Hi Reader, The bowhead whale lives over 200 years, weighs 200,000 pounds, and almost never gets cancer. These whales don't kill damaged cells (what we previously thought was the "right" thing for longevity)—they repair them with extraordinary precision. This week I'm covering three studies key for any longevity enthusiast: Why your fitness tracker might be misleading you (and what actually matters) How bowhead whales repair DNA damage that would kill us Why menopause represents the biggest...
7 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, At the Ageless Evolution Summit, I asked the packed room full of health optimizers: "How many of you are wearing a smart watch or ring?" Dozens of hands went up. But far fewer could say that they're sleeping, eating, or moving healthily, consistently. This is the problem. We're obsessed with biohacking while ignoring the foundational actions that actually move the needle. Here's the framework I shared during my keynote (and it is not everything I would recommend for longevity—but...
16 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, Scientists just cracked the code on why naked mole rats live 10x longer than other rodents. Your microbiome is forever impacted by not only antibiotics, but even common meds like anti-depressants (SSRIs) and heartburn relief (PPIs). While it's conference season (more on this later), the science world has not been resting—with more discoveries than ever in our quest to live longer, better. Announcing: Quality Health Creators – I've started a community for health content creators who...
21 days ago • 5 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, The FDA just approved the first mitochondrial drug in history. And new research explains why your NAD+ supplements might not be working. Both stories point to the same thing: the longevity industry has been thinking about mitochondrial health wrong. Last week, was on a panel with Dr. Bhargav Sanketi - Sr. Scientist @ Altos Labs and Dr. Veeral Mehta - Investor @ LifeX Ventures, moderated by Mansi Hukmani of...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, Surprise! The world's oldest woman had some of the shortest telomeres on record. Meanwhile, researchers just proved your water bottle might be better stress medicine than your meditation app. And Eli Lilly wants you to swallow your GLP-1 instead of injecting it (spoiler: it comes with extra nausea, but worth it?) Master marketers or all looking the same? Wellness/longevity design is starting to take on an eery...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, While you were probably thinking about pumpkin spice season coming up *way* too soon, here's what's been happening in longevity: The heart scan announcements from Function Health and Fitnescity Health are the latest from consumer longevity There's apparently a sauna gold rush happening (8+ centers within 5 minutes of each other in my neighborhood) My thoughts on how longevity really is much more wellness than...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, Longevity is evolving. Apple just dropped a bunch of new devices, and said the word "longevity" out loud. That's both exciting and scary—the adolescent consumer wearables market a la Oura, Whoop, Polar, Ultrahuman can expect Goliath to eat up more and more of their share. This past week, I was on a successful panel sharing about women's longevity with PhD founders Estelle Giraud and Amy Divaraniya, and...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, While you were grilling last Labor Day weekend, scientists were busy rewriting the boundaries of human life. In the same week: AI reprogrammed cells 300x better than Nobel Prize-winning biology, researchers declared we’ll probably never live past 100, and another lab extended mouse lives by 73%. And did you know that the average doctor's longevity stack is 7 items? See the survey highlights below. I'll be...
2 months ago • 4 min read
The Longevity Letter Longevity & Health Insights By Dr. Hillary Lin, MD Hi Reader, Shared my thoughts on the three toughest truths we must face in longevity today: We can't extend maximum lifespan (yet!) Anti-aging falls into a regulatory loophole Most evidence in the field is garbage I was also on the Livelong Media podcast for those of you who like listening—it's a fast-paced episode covering different things to focus on for longevity with each decade, and what I think about the more exotic...
2 months ago • 5 min read