Lifestyle Changes and Habits to Support Longevity:

Lifestyle Changes and Habits and to Support Longevity

Hello all, My name is Regan Erdmann and I am a Nutrition and Kinesiology major. I would like to bring your attention to the fact that the average cost of living in nursing homes each year is $66,000 per year. $66,000. Per year. Absolutely outrageous, who wants to spend their life working to have to pay that much for care each year? And one of the biggest regrets older folks have is not not taking their health seriously when they were younger. By adjusting habits now, your lifespan can be increased and the number of years spent in a nursing home can decrease. I would like you to ask yourself, if you have thought at some point in time that you have no control over your lifespan and it is dictated by genetics and DNA? I am here to say, that you have more control over your lifespan than you might realize. Aging is a disease that can be slowed and there are many scientifically proven methods to slow aging and increase longevity. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress all play a large part in the aging process, and all when done correctly can be used to slow or reverse aging. I hope everyone will clear idea of how their diet can shape their lifespan and are given the tools to be able to apply practices into their life today.

Nutrition :

There are 3 crucial components to a diet that supports longevity. The first component is adding foods to your diet to support longevity. The best foods to support longevity are fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Adequate fruit and vegetable intake are crucial for increasing longevity as well. This may not come as a surprise as we know fruits and vegetables are good for us. However, what you might not know is that fruits and vegetables contain antioxidant properties which fight against different diseases and cancers. In order for cancers and heart diseases to take place, certain carcinogens or cellular macromolecules must convert to an oxidized form. Carcinogens are simply any substance that can cause cancer and macromolecules are very large molecules composed of a lot of atoms. Both of these are found in the body. Antioxidants can be used to slow or stop the oxidization of these carcinogens. Antioxidants can be found in a number of different fruits and vegetables like blueberries, strawberries, kale, spinach, and red cabbage. The CDC recommends 1 ½ - 2 cups of fruit per day and 2-3 cups of vegetables, this will ensure that you are consuming an adequate amount of antioxidants to slow the aging process. Next, a food that has a strong correlation to longevity is nuts. A study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition done by Sabete found that eating nuts 5 or more times per week decreases mortality by 18-44%. There is a tremendous benefit to adding nuts into your diet at least 5 times per week. Not only do nuts lower the chances of having different age-related diseases, but they also provide crucial nutrients which fight against aging. They provide omega-3s, protein, polyphenols, and vitamin E which are all necessary for slowing the rate of aging.

The next component of a longevity-supporting diet is the elimination of animal products. Vegetarian and vegan diets have been shown, through research, to increase lifespan and decrease the risk of diseases associated with death. 7th-day Adventists are a Christian denomination that stresses how important it is to take care of the physical body. Many of them do not consume meat or animal products as it goes against their religious beliefs. 7th- day Advantest also ranks among the longest-living people. David Snowdown performed a study on 7th-day Adventists who did not eat meat and those who did and found that those who didn't eat meat were less likely to die from ischemic heart disease. Their vegan diet may be the cause of their long life. Vegans and vegetarians also consume far less saturated fats than a normal diet. Saturated fats are linked to different heart diseases and early deaths. Another crucial part of vegan and vegetarian diets that has been found beneficial for increasing lifespan is limiting the amino acids. The good news is, that all the essential amino acids can be found in a plant diet, limiting the amount may be the key factor to longevity. David Sinclair, a professor at Harvard University and leading scientist in longevity, has said that limiting the intake of amino acids puts the body under “the sort of stress which engages our survival circuits.” This isn’t to say, one shouldn’t consume amino acids, just limiting the amount has been found to be beneficial which can easily be accomplished in a vegan or vegetarian diet. A study done at the University of Michigan limited the amino acid methionine mice consume and found that it added 20% to the average lifespan of rats. Slowly decreasing your consumption of animal products could lead to a tremendous increase in your lifespan and a decrease in the risk of different fatal diseases.

Finally, the last component of a diet that supports a long life is consuming fewer calories overall. Overconsumption of food is a very real problem in today's society due to the easy access to food, particularly unhealthy food. However, research has proven that being mindful of food consumption and keeping overall calories on the lower end will lead to a longer life. The Blue Zones is a book written by Dan Buettner which has identified 5 parts of the world that hold the largest amount of centenarians, people over 100. When identifying the trends in each area that lead people to live a long life, he found a common theme. People who live to be older than 100, ate few calories and maintained low body weight. Those who lived in Okinawan, Japan, and lived to be over 100 went by the 80% rule which is eating until they were 80% full. The body is not always great at picking up cues when it is full, especially when eating. So eating until you are 80% full and letting it digest, will leave you feeling satisfied and will lead to more years of life. I am not advertising that you go on a diet as it is proven diets do not work for the majority of people. Research is suggesting to be mindful of your consumption and choosing foods that are lower in calories. By keeping animal product consumption low and substituting chips and foods high in saturated fats for fruits and vegetables, caloric intake will be lower in turn.

Exercise

As we all know, exercise is good for us. It can make us feel mentally, physically, and emotionally better. It can also increase lifespan. We know that exercises will strengthen muscles and bones which will lead to fewer fatal falls and slips as we age. It also reduces blood pressure which is going to aid in living longer and keeps the heart in shape and healthy. You may not know however what Evan O’Keefe, a medical doctor at Tulane University, has said, “Exercise results in other physiological changes that can help slow the aging process: It is anti-inflammatory. Inflammation of muscle and other tissues in the body is associated with aging. Exercise can lessen this effect.” By establishing an exercise routine, your body experiences an anti-inflammatory effect that is directly linked to slowing the aging process. How much exercise you may be wondering. It is recommended that you get 35-45 minutes per day. Keep in mind that this will slightly vary from person to person. What kind of exercise should you do to increase longevity? Walking is a great start. Studies have shown that walking even 15 minutes per day, 4 days a week greatly increases lifespan. A recommended 7,000- 10,000 steps per day is a great goal to shoot for.O’keefe has also found that “The best forms of exercise for improving mental health and longevity appear to be social sports such as tennis, golf, badminton, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and group exercise, which not only improves fitness but also promote interpersonal bonding and tend to reduce stress.” No crazy exercise routine is needed, sticking to the basics and enjoying moving your body is a great start!

Stress and Sleep

Stress is a huge problem in today's busy and event-filled world. Although our bodies are equipped to handle stress in short bursts really well, we are not as efficient at handling chronic stress, the common problem in today's society. This chronic stress takes a toll on mental and physical health and can have detrimental effects related to lifespan. “Several groups have also found that chronic stress in aged rats can accelerate the appearance of biomarkers of hippocampal aging” which” induce hippocampal dendritic atrophy and inhibit neurogenesis.” meaning chronic stress can lead to degeneration of parts of the brain and inhibit the process of making new neurons in the brain, which as we know, will cause early aging and ultimately decrease lifespan. Because most of the stress we endure day today is not going to leave anytime soon, we need to be learning how we can manage it. Dr. Crum, a psychology Professor at Standford, has proposed the “Stress is Enhancing Mindset.” The first step begins with accepting stress and being mindful of it. Meaning, acknowledging it is there and getting curious about it. The next step is to welcome it because “inherently in the stress is something you care about.” Within that stress is something one cares about, deeply enough for it to affect them, so by placing a mindset of gratitude towards the stress will begin to modulate those stress hormones. And finally, the last step is to use the stress response to achieve the thing you care about instead of putting time, money, and energy into trying to get rid of the stress. These three steps will ensure that your stress is managed and can add years to your life. Stress goes hand-in-hand with sleep. If sleep is off, stress will increase, and sleep is good, stress can decrease. Sleep is such a crucial aspect of ensuring a long, high-quality life is lived. As we all know sleep is extremely important. It provides time for the body to restore and rejuvenate. It aids in memory, which is going to be crucial as we get older and memory begins to slip. Poor sleep can lead to obesity and heart disease which will shorten life expectancy. Research has found, for adults, sleeping 6-7 hours per tonight correlates to longevity and prevents heart disease. Diego Mazzotti, an associate professor at the University of Kansas, has said, “Measurements revealed that oldest-old individuals maintain a strictly regular sleep and wake schedules and laboratory examinations showed that these individuals also presented a better lipid profile than older adults in our study.” It is absolutely crucial to ensure a have an adequate amount of sleep in order to live a long life.

Conclusion:

Now that you are aware of the fact that you have control over your lifespan, I hope you can take the tools you learned today and begin applying them to your life. I hope you are aware of the foods that increase your lifespan and those that decrease your lifespan and the importance of eating mindfully. I also hope you understand not only the immediate benefits of getting adequate exercise, sleep, and managing stress appropriately but the long-term benefits of these habits as well. I believe learning this information while you are young and applying sooner than later will have great benefit to the quality of your life and the span of your life.

I hope you enjoyed and found this useful. Thank you for reading and as always, reach out with questions or comments!

Regan Erdmann