Embrace Regular, Dedicated Exercise. Recognize that regular physical activity is often considered the single most effective medical intervention known. Aim to meet or exceed the recommended guidelines of 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.
Combine Aerobic with Strength Training. Ensure your routine includes both aerobic conditioning and muscle strengthening, as both are requisite dimensions of exercise. Resistance training, aiming for about 60 minutes per week, is associated with approximately a 25 percent reduction in all-cause mortality, helping to combat age-related muscle loss.
Adopt a Mediterranean-type Diet. Follow a dietary pattern—such as the Mediterranean diet—that provides robust support for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and type 2 diabetes.
Prioritize Fiber and Whole Foods. Increase your intake of high-fiber, unprocessed carbohydrates, such as nonstarchy vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. Aim for 25–30 grams of dietary fiber daily, which slows digestion and lessens blood glucose spikes—the polar opposite effect of ultra-processed foods.
Increase Healthy Fats, Especially Olive Oil. Consuming healthy fats, such as olive oil and nuts, is associated with favorable longevity data. Consumption of olive oil, for instance, has been tied to about a 20 percent lower all-cause mortality.
Aim for Optimal Sleep Duration. Target approximately seven hours of sleep per night, which is associated with the best outcomes for cognition and mental health, based on large cohort studies.
Maintain Sleep and Meal Regularity. Keep a consistent pattern for both your bedtime and awakening times, even on weekends, to support your circadian rhythm. Similarly, try to maintain the same timing for meals daily, which is crucial for optimal digestive processes.
Cultivate Social Connections. Address loneliness and social isolation, as they are critical public health concerns associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (32 percent increase).
Practice Balance Exercises. Include balance training, such as the one-leg stand test, in your routine. For individuals aged sixty and older, the goal is to stand for thirty seconds or more, as the inability to do so is associated with double the risk of all-cause mortality.
Use Alternatives to Plastic for Food Storage. Utilize water bottles made of glass or steel and kitchen tools made of wood or steel to limit exposure to ubiquitous microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) which carry numerous toxic chemicals.
10 Things to Avoid or Strictly Limit
Minimize Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) Consumption. Restrict UPFs in your diet to the lowest level possible. A diet rich in UPFs is linked to a markedly heightened risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive diseases, and consumption of more than four servings per day is linked to a 62 percent increase in all-cause mortality.
Avoid Sugary Beverages and Fruit Juices. Limit or avoid high sugary beverages, including fruit juices, as consumption is consistently associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
Refrain from Prolonged Sitting. Avoid being sedentary for extended periods. Studies have consistently linked prolonged sitting with higher mortality risk.
Strictly Limit Processed and Unprocessed Red Meat. Restrict or avoid both processed and unprocessed red meat; processed meat is classified as “carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization, and both are consistently linked to increased risk of mortality and cancer.
Avoid High Sodium Intake. While sodium’s effect varies, high consumption (more than 5 grams of sodium per day) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. If you have hypertension, limit or avoid adding salt to foods.
Do Not Over-Sleep or Under-Sleep. Avoid habitually sleeping less than six hours or more than eight hours, as both extremes are consistently associated with cognitive decline and heightened all-cause mortality.
Avoid Late-Night Caloric Intake. To support optimal digestion and circadian rhythm, avoid any caloric intake in the three to four hours before going to bed.
Limit Alcohol Consumption. Limit consumption, as both moderate and heavy drinking carry risks. The data suggests that light intake (such as two drinks per week) might be tolerable, but the risks quickly increase with higher intake levels.
Avoid Blue Light Exposure Before Bed. Avoid the blue light emitted by electronic devices close to bedtime, as this disrupts the circadian rhythm and suppresses melatonin production, interfering with sleep quality.
Avoid Common Sleep Medications. Use caution with commonly used sleep drugs like Ambien (zolpidem) and benzodiazepines, which have been shown to suppress the glymphatic flow—the brain’s waste clearance system—which is critical for preventing the buildup of toxic proteins like β-amyloid.
