Leslie Kenny: Biohacking and spermidine for life-enhancement

01/27/21 • 43 min

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 compounds as nutritional supplements. In this LLAMA podcast conversation with Peter Bowes, Leslie discusses her own unique journey, as well as the science and life-enhancing potential of spermidine, a compound that has been shown to be vital to myriad bodily functions.

Recorded: January 19, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

This episode is brought to you by AgeUp, a new financial product that provides guaranteed supplemental income for people who worry about the financial impact of longevity. To find out more, visit Age-Up.com

Topics covered in this interview include:

Leslie's journey from Swiss banking to biohacking
Facing up to Lupus and a five-year life expectancy
One's own mortality and the limits of longevity
Pillars of preventative healthcare: sleep, movement , diet, friendship, family
Why your health is your wealth
Discovering the polyamine compound spermidine and establishing Oxford Healthspan
Where does the name spermidine come from and what is it?
The evidence for the benefits of spermidine - epidemiological studies and clinical trials
Is spermidine supplementation safe?
How do consumers make decisions about which supplements to take?
Living life with the promise of healthspan rather than lifespan
Disease prevention versus disease care
The lifestyle of a biohacker - sleep hygiene, good food, lowered stress

The Live Long and Master Aging podcast shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

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The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Recorded: January 19, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

Leslie's journey from Swiss banking to biohacking
Facing up to Lupus and a five-year life expectancy
One's own mortality and the limits of longevity
Pillars of preventative healthcare: sleep, movement , diet, friendship, family
Why your health is your wealth
Discovering the polyamine compound spermidine and establishing Oxford Healthspan
Where does the name spermidine come from and what is it?
The evidence for the benefits of spermidine - epidemiological studies and clinical trials
Is spermidine supplementation safe?
How do consumers make decisions about which supplements to take?
Living life with the promise of healthspan rather than lifespan
Disease prevention versus disease care
The lifestyle of a biohacker - sleep hygiene, good food, lowered stress

Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Previous Episode

Cathy Richards: Fit or frail at eighty-five?

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 interview with Peter Bowes, Cathy discusses her mission to encourage more people to take steps - even tiny steps - in their daily lives, to incorporate strength building activity into their routines. She also highlights the significance of deteriorating hearing for overall health and the likelihood that impaired hearing can lead to social isolation and loneliness.
Recorded: January 11, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

Adapting to a new way remote way of working out during and likely after Covid
Learning about the behavioral trail of very old populations and joining the longevity dots
The onset of frailty and the snowball effect of muscle decline
Implementing resistance training into exercise regimes to maintain muscle strength
Doing the bare minimum exercise to still realize significant result.
Small, step and changes that add up and make a difference over time
Persuading younger generations that it is never too early to think about being fit at 85.
Hearing loss and the impact on our quality life as we age
The stigma associated with hearing loss and dangers
The correlations been hearing loss and dementia.
Social isolation, poor hearing and loneliness.
Personal habits to live a healthy day
Sleep as a wellness trend

Support the show

Next Episode

Alison Weinlaeder: Melding mind and muscle

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 interview with Peter Bowes, Alison explains the science behind her novel approach to fitness. She also shares the challenges and rewards she enjoys through a startup focussed on helping people live longer and better.

Recorded: January 22, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

Why we should work on keeping the brain healthy and strong as well as the body
Working, as a speech language pathologist, with people who've experienced tragic and traumatic events
Pushing the brain outside its comfort zone
The challenged posed by virtual therapy for patients with severe brain injuries
Launching Cardiomelon in the midst of a pandemic
Isn't it just normal to forget things as we get older?
Empowering people through brain-focussed exercise
How gardening and walking can help boost brain performance.
Building a brain workout programme based on the concepts of rehabilitation - the principles of neuroplasticity
Why you've got to use it to improve it
Why just doing mental workouts, without always succeeding in a challenge, will improve brain health
Never too late or early to start.
Partnering with Hilarity for Charity with a mission to educate people in their 20s about poor health habits that could lead to Alzheimer's
The evidence to support combining cognitive and physical exercise
Learning how to think smarter, through visualization and habits
Being empowered to control brain health
The lifestyle habits that will determine how our lives will be like, decades in the future.
Future science-based research into the outcomes from Cardiomelon