Healthspan and Longevity: Diet and Exercise

Food contains protein, fat, sugar, minerals, vitamins, fiber and numerous bioactive compounds such as polyphenols. Our diet also directly effects our microbiome, a healthy microbiome is a key need for health.

Everybody starting a longevity program must consider diet. It is a truth that as we age we need less calories and we become worse at handling sugar, we will need to eat less and cut back on simple carbohydrates

If you look at the diets of societies that age well, they have some things in common. They maintain energy balance, they contain a lot of fresh foods, they do not consume junk food or processed food, they contain few simple carbohydrates, they consume a wide range of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruits.

A given food can have a different quality depending on how it is produced, for instance grain fed meat has a completely different and less beneficial fat profile to grass fed meat

Any diet will need to accommodate personal preferences and food allergies and intolerances. This is a complicated area with no set solution. Professional input and monitoring should be available to all going on a Healthspan and Longevity program.

Exercise is integral to a healthy aging program. This should be aimed at maintaining aerobic capacity (think of this as “fitness”) and muscle mass and strength. Without active management we will all lose aerobic capacity, muscle and strength as we age, it will then come to a point where we lose the ability to care for ourselves and need some form of care.

It is never too late to start a fitness program but earlier is better. This means that your fitness program has to be sustainable. All programs should have an element of Zone 2 (cardio exercise at a moderate level) training, strengthening and social. Also incorporate high intensity training once or twice a week if it does not cause too much discomfort.

An overlooked need is the need to get outside in nature. In a recent study in the British Medical Journal, exercise is more effective for depression than SSRI’s (drugs such as Prozac, Lexapro and Effexor) and the most effective exercise of all is walking. In my view this reflects the truth that when walking you are usually in nature, earthed, in a quiet environment and away from the stress of the modern world, with a benefit all its own.