Adopting a new way of looking at your health can help you better align your health. lifespan (How long can we live?) Our “healthy life expectancyAtia, author of How Long Can You Live Without Chronic Diseases and Other Health Problems?Outlive: The science and art of longevity”
In a phone interview, Attia spoke about the “four horsemen of chronic disease,” cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease), metabolic diseases (such as type 2 diabetes), and new ways to plan for longevity. . The following has been edited for length and clarity.
question: Many people are afraid of living to 100, imagining loneliness, poor health and loneliness. Should living that long be our goal?
answer: In fact, I don’t think you should. Many of those concerns are actually true. I think a better goal is to maximize healthspan. This will automatically extend its lifespan. If you improve your health span so that even at age 80 you can actually function as well as you would at 65, it is almost impossible that your lifespan will not increase by 5 to 10 years.
question: One way to extend your healthy lifespan is something called the “Centenarian Decathlon.” What is it and how can I train for it?
answer: This is a mental model that says the more specifically you train towards a physical goal, the more likely you are to achieve that goal.
I remember my first goal. That was, he ran a 5-minute mile five times. This is much more specific than saying, “I want to be able to run 5 miles.” If you want to achieve that, your training will need to be much more specific than if you just want to be able to run 5 miles. And this is true across the board. And that’s what it takes to achieve remarkable feats.
I ask my patients to think specifically about what they want to be able to do when they are in their 80s or older, and to start training for that when they are in their 40s, 50s, or 60s.
question: For example, let’s say you want to hike two miles when you’re 80 years old.
question: Why wouldn’t just hiking every day for the previous few years not prepare you to continue walking outdoors?
answer: Because as we age, fluctuations in strength, stamina, balance, and lower extremities become more severe, so it’s not enough to just hike two miles in your 40s or 50s and think it’ll do the same thing. It’s from. When you’re 80 years old, when you’re 80 years old, you have to aim even higher. …The Centenarian Decathlon asks, “What does he want to do with the rest of his decade?” And the more specific you can make it, the better because you’ll be able to train for it and the more likely you’ll be ready.
question: And if you want to hold your great-grandchildren in your arms when you’re 80, what exactly do you need to do at 50, 60, and 70?
answer: Safely lifting a 30-pound child off the floor requires hip flexibility and abdominal and spinal stability, allowing you to get into a low squat position and also lift 30 pounds of weight. Performing a squat with your weight forward is more difficult because it requires more core stabilization, etc. scapula stability [shoulder strength]. This essentially means that at age 85 he should be able to goblet squat 30 pounds. … By the age of 85, most people can’t even do a goblet squat without additional weight. Therefore, there is something that he needs to train based on one indicator of strength.
question: You say exercise is the most important way to live longer, but over 60% of people Americans don’t get enough exercise. Can sedentary people do the intense workouts you recommend?
answer: If you’re starting from scratch, all you need to do is exercise for 90 minutes a week. 15% reduction in all-cause mortality [including the Four Horsemen]. That’s dramatic. In other words, there is no drug that can reduce all-cause mortality by 15% overall. And the good news is that it’s not just something abstract like “add a few years to your life.” No, no. You’ll feel better after 3 months.
In my opinion, everyone who is saving for retirement is doing it a little harder. Because in the short term, you won’t get anything out of your retirement savings. …And I think they’re at least benefiting today with these other changes that we’re asking people to make.
How on earth should I find the time? I would say, if you’re not going to take the time for this, then what are you going to take the time for?
question: Most of us succumb to one of these four horsemen. What do these diseases have in common?
answer: Cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases are all common, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common. worsened dramatically By metabolic disease.So if you have type 2 diabetes, your risk for those other diseases is rise dramatically.
question: You’re proposing getting ahead of these diseases by digging deep into screenings, genetic tests, or blood tests to discover markers that frankly most insurance companies won’t pay for. . What would you say to your patients and detractors about why these things are worth doing?
answer: I guess the question is, what’s the alternative? The alternative is to continue what we’re doing. How is it going? Not very good. Therefore, if very difficult preventive measures are too expensive, then the cost of their treatment will also be high.
Is it expensive to get a $1,000 CT angiogram at age 40? Yes, it is. Do you know how much it costs to get a stent? Or to get a bypass when I turn 65? Unfortunately, if you want to take prevention seriously, it will come at a cost.
question: Does this mean that only the rich can live to the age of 100 in good health?
answer: Screening is just one part of it. What’s far more relevant to a longer healthy lifespan is not whether you have a CT angiogram, but whether you’re doing all the other things we talked about regarding sleep, nutrition, and exercise. You don’t have to be wealthy to do those things.
question: Isn’t it true that even after all this, the Horsemen may still come for you?
answer: When you save for retirement, isn’t there a chance that your investments will deteriorate before you can withdraw your money? Yes, of course they do. But if you don’t do these things, the chances of things going wrong greatly increase.
