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What Does Peak Performance Aging Look Like? Is Cognitive Aging Really a Fact of Life?

Written by Jinfiniti Science on . Posted in NAD+, Inflammation, NAD+ Precursors, Neurological Diseases, Nicotinamide.

Peak performance aging is a radical concept that throws a pie in the face of traditional aging. The traditional theory of aging is that there is little that we can do to stop the slide. 

We’ve all heard accepted-aging statements: “Well, there’s nothing you can do about it. I guess we’re just getting old.” “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” “Aches and pains are all part of getting old.” “Aging comes for us all.” 

One leading thinker, Steven Kotler, a noted expert in the field of peak performance begs to differ.

“Aging is a fact of life, but old is all a mindset.”

A NY Times bestselling author, journalist and flow researcher, Kotler explains further about the myth of uncontrollable aging in his research and his recent book, Gnar Country: Growing Old, Staying Rad.

“Ageism is the most socially acceptable stereotype1 in the world,” he said. “But it has radical consequences.”  He further explains, aging is a mindset,”A proper mindset towards aging is also a growth mindset. If you have a fixed mindset around aging, everything about lifelong learning is going to be worthless.”

When psychologist Mihaly Cskiszentmihalyi coined the term Flow in the 70s to explain the peak performance zone he discovered people could tap into, he discovered a unique psychological state like any other and inadvertently helped catalyze the positive psychology movement. 

When it comes to aging, the latest research indicates that not only is regularly activating flow state a key factor in long-term life satisfaction, it is also neuro-protective against cognitive decline (see George Valliant’s research at Harvard-citations will be on our blog). 

You may be wondering what all this may have to do with Jinfiniti, and we’ll get to that in a second. 

But first, here are a few things that happen when your body is in Flow State: 

  1. All six positive neurochemical cocktails are released.
  2. Life satisfaction goes up. 
  3. Cognitive decline slows and even reverses. 

The long slow route theory of aging states that skills decline as you age, therefore cognitive decline is inevitable. But new research that supports peak performance aging flys in the face of that with practical guidance on how to achieve peak performance aging. 

To avoid cognitive decline, the research says that you need to:  

  1. Solve the crisis of identity by the time you’re 30.

  2. Have match/fit quality by the time you’re in your 40s.

  3. In your 50s, you need to combat two things:

    1. Risk aversion. If you are risk averse, you are fearful which releases norephedrine, which then blocks . You need challenging, creative social experiences and should remain open, curious and explorative. 

    2. Physical fragility. According to Kotler, you do this through “challenging social activities that involve deliberate dynamic play in novel outdoor environments.” To protect against cognitive decline, you need neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons. You have 700 new neurons being made daily, with the majority of them being made in the hippocampus. 

So why is this important? In the hippocampus, your brain remembers novel outdoor experience as that is what your brain has been trained to do for thousands of years. 

What does a positive, even a growth mindset around aging look like?

Six neurochemical cocktails released in flow:

1. DOPAMINE

Drives desire, excitement, enthusiasm, sexual desire, curiosity, to test your limits

2. NOREPINEPHRINE

Brain’s version of adrenaline. Produces a huge increase in energy and alertness. When you’re obsessed with an idea, can’t stop thinking about the person you just met, then it’s activated

3. OXYTOCIN

Produces love, trust, friendship. It’s pro social. Underpins everything from long term bliss to cooperative businesses and relationships.

4. SEROTONIN

Calming, peaceful. Gives a mood lift. Shows up post meal with the desire to take a nap. Important for satisfaction and contentment

5 & 6. ENDORPHINS & ANANDAMIDE

Heavy duty stress & pain relievers. Replaces the weight of the day with euphoric happiness.

Kotler identifies five categories of functional fitness that need to be trained2 and maintained: strength, stamina, agility, balance and flexibility.

“These are all use it or lose it skills, if we want to retain our physical abilities late in life3,” he said.

He noted a study about aging conducted by Yale professor Becca Levy4 that proved there was a significant correlation in how people thought about aging and viewed themselves when exposed to negative stereotypes.

“This could be people saying, ‘You’re too old for this s- -t,’ or you telling yourself ‘You’re too old for this s- -t,’” he explained. “By the time they were 60, we see a 30% greater memory decline in people who have been exposed to negative stereotypes around aging. Literally, we’re killing each other with these ideas.”

So here’s how peak performance aging ties into what we’re about at Jinfiniti:

If you are suffering in one of the vital biomarkers that can precipitate and accelerate aging, then it dramatically diminishes your potential longevity and healthspan.

Just this week, I met a 35-year-old with significant health issues whom we may be able to help pre-empt by testing and more precisely diagnosing while also optimizing NAD levels, so it can happen at almost any age.

NAD deficiency affects your energy, which in turn, affects your drive and motivation to engage in peak-performance, anti-aging related activities. The sooner you start ensuring your NAD is optimized, the sooner you throttle back aging, thereby extending your healthspan immediately. 

If you happen to be 50+ years old, your NAD levels are likely not optimal unless you’ve been taking our Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster for quite some time. According to extensive research, the average healthy 50-year-old has already lost 50% of their NAD levels. 

SHOP NAD+ BOOSTER
NAD declining graph 1024x481 1

Here at Jinfiniti, our flagship NAD supplement, the Accuri® Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster, is a patent-pending formulation that has been extensively tested in clinical studies by  hundreds of clinics and by thousands of consumers. It allows optimization of NAD in approximately 90% of users, a figure incomparable to any other NAD supplementation on the market. 

No other molecule comes close to helping your cells function optimally as much as NAD. 

This means that pain, inflammation, fatigue, brain function (obstacles to Flow State & peak performance aging) all decrease while mental clarity, stamina, recovery, energy, and youthfulness (ingredients of Flow State) all increase when NAD is optimized.

Hence why NAD optimization plays an inextricable link in achieving peak performance aging at the molecular level.

Whether you’re a pro athlete or you’re working in the corporate world, building a business, or raising a family, taking care of your cellular vitality is paramount to how you feel, how you perform but also how and whether or not you age.

That’s why NAD is  arguably the foundational molecule for all of life. Plus, if you are over 40 years old your NAD levels are essentially guaranteed to be deficient. So get one of our NAD tests and a bottle of Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster to tune up your NAD levels. Better, yet, our NAD starter kit is a terrific value as it’s 2 tests and 2 Vitality ↑® NAD+ Boosters, so within two months we can verify that your NAD levels are up to optimal levels.

TEST YOUR NAD LEVELS TODAY

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

  1. Andrew Huberman is Wrong About NAD, NAD+ precursor & Longevity
  2. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 
  3. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD
  4. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future

Citations:

Referenced Sources:

  1. https://nypost.com/2023/02/20/im-63-but-have-a-biological-age-of-43-heres-how-i-do-it/ ↩︎
  2. https://nypost.com/2017/01/19/you-office-job-is-literally-aging-you/ ↩︎
  3. https://nypost.com/2022/03/02/aging-faster-in-adulthood-linked-to-health-conditions-in-adolescence/ ↩︎
  4. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/harmful-effects-of-ageism-on-older-persons-health-found-in-45-countries/ ↩︎

Andrew Huberman is Wrong About NAD+, NR, and Longevity

Written by Jinfiniti Science on . Posted in NAD, NAD+, NAD+ Precursors.

Recently, Stanford neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman (who has one of the top health podcasts in the world) did a 16-minute Q&A segment on NAD and its precursors. 

Overall, I respect his commitment to scientific accuracy and his standard of excellence with his approach.

However, I consider him under-informed and not a subject matter expert in this particular arena.

Here’s where Huberman is wrong about NAD+, NR, and longevity.

In this article, you’ll discover…

  • Why you should not trust Andrew Huberman’s opinion about NAD supplements and why his expertise may not fully cover the complexities of NAD research, potentially leading to overestimated benefits.
  • Discover why NAD IV treatments might not be as effective as Andrew Huberman suggests and how they could be draining your wallet without delivering the promised health benefits.
  • The only NAD supplement proven to boost levels by 200-300%, far exceeding the modest 20-40% increase seen with other NAD products.

Let’s start with where we agree with Dr. Huberman:

  1. NAD provides a noticeable increase in energy: Dr. Huberman takes NAD+ precursor daily because of the very noticeable improvement in energy. In his words, “It gives me a lot of sustainable physical and mental energy throughout the day. I noticed a decrease in energy when I stopped taking NAD+ precursor. While I wasn’t totally depleted, my energy was noticeably lower. As a 48-year-old, having great energy is important to me.”

  2. We need more data and research. There are countless studies, tens of millions of dollars and many different types of clinical trials underway and completed. But because NAD shows enormous promise and potential, we can’t do enough research fast enough. Plus, it takes years for many trials and studies to be completed. 

However, there are a few important points where I disagree with Dr. Huberman. I believe he is seeing an incomplete picture with regards to NAD and its role in so many of our body’s systems. 

Here’s where we disagree: 

  1. Optimal Levels of NAD Increase Lifespan by Increasing Healthspan: While there haven’t been conclusive studies done on humans to demonstrate that NAD extends lifespan, you’d be hard-pressed to find any conclusive clinical trials and studies on any molecule or nutrient that slows aging.  Furthermore, the six root causes of aging that are central to long term health are all influenced, if not directly affected, by NAD. If your NAD levels are deficient, your metabolic function suffers significantly, which we know intensifies and accelerates your aging as well as your likelihood of disease. 
  1. Supplements are fundamental to optimal health: He claims that supplements are NOT fundamental to life/health, which is obviously wrong. Most of us are deficient in multiple nutrients for one reason or another and supplementation is an invaluable way to boost and support our health, improving our healthspan and thereby extending our lifespan.
  1. NAD+ precursor clearly elevates NAD levels (especially Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster): Huberman says he does not know if NAD+ precursor can elevate NAD.  He is ignoring all the publications and consumer data that NAD+ precursor can elevate NAD and the functional/clinical benefits. His statement is contradictory to his own experience that it gives him more energy with cellular energy being a fundamental aspect of good health. We see thousands of test results every year that conclusively demonstrate that your intracellular levels can be substantially increased, especially with our Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster, of which no other supplement comes close to increasing NAD levels as effectively.
  1. NAD IV. There’s much that we don’t know about the effectiveness of intravenous NAD, but one thing we do know is that it has no measurable impact on raising the NAD levels in your blood. Within hours of getting an IV, your system has flushed out the NAD from your bloodstream. Huberman seems to believe that your NAD levels increase with NAD IV, which is not the case at least intracellularly though they do seem to increase in your plasma. Here’s a feature that RaisingNAD.com1 did on me where we discussed the research that indicates no perceptible impact to intracellular NAD though your cellular plasma NAD levels do seem to increase.

See our YouTube video this week comparing NAD IV vs. Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster.

Dr. Jin She YT

Many people do notice an increase in energy and reduction in anxiety for a time period ranging from several days to several weeks after an IV, and we also agree that NAD IVs are a very expensive (and even painful) way to increase NAD. 

Dr. Huberman deserves a thumbs-up for his overall approach and standard of scientific rigor. As a fellow scientist, I have served as a Division Chief of Experimental Pathology and Director of Research and was the founding Director for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine, as well as the director of two core research facilities in Genomics, Proteomics, and Mass Spectrometry.

As a genetics researcher for over 40+ years, I have reviewed thousands of intracellular NAD tests, authored over 400-peer reviewed papers with an H-index of 76 and over 20,000 citations, and secured over $100 million dollars in research grants. . 

Here at Jinfiniti, our flagship NAD supplement, the Accuri® Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster, is a patent-pending formulation that has been extensively tested in clinical studies by hundreds of clinics and by thousands of consumers. It allows optimization of NAD in approximately 90% of users, a figure incomparable to any other NAD supplementation on the market. 

I strongly disagree with both Dr. Andrew Huberman’s assessment of NAD and its precursors. His understanding of NAD and its precursors is far less than what’s currently available. He hasn’t had the privilege of thousands of intracellular NAD tests. 

As someone who has a deep and integral knowledge of NAD and its precursors, I have a much more expansive data set and perspective when it comes to NAD and its role in our health. It is my primary area of focus. 

With regards to neuroscience, Huberman is the expert. But as far as genetics and NAD are concerned, that’s my field of expertise. 

Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster optimizes—not just improves—intracellular NAD for 90% of people alone, which no other NAD supplement can come close to promising.

SHOP NAD+ BOOSTER

While other brands increase NAD levels by 20-40% at best, we often see levels increase by 200-300% as we did with Doc Jen, a prominent doctor of physical therapy who loves the Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster. We back it with a 60-Day Money-Back and Efficacy Guarantee. That’s because we back up our Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster with testing, where all of the proof lies! 

I highly recommend testing your NAD levels to see where your levels are at and how much they need to be optimized. Jinfiniti’s intracellular NAD test is the only one of its kind in the world, and if you don’t already know where your levels are, it’s the best place to begin your optimization journey. 

TEST YOUR NAD LEVELS TODAY

Here are a few of our recent blog posts that you may be interested in reading regarding some of the science behind NAD, NAD precursors, and optimization leading to longevity: 

Lastly, as much as we know about NAD and its role in our health, there’s substantially more to be discovered, so I consider us very much in the early days of figuring out how to extend our lifespan. From the research and the experiential evidence I see every week with countless customers, NAD plays a vital role in extending our health span, life quality, and cellular vitality.

Referenced Sources:

  1. https://nadresearch.org/dr-she-describes-his-research-into-testing-and-supplementing-intracellular-nad-levels/ ↩︎
healthy food

The Dirty Secret 88% of Americans Struggle With

Written by Jinfiniti Science on . Posted in NAD+, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, Lipid Metabolism, NAD+ Precursors, Thyroid Diseases.

88% of Americans are struggling with a problem that can lead to a plethora of diseases and low-life quality: Metabolic dysfunction. 

It may not sound as terrible as autoimmune diseases, diabetes or heart disease, but guess what? It’s where all of those diseases come from. 

If this interests you as much as it does us, here is the number one way to decrease your metabolic dysfunction, age you quicker and increase your likelihood of diseases: 

Eat processed foods. 

The most important thing to know about your food is not what’s in it. It’s what has been done to it to make it processed. And yes, even your organic box of cereal that’s made with all-natural ingredients can still qualify as processed poison. 

Did you know that the USDA and the FDA are fully aware of the dangers of processed foods, yet continue to allow grocery stores to sell them? All while knowing that this so-called food is slowly poisoning the consumers of the United States.  

Food writer Mark Bittmas says that since food is defined as a “substance that provides nutrition and promotes growth” and poison is a “substance that promotes illness,” then “much of what is produced by industrialized agriculture is, quite literally, not food but poison.” 

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Dr. Robert Lustig compiles reasons for why Big Food’s processed diet is making us sick, and why it’s designed that way on purpose so that more sick people will require the drugs Big Pharma is offering. 

Dr. Lustig explains that of the eight pathologies (Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Influenza and Pneumonia, and Kidney Disease) that are most commonly killing us, none of them are curable via drugs. 

Five of them respond to exercise, which is vital; however, as Dr. Lustig says, you can’t outrun a bad diet.

The only thing that responds to all eight pathologies is food. Real food nourishes us on a metabolic level. That’s because our bodies know what to do with real food. It breaks it down into assimilable vitamins and minerals, which convert into cellular food like NAD, thus, increasing metabolic function. 

Real foods give your body essential vitamins and minerals that help your body create vitally important cellular food such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)—one of the building blocks of nearly every cellular process in the human body. 

“If you do not fix your food, you continue to court disease and untimely death. If we do not fix our food, we will continue to court societal and planetary oblivion.”—Dr. Robert Lustig

In America, we spend 97.5 percent of our healthcare budget on individual treatment and only 0.5 percent of our budget on preventative care. 

In reality, this bad cycle of only reactively treating symptoms while continuing to under-nourish our cells leads to a collective, societal breakdown of our cellular health and metabolic dysfunction.

Thankfully, the people we serve are proactive, not reactive with their health. Here at Jinfiniti, we offer groundbreaking NAD blood testing and supplementation; two of the most powerful things you can do right now for your metabolic health.

TEST YOUR NAD LEVELS TODAY
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Restock on your Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster or test your NAD levels here with the world’s only intracellular NAD test. Remember, our Vitality ↑® NAD+ Booster subscription option is always the best deal and will keep you from running out just as your metabolic health is getting better. 

SHOP NAD+ BOOSTER

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

  1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future
  2. Andrew Huberman is Wrong About NAD, NAD+ precursor & Longevity
  3. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 
  4. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD

NAD and age-related diseases

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in DNA Damage, NAD.

 

What is NAD?

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a necessary molecule for maintaining life and is found in every cell. NAD is involved in redox reactions and comes in two forms: NAD+ and NADH. Insufficient NAD is involved in five out of the nine hallmarks of aging and can increase the risks of age-related diseases such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Energy metabolism

NAD is necessary for major energy pathways such as glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. All of these pathways produce the body’s energy currency: ATP. When NAD is not available, cells can’t produce enough ATP to sustain important biological processes which leads to suboptimal health.

Sirtuins: aging regulators

Sirtuins are enzymes that require NAD+ to function and are involved in five hallmarks of aging. When there are healthy amounts of sirtuins and NAD+ cofactors, they inhibit the hallmarks: epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, deregegulated nutrient sensing, genomic instability, and cellular senescence.

DNA repair

The PARP enzymes use NAD to repair DNA to prevent genomic instability, a hallmark of aging.

The sirtuin enzymes also help prevent genomic instability by helping FOXO transcription factors to bind to DNA and express antioxidant enzymes to protect cells from oxidative stress.

NAD deficiency accelerates the hallmarks of aging

When the body does not have enough NAD, all of the above roles are harmed. Without enough NAD, genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, deregulated nutrient sensing, and poor energy metabolism hurt wellness and promote aging. NAD declines with age because it is consumed by enzymes, mainly CD38.

Hallmarks of aging affected by NAD
Hallmark Description NAD’s role
Epigenetic alteration Each of you cells share the same DNA. Epigenetics is what decides which pieces of DNA to use to make proteins and is the reason we have different cell types. With age, our cells become confused and lose some of their ability to function properly within their cell types.
Loss of proteostasis Proteostasis is the ability of a cell to make stable, functioning proteins. As we age, some cells lose the ability to do this well. Instead, they make ineffective or harmful proteins.
Mitochondrial dysfunction Mitochondria generate energy in the form of the ATP molecule via the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. These processes are called respiration and produce free radicals that can harm the cell in large numbers. As we age our mitochondria become dysfunctional by producing less ATP and more free radicals.
Senescence Senescent cells are those that stop dividing. This is a good mechanism for preventing cancer, but it can be harmful because it causes cells to release inflammatory molecules into the body and contribute to chronic inflammation.
Deregulated nutrient sensing Cells respond to the availability of nutrients in the diet through different pathways. When nutrient sensing is deregulated, cells don’t respond well to nutrients which can lead to conditions such as insulin insensitivity.

What are the risk factors for NAD deficiency?

NAD declines with age and contributes to disease

Obesity is also a risk factor for NAD depletion, possibly because it contributes to chronic inflammation, which causes DNA damage, requires NAD+-consuming PARP hyperactivation.

NAD deficiency is a common central pathological factor of a number of diseases and aging: cerebral ischemia, myocardial ischemia, diabetes, cancer, metabolic, neurodegenerative diseases, and other age-associated pathologies.

How can you optimize your NAD levels?

Supplementation

NAD precursor supplements have been shown to raise NAD levels in humans.

Diet and exercise

Obesity is associated with reduced expression of NAD and sirtuins, whereas weight loss increases NAD and sirtuin expression.

Exercise has been shown to increase activity of an NAD-synthesizing enzyme called NAMPT.

NAD pathways
Reprinted from “Srivastava S. Emerging therapeutic roles for NAD(+) metabolism in mitochondrial and age-related disorders. Clin Transl Med. 2016;5(1):25. doi:10.1186/s40169-016-0104-7”

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

  1. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD
  2. Andrew Huberman is Wrong About NAD & Longevity

Vitamin D

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Vitamin D.

What is vitamin D?

The main role of vitamin D is to maintain healthy bones by helping calcium and phosphate absorption from the intestines. Not having enough vitamin D raises risk of bone loss and fractures. Vitamin D is likely beneficial for other parts of the body as well. Studies have suggested an overall decrease in death, cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, respiratory illnesses, depression, chances of having a low-birthweight baby.

Vitamin D helps the immune system stay balanced. The way that vitamin D keeps the immune system healthy is very complex. Too much immune stimulation can result in autoimmune diseases. Insufficient immune system activity can result in frequent infections. A large prospective clinical trial showed in 2017 that vitamin D reduces the odds of developing a respiratory infection by approximately 42% in people with low baseline levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (< 25 ng/mL). Recent studies suggest that vitamin D plays a critical role in reducing COVID-19 infection and helping recovery from COVI-19 infection.

How to act on the result on Vitamin D has been the subject of great controversy in the medical field. Blood level of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D is usually measured in nanograms per milliliter. One opinion on the vitamin D deficiency is less than 12.5 ng/mL, which is found in about 6% of Americans. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that a vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL or higher was adequate for good bone health, and subsequently a level below 20 was considered a vitamin D deficiency. In 2011, the Endocrine Society issued a report urging a much higher minimum blood level of vitamin D. It concluded that “at a minimum, we recommend vitamin D levels of 30 ng/mL, and because of the vagaries of some of the assays, to guarantee sufficiency, we recommend between 40 and 60 ng/mL for both children and adults.”

Excessive supplementation of vitamin D may be harmful. Vitamin D is stored in fat and your fat cells can only store so much vitamin D. The result of high levels of vitamin D is high levels of calcium in blood and potentially hypercalcemia and calcification. Too high levels of vitamin D can be immunosuppressive as well.

What are the causes of vitamin D deficiency?

While anyone can be deficient in vitamin D, people who are older, have darker skin, or do not get enough sunlight are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D. People with certain diseases such as cancer often have vitamin D deficiency.

Intervention tips

The main source of vitamin D is production by your body when the skin is exposed to sun. It is estimated that 1000 -1500 hours of sun exposure in the year are needed by most people to produce the necessary amount of vitamin D. Due to vigilant sun protection and other factors, vitamin D deficiency is very common and on the rise. Vitamin D can also be obtained from other sources including some natural foods such as fatty fish, egg yolks, cheese and beef liver as well as foods fortified with vitamin D such as dairy products, soymilk, and cereals. However, many people, especially older adults, people with darker skin and limited sun exposure and overweight, cannot get enough vitamin D from sun exposure and foods and require vitamin D supplements. While a daily supplement of 1000 IU may be sufficient for most people, much higher dose is necessary for those who are deficient in vitamin D level.

Too much vitamin D (>100 ng/ml) can be harmful, increasing risk for fractures, falls and kidney stones, and can be toxic due to excessive level of calcium. There is some evidence that high levels of vitamin D may be associated with certain cancers and mortality. Testing for blood vitamin D level is the best way to find out how much supplementation is needed for each person. We recommend an optimal vitamin D level between 50-80ng/mL to maximize health and longevity.

Further reading

  1. Emily S. Ruiz, M. (2020). Vitamin D: Finding a balance – Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-d-finding-balance-2017072112070
  2. Vitamin D Boosts the Immune System. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/vitamin-d-helps-the-immune-system-during-cold-and-flu-season
  3. New research shows a surprising link between coronavirus and vitamin D. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.mic.com/p/coronavirus-vitamin-d-the-surprising-link-according-to-new-research-40564785
  4. Vitamin D supplements are immunosuppressive | Microbe Minded. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from http://microbeminded.com/vitamin-d-supplements-are-immunosuppressive/

hs-CRP

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Liver Enzymes.

What are CRP and hs-CRP?

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a substance that the liver makes in response to inflammation. The C-reactive protein test measures the amount of this protein in the blood. The test can help to diagnose acute and chronic conditions that cause inflammation. A wide variety of inflammatory conditions can cause elevated CRP levels, including infection, organ and tissue injury, cancer, obesity, autoimmune conditions, pericarditis. Very high CRP levels (>350mg/L) are almost always a sign of a serious underlying medical condition, likely a severe infection or a poorly controlled autoimmune disease or severe tissue damage. The high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) test is different from the CRP test. The hs-CRP test detects lower levels of CRP in the bloodstream (0-10mg/L), while the CRP test measures levels in the 10-1,000mg/L range. The hs-CRP test is used to evaluate chronic inflammation and a person’s risk of developing diseases and conditions such as cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes and sedentary lifestyle. There is currently no definitive standard for CRP blood levels, and guidelines vary. As a general rule, the following thresholds apply:
  • Normal levels are below 1 mg/L.
  • Slightly elevated levels (1 – 3 mg/L) indicate a moderate risk of developing cardiovascular disease and perhaps other diseases.
  • Moderately elevated levels (3 – 10 mg/L) are usually result from chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, tobacco smoking and sedentary lifestyle.
  • Highly elevated levels (10 – 100 mg/L) are usually due to significant inflammation from an infectious or non-infectious cause.
  • Extremely high levels (above 100 mg/L) are almost always a sign of severe bacterial, fungal or viral infection, and sometimes cancer.

What are the most likely cause of elevated CRP?

A huge range of diseases and conditions can raise CRP levels, making the determination of the exact cause of its elevation almost impossible by looking at CRP levels alone. However, the causes fall into the following categories:
  • Viral, bacterial or fungal infection including COVID-19.
  • Injury, surgery or wound.
  • Cancer.
  • Chronic diseases: diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, pericarditis and autoimmune diseases.
  • Lifestyle conditions: overweight, sedentary lifestyle.
  • Estrogen levels: Estrogen-based medications such as birth control pills and hormone replacement medications.
  • Pregnancy: especially during the later stages.

Intervention tips

You should consult a doctor and find out the cause if you have high levels of CRP (>10mg/L). For slightly (1-3mg/L) to moderately elevated levels (3-10mg/L), you should monitor it changes over time and potentially take actions to reduce the levels. There are many different supplements that can help reduce chronic inflammation and the commonly used supplements include curcumin contained in turmeric, alpha-lipoic acid, fish oil, ginger, resveratrol, spirulina, S-adenosylmethionine, zinc, green tea, frankincense, cat’s claw, capsaicin, andrographis and many others. Anti-inflammatory supplements do not work for everyone and you should find out which one(s) work the best for you. In almost all cases, supplements take time to reverse inflammation. Medications may be needed to reduce inflammation in the body when it is highly elevated. Specific nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and some cholesterol-reducing medicines (statins) and may help lower CRP levels.

Further reading

  1. C-reactive protein (CRP) test: High levels, low levels, and normal range. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322138
  2. 6 Supplements That Fight Inflammation. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-anti-inflammatory-supplements
  3. Anti-inflammatory supplements: 8 natural options. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326067
Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:
    1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future
    2. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD
    3. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 
    1. Andrew Huberman is Wrong About NAD & Longevity

GSP

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Lipid Metabolism.

What is GSP?

Glycation is the non-enzymatic bonding of a sugar molecule to a protein or lipid molecule. Glycated serum proteins (GSP) are proteins that have undergone glycation and circulate in the blood. The vast majority (90%) of GSP consists of glycated albumin. GSP concentration is an indication of the average amount of glucose (glycemia) in the blood over the previous two to three weeks while glycated hemoglobulin, particularly HbA1c, is a measurement of glycemia over the past two to three months. Therefore, GSP closes the information gap between daily glucose measurement and quarterly HbA1c measurement to provide a full spectrum monitoring of glycemic control for patients with diabetes. Furthermore, HbA1c may be of limited value in some situations such as pregnancy, reduced RBC lifespan and hemodialysis. GSP may be altered independent of glycemia by factors that influence albumin metabolism. Interestingly, GSP level is lower in some patients with various types of cancer and lower GSP level may be associated with poor survival in certain types of cancer, probably because of albumin deficiencies in cancer patients.

GSP are precursors of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs contribute to a variety of microvascular and macrovascular diseases. Studies have suggested that measuring GSP and HbA1c provides a better assessment of the long term risk of developing diabetic complications.

What are the risk factors for abnormal GSP?

Diabetes and diabetic complications are the major causes for higher GSP (>290 μmol/L). Borderline GSP values may indicate increased risk of diabetes. Lifestyle factors, like diets high in sugar, fat and salt, are risk factors for increased GSP levels. Diseases or conditions with altered albumin metabolism or protein levels such as the nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, thyroid disease, hyperuricemia, hypertriglyceridemia, smoking, liver, thyroid, and renal diseases can alter GSP level.

Cancer may be associated with low GSP values.

Intervention tips

Besides reducing sugar intake, some ways to modify high GSPs include:

  • Exercise regularly.
  • Lose weight.
  • Control carb intake and implement portion control.
  • Increase fiber intake.
  • Drink water and stay hydrated.
  • Choose foods with a low glycemic index, which assesses the body’s blood sugar response to foods that contain carbs.
  • Reduce stress levels.
  • Monitor blood sugar levels.
  • Get enough quality sleep.
  • Eat foods rich in chromium and magnesium.
  • Food and supplements: apple cider vinegar, cinnamon extract, berberine, fenugreek seeds.
  • Test for diseases that may alter GSP levels.

Further reading

  1. Glycated albumin – utility and distinction vs A1C and fructosamine. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.mlo-online.com/disease/diabetes/article/21130617/glycated-albumin-utility-and-distinction-vs-a1c-and-fructosamine
  2. Welsh, K. J., Kirkman, M. S., & Sacks, D. B. (2016). Role of Glycated Proteins in the Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes: Research Gaps and Future Directions. Diabetes care, 39(8), 1299–1306. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc15-2727

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

    1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future
    2. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 

3. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD

 

P.S. Want to boost your intracellular NAD levels? Try a 2 week trial of our Jinfiniti Vitality Boost (do 2 scoops per day), use the discount code welcome20 if you’re a new customer for 20% off your 1st order).

ALT

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Liver Enzymes.

What is ALT?

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT, also known as SGPT) is one of the most widely tested liver enzymes. The other one is aspartate aminotransferase (AST or SGOT). In healthy persons, these liver enzymes are predominantly contained within liver cells and to a lesser degree in the muscle cells. When the liver is injured or damaged, liver cells spill these enzymes into the blood stream, resulting in elevated levels of AST and ALT in the blood and indicating liver diseases. There are also other enzymes found in the liver, including alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and 5′ nucleotidase. ALT and the other liver enzyme tests are used to assess liver damages from hepatitis, infection, cirrhosis, liver cancer, or other liver diseases. Other factors including medicines, age, gender, diet, body weight, and geographical location can affect ALT results.

The normal range for ALT in blood has been an issue of debate and does vary depending on testing laboratories or medical organizations and the purpose of the assay. In healthy individuals, blood ALT levels can fluctuate 10 to 30% from one day to the next and can fluctuate 45% during a single day, with highest levels observed in the afternoon and lowest level at night. Our test population has a median value of 16 units per liter (U/L) in adults who do not have known liver diseases. This is comparable to the median value of 11 U/L for women and 13 U/L for men in a published report. For disease diagnosis purpose, the cutoff is usually set at a very high value, 63 U/L; however, ALT should be maintained in an optimum range for health management purpose. We recommend an optimum blood ALT level between 14 and 33 U/L.

Elevated ALT increases mortality risk, not only in liver disease but also in non-liver-related ailments, particularly cardiovascular disease. Mortality jumps up by 60% -80% when ALT is twice beyond the higher of the normal range.

Whereas doctors pay more attention to elevated ALT values, lower ALT in blood has been shown to be associated with lower total-body muscle mass, lower baseline fitness, increased frailty and risk of mortality in elderlies and increased risk of all-cause mortality in healthy, middle-aged and elder people. The association between ALT and mortality is inconsistent and seems particularly susceptible to age. ALT is more valuable in predicting mortality in the older population. Extremely low ALT levels appear to indicate a higher all-cause, cardiovascular-related, and cancer-related mortality.

Analysis of over 10,000 nondiabetic subjects of age 21-84 years suggested an upward surge from 21 to 64 years and a discernible steady downward decline around 65 years of age.

What are the risk factors for abnormal ALT?

Elevated ALT levels are indications of abnormal live function or damage, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatitis, alcohol-related liver disease, bile duct disorders, autoimmune live disease, drug and medicine (aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, Motrin and others), and other etiology such as smoking, high cholesterol, overweight, sedent lifestyle and environmental toxins.

Causes for low ALT are not very well known. Malnutrition could be a risk factor for low ALT.

Intervention tips to lower ALT levels

If your ALT test is outside of the normal range, you should consult your doctor who may recommend a confirmatory test and/or additional tests to find out the exact cause for the abnormal finding. There also preventive actions you can take to keep your liver healthy and your ALT level within healthy range. These may include:

  • Reduce high cholesterol.
  • Have a healthy and balanced diet.
  • Exercise regularly and lose excess weight.
  • Increase folic acid intake.
  • Avoid alcohol, smoking, and environmental toxins.

Intervention tips to raise abnormally low ALT levels

There are no known remedies for rectifying lower than normal levels of ALT at this time because limited research has been devoted to the harmful effect of low ALT in the blood on health and mortality. Follow general guidelines for healthy lifestyle including balanced diet and exercise.

Further reading

  1. Alexander, W. (2020). New Recommendations Call for Standard ALT Screenings. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.hcplive.com/view/2007-01_23
  2. Alexander, W. (2020). New Recommendations Call for Standard ALT Screenings. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.hcplive.com/view/2007-01_23
  3. Liu, Z., Ning, H., Que, S., Wang, L., Qin, X., & Peng, T. (2014). Complex association between alanine aminotransferase activity and mortality in general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. PloS one, 9(3), e91410. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091410
  4. Kim, J. W., Lee, K. J., Yang, H. R., Chang, J. Y., Moon, J. S., Khang, Y. H., & Ko, J. S. (2018). Prevalence and risk factors of elevated alanine aminotransferase among Korean adolescents: 2001-2014. BMC public health, 18(1), 617. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5548-9
  5. How to lower ALT levels: 8 natural methods. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326425

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

    1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future
    2. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD
    3. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 

P.S. Want to boost your intracellular NAD levels? Try a 2 week trial of our Jinfiniti Vitality Boost (do 2 scoops per day), use the discount code welcome20 if you’re a new customer for 20% off your 1st order).

ALP

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Liver Enzymes.

What is ALP?

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is an enzyme found in several tissues including liver, bone, intestine, kidney, placenta and white blood cells. Damage to these tissues causes the release of ALP into the bloodstream. ALP in blood of healthy adults is mainly from the liver, with most of the rest coming from bones. Elevated blood ALP is commonly caused by live damages, bone disorders, bile duct and gallbladder diseases. ALP is used as part of the liver panel to detect liver damages, blocked bile ducts, gallstones or bile duct tumor. It is also often used to detect any condition that affects bone growth or causes elevated activity of bone cells, including osteoporosis, cancers that have spread to the bones, Paget disease that causes malformed bones, or other bone conditions such as vitamin D deficiency. Moderately elevated ALP may indicate other diseases, such as congestive heart failure, ulcerative colitis, Hodgkin lymphoma, and certain bacterial infections. Blood transfusion or heart bypass surgery may cause temporally low levels of ALP. Zinc deficiency may also cause lower ALP levels. Hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic disorder of bone metabolism, can cause severe, long-term low ALP levels. The ALP test measures the total ALP levels in the blood. Increase of total ALP may result from ALP specific for certain tissues that can be identified by additional tests. For example, the bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) is the bone-specific isoform of ALP. Isoenzyme analyses using electrophoresis can find out the source of the elevated ALP (liver, bone, obesity, kidney and cancer). The normal range of ALP is from 20 to 140 units per liter (U/L) in some recommendations and 44-147 U/L in other recommendations. High levels of ALP are normally seen in pregnant women and in children undergoing growth. ALP is one of the 10 variables used to quantify biological age with PhenoAge. The reference range for ALP, ALP values greater than 48 U/L are associated with a significantly increased all-cause mortality risk in a meta-analysis of 4 studies that include ~9 million adults. In another meta-analysis that included 24 studies and 147,634 subjects, lowest risk of all-cause death is found in people with ALP values ~50 U/L. Furthermore, mortality risk increases linearly up to 85 U/L and increases at a much greater rate for values greater than 85 U/L. There is evidence that lower ALP may be better within the normal range.

What are the risk factors for abnormal ALP?

Risk factors for elevated ALP include various liver diseases and bone disorders, drug and medicine, and other etiology such as diet, smoking, obesity and environmental toxins. Low blood ALP levels may be caused by a rare genetic disorder called hypophosphatasia that affects bones and teeth, malnutrition/protein deficiency which could be caused by celiac disease, a deficiency in certain vitamins or minerals such as zinc, or certain medications.

Intervention tips

Once doctors identify the cause of elevated ALP, treatment for the cause can bring the ALP level to normal range. Doctors may recommend removal of certain medications that can cause elevated ALP levels such as birth control pills, anti-inflammatory drugs, narcotic drugs. There also preventive actions you can take to keep your liver and bones healthy and your ALP level within healthy range. These may include:
  • Foods rich in vitamin D and supplements for vitamin D.
  • Exposure to sunlight to increase vitamin D production.
  • Reduce high cholesterol.
  • Healthy and balanced diet.
  • Exercise regularly and lose excess weight.
  • Avoid alcohol, smoking, and environmental toxins.

Further reading

  1. Wikipedia contributors. (2020, November 8). Elevated alkaline phosphatase. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:43, November 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elevated_alkaline_phosphatase&oldid=987733747
  2. Phosphatase, O. (2020). Optimizing Biological Age: Alkaline Phosphatase. Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/10/07/alkaline-phosphatase/
  3. Alkaline Phosphatase Level Test (ALP). (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/alp
  4. ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase) Isoenzyme | Medical Tests | UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/tests/003497.html
Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:
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    1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future
    1. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD

Albumin

Written by Saha Jeet on . Posted in Liver Enzymes.

What is albumin?

Albumin is synthesized by the liver and is the most abundant protein in the blood. It is essential for the body to both maintain growth and repair tissues. In healthy people, a blood albumin level of less than 3.5 g/dl is considered deficient. Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines, from the National Kidney Foundation, recommend a blood albumin level of >4.0 g/dl for patients with kidney diseases.

What are the causes of albumin deficiency?

Not eating enough protein is the primary reason for an inadequate albumin level. Inflammation and infection can also reduce albumin level. Possible causes of infections include an infected access, an infected foot, decayed teeth or infected gums or a bladder infection. Examples of chronic inflammations are cancer, arthritis, lupus, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low albumin levels may be caused by liver diseases or other liver problems such as from alcohol, metabolic acidosis, or protein loss as a result of kidney diseases. It has also been shown that serum albumin declines with age.

Intervention tips

You may increase your blood albumin level through eating animal foods that contain high quality proteins (e.g., fish, chicken, beef, pork, eggs, milk). Lower quality protein comes from foods such as nuts, beans, vegetables and grain products. You should consult your dietitian who knows how much protein you should eat and also which foods are good sources of protein. You should also consult with your doctor about possible medical issues related to a low blood albumin level. We recommend that you check your blood albumin levels quarterly if it is found to be low. If your albumin level stays low, work with your medical team to determine the cause and come up with a solution.

Further reading

  1. 15 Kidney-Friendly Protein Foods for Keeping Albumin Up. (2020). Retrieved 24 November 2020, from https://www.davita.com/diet-nutrition/articles/advice/15-kidney-friendly-protein-foods-for-keeping-albumin-up
  2. Don, B. R., & Kaysen, G. (2004). Serum albumin: relationship to inflammation and nutrition. Seminars in dialysis, 17(6), 432–437. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0894-0959.2004.17603.x
  3. Gom, I., Fukushima, H., Shiraki, M., Miwa, Y., Ando, T., Takai, K., & Moriwaki, H. (2007). Relationship between serum albumin level and aging in community-dwelling self-supported elderly population. Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology, 53(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.3177/jnsv.53.37

Lastly, if you’re interested in going deeper on health-related content, here are a few of our recent posts that you may want to read:

    1. What Does Peak Performance Look Like? 

    1. Why Optimized, Precision Medicine is the Future

    1. 9 Powerful Benefits of Optimizing Your NAD

P.S. Want to boost your intracellular NAD levels? Try a 2 week trial of our Jinfiniti Vitality Boost (do 2 scoops per day), use the discount code welcome20 if you’re a new customer for 20% off your 1st order).

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