Welcome to “Longevity Tips” a monthly publication designed to take you off the path of confusing messages, trends and hacks and onto the path of ancient wisdom and the best of science.
Recently Dr. Eric Topol, one of the most respected medical researchers in the world, provides his answers to lifespan and healthspan, and an exciting look at what’s possible in the near future for humanity in his recently published book, “Super Agers; An evidence-based approach to longevity.”
Dr. Topol is a refreshing voice of reality in a sea of complexity on a topic that currently includes hacks, trends, the promise of “magic bullets” and more. I’m a bit surprised about his references to GLP-1 and other peptides as a conceivable way to reduce the toll of age-related diseases, but I’ll leave that to future scientific work.
I’ll stay in my own lane providing guidance for longevity and healthspan based upon what we can do right now – guidance based upon the ancient wisdom and backed by science of the longest living people on earth.
So, back to today, we have two known causes of accelerated aging and what we can do to address them. Fortunately, these two things are free and open for everyone. Dr. Topol describes them well.
Research shows that ultra processed foods (UPFs) are like UFOs to your body.
They are alien, industrially produced, unnatural substances and not even foods that disrupt gut-brain signals to the brain causing weight gain among many other conditions.
They induce abnormal lipid levels, insulin resistance and systemic inflammation – the root cause of chronic illnesses that keep us sick and negatively affect both healthspan and lifespan.
Guess what he recommends for a diet? A plant based Mediterranean diet. What a surprise.
Topol reports that processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and sausages are linked to the highest risk for health, deemed carcinogenic by the World Health Organization.
Not far from increased mortality risk are unprocessed meats, pork and beef which have been labeled probably carcinogenic. It’s pretty clear if you want to remain healthy greatly reduce or ideally, remove ultra processed and meats from your diet.
Secondly, the only well-validated intervention to reset biological age is exercise.
This is a welcomed finding and also a wake-up call for the very sedentary lifestyle of industrialized nations.
This doesn’t mean you have to spend money, join gym, and/or exercise yourself to boredom.
Here are the benefits of even taking regular 30-minute walks:
You sleep better.
Your resting heart rate lowers.
Your blood pressure comes down.
Your arteries become more elastic.
Your blood sugar becomes more stable.
Our brain gets sharper as blood flow increases.
Molecules are stimulated to promote fat oxidation.
You reduce chronic inflammation (that root cause of degenerative diseases) because your body triggers an anti-inflammatory reaction with its natural compounds as a response to walking and exercising.
Are these enough reasons to motivate you to start walking every day if you aren’t already doing it? I hope so.
Here are two other “tools” you may want to consider for extending your healthspan whenever you are ready.
Learn how to identify and use olive oil (that one ingredient in everyone’s kitchen) that provides anti-inflammatory polyphenols.
I can’t think of a tastier and easier way to upgrade your nutrition. However, counter to almost everyone’s knowledge, most olive oil is mislabeled and a lot of it isn’t even good for you.
An easy-to-understand digital course is now available to help you avoid all the common mistakes most people make by buying and using inferior quality olive that has no nutritional benefit except for possibly providing a source of fat.
This course condenses a decade of research, study, and my 20 trips to the south of Italy in the last ten years.
Read more and get all the details here.
If you are truly ready to live the lifestyle of longevity, and to learn by immersion in the culture of living long and living well, three spots remain in the upcoming spring excursion to Calabria Italy.
This experience has been curated for a small group offering first-hand connection to the land, the people, the lifestyle and the wonderful food and culinary traditions in this Blue Zone area of Italy. All details can be found here.
That’s it for now!
To Your Healthspan and Your Lifespan
Carol Amendola D’Anca
Master of Clinical Nutrition
Host of “Authentic Italy” Lifestyle Immersions
Olive Oil Aficionado
For just $5.oo,, you can own a guide to starting your child on the healthiest path possible. This guide includes Infant and toddler recipes based on the world-famous Mediterranean Diet. It includes over 30 recipes and all the information you need to help your child live the healthiest life.
