C60, Zombie Cells & Reverse Ageing
Biohacking our way into long lasting health.
A little over a year ago, I began exploring how biohacking and AI may assist people in becoming healthy. Many of you kindly answered my survey and I would like to start this update with a huge thank you to all who have helped me better understand how they stay healthy. Over the last twelve months, I have been doing more research and more biohacking. I am now very excited to relay some of what I have learned. Some of it is simply mind-boggling, so bear with me until the end.
“TL;DR; In recent lab tests, C60 has been proven to extend the lifespan of rats by up to 90%. Giant lab rats (i.e. humans like myself) have been self-experimenting and some have reported signs of reverse ageing. Want to participate? Contact research@optimizing.health”
Lab rats that just wouldn’t die…
In 2012, Prof. Tarek Baati, and his team in Paris, set out to understand if prolonged ingestion of Carbon 60 fullerene (C60) would become toxic to lab rats. So three groups of 6 rats (10 months old, weighing 465 ± 31 g) were administered daily for one week, then weekly until the end of the 2nd month and then every two weeks until the end of the 7th month, by gavages (i.e. force-feeding with a tube leading down the throat to the stomach) with 1 ml of water or olive oil or C60 dissolved in olive oil (0.8 mg/ml), respectively.
At the end of the 7th month, the first rat from the control group (treated with only water) died from tumours in the abdomen. As rats are known to be sensitive to gavages, the team decided to stop treatment for all rats and observe their behaviour and overall survival.
The expected lifespan of this kind of rats is between 30 and 36 months. As illustrated in Fig. 1, by the end of the 28th month (by the age of 38 months old), all water-treated control rats were dead. At this time 67% of olive-oil-treated rats and 100% of C60-treated rats were still alive. By the end of the 48th month (by the age of 58 months old), all olive oil-treated rats were dead. At this time 100% of C60-treated rats were still alive!
The results of the study show that while olive oil treatment can lead to an increase of 18% of lifespan of treated rats, C60 in olive oil can increase it up to 90%, as compared to controls. From this study, the estimated median lifespan for C60-treated rats was 42 months but Prof. Baati and his team emphasise in their conclusion that the treatment lasted for only 7 months and was stopped when the first control rat died, and that longer treatment could have generated even longer lifespans…
What is C60?
C(60) is a macromolecule made up of 60 atoms of carbon in the form of a hollow sphere (kind of like a football). Also known as Buckminsterfullerene or buckyball, it was discovered and first manufactured in 1984 by Eric Rohlfing, Donald Cox and Andrew Kaldor using a laser to vaporize carbon in a supersonic helium beam. Kroto, Curl and Smalley were awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their roles in the discovery of buckminsterfullerene and the related class of molecules, the fullerenes. Buckminsterfullerene is the most common naturally occurring fullerene.
C60 is the largest object observed to exhibit wave–particle duality and it can withstand high temperatures and high pressures. It can be found in small quantities in soot and has been detected in deep space.
Fullerenes have been extensively used for several biomedical applications including the design of high-performance MRI contrast agents, X-ray imaging contrast agents, photodynamic therapy and drug and gene delivery.
Like with all carbon, hydrogen gas has a natural affinity towards C60 and a single buckyball can capture up to 6 positive hydrogen ions within its football like shell structure.
How can C60 help increase lifespan?
Once ingested, C60 acts as a sponge for hydrogen protons in the body. Due to its relatively small size, C60 can get inside cells and interact directly with mitochondria (the cell powerhouses).
As it travels through the outer membrane of a mitochondrion, C60 carries within its shell up to 6 captive hydrogen protons. Once it reaches the inner membrane of the mitochondrion, the protons are converted into hydrogen atoms and they, in turn, act as antioxidants protecting the mitochondrion and the cell from oxidative stress. Once the 6 protons have been released, C60 looses its positive charge and travels back to the outer membrane of the mitochondrion to absorb more hydrogen and repeat this process a few hundred times every second.
Oxidative stress greatly contributes to ageing. It occurs when there are more free radicals present in our cells than can be kept in balance by antioxidants. An excess of free radicals can do damage to fatty tissue, DNA, and proteins in our body. That damage can lead to a vast number of diseases over time including diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening of the blood vessels), inflammatory conditions, high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases (i.e Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s), and cancer.
It appears that by helping protect mitochondria and cells from oxidative stress, C60 helps the body achieve homeostasis (meaning everything is working as it should). Hence the longer lifespans.
But according to Kenneth Swartz, Owner and CEO of C60 Enterprises, LLC., buckyballs can also help increase lifespan by enabling the destruction of zombie cells.
Zombie Cells
In a healthy environment, cells and mitochondria send and receive messages to and from each other in the form of signalling proteins. For example, when a mitochondrion detects that its host cell is no longer healthy, it self-destructs and this causes a cascading process leading to the self-destruction of the cell (a process known as apoptosis). Apoptosis is also triggered when a senescent cell receives self-destruct signals from surrounding cells. When senescent cells die, they are replaced by new healthy stem cells that can become anything the body needs.
Under oxidative stress, free radicals can cause damage to nearby signalling proteins making it difficult for cells and mitochondria to communicate efficiently with each others. When senescent cells are no longer able to communicate efficiently, they attempt to survive longer than they should and become ‘zombie cells’. When this happens, less stem cells are being produced and the body ages more rapidly.
Ken Swartz explains that by helping protect signalling proteins from free radicals, C60 may enable reverse ageing through the prompt self-destruction of senescent cells.
Reverse Ageing?
Tell me how long your telomeres are and I’ll tell you how old you are.
A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences of nucleotides (DNA) found at each end of a chromosome. It protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighbouring chromosomes. Longest telomeres sequences are found in stem cells and each time a cell divides, its telomeres shorten. Once telomeres are too short, cells can no longer divide and become senescent. By looking at the length of telomeres, scientists can work out the biological age of the host.
Several of Ken Swartz’s customers, who have been taking C60 regularly for over two years, were told after having their telomeres tested that their biological age were much younger than their official age. Some of them up to 15 years younger.
And Ken’s customers aren’t the only ones reporting such amazing results. Max Champie and Phil Catalino from Live Longer Labs are both reporting much younger biological ages after using C60 in conjunction with fasting.
Optimizing Health
Discovering C60 a little over a year ago and finding out what it does and how it works has profoundly changed the way that I look after my health. I have come to understand that the best way to stay healthy is to proactively do all I can do to make sure that my immune system is working as it should so it can deal on its own with whatever life may decide to throw my way.
So for nearly 12 months, I have been taking C60 daily as part of a biohacking protocol aiming to optimize health through the combined use of diet, supplements, daily exercise, cold showers and fasting.
So far, after less than a year, I must say that I am extremely pleased with the results. At the age of 47, I feel and look healthier and stronger than ever before. A while ago, I dropped to and stabilised around my ideal weight. Throughout the day, I have plenty of energy and even my willpower and mental focus have strengthen. My eyesight, which had began to deteriorate two years ago, is nearly back to normal. I have not yet had my telomeres tested but I do intend to do so.
Today I am looking to recruit a small group of people interested in optimising their health over a 24 months research program using the same protocol I have been following. The program will start at the beginning of 2019, just in time to burn any extra calories from Christmas and NYE.
If you would like to register, please send an email to research@optimizing.health
Before applying, do remember that human consumption of C60 is still experimental and has not yet been approved by the Food & Drug Administration in the US or by any other similar organisation around the world. Biohacking is only for adults who understand risks maybe involved and are comfortable taking responsibility for their personal choices.
So if, like me, you don’t mind becoming a giant lab rat to test a health protocol; If the idea of boosting your health via the use of diet, supplements, daily exercise, cold showers and fasting resonates with you; If you are looking forward to having your telomeres tested at the end of the program, then do get in touch. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
And if this kind of program is not for you but you do happen to know people who maybe the perfect candidates, please do share this post with them.
Thank you.
Live Long and Prosper. :)
This article can also be found on LinkedIn.
