Episode 148: Longevity for Artists: The Science of Staying Creative, Sharp & Energized with Alan Graves [DoNotAge.org]

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Honest Art Podcast Introduction

0:30Hi there.

Honest Art Podcast Introduction

0:30Are you an artist who's been painting for five years or less and you're wondering how you can get your art to that fine art status? Or maybe you're an artist who is looking for your voice and your signature style. And I'm here to tell you that's exactly why I created the Honest Art Workshops and we have them in gorgeous destinations all over the world. And in them we tap into you and to your voice. I only host a handful of them a year, three to five. So if you're interested in that, head to the link in the show notes to learn more.

1:03Welcome back to the Honest Art Podcast, everyone. I'm your host, Jodi King. And if you're an artist, you're listening to this and you're used to hearing all of these art tips and art business tips, you might be wondering what the hell is happening now on the Honest Art Podcast.

Guest Introduction

1:22Because the guest that we have has been so important in my life in the last three years, I think two to three years. And just like whenever I host a workshop, one of the things that people always say to me is, number one, how do you have so much energy? The next thing they say is, how does your skin look like that? I'm, I just turned 58.

1:54And, and, and, and the other thing is just like, like, I can't tell you what a difference this man in this organization has made for me. And so I'm not going to gatekeep it. I'm going to tell everybody why it is that, number one, I use what I use, what I do, what I do, and why every artist should be doing this.

Alan Graves Introduction

2:15So welcome my guest, Alan Graves of DoNotAge.org out of the UK. Hi, Alan. Hi, Jodi. Well, thank you for having me back. It's great to speak to you again one year on. Yes. So we, I got on, uh, Alan and I, um, got on the podcast a year ago and had a great conversation. Um, I'm, let me just give them a little bit of information about what I'm talking about, Alan, and then you can give a little bit of background about what you do.

2:50So, uh, so what had happened was, was a few years ago, I started, um, getting, uh, feeling really, first of all, really down. I wasn't sleeping, so that didn't help. My energy levels were tanking and I just have never been somebody that needs to nap. Um, but I could barely say wait past two o'clock. So I had no energy. Um, I had gained a good bit of weight. Um, like, just, you know, achiness, like all kinds of things.

3:24And, um, and I was listening to a, uh, longevity doctor out of Harvard. I won't go into all of that. And, uh, a few different people I saw in the longevity space were talking about do not age.org. And I looked into, um, the company and what I loved about it is this is not a supplement company. Um, I've taken supplements, spent a lot of money on them. They did absolutely nothing. And, uh, this is a, uh, re health research organization where a hundred percent of the profits go back into research.

4:01Anyway, I started taking some do not age products and the rest is history. It's just, it's absolutely, absolutely changed my life in every way.

Do Not Age Products

4:11Um, so Alan, uh, give us a little bit of information and background about what the difference between do not age and other, um, organization or supplement companies that are out there.

4:26Sure thing. Well, first of all, thank you for sharing that. It's the, it's the individual stories that, you know, really make me happy. And, uh, that's what it's all about our mission is to extend healthy lifespan for as many people as possible. And sometimes when you're looking at, you know, the millions of people we've helped across the world, it can just be numbers. And so the individual stories are actually the most important things and the most emotive as well. So thank you for sharing that. Um, and in terms of the difference between a research organization like do not age and a supplement company, I mean, there's many, but ultimately it's about conducting clinical trials.

5:07Um, the, the boring reality of health and science is that you need clinical research to prove that something works. And, you know, we, we do develop our own proprietary ingredients, but more important than that, you know, we don't borrow credibility. We put all of our ingredients through clinical trials in humans before they go on the market. Um, and what a supplement company tends to be, um, a marketing company essentially where they just slap a light on something and tell you it does something.

5:39And, uh, they'll use terms like science backed or our ingredients are studied. And what that means is that someone else has done science on those ingredients and they, you know, the ingredients you're getting in their supplements have nothing to do with the clinical trials that they're referencing. Um, whereas it's different with D-I-H. So you get NMN. Yes. God, I love NMN. We're going to talk about that in a minute. Love, love NMN.

6:09Yeah. You know that the exact product, the same one that you're buying has also been tested in humans. Well, one of the reasons why I am so passionate about this is because some of the most celebrated artists, uh, have really done their best work later in life. And also the artists that I work with are generally like 40 to 80, right? So we have, we have come off that, that time of our lives where we, we really felt invincible and now things are starting to change for us.

6:45But are there any, um, supplements that can help support physical energy and cognitive sharpness as we age, especially for, uh, women in that 40 to 80, um, and men too. I mean, look at you, if you guys are watching this on YouTube, I mean, Alan looks 15 and he's, he's almost 40. So anyway, um, that's, that's a, that's a whole different thing.

7:15I'm talking about cognitive sharpness and, uh, energy.

Supplements for Energy and Cognitive Sharpness

7:19Well, thank you. Um, I'll take the compliment, but there's absolutely, uh, supplements that can help. Um, and I think referring to what you said, you know, the reason that some of the best creative work can happen later in life is not despite aging. It's, it's because your experience compounds, all of the best things in life are compounding. Um, the, the problem is when your body and your brain can't keep up with what you, you, you want to do and what your mind wants to do.

7:52Uh, so that's what we're solving. That's, that's exactly what we're solving, you know, for physical energy. Uh, there's something called NAD in your body, which is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Um, basically it's a coenzyme, which is, uh, your viewers can think of it like a fuel. And so it's required for more than 400 different processes inside the cell. It's in every single cell of your body. And if you didn't have it, you would be dead very, very quickly. Wait, are we talking about NAD here?

8:24Yes, that's correct. Okay. Cause you said that real fast and it sounded like a foreign language. Okay, sorry. But we're really talking about boosting the NAD levels, right? And I think a lot of people are hearing about NAD and I can't wait for you to break this down because I know people that are like hearing about it. So they're taking NAD and I want to go, Oh, go to do not age. That's not the right way to do it. But, but I'm sorry to interrupt you, but you're talking about how that takes us, it starts

8:55to tank right in us, um, at certain points. And so it's so crucial to our energy level and cognitive development, right? That's right. So your NAD levels drop as you age, but quite significantly. So they actually start dropping in like mid twenties. And obviously it's only a small amount, but then it gets worse and worse and worse and worse. Um, and so by the time you hit 40, there's some serious problems. And of course it just continues to get worse.

9:26And when you get to 55, then you got to start taking naps and shit and like, where'd my energy go? That's why I love NAD so much. Which is, which is obviously not a problem for you as you just said, your 21st birthday. Um, but, uh, it basically, that drop in NAD levels directly impacts the, how your cells produce energy, which is obviously extremely important as you age.

9:57And it's linked to things like having to have it happen and all that. Um, now NMN, which you mentioned earlier is the most effective precursor to restore those levels. We cannot take NAD directly, uh, because the molecule is very large, but we can take direct precursor, which is called NMN. Uh, and that's as a supplement. And then your body turns it into the NAD that you need. And a good dose is a thousand milligrams. That's another good, uh, example of what's different between a supplement company and a health research organization.

10:27The supplement company will include a small amount, uh, and say, this contains NMN. So everyone goes, oh, I'm taking it. And then it turns out you're only taking 300 milligrams or something. You know, you need a good 1000 milligrams. So a full gram. Um, there's also things like COQ10, which is also known as ubiquinol. I know they all have these fancy names, but essentially, uh, that supports mitochondrial function. The mitochondria is how your cells make energy. So it's obviously especially important for women post-menopause because up until that

11:00point, estrogen has been helping to protect the mitochondrial function. And then once that estrogen drops, your energy falls off a cliff. Yes. There's other things as well, like various types of magnesium. There's a particular one called magnesium biglycinate, and that crosses the blood brain barrier and supports the neurons in the brain. Um, you have high molecular weight, hyaluronic acid. I know we spoke about this, you know, 11 months ago, 12 months ago, and it's very important

11:32throughout your body, but it is actually also important for the, for the brain because it's something called the extracellular matrix, which is like the space between the cells in the brain helps the cells talk to each other. And that's made up mostly of, uh, hyaluronic acid.

11:49Yeah, exactly. So it's not just joints. It's not just skin. Um, it looks like it can help with protecting against cancer as well. That's in animal models. Um, and now we know that it helps the brain as well, because there's so much of it in the brain. So yeah, I know we talked about this, but I loved the hyaluronic acid because yes, joints and all that, but all of the places in your body, especially as women that we used to have moisture, like my eyes, you know, and other places, um, it was like, I had to, when I would

12:24wake up in the morning and have to almost peel my eyelids off of my eyes because I was so depleted in moisture and now a little bit of hyaluronic acid every day. And I have, and everything is improved. Yes, exactly. Exactly. And so I think the key with the high molecular weight hyaluronic acid is that it helps, uh, mostly talked about through skin hydration, but of course it also hydrates other orifices,

12:55um, and eyes and things like that as well. So there's a lot of data, data on dry eye and vaginal dryness and it does help with all of those things. Uh, but again, you have to have it in the right form and the right dosage, which is super, super important. Yeah. Um, in terms of other supplements, I'd say one more that I would mention is called spermidine. Um, and that supports autophagy, which autophagy is your body's recycling pathway, basically. Right. And spermidine activates that because again, just like everything else, as you get older,

13:28your body is less good at doing the things it should do. Uh, and so that deep clean of cells, it also includes brain. So obviously that helps your brain function a little bit better. Hey, real quick while I've got you, I just want to tell you, I know that being an artist can be a lonely job and filled with self-doubt. So artists need other artists and we need painting techniques and the skills to sell our art along with it. So that's why I created the best membership group of artists on the planet called the

14:01Honest Art Society. And in it, you receive several coaching calls a month with me so that you can get your questions answered on business and on your art. You get monthly trainings from art techniques to marketing and business. You get exclusive art critiques as well as exclusive discounts on workshops and courses. And all of this is for only $47 a month and you can cancel at any time. So if you're ready to make your best art ever, along with a great community of amazing artists,

14:35I hope you'll join me in the Honest Art Society and you can find out more at the link in the show notes. So, I mean, I'm listening to you and I'm, and I've been taking them now for several years and I just, I never not take them. Like, I think that's part of the, the, the results that I'm getting is I'm super consistent. I take them every single day because I don't ever want to go back to feeling the way I did before and, and I also eat healthy and I also exercise.

15:06So I think that's important to note. You know, I don't, I think it's just a healthy lifestyle in general. It's going to help everything. But there, one thing I was going to say is that I take all of these things, but when you say it, I'm like, oh, now that just makes me want to continue to take them even more. But one thing that has come up, because when I, like I said, this usually happens at a workshop when people meet me in person and, uh, and they say, what are you doing?

15:38And so I will then gather my supplements in a bag and take them and say, line them up. And I think that kind of maybe scares people sometimes. Um, but you guys have just remedied this, right? You have now, rather than having all of these different individual, uh, supplement containers, tell everybody what you've done. I'm so excited about this. Yeah. So, uh, we actually started working on this, uh, 2024.

16:10So it's taken us a good while to make sure it was developed. And we were not quite sure that we could get everything to work together because in case things didn't work, uh, simultaneously. And so it's taken a hell of a lot more test testing than just the single ingredient. But in fact, I've just had mine today. So we put everything. Can I grab mine? Yes, please, please do. I'm so excited. We put everything you need into this one.

16:41I don't know if that's focusing on the screen. I don't know. I'll try mine too. Yeah. Yeah. We put it into, into one small pouch. Um, and so along with that, you also get a shaker as well. Yeah. Um, and so, yeah, like I said, I've just had mine. So, um, essentially you peel off the top of the pouch, pour it in, shake it up with some water and drink it. And it's tasty. I'm very, very particular about, you know, um, just artificial flavors and things.

17:15It doesn't have that artificial. Exactly. It actually tastes good. Yeah. So part of the, um, testing for this was, first of all, it's the first time we've had to make something taste good because everything else has been in capsules. So you don't taste the capsule. You just, you just drink it. Um, and so that was an interesting experiment for us. Um, and secondly, we obviously didn't want to use anything, uh, sort of artificial flavorings or anything that was bad. And so we had to use all natural things.

17:48Um, so yeah, there was a part of that that was a little bit difficult, but we overcame it. It's nowhere near as difficult as solving aging. So we were happy. Um, and yeah, we're very, very proud to put everything in here. It's quite bulky. It's quite thick. So obviously you will need to mix it with a decent amount of water. So I use 400 milliliters, which I think is like 12 ounces. Yeah. Um, and, and again, that all fits inside the shaker. Well, and I, I've, I put it in my large one like this, shake it up and I'll just drink it over the course of 30 minutes or, you know, whatever.

18:21And the morning it's easy. Sorry, I, I should have, I, I should have held up the do not age when I, I have, sorry.

18:31I'm not a very good ambassador. Listen, you can use whatever, uh, whatever shaker you guys want. Um, I, I, I've been taking this for the two years, uh, because obviously it's changed slightly over time. It didn't used to taste so good. We've changed the amount of things in there to make sure it's all perfect, but I've been taking this for two years and so these are brand new. So I've only just got this like two weeks ago, uh, before that I was just using a generic one. Um, but also with these, we, we've actually partnered with a company that makes them

19:02because we're going to be, you know, this is the future, um, of do not age. And so, because we're going to have so many million, millions of people taking this, we wanted to make sure that we weren't doing anything bad. So you'll notice it's, uh, made of metal. Um, and for every single one that is purchased by us, there's a kilogram of plastic removed from the ocean. So we're hoping to make a big difference. That's amazing. Um, so, uh, when I've, when I've had people and I've had a lot of people, um, as you know,

19:36um, by do not age products that with amazing results. But one of the things that they say is like, I don't know, I don't know which ones to take, you know, cause that's, that's, what's going to happen after this. Everyone's going to say, what are you taking? What are you taking? Because it seems like every product you offer is important. Um, and so that's the thing about this is that you put, you know, it kind of narrows that down. It's like, you can grab these. But one thing I want to point out, um, that, uh, you told me about last year that I was not

20:10taking is creatine. And, um, so creatine is not in, in not, it's not in, in these packets. Is that correct? Yeah, that's right. So this is about nine grams. And so what we tried to put into here is all the most, uh, powerful ingredients that you usually quite expensive as well, because we're trying to make this more affordable. Um, and of course, if the, if there's a gram of it needed or 500 milligrams or whatever

20:43it is, then you can fit them all together with creatine. Uh, I mean, this is nine grams and the, the minimum amount of creatine you want to take a day is 10. So there's just no way we could fit that inside. Yeah. Well, but I was going to say like, don't sleep on creatine because I was having, um, trouble remembering all kinds of things. I think that's just probably, you know, the menopausal brain, but, or an ADD, uh, but it was so significant that we, I have a team meeting every week and I was really having trouble

21:16remembering anything that we had said the previous week. And, uh, I didn't want to tell any of my, uh, team members because that I was just embarrassed by it, honestly. And, uh, when we talked last, you mentioned creatine and within a month, I, I was on my calls and I was like on fire. Remember we said this, remember we said that I'm like, who am, what has happened to who am I? And then I realized I had added creatine to it.

21:47And so it, it really works. And, uh, I don't know if you can speak to this. A lot of artists are, we are, are ADD, uh, which is amazing because that neurological difference helps with our creativity. But I have heard recently that, um, that we, because of our neurological difference, that we have less creatine than other people. And so creatine really does affect us in a positive way more.

22:18I don't know if that's true or not, but. Well, I can't, I can't speak to knowing that science, to be honest, but I think what we have seen with creatine over the past year is further data on boosting memory. It's also further data in terms of dosage. You know, some people are taking like 30 grams a day. Um, but I think the, the common train of thought now is that five grams, which used to be recommended, isn't enough.

22:49Yeah. And so most people, most people require at least 10 grams. That's what I take. And again, I put mine, I just think mine here and mix it, it makes it at the same time as I do too. So, yeah, it's so, so easy. Um, okay. So I hope people are still with us because, um, this, I really do believe this is so important for us as artists, because I think our work is always, our best work is always ahead of

23:20us, but we've got to have the stamina. We've got to have the energy. We've got to have the desire. And sometimes just when you're not feeling well, or you're not feeling at your best, the, even the desire to create is diminished. So this is why I believe so fully that this is a way to support artists. Um, but looking ahead, Alan, um, what's one longevity intervention that you think could

Future of Longevity Interventions

23:50become more mainstream in the next decade? Is there anything out there that you're really excited about that you guys are learning about?

24:02I mean, I think for the next decade, it's, it's going to be this, this is, you know, um, this was launched very, very, very recently, a couple of days ago. And, you know, it shows up to your door every day. It's very easy to take. Uh, it's got consistent, consistency built into it so that people don't forget to take it. Uh, it's clinically proven to work in humans. We know it raises any D levels, obviously been through safety tests and, um, in trials for reversing biological age. And you mentioned menopause earlier.

24:34It's actually, we have a huge ongoing study looking at the menopause too, because the ingredients inside here, there's things like resveratrol, uh, sulforo boost, which resveratrol has been seen individually to help with sort of pain and hot flushes. Uh, sulforo boost has helped menopausal women improve their mood and sleep and, uh, also the dryness of certain orifices, um, and their vitamin D, vitamin C, magnesium, all these things that we already know do help. And so they're all together alongside a trial of CERC-activated NMN.

25:08Um, and so we're actually, we think this is going to be a big game changer for menopause. So I think, yeah, for the next, for the next few years, at least it's going to be this. Um, and then, and then after that, I believe maybe 15, 20 years down the line, we're going to be looking at epigenetic reprogramming, which I don't want to confuse anyone too much, but it's, it's basically something called the Yaman Acker factors. And the idea is that every cell starts out as a stem cell.

25:39So like an embryonic cell that is perfect and, but it doesn't know what type of cell it's going to be, whether it's going to be an eye cell or a liver cell or a brain cell. And then your body tells it which cell it's going to be. And so it knows that information and then over time it loses that information. And so it can do it. It doesn't do its job as well. So what they're trying to do is reverse the cells back, not all the way to the embryonic stage, because then they don't know what they are, but to the one stage before that, where

26:11they know what they are, but they're perfect at it. Um, so that will basically be like, yeah. So that will be the ultimate where, you know, you just go to your doctor once a year, get an injection and it's done. Um, and yeah, I think that the positive estimates for that are about 20 years. So, you know, until then we have the next best thing, which is here. Um, and of course the better health you keep yourself in for now, the easier it will be

26:41for those doctors down the line. For sure. For sure. Okay. So, um, I, we can't go without, um, uh, talking kind of at a surface level, no pun intended, but, uh, can we talk about skin? Because, you know, 58 and I, uh, it's like things are happening that I just wish they weren't, but they are. But one thing that I hear, uh, you know, my, my daughter just arrived a few days ago and one of the first thing, you know, she's, she, she lives in LA, I live in Austin.

27:14So she arrived at the first thing she said is mom, your skin looks amazing. Um, and, uh, so if, and I do hear that at, uh, at workshops and things when I meet people in person. So for those of us who are interested in skin, you already mentioned hyaluronic acid, but what are some other things that you might recommend for, for us? Yeah, I think to be honest, the eye molecular hyaluronic acid is the most important. That's going to have the biggest difference.

27:45So again, there's clinical evidence. We know that taking the orally as a supplement, uh, reduces wrinkles and increases the hydration of the skin, which is what gives it like that plumpness of the globe that people talk about. Yeah. You are the living proof of this, thankfully. Uh, and again, it's, it's something that we have included in here. So it's, it's all about just trying to make it as easy as possible. So that the whole solution is simple for people because everyone's busy. Um, most people get pretty scared when you show them 15 different supplement pots.

28:20Uh, and I think one of the cool things that the, so the research side and how it actually works inside the body, that's, that's all my department. And I'm dealing with the scientists in the laboratories around the world to, to make those things happen. Um, but what the actual team at, at do not age dog have done is when you get this, you actually also get something called a box for life. And so it's like this really cool looking sleek box that sits on your kitchen counter on like the worktop in the kitchen.

28:52So that not only does it look nice, but it also means you don't forget to take it. And so everything is, is built in about consistency. Um, I think that what happened was they, there was around about 60 to 70% of the people that were using do not age dog would come back again and again and again. And the question was, where are the other third of the people? What's wrong with them? And so we tried to, we tried to email them and didn't get anything back. And so then it was like, okay, let's call them. So we did it, we did a, we had a whole team ringing them and said, Hey, just want to make

29:24sure what happened. And 99% of them said, Oh, I bought it. I put it in the cupboard and I didn't take it. It's like, well, listen, we, I can make the single, and I do make the single best supplement in the entire world. But if you do not take it, it will not help. Um, and so, yeah. And so consistency was built into this one. It's the same thing that we see with the skin. So if you take this day in, day out, as you do, you get great results like you've got.

29:58Um, if you're inconsistent with it, it's just not going to work as well. That's so true. Consistency is everything. Um, well, I, I talk to you guys maybe once a month or so, or once every other month. And I'm so passionate, um, about telling everybody I know, uh, about your products, because most of my friends are around my age, sometimes a little older, sometimes a little younger. And, uh, every, all of my friends are on the products now.

30:29Um, and they're, they're very happy with it. But, uh, for other, for other listeners who want to learn more about, uh, do not age, um, and your products, what's the best way, um, to get started or to learn more about you? Do you have any social media handles? Should they just go to your website?

30:51We probably do have social media handles. I'm not, I'm not the person that handles that, so I'm sorry. Uh, they even started a page as me. So there is a me page out there somewhere. Okay. Just to help you out. I'm going to help you. I'm going to help a brother out here. All right. Yeah. Dude on age does have an Instagram. And, and I also follow Alan Graves on Instagram, just in case Alan is also a, a, a fighter. What do you kind of, what, how do you, what do you call that?

31:21I'm a boxer. I do boxer. Boxer. Sorry. I thought that was an easy one. That was, could have probably figured that one out. That's okay. Anyway. So I always like to, to follow Alan and to, uh, see how his, his boxing is coming along and spoiler, he wins, he wins everything. So, um, anyway, so you can follow them on social media, but what is the, what is the website? So easy. Cause to roll it into your name. Yeah. So do not age.org is the website. Um, I'm sure there'll be a link somewhere in your.

31:53We will put all the links in the show notes. Yeah. And just to be clear, it's do not age.org. So, um, there's no confusion. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That's right. A hundred percent of our profits go back to aging research. And so whilst, you know, we put tons of effort and funds into this, there's also lots of other things being done in the background, like we mentioned, epigenetic reprogramming. There's something called blood transfusions, which is where you take the young blood of

32:25an animal and give it to all the different type of animal. Um, so we're, you know, we're investing in all these types of things just to try and find ways to reverse the aging process. And so, yeah, that's my, my, uh, job is certainly very interesting because I get to deal with all these different things. Uh, but on the consumer side, like I said, this is, this is the real game changer because it's now affordable for everyone. It's very consistent. It's very easy. Um, and even if people just want to take it to look amazing like you do, um, then I'm

32:57happy with that because I know in the inside there, uh, that's where the real work is happening. All the good stuff is happening on the inside for sure. Well, I can't thank you enough, Alan, for, uh, for starting Do Not Aged. It's absolutely changed my life and the lives of people I love. And even, you know, artists, uh, around the world who have started and truly around the world that have started taking, um, your products. So thank you. Thanks for what you're doing for, for humanity. I really appreciate it. And especially for artists.

33:29I'm trying my best. Well, now I just want all of your audience to go out there and make some incredible art that Jodi's going to share with as well as she can. Sounds great. All right. Thanks so much. Uh, you guys go to the show notes, check out, uh, Do Not Age, and you can thank me later. All right. Until next time, take good care of yourselves and each other. Peace out.