One reason that there is still so much uncertainty in anti-aging medicine is that we can’t do experiments on humans the way we do on mice. So we are grateful for a few human guinea pigs who put their own bodies on the line as early adopters. There is the Caloric Restriction Society, people who are losing weight in the hope of gaining years. There is an on-line community of people experimenting with Buckyballs in olive oil (this may sound like a joke if you haven’t read about it before).
And then there is Jim Green of Wichita, KS. Since 2007, Jim has been pursuing experimental strategies and claims to have set his body clock back by 15 to 20 years already. The core of his program is telomerase activation herbs, particularly astragalus, taken in much larger quantities than the label recommends. Jim has quite a story to tell, and this week I have interviewed him, an exclusive for ScienceBlog.
(You can read more about Jim’s career here and his anti-aging program here.)
What gave you the idea that growing younger was possible?
According to the telomere position effect data I saw early on back in 2007, telomere length impacts youthful gene expression, and gene expression is more youthful the longer the telomeres are. Furthermore, since 1998 it has been realized that senescent cells can often be restored to the youthful phenotype by transfecting them with a virus that improves hTERT transcription and boosts levels of telomerasee in the cell. In 1998, Michael Fossel published an article on this in the Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine (now Rejuvenation Research). [Another Fossel article -JJM] So there were definite grounds for optimism that lengthening telomeres with telomerase could result in rejuvenation transformations.
On the other hand, as telomeres got shorter, patterns of gene expression became more elderly and the likelihood of the onset of diseases of old age increased, according to many scientific studies. For instance, microglial cells in the brain that clean up amyloid beta plaque leading toAlzheimer’s disease fail when they become senescent. If senescence in the microglial cells (derived from hematopoietic stem cells) could be prevented, then Alzheimer’s disease due to the onset of senility might also be prevented. Similarly, when the lining of the vascular endothelium becomes senescent, it becomes more adhesive to monocytes and more likely to develop atherosclerotic plaque leading to attacks or strokes. So taking small molecule telomerase activators effective at increasing the telomere length of components of the blood was a very good bet for effective life extension. Similarly, when dermal fibroblasts go senescent, they begin to attack the extracellular matrix, producing wrinkles. This does not happen at once to all of the fibroblasts, but gradually in a way that produces more and more defects in the extracellular matrix behind wrinkles. Thus a telomerase activator effective on dermal fibroblasts should prevent observable signs of old age such as wrinkles.
When did you start your program? What was your program in the beginning?
I started taking telomerase activators on May 1, 2007, after reading material on TA-65 from TA Sciences. I also had an exchange with Greta Blackburn of TA Sciences in which she emailed me promising results obtained by using TA-41, an astragalus extract which they believed would be similar in effect to TA-65.
At first I expected to be able to set back my telomere clock by up to 8 or 9 years per year, but subsequently revised this to about 5.1 years per year.
The astragalus extract actually finally turned out to work rather better, in fact, than TA-65.
I was also reading Life Extension Magazine since 2004, so I was familiar with supplements recommended by LEF to prevent diseases of old age, such as acetyl L-carnitine with alpha lipoic acid for mitochondria, L-arginine as a nitric oxide booster for rejuvenating the vascular endothelium, anticancer supplements such as garlic and ginger and turmeric, and so forth.
At first I took astragalus extracts such a Solaray Astragalus Extract, and tried GAIA Herbs astragalus extracts. Later, I got the idea of using colostrum skin creams for telomerase activation. However I seem to have used astragalus extracts both orally and on my skin in the beginning. This was done for two weeks before switching to a telomerase-inhibiting anticancer phase of treatment for the next two weeks, when I took medicine like curcumin, which is anticancer. If my telomerase activators tended at all to encourage cancer, I was going to squelch that every monthZin November 2009 I presented a short description of my program here For 2 1/2 years, I had relied primarily on astragalus extract for telomerase activation. However, I also got 5 grams of arginine per day to improve my nitric oxide levels and improve the length of endothelial progenitor cell telomeres. By June of 2009 I concluded after studies of Vida Institute literature that 33 grams/day of astragalus root would serve as well or better than the 5 mg/day of astragalosides from astragalus extract that I computed I was taking. So I switched from pure astragalus extract like TA-41, which worked fine according to Greta Blackburn at TA Sciences, to astragalus root in capsules from NOW FOODS. However, I was still applying astragalus extract directly to my scalp.
[Editor’s note: Astragalus is a woody root which can be found in Chinese groceries for about $10/lb. Traditional use would be to boil strips of astraglus to make a tea. -JJM]
What is your supplements regimen at present? Is it still evolving?
I have posted a short summary of my present program and photo news here. It is still evolving, and by now I have 173 items at least on my list of telomerase activators that I am exploring. The numbers of the activators chronicle the order in which I found them in the literature, or were tipped off to them by other investigators, except for sub-items, which I have sometimes found more frequently.
I have continued a four-week cycle featuring telomerase activators for two weeks followed by anticancer telomerase inhibitors for two weeks. I do things that permit cells to recover from the senescent state that are a little unusual now: I use folic acid in my colostrum solution with an amphipathic alcohol to improve absorption (rubbing alcohol = isopropyl alcohol). [Isopropyl alcohol is moderately toxic. – JJM] I take carrots and exercise to inhibit P16INK4A, which can stop senescent cell recovery.
I have many ideas about medicine I would like to include, such as tocotrienol-rich fraction. [These are chemical cousins of vitamin E derived from grains -JJM] For bodybuilding, I take whey protein and creatine monohydrate, although I am not attempting a championship program. I can more easily resemble a gymnast.
Besides supplements, what are you doing to stay young?
Exercise improves circulation in the brain, elevates nitric oxide levels that dialate vessels, and provides numerous growth factor telomerase activators that can be separately enhanced by various nutraceuticals. So I work out with weights, about 6 sets per muscle, using a split routine that takes 3 or 4 days. This might be dangerous to a person with too much atherosclerotic plaque, or someone with glycation stiffening in the veinous system from high levels of sugar from ice cream. However, it tends to lower triglycerides and improve the lipid profile, and also to improve confidence and mood.
I take a slice of Swiss cheese often to get a higher vitamin K2 level to avoid calcification of the arterial system and aortic stenosis.
In what ways do you feel younger than 7 years ago?
May 2007 was my starting date, and we are now approaching May 2014. I would say that my confidence has improved that we can finally master aging, although there is still a fair amount of suspense involved. My physical condition oscillates somewhat, and is subject to minor perturbations. I work to get leaner in the Spring, like most people, and my self-image improves then. I look better in photographs, although I invariably puff up a bit in the Winter. In the Summer I can do pull-ups on outside chinning bars, and I get more V-shaped. In general, I seem to look somewhat better to myself in photographs an I did 7 years ago. Last Summer I did 130 pushups, which was an all-time record for me. I am hoping that it will go back up to that this summer.
I notice you pay attention to appearance as well as health. Do you think there’s a connection between anti-aging skin treatments and longevity? Or a psychological effect whereby looking younger helps you to feel younger and programs your mind to live longer?
I could dress better to improve my appearance, but my funds vanish into supplements. Wrinkles are definitely symptomatic of the formation of senescent cells which begin to excrete factors that attack the extracellular matrix and weaken it. A weaker extracellular matrix leads to more than cosmetic problems, eventually, and less resistance available to UV radiation from the sun. So keeping the skin healthy and young is very important for survival as well as for image. Skin cancer kills. Thin skin and failing veil cells around veins can produce bleeding, finally, perhaps even dangerous internal bleeding.
Of course, looking younger creates a sense of optimism about what may be possible, and helps reinforce a positive attitude.
What evidence do you have that your body is really younger?
Unfortunately, I was unable to do measurements of my blood component telomere lengths because of funds could not be mobilized in time. Therefore, about all I have is my collection of photographs online. There are many measures of aging and senescence that may be applied to the problem of measuring the effect when funds are available. See http://www.greenray4ever.com/lifexmortality.html .
———-
* I wish I could say, “Testing experimental drugs on unsuspecting humans is off the table, out of the question, never done.” The truth is that it is not as exceptional as we might wish. And the institutions that resort to surreptitious experimentation are usually up to no good. [MK-Ultra, Nazis, antibiotics to children, Tuskegee syphilis experiments]
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A very interesting article, thanks to Jim and Josh for sharing. Though Jim clearly seems to be a guy who knows what he is talking about, proof, evidence is really, really thin and I wonder what to get from this article. Whether Jim’s condition actually improved is basically related to his looks. Well, that is imho not that much, since we all no how much photos can lie (though I do not want to imply at all that Jim does). Apparently Jim started to work out in 2007. So it could very well be that his felt progress is just due to his exercise routine.
Well, as I said, thanks for sharing anyway.
Jan – I agree completely. I have not met Jim, and we don’t know how reliable his reporting is, let alone whether his case is generalizable. But perhaps these ideas will inspire some people to investigate further and to do some experimentation of their own.
While I have much respect for Jim’s endeavour, I can’t help but noticing that his 2007 photo is sharp and crisp, while all of his later “age reversal” photos – without a single exception – are extremely blurred and low-quality. Coincidence?
Jim Green is a scientist. His work was the ONLY fully documented, laboriously referenced work of its kind. Everyone in the scientific community and early pioneers in anti aging regard Dr. Green with the highest respect. We are extremely lucky to have him sharing his documentation.
The only 2 things that I’ve found that bring about dramatic results are:
the raw food diet
drinking a lot of water
Well, the 3rd thing is avoiding anything inflammatory.
Raw food makes my hair go back from grey to brown again. Alcohol, wheat, sugar and caffeine make the hair grey hair. Both happen quite quickly.
Just my observations.
I HAVE IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT AND ASTRAGALUS IMPROVED MY HEART RYTHEM. THE CARDIOLOGIST SAID THAT AT THIS TIME MY IRREGULAR HEART BEAT IS JUST SLIGHT AFTER TAKING ASTRAGALUS EXTRACT PILLS. IT SEEMS TO BE AN EVEN BEAT WHEN I CHECK MY PULSE RATE ON MY WRIST. I’M NOT SURE IF IT WOULD WORK FOR EVERYBODY W/ RREGULAR HEARTBEAT LIKE THAT BUT IT SURE WORKS FOR ME. YOURS;
RAY MCKINZIE.
There are different kinds of irregular heartbeat, with different causes and prognoses. To some extent, irregularity of hearbeat is a positive sign of good health.
WebMD says “Arrhythmias can be an emergency or they can be harmless.”
HELLO JOSH;
I STLL FOUND OUT OVER THE NET THAT ASTRAGALUS WAS RESEARCHED BY THE CHINESE AND THAT IT DOES IMPROVE THE RYTHEM OF THE HEART AND STOPS THE CAUSE OF IRREGULAR HEART BEAT.
MY HEALTH FOOD STORE RECCOMENDS IT TO THEIR CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE I.H.B. I WOULD RATHER GO BY CHINESE RESEARCH THAN SOMEONE ELSES’ OPINION THAT NEVER MADE ANY RESEARCH ON IT.
I used to have heart fibrillation,and it was scary. My heart seemed to skip, and my doctor said that every second beat was premature according to tests. But no doctor told me what to do about it.
I now take DHEA and it stopped and I am normal again, and so happy! I got the idea from Dr. Jonathan Wright from the Tahoma Clinic in the State of Washington, when I read his papers..
Great post and experience. I am a defensor of anti aging methods because are proven. Vitamins and supplements can change lifes. I try help more people in portuguese language with a website: http://www.vidalonga.org Thanks for yours tips and point of view.
I’ve started with Silymarin (“Siliphos” milk thistle phytosome) and Suo Yang (Cynomoricum songaricum extract) for Telomerase activation. I have noticed that the published study on TA-65 didn’t see much of an effect for “younger” folks under 50, and it’s expensive.
I’ve used NOW Astragalus root capsules but I guess the dosing was way too low for any benefit.
For maintenance I trust 50mg Tocotrienol and the more experimental MgAscorbate (around 100mg), both at night time to avoid interference with other vitamins.
I also follow a ton of other anti-aging strategies and did a baseline Telomer length determination, I hope I can do one every 5 years.
Really interesting reading what you did with astragalus. My family owns a Chinese herbal medicine store in Canada and unfortunately astragalus doesn’t get the press it deserves since people only tends to know about ginseng. I didn’t have time to read everything you wrote but have you ever try ‘cooking’ with either astragalus or other Chinese herbs? Not sure where you’ve been buying astragalus from but it certainly ain’t $10 a pound any more!!
In my local Chinese grocery, there are slats cut from the root, which you boil to make tea. $10/lb.
There is an webpage in nature from 2012 about an employee of the company that produces TA65 taking out a lawsuit because he felt this astragalus extract gave him prostate cancer, initially interested in taking this but story’s like this are scary
http://www.nature.com/news/lawsuit-challenges-anti-ageing-claims-1.11090
To what do you attribute the darker hair? Atragalus? Sesame oil? The only me
ntion I saw in one picture was that you said “sesame oil in my hair, no dye.” If so, that’s great. My hair started to go grey and thin in front. Just realized it is happening and I reaaaally don’t like that look, so I’m looking to fix that.
Atragalus is one of the few supplements I don’t take, I will include a link to what I am doing, Please feel free to comment.
http://www.vitamindprotocol.com/admin-s-personal-protocol.html
Anyone know what happened to Jim Green? There appears to have been no updates to his website in quite a while. I’m interested to see how his progress is going!
Could be his funds dried up (this regime is expensive). . Could be, that while all this was effective, he was side swiped by another malody or tragedy.
In any event, we are looking for his retrospective conclusions and recommendations. . Kinda need a second man to write the ending if the main guy dies.
Also, if Jim decided to quit (wife, job, got tired of any aspect), please, Jim just give us your thoughts on what you think works best.
I took astragalus in non extract form for 6 months. I contracted worst chest cold of my life during last 2.5. So, it did zero for my immune, probably zero for my dna. . I am wondering how it may have affected my sugar level, because my gut was telling me that it may have altered my metabolic feedback or system. . Just didn’t verify this. . Definitely won’t take the stuff for immuno reasons.
Thanks Dojo. I have sent him a brief message asking if he might be so kind as to give us an update. I will let you know if I receive a response
There is a picture of him that is allegedly taken at his 68th
birthday (May, 2017) at this site. http://www.north1967.com/class_profile.cfm?member_id=7753453
Scroll down a bit and you will find it.
If it`s legit, he`s doing well. I have no idea why he doesn`t update his webpage anymore.
If you go 4 posts below that picture, you’ll read
“For two months before taking the photo I took Life Extension skin-restoring phytoceramides, which often helps us develop a youthful look.”
..which doesn’t mean asparagus is not working good for him.
I was very impressed by your blog and have continuously done the same as you with my body, adding herbs/herbal nutrients for extended periods of time as well as stopping their uses on occasion to determine how long effects of going without took before I would feel like I was beginning to feel less energy and deterioration of my libido. My only setback is my control of appetite is testy at times. I do feel the differences in my energies are now more pronounced with change in diet along with astragalus and other herbs as I age. I am continuously looking for ways to improve my overall health and in the long run have everything to gain and little to lose.
I took astraglus for 6 months during the winter 2015 to spring 2016, with 2 kids in elementary school and one in middle school. As usual, I had to fight off a new bateria based cold every two weeks, brought home from the petri dish from overcrowded children in the school. I cheat by flooding my sinus with a nasal neosporene, a home brew antibiotic, with chloroseptic for irritation numbing. In early cold stage, I can knock out a cold with one dose. Allowing it to drip from sinus to throat, I can knock out any sore throat in 12 to 36 hours, 100 percent of the time in 12 to 36 hours, even strep (back in 2006).
However, if neglected and in my lungs, I have only my immune system. In the spring of 2016, with tons of astragalus I continued with worst chest cold of my life that lasted 3 months. I don’t pretend to go to doctor, since doctors will NEVER offer anyone antibiotics unless you have high end insurance.
The immune system and aging seem linked. So, I am skeptical of astagalus for aging. Also the company that patented the extract only patent is for the extraction. They only claim a weak teleomere effect, and this extract is hundreds of times more powerful than the powder.
Though as minoxidil and viagra was developed for one use and finds another, so may be astragalus. I suspect its real use may be in sugar regulation, not antiaging, since this seemed to be the only slightly noticeable effect I suspected as real.
Now there is a company that will check your telomeres for 90 bucks. Look forward to learning your results!
Hello, yes the cost was why I didn’t try Cycloastragenol-TA65. Now I have a HPLC result showing 95% and after doing 5mg sublingual tabs for a year, I have tried the pure powder. The thing is it works much better at 25mg / day. Very different effects from the low dosage, that may have been building some telomeres or preserving them, making more energy, better sleep, lower blood pressure, higher labido all in one month of use.
I use a 1/8″ wide palate knife (fattened 10 gage Stainless Steel-Not Sharp) to put an estimated 10mg doses under my tongue. Stomach acid destroys folic acid, resveratrol, B12, so what it does to this pricy rare compound, I don’t want to throw my money way to find out. So don’t eat it. Put it under your tongue and it goes directly into the blood stream/max effect. That’s how I take the above supplements too.
I priced out a bottle of the commercial TA and found their 250 unit btl was around $500 on Amazon.
Reading seller’s answers about dosage:
TA-65 extract is 8 mg per serving. 1 mg TA-65 is 31 units. 90 vegetarian capsule in bottle.
The 30 capsule bottle of Ta65 is 3 Mg or 100 units, the 90 capsule bottles of Ta65 are 8 mg or 250 units per capsule.
We can calculate the amount of Cycloastragenol at 8mg x 90 = .720g or about 3/4 of a gram.
Can possibly supply COA from China and sell grams at $200, but do not want problems with this American corporation. Please leave contact info here and I will contact you.
I stumbled on this page after researching certain cycloastragenol products.
Are there any current updates from people who have been taking this for a couple years? Is it still worth testing out?
What about opinions on certain brands on Amazon like Crackedaging and CAW? Or even the Swanson product Rejuv? Are these legitimate alternatives?
Hi, my name is Dianne Green. I am Jim’s daughter. My father has suffered from schizophrenia his whole life. He is an incredibly intelligent human being with a particular gift for mathematics and science. He was a gymnast and was very interested in physical fitness, nutrition and has always taken good care of himself. That is what you are seeing in the pictures is a man who has taken care of his physical being. I am very proud of his intelligence, curiosity and intensive research. However, he is not well in other ways and this claim he is not aging is part of his illness.
Has he done genetic testing? MTHFR in particular.
That is a rather mean thing to say about your brother, that a belief in anti-aging remedies somehow displays a mental illnes? I mean WTF?
Hi Josh, do you know anything about Green Ray? The site is no longer available (I used to check it from time to time). I was now looking for his analysis on cycloastragenol but can’t find any reference on where the site is relocated. If you know anything about that please let me know. I read the comment by his daughter by the way but anyway, the information on his site was valuable.
🙁
You can find him on 16th and Fairmount, Wichita Kansas.
Hi Dianne, I would just like to let you know that I have learnt so much from your father, and that your father’s work is a massive inspiration to me, and which, in my time of need provided enormous support for me. .
I’ve been using resveratrol for over 8 years. I melt some dark chocolate and then mix it with resveratrol powder, and take one small chocolate per day, to get the sublingual effect. I find it works better when mixing it with vodka, but it’s hard to have a shot at breakfast. I’m now 56 and feel quite young and fit. I am quite lazy and find it hard to keep up with certain diets and exercise, so I now use self hypnosis to keep me motivated and it keeps me on track with more self-control. the resveratrol gives me more energy (I need energy because I stopped caffeine)
For those of you, who have followed Jim on his radical anti-aging endeavour:
http://www.north1967.com/class_profile.cfm?member_id=7753453
I wonder, if the extreme amounts of vitamin A has lead to osteoporosis?
Hi Ole:
It depends on his source of Vitamin A. Vitamin A from Beta Carotene is not shown to weaken bones. carotenoids such as beta carotene are provitamin A. Provitamin A converts into active vitamin A. Beta carotene has not been linked to bone weakening.
Some people can have genetically weak bones. … some studies suggest more than half.
Also perhaps he is not ingesting enough Vitamin K complex. K keeps calcium out of arteries and in the bones.
K is essential for bone health. It influences the carboxylation of many bone-related proteins, and also regulates genetic transcription factors and regulates bone reabsorption.