Aging is challenging, which is why my next book is called Aging Sucks! I plan to publish it in the Summer of 2026. I’m intrigued by why some people seem older than others at the same age, is it genes, diet, or something else?
Ten years ago, I wrote Longevity Secrets for Healthy Aging, focusing on two primary aging factors: telomere length and human growth hormone. Telomeres hold our DNA strands together like the plastic caplet on a shoestring.
Cells lose a bit of telomere every time they replicate, leading to cell death over many cycles. Lifestyle choices like diet and exercise impact cell longevity—poor habits like smoking and poor-quality sleep shorten our cells’ lives; better habits extend them.
Cancer cells use the enzyme telomerase to live forever. The enzyme gives cancer cells an infinite lifespan by extending telomeres regardless of the number of cell divisions. Telomerase is present in the body but is not used by normal, healthy cells.
Human growth hormone is highest in childhood and decreases with age, reaching about ten percent of childhood levels by the 70s. Fasting and exercise can help increase these hormone levels.
Recent years have clarified aging: it’s more than growth hormone, involving twelve recognized factors. Good health, defined by eight Hallmarks, can affect the rate of aging.
I have done several presentations on the Hallmarks of Aging and the Hallmarks of Health on my live TV show, Talking Heads, on the USA Global TV & Radio Network over the past six months. My new book, Aging Sucks!, uniquely brings together these hallmarks, new pathways of disease, and practical steps for readers to control their own aging process—a focus rarely found in other books. This book aims to raise awareness and provide education about the factors we control related to aging and our retirement health.
Currently, I expect to publish the book this summer. I am adding several webinars covering various aspects of the book to provide more detail. I see the book operating at the 5,000- to 30,000-foot level in making decisions about health. I want to bring the information down to ground zero for each webinar.
That’s my plan for moving forward. I invite you to join me on this journey—look for updates, attend my webinars, and share your thoughts. Let’s take proactive steps to make aging successful together!
Red O’Laughlin, RedOLaughlin.com, Red.OLaughlin@gmail.com
