Longevity 101: Tips for Living a Longer, Healthier Life
By definition, longevity means “long life”. We all use the term and speak candidly about wanting to live longer and stay healthy to an older age, but are we taking the necessary steps to improve our overall health? Better yet, how often do we think about or prioritize our personal longevity as we go about our daily lives? Take a moment to think about that...
Regardless of how you answered the above questions, it’s never too late to start making your longevity a priority. Why? Our life expectancy isn’t solely determined by our genetics. In fact we are empowered with control over many factors that influence our health - such as diet and lifestyle choices - that can help us become healthier, feel better overall, and significantly increase our lifespan. Though not just adding years to our life, but also functional and enjoyable life to our years.
So, where to begin? Below are some of our tips to living longer and becoming a healthier you.
Diet
It’s no surprise that what you eat can determine how you feel and can dictate your overall health. Ideally, your focus should be on an anti-inflammatory eating pattern which primarily focuses on four main categories: 1) Vegetables and fruits, 2) High quality protein, 3) Low glycemic carbs and 4) Healthy fats.
How do you know if you’re getting enough of the four main categories? A good practice is to eat as many colors of fruits and vegetables daily as possible. Antioxidants play an important role in managing longevity pathways. For example, lutein and zeaxanthin, members of the carotenoid family, are found together in foods like Swiss chard and kale and have been shown to help protect eye health (in supplement form at higher doses, they can even slow age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts). By striving to eat vegetables and fruits in a rainbow different colors, you’ll be receiving different antioxidants. Strive for four different colors of vegetable and fruits each day.
High-quality proteins can come in the form of lean meats (chicken, turkey, red meat, and beef), fish, and eggs. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are good sources of healthy carbohydrates. Healthy fats include avocado, nuts, cheese, and dark chocolate, to name a few.
You’ll also want to avoid saturated fats, processed foods, and refined sugar as much as possible. A few common examples of foods to avoid are high fructose corn syrup, margarine, fried foods and fast food.
See this link for tips on following a anti-inflammatory eating pattern.
Sleep
Good sleep is very important! Sleep impacts your body's levels of inflammation, which has been linked to aging and chronic disease. Consistent, quality sleep can reduce your body's oxidative stress, and improve mood, energy levels, and digestion.
There are some lifestyle changes that you can implement immediately for better sleep, at little to no cost. One of the highest priorities is keeping and resetting your circadian rhythm to help increase your overall quality of sleep. This can be accomplished by sticking to a specific sleep schedule, including a routine wake up cycle.
Another way to help maintain your circadian rhythm is to strive to get at least 30 minutes of bright daylight exposure every day. This supports natural circadian rhythm and can improve your body’s hormonal response. We tend to spend most of our workday, and often free time, in front of screens (blue light), too, so we recommend avoiding blue light after sunset.
Stress
Similarly to sleep, stress also influences our body’s inflammation levels. In fact, studies have shown that people who have daily mindful meditative practices that are used to help manage stress have much lower levels of inflammation than those who don’t. Chronic stress can take a serious toll on not only your happiness, but your overall health and longevity. It can lead to high glucose levels, weight gain, and reduced white blood cell count, which can impair your immune system.
Here are a few Tips to Help Prevent & reduce Stress - You’ll be able to determine what works best for you, allowing you to integrate a new stress management technique into your daily routine. Small steps can make a world of difference.
Take time for movement each day. Whether it’s a quick walk or an intense workout, physical activity is a great way to relieve tension and anxiety, while providing mental clarity.
Connect with a loved one. Spending time with family and friends (in-person or on the phone) can increase happiness and improve your overall mood.
Reconnect with nature. Spending just 30 minutes a day in bright daylight can help to reset your body’s natural rhythm. It also helps us to get away from the daily distractions and stressors of everyday life, such as our phones, TV, and computers. A short walk outside or a simple relaxation session with the sun on your face can work wonders. For a wonderful resource for connecting with nature see The Outdoor Adventurer’s Guide to Forest Bathing by Dr. Hackenmiller.
Express gratitude by journaling or writing down your thoughts. This can help you re-energize your thinking in a more positive direction. It can also help you wind down at the end of each day by writing down all of your thoughts and feelings just before rest. You may find you fall asleep quicker by having a clearer mind.
Set aside time aside for self care. Whatever this involves, remember to take ‘me time’. This may be a 10-minute meditation, a short walk, or a hot bath. It could also mean setting aside time to learn something new, take on a new hobby. Find something you enjoy that you can channel your energy to.
Keep your humor alive. Laughing can provide various benefits to your mental and physical health. Some studies suggest it may even boost your immune system and prevent heart disease.
Practice relaxation techniques. Breathing techniques, stretching, and meditation are all useful ways to cope with stress. Everyone responds differently, so don’t be afraid to try out new techniques to find what works for you.
Fuel your body with a balanced diet. Proper nutrition directly correlates with your energy and stress levels. A nutritious diet can deter stress by building your immune system and lowering your blood pressure. Try to include lots of veggies and fruits when you can and limit processed foods.
Exercise
Routine exercise can help reduce your risk of key mortality factors and increase your lifespan. Along with a healthy diet, exercise and fitness are key components to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Ideally, aim for 4-5 times a week of moderate physical activity. This can include weight training, power walking, cycling, and aerobic activities. If you’re finding it difficult to prioritize exercise, try to get in 15 minutes each day of balancing exercises, stretching, or power walking.
Supplements, Medications and Technology
Sometimes we are unable to reach our full potential on our own. You may seek supplements and/or prescription treatments and/or anti-aging tools to help achieve goals that you’d be unable to achieve naturally, or to add layers of protection to an already solid lifestyle plan.
Longevity and health benefits can be seen in scientific support for various supplements and prescription treatments, such as NAD+, Curcumin, EGCG, Melatonin, Vitamin D, Rapamycin, LDN, GLP-1 medications and Metformin. Various anti-aging tools and bio-energy technologies, in particular Photobiomodulation therapy, are now also available to speed and enhance many healing cellular processes. If you’re considering these options, or any others, be sure to explore all available information and consult with a trained Integrative Medicine anti-aging specialist before beginning any new treatment.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re up to implementing a few small changes to your daily routine, or are ready to go all in, there are many different routes you can take. Not only that, being more mindful of your diet and lifestyle choices can help you become an overall better, and healthier YOU.
About The Center for Integrative Healing & Wellness
Dr. Fabio Almeida M.D. ABOIM, ABNM, ABOM is the founder and director of the Center for Integrative Healing & Wellness. Dr. Fabio is a triple board-certified physician with expertise in Integrative & Functional Medicine/Oncology, Molecular Imaging and Obesity. He served as an Assistant Professor of Radiology & Radiation Oncology, and subsequently as the Director of Molecular Imaging for the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson Arizona. Dr. Fabio is a fellow of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Arizona, where he acquired expertise in integrative medicine, herbal medicine, nutrition, fitness, acupuncture, and stress management. He is published in several peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in radiology, oncology, cardiology, nutrition, and information science.
At the Center, Dr. Fabio and his team offer concierge adult primary care and a wide variety of personalized integrative, holistic and anti-aging therapies (traditional medicine, nutrition, culinary medicine, herbal/botanical, lifestyle, weight loss, hormone balance, fitness, energy medicine) to address all our client’s longevity and health care needs.