Category Archives: Longevity Medicine

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By nature, human beings are social creatures. Yet, as we age, personal dynamics and lifestyles change, which can result in loneliness and isolation. With older adults increasingly moving into senior living or retirement communities, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine sought to identify the common characteristics of residents who feel lonely in these environments.

Loneliness rivals smoking and obesity in its impact on shortening longevity, said senior author Dilip V. Jeste, MD, senior associate dean for the Center of Healthy Aging and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine. It is a growing public health concern, and its important that we identify the underlying causes of loneliness from the seniors own perspectives so we can help resolve it and improve the overall health, well-being, and longevity of our aging population.

Jeste noted that there are few published qualitative studies about loneliness among older adults in the independent living sector of senior housing communities, where shared common areas, planned social outings and communal activities are intended to promote socialization and reduce isolation. So why are many older adults living in this type of housing still experiencing strong feelings of loneliness? asked Jeste.

The new study, published online in the January 10, 2020 issue ofAging and Mental Health, found that peoples experience of living with loneliness is shaped by a number of personal and environmental factors.

Researchers conducted one-and-a-half-hour individual interviews of 30 adults ages 67 to 92, part of an overall study evaluating the physical, mental and cognitive functions of 100 older adults living in the independent living sector of a senior housing community in San Diego.

In this communal setting, 85 percent of the residents reported moderate to severe levels of loneliness. Loneliness is subjective, said Jeste. Different people feel lonely for different reasons despite having opportunities and resources for socialization. This is not a one size fits all topic.

Three main themes emerged from the study:

Age-associated losses and inadequate social skills were considered to be primary risk factors for loneliness. Some residents talked about the loss of spouses, siblings, and friends as the cause of their loneliness. Others mentioned how making new friends in a senior community cannot replace deceased friends they grew up with, said first author Alejandra Paredes, Ph.D., a research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The feeling of loneliness was frequently associated with a lack of purpose in life. We heard powerful comments like, Its kind of gray and incarcerating, said Jeste. Others expressed a sense of not being attached, not having very much meaning and not feeling very hopeful or being lost and not having control.

The research team also found that wisdom, including compassion, seemed to be a factor that prevented loneliness. One participant spoke of a technique she had used for years, saying if you're feeling lonely, then go out and do something for somebody else. That's proactive, said Jeste. Other protective factors were acceptance of aging and comfort with being alone. One resident told us, Ive accepted the aging process. Im not afraid of it. I used to climb mountains. I want to keep moving, even if I have to crawl. I have to be realistic about getting older, but I consider and accept life as a transition, Jeste noted. Another resident responded, I may feel alone, but that doesn't mean Im lonely. I'm proud I can live by myself.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, by 2029, more than 20 percent of the United States population will be over the age of 65. It is paramount that we address the well-being of our seniors they are friends, parents, and grandparents of the younger generations, said Jeste. Our study is relevant to better understand loneliness within senior housing and other settings to so we can develop effective interventions.

Co-authors include: Ellen Lee, Lisa Chik, Saumya Gupta, Barton Palmer, Lawrence Palinkas, all at UC San Diego; and Ho-Cheol Kim, IBM Research-Almaden.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the NARSAD Young Investigator grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH T32 Geriatric Mental Health Program MH019934 and R01MH094151-01), the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and the IBM Research AI through the AI Horizons Network.

Full study:https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2019.1699022

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UCSD study aims to find underlying causes of loneliness in seniors - By nature human beings are social creatures. Yet as we age personal dynamics and...

In the predawn darkness, you can see an eerie red glow shining from the windows of the Hudson, Wis., home of Thaddeus Owen and his fiance, Heidi Sime.

The couple are awake, having slept in their Faraday cage a canopy over their bed that blocks electromagnetic fields like the Wi-Fi signals or radiation from cellphone towers, which they believe are harmful.

Their primal sleeping environment also has special pads under the bed that are supposed to mimic the effect of sleeping on the ground under the influence of the Earths magnetic field, thus combating Magnetic Field Deficiency Syndrome.

Their house is bathed in red light because they think white incandescent, LED and fluorescent lighting robs them of sleep-regulating melatonin hormones. They wear special sunglasses indoors for the same reason, blocking the blue light from computers, cellphones or televisions when its dark outside.

Their morning routine includes yoga in a shielded, infrared sauna designed to create an EMF-free ancestral space, and putting tiny spoonfuls of bitter white powders under their tongues. These are nootropics, so-called smart drugs, which are supposed to improve focus, mood or memory.

When day breaks, they go out in their yard and face the rising sun Thaddeus in shorts and no shirt, Heidi in a sports bra and yoga pants doing Qigong in the snow and 25-degree air.

Getting early-morning sunlight, they believe, will correctly set the circadian rhythm of their bodies. Exposing their skin to the freezing temperatures, they hope, will help release human growth hormone, stimulate their immune system and trigger the body to burn fat to heat itself.

Forget Blue Zones. This is what your morning looks like if youre biohacking your way to an optimal you.

Biohacking is a DIY biology movement that started in Silicon Valley by people who want to boost productivity and human performance and engineer away aging and ordinary life spans. Think of it as high-tech tinkering, but instead of trying to create a better phone, biohackers are trying to upgrade to a faster, smarter, longer lasting, enhanced version of themselves.

Owen, 44, describes it as a journey of self-experimentation, using practices that are not talked about by mainstream media and your family doctor. His aim is to combine the latest technology and science with ancient knowledge to modify his environment, inside and out.

My entire goal is to basically age in reverse, he said.

Aiming for supernormal

Owen, who is from New York, studied chemical engineering in college. He worked for Procter & Gamble, helping to create beauty care products, and for pharmaceutical firms, developing manufacturing processes.

Now he works from home, managing worldwide product regulations in the sustainability department for office furniture company Herman Miller. But he moonlights as a biohacking guru.

He started a Twin Cities biohacking Meetup group that organizes weekly cold-water immersions at Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. Hes given a TEDx talk urging audience members to wear blue-light-blocking glasses indoors at night.

Hes helping to organize a Cold Thermogenesis and Heat Shock retreat at the end of next month in Pequot Lakes, Minn., where 50 people will pay up to $2,300 to spend four days going on shiver walks, drinking Bulletproof coffee and plunging into ice water.

He founded the website primalhacker.com and he and the 45-year-old Sime (who also goes by the name Tomorrow) run a website called thaddeustomorrow.com, where they market biohacking products like red light panels, a baby blanket that blocks EMF radiation and a $5,499 Faraday cage sauna thats the same type used by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

Owen said he relies on tons of research to support avoiding blue light at night and the healing properties of the early morning sun.

The Harvard Health Letter, for example, said that blue light from devices, LED and compact fluorescent bulbs can throw off the bodys circadian rhythm, affect sleep and might contribute to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Some studies have shown that exposing people to cold temperatures burns calories and repeated cold-water immersions might stimulate the immune system.

And those infrared saunas? They dont appear to be harmful and maybe they do some good, according to Dr. Brent Bauer, an internal medicine expert at the Mayo Clinic.

But being healthy really doesnt need to be that complicated, according to Dr. Michael Joyner, a human performance specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

All these things sound great, Joyner said of the biohacks. Theres a ring of what I call bioplausibility to them.

But Joyner said its often hard to find evidence that biohacking practices actually work and that most Americans would be healthier if they just followed basic advice.

You need to go for a walk, not smoke, not drink too much, dont eat too much, he said.

But Owens goal is not to be merely healthy.

I want my biology to be shifted to that supernormal range, where Im optimally healthy, he said.

Moving into the mainstream?

When he started biohacking about 12 years ago, Owens goal was to improve his sleep. As a competitive athlete, he was fit, but he had problems with anxiety and insomnia.

So he started wearing special glasses to block blue light. His co-workers used to think he was odd. Now Owens company is asking him for advice on what kind of lighting should be used in work settings to keep employees healthy. And his sleep and anxiety problems have gone away.

I went from being the weird guy to being consulted, he said.

We all sort of watch what he does, said Gabe Wing, director of sustainability at Herman Miller and Owens boss. Wing said Owen has influenced some co-workers to try blue-light-blocking tools. But no one at the Michigan-based company is going outside shirtless in the winter.

Still, more people are biohacking. When Owen first got into it, he didnt know of any other biohackers in the Twin Cities. Now there are more than 500 people in the Biohackers Twin Cities Meetup group.

Susan Eiden regularly gets advice from Owen. The Minneapolis resident said using red lights at home has drawn comments from neighbors, but the lights combined with blue-blocking glasses and turning off the Wi-Fi at night have improved her sleep.

While many biohacks seem odd now, Owen is convinced that some of them will become common practices.

This whole blue light thing, its not going away, he said. More research comes out every day and its becoming more mainstream. And using nootropics is growing bigger and bigger every day, he said.

Owen takes supplements, some of which are considered prescription drugs in Europe and Russia, like phenylpiracetam, which is said to have boosted stamina among Soviet cosmonauts. Other preclinical compounds he and Sime use are in a regulatory gray area in the United States. Nootropic developers give them supplements that arent on the market yet because theyre biohacking influencers.

Were like lab rats. They send us stuff. We try it out, Sime said.

All for longevity

Owen and Sime have five of their children, ages 8 to 17, living with them. The kids wear blue-light-blocking glasses when they watch TV, but theyre OK with it, the couple said. Some of the kids have made videos or given talks to peers about the benefits of the glasses.

I think cellphone radiation is going to be the new lead, asbestos and smoking, said Owen, who turns his Wi-Fi off at night, keeps his cellphone in a special Faraday pouch when he sleeps and sometimes wears radiation-proof underwear.

(The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says scientific evidence has not conclusively linked cellphone use with any adverse human health problems, although scientists admit that more research is needed.)

Owens diet isnt typical, either.

Hes been a vegan and a vegetarian. Now he eats what he describes as a local, seasonal diet: local vegetables, fruits, nuts and honey during the growing season. Thats followed by a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet in late fall and early winter. Then an all-carnivore diet in late winter, including animals hes raised at a friends farm.

One of the few white light bulbs he has in his house is pointed at the stove because in red light, its hard to tell if meat is cooked.

He also consumes ceremonial grade cacao, coffee with collagen peptides and chocolate ghee and homemade sauerkraut thats fermented and subjected to special music that has the frequency of love.

Those are living microbes, so I infused them with a love frequency to make them happy and healthy, said Owen, who has a masters degree in holistic nutrition.

While he used to do marathons and triathlons, he now exercises for longevity rather than competition, with high-intensity training, weights, racquetball and cross-country skiing.

If its too cold to be barefoot when he goes out in the morning, hell put special straps on his boots to create a conductive connection between his body and the Earth.

Its a practice called grounding or Earthing thats supposed to allow electrons to pass between the Earth and his body to reduce inflammation and neutralize free radicals. Gwyneth Paltrow swears by it, according to an article on goop.com.

Owen doesnt have a particular longevity goal, unlike biohacker and Bulletproof Coffee founder Dave Asprey, who has said he wants to live to at least 180.

Owen just wants to be healthy and independent for as long as he lives.

I want to maximize the health of my biology to what its capable of, he said. I want to live the best life that I can. I want to be happy. And I want to have a body and a mind that does the things I want them to do.

More:
Sleep cages and ice baths: The extreme lifestyle of local biohackers - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Streaming service: Apple TV+

When you can watch it: Jan. 17, 2020

Following the success of The Morning Show, which earned two Golden Globe nominations and Critics' Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards, Apple TV+ continues its slate of original programming with Little America. The eight-part anthology series tells the stories of immigrants living in the United States and was already renewed for a second season in December before the show had even started streaming. The episodes are based on a collection of true stories published in Epic Magazine.

While Little America details the lives of immigrants, including a Nigerian college student in Oklahoma and a gay man from Syria living with his husband in Idaho, there is no explicit mention of Donald Trump and the show doesnt address anything overtly political.

We want these stories to stand on their own, executive producer Kumail Nanjiani told the Washington Post. We dont want this to be a medicine show, a message show. It seems like immigrations a big topic now, but obviously immigrations always been a big topic.

According to Nanjiani, this was an intentional decision from everyone involved in creating the series, including Nanjianis wife, Emily V. Gordon, Master of None co-creator Alan Yang, and The Offices Lee Eisenberg. Its 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes shows that Little America is resonating with people by telling real stories about immigrants experiences living in America.

We didnt conceive of this show as a brick through anyones window, Yang also told the Washington Post. The show is an observed portrait of eight people. The narrative of human experience is not as different as you might think.

Streaming service: Hulu

When you can watch it: Feb. 14, 2020

Hulus adaptation of High Fidelity, which was originally supposed to stream on Disney+, is a departure from Nick Hornbys 1995 novel and the 2000 film adaptation that starred John Cusack. The new 10-episode series, which starts streaming on Valentines Day, is flipping the gender of the storys main character Rob Brooks is now played by a woman: the one and only Zoe Kravitz.

Co-creator Veronica West told television reporters last Friday at a Television Critics Association (TCA) panel that she didnt want to retell the story for television without making this change.

We have so much respect for the book and the film and I think they are perfect iterations of that story. But to say that, like, its weird, we watch a lot of romantic comedies with female leads and the problem always seems to be, you cant find the right man, or youre desperate to get married, or youre self-destructive in some ways, West said. And when a man gets to be the lead, the problems are internal. And it was interesting for us to put that in a womans point of view and let her issues with romance really just be about learning how to figure out herself and not finding Mr. Right. You know, theres lots of Mr. Rights in the show, which is part of what makes it so much fun.

Kravitz plays a record store owner in Crown Heights, a gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, who thinks back on her past relationships through music while also attempting to get past her one true love.

I lived in New York for a long time and Ive seen a lot of neighborhoods change. In terms of creating Rob in her environment, I drew upon my own experience, Kravitz said.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph also stars in the series as Robs friend Cherise, akin to Jack Blacks character in the 2000 film.

Two black women get to tell this story, Randolph said. There are many different variants within the black culture. I feel like whats so beautiful is that we got to represent the other side of that girl that you havent seen.

Streaming service: Netflix

When you can watch it: Feb. 21, 2020

America Ferrera and Wilmer Valderrama are executive producing the new Netflix series Gentefied about three Mexican American cousins living in Los Angeles who are trying to balance chasing their own dreams while staying true to the traditions of their neighborhood, including their immigrant grandfather and the local taco shop their families own.

Creators Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chvez are adapting Gentefied from its original iteration as a short film, which premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017.

Ferrera and Valderrama will guest-star in the dramatic comedy series, and Ferrera directed two of the half-hour episodes.

As a producer, its a thrilling opportunity to support incredible talents like Linda Yvette Chvez and Marvin Lemus. As a Latinx millennial its a rare treat to see our lives, families, and neighborhoods depicted with such humor, heart and style, Ferrera told BuzzFeed News in a statement.

Described as a love letter to the Latinx and Boyle Heights communities, Gentefied stars Joaqun Coso, Karrie Martin, JJ Soria, and Carlos Santos. The bilingual series also explores intergenerational and cross-cultural family dynamics, like the younger characters needing to translate memes for their parents, and other themes like class and identity.

In Gentefied, we get to peek through the lens of bold Latinx storytellers as they celebrate the lives of a Latinx community navigating self-identity, class, and culture, Ferrera said. Were so proud of the show, and hope you enjoy!

Streaming service: Amazon

When you can watch it: Feb. 21, 2020

Oscar-winning actor Al Pacnio, who was most recently nominated for his ninth Academy Award for his role in Netflixs The Irishman, stars in yet another streaming project with Amazons Hunters.

The new show, created by David Weil and produced by Jordan Peeles Monkeypaw Productions, is about a group of justice-seeking Nazi hunters in 1977 New York City who have learned that hundreds of high-ranking Nazi officials live among everyday citizens and are planning another uprising. The Hunters, played by Pacino and Logan Lerman, set out to stop the Nazis by any means necessary.

During a TCA panel in Pasadena, California, Weil told reporters he had been inspired to create Hunters because of his familys history as Holocaust suvivors, calling the TV show a love letter to my grandmother.

My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and she told me about her experiences during the war, Weil said. Hearing this felt like the stuff of comics books and superheroes.

Weil also said the show speaks to the [current] rise of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

The purpose of the show is an allegorical tale to draw the parallels between the 30s and 40s in Europe, the 70s in New York, and what were seeing today, Weil said. This show is really a question: What do you do? For this group of vigilantes, the question it poses: If you hunt monsters, do you become monsters yourself?

Pacino said what appealed to him when he first read the script of the series, which he referred to as a 10-hour film, is the fact that things are not what they seem.

Theres an originality in this show. Its somewhat eccentric, Pacino said. Youll see it from certain angles where its not a dry thing. Theyll catch you off guard, and you really cant believe it you never know when a joke is going to come.

Streaming service: Netflix

When you can watch it: Feb. 26, 2020

The producers of the popular original series Stranger Things and the director and executive producer of the hit series The End of the F***ing World are bringing a brand-new coming-of-age series to Netflix: I Am Not Okay With This.

Originally based on the Charles Forsman graphic novel of the same name, Sophia Lillis stars as high schooler Sydney, whos grappling with complicated family dynamics and her sexuality, all while discovering she has mysterious superpowers. Lillis is known for her past roles in Sharp Objects, the It franchise, and Gretel & Hansel.

I Am Not Okay With This executive producer Jonathan Entwistle told BuzzFeed News in a statement that hes particularly excited about this new Netflix series compared to other shows hes worked on because of its supernatural element.

Yes, there is adventure, heartbreak, high school and everything in between along the way, but what this story has that is different to my other shows is that magic, Entwistle said. Oh, and some EPIC dance moves!

The YA series will consist of seven 30-minute episodes and also stars Wyatt Oleff from the It and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises as Stanley, Sofia Bryant from The Good Wife as Dina, Kathleen Rose Perkins from Episodes and Youre The Worst as Maggie, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong from The Mission and Falling Water as Liam, and Richard Ellis as Brad Lewis.

I want viewers to come away from I Am Not Okay With This absolutely in love with the characters, Entwistle said. And maybe the thought that things that feel impossible to overcome when you are 17 do get easier.

Streaming service: Hulu

When you can watch it: March 6, 2020

Hillary Clinton is the subject of a four-part documentary series coming to Hulu this March, following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25. The Hillary docuseries follows Clinton along the 2016 presidential campaign, when she lost the Electoral College to Donald Trump but still won the popular vote.

At a TCA panel, Clinton told reporters she sat down for about 35 hours of interviews to make the docuseries and that nothing was off limits.

Its really hard watching yourself for four hours. Thank god it was only four hours, Clinton said.

The project was directed and executive produced by Nanette Burstein, who said the documentarys original focus was Clintons campaign, but because of the outcome of the election, it became about the history of womens rights and how Clinton has been the tip of the spear in various ways.

More than anything, I wanted people to understand that this is a historical figure who is incredibly polarizing and why, Burstein said. When you actually get to know her and really understand the intimate moments of her life you realize how misguided we can be in the way that we understand history and media. That is the beauty of documentary filmmaking: that you get to know the personal and the intimate and the details, and that sort of washes all of this other stuff away.

The docuseries includes unprecedented access to Clinton and footage from the 2016 campaign thats never been seen before, as well as interviews with her husband, her daughter, her friends, and journalists.

Clinton also noted that the series starts streaming three days after Super Tuesday in the middle of the primary elections.

This is an election that will have such a profound impact, she said. I want people to take their vote really seriously. Lord knows what well do if we dont retire the current president and his henchmen.

Streaming service: Hulu

When you can watch it: March 17, 2020

Based on the 2017 novel by Celeste Ng, an eight-episode adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere is coming to Hulu from Hollywood royalty: Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. The actors are costarring as two mothers in Shaker Heights, Ohio, whose lives and families become intertwined through secrets, and also serving as executive producers.

At a TCA panel discussion, Witherspoon said shes especially happy to be able to adapt this story because she doesnt think it wouldve been possible eight years ago.

I wasnt happy with the choices that were being made for me, and I didnt see a place to exist within the industry that we had. There just wasnt a spectrum of storytelling for women that was reflective of the world that we walked through, Witherspoon said.

Washington said her character in the series adds an important element of race to the story in a way that the book doesnt address.

The book really does delve into class and sociopolitical differences and cultural differences, so I think adding the level of race to that really enriches the storytelling, Washington said. We are stepping away from this binary idea we have of race in this country, of black and white, because were also dealing with Asian American identity and immigrant identity.

In the first trailer for Little Fires Everywhere, an urgent Mia Warren (Washington) tells Elena Richardson (Witherspoon), You didnt make good choices. You had good choices.

Showrunner Liz Tigelaar said the line was written by Attica Locke and explained this was why it was important to have a well-rounded, diverse writers room for the series.

Everybody had these multiple connectivity points for the show. I cant necessarily write Mias character because that wasnt my experience, Tigelaar said. And the parts I couldnt write to, what was so great was I got to bring in seven other people who could write to those parts and then write to parts I didnt even know.

Streaming service: Amazon

When you can watch it: March 27, 2020

After hosting Project Runway together for 16 years and then announcing theyd be leaving the show in 2018, television hosts and fashion icons Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are following the shows 18-season legacy with a brand-new fashion competition show, Making the Cut. The unscripted Amazon series will air two episodes weekly for five weeks starting on March 27.

Klum and Gunn explained why they left Project Runway and took their talents to Amazon during a TCA panel, saying they wanted to grow and evolve beyond the limits that were set for them by Bravo and Lifetime.

"Our imagination was bigger than what we were allowed to do," Klum said. "Everything kind of fell apart."

Amazons sizable budget provides for even more creative freedom, and viewers will be able to shop for the fashion pieces that are featured on each episode.

"We couldnt break out of it because there was a fear, Gunn said. Not among us were the ones who were thinking creatively and innovatively about what we wanted to do."

When it comes to body positivity and including a range of sizes on the new iteration of their show, Klum said, For us, its not really a thing anymore.

Gunn echoed Klums sentiments, saying plus-size models are an important part of inclusivity on the new show, following the legacy of Project Runway which also included a variety of sizes.

"Its the real world. Its fully integrated into Making the Cut, as its fully integrated into a good deal of the fashion industry because its the way things should be, he said.

While Making the Cut has big shoes to fill, Klum and Gunns expertise and longevity on Project Runway not to mention their built-in viewership and fanbase shows promise.

"Project Runway is the undergraduate program and Making the Cut is the graduate and PhD program," Gunn said.

Continued here:
Here Are 8 New Streaming Shows You Should Check Out This Winter - BuzzFeed News

The first episode of The Goop Lab, Gwyneth Paltrows new Netflix show, opens in Jamaica. The sun beams, the crystalline water sparkles, and a group of Goop staffers sit cross-legged in a circle, like schoolchildren poised for a read-aloud. Then, under the supervision of three psychedelic elders, they each drink a mug of psilocybin tea.

Its fitting that the series begins this way. The following episodes, each meant to explore the ideas that may seem out-there or too scary, feel a bit like navigating the surrealism of psychedelics. There are moments of absurdity, moments of poignancy. A woman is brought to tears by a psychic reading that involves a donkey; in another episode, a series of vulva portraiture flashes onscreen. By the end, the viewer may feel the way one Goop staffer describes feeling after the work-sponsored mushroom trip: really drained, physically and emotionally.

Since it began as an email newsletter in 2008, the Goop brand has become well-established for championing the unestablished. The products sold on its website include, among other things, a mustard seed detox bath, an aromatic spray for psychic vampires, and a supplement called Brain Dust. In 2017, the watchdog group Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with two district attorneys at the California Food, Drug and Medical Device Task Force asking the regulators to look into Goops claims about more than 50 of its products, including its vaginal eggs, which the Goop site suggested could increase vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general. As a result, the company agreed to pay a $145,000 fine and submit to a five-year injunction, during which Goop promised not to say its products have "sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses or benefits which they do not have.

The Netflix show uses this skepticism as a runway. This isnt scienceits something much more lucrative. Were here one time, one life, Paltrow says in the first episode, addressing her staffers from the Goop headquarters in Santa Monica, California. How can we really milk the shit out of this? Shes referring to the shows approach to self-optimization, but could just as easily be talking about her business strategy.

As a multimillion-dollar business, Goop has perfected the art of manufacturing hope. Modern-day anxieties go in (stress, lack of desire, an undiagnosable medical condition) and out comes a strange but sellable solution (herbal supplements, crystals, reiki). The Goop Lab follows this formula as well. Each episode unpacks a controversial wellness ideacold therapy, energy healing, orgasm coaching, psychic communication, dieting for longevity, and psychedelic medicineand explores its merits with expert interviews, case studies, and a stunt from the Goop staffers. Many of these staffers out themselves as skeptics, talking on camera about how they do not believe in psychic mediumship or energy healing. In that sense, few of the episodes come off as outright endorsements. Then again, Paltrow and her staff dont do much to counterbalance or fact-check the claims of the experts they invite on the show. To that end, its worth mentioning that each episode includes a disclaimer: The show is meant to entertain and inform, not provide medical advice.

Paltrows colleagues call her GP, which abbreviates her name but also doubles for guinea pig. On the show, she tries several of the controversial wellness practices herselflike a five-day fast and, in one rather frightening scene, a facial that involves needling her own blood plasma back into her face. Mostly, though, Paltrow saves herself from much on-screen embarrassment. For those experiments, she sends her staff.

The Goop staff goes to Jamaica for the supervised psilocybin trip. They go to Lake Tahoe to practice hyperventilating and submerging themselves in freezing-cold water. They take erotic portraits in a workshop about sensuality, and they take turns reading each others psychic energies with a medium. Even though Goop staffers express skepticism, science and pseudoscience are woven so tightly together on the show that its difficult to find the seams.

Timothy Caulfield, who researches health law and policy at the University of Alberta, has called this the the wellness version of fake news and an infomercial for the gestalt that is Goop. (Caulfield is also the author of the 2016 book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? in which he seems to conclude, basically, yes.) Paltrow and her staffers occasionally raise their eyebrows at the claims made onscreen, but mostly, they are game to participate and promote the theories in each episode. Caulfield says thats for one obvious reason: Goop, the company, stands to profit from them.

The rest is here:
Sure, 'The Goop Lab' Is Absurdbut It Also Offers Hope - WIRED

Jan. 23, 2020

Dear Friends of the National Academies,

As we welcome a new year and a new decade, we can make one prediction with certainty profound change lies ahead. We enter the 2020s as long-standing geopolitical alliances are shifting; big data, artificial intelligence, and the very nature of information are transforming the way we live and work; and the effects of climate change are impacting many millions around the world.

Yet, along with great change comes great opportunity: the chance to help shape the future through science and evidence. For many decades, the independent, expert advice of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has helped guide policies that have led to tremendous growth and prosperity in the U.S. and globally. Although many complex challenges are before us, we are confident that research and innovation in science, engineering, and medicine will lead the way to valuable progress for all of society.

Although many complex challenges are before us, we are confident that research and innovation in science, engineering, and medicine will lead the way to valuable progress for all of society.

This year, the National Academies are initiating or completing timely studies on advancing research for climate intervention strategies to help cool the planet, accelerating a carbon-free economy, and strengthening the nations electric power infrastructure. We will be examining U.S. economic competitiveness in the global economy and have charted a course for the future of biotechnology. We will identify strategies to implement high-quality primary care and reverse a recent and alarming increase in premature death for Americans. We will advise on how cities and states can make mobility more seamless by better integrating existing transportation infrastructure with the increase in modes of personal travel such as ride-sharing. And through our Gulf Research Program, we are bringing together representatives from government agencies, industry, and communities this spring to participate in a first-ever simulated Offshore Situation Room to explore how to prevent and improve the ways we respond to and recover from an offshore oil disaster.

With the U.S. population over age 65 projected to double by 2060, we are focusing on how to adjust to this new demographic reality by examining employment and the aging workforce, recommending a decadal research agenda to fight Alzheimers disease and other dementias common in later life, and pinpointing opportunities for the health care system to address growing social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Indeed, with the worldwide population of the oldest old (people ages 80 and older) expected to more than triple by 2050, the National Academy of Medicine recently launched a global initiative on healthy longevity with the aim of sparking innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to help transform aging and ensure lifelong health, function, and productivity.

Injecting Evidence into Public Policy and Discourse

Of course, 2020 is an election year in the U.S., which can add uncertainty on the policy front. Here in Washington, D.C., the National Academies have navigated the fractious political environment by maintaining strong relationships with members of Congress in both parties and with the executive branch agencies, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Decision-makers rely on our expert, objective advice for many challenging policy issues with science and technology at their core as demonstrated by FY 2020 federal appropriations and defense authorization legislation, which will put into motion several new National Academies activities, ranging from developing ways to measure transportation resiliency in the event of natural disasters, to protecting American research and academic investments while ensuring academic openness, to examining the medical and economic impacts of pathogens that are increasingly resistant to antimicrobials.

The Academies also have the responsibility to convey to the public the importance and value of research and evidence in their everyday lives. Last November, the NAS hosted the first-ever TED@NAS, an exciting day of original science-centered TED Talks. The event brought together many diverse perspectives to celebrate science, inspire ideas and insights, and catalyze progress. And in these polarizing times, when science itself can become politicized, misinformation spreads quickly, and expertise is not trusted in some sectors, we are communicating in new ways directly to the public about the evidence on vaccine safety, climate change and extreme weather, and other issues prominent in public discourse. In February, for instance, we will host MisinfoCon@NASEM, which will bring together researchers, media content providers, and technology developers across platforms to discuss ways to build science and health literacy in the public and combat misleading or false information.

See Related Resources Below

Building New and Stronger International Collaboration

Amid shifting geopolitical alliances, the National Academies are working hard to continue to forge and strengthen our global partnerships. Increasingly, science, engineering, and medicine are international enterprises, and the challenges faced by one nation are shared by many. One such area is the emerging field of human genome editing. Since 2015, the NAS and NAM have convened two high-profile international summits to cultivate scientific, regulatory, and ethical principles to guide the development and use of new genome editing technologies. This year, an international commission led by the NAM, NAS, and the Royal Society of the U.K. and with the participation of science academies around the world will release a report that identifies clear scientific and technical requirements that should be met for any potential clinical application of heritable genome editing to go forward, should society deem it acceptable.

The NAE is continuing to collaborate with the engineering academies of the U.K. and China on a series of Global Grand Challenges summits designed to ignite international cooperation on the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering. New programmatic direction of the NAE will focus on issues that require broad international engagement. These include instilling a culture of ethical and environmental responsibility in engineering, and improving educational and professional capabilities for complex systems engineering. The Global Grand Challenge in Healthy Longevity that NAM launched this year will consist of a roadmap report by an international commission that will contain recommendations on health, the socio-economic determinants of health, and science and policy; and a global competition that will engage 49 countries and territories to catalyze innovation in science and technology.

And in late April, the NAS will hold the first-ever global Nobel Prize Summit. Hosted by the Nobel Foundation in partnership with the NAS, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Stockholm Resilience Centre/Beijer Institute, the summit, Our Planet, Our Future, will gather together Nobel laureates and other world-renowned experts to advance new insights into global sustainable development and explore actions to ensure humanitys future on a prosperous, stable, and resilient planet. The summit will build upon the successful celebrations of Nobel Prize and Kavli Prize laureates that the NAS has hosted in the previous past two years.

See Related Resources Below

Modernizing the Academies

As the nation and the world change, the National Academies must also evolve to stay relevant in a dynamic, rapidly shifting policy environment. To that end, we are making progress on our effort to transform our processes and products, and this year, we are undertaking extensive strategic planning to ensure that we continue to deliver the authoritative advice for which we are known in ways that are more actionable, timely, and responsive to the needs of policymakers and the public.

The NAS, NAE, and NAM are also modernizing. For instance, the Academies have each established a first-ever code of conduct for our members. We also have made concerted efforts to increase the diversity of our elected membership across many categories, including race and ethnicity, gender, age, and geographic distribution. And we are beginning to see results last year, the three Academies elected record numbers of women. Meanwhile, the number of new members born outside the United States continues to reflect the importance of immigrants to our nations success.

2020 will also mark some important anniversaries. The NAM (formerly the IOM) will celebrate 50 years of service to the nation under the theme Celebrating a legacy of impact. Forging a healthier future. Publications and scientific symposia are planned throughout the year to bring greater visibility not only to the NAM but also to the broader health portfolio and interdisciplinary expertise of the National Academies. And in February, the National Academies are hosting a symposium marking the 75th anniversary of the publication of Science: The Endless Frontier, the landmark report by Vannevar Bush that provided the foundation on which much of our modern research enterprise is built. The symposium will examine how science is changing and how the modern research architecture could be restructured and reimagined to ensure another era of remarkable achievements.

We are excited about these opportunities and many more in this new year. None of it would be possible without the invaluable contributions and support of our members, volunteers, staff, study sponsors, and philanthropic partners. Thank you for your commitment to our mission. We hope you will join us in kicking off a new decade of progress and prosperity made possible through science, engineering, and medicine.

Marcia McNutt President, National Academy of Sciences John L. Anderson President, National Academy of Engineering Victor J. Dzau President, National Academy of Medicine

Related Resources:

Climate Intervention Strategies That Reflect Sunlight to Cool Earth The Future of Electric Power in the United States Science and Innovation Leadership for the 21st Century: Challenges and Strategic Implications for the United States Safeguarding the Bioeconomy Implementing High-Quality Primary Care Rising Midlife Mortality Rates and Socioeconomic Disparities The Role of Public Transportation and Mobility Management in an Era of New and Expanding Shared Mobility Options Gulf Research Program Offshore Situation Room Decadal Survey of Behavioral and Social Science Research on Alzheimers Disease and Alzheimers Disease-Related DementiasThe Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults NAM Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge TED@NAS MisinfoCon@NASEM International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering Nobel Prize Summit: Our Planet, Our Future IOM/NAM 50th Anniversary

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A Message from the Presidents of the NAS, NAE, and NAM: A Look Ahead in 2020 - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Turns out you can start fighting the biological agents of aging with your morning cup of coffee. According to new research published in the journal ofOxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity,the simple decision to opt for skim or 1% milk as opposed to whole milk can add years to your life.

The new pioneering study conducted at Brigham Young University effectively knee-caps recent reports challenging dairys contribution to optimal health.

The authors write in the reports abstract:Investigations evaluating the effect of adult milk consumption on health and disease have produced inconsistent findings. Some studies indicate that the consumption of cows milk promotes health, while others show that it increases risk of disease and mortality. Numerous investigations highlight the mixed results. Overall, the findings highlight an association of increased biological aging in U.S. adults who consumed high-fat milk. The results support the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (20152020), which recommend consumption of low-fat milk, but not high-fat milk, as part of a healthy diet.

A lengthy analysis of the beverage habits of 5,834 Americans not only motioned low-fat milks impact on longevity, but it also uncovered a slew of other benefits.

Nearly 50% of the entire study pool drank some form of milk every single day and a quarter consumed dairy on a weekly basis. Of these, a little more than 30% drank whole milk, exactly 30% drank 2%, 17% drank skim, 13% preferred non-dairy alternatives like soy or almond and a modest 10% regularly drank 1% milk.

Participants who routinely drank either skim or 1% milk aged around four and half years slower than their 2% milk-loving counterparts.

The low-fat milk drinkers even demonstrated slower genetic aging markers than the individuals that privileged nondairy milk. Of course, this adverse correlation was the most pronounced among habitual whole milk drinkers.

You might recall Ladders recent mediation on the physiological hallmarks of aging. It was an in-depth look at the function of telomerestheends of chromosomes that gradually shrink as a result of repeat cell replication. In other words, the older we get, the shorter they get.

This process was thought to be an unalterable one butin the last few decades,experts have motioned several different ways we can protect these chrome-caps and fend off aging.

The researchers behind this new report, for instance, concluded that every 1% increase in milk fat imbibed was associated with a 69 base pair telomere length-decrease. This is the equivalent offour and a half years of increased aging.

Participants who drank whole milk considerably more often than they drank skim or 1% milk expressed a 145 base pair telomere length decrease. Even with these insightful citations in the chamber, the studys lead author, professor Larry A. Tucker,has no doubt that the scholarly wrangle surrounding the health merits of long-time dairy consumption will survive. And rightly so. On the key question, theres still a fair share of unknown left to discover.

Milk is probably the most controversial food in our country, Tucker said in a press release . If someone asked me to put together a presentation on the value of drinking milk, I could put together a one-hour presentation that would knock your socks off. Youd think, Whoa, everybody should be drinking more milk. If someone said do the opposite, I could also do that. At the very least, the findings of this study are definitely worth pondering. Maybe theres something here that requires a little more attention.

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Drinking this every day can reverse the effects of aging - Ladders