230 Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Interstitial Cystitis. What the Immune System Reveals with Dr. Bruce Gillis
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Release Date: 10/13/2025
256 Living with Dementia: We Are Still Here so Don't Walk Away with Marilyn Raichle
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Dementia is one of the greatest fears associated with aging—but what if it didn’t have to mean loss, disappearance, or despair? In this deeply moving episode, author and arts innovator Marilyn Raichle shares how walking toward her mother, rather than away, transformed dementia into a journey of presence, creativity, connection, and joy. This conversation offers a profoundly human reframe of memory loss and aging. For many people, dementia is equated with the loss of self, meaning, and value. Families are often advised—explicitly or implicitly—to disengage emotionally, preparing for...
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255 Lifestyle Intelligence (LQ) the Missing Link between Mindset and Longevity with Lloyd Glauberman PhD
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if the way you age isn’t determined primarily by your genes, your diet, or even how much you exercise—but by how intelligently you manage your thoughts, emotions, and everyday habits? Many of us make well-intentioned health plans that never quite stick—despite knowing what we should be doing. This episode explores why behavior change is so difficult, how unconscious programming shapes daily habits, and what science reveals about making lasting change without burnout or deprivation. Today’s guest brings a powerful framework—Lifestyle...
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254 The Gut Microbiome-Inflammation Connection and Accelerated Aging with Martha Carlin
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if stubborn weight gain, brain fog, poor sleep, and chronic inflammation aren’t “just aging”—but signals from your gut that started decades earlier? Today’s conversation challenges the myth of inevitable decline and shows how understanding your microbiome can make your chronological age truly just a number. After 40, many people find that diets stop working, digestion becomes unpredictable, hormones feel out of control, and inflammation quietly creeps in. This episode explains why gut healing becomes harder with age, what’s actually changing...
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253 Chronic Inflammation, Cancer and Aging: A Survivor Scientist's Story with Sam Shepherd
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if chronic inflammation—not aging itself—is the real reason energy fades, disease risk rises, and resilience declines as the years go by? Today’s conversation challenges the idea that inflammation is just something that “comes with age.” Instead, we explore how targeted science, smart biology, and informed choices can dramatically reshape how you age. Chronic inflammation is the silent driver behind many of the diseases we associate with aging—cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, metabolic dysfunction, autoimmune disorders, and even cancer. Yet most people...
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252 98% Diabetes Reversal? Can Behavioral Science Change the Way We Age? with John Oberg
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if the most powerful breakthroughs in reversing chronic disease had less to do with new drugs—and everything to do with understanding human behavior? Type 2 diabetes is widely treated as a lifelong, progressive condition. But what if that assumption is wrong? In today’s episode, we explore how reclaiming personal agency, supported by behavioral science and AI-driven personalization, can fundamentally reshape how you age—because age is just a number, but how you age is a choice. Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases associated with aging, yet conventional...
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251 Microplastics and Biological Aging: Separating Evidence from Fear-based, Stress Inducing Headlines that Accelerate Aging: with Chris DeArmitt Ph.D.
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
In recent years, headlines warning about microplastics in fish, water, and even the human body have triggered widespread anxiety. While fear-based narratives grab attention, they also keep the nervous system in a chronic stress state—driving inflammation, impaired decision-making, and accelerated biological aging. The question is no longer just environmental, but deeply personal: what happens when alarming headlines age us faster than reality? For those committed to healthy longevity, constant environmental alarmism can quietly undermine well-being. Chronic stress is a known driver of...
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250 Rewrite Your Aging Story: Conscious Aging, Identity and Healthspan Extension with Wayne R. Lehrer
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Many people enter retirement feeling uncertain, disconnected, or afraid of becoming irrelevant. In this episode, author and conscious aging advocate Wayne Lehrer reframes later life as a powerful third act—one that can be consciously designed for purpose, vitality, and authentic happiness. You’ll learn how mindset, meaning, and daily practices shape not just how long you live, but how well you age. Wayne Lehrer is an author, sculptor, meditation teacher, and conscious aging advocate. A former World’s Fair and theme-park designer and IMAX filmmaker, he now leads international...
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249 Rewriting Fitness After 40. Hormones, Strength Training and Heathspan with Alicia Jones
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Women entering perimenopause and menopause are often told to “do more cardio,” “eat less,” and “push harder” to stay fit. Yet for many, these strategies lead to exhaustion, stalled progress, injuries, and declining confidence rather than improved health. As estrogen declines, muscle loss accelerates, recovery slows, and stress hormones become more influential on weight, sleep, and inflammation. Following outdated fitness rules during this phase can quietly accelerate biological aging and undermine long-term healthspan. Today's guest, Alicia Jones, combines kinesiology,...
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248 Dying on the Waitlist: Healthcare Delays, Epigenetic Wellness, and How Canadians Can Protect Their Healthspan with Ingrid Gahsner
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Canada’s healthcare system is under unprecedented strain, with thousands of people experiencing serious harm—or death—while waiting for diagnostic procedures, specialist care, or life-saving treatments. Despite public trust in the system, delays have become a hidden personal risk that most Canadians fail to plan for. As we age, delays in diagnosis and treatment don’t just affect outcomes—they accelerate physical decline, cognitive stress, emotional exhaustion, and financial vulnerability. Loss of access means loss of control, which directly undermines resilience, independence,...
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247 Carnivore vs Whole Foods: An N-of-1 Experiment on Epigenetics, Nutrition and Healthspan with Dr. Andres Ayesta
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Extreme diets dominate social media, but what actually happens inside your body when you follow them? In this episode, registered dietitian Andres Ayesta shares the results of a 60-day self-experiment comparing a carnivore diet with a whole-foods, minimally processed approach. Using lab testing, DEXA scans, and behavioral science, he reveals what truly changes—and what doesn’t—when it comes to weight, body composition, energy, and long-term health as we age. Andres Ayesta is a registered dietitian, sports nutritionist, and founder of Planos Nutrition. With...
info_outlineIn this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Dr. Bruce Gillis about chronic immune system disorders such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, interstitial cystitis, and long COVID. Dr. Gillis shares how his research overturned decades of stigma by proving these conditions are objectively measurable through immune system testing and DNA genomic signatures. The conversation explores the role of epigenetics in disease development, the link between coronaviruses and long COVID, and the discovery of a microbiome-modulating compound that reduces symptoms. Listeners will gain validation, clarity, and practical insights into how accurate diagnosis and targeted therapies can improve quality of life.
Dr. Bruce Gillis is a physician-scientist and public health expert whose career spans clinical medicine, research, and academic leadership. After earning his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and his MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, he completed two residencies and two fellowships before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School, UCLA, and the University of Illinois. His early work focused on environmental health and toxic exposures, including oversight of the Alaskan oil spill cleanup and aerospace medicine projects. Dr. Gillis later turned his focus to chronic immune system disorders such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, interstitial cystitis, and long COVID. Through groundbreaking research, his team identified specific white blood cell dysfunctions and unique DNA genomic signatures that objectively prove fibromyalgia and related disorders are real, diagnosable conditions. He pioneered the development of the FibroTest, an FDA-reviewed diagnostic blood test now covered by Medicare and many insurers, and continues to study therapeutic compounds that support microbiome health and improve symptom management.
Episode Timeline
00:00 – Welcome & Introduction
Podcast focus on aging youthfully; Gillian introduces Dr. Gillis and chronic immune disorders.
05:51 – Dr. Gillis’ Journey
From rural upbringing to Harvard MD/MPH; work in environmental health, aerospace, and proving fibromyalgia is real.
08:44 – What Are Chronic Immune Disorders?
Definitions, stigma, and why current drugs only mask symptoms.
12:17 – Epigenetics & Long COVID
How environmental triggers and coronaviruses drive epigenetic DNA changes linked to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
16:40 – Blood-Based Diagnostics
Immune system testing, identification of protein deficiencies, and discovery of unique DNA genomic signatures.
18:56 – Comparing Conditions
How fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and interstitial cystitis differ yet share immune dysfunction.
25:34 – Better Diagnostics for Interstitial Cystitis
Blood tests prove 11x more accurate than invasive cystoscopy.
27:15 – Therapies & Lifestyle
Nutrition, hydration, and discovery of the mycobacterium-derived compound Imbics that supports microbiome health.
34:40 – Future Directions
Expanding research into long COVID and other chronic conditions; improving management, not curing DNA changes.
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Connect with Dr. Gillian Lockitch
Email: askdrgill@gmail.com
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