We've all heard the term longevity been talked about. But, how do we really ensure that we get to live our later lives in the way we want, on our terms and with independence?
Nicole is a Clinical Pilates instructor and owner of Little Sanctuary Pilates. She found Pilates on a pathway to better health and has never looked back. Nicole loves to support people with evidence based facts about health, fitness and wellness. Nicole understands the challenges we face in our modern world and lifestyles and how this can greatly impact our health and vitality. Nicole has a mission to help spread the word that we are worth the time, effort and yes funds when we look after our health. She believes that not looking after our health has a drastic impact on our work life, home life, future and overall quality of life.
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What is longevity made of?
Living a long and healthy life stems from ensuring that specific elements of our biology remain healthy. These include cardiovascular, pulmonary, cellular, skeletal muscle, mental, and gut health.
Heart health: Our cardiovascular system includes our heart, arteries, and veins and gives rise to the many of the most common and costly chronic conditions, including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. It’s the most common cause of death in the developed world; consequently, high cardiovascular health is a prerequisite for longevity.
In later newsletters, we will discuss how heart health can be improved on a daily basis and what mix of exercises are necessary to support the heart. Without our heart we have insufficient oxygenation not only of our muscles but also our brain. Which means that heart health directly relates to our abilities to be mentally agile and active for longer.
Lung health: The American Lung Association elevated lung disease as the leading cause of death in 2022. Unlike popular belief, degradation of lung health can be caused by several factors, including air pollution, infectious disease (e.g., COVID19), and chronic syndromes (e.g., COPD). Although pulmonary conditions may likely not be the immediate cause of death, their comorbidity with other more dangerous conditions, such as heart disease, threatens one’s life span. Moreover, their ability to hamper physical activity renders them a depreciation factor of life’s quality.
Not only is lung health important, but using them effectively is also and important factor in how our bodies transport essential oxygen and nutrients to all of our systems. Having poor lung health is one thing we can work on to improve our health, however it is not the only cause of poor lung usage. Breathwork and breath training is an essential part of gaining the most out of these essential organs that will lead to longevity but more importantly vitality.
Cellular health: Cellular health is the third piece of the puzzle against chronic disease. Metabolic syndrome and obesity are directly related to how our cells utilise oxygen to burn nutrients and sustain life and power movement. Studies have now linked diabetes ot our cell's inability to use oxygen effectively. Moreover, studies have also shown that metabolic slowdown, the state where our cells use less oxygen and therefore burns fewer calories than predicted, is the primary factor leading to weight loss failure. Obesity and diabetes consequently become the cause of life-threatening conditions such as heart disease and thus become the root cause of premature and, in most cases, expensive fatalities.
Type II Diabetes is on the rise in Australia and it is preventable even in the early stages it can be reversed. The link between our mitochondrial and cellular health to improved energy, alertness and perceived quality of life is underreported. It is well known that certain types of exercise have a direct positive affect on the quality of our mitochondria. This enables our cells to function better and with more ease. Cellular health is therefore a good indicator of how well we will see out our later days.
Skeletal & muscle health: Skeletal and muscle deficiencies such as lower back pain and hip displacement are the primary factor depreciating quality of life. Moreover, due to their debilitating effect on physical activity, they become the root cause of obesity and metabolic syndrome, leading to cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions. Not only this, as we age our muscles are harder to build, from as early as our 30's our muscles begin to lose mass unless we actively work to keep them healthy. Muscle loss and loss of strength as well as mobility is a leading factor to increase risk of falls and injuries relating to falls. It also has a high correlation to the increased risk of developing dementia.
We highly encourage the use of resistances that challenge us to help us not just keep the strength and muscle mass we have, but to also improve our strength and muscle mass (if needed). And no, you are not at all likely to end up looking like Arnie, because that will require you to do 8 hours of training per day and eat 3 dozen eggs for lunch at least.
Mental health: Depression, stress, and anxiety can bring about physiological and life-threatening conditions due to different factors that alone or combined can have impacts on our physical health. They can be the root cause of physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits. Further, the effects of chronic stress on energy balance and chronic stress can lead to hormonal disturbances as well as parasympathetic nervous system challenges that promote visceral fat accumulation and increase the likelihood of metabolic syndrome independently of weight gain. It is important to seek help when we are struggling with our mental health. It is also important that through these times we seek services that are aware of how mental health issues impact our day to day lives. Having supportive and informed practitioners helps us to be able to do things that are helpful while trying our best to manage what we are experiencing.
It is my intention to note that some people are especially resistant to seek or accept help when they are suffering with mental health issues. I do not condone forcing anyone to "do a program for their own good" as this would likely be ineffective. As exercise professionals we are not mental health experts and are not trained to "fix" a mental health concern. However, I have used exercise since my early teens as a way to help me survive mentally through the challenges I was faced with. It is always a place I turn to to help me turn on the good endorphins and boost my mood, so is music. However, it is not a panacea.
Gut health: Our gut is a complex “superorganism” that can positively or negatively affect our health in countless ways. An impaired gut microbiome can impair fat metabolism, energy absorption, and our immune system giving rise to a host of diseases and conditions. Moreover, our brain and gut are inextricably connected, which renders the gut microbiome an important component of our physical and mental health. Consequently, a healthy gut is a safeguard against metabolic, lung, cardiovascular, and cognitive disorders.
Implementing exercise into our lives is great, however, without a sufficiently healthy diet much of what we do in our workouts can go to waste. It is important to not go overboard as this can become damaging (we need to be able to enjoy ourselves too). However, when we are indulging weekly or even more frequently this can contribute to gut issues.
What can I do to live longer and better?
The short answer is to ensure all the systems mentioned above are important to us and we actively do things to help ourselves so that we get to enjoy our work life, free time and post work endeavours.
I for one aim to be seeing the amazing things I've heard and dreamt of, I also aim to be doing a lot of exploring while I'm at it too. For this, I will need to be strong, fit and healthy so I can live my life on my terms. What are your dreams for your future?
Up next....
In the next couple of blogs/newsletters I'll be going in deeper to debug how you can make this possible by slowly integrating longevity goals into a lifestyle that gives you back what you put into it.
Final note.
As someone who happily received the results that I am biologically 14 years younger than my chronological age I feel confidence in the methods I have been using for my health and wellness.They are natural, non invasive and support my entire being. Knowing that my efforts will lead to more independence and the ability to do life my way is the best result I could expect. It also gives me confidence in the way in which I teach health, fitness and wellness to you, because that 14 years didn't happen by chance, genetics or luck.
