How old are you biologically, and what are you doing about it?

Synopsis: Once a month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

In the latest Health Check podcast, we examine the burgeoning science of healthspan—the period of life spent in good health, free from chronic disease—shifting the focus beyond mere lifespan. Part of The Straits Times’ “The New Age” series, this episode explores ageing not as an inevitable decline, but as a complex biological network.

Host Joyce Teo sits down with Dr Brian Kennedy, director of the Center for Healthy Longevity at the National University Health System, about cutting-edge research in geroscience and the shift from reactive sick care to proactive healthcare.

Brian is a distinguished professor of biochemistry and physiology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:33 Exploring ageing clocks, geroscience, and longevity

7:57 Our bodies maintain an internal homeostasis for health. When does this equilibrium break down? 

9:08 Brian Kennedy’s transition from lab models to human trials in Singapore and Singapore’s global standing

13:36 Study showed that the Japanese are healthier in Japan than in another country that they have moved to

15:27 Will a low carb, high protein diet help me age better? 

18:15 You got to do medicine before you do longevity medicine

23:23 Is there evidence that hyperbaric oxygen chambers work?

24:19 How do you choose the right ageing supplements?

30:31 We need to empower people to make more of their own health decisions

Read Joyce Teo’s stories: https://str.sg/JbxN 

Host: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Natasha Liew

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

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