• Venki Ramakrishnan is a Nobel laureate and author of “Why We Die”.
• He thinks there is too much hype around longevity, but there have been some advances.
• Ramakrishnan, 72, leads an active lifestyle and cooks from scratch.

Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel laureate and former president of the world’s oldest scientific academy, the Royal Society, observed science of aging and the hype around it exploded.

In the last ten years alone, more than 300,000 scientific articles on aging have been published and more than 700 start-ups have invested tens of billions of dollars in aging researchthe Cambridge, UK-based microbiologist writes in his book “Why We Die.”

There were real scientific breakthroughsdeepening our understanding of the fundamental causes of aging, Ramakrishnan told Business Insider. But despite what the companies that have jumped on the bandwagon would have you believe, “we’re not there yet” when it comes to translating that research into actual treatments, he said.

The global market for longevity and anti-senescence therapies was valued at $25.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $44.2 billion by 2030, according to Allied Market Research Group.

Unlike medications prescribed by doctors, biohacking treatments like ozone therapy and apparent improvement in longevity supplements like NAD+ are not rigorously tested and approved by the FDA before being marketed.

“I wouldn’t spend huge amounts of money on supplements until they are very well established to have a real benefit. I would wait for evidence, but people always feel like they can’t wait because time is of the essence. That’s what I think a lot of these companies are taking advantage of,” he said.

“I’m not negative about longevity research or science. There’s a lot of really good science going on, but I’m negative about some of the excessive hype,” he declared. He wrote his book to inject a note of realism into the space, he said.

Ramakrishnan, 72, shared three simple, evidence-based lifestyle choices that he prioritizes as he ages.

Eat nutritious foods in modest portions

The way we eat can have a huge impact on our health. Eat a diet rich in ultra-processed foodsfor example, has been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

Following a Mediterranean type dietrich in fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains, is now associated with a longer life.

Ramakrishnan tries to eat a good mix of protein, fruits and vegetables and fiber, he said. He is a lifelong vegetarian and always cooks from scratch using basic ingredients.

He also believes that portion control is important and agrees with the author’s opinion. Michael PollanFamous food rule: “Eat food. Not too much. Especially plants. »

Cycling every day

Exercise has all kinds of benefits for healthy aging, Ramakrishnan said. It helps many components of the body, including muscle cells and mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, to regenerate.

In addition to cycling at least six miles a day because he doesn’t have a car, Ramakrishnan goes to the gym a few days a week where he does both. strength training and aerobic exercises.

“You need to do both cardiovascular exercises and weight-bearing exercises. One to keep your cardiovascular system healthy, the other to maintain your muscle mass and strength,” he said.

In a 2022 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicinebased on data from 100,000 U.S. adults with an average age of 71People who lifted weights and did 150 to 300 minutes of aerobic exercise per week were 41% less likely to die from any cause compared to their sedentary peers.

Sleep eight hours a night

Ramakrishnan likes to sleep eight hours every night. During the sleep cycle, the body repairs a lot of the wear and tear we accumulate during daily life, he said: “It’s a way of resetting things and regenerating them.”

Research suggests that getting enough, good-quality sleep could extend your life by a few years. In a preliminary study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 2023 Annual Scientific Session, researchers identified five measures of sleep quality: sleeping seven to eight hours per night; have difficulty falling asleep no more than twice a week; difficulty staying asleep no more than twice a week; do not use sleeping pills; and feeling well-rested after waking up at least five days a week.

Of the 172,321 people involved in the study, men who reported getting all five sleep quality measures were expected to live 4.7 years longer than those who got none or just one. Women who had five lived 2.4 years longer.

“Sleep is a lot more important than people think,” Ramakrishnan said.