In an earlier post, based on data from the Baltimore Longitidunal Study on Aging (BLSA), I suggested that total white blood cell (WBCs) counts between 3500 to 6000 cells per microliter of blood may be optimal for reducing disease risk and for maximizing longevity (https://michaellustgarten.com/2015/08/13/blood-testing-whats-optimal-for-wbc-levels/). However, within WBCs, neutrophils increase, […]
A few months ago, I presented data that a resting heart rate (RHR) ~40 beats per min is associated with maximally reduced risk of death from all causes (https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/02/02/resting-heart-rate-whats-optimal/). I started tracking my RHR data in August 2018, and I now have more than a full year of data. RHR […]
WHOOP only includes data in 1 or 2 week increments, so below is my October data for sleep from 10/2-10/7/2019. As you can see, my sleep performance (86%) is crushing the Sober October crew! Because I track all of WHOOP’s data in an Excel file, I can post my average […]
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is one of the 10 variables used to quantify biological age with PhenoAge (https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age). The reference range for alkaline phosphatase is 20 – 140 IU/L*, but within that range, what’s optimal? Two separate meta-analyses have investigated the association between serum levels of ALP with risk of death […]
The reference range for circulating levels of glucose is 70-130 mg/dL. That’s a wide range, so what’s optimal, especially considering that glucose is one of the variables used to quantify of biological age (https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age)? In the largest study published for this subject (12,455,361 adults), risk of death for all causes […]
In the first half of this presentation, I talk about my contribution to the gut-muscle axis in older adults, and in the second half, my personalized approach to optimal health! Also, here’s the article that corresponds to the presentation: https://www.leafscience.org/the-gut-microbiome-affects-muscle-strength-in-older-adults/ If you’re interested, please have a look at my book!
Following five lifestyle-related factors is associated with a gain in average life expectancy (Li et al. 2018). What are these factors? Not smoking, having a BMI between 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, engaging in more than 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (at a minimum, walking ~3 miles per hour; 30 […]
Can biological age be optimized? The red blood cell (RBC) distribution width (RDW%) is one of the variables included in the PhenoAge biological age calculator (see https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age/). Although the RDW% reference range is 11.5% – 14.5%, what values are optimal in terms a youthful biological age, and minimized disease risk? […]
In an earlier post, I showed published data that albumin levels decrease with aging, and that lower levels are associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk (https://michaellustgarten.com/2018/07/06/serum-albumin-and-acm/). I also showed my own blood test data (n=11), which included a strong correlation for albumin with my dietary intake of beta-carotene (r = […]
How much Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is optimal for health? To answer this question, I’ll examine the association between circulating levels of Vitamin C with all-cause mortality risk. Then, which dietary Vitamin C intake corresponds to optimal plasma levels? Let’s have a look! A variety of studies have investigated associations […]