New Scientist:
Meet the people shaping the future of science
This interview was first published in New Scientist print edition, subscribe here
I want to live forever
Photo: Timothy Archibald
Cynthia Kenyon thinks we can have it all: health, wealth, hordes of children - and a long life. A very long life. She disagrees with prevailing ideas that we can only live longer by paying a high price in terms of reduced fertility or a sluggish metabolism. What made this professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, so sure? A little worm. James Kingsland was keen to discover the secret
>>>
"How would you go about developing an anti-ageing drug?
It's just a question of finding a drug that would mimic the changes that we've made in worms, flies and mice. Basically we should have a hard look at the insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) endocrine systems. The receptors for both have been shown to control ageing in mice: if you mutate either they live longer. I suspect the key will be to target those systems. In fact, I have helped to found a company, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, that is trying to do just that."
>>>
So when can we expect the big breakthrough - an anti-ageing drug?
It could come at any time. A compound in red wine, resveratrol, has just been found to increase the activity of a longevity protein that affects the insulin/IGF-1 system in worms. So we may already have a drug, though it might not be that simple. But the fact that there's this compound already in red wine, it really makes you optimistic, doesn't it?
It's only a matter of time?
Yes, it's all about time!
But for now, caloric restriction seems the one proven way to extend lifespan. Is that why you've virtually given up carbohydrates?
That's not necessarily why I do it. I do it because it makes me feel great and keeps me slender. And I don't feel really tired after a meal. But I think if I wanted to eat in a way that extended lifespan this is how I would do it. In fact, I stopped eating carbohydrates the day we found that putting sugar on the worms' food shortened their lifespans.
How does it work?
I eat a diet that keeps my insulin levels low. So, for example, at breakfast I have bacon and eggs with tomatoes and avocados. It's bit like the Atkins diet. I don't actually know if I eat fewer calories, but I feel great and I weigh what I did in high school. I certainly wouldn't want to be hungry all the time, but I'm not, I'm never hungry. I tried caloric restriction just for two days but I couldn't stand it, being hungry all the time.
What don't you eat?
I don't eat sweets, bread, pasta, potatoes or rice. I actually do eat lots of carbohydrates, just not starchy ones, the ones that turn into sugar quickly in your body. I eat lots of vegetables and salads, and lots of fish and nuts, cheese, eggs and meat. People are now studying these low-carb diets like Atkins and the zone diet scientifically.
How do you know it's doing you any good?
My blood profile is off the scale. Apparently triglycerides are very good indicators of your insulin and glucose levels. Anything below 200 [milligrams per decilitre] is good, and mine is 30! And my "good" cholesterol (HDL) is 86 [mg/dl], which is fabulous.
Suppose we all lived to 150. Would we just be prolonging the misery of unhealthy old age?
I think it would be fabulous to live to 150. Remember, if you're like these worms, at 150 you would be just the same as a normal 75-year-old. Of course you want to be in good health - providing you are in good health and you love life, you want to live longer. These long-lived worms stay young longer. That's the thing that's so hard for people to grasp: it's not just being healthy longer. It's being young longer. The worms have told us it's possible.
Meet the people shaping the future of science
This interview was first published in New Scientist print edition, subscribe here
I want to live forever
Photo: Timothy Archibald
Cynthia Kenyon thinks we can have it all: health, wealth, hordes of children - and a long life. A very long life. She disagrees with prevailing ideas that we can only live longer by paying a high price in terms of reduced fertility or a sluggish metabolism. What made this professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, so sure? A little worm. James Kingsland was keen to discover the secret
>>>
"How would you go about developing an anti-ageing drug?
It's just a question of finding a drug that would mimic the changes that we've made in worms, flies and mice. Basically we should have a hard look at the insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) endocrine systems. The receptors for both have been shown to control ageing in mice: if you mutate either they live longer. I suspect the key will be to target those systems. In fact, I have helped to found a company, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, that is trying to do just that."
>>>
So when can we expect the big breakthrough - an anti-ageing drug?
It could come at any time. A compound in red wine, resveratrol, has just been found to increase the activity of a longevity protein that affects the insulin/IGF-1 system in worms. So we may already have a drug, though it might not be that simple. But the fact that there's this compound already in red wine, it really makes you optimistic, doesn't it?
It's only a matter of time?
Yes, it's all about time!
But for now, caloric restriction seems the one proven way to extend lifespan. Is that why you've virtually given up carbohydrates?
That's not necessarily why I do it. I do it because it makes me feel great and keeps me slender. And I don't feel really tired after a meal. But I think if I wanted to eat in a way that extended lifespan this is how I would do it. In fact, I stopped eating carbohydrates the day we found that putting sugar on the worms' food shortened their lifespans.
How does it work?
I eat a diet that keeps my insulin levels low. So, for example, at breakfast I have bacon and eggs with tomatoes and avocados. It's bit like the Atkins diet. I don't actually know if I eat fewer calories, but I feel great and I weigh what I did in high school. I certainly wouldn't want to be hungry all the time, but I'm not, I'm never hungry. I tried caloric restriction just for two days but I couldn't stand it, being hungry all the time.
What don't you eat?
I don't eat sweets, bread, pasta, potatoes or rice. I actually do eat lots of carbohydrates, just not starchy ones, the ones that turn into sugar quickly in your body. I eat lots of vegetables and salads, and lots of fish and nuts, cheese, eggs and meat. People are now studying these low-carb diets like Atkins and the zone diet scientifically.
How do you know it's doing you any good?
My blood profile is off the scale. Apparently triglycerides are very good indicators of your insulin and glucose levels. Anything below 200 [milligrams per decilitre] is good, and mine is 30! And my "good" cholesterol (HDL) is 86 [mg/dl], which is fabulous.
Suppose we all lived to 150. Would we just be prolonging the misery of unhealthy old age?
I think it would be fabulous to live to 150. Remember, if you're like these worms, at 150 you would be just the same as a normal 75-year-old. Of course you want to be in good health - providing you are in good health and you love life, you want to live longer. These long-lived worms stay young longer. That's the thing that's so hard for people to grasp: it's not just being healthy longer. It's being young longer. The worms have told us it's possible.
Comments