The Livelong Newsletter

Happy Friday,

 🫧 Chewing gum is in a bit of bubble trouble, as both natural and synthetic varieties may be releasing thousands of microplastics into your saliva, according to the American Chemical Society. Experts recommend chewing one piece of gum for a longer time to lower your risk.

In today’s issue:

• Full-body scan catches hidden disease

• Blood pressure meds can mimic calorie restriction

• The surprising oil that lowers risk of dying

• and much more…

WISDOM FOR LIFE

Embrace the sunshine, it's a gift to your health and a ray of happiness for your soul

anonymous

👁️‍🗨️SPOTLIGHT

How a leisure full-body scan produced life-altering results

⌛ Sarah Blackburn got a full-body scan for fun. It turned into a potentially life-saving decision when the scan uncovered what she calls a ‘ticking time bomb’ within her, which took the form of an asplenic artery aneurysm, according to an article in Fortune.

“I had a full-body MRI just for fun. No symptoms whatsoever,” Blackburn said in a TikTok video. “Now I am scheduled to have an organ removed in two weeks.” 

@sarblackburn

Story time on my Prenuvo experience! #prenuvo #houstontx #houston #splenicarteryaneurysm #preventativehealth #prenuvoscan

Why whole-body MRI?

The idea is early detection or prevention—either the scan catches something you didn’t know you had, or it comes back clean and blesses the user with knowledge of good health and a clear mind.

The scans, particularly those administered by Prenuvo, are making waves in the longevity space. Celebrities too are going public about the life-saving potential.

• 🏀 Basketball superstar Dwayne Wade discovered kidney cancer during his scan (it was surgically removed in 2023), and actress Maria Menounos discovered a stage 2 mass on her pancreas.

The downsides

😟 Unnecessary anxiety: The scan can trigger health anxiety, especially when the scan finds something abnormal, even if it’s harmless.

💲 High cost: A Prenuvo scan can cost $2,500 for a 60-minute session; most insurance do not cover scans.

🤒 Risk of over-treatment: People may be opting surgeries and procedures that are not the usual standard of care, says Dr. Patrick Kenney, urologic oncologist at Yale Cancer Center, to USA Today.

Big picture

It’s not recommended for everyone—especially those with health anxiety—but it opens avenues for new diagnostic treatments and care.

We will be hosting an entire roundtable discussion on full-body scans at the Livelong Experience.

LIVE MORE+

• ⛔ Counterargument: Why some think full-body scans a bad idea. Read more.

• 🧪 Prenuvo is launching a new neurological scan and two additional health assessments at select locations. Read more.

WELLNESS WATCH

The blood pressure medicine that may mimic calorie restriction for longevity

Eating fewer calories is linked to longer life, but low-calorie diets can be unhealthy and unsustainable in the long-term. Exciting research shows that blood pressure medication can mimic the longevity effects of calorie restriction. 💊

What does the research suggest? A pivotal review from 2023 highlights promising evidence that the hypertension drug rilmenidine boosts lifespan in animals.

• Older and younger C. elegans worms lived longer when treated with rilmenidine, an exciting finding because they share many of the same genes as humans.

• In mice, rilmenidine activated the same genes (in kidney/liver tissues) that are activated during calorie restriction. 🧬

Conditions apply. The blood pressure medication only improved lifespan and presented anti-aging benefits when a biological signaling receptor called nish-1 is activated.

🎯 New longevity target? Most of the research was done in animals, so we can’t be sure that blood pressure medication has the same longevity benefits in people. The science is promising though. Calorie restriction continues to be a mainstay intervention to target aging.

IN OTHER NEWS

The surprising oil that reduces your risk of dying

Replacing butter with plant-based oils–including olive, canola, and even soybean oil–reduces the risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and total mortality, according to a new review.

Swapping oil for butter can reduce risk of death by 17%, and the more plant-based oils a person ate, the lower their risk of death, according to research from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and MIT.

• 🧈 Butter contains saturated fatty acids that increase cholesterol and block arteries, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease.

• 🫒 Plant-based oils are rich in healthy unsaturated fatty acids proven to improve cholesterol and lower inflammation.

The more you know: it took 30 years of research and 200,000 diet assessments to confirm this. ☝️

Today’s top read

Berkley, California is named healthiest city in America, according to a new list from Niche. The city boasts:

• ☀️ 250+ sunny days plus 50+ parks and green spaces incentivize outdoor activity and exercise

• 🥑 Easy access to healthy and nutritious food promotes healthy diet

• 💰 High median income promotes quality of life and well-being

• 🤽 Family-friendly activities and social opportunities to improve mental health and emotional well-being

LIVELONG+

📚 READ: Limitless by Jim Kwik. You are capable of more than you know.

🎧 LISTEN: Myths and truths about seed oils. Listen here.

🍽️ TASTE: Gluten-free and keto-friendly baked onion ring chips are trending on TikTok. Are they worth the hype? Let us know.

💬 SHARE: Share this newsletter to spread the knowledge.

🌳 EXPERIENCE: The Livelong Experience kicks off today. In-person tickets are sold out, but you can still get in on the action virtually here. Join us to learn groundbreaking insights and real-world strategies to live longer from the top minds in longevity. Register now for only $99.

About Livelong

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Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional before starting any exercise, wellness, or health program. Nothing in our content, products or services should be considered, or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Livelong is a media company and not a medical provider. We try to give the most accurate possible, but sometimes information is subject to change.