TN50#167_Klotho – The Greek God of Brain Health_17 June_2024
Hi Team,
If you’ve been reading my articles for a while you know that I’m very interested in health span over life span, meaning I prioritize staying healthy so I can do the things I want to do rather than prioritizing living as long as possible. What’s really cool is that most things that promote a great health span also promote a longer life span – it’s a two-fer. You also probably remember that of all the 4 Horsemen, for me, cognitive related diseases like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are the scariest outcomes imaginable! So let’s talk about klotho!
Happy Monday and welcome to The Next 50 #167. I like to think of personal performance in 3 components: physical, mental and emotional. My frameworks focus on 4 Buckets: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think. This blog is my sandbox for sharing information that you might find useful for your personal performance. (Props to our photographer for the header pix)
Klotho (or Clotho) in ancient Greek mythology is the youngest sister of the 3 fates. Klotho spins the thread of human life. In biology, klotho is a protein produced in the liver. When it’s under expressed in mice they age and die prematurely. When klotho is over expressed in mice they live longer. (Hat tip: The Drive Podcast, is where all this klotho information came from)
Even more importantly, high levels of klotho are directly associated with enhanced cognitive function. If klotho studies and trials continue as they appear they might, klotho as a pharmaceutical therapy/intervention may be a key weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other dementia and CNS related diseases. Fingers crossed!
Of course, fingers crossed isn’t a great primary plan for maintaining cognitive ability, is it? I am hoping your next question is, “Is there anything I can do to increase the natural levels of klotho in my body now?” Because the answer is YES! There are a couple things we know about what increases and decreases levels of klotho in the body.
- Decreases klotho – Stress!
- Increase klotho – Movement, aka Exercise!
Surprise, surprise.
Actually, I’m not surprised, are you??? This same prescription rings true for all the 4 Horsemen: Cardiovascular disease, Cancer, Metabolic Disease and Diseases of the Brain! Across the board, decreasing stress, with better sleeping and thinking; and moving more, exercise and regular movement throughout the day, upregulates klotho, and also, minimizes disease threat from all 4 Horsemen!
If this topic is interesting to you and you want a lot more information on this topic please listen to Dr. Peter Attias’ podcast, The Drive, Episode #303, featuring Dr. Dena Dubal, here. Consider this article a teaser for the episode, I’ve literally scratched the surface of what information you’ll find when you listen to the entire podcast. You can also check out some of Dr. Dubal’s research, here.
I know some of you reading this have dementia related disease in your family tree, this podcast is definitely worth your time, IMO. Let me know if you’d like to discuss this with me, I’d be happy to jump on a call.
Who do you know that could use this information? I bet you can think of a couple of folks before you click the next email, so please share the post with your team and anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think!
Have a good one,
Alex
PS. Questions on your personal performance? Let me know at: alex@fpp.llc
PPS. If you’re new to First Principles Performance Coaching, here’s a one stop shop for my stuff.
PPPS. Ready to improve your Executive and Human Performance, email me so I can introduce you to my first ever Better Basics Group Coaching Program! alex@fpp.llc
