Is it better to increase the years of life or the life of the years? The concept ‘anti aging‘ or ‘antiaging’ that for years has served as a claim to sell all types of products and services is now reviled, as Beatriz Larrea clarifies (@blarrea), holistic nutritionist, the reality is that aging is natural and stopping aging is impossible. “Aging is being alive and, therefore, it is a privilege, so I think we have to see it as a gift and take advantage of it in the best possible way,” he says. That is why the expert, who is also the author of the books ‘Your body on fire’ and ‘Put out your body on fire in 30 days’, explains that what is of interest today is to focus on a healthy aginge characterized by quality of life, well-being, energy, vitality and good cognitive performance.
Life expectancy is increasing, but it is far from being close to another more interesting concept that is defined as «healthy life expectancy«, which leads Larrea to ask the question: »What is the point of reaching 90 or 100 years if that person spends almost thirty years sick?«. According to the expert, there are many investigations that are focusing on the science of ““healthy aging” whose objective is to achieve the necessary advances so that aging is not synonymous with disease. «Both science and medicine are making a herculean effort to find strategies that help increase the years of healthy life, not only so that people enjoy greater health but for an economic reason, since the expense derived from diseases associated with “Population aging may not be unsustainable for the economy of many countries,” he argues.
These efforts, therefore, are focusing on acting on what is known as the biological age. To define this concept Beatriz Larrea specifies that we have a chronological or real agewhich is marked by the year in which we were born and cannot be changed, and another biological one, which is the cellular age or, in a more mundane way, the age of the body. And this last one, biological age, is what has already been studied and can be changed. In fact, as the expert explains, the increase in this age, that is, biological aging, is the main risk factor for the appearance of diseases. The good and bad news is that this biological age can increase or decrease depending on the habits (diet, exercise, rest…) that are followed and also depending on the management of stress and emotions.
The syllogism that Larrea proposes therefore is that if biological age is the main risk factor for aging and this in turn is the main risk factor for disease, it could be deduced that if biological age is reversed we will increase the quality and the number of years of healthy life.
Healthy habits or ‘the health table’
But to achieve this increase in years of healthy life, one might ask how our way of eating, moving or resting influences us. To answer this question, the nutritionist describes the so-called “health table”, whose legs (healthy eating, regular exercise, sufficient sleep and management of stress and emotions) contribute to supporting it. «If you start removing legs, the table will end up falling and although none is more important than the other, it is true that one of the most relevant is the one that helps manage stress», he specifies. The explanation is, as he points out, that this leg can affect the others: «If you are stressed, you will not eat well, you will not sleep well, you will not encourage gratitude, you will not take care of social relationships or bonds. And you will probably isolate yourself and watch series non-stop while eating sweets or chips,” he argues.
“He sustained stress over time “He is an arsonist for his biological age,” says Larrea, who explains that it influences the quality of sleep, the lack of physical activity, the abuse of inflammatory diets and the predominance of negative emotions.
Once the importance of learning to manage stress is clear, the expert suggests doing small changes starting with those “legs of the table” that are most difficult for us to improve. «It is not about changing everything overnight because that will not be effective and will be impossible to sustain. The ideal would be to incorporate a small change every day,” he points out.
In the case of food, it is proposed to choose a anti-inflammatory diet based on the Mediterranean diet authentic and well made that includes eating legumes, cereals, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, good quality small fish… etc; but at the same time it recommends limiting or even eliminating ultra-processed products and ‘fast food’, full of foods rich in sugar, salt and saturated fat. Some of the foods that, according to him, provide antioxidants and bioactive compounds that help buffer inflammation and the cellular oxidation They are: turmeric, broccoli, pomegranate, cocoa, green tea, matcha tea, olive oil or blueberries, among others.
Regarding exercise, remember that research on ‘healthy aging’ confirms that exercise attached to one active physical life It is the best strategy to attack all the milestones of aging. And what is the best exercise for this? The expert is clear: «The best exercise is the one you like, the one you enjoy and are able to do daily and maintain over time, in addition to being active on a daily basis, going up and down stairs, walking at a good pace. to go to work or any other place, carry weights and move whenever you can,” he explains.
He dream or night rest is another of the great pillars that affect biological age and the truth is that, as Larrea denounces, it could be said that we have almost a pandemic of people with insomnia and that one of the main causes of rest problems is the lack of synchronization with our circadian rhythms. The culprits? The abusive use of cell phones, electronic devices, social networks and television whose blue light affects the brain and poor exposure to sunlight. «The infrared rays of sunrise and sunset are necessary. We are not aware of what controlled or planned sun exposure can do to the body. The sun is not an enemy if used responsibly. It is proven that exposing yourself to the sun for about 30 minutes allows you to obtain sufficient levels of vitamin Dwhich is an important hormone for the immune system. People who are exposed to the sun live longer. The sun is a great anti-inflammatory if you don’t overdo it, of course,” he reveals.
Finally, the nutritionist remembers that to achieve our longevity and health potential It is important to treat inflammation, which is the alteration of the immune system that generates inflammatory compounds that are associated with all the chronic diseases that plague the Western world. “Inflammation must be kept at bay so that our immune system works correctly, protecting us from viruses and bacteria, but not permanently alert and active because of all those factors that generate chronic stress and therefore more inflammation,” he warns.
#Beatriz #Larrea #holistic #nutritionist #Chronic #stress #pyromaniac #biological #age
