Watch Worthy Frontiers For Living Better Longer
The Mighty 3M and a few others have been our top picks since 2023.
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*Each "Why it's Watch-Worthy" link below connects to more detail from a leading expert in the field.
M1 The Microbiome - Your Body's Hidden Ecosystem
The microbiome isn't just another health buzzword - it's emerging as a fundamental force for how we feel, think, and age.
The gut microbiome already challenges our understanding of depression, anxiety, heart disease, cognitive health and cancer. Research on the oral microbiome has uncovered likely links to brain health risk.
Every year we must update our insights for how these symbiotic bugs - the good guys and the bad - influence our lives. New insights on how to help the good ones flourish while keeping the bad guys in check. New discoveries on what they're really up to!
Our Expectation:
Just as we now routinely monitor heart health, managing our microbiome health will become standard practice. We'll be measuring who (which bugs) are most present, what are they doing and do we have enough of the wants we want or too many of others.
I do not, however, dare predict when it will become mainstream. This never happens as quickly as we like to expect.
M2 Mitchondria - Beyond the Cellular Powerplant
These microscopic powerhouses are far more than cellular batteries - they're sophisticated information command centers orchestrating vital body and brain functions.
Why Mitochondria are Watch-Worthy
These dynamic organelles - 100’s to 1000’s found in every cell - are very social. They form 100's of unique communities like those of the brain, pancreas and liver. They communicate through hormones, chemicals and other mechanisms to influence everything from mental health to metabolism. They decide where to focus their population when the body or mind is under attack.
Evidence now points to MitoC's role in conditions that range from treatment resistant depression and Alzheimer's to inflammation regulation, diabetes and obesity. Where we find disease, we find some issue with out MitoC. It may not be sufficient for triggering a condition, but some level of insufficiency. damage, or behavior is bound to be present.
Our Expectation
We will witness a prioritization for assuring MitoC function - maximizing both quantity and quality. We'll want to see our biomarkers for MitoC for context when we look at all the other biomarkers, disease symptoms, or psychiatric concerns. We will want clear insight into our energy foundation for our body, mind, and emotional wellbeing.
The challenge, however, will be measuring and interpreting the condition of our MitoC by caregivers in our every day world. There is so much we're just beginning to learn. And the tools and translation are in their infancy.
M3 Muscle - Your Body's Metabolic Wizard
Muscle’s reputation rarely highlights this organ’s many superpowers for everything from blood sugar control to an ever-expanding role for brain health and cognition. And yes, it is an organ - the largest in the body (by weight).
Beyond strength and fall prevention, muscle is a metabolic powerhouse and cognition ally. It's quality and how we train it matter with specific types of movement being better than others for different age, gender, and condition concerns. This can range from menopause management to neuroplasticity for cognition.
Our Expectation: It is highly likely that...
We will see more research on the different muscle building strategies between men and women at different ages and along with more insights for protecting and improving our cognition. Preventing sarcopenia - a progressive loss of muscle most commonly associated with age - will become a recognized priority for AgeSMART living.
4 Nutritional Psychiatry - Feeding Your Mind
Food as medicine takes on new meaning as science reveals yet more connections between diet and mental health - from low-grade depression to treatment resistant mental health conditions. The evidence for therapeutic food protocols continues to grow.
Why Nutritional Psychiatry is Watch-Worthy
This emerging field challenges traditional approaches to conditions ranging from depression and ADHD to more complex disorders like schizophrenia. We have, however, reached a tipping point built on decades of research from multiple disciplines. Reputable institutions around the world lead groundbreaking work in this domain: Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, University of Edinburgh, James Cook University in Australia, and the NIH to name a few.
Just as cognitive behavioral therapy replaced drugs as first line of treatment for insomnia, nutritional approaches are poised to transform mental health care.
Our Expectation: It is likely that...
While not replacing medication entirely, therapeutic dietary protocols will become a first-line treatment for many mental health conditions, with the bonus benefit of of reducing medication requirements and their associated side effects. Our questions is not Will this happen? but When will it become the norm?
5 Sleeping our Way to Better Health, Memory & Cognition
Sleep is busy time for our mind and body: our daily processes slow down as others go to work to restore, repair, and rejuvenate all aspects of our cognitive, physical or mental health. It's superpowers are both direct and indirect, helping to make everything we want to do in life more doable.
We keep discovering more hidden superpowers that kick in during sleep like the brain's glymphatic system - it's recently discovered cleaning crew. This overnight cleanup crew helps clear metabolic waste like the infamous beta-amyloid plaque and tau protein associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. It's strong connection with Circadian Rhythm is another watch-worthy aspect of sleep. And despite these insights, sufficient quality sleep remains a challenge.
Our Expectation: We are optimistic that...
With AI computational powers to complement brain imaging tools like fMRI, we will see a societal shift to supporting sufficient quality sleep in keeping with our circadian rhythm and ever more effective strategies for dealing with insomnia.
6 Circadian Biology - The Timing of Life
Timing matters. From plants to people, the world has evolved to align with the rising and the setting of the sun. However, modern life's 24/7 access to light, food, and activity ignore this Rhythm. Being out of sync with our natural rhythm is like an orchestra where everyone plays at random.
Research pioneers like Dr. Satchin Panda have revealed how our 24-hour biological rhythms - our Circadian Rhythm - regulate cellular function throughout our body. When these natural cycles are disrupted—whether by shift work, late-night snacking, or constant exposure to bright light – we see the affect in everything from our sleep quality to our cellular health. Virtually all aspects of health are impacted. Many are indirect - like how it can influence the choices we make.
Our Expectation: It is our hope that...
We'll develop more doable strategies for integrating alignment with our natural Circadian Rhythms to the reality of modern life. We know we'll learn more about the mechanisms, but can we design better strategies at both the system-societal level and individual level for honoring these rhythms?
