The 6 Best Anti-Aging Strategies

Finding the fountain of youth is part of the dream, isn’t it?

Stopping or reversing the effects of aging for a younger appearance, stronger body, more energy, better health, etc. Who wouldn’t want that?!

This is why there is always a new pill/powder/makeup/diet that promises to turn back time. Sadly, that promise is almost always just clever marketing. However, there are things you can do that can help reduce your body’s age and attain:

• Younger-looking skin
• A leaner, stronger, more mobile and functional body
• More energy, stamina and endurance
• Better focus, concentration and memory
• Better sleep
• Fewer health issues/concerns

None of this will magically happen overnight. BUT, when you consistently put the following strategies into play, you can slow down the aging process! Here’s 6 ways to reduce your body age:

1. Lift Weights

Lifting weights can be one of the best ways to increase your health span and improve your quality of life. In fact, muscle strength is one of the strongest predictors of how long and how well you will live. The fact is, regular resistance training can help maintain muscle and bone mass as you get older. It can also boost mood, improve cognitive function, protect against injuries and improve the overall quality of life. Lifting weights doesn’t mean you have to lift like a bodybuilder to reap the rewards. There just needs to be resistance so whether that means you are lifting heavy or using your own body weight, you will see benefits.

2. Incorporate Cardio

Cardio is often regarded in the cardiovascular health arena but it also improves the health of your mitochondria. If you’re looking for anti-aging benefits then aerobic exercise should be at the top of your list. Regular aerobic exercise stimulates a process called mitochondrial biogenesis, which means increasing the size and number of mitochondria. Basically this means that while resistance training increases muscle size and strength, one of the key physiological adaptations to regular aerobic exercise is an increase in mitochondria number and improvement in mitochondrial function. The good news is that you don’t have to spend hours doing it, shorter bouts of high-intensity interval training will do the trick.

In a recent study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers from Germany found that both traditional endurance training and high-intensity interval training led to a two- to three-fold in activity of an enzyme called telomerase, which prevents the shortening of telomeres.⁽⁴⁾ In simple terms, aerobic exercise led to increased telomere length, literally turning back the clock on the participants’ body age.

For most people, a good rule of thumb is to do 2 – 3 cardio sessions (either traditional endurance exercise, interval training, or a combination of the two) each week.

3. Incorporate Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) —and especially time-restricted feeding (TRF)—is one of the most popular health and wellness trends and for good reasons. IF is linked to many health benefits and it can be paired with any diet (e.g., Paleo, Mediterranean, Low FODMAP).

Dr. Valter Longo, one of the leading IF researchers (whose particularly IF specialty is fasting-mimicking diets or FMD for short), wrote a book titled The Longevity Diet, which suggests a clear tie between IF and longevity. For example, Dr. Longo’s research has revealed that FMD, which entails following a low-calorie, low-protein diet for a 5-day period during a monthly cycle, significantly reduces biomarkers for aging, increases regeneration markers, and promotes optimal healthspan in humans. ^(5,6)

Caloric restriction (CR) is arguably one of the most effective tools to reduce your body age. A fairly robust body of research has shown that CR reliably extends lifespan, and this can be traced back to improvements in mitochondria size, number, and function.

IF has been shown to up-regulate a process called autophagy, which essentially involves “cleaning up” cellular garbage.⁽¹⁰⁾ As an added benefit, whereas CR typically results in the loss of calorie-burning lean muscle, IF promotes fat loss while retaining valuable lean mass, which is arguably one of the most overlooked variables for living a long, healthy life.^(7,11)

4. Get Outside

Yes, it’s that simple. Get out from behind the computer, and from under the fluorescent lights and out into nature and the bright sunlight. Believe it or not, one of the simplest ways to reduce your body age is to spend more time in nature. When most people think about being outside, they think about sun exposure, which leads to vitamin D. Vitamin D is actually a hormone, and nearly every tissue in the body has a vitamin D receptor, highlighting its far-reaching benefits.

Avoiding sun exposure is a major risk factor for all-cause mortality—as much as a 2-fold higher mortality rate. There’s also an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels (i.e., lower levels = higher risk/incidence) and breast cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease (and all forms of dementia), autoimmune conditions (e.g., multiple sclerosis, psoriasis), liver disease and macular degeneration to name a few.⁽¹²⁾

But, it’s not just about vitamin D. Connecting with nature—such as forest bathing, grounding (i.e., walking barefoot in the grass), gardening, or simply soaking up your natural surroundings—can have tremendous whole-body benefits, such as: ^{(13, 14, 15, 16)}

• Increased parasympathetic nervous system activity
• Reduced feelings of stress and levels of cortisol
• Reduced blood pressure and pulse rate
• Reduced blood sugar levels
• Improved immune system function
• Improved mood and reduced feelings of depression and anxiety
• Increased focus, concentration and short-term memory
• Increased energy levels and feelings of vitality
• Better, more restorative sleep and healthier circadian rhythms

5. Get More Sleep

Want a surefire way to fast forward the hands on your body’s clock? Don’t get enough sleep. Research has shown a linear association between sleep duration, sleep quality and telomere length. In other words, lack of sleep is directly associated with shorter telomere length and cellular aging. For example, in a study published in the journal PLoS One, researchers from the United Kingdom found that men who slept 5 or fewer hours per night had 6% shorter telomere lengths than men who slept at least 7 hours. ⁽¹⁹⁾

So, here’s yet another reason to put a priority on sleep, and when it comes to improving the restorative quality of sleep, there are three factors to consider: timing (when you go to bed), intensity and duration (how long you’re in bed). The best way to capitalize on all three components is to improve your sleep hygiene and reset your circadian rhythms.

6. Cut Out Junk

Glycemic control (i.e., blood sugar management) seems to be one of the most important health biomarkers to monitor. Research shows that a measurement called HbA1c, which stands for glycated (or glycosylated) hemoglobin, is a key predictor of mortality (which is a scientific term for “death”).

Basically, HbA1c is a robust biomarker of the preceding 2 – 3 months’ average blood glucose level. In other words, it’s a relatively long-term measure of one’s blood glucose control (i.e., glycemic control).⁽²⁰⁾ What’s even more interesting is that HbA1c predicts mortality independently of fasting blood glucose, which is a more commonly tested biomarker.^(21,22) In addition to HbA1c, glycemic variability (think swings or fluctuations in blood sugar) is extremely important. Poor glycemic balance (think spikes in blood sugar after a meal followed by a rapid drop) is directly related to poor mood states, energy levels and food choices. ⁽²³⁾

What’s more, poor glycemic control is one of the primary variables contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction.⁽²⁴⁾ At least part of the disrupting effect of poor glycemic control can likely be traced to advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs, which are “glycotoxins” that can be produced during cooking (e.g., grilling, broiling, frying) and also be formed inside the body (typically in line with poor glycemic control, or high blood sugar), increase free radical formation, increase oxidative stress and promote inflammation. AGEs are implicated in mitochondrial dysfunction. In turn, mitochondrial dysfunction exacerbates the production of AGEs.^(25–28) Unsurprisingly, poor glycemic control has been linked to shortened telomere length.⁽²⁹⁾

The bottom line is that if you want to reduce your body age, cut out the junk food that’s made with added sugars and refined grains. Instead, focus on eating whole foods. The bonus of eating more colorful veggies and fruits is younger, healthier-looking skin.

Anti-Aging

It all boils down to moving more, moving often and moving in a variety of ways. We need to eat real food, ditch the junk and experiment with going periods without eating. Get outside and connect with nature. If you’re consistently practicing these anti-aging strategies, you’re in really good shape. But, we’re all human so if you’re not—and don’t feel bad if that’s you—then consider starting with one area at a time. Never try to make too many changes at once. Once you’ve figured out one for a few weeks, then consider adding another and before you know it, you’ll be feeling better than ever.

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