Sometimes, the concept of longevity can be pretty ambiguous. It makes sense—how to live longer is a pretty robust topic, after all. But according to Harvard geneticist and professor of aging biology David Sinclair, Ph.D., we can better understand longevity if we view the concept of aging the same way we view a disease.
What drives the aging process, he explains, is the lack of stress our bodies experience. In order to truly optimize our longevity, Sinclair wants us to add more stress to our lives.
To start, here are three easy tips to place our bodies under more “stress” to promote longevity. Think of it as training your muscles—you might experience some discomfort, but your body will thank you in the long-run:
- Eat fewer calories.
This is not about intermittent fasting. While intermittent fasting is incredible for longevity, some people have trouble maintaining a fasting schedule. Any easy way to reap the longevity benefits without necessarily fasting is to just eat fewer calories overall.
In order to eat fewer calories, avoids high-calorie food, such as meat. A change of lifestyle to eat fewer calories; salads with hearty vegetables are usually fewer calories than a fatty steak.
2. Eat organic
Eating organic is a good idea. Dr Sinclair has a unique perspective on the matter. In order to promote longevity, he says, we have to trick our body into thinking it’s stressed (“even though we live in a utopia compared to our ancestors,” he says). And a great way to trick our bodies into being stressed is to eat foods that are stressed themselves.
“Organic foods aren’t held with gloves. They’re a little bit more stressed out. The more stressed out your food is the brighter colors they’ll have because they’re producing these colors as a defense,” Sinclair explains.
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Those bright colors, he adds, are indicators that the food has produced “xenohormesis molecules,” which activate our sirtuins that give our bodies an extra boost for longevity.
3. Experience cold temperatures for at least one minute.
Finally, Sinclair believes that in order to boost our longevity, we should experience extreme cold. “We know that in mice, if you make them cold, they develop what’s called brown fat,” he explains.
Take note that you don’t have to be cold for a long time—in fact, it’s when our bodies become used to the temperature that the longevity effects stop working. So, just one minute is enough to spark a stress reaction in our bodies.
With Sinclair’s three tangible tips for longevity, you have the power to optimize the aging process and live a healthier life.
