discusses some of the regulatory hurdles involved with developing interventions that target aging biology.

From lifespan to healthspan (1)

Matt spoke at the recent a16z crypto Founders Summit about his decision to leave academia to found a startup, opportunities for disruption in the healthcare space, and foundational concepts in geroscience. He notes that we are nowhere near close to “longevity escape velocity” or immortality, and advises skepticism of anyone who makes overoptimistic claims about the field.

As a longevity scientist, Matt often receives questions about what supplements he takes—so we decided to make an episode where Matt discusses his supplements protocol.

This episode isn't meant to provide a playbook for you to follow. We want to emphasize the importance of approaching supplements with discernment and an understanding that they are not a substitute for wholesome nutrition and other healthy lifestyle practices. The allure of supplements is understandable: they promise us vitality, strength, and longevity in a convenient capsule. But their indiscriminate consumption can be risky. Blindly reaching for supplements without considering their necessity or potential interactions with medications could lead to adverse effects. Further, the supplement industry isn't rigorously regulated in many regions, leaving room for mislabeling and contamination. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to supplements.

In this episode, Matt discusses his relatively conservative supplements approach, debunks some of the myths associated with supplement consumption, and provides some advice about how to evaluate products that come from a profit-driven industry with few guardrails in place.

Check out the links below for further information and/or reading about some of the things we discussed in this podcast episode. Note that we do not necessarily endorse or agree with the content of these readings, but present them as supplementary material that may deepen your understanding of the topic after you listen to our podcast. This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good start!

Examine.com

Examine is an independently-funded (no gifts, donors, sponsors, consulting clients, advertisements, or affiliations) database of supplements research that provides information about benefits, dietary sources, dosage, side effects, and more for pretty much any supplement you can think of. The website provides further references from the primary literature about each supplement it discusses.

NAD and NAD precursors: help or hype? | Peter Attia, M.D. & Matt Kaeberlein, Ph.D.

Matt spoke with physician Peter Attia on the Peter Attia Drive podcast about the nuances of how nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) precursors affect aging. He also discusses his views on the evidence for sirtuins' effects on lifespan.

Why EVERYONE Should Use Creatine Supplements

This episode of physician Brad Stanfield's Look & Feel Young podcast provides a quick primer on the benefits of creatine supplements, which include athletic performance and short-term memory improvements, among others. It also addresses concerns that people often have with creatine supplementation, such as hair loss.