Dr. Jonathon Sullivan has spent much of his professional life treating patients on the brink of death. Working at a Level I trauma center he became familiar with medical conditions that claim lives far too early. But emergency medicine also helped the former US marine develop a deeper understanding of the human body and the reasons people get sick as they grow older. Now, as the owner, head coach and clinical director of Greysteel Strength and Conditioning, Dr. Sullivan focusses on extending hea...
Sep 27, 2021•37 min•Ep. 160
Healthspan - what is it and why is it important? This is our second LLAMA LIVE! - a Twitter Spaces conversation about human longevity. Host Peter Bowes chats with Dr. Jonathan Sullivan, owner and Clinical Director, Greysteel Strength and Conditioning Stefan Zavalin, a doctor of physical therapy and owner of Love to Move , a consulting company which offers advice for environment design and physical wellness in the workplace. The Live Long and Master Aging podcast shares ideas but does not offer m...
Sep 24, 2021•29 min•Ep. 159
This is our first LLAMA LIVE! episode - a Twitter Spaces conversation about human longevity, healthspan and lessons learned from Covid-19. Dr. Felice Gersh, an integrative medicine specialist, based in Irvine, California, joined Peter Bowes for a live discussion, earlier today. The conversation, published here as a podcast, covers children and Covid, immunity, obesity, inflammation, resilience through exercise and the way ahead, as we emerge from the pandemic. There will be more Twitter Spaces L...
Sep 16, 2021•32 min•Ep. 158
Mineral deficiencies can have a crippling impact on our everyday health and vitality, as well as long term implications for healthspan. The food we eat and the environments we live in, play a critical role in maintaining a delicate balance of chemicals that sustain life. But even the most ideal-sounding diet can fall short of providing an essential mix of minerals. Barton Scott discovered the hard way, through ill health, that he suffered from chronic deficiencies that were severely impacting hi...
Sep 15, 2021•41 min•Ep. 157
Developing a health strategy to navigate the decades ahead can be a daunting task. In fact, many people focus on their wellbeing only when ill health strikes and an intervention is needed to tackle sickness. Jim LaValle, a California-based clinical pharmacist, health educator and the author of Cracking the Metabolic Code: 9 Keys to Optimal Health, is on a mission to demystify the process. The founder of Metabolic Code, a health evaluation program that creates a plan of action for people to live ...
Sep 01, 2021•38 min•Ep. 156
What if we all had a personal, digital avatar to guide and nurture our lives, as we pursue a long healthspan? The concept, in a world of personalized medicine, could become a reality, according to future-thinker and longevity entrepreneur Dmitry Kaminskiy. The London-based investor and co founder of the UK All Party Parliamentary group for Longevity focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and the aging process. His latest book, Biomarkers of Longevity, he explores the way technolo...
Aug 18, 2021•36 min•Ep. 155
There are some people who just never seem to get any older. Whether it be their appearance or mental attitude, the passage of time eludes them. How do they do it? There are myriad explanations; our genes, physical and dietary lifestyles, mindset and perhaps an element of luck. The truth is that all these factors - and many others - likely play a role is determining our destiny. Jason Elias is the author of The Seven Graces of Ageless Aging: How to die young as late in life as possible, a collect...
Aug 04, 2021•38 min•Ep. 154
In a world where we are bombarded with health advice, it is easy to feel lost in a sea of unverified information. From dietary supplementation to exercise, we are inundated with suggestions, hard-sell advertisements and sometimes peer pressure, to take up one regime or another. LLAMA’s advice is simple; consult your primary care doctor or healthcare professional if you are considering lifestyle changes that involve a new diet or exercise program. In this episode, we meet a family physician who h...
Jul 21, 2021•42 min•Ep. 153
If only we could detect all life threatening diseases before symptoms occur and early enough to reverse the course of those conditions. We are on the cusp of being able to achieve that. Significant, recent developments, in the field of genomic testing, mean that scientists are able to pinpoint the warning signs for some major degenerative illnesses, in time to make life-saving interventions. In this episode of the LLAMA podcast, we meet Jo Bhakdi, the founder of Quantgene, a Santa Monica based t...
Jul 07, 2021•52 min•Ep. 152
The power of food - plants in particular - to help us optimize our health and potential longevity can not be underestimated. Indeed nature itself is arguably the most powerful tool we have to thwart disease and the ravages of the aging process. Dr. Nora Khaldi is the founder of Nuritas, a Dublin based biotechnology company that's pursuing a theory that natural foods contain all the molecular tools people need to optimize their health and wellbeing. Dr. Khaldi has an ambitious goal to make revolu...
Jun 23, 2021•40 min•Ep. 151
Finding the most effective workout and diet regime, with the goal of getting fit and lean, is, for many, the ultimate challenge. Even elite athletes struggle as they strive to achieve their peak level of performance. Jon Pearlman, a former #1 singles player for the Harvard tennis team, learned through personal experience that athletic prowess does not come easy. The two time All-Ivy athlete and ATP-ranked touring professional, had performance setbacks as a young tennis player but he learned thro...
Jun 09, 2021•54 min•Ep. 150
Making exercise a daily routine, from childhood, could be the key to preventing or slowing down some of the diseases of old age. Multiple studies have demonstrated the efficacy of physical activity, in improving cognitive health, throughout the human lifespan. Jenny Etnier is a professor of sport and exercise psychology in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina. Working with children and older adults she is an advocate for exercise to nurture the mind and stimulate a h...
Jun 02, 2021•38 min•Ep. 149
We are all used to feeling younger than our years and occasionally older than our birth date would suggest. In effect, we have two ages - chronological and biological. Chronological age simply states the number of years that we have been alive, whereas biological age is a measure of how well our bodies are performing, in relation to the rest of the population. So how is it determined? LLAMA host Peter Bowes delved into the science with Elysium Health, which has developed Index, a DNA test that t...
May 26, 2021•36 min•Ep. 148
Some of the world's healthiest people spend little or no time pondering their propensity to live a long life. They just do it. Their lifestyles are a model for longevity. There is much we can learn from these vibrant populations, in countries such as Italy, India, Japan, and (even) parts of the United States. In this episode of the LLAMA podcast with Peter Bowes, filmmaker Daniel Kennedy discusses his quest to better understand global food and ancient healing traditions. Daniel's documentary ser...
May 19, 2021•43 min•Ep. 147
The science of aging is so infinitely fascinating that Dr. Sandra Kaufmann decided to immerse herself in the field, as a hobby. A pediatric anesthesiologist from Florida, Dr. Kaufmann, is also an athlete who manages to fit swimming, running and rock climbing around her busy hospital schedule. Determined to enjoy physical activity for as long as possible, she decided to carry out an extensive review of the scientific literature, to better understand our bodies as we grow old. She focussed on the ...
May 12, 2021•32 min•Ep. 146
Embracing science and a holistic approach to living a healthier life, has been a hallmark of the Swiss spa-clinic, Clinique La Prairie (CLP), for the past ninety years. Known for its signature treatment, cellular therapy, the medical center opened in 1931, under the guidance of Dr Paul Niehans, an early expert in the field. Today, CLP melds cutting edge technology with a mission to help people optimize their healthspan, though advanced clinical and wellness programs. The LLAMA podcast is teaming...
May 05, 2021•41 min•Ep. 145
The art of growing old, gracefully and purposefully, preferably in rude health, is unique to us all. The journey, with its many twists and turns, involves myriad emotions, adventures and challenges. But Kathleen O'Brien says the process has been somewhat hijacked by society's growing disrespect for the elderly. In her book, Reclaim Your Right To Grow Old, the American writer and broadcaster explores the history of attitudes towards aging and suggests that society's fevered quest for longevity is...
Apr 28, 2021•40 min•Ep. 144
There has been "spectacular" progress in recent years in the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's. The progressive disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, a late-in-life decline in memory and cognitive ability, afflicts 50 million people around the world. Taking family members and other carers into account, that number increases exponentially. The condition, for which there is currently no cure, amounts to a modern day crisis, for all involved. In this episode of the LLAMA pod...
Apr 21, 2021•40 min•Ep. 143
Turning fifty can be a wrenching experience for some people. Others discover that it is their sixtieth birthday that conjures up disturbing emotions. There is no doubt that big birthdays focus the mind on the aging process and what is often described as a midlife crisis. But should we fear the passage of time? Lisa Levine is a life coach and the author of Midlife No crisis, an insightful and entertaining exploration of the years that signpost our lives. In this LLAMA podcast conversation with Pe...
Apr 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 146
Living life to the full, at any age, has been a challenge recently. To put it mildly. But if Covid has taught us anything, it is that some of life's simplest pleasures are what make life itself worth living. Therein lies a metaphor for healthy aging. Physical fitness, social contact and an active mind go a long way towards helping us live longer and better. They are also central to the ideals of Aging is Cool, a Texas-based company that helps people over fifty stay active and engaged as they age...
Apr 07, 2021•32 min•Ep. 141
Cracking the code behind aging has long since fascinated, frustrated and captivated scientists. In our quest to live longer and better, a desire to fully understand the mechanisms that explain how and why we grow old, has been central to longevity research. In recent years some significant progress has been made. A clearer picture is emerging of the changes that occur, at a cellular level, that could dictate how our bodies respond to the passing years. In this episode of the LLAMA podcast, Prof....
Mar 31, 2021•43 min•Ep. 140
Baby boomers make up a significant portion of the world's population. In the US and the UK the generation born between 1946 and 1964 represents about a fifth of all people and is a hugely influential group. So what's it like to be a boomer in 2021? Many are still working, physically active and important contributors to the economy. Others are retired and enjoying the fruits of their careers, while some are facing up to the challenges of life as a septuagenarian. "My almost fervent, religious con...
Mar 24, 2021•41 min•Ep. 139
Why do we rush to the refrigerator during commercial breaks, while watching television? Are we really hungry or does TV fuel our addiction to foods that we know are bad for us? "Without your agreement at all, you're doing what we call the robot walk or the zombie walk to the kitchen to get something to eat," says Joan Ifland, Ph.D., author of the textbook, Processed Food Addiction. Dr. Ifland believes we are wired to snack, in response to stress, excitement and suspense, and that an addiction to...
Mar 17, 2021•43 min•Ep. 138
At the age of eighty-one, Jean Ketcham is looking forward to sky diving again, when the pandemic is over. The co-founder of Aging But Dangerous, an international women's movement promoting active, healthy aging, is on a mission to empower women over fifty to live their lives to the full. When Jean retired, she and her friend, C. Suzanne Bates, realized that their social circles were shrinking and that their friends were becoming less adventurous. Convinced that life still had much to offer, the ...
Mar 09, 2021•32 min•Ep. 137
If you're a fast walker, you're likely to live longer. The correlation between walking speed and lifespan has been widely studied and is a good indicator of our general physical condition and the number of years that we are able to enjoy optimum health. "It is a wonderful predictor," says, Dr. Cliff Bleustein, Global President and CEO of AposHealth, a home based exercise program aimed at helping patients with their mobility. In this episode we delve into the importance of a healthy gait, sometim...
Mar 02, 2021•32 min•Ep. 136
Nutritional supplementation is one of the most frequently raised topics in relation to longevity and healthy living. But do we really need additional components in our diet, such as pterostilbene , sulforaphane and resveratrol? Scientifically validated studies suggest some dietary supplements are beneficial to our health, but how do we decide which ones to take? There are myriad considerations. To explore the subject, the LLAMA podcast is teaming up with JUVICELL, a nutraceutical product develop...
Feb 23, 2021•47 min•Ep. 135
Cognitive decline is an all-too-familiar hallmark of age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. While there is much research that focuses exclusively on functional changes in the brain, the so-called gut-brain axis - a connection between the digestive system and the central nervous system - also appears to play a pivotal role. It raises the question: Could nutritional interventions, to nurture the health of the gut microbiome, also help prevent or reverse age-related dementia? In...
Feb 15, 2021•49 min•Ep. 134
When the pandemic struck, instead of hunkering down, with her life on hold, Alison Weinlaeder moved into top gear with her brain-child, a new online business melding physical and mental workouts. The speech-language pathologist, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, wanted to help people improve their cognitive abilities, at the same time as nurturing their cardiovascular fitness. Cardiomelon is a fitness program that puts the essential components of daily health at its core. In this LLAMA podcast intervi...
Feb 04, 2021•35 min•Ep. 133
After a diagnosis of lupus, in her 30s, Leslie Kenny was told she had a life expectancy of five years. The prognosis focussed the Berkeley and Harvard grad's mind like never before. Long before biohacking was a thing, Leslie set about changing her lifestyle, embracing safe, natural solutions, in a fight for her life. Now 56, she is aging well, healthy and a fully signed up biohacker. She is the founder of Oxford Healthspan, a UK-based company, working with leading scientists to identify safe com...
Jan 27, 2021•43 min•Ep. 132
It is often said that it is never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle - never too late to incorporate more exercise into our daily routine or focus on a healthier diet, to reap the rewards as we age. In reality, a message that it is never too early to focus on our wellbeing and longevity, is equally important. Perhaps more so. Cathy Richards is an exercise physiologist and founder of Inspiring Vitality, an online coaching program focussing on the needs of people over 40. In this LLAMA podcast ...
Jan 19, 2021•37 min•Ep. 131
