September is Healthy Aging Month! To celebrate, I want to share with you the 6 Keys to Longevity that I help my clients master through nutrition coaching. These keys not only help them to transform their health in the now, but also improve their chances of living a long healthy life with their families for years to come.
When I begin my work with my clients, they all have similar goals: to lose weight and feel better overall. However, when we start to dig a little deeper, we find that what they really want is to improve their health so that they can spend more time with their families, enjoy a long, healthy life free of disease and suffering, watch their kids grow up, and dance at their granddaughters’ wedding. Weight loss, for them, is just how they improve their chances at the latter.
Health for me used to be about weight loss, too. But, my grandpa’s fight with Dementia forced me to look at health from a different perspective. As I began to research and understand that his condition could have been prevented, I was forced to shift my approach to health and the work I do with my clients. I came to realize that over half of the U.S. population was suffering from chronic health conditions that were stealing years from their healthspan. On the bright side, it doesn’t have to be that way. Though we think of chronic health conditions as genetic, it turns out that genes have less than a 10% influence over your fate of developing these diseases. The remaining 90% of our risk factors lay in our nutrition and lifestyle habits.
I now focus on what matters MOST when it comes to the health of my clients (and myself!) so they not only lose weight, but also transform their overall health so they can avoid chronic diseases and improve longevity. Giving them the best chances at being able to watch their kids & grandkids grow up, travel the world with their spouse throughout retirement, and age healthily without being confined to a hospital bed or a wheelchair.
I do this by helping my clients (and myself!) optimize the 6 Keys to Longevity through nutrition and lifestyle. These are the 6 Keys that I will be sharing with you in this post!
6 Keys to Longevity
These 6 keys are all systems in your body that must be optimized for overall health. When any one of these systems are out of balance, we can experience chronic health conditions and worsened well-being. Decreasing our quality of life, healthspan, and longevity.
Here’s how the 6 keys can impact our chances of chronic diseases and why optimizing them can improve longevity.
- Gut Health: as Hippocrates says, “all disease begins in the gut.” And it’s true! Healthy aging depends on a healthy gut. Research has shown that a healthy gut is a key indicator of individuals who live past 100.
Gut & Chronic Diseases: Poor gut health has been implicated in many chronic health conditions that reduce one’s lifespan and quality of life. Autoimmune conditions, inflammatory bowel disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancers, obesity, type 2 diabetes, mental health disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases have all been linked to gut disturbances (1,2). Unfortunately in today’s society, our guts are under attack. With the many environmental toxins, dietary components, and lifestyle factors that we are regularly exposed to, it’s hard to have a healthy gut makeup.
How to Improve Longevity: Research is starting to look into using gut microbiome interventions as a treatment for many chronic conditions like cancer. But you don’t have to have a chronic condition to start your own microbiome intervention for healthy aging! It is extremely important that you focus on improving the health of your gut by eliminating gut toxins, restoring your intestinal barrier, and repopulating your gut with beneficial and protective bacteria. My 3R approach to gut healing helps my clients to undo damage that has already been done to their guts, and protect themselves from our current gut-disrupting environment. - Metabolic Health: many scientists believe that insulin resistance is at the root of all of today’s chronic diseases of aging.
Metabolic & Chronic Diseases: Research has shown that insulin resistance is the leading cause of heart disease (3). Certain types of cancers have also been linked to insulin resistance and Metabolic Syndrome (4). And Alzheimer’s disease is now being called Type 3 Diabetes because of the impact insulin resistance has on our brains (5). What’s even more concerning is that 88% of the population is metabolically unhealthy, and may be experiencing hyperinsulinemia (a precursor to prediabetes) without even knowing it. Most of the people who have prediabetes go undiagnosed, sometimes for decades before it shows up on lab work. And, this “silent” hyperinsulinemia is linked to several health conditions (independent of insulin resistance!) such as certain types of cancers, obesity, Dementia, vascular diseases, and more (6).
How to Improve Longevity: Because of the prevalence of metabolic disorder in our society, and the inefficiency of current lab tests to warn those who may be at risk for diabetes, it is important for everyone to focus on their metabolic health to improve their longevity (and quality of life in the now!). In my work with my clients, I help them to improve their metabolic health by restoring insulin sensitivity in their cells. We do this by ensuring their diet and lifestyle is one that keeps insulin secretion regulated so that they can reverse hyperinsulinemia and avoid prediabetes and insulin resistance. - Inflammation: inflammation in itself is a healthy, natural process that has helped humans to evolve and last as long as we have. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can start to disturb our health and longevity.
Inflammation & Chronic Diseases: chronic inflammation is both the cause, and the result, of the top two keys we just discussed, implicating it through these pathways to several chronic diseases.
However, independent on its effects on gut and metabolic health, research is starting to show that chronic inflammation and the diseases that develop as a result of its impact on the body, are the leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, with “more than 50% of deaths being attributable to inflammation-related diseases”(7). When we experience inflammation in the body for weeks, months, and even years, it can damage our cells and DNA, which can lead to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative diseases.
How to Improve Longevity: Although there are several causes of chronic inflammation, I help my clients to live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle through healthy diet and lifestyle habits. We reduce their exposure to toxins, ensure their diet is full of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory rich foods, and develop a stress-management lifestyle to reduce their risk of chronic inflammation. - Nutrient Status: thanks to the *relatively* recently developed RDA recommendations, the majority of the population are avoiding nutritional deficiency illnesses like scurvy or rickets.
Nutrient Status & Chronic Diseases: That being said, diseases of aging may actually be exacerbated by suboptimal nutrient levels that don’t meet the definition of “deficiency.” That’s because the RDA recommendations of particular nutrients are just enough to help us avoid deficiency illnesses. However, our bodies need a much higher level of these nutrients to carry out their everyday processes. We need higher doses of specific nutrients in order to repair DNA, fight oxidative damage, and other processes that help us to age healthily. Suboptimal nutrient intake (even when meeting the RDA!) may lead to aging diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancers (8).
How to Improve Longevity: Up to 92% of the population may not be getting adequate amounts of nutrients to slow the aging process. It’s important to get optimal levels of nutrients through a wide variety of real, whole foods in order to ensure you’re getting enough nutrients that your body needs to not just avoid deficiency, but allow for all processes in the body to run smoothly. - Sleep: sleep is actually the #2 skill I help my clients master, because it is absolutely necessary when it comes to all things health. Including longevity.
Sleep & Chronic Diseases: During sleep, the brain goes through its own type of “car wash”. This is when it clears itself of all of the waste products that accumulate throughout the day. When we don’t get enough high quality sleep, this “clearance” process is disrupted, and can lead to build up of amyloid beta plaque, which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases (9). Not getting enough high quality sleep is also associated with chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and even depression (10). All conditions that can steal both our healthspan AND quality of life.
How to Improve Longevity: The brain and body need between 7-8 hours of HIGH QUALITY sleep to recover, repair, and restore in order to not only have enough energy the following day, but also improve our lifespan and reduce our risk of chronic diseases. Like I said, sleep is the #2 skill I help my clients master, because it is that important for your health. Tonight, hit the hay an hour earlier! - Stress: in today’s society, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that between 75-90% of doctors visits are caused, or exacerbated, by chronic stress. I’ve heard from way too many of my clients that they feel like their “stress is killing them.” And, they’re not entirely wrong.
Stress & Chronic Diseases: Chronic stress is linked to increased instances of hypertension, cancers, chronic inflammation, obesity, and even strokes (11). Although we think of stress as only a psychological occurrence, or happening “all in your head,” it actually has several biological underpinnings. It raises blood sugar (which can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes over time), weakens our immune system (which can lead to chronic inflammation), disrupts our gut microbiome, and impacts our ability to get good quality sleep (12).
How to Improve Longevity: Eliminating stress is impossible, so I help my clients to manage their stress appropriately to not only help them feel better and cope with life in the now, but improve their longevity over time as well. Regular, daily stress relieving activities should be a part of your healthy routine.
By optimizing these 6 keys you will: avoid chronic diseases, improve your quality of life in the now and in the future, increase your healthspan and your longevity. These 6 keys are the Pillars of my MINDPEAK program. Through 1:1 nutrition coaching, I help my clients to build nutrition and lifestyle skills that ensure all of these systems are running smoothly. This allows them not only to lose weight and transform their health in the now, BUT also protect their health and longevity for years to come so that they can break it down on the dance floor of their granddaughter’s wedding. We work together to make optimizing these 6 keys SO simple and sustainable that they can still be doing it while hiking the Swiss Alps at 85 years old. If you want to learn more about how YOU can optimize these 6 keys so that YOU can improve your chances of a long, healthy, and happy life, sign up for a free 30 minute coaching session with me here.
When it comes to life, it’s not about how long you live, but how healthy and happy you are doing it. By optimizing these 6 Keys to Longevity, you will improve your chances of a long healthy life free of chronic diseases, and full of fun memories.
References:
1.Vijay, A., & Valdes, A. M. (2021, September 28). Role of the gut microbiome in chronic diseases: a narrative review. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 76(4), 489–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-021-00991-6
2.Akbar, N., Khan, N. A., Muhammad, J. S., & Siddiqui, R. (2022, March). The role of gut microbiome in cancer genesis and cancer prevention. Health Sciences Review, 2, 100010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hsr.2021.100010
- Ormazabal, V., Nair, S., Elfeky, O., Aguayo, C., Salomon, C., & Zuñiga, F. A. (2018, August 31). Association between insulin resistance and the development of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-018-0762-4
- Pan, K., Chlebowski, R. T., Mortimer, J. E., Gunther, M. J., Rohan, T., Vitolins, M. Z., Adams‐Campbell, L. L., Ho, G. Y. F., Cheng, T. D., & Nelson, R. A. (2020, June 12). Insulin resistance and breast cancer incidence and mortality in postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative. Cancer, 126(16), 3638–3647. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33002
- Cardoso, S., Seiça, R., & Moreira, P. I. (2017). Diabesity and Brain Energy Metabolism: The Case of Alzheimer’s Disease. Advances in Neurobiology, 117–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63260-5_5
6.Crofts, C. A. P. (2015, October 15). Hyperinsulinemia: A unifying theory of chronic disease? Diabesity, 1(4), 34. https://doi.org/10.15562/diabesity.2015.19
- Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D. W., Fasano, A., Miller, G. W., Miller, A. H., Mantovani, A., Weyand, C. M., Barzilai, N., Goronzy, J. J., Rando, T. A., Effros, R. B., Lucia, A., Kleinstreuer, N., & Slavich, G. M. (2019, December). Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nature Medicine, 25(12), 1822–1832. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0
8. Ames, B. (2006, November 21). Low micronutrient intake may accelerate the degenerative diseases of aging through allocation of scarce micronutrients by triage. PNAS, 103(47). - Xie, L., Kang, H., Xu, Q., Chen, M. J., Liao, Y., Thiyagarajan, M., O’Donnell, J., Christensen, D. J., Nicholson, C., Iliff, J. J., Takano, T., Deane, R., & Nedergaard, M. (2013b, October 18). Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science, 342(6156), 373–377. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1241224
- CDC – Sleep and Chronic Disease – Sleep and Sleep Disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/chronic_disease.html#:%7E:text=Notably%2C%20insufficient%20sleep%20has%20been,disease%2C%20obesity%2C%20and%20depression
- Mariotti, A. (2015, November). The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication. Future Science OA, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.4155/fso.15.21
- Pautler, A. (2013, December 17). Beyond Paleo: Manage Your Stress. Chris Kresser. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://chriskresser.com/beyond-paleo-7/