My great grandmother Vera lived to 98. She smoked and had an occasional drink. However, she was a very happy and social person who loved to invite friends and family over, and they loved it too since she was a great cook and had a great sense of humor.
She was very active always going out and about, had a simple healthy diet and had strong religious beliefs. While genetically she may not have had the best chances to live longer, a lot of her daily habits actually were secrets to her long life. And as you will see below, you already know most of these secrets as "these are good for you" steps.
My other inspiration for this article was a brilliant book by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, MD, a Chief medical correspondent for CNN. In “Chasing Life” he offers tips to slow aging and talks about new discoveries in the search for a long life, from the shockingly common stem cell injections in a Russian clinic to happy centenarians in Okinawa. As Dr. Gupta reveals, people are aging less and partly thanks to the acceptance of a healthier lifestyle. His advice, as many other life extension sources, turns out is right in front of us.
Attitude is half the battle, since so much originates in our mind. Getting upset easily and being angry or holding a grudge – all this spikes your stress levels high and it is not good for the heart. So take it easy, understand that there are certain things that are outside your control and focus on what you can change.
For example, if somebody cuts in front of you in heavy traffic, you may get upset, yell or honk, but all it does is push your stress levels up and it’s not worth it. Can you change bad drivers? Not personally. So relax, drive defensively and if someone upsets you, take a deep breath and keep on driving.
Think about how this will add years to your life. A National Geographic study of centenarians in Sardinia, Okinawa and California revealed that less stress and a more fulfilled life are essential to living longer.
Being involved in your community and having friends/socializing, having a purpose in life – whether it’s work or just a simple hobby, having faith – these are all components of a long life. So reduce stress and focus on your interests. Try yoga, a bubble bath, getting together with friends, or just listening to favorite music or reading a good book.
Sleep is extremely important. Just ask the models at Bryant Park what helps their youthful looks and sleep will certainly be at the top of the list. Yone Minagawa from Japan was 114 when she died. She lived an active and social life, but personally attributed her life span to getting enough z’s.
Sleep is important to repairing daily cell damage. The bottom line is: get your 7-8 hours of sleep a night and contribute more years to your life span.
Actually, according to Time Asia magazine, Japanese live exceptionally longer lives, living on average up to 82 years (compare to 77 in the US, though still better than 47 back in 1900). Some of their secrets are eating more fish and less meat, having more vegetables and staying consistently active.
Diet and exercise are keys to your health – your weight, your cholesterol levels, and, turns out, your life span. Many of the Okinawa residents commonly eat until they are about 80% full, they eat a bigger breakfast, frequently more like dinner with a lot of healthy protein and a lot of water-rich foods.
Dr. Gupta also maintains that our diets need more vitamin C, magnesium and fiber-rich foods, and overall we need to minimize (reduce calories) but eat more quality foods. This is not hard to do – just a matter of making good choices.
And exercise has been linked to healthier bodies and longer lives for a long time – just look at the ancient Greeks. Walking is the easiest form of exercise affordable and available to everybody. Read more about walking here.
My grandmother Vera walked every day, but she also unintentionally changed her routine all the time – she would take the stairs to her 5th floor apartment one day or get on a bicycle on another. You probably already know that variety is key to sticking with exercise.
Make sure you stretch, especially after a workout, and try to do something every day, even as simple as walking. I was curious to read in Dr. Gupta’s book that upper-body training is particularly useful in adding years to your life.
Barbara Walters’ aging special (Live to 150, Can you do it?) revealed there are over 84,000 people living to 100 and beyond in the US and that number is climbing. The show showed some upcoming scientific breakthroughs that can slow aging but the principles again are the same – good diet, steady exercise, happy social life, hobbies, but an interesting tidbit was on how much good you can get from red wine.
And WebMD quotes a 40-year Dutch study that concluded that drinking wine in moderation actually contributed to a longer life. While alcohol can be very addictive and excesses will hurt your chances of living longer, a moderate amount of wine can lower your HDL cholesterol and prevent blood clots.
Additionally, some red wines have a natural compound resveratrol that can trick the body to think it’s getting fewer calories than it actually is. So drinking a glass of red wine is similar to a reduced calorie diet and calorie restriction has been linked with a longer life.
Aside from fitness and nutrition, it’s important to exercise your brain. In fact, Alzheimer’s association had a huge campaign recently called "maintain your brain". Learn a new language or a new skill, solve a NY Times puzzle, read a book, write a blog – keep your mind engaged to stay healthy.
Dr. Gupta also points out that staying social and having discussions or debates with your friends will help your brain.
Dr. Andrew Weil’s book Healthy Aging focuses on aging well vs. life extension. Dr. Weil believes in delaying the onset and cutting the risk of age-related illnesses, particularly cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. How do you do this?
The principles are similar to living longer tips above – eating right, exercising, resting enough, and avoiding stress. I receive Dr. Weil’s e-mail newsletter with healthy recipes and absolutely love his approach to getting more plant-based foods and more whole foods (vs. processed types).
He is also a huge fan of salmon, knowing how good those omega-3 fats are for you, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.
Ultimately, as Dr. Gupta, Dr. Weil, Barbara Walters, Time, National Geographic and numerous other sources reviewed reveal, there is no fountain of youth. At least not yet. What you can do is follow these healthy living guidelines and hope for the best.
After all, optimism is the biggest contributor to living longer.
