Would you love to live longer?  How about 80, or 100 or maybe even to 120?  Now this may seem outlandish, or even a little too radical for some people, but in reality, the average lifespan is increasing every year, and I think it is important that we understand what that means for all of us.

But do you have any concerns or worries about that? Do you worry about your health over that time, or do you think there is no point living longer if the quality of life is not worth it? Do you worry what that means for the future of mankind, and for the future of the planet?

Without a doubt, this subject raises a whole lot of confronting questions, and I think the questions are worthy, and need to be considered. After all, age is happening to us all, every day. We just can’t bury our head in the sand.

What does aging mean to you?

For many people, the question of old age presents a mental picture of poor health, arthritis, diminishing eyesight, loss of mobility and so on.  I guess these are reasonable things to be concerned about, as we see many of our aging friends and relatives decline in terms of health and quality of life as they get older.

Good Health and old age

What if I said that in the future, you could have increasing old age AND good health! Whoever said it had to be one or the other?

Science and Medical research has made incredible progress in recent years

Heart Health.  It is true that medical and scientific research have made incredible progress when it comes to improving our health. Heart health has improved immeasurably such that cardiac arrest is no longer the leading killer. This in itself is an incredible statistic, and has probably lead to an increase in the average human lifespan. But medicine is not enough to prevent the risk of heart disease, we still need to maintain our own health regime to protect our own health.

Vascular Health.  In similar fashion, vascular health such as blood pressure and cholesterol have also improved in recent years with improvements in research and medication. For many years, high cholesterol was a leading contributor to poor health, and a strong indicator of future life threatening diseases. Whilst that is still a true statement, the management of cholesterol has improved greatly through the awareness of diet and exercise, as well as the use of medication to control it. The same is true for high blood pressure or hyper tension which can be a life threatening problem if not managed by medication or healthy lifestyles.

Diabetes.  Next we have to consider diabetes as a major impact on life span. Although there are some adequate medications that control the negative effects of diabetes, the rate of onset of diabetes is ever increasing in many western populations. This means that for many people, the threat of diabetes cannot be completely overcome with medication, and the inevitable impact of diabetes can be illness and poor health.

Cancer.  And then the major killer amongst diseases is of course cancer. Whilst cancer detection, intervention and treatment has improved the outlook for many cancer sufferers, cancer remains a life threatening disease in most populations around the world. Fortunately, there is a great deal of research and study into cancer treatment, cure and prevention, which is a positive outlook for the future.

Dementia.  Possibly one of the biggest threats to human health as we age is dementia. Dementia treatment is not quite so advanced, but a huge amount of money is being spent on research. Unfortunately, treatment for dementia remains elusive at the time of writing, but there have been significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the disease.

That is why we are living longer

What this all means in simple terms is that humans are living longer, and the average lifespan is increasing each year. There are many different statistical numbers for this, and it is different in many different parts of the world, but scientists agree that lifespan is increasing somewhere between 1 year for every 3-5 years of medical advance.

But what about better health?

But despite what this number represents, and despite the best efforts of medical research, the average markers for health have not kept pace. So what is the point of extending lifespan if we cannot enjoy better health in our advanced years? Well, I think the most important factor when it comes to enjoying a longer lifespan, is to improve health for an equivalent time period. That means that we can enjoy our increasing lifespan without fearing that it is merely and increasing sentence of ill health and infirmity and frailty.

How long do we want to live

So I put it to you that this question is not really something you can avoid completely – at some stage we are all encouraged to think about it – How long do we want to live??  Or to put it another way, when will we die?

But as a society, we tend to avoid thinking about death – a bit confronting isn’t it – BUT WHY IS THAT?

• How does it serve us to ignore the question, avoid the question, or just plain distract ourselves with other thoughts
• I know it was a real shock for me when I was confronted with the difficult question for the first time
• I just know I was not prepared to put a fixed date for my demise – no way!
• So I think we need to consider our mortality – and in my case, I made the decision that I want to live longer and live to love longer!

So the question remains – How do we increase our lifespan AND improve health span?

Latest Scientific Research into aging

There are many different fields of research into human aging, or probably better known as anti-aging. From cosmetic beauty products (which are only skin deep) to therapeutic studies of diets and supplements, there are new medical and scientific studies into the ways that humans age.

One of the many areas of research into aging is all about the lifestyle of those extremely long lived populations that exist in particular parts of the world. Known as the “Blue Zones”, there are specific populations who have proven to have lifespans well in excess of the statistical average. There are current studies into the lifestyles of those people who have lived beyond 100, to try to work out how they do it! Is it genetic, lifestyle, diet, or just dumb luck? Of course it is impossible to judge exactly how they do it, because it comes own to lifestyle, rather than a scientific experiment. From Nicoya in Costa Rica, to Ikaria in Greece, to Sardinia in Italy, and of course to Okinawa in Japan – these locations have long been recognised as the hot spots for longevity.

However, apart from some obvious and simple lifestyle choices, such as living simply, happily, and staying in motion, there are no common denominators to show what they do. There is no common genetic difference, there is no common dietary factor, and not much else in common. So how do they do it?

Secret to Living a Long Life

So what is the secret to living a long life. Well, the clue was there in the lifestyle all along.

• It is not necessarily what we eat – it is how we eat.
• It is not necessarily our genes that dictate how long we live, but how we live.
• It does not even matter how much we exercise, but how we exercise.

 

Studies have proven that genetics may only contribute 10 or 20% to longevity (so it is nice to have long lived family!) but the remaining 80 or 90% is dictated by lifestyle.

So it pays to look after your family, but also to look after yourself!

Living Longer

Do you know that the average life expectancy has been steadily improving over the last 100 years, and at the current rate, we should expect to live way beyond 80 years – maybe even to 100!  I am even aware of commentators out there, who are projecting further into the future, and predicting a human lifespan of 120 years up to 150 years!

Will our Health Span match our Lifespan

Unfortunately, at the current rate of medical care and lifestyle expectations, the problem with living to an extended age, is more to do with illness, and in particular, poor health.  But in case you haven’t noticed, any of the poor health outcomes can be directly attributed to lifestyle decisions, which is something we can control.  So my question is, if we are prepared to grapple with our lifestyle choices, can we actually improve the outlook of our health in later life.

Lifespan

In case you haven’t noticed, medical care is keeping us alive for much longer – this is known as Lifespan.  This is good news for thoase of us who would like to live longer.  But are we prepared to do our bit so that our health span matches our lifespan?

Health Span

What if we could look forward to living to 100 years old and have good health????

I think this is a really good question, and note that I am not making a distinction between one or the other – I am suggesting we could have both long life AND good health (NOT OR – AND!).  Progressively over the last 100 years, our average lifespan has been increasing by roughly 1 year for every 3-5 years. Now this number has been quoted both higher and lower, so let’s not get caught up in semantics.  There is no doubt that we can all expect to live longer, and for women, it is mid-80s, and for men, it is around about 80. Right now.

Statistical Life Expectancy

Now I hope this is not bad news for anyone who is 80 – That is a statistical average, not a fixed date!!!
In fact, if you are 80 and you are interested enough to be here, then there is evidence that you are well on the way to extending beyond the average (and I can explain later).  For those of us who are not yet 80, we can have a reasonable expectation of reaching beyond 80, simply because the statistical average is extending every year that we continue to live!

I am aware that this could cause moral and ethical and philosophical concerns:

• Health issues and increasing cost of health care
• Burden on the health care system
• Burden on the social welfare system
• Over population of the planet and global warming

There are any number of social concerns that we could have about this – but I am not going to debate that right now.

The question I want to challenge you with is how to live longer and healthier?

Latest Scientific Research

So this is where it gets interesting when we look at some of the latest scientific studies into aging

• Or more particularly, how to improve health as we age
• It is all about studying the DNA, and in particular, the ancient levels of DNA
• This means experiments using yeast cells, worms, and nematodes
• Believe it or not, at the basic DNA levels, we share many of the primitive genes with these creatures – we just have more of them.
• However what is of interest here is that research has proven that they can extend the life of primitive creatures.

 

 

So what are the tricks to living longer, happier and healthier?

Don’t smoke!

There are several lifestyle things that we could all be doing right now, to ensure we stay fit and healthy. The most basic health tip is don’t smoke. In the words of Yul Brynner – “Don’t smoke – whatever you do, just don’t smoke”. Smoking will take years off your lifespan, but also increase misery and poor health for many of the years we do have. Smoking is a killer on many fronts, including poor lung health, cardio vascular diseases, and many different types of cancer. There is no other way to describe the problem other than to say smoking considerably shortens your lifespan. Whatever you do, just don’t smoke!

Don’t carry excess weight

We also need to be aware of our weight, and try to maintain a healthy Body Mass Index, or BMI. It doesn’t matter how we measure our weight, but we need to be aware that weight is a prime indicator for healthy outcomes in later life. So this means we need to be aware of our diet, and in particular, what we eat. There is not necessarily any need to “go on a diet” when we follow a simple and regulated diet of healthy food every day. In fact, we can eat and enjoy life, so long as we are aware of what we are eating.

Plant based diet

Most experts agree that the most suitable diet for humans is a plant based diet, consuming whole foods where possible, and avoiding processed foods. Now there may be some controversy around this statement, especially from the carnivores, and proponents of the ketogenic diet. It is true that a high protein diet may be useful to avoid carbohydrates and lose weight, and there is support for this dietary technique. Similarly, a high protein diet may also be useful for young athletes to rapidly build muscle and strength. However, once we enter middle age, there is no evidence that the body can sustain high levels of protein. The body actually breaks down all consumed food matter, whether that be animal or plant based into the basic building blocks called amino acids. A plant based diet can supply all of the amino acids required to sustain a healthy life.

Reduce alcohol consumption

It may also be advisable to reduce alcohol consumption to within the safe drinking guidelines. But be aware that the save drinking guidelines have reduced significantly in recent years, so make sure you are aware of the limits, and try to stay within. If you struggle to stay within the guidelines (like me) then the easier alternative might be to quit drinking altogether. Reducing alcohol consumption also helps to reduce weight, so this can be a win-win situation. The choice is yours!

Sun Damage

It is also recommended that you avoid sun damage. Pronged exposure to the sun is a known factor in developing skin cancers later in life. Now in many parts of the world, doctors have come to realise that people have avoided sunlight an become Vitamin D deficient. So there is an element of balance needed to make sure you get a little sunlight each day. In some parts of the world (like where I live, there is no shortage of sun exposure, so be aware of the lasting damage to the skin.

Moderate exercise

There is no doubt that all medical and scientific communities are in agreement that we need regular exercise. The amount of regular exercise that we need to maintain good health has always been difficult to prescribe. But there is no doubt that we all need to exercise, we all need to stay mobile, we all need to maintain muscle, joint and skeletal fitness. Whatever you do, or whatever you can manage has an enormous health benefit both in the here and now, as well as improving healthy outcome in later life. The good news is that we need to focus on the term moderate exercise. There is no need to go out and damage our body and run marathons every weekend! The simple acts of moving, walking, and stretching are all better than sedentary behaviour. A sedentary lifestyle has been shown to be a damaging to our health as smoking, so this should be avoided at all cost.

Better sleep

A good sleep routine is something that we all know we can better at, but busy lifestyles can be a real problem. When we work all day, and try to play too much at night, there has to be something that misses out, and often that is tine for sleep. But lack of sleep can be bad for your health. We all know what it feels like to be short of sleep for several days and nights, but instead of putting up with tiredness and exhaustion, we should plan for better sleep every night.

These things might sound basic, but in fact, they all offer us better health right now AND into the future.