Signal Ecology: A Framework for Metabolic and Cognitive Health

Our bodies do not have a maintenance mode. Every system that keeps us functional — muscle mass, bone density, mitochondrial capacity, neuronal connectivity, immune calibration — is maintained only in response to demand. Remove the demand signals, and the biology interprets absence as permission to downregulate. What we call aging is substantially the accumulation of unrepaired degradation in systems that require demand signals to repair themselves. The mitochondrion is where this convergence becomes visible: it is the common downstream target of protein deficiency, mineral depletion, movement deprivation, circadian disruption, and chronic inflammation. Most of what follows is explanation. If you want the prescription first: The Short Version Do these without testing: InterventionSpecificsProtein1.6–2.2g per kg lean body mass; diverse animal sources plus collagen; past 60, prioritize ~2.5–3g leucine per mealMagnesiumGlycinate or malate, 200–400mg, evening; threonate if cognitive…