About 18 months ago I start really focusing on how our bodies age, how our DNA changes as we age, what are genetics really mean and what I can do to slow down the aging process.
When I tell people that I am fascinated by functional health and longevity and that I want to live to 120, I often hear “you just don’t want to get old” or “Why do fear death and aging so much.” And I had to really think about that because I don’t fear death at all, what I fear is not living. I want to be as healthy as I can be for as long as I can, to truly live. I don’t want to live with dis-ease. In many of the books I have read they classify the aging of our bodies as a disease and therefore there are ways to prevent and slowdown aging.
I am one of those people that love to have goals and to focus on the end result that I want, more than instant gratification. I know that may seem uncommon for a lot of people but I don’t mind creating new habits now that will benefit me in 40 years and not next week or next month and longevity is definitely a marathon not a sprint.
The best part about all the research I have done is 1. It’s not has hard has you would think, there are a lot of small things you can do to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes. Things that can help your gut, your microbiome, organs, and telomere length (the ends of your DNA chromosomes that shorten as we age) and 2. It’s never too late to start focusing on a healthier lifestyle to live longer.
I wanted to share some of the tools I have used and what I have learned in case you too are interested in living healthier longer.
There are few lab tests that you can do, and yes they are expensive but so is treating a disease you could have prevents. The amount of information that you receive in my opinion is worth it, even if you have to sacrifice buying something else.
The first test is called TruAge Complete, now this test is $499.00 (Last year for Black Friday it was 30% off) But this test shows you the health of your DNA, your biological age (this is the age of your body and organs not your chronological age), the pace at which your body is aging, your telomere length, it even tells you base on your DNA what type of diet you should follow or not follow. https://trudiagnostic.com/products/truage-complete-epigenetic-collection
The same company now offers another test with less reports but still good information, called TruAge Pace for $229 This one will tell you the pace you are aging and your telomere length. https://trudiagnostic.com/products/truage-pace
Another very helpful thing to do for your body is extensive lab work. A company called Function Health has a membership program where they test you for over 100 biomarkers that most doctors do not test for, give you recommendations and 6 months later you retest. https://www.functionhealth.com/
The suggestions to get the test done comes from knowing your starting point, this is very helpful so that you can take an intentional approach to your health, what does YOUR body need to function at its best as opposed to the general population.
I have read several books over the last year or so, I wanted to share these with you as well in case you love to read and grow your knowledge in this area as well.
- The New Rules for Aging Well, Dr. Frank Lipman https://amzn.to/47qOMLP
- Young Forever, Dr. Mark Hyman https://amzn.to/47qXgmj
- Eat to Beat Disease, Dr. William Li https://amzn.to/3OTQKNx
- Change Your Brain Every Day, Dr. Daniel Amen https://amzn.to/3QEJIgW
- State Change, Dr. Robin Berzin https://amzn.to/3Ow3Sab
- Younger You, Dr Kara Fitzgerald https://amzn.to/3DRIMy3
- The Obesity Fix, Dr. James DiNicolantonio https://amzn.to/45p32mv
- This one is next on my list I have not read it yet…. Outlive The Science & Art of Longevity, Dr. Peter Attia https://amzn.to/3ORAWLo
But if you don’t want to read and you don’t want to get the lab work done…. Here are some easy things everyone should do to help their body age better and live healthier longer!
- Move your body every day, make sure to mix up the type of workouts you do, cardiovascular, strength training, and stretching
- Drink more green tea. Green tea is packed with benefits, including reduces your risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
- Make meditation a part of your daily routine. Most people are filled with stress and the inability to be present, practicing mediation daily helps remove stress from your body, teaches you how to be present and slow down the mind.
- Sleep might be the most important thing you can do for your body, everyone should get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. I know I have heard all the excuses, I don’t have 7 hours to sleep or my favorite “my body only needs 4 hours.” First everyone has 7 hours to sleep, you need to reprioritize your time. 2. Your body does NEED more than 4 hours of sleep that is not enough time for your brain and body to recover from the day. You will age a lot quicker if you don’t prioritize your sleep.
- Eat some super foods every day, try to eat 3-4 of these foods every day: Apricots, blueberries, cherries, kiwifruit, mangos, nectarines, peaches, plums, carrots, eggplant, kale, black tea, green tea, coffee chamomile tea, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, olive oil, and even dark chocolate.
- Have a daily gratitude practice. Practicing gratitude improves sleep, mood, and immunity, while also decreasing depression, anxiety, and difficulties with chronic pain and risk of disease.
- Don’t eat fried food. I don’t think this even needs a reason why. Just don’t do it.
- Limit the amount of processed foods you it, if it’s in a can, box, jar, it’s probably processed. Not all of it is but most of it is. Easy rule of thumb, if you read the ingredient label and there are more than 3-5 things listed it’s processed and usually you can’t pronounce half of the ingredient.
- Eliminate sugar as much as you can. Sugar is hidden in so many things, it is also one of the leading cause of death. Sugar acts as a source of energy for cancer cells and all infectious diseases. Try your hardest to not eat it.
- Take a cold shower or cold plunge regularly. I know this doesn’t sound fun but the benefits are worth it. I personally put on a 3 minute meditation as I stand under the freezing water. This helps decrease inflammation in your body, helps with circulation, and believe it or not it boosts your mood and may help with depression.
I know this newsletter had a lot of information, it’s a true passion of mine to give as many people this information as possible to truly help being live healthy on purpose. Try to incorporate at least one of the 10 things above into your week this week, then build on it.
If you are wanting to dig into living healthy on purpose a little more, I would love to work with you as a client. Just send me an email click here!