Building a Daily Superfood Ritual for Energy & Vitality After 40, Part 1

Description

Welcome to Z Natural Foods' newest 2-part article series, where I discuss the value of supporting energy and vitality after age 40. 

In Part 1 of this article series, I will discuss the following. 

• What is healthy aging? 
• Why is the age of 40 considered (by Western medicine) the standard for pivoting from reactive to proactive care? 
• What exactly are functional and integrative medicine, and how do they play a role in the healthy aging process?
• Quality of life versus quantity
• What is mitochondrial dysfunction, and how is it related to the aging process?
• Does the biohacking community (while chaotic) really have something to offer in the world of healthy aging?

So, let’s begin.

1) What is healthy aging? 

If you have not been living under a rock for the last 40 years, then chances are you have heard of a man named Andrew Weil. He is a Harvard-trained doctor (with an undergraduate degree in biology, with a focus on botany, also from Harvard) who has made it his life's mission to bring the clear understanding and value of integrative medicine into the spotlight in the reductionist world of Western medicine. 

Dr. Weil is a controversial figure in the biohacking community because he has become one of only a handful of leading authorities on “healthy aging” rather than the controversial topic of “reversing the aging process.” 

Dr. Weil holds that the aging process is a natural, inevitable phase rather than a disease to be fought. He separates the ideas that, while there is a high risk of illness as we age, taking the right steps in our lifestyle may make that outcome less inevitable. 

He further believes that when nourished correctly, our bodies have the innate ability to heal themselves. Furthermore, he is one of the few Western-trained doctors who believe that the placebo effect is a bridge to self-healing and a real phenomenon of self-healing driven by belief rather than an annoyance to be ruled out of medicine. 

These primary concepts prioritize extending one’s quality of "lifespan" rather than merely increasing longevity, often aiming to "live long and well”, then have a rapid decline. I personally believe he is correct on many accounts.  

A Quick note about the placebo effect

While most Western doctors view the placebo effect as something fake, this idea could not be further from the truth. In fact, the placebo effect may be one of the most potent medicines known to mankind. 

Let me explain. 

The technical Western definition is a “genuine, measurable improvement in a person’s physical or mental health following a dummy treatment (inert substance, sugar pill, or sham surgery) that has no direct therapeutic value. It is driven by the brain's expectation of improvement, classical conditioning, and the therapeutic context, triggering real neurobiological responses like endorphin release.” 

I am not sure about you, but that sounds pretty good to me. In simple terms, a strong enough belief that something will work either triggers it to work or makes it work better. 

Hmm, I suppose when you can’t patent it and make billions, it is pretty-well useless?

The truth is, the placebo effect is a pure example of healing evoked by the mind. If you look just below the surface, you will see it is the meat of medicine and the greatest demonstration of the body’s ability to heal itself. While it is true that placebos are inactive substances, the response to them is extremely potent, producing highly physiologically measurable effects. 

In fact, the effect is triggered by belief in the treatment and the doctor, and should be considered a therapeutic ally that connects the patient and the doctor. It is the greatest demonstration of how the mind can influence the body, bridging the gap between thought and healing. 

Endorphins and Dopamine are the two primary neurochemicals that facilitate the placebo effect and act as the brain’s pharmacy to mediate pain and reward expectations. When combined, they translate expectation into reality. While most people like to ignore them or attempt to rationalize the results as nonsense, there are many examples in which the placebo effect was more potent than the drug. 

One of the driving principles of the placebo effect is a positive doctor-patient relationship, which rarely exists in our chaotic medical system.  

The following are some key concepts regarding his philosophy on aging. 

1. The denial of the aging process fosters fear and is therefore counterproductive regarding a graceful adaptation to life's changes.
2. His unbreakable belief regarding the connection between chronic inflammation and its ability to severely disrupt the healthy aging process. Therefore, one of his central focuses is adapting to an anti-inflammatory diet that emphasizes polyphenolic diversity (through a wide variety of fruits and vegetables) and a healthy balance of omega-3-rich foods. 
3. Lifestyle practices that maintain functionality through physical activity and mind-body balance through meditation and deep breathing.

In simple terms, it is a natural, evidence-based, prevention-focused protocol that can be started at any stage of life, rather than relying solely on conventional medical intervention. In fact, any unnecessary reliance on conventional medical interventions will often accelerate the aging process due to the stress they place on the body.     

Here is a quick reference regarding the importance of polyphenolic diversity. 

Polyphenols are a term used to describe a general category of compounds found in a broad spectrum of fruits, vegetables, and tea that work as “reducing agents” along with other compounds known as antioxidants to support a healthy inflammation response and the body's ability to protect and repair damaged tissue caused by oxidative stress. 

While over 8,000 polyphenols have been identified, some of the most common are flavonoids, flavonols, and anthocyanins, and raspberries are an outstanding source of these potent compounds. 

Discussing these various compounds helps you better understand the wide range and complexity of nourishment you are getting from these powerful foods. 

• Flavonols are polyphenols belonging to the flavonoid family that contain a ketone group and are studied for their wide range of biological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory). They primarily accumulate in the outer tissues (skin and leaves) of fruits and vegetables, are the building blocks of proanthocyanins (compounds that are attributed to the colors of fruits and vegetables), and are most widespread in the human diet. 
• Flavonoids are a group of water-soluble polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, thought to provide health benefits through cell signaling (the process by which a cell responds to a substance outside the cell through signaling molecules on its surface) and antioxidant effects. Secondary metabolites are substances produced by plants that enable them to compete in their environment, exerting a wide range of effects on the plant itself and surrounding organisms, including promoting flowering, fruit set, signaling deciduous behavior, and acting as antimicrobials. Over 50,000 secondary metabolites have been discovered, and many modern medicines rely on them for their mechanism of action. There are six major subclasses of flavonoids: Anthocyanidins, flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavanones, flavones, and isoflavones. These account for around 60% of all polyphenols. 

Many health experts believe a diet rich in flavonoids is critical for supporting healthy aging because these compounds are known as nature’s biological response modifiers. 

There are over 8,000 different types of flavonoids found in nature. Based on the research, it does not seem to matter if you acquire them from food or supplements; what counts is the total daily amount you consume. These experts believe we should consume 500 to 2000 milligrams of flavonoids daily, sourced from various foods and supplements. While results can vary based on numerous factors, the USDA Database for flavonoid content is the most reliable source.

2) Why is the age of 40 considered (by Western medicine) the standard for pivoting from reactive to proactive care? 

The average overall lifespan in the United States is 79 years (women: 81, men: 76). Traditionally, the age of 40 has been considered a point of transition or clinical milestone in Western medicine, marked by proactive “preventive” care. However, their definition of prevention differs from that of functional or Integrative medicine. This timeframe in life is when stress has been ravaging our bodies for a significant enough period, creating chronic inflammation and hormonal decline, ultimately leading to mitochondrial dysfunction. 

The trio of concepts (stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction) is what you might call the perfect storm for creating havoc and dis-ease, leaving us vulnerable to seriously declining health. 

Traditional Western medicine holds that the concept of “preventative health care” involves various tests and screenings to identify biological and physiological shifts that are believed to begin in your mid-40s. The tests and screenings focus on the following: 

• Metabolic issues: Metabolism, body weight/composition, and blood sugar issues that lead to metabolic syndrome.  
• Organ function: Liver and kidney blood flow, resilience, and ability to withstand other biological and external environmental changes. 
• Hormonal changes: For women, this is the beginning stages of menopause, representing fluctuating hormones, irregular menstrual cycles, and hot flashes. For men, it marks the beginning of andropause, which may potentiate low energy and changes in metabolism. 
• Musculoskeletal changes: Your mid-40’s is the time when healthy muscle tissue can first begin to decline, along with a decreased elasticity in tissues, especially if you have neglected the importance of protein and physical activity (resistance training).  

To be clear, this isn't a time when things just fail; it's a starting point for when things can potentially begin to go wrong, at least that is the old way of thinking. It is a time when traditional Western medicine pivots from reactive to proactive care. 

I say that is the old way of thinking because we live in a time when people in their teens, 20s, and 30s are at a staggering level of metabolic illnesses, obesity, cancer, and even neurological illnesses are hitting people at much younger ages. 

Therefore, these are no longer considered only midlife or elder illnesses. “A 2020 Blue Cross Blue Shield report showed a 200% increase in cases among insured Americans aged 30-64 between 2013 and 2017. Cases are rising fastest among 30-44 year-olds.” 

However, while all of these tests may provide us with important information, traditional Western medicine lacks a proper plan to address these imbalances. This is where functional or integrative medicine (the perfect marriage of modern advances in medicine and nutraceuticals with long-standing traditional systems of medicine like TCM) steps up as a superstar, providing you with appropriate lifestyle modifications and exogenous therapies to put you on the right track for healthy aging.  

3) Functional medicine versus Integrative medicine: What is the difference, and how do they play a role in the healthy aging process?

To discuss this topic, it is essential first to define functional and integrative medicine. In simple terms, Integrative medicine is a form of healthcare that focuses on treating the person as a whole by combining conventional medicine with evidence-based alternative treatments. 

Integrative medicine puts a strong emphasis on lifestyle, less invasive Western interventions, and fostering the body's innate healing capacity. Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on the doctor-patient relationship as a partnership and on mind-body lifestyle factors. Integrative medicine is not alternative medicine. It cherry picks the best of what both forms of medicine have to offer. To be clear, integrative medicine does not reject conventional medicine. In fact, it honors and employs its less-invasive therapies. 

Functional medicine is a science-based biological approach that emphasizes blood tests to identify the root causes of chronic illness, including genetics, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Unlike conventional medicine, which treats all systems as individual entities, functional medicine examines how different systems in the body interact. Furthermore, it tailors its treatments to the individual based on their genetic makeup.  

Both of these systems do have many things in common. However, the fine line does exist. 

• Integrative medicine might commonly use acupuncture, chiropractic, or mindfulness as part of its protocols.
• Functional medicine focuses heavily on nutritional biochemistry, gut health, and hormonal balance. 

In simple terms, integrative medicine is a broad, whole-person approach, whereas functional medicine zooms in on analyzing biochemistry. 

So, how do these systems contribute to healthy aging, and how do they differ from biohacking? 

Well, in simple terms, all three systems view inflammation and stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction as the cornerstone of unhealthy aging. 

However, unlike biohacking, which has a very strong reductionist focus, dealing with these issues as individual entities, integrative and functional medicine do not take a Wild West approach. They are strongly science-based approaches to healthy aging and thriving health, using treatments that support systems working together. Biohacking involves a lot of experimenting. 

Furthermore, biohacking is a system that fundamentally denies the values of aging and is considered the true “reductionist” system of alternative medicine. Almost everything biohackers use is a reduced or isolated version of what was once whole.   

4) Quality versus Quantity: The great aging debate

Here is a question I want you to think about: 

Would you rather live to be 100-120 years old, having a low-stress, fruitful life (great food, a tight-knit community, lots of natural physical activity), or live to 80 in the most amazing way possible, working hard, raising a family, traveling around the world, eating great food, and having amazing adventures? 

Well, both of these are possible based on CHOICES. Now, it is true that in what are known as blue zones around the world, many people live fruitful lives well past 100. 

However, what we know is that their normal, natural lifestyle is perhaps the biggest factor in this phenomenon. Many “aging experts” who have studied the blue zones believe that Western society, because of its chaotic nature and “unnatural” lifestyle, is unable to achieve these results on a large scale, primarily due to the following issues.  

• A fast-paced lifestyle with no downtime
• Eating too fast and not enjoying your food 
• Highly processed diets and no homemade meals 
• Not having a close-knit community
• A lack of natural movement; people in blue zones don’t go to the gym, they have physical jobs, work hard, and move their bodies constantly.

I feel confident in saying that no 100-year-old in the Greek island of Ikaria is sitting in front of a computer on social media. 

There are rare accounts of people who move to a modern Western society, get cancer, forgo Western medical treatment, immediately move back to their small village in a blue zone to live the lifestyle they grew up with, and begin to thrive, to the point where their bodies heal themselves. 

For example, “Stamatis Moraitis, a 65-year-old Greek man living in suburban New York, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given six to nine months to live. He decided to move back to his homeland, the Greek island of Ikaria—a designated "Blue Zone". Instead of dying, Moraitis completely recovered, living another 32 years, thriving until he passed away in 2013 at the age of 102.” 

While there are not many examples of this phenomenon, research on Blue Zones shows that they are characterized by far lower rates of chronic diseases, including cancer, than Western societies. However, it has also been noted that people who were not from those areas and tried the same thing did not succeed. Therefore, the need to acknowledge the connection between what Stamatis Moraitis' body adapted to from childhood to adulthood is considered his natural environment, which played an essential role in recovery. 

The question I proposed at the beginning of this section is exactly what separates healthy aging from reversing the aging process. Therefore, it is a good idea to consider these factors before you choose the path you take. 

5) What is mitochondrial dysfunction, and how is it related to the aging process?

To properly discuss this topic, it is essential to understand what mitochondria are and what they do. 

• Mitochondria are the powerhouse of every cell in the human body. They generate 90% of a cell's chemical energy. 
• Mitochondria convert nutrients into ATP (primary energy currency of the cell) through cellular respiration; “A metabolic process in which cells break down glucose and other organic molecules using oxygen (aerobic) to produce ATP (energy), water, and carbon dioxide.” 
• They possess their own distinct DNA independent from the nucleus. This fact is important because it provides evidence of their bacterial origin and enables local control of energy production. 
• Mitochondria have a unique structure composed of an outer and inner phospholipid bilayer. 
• A single cell can contain hundreds to thousands of mitochondria, specific to its energy needs. 
• Finally, they play a crucial role in cell death, serving as primary decision-makers and key initiators of intrinsic apoptosis. 

Mitochondrial dysfunction: What is it and what causes it?

In simple terms, mitochondrial dysfunction is the failure of mitochondria to produce sufficient energy, leading to reduced ATP production, increased oxidative stress, and inefficient clearance of damaged mitochondria (mitophagy), which accelerates DNA mutations and the breakdown of cellular structural integrity. Ultimately, this leads to your metabolic system slowing down. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, mitochondrial dysfunction is essentially “a metabolic failure where the body’s cells, particularly in the brain and muscles, cannot obtain enough energy to function properly.”

The following may be some (but not all) common symptoms of mitochondrial dysfunction. 

• Muscle weakness 
• fatigue
• vision/hearing loss 
• developmental delays
• neurological issues like seizures and strokes

In case you didn’t know, there is primary and secondary mitochondrial dysfunction. 

• Primary Mitochondrial Dysfunction: A genetic defect causing direct mitochondrial failure. This version is caused by mitochondrial DNA or nuclear DNA that specifically affects oxidative phosphorylation proteins. These are embedded in our mitochondrial membranes, where they perform the following functions: forming the electron transport chain (ETC), ATP synthase, and acting as redox enzymes to transfer electrons from NADH.
• Secondary Mitochondrial Dysfunction: This form of mitochondrial dysfunction is much more common and is caused by common illnesses, environmental factors, diet and lifestyle, toxins, or drugs. Unlike in the primary case, the mitochondria here are initially healthy and become damaged by the above factors. 

According to the NIH, “Distinguishing between them is critical as treatments and prognoses can differ, though both may sometimes be treated using similar strategies.”

What role does mitochondrial dysfunction play in aging?

It seems that mitochondrial dysfunction is a key player in disrupting the healthy aging process through four primary factors:

1. Chronic Inflammation: Dysfunctional mitochondria release various signals that trigger a multi-protein complex called NLRP3 inflammasomes. This alarm system is activated to release pro-inflammatory cytokines and begin inflammatory cell death. The result is chronic low-grade inflammation.  
2. Cellular senescence: This is one of the primary causes of tissue aging, where damaged mitochondria trigger cells to enter a permanent state of dysfunction. This biological process is when cells permanently stop dividing and become zombies by entering a state of growth arrest without dying.  
3. Reduced Tissue Energy: Heart and skeletal muscle are tissues with high energy demands. They are directly affected by mitochondrial dysfunction because, as energy supplies fail, these muscles deteriorate. 
4. Age-related Disease: By creating a vicious cycle of decreased ATP production, increased production of oxidative stress, and the accumulation of damaged mitochondria, it causes a decline in overall mitochondrial quality, creating the perfect storm for metabolic syndrome, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. 

6) Does the biohacking community (while chaotic) really have something to offer in the world of healthy aging?

While the approach biohackers take can be chaotic and involve unnecessary risks when better, safer alternatives exist, its high-risk nature makes me believe it has a lot to offer the healthy aging community. 

Let’s face it, those who take the greatest calculated risks often end up with the most compelling data. In a nutshell, that describes the biohacking community. So, what does the “anti-aging” biohacking community have to offer the more level-headed healthy aging community? 

In my opinion, the following three areas of biohacking should be given strong consideration as part of your healthy aging journey:  

• External data-driven devices that the biohacking community loves so much (glucose, heart rate, and sleep quality monitors) can be useful tools for optimizing healthy aging. In a modern, chaotic Western society, you may find these tools to have great value worth considering. While there are many imperfections to these devices, if you want to use them, don’t expect perfect accuracy. Instead, look for unusual trends in your numbers to know if you are going off track. 
• Advanced biological age testing (telomere length and DNA methylation) may provide interesting feedback and perspective on whether you are on the right track. However, there has recently been considerable buzz about the inconsistency in the definition of a healthy range for many blood markers. Therefore, again, use these markers to identify negative trends and know when something needs to be changed. Remember, this is about you, the individual. Also, there are many reasons why markers may be out of range, and not all of them are Greek tragedies. 
• Non-invasive detoxification methods help reduce inflammation, boost energy production, and improve cardiovascular health. Saunas, red light therapy, IV Ozone, and cryotherapy are worth their weight in gold and worth a try. If you want to take that up one more notch, coffee enemas to support liver detoxification and boost glutathione levels are also a simple tool worth trying. 

I realize that what I call non-invasive, like IV’s and enemas, may not seem so non-invasive. However, they are a breeze compared to injecting stem cells into your penis. Yes, there are people in the biohacking community who do that.  

Now, to be clear, I don’t expect a 100-year-old man or woman from Icira, Greece, to wear a heart monitor on their wrist and analyze the data from an app on a smartphone that they probably don’t even own. Furthermore, I say when it comes to people in the blue zones, leave well enough alone. They are all doing just fine in their simple, natural lifestyle, with clear, proven results.

I hope today’s article has provided you with a strong overall view of the various aspects of human aging and the primary factors that lead to unhealthy aging. 

Please stay tuned for Part 2, where I share my personal perspective on healthy aging from a Master herbalist's perspective. 

The Author’s Bio
Michael Stuchiner is a Master Herbalist and proud graduate of The School of Natural Healing, and has worked in different areas of this field for over 25 years. He is a retired elite-level powerlifter who competed for 27 years. As an avid international traveler, he is passionate about using medicinal and tonic herbs, as well as foods traditionally found in local markets, in the 35 countries he has visited. Michael brings you his years of experience as a Master Herbalist, traveler, and athlete through the hundreds of articles he has written and his YouTube channel (A Master Herbalist Perspective). He is considered a true educator in this field. For more articles written by Mike, go here: Master Herbalist.