It is important that we eat less, and this molecule is key

A Bioinformatics Expert’s Perspective on Bile and Longevity for Pedestrians: A Case Study with Dana A.S

Across the ancient world, physicians from Greece to China touted the health benefits of bile and fasting. Even though the focus is on regular meals and exercise today, maybe those ancient doctors were onto something. Qu and colleagues made a very compelling case in two papers in Nature how a component of bile called lithocholic acid can be turned on and off to help people live longer.

D.A.S. is a co-founder, consultant, board member and equity owner of Galilei Biosciences and MetroBiotech, companies working to treat diseases with SIRT6 activators and NAD boosters, respectively. He is also the owner of an equity company. Other activities can be found at sinclairhms.harvard.edu.

Studies show that restriction of calories can increase lifespan in a variety of animals. A protein called AMPK is known to be switched on by caloric restriction and plays a crucial part in its beneficial effects.

It is not only hunger that can result in a reduction in calories, as studies have shown that calories can be slashed by more than half if you restrict your intake; this can also lead to the loss of muscle mass and increased risk of disease.

Long-term Evolution of Fruit Flies and Mice Feeded with Lithocholic Acid: The Case for the Utah National Institute on Aging and Longevity

There are fruit flies and mice fed lithocholic acid. The fruit flies and nematodes lived significantly longer than those that had not consumed added lithocholic acid.

The research of aging and longevity has claims that do not stand up to scrutiny. But the papers are remarkably thorough, says Nicholas Schork, lead investigator of the US National Institute on Aging’s Longevity Consortium and a genomicist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. “I found them very compelling,” says Schork, who was not involved in the works. “They went way beyond what many other groups have done to make claims about potential health benefits.”