More and more research confirms that our eating style affects health, longevity and even the quality of our life.
There is no doubt that what we eat affects the functioning of our cells and, from there, of the entire body. The level of energy needed to face the increasingly intense and stressful days also depends on food. Living up to 100 years well, fit and healthy is possible but you need a very specific strategy.
How to age well and as late as possible
Several years ago the concept of disease compression was proposed, ie the possibility of increasing the years in health and pushing the emergence of the disease as close as possible to death.
What we want to achieve is an increase in healthy living which is truly the goal everyone wants. In fact, no one wants to live long in conditions of suffering . However, the key to doing this is to start working on your health before you lose it. The variables on which to intervene personally I call the 4 foundations of a healthy life: nutrition, food supplementation, physical training, mental training.
Undoubtedly nutrition plays a fundamental role. It is enough to consider that in about 80 years of life we eat something like 30-40 tons of food to understand that the impact of eating style on health is enormous.
No less important seems to be the need to obtain optimal levels of nutrients, something not easily achievable with food alone. In this sense, food supplementation can become an important weapon to slow down aging and delay the onset of chronic degenerative diseases.
Physical movement is also of fundamental importance, the only weapon that allows you to keep intact the structures and functions of muscles, bones, tendons, heart, vessels and lungs as well as giving countless psychological and emotional benefits.
Finally, the psychological and emotional sphere is the glue that gives meaning to our existence and as such largely determines the quality of life and aging in particular.
What to eat to live longer
Is there a longevity diet? Is there a dietary style that protects us from the degenerative pathologies of old age? The diet to live up to 100 years well goes through a few simple rules rather than complex recipes. In my experience there are at least 10 basic rules of proper nutrition that we can follow to build a preventive diet, respecting our different tastes:
- Prefer natural foods rich in nutrients and relatively low in calories : industrial foods are generally poor in nutrients but high in calories and this does not correspond to how nature has conceived food . No natural food is high in calories and low in nutrients.
- Increase the doses of vegetables and fruit : vegetables and fruit should be our main sources of carbohydrates. They provide vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber which are essential for our health.
- Choose proteins well : proteins, even animal proteins, are essential and should not be eliminated. However, it is necessary to avoid unhealthy versions such as sausages, processed or aggressively cooked meats and instead prefer blue fish, lean meats, eggs, legumes, yogurt and quality cheeses.
- Select the fats: fats should not be excessively reduced. It is necessary to avoid hydrogenated or inflammatory omega 6 fats such as sunflower oil (very present in baked goods) and instead focus on extra virgin olive oil, blue fish, nuts, avocados and small amounts of butter.
- Avoid sugars : Sugar alters metabolism and sticks to proteins compromising their function, a process called glycation. The constant fluctuations in blood sugar force the pancreas to produce insulin in large quantities and this, in turn, exposes us to the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes.
- Choose whole grains : refined grains act in the body like sugar and therefore should be avoided. Whole-grain versions rich in fiber are absorbed slowly and do not significantly alter blood sugar.
- Relating doses to physical activity level: how much we eat should be related to how much we consume. In the event of a sedentary lifestyle or in any case on non-sporting days it would be good to reduce the introduction of caloric foods.
- Don’t give up on snacks : our metabolism needs to stay active. Too many hours of fasting send an alarm signal to the body which turns into a low propensity to burn calories. In addition to the two main meals, to keep your metabolism active, it is good to have a snack in the middle of the morning and one in the afternoon. Walnuts and almonds are perfect for this.
- Indulge in a break from time to time : eating is also a pleasure as well as an opportunity to socialize. At least once a week it is good to indulge in a meal that serves to rip and recover energy on a psychic level.
- Don’t aim for temporary solutions but to eat well forever: the term diet literally means lifestyle. It makes no sense to go on a diet for a while. Instead, you need to change your eating style forever.
Is living to 100 years also a question of character?
So how do you get to 100 years? The 4 foundations of a healthy life are able to increase health and reduce the risk of disease.
But aging well is not just a matter of physiology .
A very important study conducted by Harvard University has clearly indicated that the quality of relationships and in general of the emotional life we live greatly affects longevity and also the risk of developing pathologies.
Given the complexity of our species, there are many factors that affect the quality of life and its duration: experiences, human relationships, level of culture, self-esteem, quality of sleep are all fundamental things to live well and for a long time. their direct action on the sense of well-being and how they impact the choices we make in life.
For many, living well and for a long time is just a matter of luck.
On the contrary, science argues that it is the consequence of the choices we make every day .
The habits we adopt, gesture by gesture, can build health or break it down. The first step is to know what to do and rely on the advice of an expert on the subject.
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