Are there genuinely any proven things one can do to not only live longer, but to have a better quality of life in the golden years?
I am in my mid-40s and so this answer is entirely based on other people’s evidence. It’s like asking a man for advice on how to deal with menopause or asking an ANC politician how to build a corruption-free meritocratic state. It’s all theoretical.
According to the World Bank, and citing figures updated as recently as 2022, the life expectancy in SA is 61.48 years. In Japan it is 84 (85 according to Worldometer). These are aggregates of both sexes and do not differentiate between different segments of society, their quality of life and access to world-class nutrition and medical care.
According to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation: “A new study shows that each additional year of education reduces risk of death by about 2%. The benefits of an 18-year education are comparable to eating enough vegetables in your diet. More education leads to increased resources that can help a person build a healthy lifestyle.” Sign up for an MBA.
Most of us train knowing that it benefits our life. Most of us are conscious of — even if not responsible for — what we eat and its effects on our health. Certainly everyone reading Business Day understands the concept of lifestyle diseases. Yet, if we are honest, we all live in a bizarre blend of cognitive dissonance or outright denial.
We know what excessive sugar and processed food does. We understand that smoking kills. We know that too much alcohol will, eventually, break our bodies. We are aware of cardiovascular risks. We know we should wear sunscreen. Yet, educated or not, we are like blurry-eyed gamblers playing a game of Russian roulette with our lives.
CNN recently ran an article quoting Dr Eric Topol, founding director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and former chairperson of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. For two decades he’s been studying 1,400 “Super Agers”. These are people who reached 80 and beyond without developing one of the three common, chronic age-related conditions: heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disease.
To the researchers’ surprise, when they conducted whole-genome sequencing on all the study participants they found “nothing genetic, across the board, that conferred an age and health advantage”.
What did Topol learn? Exercise, sleep and diet! Those three things will go a long way in determining how long someone lives and how healthy they’ll be when they get there. Topol is 71 and he has made all the right lifestyle changes to try to become a super ager. The take-home for us? We may not become super agers, but we will most likely live longer and have a better quality of life.
According to Topol, exercise is the biggest change he has made. “I used to only do aerobic exercise, and as a cardiologist, that was my thing. Now I do balance training and strength training [as well]. It’s an extensive difference.... And so, I’m more strong and fit than I’ve ever been.”
Having studied thousands of old, healthy people, Topol ranks exercise as the number one thing anyone should start doing if they want to live a longer life.
He says sleep is vital. The recently discovered glymphatic system, he explains, helps flush out waste products in the brain and central nervous system, much like the lymphatic system does for the rest of the body. It needs deep sleep. Everyone should stop short-changing quality, deep sleep.
His research shows that a plant-based diet with enough lean protein “prevailed as the best”. He personally doesn’t eat red meat but he eats enough fish, including canned tuna, legumes and nuts.
That’s a simple list: Exercise, sleep and diet. Three simple lifestyle changes could have a profound effect on the rest of our lives. Topol says while it is best to start as young as 40, starting in your 50s, 60s, 70s or even 80s will make a difference. We know exercise is number one on his list, but please see a professional to help you train correctly and safely.
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