A millionaire biohacker may have more money, but grandma has stuff.
Amy Hardison, 64, a grandmother of 11, is a rival to anti-aging enthusiasts like Brian Johnson and, most recently, a biometric “Game of Thrones” tech mogul. broke.
Hardison, who lives in Mesa, Arizona, recently told Fortune magazine:
She was the top candidate for Novos’ online competition, the Rejuvenation Olympics, which was chosen by more than 4,000 participants, including Johnson, 47, and longevity expert Peter Diamandis, 63. It encourages reversing biological age through healthy lifestyle changes.
“Sometimes we forget the richness that comes from living a full life,” said Hardison, who is married and the mother of four children.
And according to the scoreboard, her cup was over. Boomer was ranked 5th in the Daily Challenge for most of last year.
She even held the 4th place on the longevity ranking for a time.
Johnson, 47, who spends $2 million a year to stay young and whose teenage son receives blood transfusions, was ranked No. 1 but dropped to sixth place in the competition.
Rankings are measured by biomarkers found in each contestant’s blood tests and regularly tested by TruDiagnostics, epigenetics experts who analyze an individual’s DNA to understand biological aging and disease risk. will be done.
According to the researchers, “biological age measures the cellular and molecular age of your body and may differ from your actual age.” “Lifestyle choices, health factors, and other influences may change depending on.
“Measuring biological age through methylation is highly accurate and predicts future health status, disease risk, and even lifespan.”
But unlike her wealthy competitors, Hardison hasn’t spent millions on crazy scientific tricks and techniques to stay eternally young.
In fact, the West Coast native wasn’t even that interested in longevity until two years ago, when her son-in-law Eric suggested she try her hand at the Olympic Games.
After submitting a blood sample for testing, Grandma was tickled to discover that she was only aging at a rate of 0.74 years per calendar year. That means you only aged 9 out of 12 months.
If she continued to age at this rate throughout her life, her 64-year-old body would now be “aging” the age of 48 years.
“I kind of chuckled a little bit,” Hardison told Fortune. “It’s pretty ironic that I ended up doing this when I had no interest in taking vitamins or supplements.”
But she’s obsessed with taking care of herself with these health hacking habits.
Work out for 60 minutes or more
A mainstay of Hardison’s schedule is exercise, she revealed to the Daily Mail. The former stay-at-home mom spends an hour a day working up a good sweat on the treadmill or elliptical bike.
At 5-foot-7 and weighing 127 pounds, she watches her weight and also does 75-minute swims to stay fit and incorporates interval training into most of her workouts.
“You run hard for one minute, then one minute at average speed, then 30 seconds hard, then 30 seconds normal, repeating the cycle for an hour,” Hardison said. “Medical experts say this type of interval training is good for brain health, and I’ve noticed a difference.”
take care of your heart
“I’m very keen on keeping my brain active, studying, learning and working my mind,” Hardison said.
To stay sharp, the Arizona native often listens to audiobooks while exercising and reads memoirs and World War II novels in her free time.
Maintaining cognitive health was key for Hardison, who watched her late mother and 74-year-old brother suffer from dementia. Her father also suffered a steady mental decline after a series of strokes.
stock up on supplements
At the urging of his son-in-law, Eric, Hardison happily became obsessed with anti-aging drugs.
“I started taking so-called longevity supplements that contain ingredients like magnesium, ginger, L-theanine, and fisetin. I now spend about $100 a month on them,” she says, adding that she’s also getting good ones from Novos. He added that he had received it.
“My understanding is that magnesium supports a healthy metabolism and regulates blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Ginger prevents cell damage and improves blood sugar regulation. L-theanine reduces stress and anxiety. “Fisetin is a natural antioxidant found in foods such as strawberries,” Hardison continued. “Apparently, it reduces the amount of senescent cells that damage nearby healthy cells and accelerate the aging process.”
Do less, move more
While staying physically and mentally healthy is essential, Hardison says spending time with loved ones and keeping your mind happy can also make a difference.
“You’ll feel better if you live a contributing life surrounded by the people you love,” she advises, adding that her compatriots, now adults between the ages of 45 and 37, and their special friends “will feel better.” He praised the friendship. Only once with my 11 grandchildren.
“My mantra this year is to do less and love more,” Hardison added. “I started spending more time sitting with my husband, holding hands, and just being together.
“We’ve been married for 46 years. Sometimes life gets less fun as you get older, but sometimes it gets richer.”
chocolate, chocolate, chocolate
Hardison avoids stress by eating chocolate treats three times a day, she says, and insists she is mindful of her sweet intake in the morning, afternoon and evening.
“People are surprised when I say I start my day with chocolate milk and a piece of bread, but I believe that eating is one of the pleasures of life, so I don’t want to skip all the fun things.”
Housewives make their own bread, eat hearty salads full of nutrient-dense vegetables and protein, measure their meals to control portions, and rarely eat out at restaurants. A Mormon, she also avoids alcohol and instead drinks eight glasses of water each day.
But when it comes to chocolate, she’s a little more generous.
“I usually keep my desserts under 100 calories, but sometimes I make chocolate chip cookies that are 150 calories each or homemade ice cream (200 calories per serving),” Hardison said. .
focus on the present, not the future
“I’m not the typical anti-aging person who wants to live forever, and I’m not competing with anyone,” said the rejuvenated Olympian.
While people like Johnson hope to live past 120, Hardison would be happy just to live into his mid-80s.
“If I can live until I’m 84 or 85, that’s enough. I don’t need any more,” she said. “I think worrying about the future comes at the expense of enjoying the present.
“Humans will age eventually, and genetics and accidents will have an effect, so we have to accept that and be happy.”
