Proven Secrets for Living a Long, Healthy Life By Judith Finlayson
Do you wish you could live forever? You are not alone. These days researchers are actively exploring the biology of aging and developing interventions to slow down or even reverse how quickly we age.
Longevity Research is Booming
Scientists are investigating pharmaceuticals, like the diabetes drug metformin, which appears to improve metabolic health in ways that delay aging and high-tech procedures, which, for instance, reprogram aging cells. Other initiatives involve nutraceuticals that appear to put the brakes on growing old, like NAD+, a compound your body produces less of as you age. In practical terms, these findings remain hypothetical.
Lifespan Versus Healthspan
The question is: Is it worth living into your 90’s if you’ve been sick and disabled for the previous thirty years --- the case for most Americans. In the United States, 80% of people over the age of 65 manage at least one chronic illness and more and more are being treated for multiple conditions.
However, this doesn’t need to be the case. An abundance of evidence shows that a healthy lifestyle can slow down the onset of chronic conditions, extending your lifespan and the number of years you remain free of debilitating disease.
Lifestyle Not Genes Determines Longevity and Health
Contrary to conventional wisdom, research suggests that unless you are born with certain mutations, genes account for about 10 percent of individual differences in longevity. The lion’s share is determined by environment and lifestyle --- what you eat and how you live and work.
Data from two large US studies identified clear links between life expectancy and a “low risk lifestyle” based on the following determinants:
eat a nutritious diet,
maintain a normal weight,
engage in regular physical activity,
don’t smoke and/or over imbibe in alcohol.
Fifty-year-old people who adopted this lifestyle while generally healthy could expect to escape major chronic illness for longer than those with less healthy habits ---- a 10-year extension for women and 7.6 years for men. While embracing all five healthy behaviors reaped the greatest rewards, adopting just one or two was shown to prolong health and extend longevity.
Your Microbiome Pulls Many Strings
Longevity research took a turn about 20 years ago when the term microbiome entered the picture and studies began linking a plethora of age-related diseases with poor gut health. Now we know that the bacteria residing in your gut microbiome (this includes your esophagus, stomach, and intestines) affect every aspect of your health and well-being throughout your lifetime.
A Healthy Gut Helps to Keep You Young
Virtually all chronic diseases associated with aging, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart disease and even some types of cancer are linked with inflammation, a condition so prevalent in older people that researchers have coined the term “inflammaging.” Research shows that a healthy gut, which is populated by many different bacterial species (bacterial diversity) works to keep inflammation under control.
Gut Bacteria Evolve With Age
Like most other functions, your microbiome changes as you age. Over time your microbial residents fluctuate, usually in response to environmental impacts like diet, exercise, stress and medications you may take. Most elderly people lose bacteria that support wellness and accumulate species that are detrimental to health.
The older you get the more likely you are to lose specific strains of bacteria that help your body battle inflammation. Robust elderly people don’t exhibit as much inflammation as their devitalized peers; they also have a higher ratio of anti-inflammatory bacteria.
Aging also raises the risk of losing muscle mass and strength. Older people who remain physically strong have higher ratios of anti-inflammatory bacteria, supporting muscle strength. Frail elderly people show varying degrees of bacterial imbalance --- for instance reduced levels of beneficial lactobacillus bacteria compared to their more robust peers.
Cultivating a Healthy Microbiome
Microbes take up residence based on factors like your genome and lifestyle. Eating a nutritious diet, heavy on plant foods, is the best strategy for creating an environment that helps to build a healthy microbiome.
Many edibles, including healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids and fermented foods contribute to bacterial diversity. However, for bulking up the ratio of “good guys,” plant foods win first prize. Research shows that consuming 30 different plant foods every week is the surest way to diversify your microbiome. Plant foods contain compounds like polyphenols (prevalent in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbs) and fiber (legumes and whole grains are well-known sources) which have been shown to foster bacterial diversity.
Healthy Habits Generate a Wealth of Benefits
Tamping down inflammation is just one contributor to the anti-aging sweepstakes but it’s one of many you can control by making positive lifestyle choices. As mentioned, research consistently shows that healthy lifestyle habits work together, helping you to live longer while maintaining good health.
Judith Finlayson is a journalist and bestselling author with a longstanding interest in health and nutrition. Her most recent book, You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics, and the Origins of Chronic Disease, was published in 2019. It has been translated into 7 foreign-language editions, including French, German, Spahis and Japanese. Visit her at www.judithfinlayson.com.