There's no such thing as a fountain of youth, but researchers have been making some interesting discoveries and progress around anti-aging.
Leading researchers in the field of longevity from MIT and Harvard have identified several anti-aging genes, which produce proteins called sirtuins. In simpler organisms and animals, these genes protect organisms from deterioration. They also reverse age-related mitochondrial deterioration (mitochrondria help produce energy within your cells), help facilitate mitochondrial biogenesis (process by which cells increase mitochondrial mass), and prolong life. Basically, once these genes are activated, they can increase an organism's health and lifespan. The notion is that if it works in mice, it could potentially work in humans in a similar fashion. There are a plethora of human trials on this subject as we write this.
Humans have seven sirtuin genes. When some of these genes are activated, the organisms live longer and resist developing diseases. One of the requirements for activation of these anti-aging genes is higher levels of NAD (a small metabolic molecule in cell). If there is no NAD, the sirtuin genes remain "silent" -- in fact, we would be dead within seconds without NAD. Our levels of NAD decline with age. A middle-aged person has half the amount of NAD compared to their younger, 20-year-old self.
There are two natural factors that will raise NAD levels and activate sirtuins; exercise and calorie restriction diet, as a body's defence mechanism to a physiological distress, i.e., hormesis. When the NAD levels go up, the sirtuin genes are activated in order to preserve the organism. According to Dr. David Sinclair from Harvard University, one of the leading scientists on this subject, the best type of exercise for producing NAD is of high intensity, which puts our body in a hormetic state. This is a requirement. Low-grade exercise would not "shock" our body enough.
This is great news for those of us who like the NET method, for obvious reasons. It's just another great example of one of the holistic effects our training method offers.
There are also NAD precursor molecules, like Basis, for example. Research on mice show that if such precursors are given to older, obese mice, they demonstrate the metabolic health of much younger mice, despite being overweight.
If mice are already doing calorie restriction and/or exercise with such molecules they physiologically become supermice!
For more information, listen to one of Dr. Sinclair's podcasts interview here, if you have some time. You can listen to a more technical version of this subject here. We highly recommend it!