Could just the right amount of danger keep you younger?

In our first podcast on our show "Pushing the Limits", anti-ageing expert, Dr Elena Seranova, and professional ultra-marathon athlete, Lisa Tamati, get into the nitty-gritty of our longevity genes - and exactly how to switch them on. 

Talking us through the importance of our seven longevity genes, known medically as SIRTUINS, NMN Bio founder, Dr Seranova, highlights the significance of SIRTUIN 1, explaining, “what we’ve seen is that SIRTUIN 1 is one of the first genes that would go onto the side of a double-stranded DNA break to recover it. It is heavily involved with DNA repair and a very important gene.” Ageing gene number three is next in line, Dr Seranova explains, “SIRTUIN 3 would be the other very important gene for longevity, which has a lot to do with mitochondrial health and mitochondrial function”.

We learn that these SIRTUINS “upregulate many physiological processes in order to deal with potential danger”, and that every one of our SIRTUINS “need a molecule called NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and without this molecule, they cannot perform their functions.”

The fantastic news is we can kickstart these anti-ageing genes, to fight the ageing process, by tricking our bodies with just the right amount of “danger” to trigger a shock response. Dr Seranova outlines how, “SIRTUINS get activated because there is some sort of stressor coming into the body”, adding “we can actually artificially activate SIRTUINS - for example, with the use of a sauna”. Lisa and Dr Seranova go on to explain how incorporating just the right amount of intermittent fasting and high intensity exercise can be extremely effective for SIRTUIN activation as well.

Throughout the podcast, there’s no shying away from how much our ageing genes rely on NAD to perform at their best. As Lisa says, “NAD - NAD+ or NADH - this is the most important molecule in our body next to ATP, and ATP is our energy production”. Breaking down just how important both forms are, “NAD+, which is the oxidized form and NADH, which is the reduced form”, Dr Seranova explains how, “unfortunately we do have decreased levels of this molecule as we age.”

With NMN as the “only direct precursor of NAD” we look at how NMN is so easily absorbed as “it converts straight away to NAD” and we take an in-depth look at how this enhanced bioavailability can play such a huge role in activating SIRTUINS. 

For the full lowdown on switching on these crucial longevity genes - and the benefits of supplementing with NMN to enhance the effects - listen to the full podcast: Dr Elena Seranova Interview