Average life expectancy in the US has dropped to 76.4 years, according to December data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but many medical professionals believe that people can extend their longevity by adopting certain lifestyles.
It’s up to each of us to adopt healthy lifestyles PHOTO Shutterstock
Dr. Brett Osborn, a board-certified neurosurgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida, is also the founder of a preventive and anti-aging health care facility, Senolytix.
He works with patients to help them achieve a healthy weight, adopt better health habits and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
“My motto is, you’re never too young or too old for good health,” he said.
In an interview given Fox News DigitalOsborn shared the five daily health habits he recommends to his patients to help them live longer, healthier lives.
While it’s important to consult with a health professional, Osborn stressed that people should listen to their own bodies and identify potential risks.
In a chat with Fox News Digital, Dr. Brett Osborn shared the five daily habits he recommends to his patients to help them live longer, healthier lives. Some can even be considered surprising.
“Overall, standard health surveillance for the average American is poor,” said Osborn, who also holds certification from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. “We’re just not being aggressive enough in checking and identifying risk factors for chronic disease.”
Most people aren’t proactive in discovering risks for themselves, he said — relying too much on their doctors or online health information.
“Don’t think your doctor is going to find all your risk factors and save you from a heart attack or stroke—most of the time, that’s not going to happen,” he cautioned. “These are silent killers that can harm themselves before you experience any symptoms.”
Given the prevalence of both high blood pressure and insulin resistance, Osborn recommends that everyone self-monitor at home for early signs of these potentially deadly problems.
“People who wait for their annual checkup to find out what’s going on with their health are making a terrible mistake,” he said. “A lot can go wrong in a year or two between doctor visits, and missing or delaying medical tests can kill you.”
The best way to extend your life
The best way to extend your life is to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke, according to Osborn — and the first step in doing so is identifying your risk factors.
Dr. Brett Osborn is a board-certified neurosurgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida, who has 15 years of experience in longevity medicine.
“It’s almost impossible to be in optimal health without constantly checking how your body is working to get an idea. Laboratory tests will accurately identify all risk factors,” Osborn said.
“Having these tests early – and taking the results seriously – can save your life,” adds the specialist.
Osborn recommends implementing six blood tests to help prevent age-related diseases.
1. Lipid profile. This test gives a rough idea of the ratio of “good” to “bad” cholesterol, he said.
2. Vertical Automatic Profile (VAP). This is a cholesterol, lipid and lipoprotein test that measures all components of a standard lipid profile and also goes deeper by segmenting cholesterol into subtypes.
Osborn works with patients to help them achieve a healthy weight, adopt better health habits and reduce their risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
“I would strongly consider VAP testing instead of the standard lipid profile if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease or stroke,” Osborn said.
“You may be surprised to learn that what was once considered ‘normal’ in the standard lipid profile is now far from it.”
3. C-Reactive Protein (CRP). Patients with obesity and metabolic syndrome have elevated levels of CRP, which is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and atherogenic dyslipidemia, Osborn explained.
4. Homocysteine. “Elevations in homocysteine are associated with a variety of diseases, including heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis,” Osborn said.
Osborn recommends getting five blood tests regularly to help prevent age-related diseases.
5. Hemoglobin A1C. This test measures how well your blood sugar levels have been controlled over weeks or months.
“This test doesn’t lie,” Osborn said. “It’s a medium, wide-angle lens, not a snapshot like a glucose level. It is necessary that this level be as low as possible”.
6. Vitamin D3. There is evidence that vitamin D3 deficiency is associated with stroke, insulin resistance, Alzheimer’s dementia, coronary heart disease and cancer, according to Osborn.
“Do this test and intervene if necessary because failure to do so will predispose you to a variety of diseases,” he warned.
Although supplements should not be used as primary treatments for conditions, Osborn said, they can be used as an adjunct to a balanced diet and exercise regimen.
Supplements don’t help much
Osborn is the founder of Senolytix, a preventative health care and antiaging facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. “The right supplement regimen,” he said, “can optimize your health so your work is maximized.”
“Supplements won’t fix your high blood sugar, high blood pressure, gout, and high blood pressure—only you can. There is no easy way out,” Osborn said.
Osborn recommends a top 10 nutritional supplements to help prevent free radical damage, oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, the main drivers of age-related diseases:
omega-3 fatty acids
Resveratrol
Green tea extract
Vitamin D3
Curcumin
complex B
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Magnesium
Probiotics
Osborn opts out of multivitamins because “the doses of the individual components are quite low.”
Although not a muscle, Osborn emphasized that the brain needs to benefit from physical and mental exercise. “Exercise and critical thinking both create neural pathways in the brain,” he said.
“There is a learning component as you exercise or work through mental challenges like puzzles, and this learning process literally rewires the brain.”
Physical and mental exercises for the brain
Although not a muscle, the brain benefits from exercise, both mentally and physically, Osborn said.
“As we age, keeping the brain active through physical activity helps prevent the progression of age-related atrophy,” he added.
Physical activity helps form synapses, which are connections between neurons that help reduce inflammation, reverse age-related spatial memory loss and improve learning, Osborn explained.
It also helps prevent diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, he added.
“There is also evidence that increased blood flow to the brain during exercise promotes neurogenesis (formation of new neurons in the brain),” he added. “Exercise can improve both learning skills and memory.”
Beyond physical activity, learning a new skill can also “turbo-charge” the brain, Osborn said. Measuring the glycemic index (GI) of foods is one way to assess the impact they have on blood sugar and insulin, Osborn explained.
This knowledge can then be used to find and avoid hidden sugars. Beans, for example, have a glycemic index of 23, peanuts are rated at 7, and white rice is 89.
“Simply put, the sweeter the food, the higher the GI,” Osborn said. After eating low GI foods, glucose rises only slightly, which means less insulin is produced.
Measuring the glycemic index (GI) of foods is one way to assess the impact they have on blood sugar and insulin, Osborn noted.
“Short-term glycemic control is primarily a function of several interrelated factors, such as low-GI food intake, lean body mass, and daily exercise,” Osborn explained.
“While eating low-glycemic carbohydrates facilitates weight loss, eating vegetables daily has far greater, life-extending effects,” he added.
2023-08-08 11:52:50
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