The craziest study ever - The Minnesota Starvation Experiment
32 young men were put on a 40% calorie-restricted diet for 6 months, while staying physically very active
They lost 25% of their body weight by the end of it
Here's what this study contributed to longevity research
The men were fed 1,800 calories a day and expended 3,000 calories on physical activity
Their diet consisted of 77% carbohydrates, primarily from potatoes, cabbage, macaroni, and whole wheat bread, and <0.8 g/kg/day of protein to mimic starvation conditions
Keys monitored their health and saw their resting heart rate dropping from 55 to 35 beats per minute
They also developed edema from all the water they drank to stave off hunger
And the whites of their eyes became white like porcelain due to shrinking blood vessels in the eye
He was called Putin's "anti-aging doctor," and he discovered what many consider the most promising longevity peptide.
In the 70s, Dr. Vladimir Khavinson discovered EPITALON, and he claimed it could make humans live longer
However, if you investigate deeper, the story gets messier⬇️⬇️
Full video:
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence Ala–Glu–Asp–Gly (AEDG).
It was derived from a larger peptide mixture called epithalamin, originally extracted from the pineal gland of cows.
The idea: isolate the active fragment and turn it into a cleaner, synthetic compound.
Epitalon and epithalamin were discovered in the 1970s by Soviet researchers Dr. Vladimir Khavinson and Dr. Vyacheslav Morozov, who worked at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology.
They were researching bioregulators for military and medicinal use - to support immune system function, especially after radiation exposure.
Khavinson was a director of the institute later in Russia.
The soleus muscle, located deep beneath the calf, is often called the "second heart" because it plays a crucial role in pumping blood back to your upper body - supporting circulation and heart health
A 2022 study also found that stimulating the soleus can have significant benefits on your glucose metabolism⬇️⬇️
Glycine + NAC (GlyNAC) shows promise for healthy aging:
- increased antioxidant defense
- reduced inflammation
- improved cardiometabolic risk factors
- improved physical function in the elderly
- reduction in hallmarks of aging
PMID: 35975308
More:
A 2023 randomized clinical trial found that supplementing GlyNAC for 16 weeks in older adults improved glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, physical function, and 7 hallmarks of aging (PMID: 35975308)
The authors claimed: "Only GlyNAC supplementation in older adults resulted in significantly improved (a) glutathione concentrations by 121% after 2 weeks, and by 164% after 16 weeks to levels not different from younger adults."
A 2021 clinical trial saw that 24 weeks of GlyNAC in older adults reduced oxidative stress, fixed glutathione deficiency and mitochondrial dysfunction, lowered inflammation and insulin resistance, and improved gait speed, cognition, and body composition