Longevity: What it is & How You Can Improve It
The term longevity is used ever more frequently these days as doctors are finding new, innovative ways to treat chronic health issues and other ailments using regenerative medicine. However, since it’s a relatively new form of medicine, you might be wondering precisely what longevity means and how longevity treatments can benefit you.
That’s why the experts from London Regenerative Institute have compiled some insightful information for you here.
Your Longevity, Health Span, & Life Span
What is longevity? In the simplest of terms, it’s the combination of your health and lifespan. Over the last several decades, longevity has been improving due to new medicines and longevity treatments. However, although human life expectancy has steadily increased over the years, our health is lagging behind a little. Unfortunately, people may not reach their full life expectancy because they suffer from some age-related ailment or disease, and those that do reach their full life expectancy often spend their remaining years in ill health.
As our bodies grow older, our molecular and cellular structures can accumulate damage and weaken or break down. This opens us up to age-related diseases, chronic issues, and things like cancer, as well as diabetes and neurodegenerative disease. That’s why regenerative treatments focus on slowing the ageing process and minimising the health issues that come along with it.
Factors Determining Your Longevity
The three main factors that determine your longevity include:
Lifestyle:
The lifestyle you live plays a large role in your longevity, especially your eating habits and how much exercise you get. Minimising unhealthy eating habits and abstaining from smoking and excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to improve longevity.
Genetics:
It’s no secret that certain diseases may run in families that will create a genetic disposition toward developing them in the future. However, longevity treatments are designed to curb these inevitabilities.
Environment:
Where one lives can also play a direct impact on their longevity, especially if they’re living in more rural areas without easy access to medical care. Access to clean air and water also plays a huge impact. Generally, studies have shown that the higher up one is socio-economically, the better longevity one will have.
Genetics & Epigenetics & How They Affect Health & Longevity
As mentioned above, genetics can play a big role in your overall health and longevity. This is because human DNA contains matter such as nucleotides, which carry some genetic predispositions on how we develop, reproduce, and live. Specific genes (of which there are thousands) have been associated with common diseases, hence the genetic predisposition to certain things like diabetes or heart disease.
Having a family history of health issues can affect your longevity and life expectancy. However, there are also certain genes that are responsible for preserving and repairing DNA. But in order to help, of course, they need to be active genes. Science and medicine are currently exploring new ways to develop treatments that activate more of these genes to improve longevity.
Although genetic predispositions for some things may be unavoidable, environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and behavioural factors can also change the way genes function. This is known as epigenetics. Rather than changing your gene sequence, epigenetics can tweak the way your body reads it. You can do so by a number of things including targeted therapies designed to improve nutrition, minimise stress, and promote physical activity.
5 Ways to Maximise Your Longevity
For those looking to maximise their longevity, some of the best ways are:
Practising a Daily Longevity Routine:
There are some daily things you can do to increase your personal longevity like maintaining your dental hygiene, avoiding overeating and eating unhealthy foods, and prioritising peace of mind to reduce your daily stress.
Getting Regular Exercise:
Exercising regularly is one of the best ways to increase your lifespan and strengthen your body’s defences against disease and chronic ailments. By getting enough exercise you can minimise the chances of contracting type 2 diabetes later in life, reduce hypertension, and minimise the chance of getting heart disease or suffering a stroke.
Sleeping Well:
There’s nothing quite like a good night’s sleep to help your body’s cells regenerate. Not only do interruptions in our sleep mess with our body’s processes and circadian rhythm but they also accelerate ageing. Poor sleep can also contribute to the development of chronic conditions that decrease longevity, as well as more serious ailments like dementia and heart disease.
Staying Hydrated:
Another way to maximise your longevity is to always ensure you’re getting enough water. Water is essential for your body and helps it maintain proper digestion and circulation, in addition to performing important functions like absorbing nutrients and removing toxins. Studies have shown that access to clean, safe water leads to an increase in longevity.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet:
Eating healthy is also one of the best ways you can increase your lifespan. A balanced diet improves your longevity and there are a lot of places to start, like a more Mediterranean diet, which is thought to help people live a longer life. The Mediterranean area is one of the world’s “Blue Zones,” where the population tends to live upwards of 90 years old. Avoiding processed foods is also key to a longer, healthier life.
Learn more about healthy longevity treatments by contacting us!
London Regenerative Institute is committed to improving the health and wellness of all our patients by equipping them with the tools they need to increase their longevity. Through cutting-edge medicine, methods, and technology, we deliver long-lasting effects. Our team has decades of experience in the field of preventative and restorative aesthetics. To find out more about longevity and regenerative medicine, contact London Regenerative Institute today online or call +44 7443 333289.