In this article you will learn:
What Carbon 60 is and why some people rave about it
Where you can get some quality Carbon 60, if you so choose
What some considerations are about using it
What are (better) alternatives for the same $$$
The Details
Carbon 60, or Fullerene, is a special molecule that may act as a powerful antioxidant.(1,2,3) A Fullerene, or “Bucky Ball,” is the soccer ball shape that 60 carbon atoms form in this molecular arrangement and it is named after the creator of the geodesic dome, Richard Buckminster Fuller. According to an often-quoted animal study involving rats, The Baati Study,(4) injecting the rats with C60 regularly in an olive oil base increased their lifespan by 90% compared to placebo — a pretty impressive result by any measurement and enough to make anyone raise an eyebrow.
The proposed mechanism of action for this impressive feat was through a reduction of free radicals and oxidative stress on all of the tissues. The idea is that since Bucky Balls have such a high surface area (remember that the smaller you get the greater your surface area to volume ratio gets) — they supposedly make for excellent “antioxidant sponges” that can mop up your insides. Of course, this research is still in its infancy and few clinical trials exist both in humans or animals. The Baati Study only used a handful of rats, and its design and methods have been questioned,(5) with other research raising concern over the potentially cytotoxic (toxic to your cells) effect of Carbon 60 as a free radical generator.(6,7,8)
This is the opposite of what it’s supposed to do, but proponents argue that it must be put in high-quality olive oil for the full effect as water may lead to these unintended problems. But once the substance enters your body it is impossible to prevent it from interacting with water at a microscopic level. So, these things need to be studied because they aren't clear at all and there could be consequences.
Personally, I think this is an interesting intervention and one that deserves more research, but there isn’t enough data on how this man-made molecule interacts with our biology long term or in conjunction with other nutrients, toxins and genes themselves. Another question is if this molecule responds to 5G or similar signals, since we have seen that graphene oxide does and graphine is basically a two-dimensional version of a Bucky Ball.
It’s also difficult to evaluate Carbon 60's effectiveness. How exactly do you measure your free radical levels? This can be done to some limited extent using some really expensive tests (like an 8-0HdG test), but this is the problem here. You might be able to measure a few of those markers before and after a period of taking C60, but you’d have to do it in a way that isolates the treatment compared to anything else you’re doing like supplements, food, lifestyle and so on - which is practically impossible.
This experimental design inherently has flaws in it, and at $150 for 300ml it’s hard to judge if that money would get you equal or greater results being invested in known antioxidants like selenium, vitamin E, vitamin C and so on which are way cheaper and are actually things that your body needs.
As a comparison, for about the same $150 you can get the following high quality, research proven antioxidants your body requires every day:
A bottle of whole food vitamin C chewables
A bottle of both AC Grace’s tocotrienols and mixed tocopherols (vitamin E)
A month supply of this whole food antioxidant powder
A bottle of Albion chelated selenium
If it were me, I’d rather put my money in all of that stuff than a small bottle of fancy olive
oil. Now, I've tried Carbon 60 for about a month to see for myself if I would feel any noticeable difference since it is so raved about in anti-aging blogs. I take a lot of stuff, so it didn’t really do anything for me in terms of my energy or feeling less inflammation or less soreness from exercise.
Outside of these subjective measurements there wasn’t anything else that I could say was beneficial. I love olive oil, so that part was great, but it was a hefty price to pay, even if you’re a fan. The company I ordered it from is called SES Research, and if this is something you are interested in, I would recommend getting it from them as they have strict quality control and production standards and are a strong name in the field.
Nevertheless remember that research is still in its infancy and the verdict is still not clear on Carbon 60's long-term effects or even its effectiveness to do what it supposedly does. So, be smart.
References
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0891584909003669
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237293/
3. https://www.sesres.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/07/Edison-Castro-Fullerenes-in-Bio-Med.pdf
4. https://scinapse.io/papers/2110248411
5. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21746-lifeextending-properties-of-buckyballs-questioned/
6. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527091910.htm
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2421009/
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16005959/
