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This Marker Predicts Aging, Disease, and Early Death: Scientist Jesper Eugen-Olsen Reveals
14th January 2026 • Mads Friis Podcast • Growth Island
00:00:00 01:04:41

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What if the biggest threat to your performance, longevity, and clarity isn’t age but something silently building inside you?

In this episode, biochemist and biomarker scientist Jesper Eugen-Olsen breaks down the hidden role of chronic inflammation in disease risk, biological aging, and long-term health outcomes. This conversation challenges how high performers think about strength, resilience, and optimization and reveals why true longevity starts with understanding what’s happening beneath the surface.

If you care about healthspan, mental sharpness, and staying strong for decades not just years this episode will reframe how you think about your body, performance, and future.

He explains:

◻️ Why chronological age tells you almost nothing about your real health risk

◻️ The difference between lifespan and healthspan—and why most people optimize the wrong one

◻️ How chronic, low-grade inflammation quietly drives disease and accelerates aging

◻️ Why inflammation is a risk amplifier across cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological disease

◻️ The science behind suPAR and why it’s changing how clinicians assess biological risk

◻️ Why aging is still not classified as a disease—and what that means for prevention

◻️ How high-performing lifestyles can unknowingly increase biological stress

◻️ The problem with chasing longevity hacks instead of addressing root causes

◻️ Why resilience is as much biological as it is psychological

◻️ What leaders and high performers should track if they care about long-term clarity and performance

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

03:15 – Biological age vs chronological age explained

07:40 – Chronic inflammation as a common driver of disease

12:20 – What suPAR reveals about long-term health risk

18:05 – Why inflammation predicts outcomes better than symptoms

23:50 – Aging, disease classification, and medical blind spots

30:10 – Healthspan vs lifespan: where high performers go wrong

36:45 – The limits of supplements and longevity optimization

43:20 – What this means for leaders, athletes, and entrepreneurs

49:10 – Final insights on resilience, risk, and sustainable performance

Follow Jesper:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesper-eugen-olsen-1646142/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesper_eugen/

Website: https://www.virogates.com/

Growth Island-Mads Friis:

Mads Friis

Website: https://www.madsfriis.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madsmfriis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madsmfriis


Growth Island

Website: https://www.growthisland.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegrowthisland/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growthisland.madsfriis

YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Q0ij-HEj7XcMfJPthbb2A/videos

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/growth-island/id1436400072

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/growthisland

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/growth-island

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Iw8IvNKwDEs5Rg7YWaJnP

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