The Road to Longevity
Song: Elton John -‘I’m still Standing’
Have you ever thought about someone who has or lived a good, long healthy life and wondered why?
Did you think it must be their genes? Well if so, you were right. Ground breaking research recently published shows that genetics might account for 50 -55% of your lifespan variation. However, genes make the framework of your life but lifestyle is the maintenance. Just like a well build house, it still needs maintenance so as not to fall down.
Research shows that healthy habits can add 12-14 years to your life. A healthy lifestyle can actually turn on certain genes. For example if you have a predisposition for a disease a healthy life style can help keep that gene silent.
So in short, genetics will likely set the ‘ceiling’ for how long you live but your lifestyle determines if you actually reach that ceiling or fall short of it.
Three big factors come into play to maximise living a long life.
- The Exposome: What you are exposed to such as the air you breathe to the food you eat.
- Early life: Environmental factors from as early as 10 can have an influence on how you age 50 years later. These include excess weight in early childhood, the socioeconomic environment you lived in at 10, and living in a smoke filled environment .
- Metabolic Health: Maintaining a healthy weight and low inflammation levels help your genes do their best job.
Early life factors can sound daunting particularly for baby boomers. For example if you were like myself and many people I know, and grew up in a smoked filled environment (house and car) the good news is that you can re-write these events that were left on your DNA. This is done though a healthy diet such as berries, broccoli, Omega 3, cauliflower and green tea, exercise and improving our gut health.
Exercise and a healthy lifestyle can silence any trauma markers acquired in youth, so don’t despair.
To live a long healthy life there are some longevity ‘Hacks’ that are easy to incorporate into daily life.
- Have an eating window of 12 hours or less. I generally have a 9 to 10 hour eating window. Breakfast at 9am and finished dinner by around 6 to 7 pm.
- ‘Eat the Rainbow’. Eat something deeply coloured at every meal such as spinach, blueberries, egg plant, capsicum or tomato.
- Turn the cold water on for a few seconds (30 -60) after a hot shower and it will turn on the inflammation dial. (My grandmother always recommended this and she lived to be a Centenarian).
- Don’t eat for at least three hours before going to sleep. You will wake up feeling less puffy in face and fingers.
- Sitting to Rising Test-(SRT) This is simple and measures four things at once. Leg strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. Studies by Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo have shown a strong correlation between high scores and a lower risk of all cause mortality, as it reflects ‘Functional age’ rather than chronological age.
If you regularly read my blogs you will know I practice what I preach!! So I tried the test. It was hilarious, just trying to get down and cross my legs was hard enough. However, after thinking how I could best get up without using my body for support, I was eventually able to do it using my hand to push myself back up and stand again. So I scored an impressive 8. That score means I have excellent muscle to weight ratio and flexibility.
I challenged various friends and relatives of all ages to take this test and they all had great scores. DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU HAVE HIP, KNEE or JOINT PAIN or INJURY.
SITTING TO RISING TEST- The longevity test.
1. Start by standing upright in bare feet.
2. Lower yourself to a cross-legged sitting position on the floor then STAND BACK UP AGAIN.
3. Try to do this without using your hands, arms, knees or elbows for support. (I needed to use my hand on the floor for support to stand up). It is not a timed test so no need to rush.
You get 10 points to begin and lose a point each time you use a hand, knee, forearm, hand on knee or thigh or side of leg on floor to get up. -0.5 if you lose balance or wobble.
A score of 8-10 is excellent, 3.5 to 7.5 Moderate/Fair and 0 to 3 Critical or High Risk.
It was a fun challenge and definitely something that can easily be improved on with practise and a few simple exercises.
So for longevity your genes may set the stage but your daily habits are the director. By keeping your body strong and giving it time to ‘reset’ every night, you can effectively silence the ‘bad’ genes and choose a longer, healthier story for yourself.
So that’s what I will do to give myself the best possible chance to live healthier, longer.
And let me know in the comments if you dare to take the sitting to rise test. And please share your results. Remember you can always improve your score with simple daily exercises such as hip flexor stretch, air squats, and being active every day.
So till next time – ‘Keep on Rocking and Rolling’
Kim