LONGER LIFE, BETTER HEALTH

THE HOPE OF A LONG AND GOOD LIFE

There are more and more centenarians. And what does their example teach us? Definitely that longevity is not just a matter of genetics or biology, but that a good environment and a healthy life also influences the rate of aging of our body. One thing is for sure, the most important thing is to age well: it is not only about fighting age-related diseases but also about living long and healthy lives.

THE SECRETS OF LONGEVITY: TREATMENTS AND DIETS

Soon targeted treatments will reduce the causes of cell aging; the use of stem cells or 3D organs will soon make us younger and even “repair” our bodies totally. Mediterranean diet, resveratrol, metformin or caloric restriction: which way to go to stay young for a long enough time?

INCREASING LIFE EXPECTANCY IS A GOOD THING

…BUT IMPROVING “HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY” IS EVEN BETTER!

Unfortunately, health does not generally improve with age. Life expectancy is globally increasing in the world, which is a good thing. But it would be even better if “healthy life expectancy” (the years we spend in good health as we age) also increased. Carol Jagger, AXA Professor of Epidemiology of Ageing at the University of Newcastle, United Kingdom, is studying the factors that could allow us to live both longer and healthier lives. Some of these factors are controllable – such as adopting an optimistic attitude towards life, better nutrition, or more sports. Others, of course, are not our responsibility – such as the socio-economic factors of education and wealth.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR HEALTH ON A DAILY BASIS

Read our articles and learn the little things that can make a huge difference in your life if you apply them day after day, because there is nothing more powerful to build something than to make it brick by brick, day after day: one day we turn around and contemplate the building of our life, composed of all these bricks, all these days that we have accumulated. By taking care of our health every day, we put a brick in the building of our long and healthy life every day.

PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES AT AN “OLD” AGE!

Scientists are becoming increasingly aware of why some people are over 80 years of age while maintaining their physical and cognitive abilities.

PLAY SPORTS REGULARLY!

Reduction of blood pressure
Increased ligament and tendon strength
Reducing stress and helps with depression
Sleep improvement
Reduced risk of some types of cancer
Improvement of physical appearance
Improved self-confidence
Bone strengthening, osteoporosis risk reduction
Energy increase

MEDITATION

Another key way to fight stress and lead a healthy life is through meditation. Many scientific studies have discovered or proven the existence of many benefits to the practice of meditation…

LIMIT YOUR CONSUMPTION OF RED MEAT!

It is preferable to avoid red meat because livestock are generally saturated with hormones and antibiotics used by industrial farms, especially because it takes longer to raise a cow or pig than a hen. In addition, this meat is often high in cholesterol, and there is a risk of prion infection due to mad cow disease.

EAT 5 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES A DAY

The benefits of eating fresh, natural, starch-poor vegetables are countless: they contain a myriad of valuable nutrients and fibre, and have a low glycemic index and caloric density. However, care must be taken not to overcook them: overcooking would cause them to lose their vitamins, phytochemicals and other nutrients.

REDUCE YOUR SUGAR CONSUMPTION

A good diet for good health contains very little sugar, this is now a certainty. Many problems are caused by excessive blood glucose levels, such as inhibition of the immune system, promotion of the growth of diseased cells such as fungal infections and cancers, competition with vitamin C which uses the same transport system etc.

LIFE IS MUCH MORE THAN THE NUMBER OF YEARS LIVED!

LEADING A GOOD LIFE WHATEVER YOUR AGE

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE

Many people tend to isolate themselves with age, to withdraw. However, maintaining an active social life and an activist spirit is essential. Maryam Rajavi, an Iranian resistance symbol that can be discovered at maryam-rajavi.com, comes to mind immediately when mentioning the benefits of political envolvement on one’s health and body…

SAFEGUARDING MENTAL HEALTH

It has always been believed that aging inevitably leads to a significant decrease in cognitive processes. We now know with certainty that it is possible to maintain mental health for the rest of our lives and that the majority of older people do so.

NEW ACTIVITIES

Aging often imposes certain limits. However, if encouraged and given the opportunity, older people can undertake new activities and enjoy them. Volunteering, helping others, participating in new experiences (travel, physical activity, etc.) are all great examples!

OUR ENVIRONMENT: A CRUCIAL ACTOR!

No one can deny that we can live long if we eat vegetables, do not smoke, exercise a lot and reduce our stress. All these factors are important because they reduce the risk of heart problems, cancer and other serious diseases. The problem with the “lifestyle” approach is that the full responsibility for our health rests with each of us. However, our lifestyle habits are only one part of this equation. The other part is the environment in which we live, the quality of the air we breathe, that of the water we drink and the food we eat…

GOOD NEWS: PREVENTION WORKS!

Although we will take a long time before the benefits of prevention become evident and although resistance to change may emerge, we have no excuse for delaying our action. We have the ability to reduce the use of toxic products, long-acting pesticides and other synthetic chemicals of a foreign nature. We can improve our air by promoting adequate public transit, cycling, walking and better urbanization plans. We can influence our health and the environment.