How to live to 100 years? It's a question many ask. How hard is it to do? Turns out, living to 100 may not be as difficult as something. Your longevity is not completely determined by your genes as was once thought. There are many things you can do to increase not only your lifespan but your health span as well. Your health span is the length of your life that you remain healthy. If you really want to live as long as you can -and do stay healthy – in episode 15 of my podcast, I break it down into 5 steps you should be thinking about implementing. Can you guess what the one thing you should NOT do is?
Episode Summary
1 Exercise
- What are the benefits of exercise?
- Alters genes for the better (epigenetic changes) see episode 12
- Lowers RHR (aim for 65bpm)
- Improves size/number of mitochondria
- Improves blood vessel health
- Raises Nitric oxide levels
- Helps insulin work better
- Reduces cellular inflammation
- Improves your microbiome
- Improves sarcopenia (proposed gut-muscle axis)
- How much exercise you need
- Does exercise increase life expectancy?
- The 30-second chair stand test
2 Eat more colorful foods
- What are the colors in foods?
- What are phytonutrients
- Carotenoid (eg beta carotene) found in broccoli, tomatoes, sweet potatoes
- Flavonoids found in apples, teas, berries
- Ellagic acid found in blueberries and strawberries
- Allium found in garlic and onions
- How many phytonutrients are there?
- foods vs. supplements (the story you've never heard)
- what about intermittent fasting? Does it work?
3 Know your blood pressure
- what is blood pressure
- sodium vs. potassium: effects on blood pressure
- how to recognize sodium in foods (just 2 things to remember)
4 Don't smoke
- Smoking statistics
- Why smoking is not healthy
5. How to manage bad stress
- How does stress promote aging/disease
- What is hormesis?
- GAS – general adaptation syndrome
- Alarm phase
- Resistance phase
- Exhaustion phase
References
- Video: 30 Second Chair Stand Test (CDC)
- Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study.
- Wall Push Up Go4 Life (NIH)
- Dietary fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular diseases risk.
- What are some types of phytochemicals
- Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
- Surgeon General Report (pdf)
- Cancer Control (PDF)
- The Truth.com
- Longevity and aging: beneficial effects of exposure to mild stress.
- The Hunger Gains: Extreme Calorie Restriction Diet Shows Anti Aging Results
- Cigarette smoking associated with premature facial wrinkling: image analysis of facial skin replicas.
- The Effect of Tobacco Smoking on Bone Mass: An Overview of Pathophysiologic Mechanisms
- Association Between Informal Caregiving and Cellular Aging in the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin: The Role of Caregiving Characteristics, Stress, and Strain