The Oldest Woman Had “High” Cholesterol — Here’s What That Really Means

Okay, you guys gotta check this out. Now, as a metabolism researcher wanting to live to 150 or so, you can imagine my excitement when a new paper was just published on the oldest woman. She lived to 117, and researchers had the incredible opportunity to do a deep dive into what made her tick— her genome, her metabolism, her microbiome. But something was missing— her LDL, bad cholesterol. Even though they reported her lipid numbers, including her HDL, good cholesterol, which was high, her LDL cholesterol and her ApoB weren't actually reported in the main text. Isn't it interesting? That this marker that takes up so much airtime in your standard doctor's office was relegated to the supplement. And guess what? Her LDL was high. We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about the paradox in her telomeres. We're going to talk about her microbiome, exactly what she ate, and so much more. So this is going to be an exciting one. Let's have fun going through the data. Who was this remarkable woman? That's a big insight with something that surprised me. Mitochondria much better than those found even in younger women. Inflammaging, sleep, Exercise nutrition 3 times per day, science-based, can help support mitochondrial health. Telomere attrition— what made this woman a superager? First, who was this remarkable woman? Well, her name was Maria Morera. She passed away on August 19th, 2024, at the astonishing age of 117 years and 168 days, making her the oldest verified living person at the time. She was originally born in San Francisco, California, but moved to Spain at the age of 8, eventually settling in Catalunya, Spain, where she lived most of her life. There, just as a fun side fact, the average life expectancy for women is about 86 years, which is pretty good, but an age she surpassed by over 3 decades. So naturally, researchers wanted to know what made this woman a superager. So to find out, they performed an in-depth analysis of her biological samples taken when she was 116 and 74 days old. They examined her genome, metabolism, and microbiome. So yeah, 116-year-old was pooping for science to uncover what set her apart from the rest of us and maybe finding the fountain of youth in her genes and her biology. But let's start with something that surprised me and surprised the researchers. Her telomeres. They were tiny. That's really unexpected because telomeres, those protective caps at the end of our chromosomes, like the little plastic tips on your shoelaces that protect them from fraying, They're widely believed to correlate with biological age. But generally, as we grow older, telomeres shorten. And their length, like I said, it's often interpreted as a marker of aging, biological aging, and overall health. But in Maria's case, her telomeres weren't long, but super short, as short as you'd expect if she was on the trajectory of your average person, just strung out to 117 years old. And yet she remained healthy and mentally sharp, well past the century mark. This suggests something really important that I don't think scientists appreciated before: telomere attrition, the shortening of telomeres, may act more like a clock, just a chronological clock, than a predictor of age-related disease. So, in other words, telomeres do tick down over time, but their length may not necessarily determine how healthy or functional someone remains into later age. That's a big Well, a big little insight. But now let's go deeper into her genome. The researchers found key genetic variations in lots of pathways, but many were related to immune function and mitochondrial efficiency. This makes sense because the immune system regulates inflammation, and chronic low-grade inflammation, sometimes called inflammaging, is a major contributor to age-related decline and chronic diseases. And Maria's genetic makeup, appears to have conferred a lower inflammatory burden, helping her to age more gracefully. To be clear, this is something we can toggle with lifestyle, but she just had extra genetic backing. And equally fascinating, or actually more fascinating to me, were the mitochondrial findings. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, and they tend to become less efficient with age. But Maria had unique genetic variants that may have preserved or even enhanced her mitochondrial performance well into later age. In fact, when the researchers isolated her mitochondria and assessed their membrane potential, which is an indicator of energy production potential, and measured the generation of harmful reactive oxygen species , the results were quite remarkable. Maria's mitochondria functioned youthfully, much better than those found even in younger women. To quote directly from the study, you can hear from the horse's mouth, the 117-year-old's data indicated not only preserved but also robust mitochondrial function in the supercentenarian. So, I want to zoom in on this for a moment to highlight something really crucial. You listening? One word: actionability. Yes, Maria Morera might have had unique genetic advantages supporting her mitochondrial health, but this is also an era we're living in now, 2025, where We all have some degree of control, much more so than we had when she was born in 1907. Mitochondrial function isn't just written in our DNA. It's shaped by how we choose to live. And mitochondrial function forms the biological foundation for the benefits of those familiar and fundamental pillars of health: sleep, exercise, nutrition. So to make this now more concrete and practical, here are just a few examples, 3 practical science-backed ways to support your mitochondrial health and help you live longer. Hopefully 117 or beyond. 1. Optimize your eating window. Engage in intermittent fasting or sometimes prolonged fasts. I try to eat in an 8-hour window or less. These patterns help trigger mitophagy, which stands for mitochondrial autophagy, basically the recycling of mitochondria to keep them youthful and rejuvenated. And actually on the broader topic of autophagy generally, cellular recycling, the researchers made a striking observation. That Maria, our 117-year-old supercentenarian, she exhibited an autophagy profile more broadly similar to that of much younger people. So, in simple terms, these findings align with what we know of the longevity-supporting effects of fasting. Now, to be clear, I can't actually make medical claims. I'm not suggesting that fasting alone will make you live to 117, but I can say that these n=1 data on this amazing woman are at least consistent with the existing literature and the idea that fasting could be a powerful tool for promoting healthy aging. So, if it's something you enjoy, engage in it. This is another reason to do so. I certainly do. Anyway, moving on. 2. Embrace the sun and sync your rhythms. Try to get direct morning sunlight and maximize your natural light exposure throughout the day. Mitochondria respond directly to light. Actually, red light can penetrate your skin, get to your muscles, and change mitochondrial metabolism. See this video for more. But also, light actually entrains a literal dance between fusion and fission in your mitochondria. It's cued up by what are known as zeitgebers like light, temperature, and meal timing. So along with getting sunlight in the morning and over the course of the day, try to eat your meals at a consistent time. All this helps your gene expression patterns follow a stable rhythm. This is often overlooked, but a powerful health strategy. And actually, if you want more on it as it relates to Alzheimer's disease specifically, I have a whole letter on that. And 3, supplement. But if you do supplement, supplement with precision. This is more of an opinion statement because Maria luckily didn't rely on supplements for most of her life. She did win the genetic lottery. So the rest of us kind of have to compensate. And broadly, research points to several compounds that may support mitochondrial function, especially as we age. So I'll give you some examples with no affiliations, just content examples. One example is oleuropein. This is a polyphenol found in green olives and olive leaves and olive leaf extract. And as you'll see shortly, Maria was actually a heavy olive oil user, but we'll get into her meal plan in a moment. But as we age, mitochondrial metabolism in muscles becomes less efficient. This is in part due to a decrease in the activity of a calcium transporter that links energy production— and muscle contractions to mitochondrial function. Preclinical studies actually suggest that oleuropein can enhance this transporter's function, potentially improving muscular endurance and even preserving or boosting lean muscle mass as has been shown in preclinical trials. See this video for more on that. Now, to be clear, I'm not suggesting you rush out and buy oleuropein supplements, nor is it the only supplement worth considering. Others include things like sarcosine or urolithin A. But it serves as a compelling example about how targeted intervention that is science-based, physiologically focused can help support mitochondrial health as we age, since not all of us won the genetic lottery. Now, sorry for the jump edit and tangent, but I actually realized in post-edit this would be a great place to disclose what I've been using in the way of supplements. Now, I'm pretty darn supplement picky. There are not many I like, but one that really impressed me was DMO2, a new multivitamin from Seed. Actually, I was cued to insert this product plug because it was actually in the background of my original A-roll. That was unintentional. I was in the post edit and I saw it. It was there in the corner. Anyway, what I really love about this product is how thoughtfully it is formulated. Like, all the micronutrients that it includes, and it includes a ton, have only the bioavailable form. So, to give you some examples, the vitamin B12 is in the methylcobalamin form, or the coenzyme Q, this was really impressive, is in the phospholipid complex form. I've actually included that in other content already, talked about how this helps the coenzyme Q get into your mitochondria. So, bottom line, it is really thoughtfully formulated. It kind of provides extra nutritional coverage since I kind of eat the same foods every single day. And also, it has this unique capsule-in-capsule technology that helps some of the nutrients get to the microbiome to provide microbiome support, which is super important for longevity. We're actually going to get into that later in this video. So, if you want to try this product, you can try discount code NICK20. It's a one small little pill. Prove I take it. I actually think it's a pretty excellent product. And again, I'm very picky. So if it's something you want, check out the links below for more information. But let's get back to the content. So the takeaway is genetics do load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger or puts the safety on, however you want to think about it. Mitochondrial function is dynamic. It's a responsive system. And with the right habits, we can all take steps to preserve and enhance it, genes aside. But now let's move on, talk about her lipid profile and metabolic markers. Most of us have had that experience of sitting down in the doctor's office. I don't know why I felt the need to sit there, but sitting down on another chair and reviewing our cholesterol numbers with our physician or our primary care physician or our cardiologist. And typically one number dominates the conversation: LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. Or, if your primary care doctor is a bit more up to date, they might even check an ApoB, which is a little bit of a better marker, but they're more or less similar. Anyway, it's especially interesting therefore that in the main report on this 117-year-old's lipid data, neither LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, nor ApoB were mentioned at all in the main text. They did report some lipid numbers, they focused on her high levels of HDL good cholesterol, which was 72 mg/dL, and her low levels of triglyceride-rich particles, VLDL. So in other words, the researchers emphasized markers of metabolic function— HDL and triglycerides, which are also associated with metabolic syndrome— but they de-emphasized the LDL bad cholesterol, which is usually at the front and center of clinical settings. You see what I'm pointing out here? In fact, as I mentioned earlier, I had to dig into the supplementary material to find her LDL levels. They were buried— I'm not saying it was intentional, they were just very inconspicuously placed over in the supplemental text, supplemental figure 8B, in this little line. And here's the funny part, it turns out that her LDL bad cholesterol was actually elevated, higher than what's typically recommended. They weren't sky high to be clear, but they were in the red zone. So what do we make of this? Why was it quietly tucked away in the supplement? I'm not offering you a definitive answer, I don't know the intent, but it's worth reflecting on. The choice to foreground certain markers and relegate others says something about what truly matters when it comes to longevity, or at least says something maybe about the researchers' opinions. Just something to think about. Food for thought. Also embedded in her lipid and metabolic profile, the researchers noted things like low levels of GlycA and GlycB. These are markers of systemic inflammation. Low levels of circulating omega-6 linoleic acid. I have a lot more content on that. It's not that straightforward. Low levels of circulating saturated fat too. But a note on that, fasting levels of saturated fat, primarily palmitic acid in the blood, they're generally derived from the synthesis in the liver, including from sugar. Sugar can be turned into palmitic acid rather than just straight from dietary saturated fat. So yes, her saturated fat blood levels were low in the fasting state, but that probably has something more to do with efficient lipid metabolism and sugar intake than saturated fat intake. She also had very high levels of lactate and creatine. I'll delve into more details in the newsletter, so if you want the nuanced notes, go to the newsletter. But again, Stepping back, quoting from the paper: "Overall, these metabolomic findings suggest a highly engaged lipid metabolism together with low levels of inflammation that could explain the excellent and extreme longevity—I'll say—observed in the studied supercentenarian despite signs of functional decay in other pathways like the telomeres we mentioned." Anyway, the researchers also examined the supercentenarian's microbiome. Yes, 116-year-olds at the time did poop for science—comparing her biosample to data collected from 445 control individuals between the ages of 61 and 91. And interestingly, her microbiome appeared much more youthful, characterized by high levels of Bifidobacterium commonly associated with healthy aging. That said, microbiome composition is notoriously complex, and individual variation is really high, so— this is now my opinion— it's wise not to overinterpret the significance of her exact microbiome profile. Now, with that caveat in place, I want to point out a few patterns that did stand out to me. First, her microbiome was highly diverse, which is generally considered a marker of good gut health. Now, I don't make too much of the n 1 on the microbiome composition level, however, At a high level, it does make intuitive sense to me. Here's how I think about it. Basically, a more diverse ecosystem leads to more resilience from external stressors. And at a high level, what is metabolic health? It's resilience to external stressors. So it makes sense having a more diverse microbiome would associate or maybe contribute to good metabolic health. But maybe more to the point, her diet— this is where we see actionability— she ate a very high probiotic diet. Including yogurt, 3 times per day per part of her meal plan. Helpfully, the researchers even note the particular bacterial strains that are included in your yogurt, including Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrucii subspecies bulgaricus. I hope I pronounced all that right. I'm not very good at Latin. Anyway, in the newsletter, I actually go through a couple specific brands— again, no affiliations— that contain these bacterial subspecies. Or you can just check the labels on yogurt at the grocery store to find ones that work for you. I'm also further grateful that the researchers chose to include in the supplement her exact meal plan, at least what she ate from age 97 to 117. So you can just pause the video here and take a screenshot if you're interested. But a few things to note: she ate a lot of yogurt, olive oil, and egg protein. It's almost as if I designed her diet. Now, if you want some more extrapolation and commentary from me, I provide it in the newsletter because they don't provide specifics on like what olive oil she ate. And she was living in Catalunya, Spain, where they probably have better olive oil than where you or I live. So I provide more speculation on her diet tips and tricks in the newsletter. But if you're looking to support your own gut health broadly, here are some high-level points. Incorporate low-sugar fermented foods into your diet. These include options like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir—I like goat milk kefir because it's A2 casein, it's better on the gut—and live culture yogurts similar to those that were consumed by the supercentenarian. Again, a few brand recommendations in the newsletter. But let's wrap up this story— for this video. In the end, Maria Morera's extraordinary longevity was likely the result of many interacting factors, not just one thing— genetics, lifestyle, environment, and of course a little bit of luck. But her case offers a valuable clue, or valuable clues, about how our daily choices might influence biological aging. And as a final thought, I'll note that the paper is a treasure trove of data. I just picked out here what I found interesting on a first read that I just needed to share with you now. But for those who choose to dive in yourself, feel free to leave suggestions for topics you'd like me to follow up on. Like I said, it's a treasure trove and we can still dig some more. So stay curious, leave your questions, and isn't this cool? To be clear, all the papers I threw up in the air at the beginning weren't all on, uh, this woman. And I kind of made a mess, but I thought it made for good B-roll. We'll see what the views do on this video.