Celebrity longevity expert Dr. Sandra Kaufmann breaks down the science on brain health and shares the evidence based protocol she founded using just 3 different supplements to improve neural plasticity over time.
Dr. Kaufmann has no vested interest in selling supplements and has embarked on her own journey into longevity purely as a hobby. After reading hundreds of studies, she has hacked which agents support a longer healthier life and can actually do damage control for those of us who are not perfect in our diet and lifestyle.
As someone passionate about brain health, Dr. Kaufmann is one of my favorite podcast guests as she is so transparent and explains the science in such a comprehensive manner.
In this episode you will learn not only about 3 amazing supplements that are prophylactic for our brains, but also some amazing agents we can use to literally “have our cake and eat it too” as well as a great protocol for protecting or even reversing our poor vision.
ABOUT DR. KAUFMANN
Dr. Kaufmann is the author and creator of the Kaufmann Protocol, a scientifically organized methodology to decelerate the aging process. This includes an amazing book called The Kaufmann Protocol: Why We Age and How to Stop It., a comprehensive website and even the coolest app we can all use to help us age slower.
Dr. Kaufmann began her academic career in the field of cellular biology, earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Connecticut in Tropical Ecology and Plant Physiology. Turning to medicine, she received her medical Degree at the University of Maryland.
For the last five years she has been the Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Most recently, she was recognized as “Best in Medicine” by the American Health Council.
Her avid interest in the science of anti-aging began many years ago as an intense hobby. Using her knowledge in cell biology, human pharmacology and physiology, this hobby has now become a main focus. The project represents years of non-clinical research leading to the first, ever, comprehensive theory of aging.
THE KAUFMANN PROTOCOL
Dr. Kaufmann has an amazing book we all need to read “The Kaufmann Protocol: Why We Age And How To Stop It”. Consider this your “university education” on anti-aging. You can get it on Amazon here and you can find more about the book on Dr. Kaufman’s website here.
Personalize your own longevity protocol by answering a detailed questionnaire on the Kaufmann Protocol app. The app is cool, because it also holds you accountable and it has a unique organized system that’s easy to understand.
BRAIN HEALTH
- Brain uses glucose for fuel
- Brain is 2% of the body, but uses 20% of the glucose
- Brain uses 20% of the body’s oxygen
- Oxygen creates free radicals and creates lipid peroxidation
- Brain is made up of lipids and is gelatinous.
- When free radicals attack, you can have significant brain damage
- The Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) protects the brain and we need to be sure molecular agents are passing the BBB
- Whatever damages the body damages the brain too.
- The brain is more affected to damage because it uses more of the resources
- By the time you see any damage to the brain in a CT scan it’s far too late.
- Prevention is key
3 MOLECULAR AGENTS FOR BRAIN HEALTH:
- Magnesium Threonate
- Andrographolide
- Spermidine
AGENT #1 – MAGNESIUM THREONATE
- Most people are magnesium deficient
- 2/3 of western world is deficient
- Magnesium is a cofactor in 300 – 500 enzymatic reactions
- Active in all systems including electron transport chain
- Deficiency can lead to depression, cardiac arrhythmia and kidney issues
- The only magnesium that actually gets to the brain is Magnesium Threonate
- Helps keep neuronal stem cell population healthy.
- Decreases neural inflammation
- Increases energy
WHY ARE WE MAGNESIUM DEFICIENT?
- Diet. Processed foods leach out magnesium from food.
- Drugs block magnesium absorption
- Age
- Vitamin D deficiency leads to low absorption of magnesium
MAGNESIUM THREONATE DOSAGE
- Depends on the formulation
- Magnesium – 200 – 400mg is recommended for regular magnesium.
- Get levels checked first.
- Magnesium Threonate is usually about 1.5grams….but depends
- Who are you? 70kg is what supplements are made for.
- Start with 1 capsule, wait 2 weeks and then take 2, but no more than that.
- In general with supplements, take small quantities of everything on a regimented basis.
- You’ll have the same benefits of regular magnesium (relaxation) with magnesium threonate
- Buy it on Amazon here
AGENT #2 – ANDROGRAPHOLIDE
- Andrographolide comes from a plant
- Water soluble, so it can get to other parts of the body
- Free radical scavenger
- Crosses the BBB well, lowers lipid peroxidation in brain, increases endogenous free radical scavengers
- Limits neural inflammation
- Increases neuroplasticity – memory depends on synaptic connections in neurons.
- Helps with the connections to remember things.
WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY?
- Neuroplasticity has to do with our neural network
- Every time a cell touches another cell, communications are built and information is transmitted. As you age, the axons die off.
- The ability of a neuron to change, and the more it is able to change, the better the neural connectivity and the better the thought processes are
- You won’t see the changes on a scan. They’re too small.
WHAT IS LIPID PEROXIDATION?
- Cell membranes are made of lipids.
- Fat holds our cells together.
- When it is destroyed it is oxidized, so we need free radical scavengers to attack and suck up the free radicals to prevent cell membrane damage.
- When attacked a lot, it is called lipid peroxidation and the cell is dissolving.
- Imbalance of osmolality and then the cell dies.
- Important to avoid lipid peroxidation to avoid brain breakdown.
WHY IS THE BRAIN INFLAMED?
- Some people have more inflammation than others
- Genes
- Aging problem
- Smoking, drugs, pollutants
- Neural trauma
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Depression
- Stroke may have extreme amount of neural inflammation, but if you have a preventative protocol ahead of time you do way better.
- Chances of survival of a brain injury if you are taking agents and protocol to protect the brain.
PRICE OF ANDROGRAPHOLIDE
- Easy to find and affordable
- Infusions are expensive
- 10 – 25 cents per capsule
- Buy on Amazon here
ANDROGRAPHOLIDE DOSAGE
- Andrographolide – 60 – 100mg per day
- Max at 100mg
- Separate them in time and space out
THE KAUFMANN PROTOCOL WEBSITE
- All agents are listed on the website here and guides on dosage
- Detailed information and recommended brands (Dr. Kaufmann has no commission or affiliate links with anything she recommends)
- Dr. Kaufmann has no vested interest in selling vitamins
AGENT #3 – SPERMIDINE
- Autophagy activator
- DNA is a long negatively charged molecule and spermidine is a long positive charged molecule and they connect at the groove of the DNA.
- It’s the bubble wrap phenomenon to protect the DNA from exogenous harm.
- Spermidine is anti-inflammatory
- Produces secondary antioxidants
- Positive epigenetic modifier and protects cells from glycation and crosses the BBB
- Increases hippocampal plasticity
WHAT IS AUTOPHAGY?
- Cellular clean up of the cell waste and recycles itself
- Listen to this Hack My Age podcast on autophagy
WHAT IS GLYCATION?
- Waste management strategy
- Too much glucose
- When you eat glucose or fructose they glycate cells and stick to different DNA, lipid and proteins
- When it sticks to protein it denatures it and it wont work well.
- Glucose sticks to molecules resulting in Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) that stick to collagen.
- Collagen starts to rip apart – skin sags, congestive heart failure.
- Collagen turns over every 17 years and is slow
- We need to block the glucose in the system and then can rip the glucose off the tissue and then excrete it. It’s possible.
- Cooking at high temperatures glycates lots of things (i.e. burnt bread, browning of grilled vegetables and meat)
- Spermidine prevents glycation
4 OUT OF 12 ANTIGLYCATION AGENTS DR. KAUFMANN TAKES HERSELF
- Metformin – Diabetic medicine. Take it throughout the day in small dosis. 2 times a day 850mg one at night and one in the day unless weightlifting as it is an mTor inhibitor that may lead to sarcopenia
- Leucine for muscles
- Prescription medicine (DO NOT TAKE THIS! YOU MAY KILL YOURSELF!) called Hydrolazene – extremely potent. It is an emergency medicine to lower blood pressure. Tachyphylaxis is produced but Dr. Kaufmann’s body got used to it
- Carnosine
- Spermidine
GLYCATION AND PRESBYOPIA
- The lens of the eyeball becomes glycated and we cannot read labels and books without glasses.
- Muscles around eyeball are glycated and stiff and hard to move the lens
- Carnosine eye drops twice a day may decrease glycation and restore vision problems.
- Google NAC eye drops for N-Acetylcarnosine or got to Anti-Aging Systems (get 15% off using code Zora-15…don’t forget the “-“)
- Carnosine may help remove cataracts
- Visomitin – SKQ1 free radical scavenger that goes to mitochondria and fixes the retina.
- Visomitin comes from Russia
- Visomitin takes 2 – 3 weeks before you notice change, but this is age dependent. The younger the better.
- Visomitin can be bought on Ebay or in Russia.
- Join Zora and Phil Micans on a free Zoom webinar Friday March 29th to learn how to reverse vision problems. Click here to register.
SPERMIDINE
- Comes from sperm but is also in all the cells
- It’s a polyamine
- Magdalena (@magdalenas_secrets) is a poster child of the Kaufmann protocol & uses spermidine
- Listen to the podcast Beauty Biohacker where Magdalena shares her tips that include the Kaufmann protocol
PRIMEADINE DOSES
- Primeadine is a trusted brand of spermidine
- Buy Primeadine here and use code ZORA for 20% off
- 3 capsules = 1mg per day
DOSAGE WITH SUPPLEMENTS IN GENERAL
- Everything on a bottle is twice as much as you need
- Take half the dose of what’s on the bottle
- With vitamins & antioxidants in general, space them out throughout the day as many have a half life
- If you take 2 – 3 free radical scavengers, they last 3 – 6 hours, so by dinner they’re gone.
- Take them in morning, midday and evening to get more coverage
- Taking magnesium once a day is fine and efficacious. No need to redose in the rest of the day
- Studies are based on short term outcome, so you need a higher dose to see appreciable results.
- In general with supplements, Sandra always takes less than what is on the label as she takes so many
- Maximum dose is not what you need to take.
- You may not feel a difference with supplements. You don’t feel yourself aging or not aging. Its prophylactic. You have to assume they work.
MYTHS OF BRAIN HEALTH
- MYTH: We can’t slow brain aging.
- We can slow brain aging and protect it.
IF ONLY ONE AGENT TO TAKE
- Metformin – diabetic medication
- Metformin gets highest scores in Kaufmann Protocol tenets
- Metformin has been around for a long time
- New studies coming out all the time on how it affects longevity
- There will never be one perfect anti-aging pill.
- Changes the gut microbiota, liver processes, increases AMPK pathways, mTor pathway
- 3 years ago studies on non diabetics vs diabetics on metformin. Diabetics on metformin did 15% better in terms of morbidity and mortality
- Cheap (in Spain Zora got it at €1.94!), sometimes you need prescription,
- Dr. Kaufmann uses metformin as a prophylactic
- AgelessRx.com has metformin and a physician certified in all states and will send you a prescription
- Most people lose weight and manage glucose, lowers cholesterol and lowers obesity
- Metformin sold over the counter in non-EU countries.
LOW BLOOD SUGAR AND SUPPLEMENTS
- Is metformin good for a 33 year old with low blood sugar?
- True longevity doesn’t need to be worried about until 35 years old.
- Under 35 can take polypodium (DNA repair mechanism) and astaxanthin
- 35 and up need to worry about longevity
- For glucose at a younger age in non-diabetics, it isn’t so much for blood sugar as it is to stop glycation
- Theoretically! You cannot go hypoglycemic on metformin. There is a system where lactic acid in the gut is absorbed and goes to the liver and creates glucose.
- Take lowest dose 500mg and cut it in half or thirds and see how you feel.
- There are other great benefits
FUTURE PLANS
- New book
- New agents
SYNERGISTIC EFFECT
- Combining agents may have a positive or negative effect
- Combining turmeric with pepper is “cheating”. Pepper temporarily deactivates the liver enzymes that processes different chemicals. The body can’t metabolize curcumin for “x number” of hours so the bioavailability appears higher, but truly isn’t for our purposes.
- Nowadays there is nanotechnology that works better to make agents more bioavailable.
- There are some synergistic effects and will include that in the book
WEAR SUNGLASSES, HELMETS & SUNSCREEN
- UV sun damage is horrible. Even when it’s not sunny.
SKINCARE
- Skin is damaged from the outside and inside, so we need to treat it from out and in
- Oral collagen
- Oral hyaluronic acid – Doesn’t matter so much. Your own body breaks it down to digestible bites. It’s a signaling process. Hyaluronic acid turns over every 24 – 48 hours, it is important to stimulate fibroblasts to do this.
- You can’t drink water to hydrate skin. Unless you’re full of hyaluronic acid, the water will go straight through you, because hyaluronic acid binds to water. It retains water to help you look youthful and keep tissues healthy.
- Zora uses Nu Skin hyaluronic acid moisture mist. Use this link to get it at 20% off. Reply to this email if you are outside of US.
INFRARED LIGHT
- Red and infrared light use specific wavelengths to increase mitochondrial energy production
- Need 7 – 10 min per body part to get 4 – 6 – 8 hours mitochondrial production to go up
- What you shine it on gets better.
- Secretes melatonin from pituitary gland to help sleep
ADVICE: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
- Keep on your longevity journey
FOLLOW DR. SANDRA KAUFMANN
Website: Kaufmann Protocol
Instagram @kaufmannantiaging
Facebook: @Kaufmann Anti-Aging Institute
Email: kaufmannaai@gmail.com
Book: The Kaufmann Protocol: Why We Age and How To Stop It
FOLLOW HACK MY AGE
Website: Hack My Age
Instagram: @hackmyage
Facebook: @hackmyage
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This podcast is edited by @JonathanJK
This blog post is edited by Alison Copywriting
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2 thoughts on “3 Supplements To Keep Your Marbles & Improve Neural Plasticity, Damage Control For Donuts and Recover Vision – Dr. Sandra Kaufmann”
Roe
Excellent interview , learned so much
Roe
Excellent interview , I have learned so much