Our friends Gary and Becky Jewkes read everything they can find about living longer. They started with the book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity,” moved on to “SuperAgers: An Evidence Based Approach to Longevity” and are now reading the popular “Eat Your Ice Cream: 6 Rules for a Long and Healthy Life.” (Now that’s a book I can really get into!)
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Besides these books by physicians, celebrities and CEOs have also joined the longevity craze. Tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman and entrepreneur Peter Thiel, among others, have invested millions in gadgets, research and pills that promote living to 100 and beyond. Movie stars Chris Hemsworth and Eric Dane have spoken publicly about their own longevity aspirations by prioritizing health assessments showing they were at risk for conditions such as ALS or Alzheimer’s.
There is an abundance of longevity-focused research being conducted in universities and think tanks and reported regularly in newspapers and magazines. Major newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and others now have sections on Health, Wellness and related topics that report research and share stories. I’ve watched neighbors, friends and co-workers not only read about lifespan matters but also regularly put into practice advice from news articles, podcasters, social media influencers and other neighbors.
With so much information available, how do ordinary people know what to do? What purported remedies make sense and what are simply speculative? And isn’t it better to err on the side of “too much” effort rather than “too little,” since there really are no “do overs” when it comes to living longer and better?
I asked my son, who is an emergency room physician and author of his own healthspan book, “The Vitality Remedy.”
“There is a blizzard of information available on longevity these days,” Russell said. “Some of it is based on broad studies and other reported conclusions have very limited sample sizes. It is good to look beyond the conclusions to see who is doing the study and what the real evidence is for any suggestions.”
I get that, I told him. But most of us aren’t researchers, and we may not have the time or interest to assess the viability of recommendations. Isn’t there a simpler way?
“There’s no magic pill or single set of ‘to dos’ because we are all so different,” my son added. “We are not machines. We come with our unique DNA and health history, and that will impact how long and how well we will live.”
Makes sense, I responded. But aren’t there a few “rules of the road” that make a big difference? Maybe a couple of key vitamins or hidden secrets that you can reveal?
“The things that matter most are the things that everyone knows about already,” the doctor said. “Exercise. Diet. Nutrition. Hobbies. Sleep. Social interaction. There’s subtleties in each of these areas, such as moving throughout the day, not just relying on walking or doing aerobics for 15 minutes occasionally.
“The key is looking at your own situation, getting a baseline, and then improving whenever possible while being consistent with whatever you do.”
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Is that really it? It seems like there should be something more than this, I told him. What about the research, the medical trials, the devices that get a lot of coverage in the newspaper or on social media?
“Fads abound everywhere,” he replied. “They aren’t all bad. Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons got people up and doing something in the 1980s. Such activity was good as long as you didn’t just go home and spend the rest of the day watching soap operas and eating Snickers.”
I didn’t watch soap operas after exercising, I reassured him. Maybe college football … OK, maybe a lot of college football. I needed to rest after exercising, didn’t I?
“You were a couch potato,” my son said jokingly. Playing baseball once a week or even going to the gym is less important than regular movement throughout the day. The same goes for eating well, getting plenty of sleep, meeting up with friends, and pursuing hobbies. Regularity matters a lot, not just an occasional flash in the pan.”
“Should I be worried that I didn’t know what to do when I was younger?” I asked him. “Can I make up for lost time?”
“You can,” he said. “But that reminds me. There are a few things you need to avoid or minimize as much as you can to promote a long and healthy life. Worry is chief among them. Stress can kill you just like smoking, drinking or driving when tired.”
Well-being is multifaceted, Russell reminded me, requiring harmony between the body, mind and soul. When chronic daily stress or negative emotions arise, using breathwork, observation and reflection allows you to pause and respond deliberately rather than reacting out of frustration. It’s well documented how viewing emotions curiously rather than suppressing them keeps the mind resilient, he added.
The global longevity market is estimated today to be worth around 27.6 billion dollars annually. Because people may be searching for a “Fountain of Youth,” they can be susceptible to fraud and get-rich-quick schemes. If a remedy requires expensive, proprietary testing or promises immediate, revolutionary reversals, it is likely designed for profit rather than true prevention.
Research will certainly continue exploring longevity as the “graying of America” continues, and new discoveries will certainly occur. While these fresh discoveries will likely prove helpful, they are unlikely to produce a “silver bullet” that allows all of us to live long and healthy lives without following the tried-and-true practices that most everyone already knows about.
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