Entrepreneur and competitive bodybuilder Mike Israetel recently released a video discussing Bryan Johnson's anti-aging protocol. Towards the end of the video, he gives us his take on the "big rocks" that account for the bulk of our longevity.

In this episode, Matt reacts in real time to his first watch of this end portion of Mike's video. Together with Nick, he goes over Mike's suggestions about diet, drugs, body composition, and supplements and provides some additional context and nuance to each recommendation where he sees fit.

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!

Renaissance Periodization

Mike Israetel's company, Renaissance Periodization, offers diet and exercise consultations and coaching as well as a hypertrophy app aimed at helping people get bigger muscles. This is the company's Youtube channel. The channel publishes videos featuring diet, exercise, and mindset tips, critiques of workout programs, and more.

Big mice die young: early life body weight predicts longevity in genetically heterogeneous mice

This study found that mice with a smaller body size outlived those with a larger body size. This association was present in both male and female mice and was stronger for weights taken earlier rather than later in life, suggesting that low body weight at earlier ages is particularly advantageous for mouse longevity. The authors hypothesize that body weight is likely a surrogate measure of biological changes that influence weight as well as later life outcomes.

Is height related to longevity?

Good news for short people: according to this study, rates of diet-related chronic disease are lower in people of shorter height, especially after middle age. Shorter people also tend to live longer. Data from centenarians—people who reach 100 years of age—bear this finding out: the study reported that Japanese centenarians were around 10 centimeters shorter than 75 year-olds, and that Hungarian centenarians had an average height of 154cm (about five feet one inch).

Metabolite accumulation from oral NMN supplementation drives aging-specific kidney inflammation

Matt and George Sutphin discussed this preprint in a recent episode. The preprint authors found that, contrary to their expectations that NAD+ boosters would help ameliorate kidney aging in mice, an NAD+ booster actually led to increased levels of potential kidney damage markers. These results do not conclusively demonstrate a negative effect of NAD+ boosters on kidney health, but there's smoke there, as Matt says, and the finding is worth further investigation.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women

How might NAD+ precursors such as NMN affect people? This study reported that overweight or obese prediabetic women who had undergone menopause showed improved muscle insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling with NMN supplementation. They also experienced higher levels of downstream muscle NMN metabolites, or nicotinamide byproducts.