Do you want to live 100 years? Thanks to modern medicine, you have a good chance of doing so.
But if you want to live healthily until you're 100, says doctor and best-selling author , you may still have to do a lot to make the last decade of your life, which he calls the "marginal decade," healthy and useful. One. . . This is not limited to illnesses.
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As we embrace new ways to stay healthy, we can better balance our lifespan (how long we live) with our “healthspan” (how long we live without chronic illness or other health problems). Do. Atia, long live. Author of Science and Art of Longevity.
In a telephone interview, Attia spoke about the "four horsemen of chronic disease" - cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive diseases (like Alzheimer's) and metabolic diseases (like type 2 diabetes) - and new ways to plan for longevity. . The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Ask. Many fear turning 100 and imagine loneliness, poor health and isolation. Should our goal be longevity?
Answer: I don't think that should happen. Many of these concerns are legitimate. I think a better goal is to maximize healthy range. If you do this, you will automatically have a longer lifespan. If you optimize your life so that you function as effectively at 80 as a 65-year-old, it will be almost impossible not to gain 5-10 years.
Ask. One way to improve health could be called a “decade.” What is it and how do we teach it?
A: This is a mental model that states that the more you exercise to achieve your physical goals, the more likely you are to achieve them.
I returned to my first goal, which was to run five miles in five minutes. This is more specific than saying I want to run five miles. If you want to achieve this, you'll need to train more specifically than if you just wanted to run five miles. This applies generally. What it takes to achieve great things.
I ask patients to think specifically about what they want to do when they are 80 or older and to start doing it when they are 40, 50, or 60.
Ask. For example, would you want to run two miles at age 80?
A: Yes.
Ask. Why doesn't a daily walk prepare you to go outside?
Because with age, the strength, endurance, balance and flexibility of the lower limbs decrease so much that it is not enough to walk a few kilometers at 40 or 50, and it is not enough to believe that you can do it . . Even when he was 80 years old. At 80 you have to set higher goals. . . . Decathlon Centenary asked: “What do you want to do with your border contract?” The more specific you can make it, the better, because you can implement it and be better prepared to deal with it.
Ask. And if you want to raise your grandchildren when you're 80, what should you do when you're 50, 60, 70?
Answer: Safely lifting a 30-pound child from the ground requires flexibility in the hips and stability of the abdomen and spine to achieve a low squatting position. So you need to be able to lift a 30 pound weight. Squats with the weight in front of you are more difficult because they require more core stability and more shoulder stability [shoulder strength]. This basically means that by the age of 85 you should be able to lift 30kg. . . By age 85, most of them can no longer even squat without gaining weight. So based on that measure of power, we have something that we can apply.
Ask. They say exercise is the most important strategy for longevity, but more than 60 percent of Americans don't get enough exercise. Can sedentary people do the strength training you suggest?
A: If you start from scratch, just 90 minutes of exercise per week will reduce all-cause mortality [including the Four Horsemen] by 15 percent. That is fun. I mean, we don't have a drug that can reduce all-cause mortality by 15%. The good news is that this isn't just something abstract like "We've extended your life by a few years." No no. In three months you will feel better.
In my opinion, those who save for retirement find it a little more difficult. Because saving for retirement won't do you any good in the short term. . . . I think that the other changes we're asking people to make will at least benefit people now.
How can you make time for this? All I'm saying is, if you're not willing to make time for this, what are you going to do?
Ask. Most of us succumb to one of these four horsemen. What do these diseases have in common?
Cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease and Alzheimer's disease are most often exacerbated by metabolic diseases. So if you have type 2 diabetes, your risk of developing these other diseases increases dramatically.
Ask. Frankly, they offer treatment for these diseases through screenings, genetic testing, or blood work for symptoms that most insurance companies won't pay for. What do you tell your patients and critics about why this is important?
A: I think the question is: What is the alternative? The alternative is to keep doing what we are doing. How it goes? not so good. So if mass prevention measures are expensive, treatment becomes even more expensive.
Is it expensive to have a CT angiogram at 40 for $1,000? That is. Do you know how much a stent costs? Or get a shortcut at 65? Unfortunately, if you really want to take prevention seriously, you will have to seek treatment.
Ask. Does this mean that only rich people can live to be 100?
A. Scenarios are a small part of it. The most important thing for extending your life is not whether you have a CT angiogram, but whether you do all the other things we've talked about in terms of sleep, diet and exercise. You don't have to be rich to do these things.
Ask. Even if you do all this, isn't it like the knights can catch up with you?
A: If you're saving for retirement, aren't you at risk of forfeiting your unused investments? Yes, of course there is. However, if you don't do this, you greatly increase the chances of things not working out.
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