Healthy aging requires developing and maintaining the functional ability necessary to ensure well-being in life’s latest decades. Declines in functional capacity and increased chances of developing chronic diseases accompany aging. Therefore, how to preserve biological, physical, and mental health, or healthspan, as we grow older has become increasingly significant for lifespan.
Longevity is an aspiration, to extend life by reducing mortality. Healthspan is the core value of longevity. It focuses on the impact of health on a person’s ability to live a fulfilling life. A happy life is not only measured by years lived, but also by the quality of those years. A quote well said that “longevity without healthspan is the greatest curse in the world”.
Quality of life for older adults, according to the Merck Manuals, meaning a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy life events. These goals are basic and simple.
Two major factors may enhance healthy aging process are western medicine and lifestyle choices.
New horizons in life and healthspan extension are emerging. Gerotherapeutic drugs are those that target pathways involved in ageing, with the aims of reducing the burden of ageing-related diseases and increasing lifespan and healthspan. The approach to discovering gerotherapeutic drugs is similar to that used to discover drugs for diseases. This includes screening for novel compounds that act on receptors or pathways that influence ageing or repurposing of drugs currently available for other indications.
More recently, the value of increasing healthspan, which is the duration of healthy life before the onset of disease or disability, has been emphasized. Recent studies of gerotherapeutics in laboratory animals have been more like to report increases in healthspan measured by late life health, than increases in lifespan. The discovery of gerotherapeutics has been facilitated by the increased understanding of the biological mechanisms for ageing. This has shown that there are a wide range of cellular pathways that can manipulated by drugs to delay ageing and ageing-related diseases. Such drugs have often led to remarkable outcomes in laboratory animal models. However, high quality clinical trials in humans with promising gerotherapeutic drug for delay aging are still under development.
‘Anti-ageing’ is a term mostly used to promote products that are not regulated or licensed. There are many drugs, supplements and other treatments that are marketed as anti-ageing and can be accessed direct-to-consumer from pharmacies or online. None of these treatments can support their anti-ageing claims with high quality clinical trials equivalent to those that are required for the registration of drugs for the treatment of individual diseases. It is not advisable to use anti-aging treatments/drugs without safety supervision.
Living Longer and Maintaining Healthspan
There are ongoing researches on the unique biological and lifestyle characteristics of populations with exceptional longevity and geographic areas with longer average lifespans, aiming to uncover novel targets for gerotherapeutics and other interventions to delay aging.
While everyone gets older, not everyone feels their age. For aging perception, feeling young and free of pain and physical limitations are associated with a wide variety of benefits for health and well-being. In many ways, life improves with age, even after came through the youthful years.
Here are habits linked to a long healthy life:
Prioritize your happiness - Happiness can significantly increase your longevity; while chronic stress and anxiety may significantly decrease your lifespan (follow the link to learn how to deal with chronic stress). Feeling young by heart and keep up with energy benefit physical health. Unleash your creativity in art, music, games and laugh more will bring great satisfaction to everyday life. Your golden mindset will bring the golden keys for your golden years.
Eat plenty of healthy plant foods - Consuming a wide variety of plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, whole grains, and beans, may decrease disease risk and promote longevity. Eat more nuts - Nuts are nutritional powerhouses. They’re rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants, and beneficial plant compounds. What’s more, they’re a great source of several vitamins and minerals, such as copper, magnesium, potassium, folate, niacin, and vitamins B6 and E. Follow the links to learn more about the key role of protein, healthy fat, and energy source of carbohydrate.
Don’t be afraid of meat intake and don’t have to switch to a vegetarian diet. Is it better to eat meat or just plant food? Follow the link to learn more. Malnutrition is a risk for muscle and bone loss, as well as brain health.
Avoid overeating and keep body weight in normal BMI range - Studies of human populations renowned for longevity also observe links between low calorie intake, an extended lifespan, and a lower likelihood of disease. Follow the link to learn how to keep fit for your age.
Stay physically active –Exercise is medicine. Avoid sit too long; as few as 15 minutes of exercise per day may help you achieve benefits, which could include an additional 3 years of life. Furthermore, your risk of premature death may decrease by 4% for each additional 15 minutes of daily physical activity.
Don’t smoke - Smoking is strongly linked to disease and early death.
Moderate your alcohol intake - Heavy alcohol consumption is linked to liver, heart, and pancreatic disease, as well as an overall increased risk of early death.
Drink coffee or tea - Both coffee and tea are linked to a decreased risk of chronic disease.
Develop a good sleeping pattern - Sleep well is crucial for regulating cell function and helping your body boost immune functions.
Be more conscientious - Conscientiousness refers to a person’s ability to be self-disciplined, organized, efficient, and goal-oriented. Keep well dressed and groomed will enhance positive body image and self-confidence. To learn more about body image and self-care after mid-life, follow the link.
Nurture your social circle - Researchers report that maintaining healthy social networks can help you live up to 50% longer. Follow the link to learn more about loneliness breakthrough.
Establish a routine and simplify life for healthy aging. Keep up motivations in learning something new and engage in a meaningful life.
Makeing your health a priority and take actions for healthy aging improvements now. Everyone faces challenges; consider seeking support from trustworthy resources and engage with positive influences. Maximize your healthspan from Quality Life Forum health coaching (go to QLF health coaching programs). Stay connected with Quality Life Forum on your wellness journey. A health coach can keep you motivated for goal achievement and help you to be the best of yourself. Contact [email protected] for your healthy aging needs.
Disclaimer: This information is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional for personal conditions.
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