Five Integrative Therapies for Healthy Aging

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By Avery St. Onge

In addition to diet and lifestyle interventions, there are several integrative therapies with the potential to improve biological age. In this article, we explore some of our most popular resources on the strategies being used today to slow and even reverse the aging process.

Continue reading to learn how to support longevity with interventions like NAD therapy, intermittent thermal stress, vagus nerve stimulation, melatonin, and methylene blue.

NAD Therapy Offers Anti-Aging Possibilities for Patient Care

A renewed search for longevity has left many patients and integrative practitioners desperate to find innovative interventions to prolong health span. Gaining popularity is a new therapy that some say may help slow the process of aging and revitalize the body, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).

“People ask me all the time, what is the one thing I would do to optimize health and performance? It’s NAD therapy,” said Craig Koniver, MD, cofounder of Koniver Wellness in Charleston, SC. “It is nothing short of transformational for most people. We say it’s a magical molecule, but that’s only because we’ve observed it.”

A molecule found in all living organisms, NAD contributes to hundreds of metabolic functions in the body including cell division, DNA repair, and ATP production, according to Andrew Wong, MD, an integrative primary care doctor in Bethesda, Md.

Vitamin precursors of NAD have long been used orally to help with nutritional deficiencies and various ailments. Today, practitioners like Koniver and Wong are using NAD intravenously to help with anti-aging and improve overall health. According to Koniver, after NAD therapy, patients report feeling more energized and rested, creative, happy, alert, and less stressed.

“A patient recently walked out of my office after receiving NAD therapy and said it was the best he has felt in 10 years, and maybe the best he has ever felt,” Koniver said.

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Improving Healthspan with Intermittent Thermal Stress

Many people are aware of the benefits of reducing chronic stress, but most people don’t know that there’s actually a good type of stress, said Rhonda Patrick, PhD, at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) Annual International Conference (AIC) in Orlando, Florida.

Often referred to as “new stress,” intermittent exposure to this form of stress can increase health outcomes and promote longevity, according to Patrick, a published scientist and health educator who studies systems biology and various non-pharmacological interventions.

In her presentation, Patrick discussed an integrative intervention growing in popularity that involves exposure to intermittent stressors, specifically thermal stress, through saunas and cold exposure.

Whether it was fasting due to food scarcity, intense physical activity to catch prey, or digestion of phytochemicals from plants consumed, “throughout human evolution, we have been exposed to intermittent types of challenges,” said Patrick. “These intermittent challenges, we have adapted to them, and we have genetic pathways that are meant to be turned on through them.”

Commonly called stress response pathways, Patrick explained that when these genetic pathways are turned on, various genes are activated. She said many of the activated genes then trigger beneficial anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that promote repair processes.

“There’s a lot of crosstalk between these genetic pathways,” said Patrick. “So, for example, the phytochemicals can activate the same pathways that food scarcity and physical activity activate.” And, Patrick explained, the same goes for thermal stress.

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Using Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Control Inflammation and Improve Cognition

Navaz Habib, DC, AFMCP, AcuP, joins Integrative Practitioner Content Specialist Avery St. Onge to discuss the research behind vagus nerve stimulation and how it can help treat various inflammatory conditions and improve cognition.

Navaz Habib, DC, AFMCP, AcuP, is the author of Activate Your Vagus Nerve and host of The Health Upgrade Podcast. He is the founder of Health Upgraded an online functional health consulting clinic, supporting optimal health by elevating the awareness and function of the vagus nerve.

To listen to the interview, click here.

How to Safely Use Melatonin for Optimal Health

Newer uses of supplemental melatonin are diverse and span the gamut of body systems. With the rise of interest in longevity, there has been more interest in its therapeutic benefit for healthy aging and mitochondrial function. Perhaps the most recently recognized application is its efficacy in promoting immune health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, melatonin supplementation was recommended alongside other immune-active nutrients such as vitamin D and zinc. It was suggested that its anti-inflammatory properties could help with the cytokine storm and even viral infections through its potential role in phase separation.

Along the lines of its relationship to immune health is the emerging research on autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. While ongoing supplemental melatonin is discussed for chronic diseases, there is also a potential benefit to help override the acute effects of oxidative stress from athletic performance and even environmental toxin load and exposures.

Scientific research indicates recent investigations into women’s health, specifically preeclampsia, fertility, endometriosis, and PCOS, in addition to bone health. Although lesser known, there is interest for melatonin supplementation in other areas of health, including the cardiovascular system, with application to hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, endothelial dysfunction, and possibly for glycemic control, based on personalized gene variants. Other areas include migraines and headache, tinnitus, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.

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Low-Dose Methylene Blue

About 95 percent of people have some level of mitochondrial dysfunction, and methylene blue has the potential to help most of them, according to Scott Sherr, MD.

“It could be used across the board for a variety of patients to help them feel better and faster while you’re doing the hard work of trying to figure out why their mitochondria aren’t working,” said Dr. Sherr, Chief Operating Officer of Transcriptions TX, a methylene blue retailer.

Recently, there’s been a renewed interest in the drug. Methylene blue, a liquid dye, reemerged largely after the COVID-19 pandemic because of its antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, in addition to its purported ability to improve mitochondrial function. Now, practitioners like Dr. Sherr are using it to help treat a variety of conditions.

“There’s a huge breadth of how we can use this from the severe chronic complex medical illness side all the way to the performance side,” said Dr. Sherr. “And the key is that dosing matters.”

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