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The magic mushroom secret for slower aging, longer life
If you’re a child of the 1960s (or even if you’re not), you may be familiar with magic mushrooms, or “shrooms” as they were called back then.
They were a huge part of the drug culture of the 1960s and were especially known for psychedelic or hallucinogenic effects.
Who would have thought that the same chemical that produced powerful hallucinations might one day be found to help you live a longer and healthier life?
Not me, that’s for sure.
But ongoing research is showing this to be the case.
“Magic mushrooms” might just be the next weapon in the ongoing effort not just to live longer but to ensure those extra years are healthy ones…
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Psilocybin reduces oxidative stress and slows aging
“This study provides strong preclinical evidence that psilocybin may contribute to healthier aging — not just a longer lifespan, but a better quality of life in later years,” says Dr. Ali John Zarrabi, co-investigator of a study at Emory University in Atlanta.
Psilocybin is the active compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. When it is consumed, it forms a metabolite called psilocin.
Emory University researchers dosed 19-month-old mice — an age that in human years would correspond to between 60 and 65 — with psilocybin doses that ranged from 5mg to 15 mg over a 10-month period.
The treated mice lived 30% longer than untreated mice and also experienced better aging — including healthier physical traits like better fur condition and hair regrowth.
Psilocybin is known for its psychological effects, especially in regard to relieving depression and boosting the feel-good hormone, serotonin. But this research indicates that it also targets several key biological markers of aging, including reducing oxidative stress, enhancing DNA mechanisms and maintaining telomere length.
According to the researchers, these underlying cellular processes play a critical role in both aging and disease onset.
How do we explain this?
“Most cells in the body express serotonin receptors, and this study opens a new frontier for how psilocybin could influence systemic aging processes, particularly when administered later in life,” says Louise Hecker, PhD, senior author of the study and former associate professor at Emory University, where the work began and was funded.
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Not a fan of shrooms? You have choices
Dr. Zarrabi emphasized the importance of further research in older adults, as well as the well-documented overlap between physical and mental health.
“My hope is also that if psilocybin-assisted therapy is approved as an intervention for depression by the FDA in 2027, then having a better quality of life would also translate into a longer, healthier life.”
But until then, how do we increase our chances of living a long and healthy life?
For starters, just move. Switching to an active lifestyle at any point in adulthood has been shown to extend lifespan. And you control the dial on effort and benefits. The plan you’ll stick to is the one that will bring you results.
Eat the rainbow. This term was coined for a good reason: Colorful foods are rich in flavonoids that are linked to a disease-free, longer life.
Avoid foods that send aging into overdrive. Certain foods accelerate aging. You’ll find which ones here.
Take advantage of shortcuts that research shows can have a powerful effect on aging, including:
- Coffee: the healthy aging secret under our noses
- The vitamin that slowed biological aging 3 years
- Conquer inflammation, the link between unhealthy aging and a shorter lifespan
Lastly, just in case you need more convincing about the importance of movement, here’s a list of 40 things that can go wrong with your body and health if you don’t exercise at all.
Dr. Jesus Peteiro, the author of a 2019 Spanish study on exercise capacity (how long and how hard you can work out), sums it up for us: “Exercise as much as you can. Fitness protects against death from any cause.”
Editor’s note: What do you really know about stroke? The truth is, only 10% of stroke survivors recover almost completely, and all doctors can offer is what to do after a stroke occurs. That’s unacceptable considering 80% of strokes are preventable! Click here to discover how to escape The Stroke Syndrome: 5 Signs it’s Stalking You — Plus the Hidden Causes and Preventive Measures You’ve Never Heard About!
Sources:
Natural Compound Found in Mushrooms Delays Aging and Extends Lifespan, Study Suggests — SciTech Daily
Psilocybin treatment extends cellular lifespan and improves survival of aged mice — Nature Partner Journals’ Aging
By Joyce Hollman
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