The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever

By Dave Asprey

Part 1

Don’t Die

The Four Killers

• The four killers - heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer
  • One in four deaths in the US connected to heart disease
  • More than 9 percent of US population has diabetes, rises to 25 for people over 65
  • Estimated 5 million living with Alzheimer’s, death rate increased 55 percent between 1999 and 2014
  • 1.73 million are diagnoses with cancer each year, more than 600,000 of them die from it
• 75 percent of American men are obese, 60 percent of women, 30 percent of kids
• ROSs (free radicals) - unstable molecules that contain atoms with unpaired electrons, making them highly reactive. When an excess of free radicals are present in cells, they cause a chemical reaction that damages your cellular structures in a process called oxidation.
  • Exactly what happens as you age - mitochondria steadily declines, leading to an increase in free radicals, which damage your cells
• When your mitochondria start to slow down and create an excess of free radicals, the result is widespread chronic inflammation throughout your body
  • Inflammation is a big step in heart disease’s process…most functional medicine practitioners now identify inflammation as a bigger health risk than cholesterol levels
• Excess blood sugar causes damage to the entire vascular urge, so if you have diabetes, you’re more likely to have heart disease or a stroke. High blood sugar also causes dangerous nerve damage by injuring the walls of the capillaries that bring blood and nutrients to your nerves.
• The more excess fat you’re carrying, the higher your chance of becoming insulin resistant and developing type 2 diabetes
• Inflammation is a big part in all of the big four
• An inflamed environment offers the perfect conditions for cancer cells to proliferate
  • Data shoes that only about 2 to 5 percent of cancers are truly genetically based, and mitochondrial dysfunction causes most others
• Autophagy (Greek - “self-eating”) - recycling process that removes unwanted toxins, reduces inflammation, and helps to slow the aging process
• Do these things:
  • If you have joint pain or blood sugar issues, consider taking glucosamine
  • Consume more antioxidants
  • Short periods of fasting stimulate autophagy
  • Try the Zona Plus (for help with cardiovascular issues)

The Seven Pillars of Aging

1. Shrinking Tissues
   • Sarcopenia - a condition that can lead to falls and broken bones and even impairs the body from fully recovering after those tumbles (or a surgery). In most people it sets in as early as 30 and gets worse with each passing decade.
   • When neurons in the brain die and your body isn’t able to replace them, your brain literally shrinks
2. Mitochondrial Mutations
   • Mitochondrial DNA has a limited ability to repair itself when it is damaged
   • Your DNA provides a picture of how a building (your body) will look - how many rooms, windows, what kind of roof etc. Your mitochondrial DNA describes what kind of wiring, heating, lighting, and ac will be in the building
3. Zombie Cells
   • Cells that don’t die when they’re worn out
4. Cellular Straitjackets