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 healthcare.

In this week's issue, we'll discuss how AI compressed years of aging research into weeks, a pill that could reverse Alzheimer's started human trials, and we learned GLP-1s might add 6.4% more years to American lifespans—which is breaking the entire insurance industry.

The GLP-1 Plot Twist: We're Living Too Long for the System

Ozempic and Mounjaro are Paradigm-Breaking for Businesses

Insurance companies are panicking because GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic might extend American lifespans by enough to literally break their business models.

New Swiss Re analysis says these drugs could reduce U.S. mortality by 6.4% over the next 20 years. That's potentially millions of extra years of life. Great news, right?

But here's the problem: The entire economy was built around people dying on schedule. Pension funds are sweating. One life insurance CEO literally said running his company "right before immortality is discovered is a good business!" Airlines are even calculating fuel savings if passengers weigh less.

The consumer behavior shifts are already insane. People on GLP-1s spend 6% less on groceries monthly. Junk food companies are in crisis mode. Alcohol sales dropping. But clothing rental is booming because people need new wardrobes every few months.

And here's the catch—this only works if people actually change their lifestyles long-term. Without sustained behavior changes, you regain the weight within a year of stopping. These aren't magic pills; they're tools that require follow-through.

We might need to rebuild society around people living longer, healthier lives. Not a bad problem to have, but definitely a problem for anyone running a business built in the obesity era.

But WHY Do GLP-1 Agonists Actually Work for Longevity?

It's not just the weight loss. The cardiovascular data is incredible as well.

These drugs reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, CV death) by 20% in people who don't even have diabetes. The FDA just approved Wegovy specifically for reducing cardiovascular events—first weight loss drug ever approved for that.

GLP-1 receptors are everywhere—heart, blood vessels, brain, fat tissue. When you activate them:

Direct cardioprotection: Better blood vessel function, reduced atherosclerotic plaque. Your arteries literally work better.

Massive anti-inflammatory effects: Fat cells produce inflammatory cytokines that drive autoimmune disease and cancer risk. Less fat = less inflammation = less disease. Studies show 10-20% reduction in heart failure, cardiac arrest, pneumonia, even dementia.

Systemic protection: One study in psoriasis patients (who have chronic inflammation) showed 78% lower risk of death and 44% lower CV risk on GLP-1s versus other diabetes drugs.

The benefits appear within months, way before significant weight loss. This suggests direct effects on inflammation, plaque stability, even brain circuits—not just dropping pounds.

The cardiology community now treats these as cardiovascular drugs that happen to cause weight loss, not the other way around.

When AI Became Smarter Than a Harvard Lab

Here's the thing about aging research: it usually takes years. Like, literal years to build a single aging clock, validate it, publish it. Rinse and repeat until you're too old to enjoy the longevity you discovered.

Not anymore.

Biostate AI just dropped something called K-Dense Beta that compressed an entire aging study from years into weeks. They partnered with David Sinclair at Harvard (you know, that guy who's basically Mr. Longevity) and built an AI that doesn't just analyze data—it actually runs entire research cycles.

Here's what they built: An aging clock with R² = 0.854 (that's scary accurate and the best on current benchmarks) that can predict biological age with a margin of error of just 4.26 years. But here's the wild part—it tells you when it's uncertain. Like, it'll flag when you're at a weird life transition or part of a population it hasn't seen much of.

That in itself is important; as a female and minority in most trials, a big pet peeve of mine are study results which are completely irrelevant for me.

The AI discovered stage-specific aging markers you've probably never heard of: CDKN2A/p16 (cellular senescence), AMPD3 (muscle wasting), MIR29B2CHG (rapid aging syndromes). And get this—your aging signatures change in waves, not jumps. It's not like you turn 40 and everything breaks. It's more like... biological surf conditions.

Why this matters: Every intervention trial, every drug development timeline just got faster. When you can measure biological age this accurately, this quickly, everything accelerates. We're not just using AI to help biology anymore—AI is the biologist now.

Also interesting: Last week, we discussed RetroBio's incredible progress developing drugs with OpenAI's proprietary models. K-Dense is using an agentic approach that connects mainly to Google's set of AI tools (Gemini 2.5 Pro, MedGemma, Co-Scientist).

Quick Hits Across Longevity

🥛 The 117-Year-Old's Yogurt Habit Maria Branyas Morera lived to 117 and researchers found her gut microbiome "mirrored that of an infant"—tons of bifidobacteria, super anti-inflammatory. Her daily routine? Three plain yogurts with live cultures. No added sugar, no fancy Greek varieties, just straight-up bacterial goodness. This lines up with other studies of centenarians that show associations with youthful microbial signatures. I'm not saying yogurt is the key to longevity, but... maybe pack some in your lunch?

🧬 Vitamin D Just Got More Interesting Reconfirmed VITAL trial results: 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D3 slowed telomere shortening by 140 base pairs over 4 years. That's like preventing almost 3 years of cellular aging. Omega-3s? Did nothing (although they're great for other things!). First large-scale proof that vitamin D actually protects your chromosome caps. (Before you go buy supplements, talk to your doctor about your levels first!)

🕑 Breakfast Timing Matters Harvard study linked later breakfast timing with higher mortality risk. Your circadian rhythm doesn't care that you're not a morning person—eating out of sync with your biological clock messes with your metabolic health. Sorry, brunch lovers (this is including me!).

Where You Can Find Me

I've got some cool events coming up where we can geek out about longevity in person:

🔥NYC Longevity Panel – Sept 28, NYC. This is a free panel so come join if you can squeeze in past the waitlist!

🎤 Ageless Evolution Summit – Oct 10, Silicon Valley. I'll be speaking First Principles Longevity in Mountain View. Come say hi! Use code DRLIN30 for 30% off your ticket.

⭐ DOC Longevity – Oct 12-14, Napa Valley. I'll be a DOC Fellow this year!

🌐 HLTH USA – Longevity Session – Oct 19–22, Las Vegas. Panel: “Death Becomes Optional.” I'm on stage with the CEO of Nestle Health Science and CSO of Niagen Biosciences. Use code 25HLTH_SPKG_250 for $250 off

Finally, NeuroAgeTx is offering the most comprehensive and science-backed brain aging package to The Longevity Letter readers at up to 61% off (affiliate link here).

The Bottom Line

GLP-1s are breaking society, AI is replacing PhD students, and we're about to start reversing brain aging in humans. All in the same week.

The convergence is the story. GLP-1 data shows inflammation might be the master switch for multiple diseases. AI tools like K-Dense just made aging research 100x faster. And RTR242 represents the first wave of drugs that could actually reverse aging cellular dysfunction.

The fundamentals still matter—you can't drug your way out of a terrible lifestyle. But the gap between "biohacker with unlimited resources" and "regular person with good healthcare" is shrinking fast.

Until Next Time,

Hillary Lin, MD

Co-Founder & CEO

​Care Core​

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