Not Just Longer, Better

I was listening to an interview with Dr. Peter Attia recently and he mentioned something called the Marginal Decade. By this he means the last decade of your life, whenever that might be. The idea is to create goals for how you want to live in your last decade and work back from there to inform your practices now.  As I listened to him, I realized my interest in longevity is not only to live longer but to be as healthy as possible for as long as I live.

Most of us have realized by now the components of good health are grounded in diet, exercise, sleep, and reducing stress. But even with this knowledge, there is a lot of room for interpretation. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy-to-follow plan?

Well, there is! Dr. Kara Fitzgerald recently wrote a book Younger You: Reduce Your Bio Age and Live Longer, Better which is a plan grounded in science. It is one of the best resources I have found and stitches together all the different components. Today’s issue is an overview of her book. I highly encourage you to pick up her book and give it a try.

What is your biological age?

As I wrote about in a previous issue of Holos, your biological age is “the true age that our cells, tissues, organ systems appear to be, based on biochemistry.” It is determined by measuring various biomarkers “that could predict functional capacity at some later age better than chronological age.” Chronological age is your age measured from the date you were born.

While your chronological age only moves in one direction, you can reverse your biological age! This means getting biologically older does not have to move in lock step with getting chronologically older. This is powerful in terms of disease prevention and aging.

As the author says,

“Bio age is based on the premise that our bodies are constantly subject to damage and degradation from internal and external sources. By assessing how much damage has accumulated in your particular body, your bio age shows how old your tissues, systems and even your genetic material are. With our Younger You program, you could be fifty but repair your overall level of damage to that of someone in their forties. It’s like turning back time.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. xii

The research behind the plan

The Younger You plan is based on a rigorous clinical pilot study which consisted of a “2-month long program which reduced the bio age of its participants by over 3 years” through diet and lifestyle modifications. Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. xi

Their study was “the first to show that significant age reversal might be brought about in healthy individuals through doable diet and lifestyle changes alone, and possibly accomplished in a matter of weeks…just tweaking your normal lifestyle…nothing beyond what most folks consider to be basic self-care.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. xiii

The plan

“Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. 

Underpinning the plan is a focus on DNA methylation which you can think of “as the operating system: it tells your…genes…what to do.” “Our growing understanding of epigenetics suggests that we can reduce the risk of all diseases and conditions at once by seeking to either maintain or reduce bio age.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. 4  

The Younger You plan is not a diet but rather a strategy and plan for living a longer, healthier life. The four pillars of the plan are diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. It is straightforward with easy to follow steps…it is truly accessible for everyone!

Let’s jump in…

Diet

The diet portion of the program is constructed to be low sugar & low glycemic, keto leaning, and plant-forward with moderate amounts of animal protein. It avoids legumes (unless you are vegetarian or vegan), alcohol, and grains. In addition, it focuses on DNA methylation-supportive nutrients. “You want your DNA methylation to be working in such a way that your good genes (those that suppress tumor growth, say) are on and your bad genes (for inflammation, as an example) are generally off.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. 10  

It all begins with a daily 12-hour fast.

This is followed by lots of healthy vegetables, including dark leafy greens, cruciferous and colorful vegetables, and beets. There are daily amounts of raw pumpkin and sunflower seeds and 6 ounces of animal protein. The protocol also included eggs and organic liver. Good fats and small amounts of fruit and specific herbs which support DNA methylation are also included.

A daily a greens powder and a single strain probiotic are also used. And the plan stresses good hydration and incorporates fermented and prebiotic foods.

It is important to note, there are tweaks for those following anti-inflammatory, low-FODMAP, Mediterranean, vegetarian/vegan, autoimmune, paleo, and Wahls protocol diets.

Exercise

The exercise protocol consists of 30-60 minutes of exercise at least 5 times per week. You want to break a light sweat but still be able to have a conversation. And lastly, add in 1 -2 HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions per week.

Sleep

My favorite! As Matthew Walker at UC Berkeley says, “Sleep changes with aging, but it doesn’t just change with aging, it can also start to explain aging itself.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. 185  

The plan calls for at least 7 hours of sleep each night, allowing you to get 4 to 6 sleep cycles per night. Each cycle consists of light sleep, deep sleep (important for the body to repair and clean itself), and REM sleep (important for memory, learning, and creativity).

See this Holos article on tips for getting more and better sleep.

Stress Management

Stress has a negative impact on the expression of your genes.  It is critical to minimize stress when possible and address it when it does creep into your life. “As you turn down your stress, you’ll not only be biologically younger, but also your day-to-day experiences of stress will drop.” Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Younger You, p. 179  

The protocol is 20 – 40 minutes total per day, done twice a day. If you don’t meditate currently, you may want to start with 3 – 5 minutes at a time.

Yup, totally doable!

Parting Thought

Much of our health is under our control. Reading this book reminded me of the importance of focusing on diet, exercise, sleep, and minimizing stress. While I know these are important (I do write about them frequently!), it doesn’t mean I don’t get sidetracked from time to time by real life. But if I want to live my last decade of life optimally, I need to do the work now.  So, I will gladly take any and all help!

See you next week…