Want to slow down the aging process, stay active, and enjoy better health? An award-winning doctor shares four low-cost methods for reversing your biological age and feeling younger without spending a fortune.
- Fortunately for our generation, we have access to cutting-edge scientific research.
- These insights into what helps us live a healthy lifestyle will also help us live longer.
- And who wouldn't want to look and feel like a million dollars if we could learn how?
Longevity no longer appears to be an elusive goal. By making lifestyle changes and eating the right foods, an increasing number of people are living longer and healthier lives.
For the majority of the last century, social policy was focused on increasing population life expectancy; however, in recent decades, policy and research have become increasingly focused on the potential of increasing healthy life or healthspan.
One desires not only to live longer (by postponing death), but also to live healthier (by averting diseases and conditions). Dr. Kara Fitzgerald's award-winning research into DNA methylation – the regulation of gene expression – has been studying the difference between biological and chronological ageing, and she's narrowed down how people can feel their best longer in her recently published book, "YOUNGER YOU: Reduce Your Bio Age and Live Longer, Better."
The book by Dr. Fitzgerald explains epigenetics, which is the study of how environments and behaviors influence gene expression. You can read about Fitzgerald's 8-week clinical pilot trial, which reportedly shaved three years off participants' bio age with simple diet and lifestyle changes. Fitzgerald told Fox News Digital that the average American lifespan is 78.6 years, while the average health span is 66.6 years, according to the World Health Organization's most recent life expectancy repository.
"In this country, our biological age is moving faster than our chronological age," Fitzgerald said. "And the last 16 years have been spent with at least one – and for most of us, two – chronic disease diagnoses. We're not feeling well. We do not spend our golden years in good health."
While statistics show that Americans are biologically aging at a faster rate, Fitzgerald's research suggests that this process can be slowed at surprisingly low costs and with less effort.
Keep an eye on your diet:
Dr. Fitzgerald emphasizes the importance of eating nutritious meals. Her daily nutrition recommendations for biological age reversal are as follows: (a) 30 to 35 percent carbs (mostly from veggies and low-sugar fruits); (b) 15 to 20% clean protein; and (c) 45 to 45 percent healthy fats. Nutritious foods, herbs, and spices with more greens and colorful veggies like beets, and different herbs or botanicals like turmeric, which is found in curry, and green tea – all of these have the ability to change our genetic expression towards something more youthful when combined, Fitzgerald tells Fox News. *Include low-sugar fruits such as avocado, blood oranges, blueberries, grapefruit, and green apples in your diet.
Do you enjoy non-vegetarian foods? Consume clean animal proteins such as eggs, grass-fed beef, pastured chicken, organic pork (if available), lamb, and salmon. *Nuts and seeds contain healthy monosaturated, saturated, omega-3, and omega-6 fats. Do not consume more than 35% of your daily caloric intake in carbohydrates. Limit your carbohydrate intake to fruits and vegetables rather than grains. Dr. Fitzgerald's aversion to grains is likely due to the gluten content – a wheat protein that can cause inflammation in some people.
Exercise, even if only moderately:
Interested in biological age reversal? Get 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. When done on a daily basis, it promotes cellular repair, detoxification through sweat, and the burning of pro-inflammatory fats while also building heart muscle. It is not in vain that sitting is the new smoking, as Dr. Kara Fitzgerald points out.
She tells Fox News Digital that "not exercising can potentially shorten one's lifespan in the same way that smoking does." The good news is that exercises that help reduce bio age do not have to be strenuous. "In our study, we also included a light exercise regimen. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary – just a half-hour a day, five days a week, not going too hard, with a perceived exertion of 60 to 80% "Fitzgerald stated the following. "So, 60% means you're breathing a little bit more, maybe sweating a little bit, nothing too out of the ordinary. What matters is consistency." Do you require motivation? Fitzgerald claims that many healthy centenarians live a lifestyle that includes some form of movement. Walking around town, gardening, dancing, cleaning, or biking are all examples of exercises.
De-stress, unwind, and unwind — Meditate:
According to experts, modern man's lifestyle has changed so drastically from that of his ancestors that our brains have not evolved to counteract the modern-day persistent stresses. Consider the fact that a few thousand years ago, our forefathers faced a clear and visible threat in the form of an animal or adversary poised to attack.
As a result, the brain detected the threat, and cues were sent to the appropriate glands, which pumped in adrenaline to promote a fight or flight response. The threat would be eliminated soon. That is not the case in today's scenario. Financial difficulties, aspirational concerns, career stagnation, impatient bosses, and job loss threats are not transient dangers, and the brain is incapable of dealing with prolonged anxiety or tension.
Aside from diet, Fitzgerald believes that stress is a major cause of premature aging. As she puts it, "As a country, we are extremely stressed. And stress is like putting gasoline on the fire that is aging. However, research shows that reversing that stress – such as engaging in meditation, yoga, or tai chi – has very positive effects on our genetic expression, such as contributing to that biologically younger profile."
Fitzgerald prescribed a "basic meditation protocol" to her clinical trial participants. She typically recommends 10 minutes of meditation twice a day, but relaxation podcasts or cuddle sessions with a pet or loved one can also help alleviate anxiety and other stressors.
Get some beauty rest:
There is no wiggle room here. The following is Dr. Kara Fitzgerald's daily sleep recommendation for biological age reversal: Every night, you should get 7 hours of sleep. The effects of the day's activities are not limited to the body. If you do not replenish your body with the necessary repairs that only good sleep can provide, your brain, memory, cognitive skills, balance, and fitness will suffer.
Fitzgerald believes that getting enough rest is the other key to remaining biologically youthful. Getting at least seven hours of sleep each night not only helps you maintain a high energy level during the day, but it also promotes healthy DNA methylation.
"Sleep – if it's good, quality sleep – will keep us biologically younger," Fitzgerald explained. "If we don't get enough sleep, we change our genetic expression toward something that increases our risk of chronic diseases, which increases our biological age," Dr Fitzgerald tells Fox News.
Disclaimer: The tips and suggestions in this article are provided for general information only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. If you have any specific questions about a medical matter, always consult your doctor or a professional healthcare provider.
