It’s a common phrase, short and simple, but there’s a great deal of depth to it. So many of us couldn’t wait to grow up as kids and become adults, and now every adult would do anything to be younger again. The looming inevitability of aging can strike fear into a lot of people, and who can blame them? As we age through life, new downsides seem to constantly pop up, and there’s objectively few genuine upsides to becoming a senior citizen. 

Metabolism slows down, energy is low, cognitive function declines, risks for disease and illness increases, new aches and pains seem to always be popping up, and physical appearance changes in ways no one truly wants. Some fear death because they don’t want life on Earth to end, while others fear death because of its association with aging. The idea of losing one’s youth and quality of life can often be much more terrifying than anything else.

Although we’re still yet to find the fabled fountain of youth that has been sought after for so long, what if we found that next best thing? Immortality is still beyond reach, but science is showing it’s possible to maintain the qualities of youth throughout every stage of life. Youth no longer needs to remain confined to age.

The Difference Between Biological Age and Chronological Age 

The way most of us understand aging is very one dimensional. We think that, since someone has been alive for 60 years, then their body naturally has the biological integrity of cells that have been replicating for 60 years as well. Here, chronological age would be how we measure years in accordance with our planet’s rotation around the sun, and biological age references the rate that our cells are moving towards their ultimate destination - apoptosis. 

The cells making up our body today are not the same cells we were born with. They cannot live forever, and must replicate the DNA inside to pass on to a new generation of cells. Without DNA replication and cellular reproduction, life would be an impossibility. This keeps us alive, and allows us to age, but the process isn’t perfect, which provides part of the explanation for why we age the way we do. 

What is DNA Replication’s Greatest Downfall?

This imperfection in the process of DNA replication is known as the telomere replication problem. First off, to fully understand why they are so important, let’s talk about what they are. If we imagine a strand of DNA to be like a shoelace, the telomeres would be the plastic or metal caps on the ends known as aglets. Within a cell, all the DNA is split up into several different molecules and tightly coiled together into compact structures called chromosomes. Obviously, since the chromosomes contain all the genetic material required for life to exist and proceed properly, they need to be fiercely protected, and telomeres step up to fill that role. 

When examining the structure of DNA and chromosomes, the chromosomal tips prove to be the most susceptible to damage from environmental factors. To protect the DNA that codes for everything that makes us what we are, telomeres take on this environmental damage. They also serve a vital role of preventing separate chromosomes from fusing with each other. Telomeres do this in essentially the same way that an aglet protects a shoelace. It prevents the lace from fraying, keeping the lace’s integrity intact, and it is resilient enough to put up a strong fight against any damage that comes its way. 

The problem with them is that, after every cycle where a cell replicates its DNA in order to divide, the telomeres shorten. Since they’re taking on the brunt of the environmental damage, they still end up fraying on the ends. Because of that, the frayed bits are not able to be replicated anymore, and then the replicated cell now has a shorter telomere. Eventually, our cells will have replicated so many times that the telomeres are so short, it’s actually a risk to keep replicating further. At this point, telomere integrity is radically diminished, and the possibility of the DNA being damaged is very high. Replicating damaged DNA could be catastrophic, so there are cellular mechanisms in place to detect this point and self-destruct. This self-destruction is known as apoptosis. 

How Telomere Length Directly Correlates to Lifespan

Cellular DNA is highly susceptible to being harmed by our environment, and the more everything is physically harmed, the worse the cells will function. However, if the DNA is well nurtured, the cells will function at a higher capacity for a longer duration. This premise holds true for just about anything, but let’s use sneakers as an example. If we wear the same shoes everyday and treat them horribly, dragging our feet every step or running through puddles and mud constantly, they’re going to fall apart quickly. However, wearing the shoes only on special occasions, never letting them get dirty or wet, and protecting them from getting scuffed or creased are all things that will extend the pair of shoe’s lifespan. Not only will the shoes last longer, but they’ll still feel like they’re brand new, fresh out the box, years later.

By protecting our telomeres from environmental damage, it’s not only going to extend the cell’s life, holding off apoptosis, but the cell will be able to function with significantly higher quality, as if it’s from the body of someone much younger. This is a prime example of how biological age does not necessarily need to match up with chronological age. 

Elysium Optimizes Your Biological Clock For a Better, Longer Life

At this point it’s very clear that delaying telomere shortening and working to lengthen them is a vital piece to retaining biological youth, but how do you do that? Miraculously, the answer is much more simple than what would be expected. There’s countless different cellular mechanisms that promote telomere health, and now research has shown that almost all of them have a direct correlation to NAD+. The more NAD+ present, the better these systems function, and as NAD+ concentration declines, so too will cellular lifespan.

NAD+ concentration has been shown to decline with age naturally, and is constantly in flux depending on the time of day, makeup of our diet, how much we exercise, and numerous other lifestyle factors. At this point it probably seems like there is a very easy fix for this problem - just consume more NAD+ in our diet. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy. We can’t go out and buy some NAD+. Besides, that wouldn’t do anything anyways. Clinical studies have shown that the only way to significantly increase NAD+ concentration, and maintain those levels over time, is to supplement with specific NAD+ precursors.

Homeostasis is a delicate, complex beast. We don’t want to flood our systems with synthetically made NAD+ and risk further aggravating the body’s internal NAD+ balance. Life thrives in the presence of NAD+, so as long as we give our metabolism the ingredients necessary to produce its own NAD+, it’s going to do exactly that. At the most foundational levels of biology, a loss of optimal homeostatic balance will always unleash a domino effect of problems. Falling levels of NAD+ is not a singular problem in itself. While the lack of NAD+ is critical, the overarching issue is that this will cause several other molecules to become imbalanced. The domino effect takes hold instantly and wreaks havoc at all levels. 

If we use the example of patients who suffer from dyskeratosis congenita (DC), a short telomere syndrome, the consequence of disequilibrium can be most clearly observed. People with DC have significantly low concentrations of NAD+, which results in the upregulation of CD38 NADase, and the downregulation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). CD38 overactivity is directly responsible for inhibiting Sirtuin 1, which in turn leads to a multi-level catastrophe. Sirtuin 1 plays a major role in activating several proteins required for the cell’s DNA damage response as well as mitochondrial homeostasis. Without adequate concentrations of Sirtuin 1, telomeres deteriorate quicker and DNA is susceptible to harsher damage due to diminished mitochondrial biogenesis, and the cell will be particularly ill equipped to repair it without a fully functional damage response. NAD+, therefore, helps link the association between telomere/DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases are also very similar to Sirtuins in functionality, because they both play vital roles in promoting mitochondrial health, maintaining the genome’s integrity, and supporting longevity. 

There, we see a fantastic example of the catastrophic domino effect that spawns from NAD+ dysregulation. Just as NAD+ precursors are necessary for synthesizing NAD+, the precursors themselves can also promote youthful cognitive functions. The two most beneficial precursors, NR and NMN, have been shown in multiple studies to boost muscle motor function and the neuronal function. Additionally, NR and NMN have the power to delay onset of neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia or Alzheimer's.  They boost synaptic plasticity, which in itself increases cognitive quality while warding off neural degeneration. At the same time, when NR and NMN are converted into NAD+, the increased level of NAD+ mimics a mutation capable of preventing almost any axonal degeneration at all within neurons.   

Elysium is Revolutionizing Our Understanding of Youth, Aging, and Health

We aim to promote cellular lifespan, support long-term brain health, and boost overall physiologic function by providing the body with the building blocks needed to maintain proper homeostasis. There’s nothing more valuable than your health, and we want you to live a long, full life. You deserve as much time on this Earth as possible to do the things you love, but more importantly, spend time with the people who matter most to you. Whether you realize it or not, your life provides unfathomable value to so many people around you. There’s very few things sadder than our loved ones growing old and losing their grasp on the kind of person they used to be. The mind and body are just as much a part of who you are as your soul. Elysium is here to give you the strength necessary to hold tight to the person you are now and who you wish to become.