5 Habits to Live Longer

At this time of year many of us resolve to prioritize our health. So it is no surprise there’s a roaring trade of products purporting to guarantee you live longer, be healthier and look more youthful.¹⁾Cannon J. Health food brands ramp up marketing efforts around consumers’ New Year’s resolutions. Digday, January 18, 2023

While an estimated 25% of longevity is determined by our genes, the rest is determined by what we do, day to day.²⁾Passarino G, De Rango F, Montesanto A. Human longevity: Genetics or Lifestyle? It takes two to tango. Immun Ageing. 2016 Apr 5;13:12. doi: 10.1186/s12979-016-0066-z.

There are no quick fixes or short cuts to living longer and healthier lives, but the science is clear on the key principles. Here are five things you can do to extend your lifespan and improve your health.

1. Eat a predominantly plant-based diet

What you eat has a huge impact on your health. The evidence overwhelmingly shows eating a diet high in plant-based foods is associated with health and longevity.³⁾Clem J, Barthel B. A Look at Plant-Based Diets. Mo Med. 2021 May-Jun;118(3):233-238. PMID: 34149083;

If you eat more plant-based foods and less meat, processed foods, sugar and salt, you reduce your risk of a range of illnesses that shorten our lives, including heart disease and cancer.

Plant-based foods are rich in nutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants and fiber. They’re also anti-inflammatory. All of this protects against damage to our cells as we age, which helps prevent disease.⁴⁾Medawar, E., Huhn, S., Villringer, A. et al. The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry 9, 226 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0552-0

No particular diet is right for everyone but one of the most studied and healthiest is the Mediterranean diet. It’s based on the eating patterns of people who live in countries around the Mediterranean Sea and emphases vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, fish and seafood, and olive oil.⁵⁾Younkin L. Mediterranean Diet for Beginners: Everything You Need to Get Started. Eatingwell.com July 17, 2023

2. Aim for a healthy weight

Another important way you can be healthier is to try and achieve a healthy weight, as obesity increases the risk of a number of health problems that shorten our lives.⁶⁾Cafasso J. How Does Obesity Affect the Body? healthline.com April 15, 2022

Obesity puts strain on all of our body systems and has a whole myriad of physiological effects including causing inflammation and hormonal disturbances. These increase your chances of a number of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and a number of cancers.⁷⁾Khanna D, Welch BS, Rehman A. Pathophysiology of Obesity. [Updated 2022 Oct 20]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572076/

In addition to affecting us physically, obesity is also associated with poorer psychological health. It’s linked to depression, low self-esteem and stress.⁸⁾Sarwer DB, Polonsky HM. The Psychosocial Burden of Obesity. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2016 Sep;45(3):677-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2016.04.016.

One of the biggest challenges we face in the developed world is that we live in an environment that promotes obesity. The ubiquitous marketing and the easy availability of high-calorie foods our bodies are hard-wired to crave mean it’s easy to consume too many calories.⁹⁾Kopp W. How Western Diet And Lifestyle Drive The Pandemic Of Obesity And Civilization Diseases. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2019 Oct 24;12:2221-2236. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S216791.

3. Exercise regularly

We all know that exercise is good for us – the most common resolution we make this time of year is to do more exercise and to get fitter.¹⁰⁾Libatique R. HCF reveals Australia’s most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2023. Insurance Business. January 4, 2023 Regular exercise protects against chronic illness, lowers your stress and improves your mental health.¹¹⁾Physical Activity. WHO June 26,2024

While one of the ways exercising helps you is by supporting you to control your weight and lowering your body fat levels, the effects are broader and include improving your glucose (blood sugar) use, lowering your blood pressure, reducing inflammation and improving blood flow and heart function.¹²⁾Warburton DE, Nicol CW, Bredin SS. Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. CMAJ. 2006 Mar 14;174(6):801-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051351.

While it’s easy to get caught up in all of the hype about different exercise strategies, the evidence suggests that any way you can include physical activity in your day has health benefits. You don’t have to run marathons or go to the gym for hours every day. Build movement into your day in any way that you can and do things that you enjoy.¹³⁾Paddock C. Just 30 minutes of light exercise each day can benefit health. Medical News Today, January 29, 2018

4. Don’t smoke

If you want to be healthier and live longer then don’t smoke or vape.

Smoking cigarettes affects almost every organ in the body and is associated with both a shorter and lower quality of life. There is no safe level of smoking – every cigarette increases your chances of developing a range of cancers, heart disease and diabetes.¹⁴⁾The con that kills. https://www.theconthatkills.org.au/

Even if you have been smoking for years, by giving up smoking at any age you can experience health benefits almost immediately, and you can reverse many of the harmful effects of smoking.¹⁵⁾Benefits of Quitting Smoking. CDC

If you’re thinking of switching to vapes as a healthy long term option, think again. The long term health effects of vaping are not fully understood and they come with their own health risks.¹⁶⁾Chapman S. Can vaping help people quit smoking? It’s unlikely. The Conversation, May 3, 2023
Jongenelis M. No, vapes aren’t 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Here’s how this decade-old myth took off. April 27, 2023

5. Prioritise social connection

When we talk about living healthier and longer, we tend to focus on what we do to our physical bodies. But one of the most important discoveries over the past decade has been the recognition of the importance of spiritual and psychological health.

People who are lonely and socially isolated have a much higher risk of dying early and are more likely to suffer from heart disease, stroke, dementia as well as anxiety and depression.

Although we don’t fully understand the mechanisms, it’s likely due to both behavioural and biological factors. While people who are more socially connected are more likely to engage in healthy behaviours, there also seems to be a more direct physiological effect of loneliness on the body.¹⁷⁾Umberson D, Montez JK. Social relationships and health: a flashpoint for health policy. J Health Soc Behav. 2010;51 Suppl(Suppl):S54-66. doi: 10.1177/0022146510383501.

So if you want to be healthier and live longer, build and maintain your connections to others.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.