Improving Life Expectancy: Simple Changes for a Longer, Healthier Life
Added on 2022-12-09
6 Pages1575 Words209 Views
LIFE EXPECTANCY - JUNE 20, 2019
You could add 35.0 more years with a few simple changes.
20.0
65.4
100.4
Your Healthy Life Expectancy
Your Life Expectancy
Your Potential Life Expectancy
ADD 35.0 MORE YEARS
Your Life expectancy is 65.4 years and your healthy life expectancy (the years free of cancer,
heart disease, and diabetes) is 20.0. You can add up to 35.0 more years to your life and add
healthy years to your life by optimizing your lifestyle and environment. Below are
recommendations specific to you and information on how to implement these
recommendations. For a more comprehensive approach to making these changes try our our
online course Staying Alive: 9 Habits for Living a Longer, Healthier Life
EAT LESS MEAT
The World Health Organization recently issued a report that had a lot of meat-lovers seeing
red. It concluded that eating processed meats like bacon, ham and lunch meats can increase the
risk of developing certain types of cancer, noting that red meats like beef and pork are
“probably carcinogenic.”
You could add 35.0 more years with a few simple changes.
20.0
65.4
100.4
Your Healthy Life Expectancy
Your Life Expectancy
Your Potential Life Expectancy
ADD 35.0 MORE YEARS
Your Life expectancy is 65.4 years and your healthy life expectancy (the years free of cancer,
heart disease, and diabetes) is 20.0. You can add up to 35.0 more years to your life and add
healthy years to your life by optimizing your lifestyle and environment. Below are
recommendations specific to you and information on how to implement these
recommendations. For a more comprehensive approach to making these changes try our our
online course Staying Alive: 9 Habits for Living a Longer, Healthier Life
EAT LESS MEAT
The World Health Organization recently issued a report that had a lot of meat-lovers seeing
red. It concluded that eating processed meats like bacon, ham and lunch meats can increase the
risk of developing certain types of cancer, noting that red meats like beef and pork are
“probably carcinogenic.”
In the Blue Zones, people don’t eat nearly the amounts of meat that Americans do. We found
that people there on average were eating small amounts of meat, about 2 ounces or less at a
time (a portion the size of a deck of cards), about five times per month.
Looking for ways to eat less meat? The American Cancer Society offers this tip: Treat meat
more like a side dish, not the main one. And the American Heart Association offers this advice:
Limit yourself to lean meat like skinless chicken and fish, and less than 6 ounces total per day.
For more, check out the Reducetarianmovement, which urges people to reduce meat
consumption (but not cut it out altogether).
Here are four tasty and filling Blue Zones plant-based recipes that make a great main dish for
any meal:
• 5-Minute Tasty Squash and Beans
• Cauliflower-Chickpea Tacos
• Ikarian Longevity Stew with Black Eyed Peas
• Longevity Minestrone Soup
DUMP JUNK
The joys of junk food are clear: It’s cheap, fast, tasty and available everywhere. But America’s
favorite sweets, snacks and fast food are also chock full of calories from refined sugars and
artery-clogging fats, loaded with sodium and lacking anything of nutritional value, including
fiber, vitamins and minerals.
There’s no question that junk food has made America fat and is a growing health hazard
worldwide. Eating these foods can lead to any number of ailments, including high blood
pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and many types of cancer.
that people there on average were eating small amounts of meat, about 2 ounces or less at a
time (a portion the size of a deck of cards), about five times per month.
Looking for ways to eat less meat? The American Cancer Society offers this tip: Treat meat
more like a side dish, not the main one. And the American Heart Association offers this advice:
Limit yourself to lean meat like skinless chicken and fish, and less than 6 ounces total per day.
For more, check out the Reducetarianmovement, which urges people to reduce meat
consumption (but not cut it out altogether).
Here are four tasty and filling Blue Zones plant-based recipes that make a great main dish for
any meal:
• 5-Minute Tasty Squash and Beans
• Cauliflower-Chickpea Tacos
• Ikarian Longevity Stew with Black Eyed Peas
• Longevity Minestrone Soup
DUMP JUNK
The joys of junk food are clear: It’s cheap, fast, tasty and available everywhere. But America’s
favorite sweets, snacks and fast food are also chock full of calories from refined sugars and
artery-clogging fats, loaded with sodium and lacking anything of nutritional value, including
fiber, vitamins and minerals.
There’s no question that junk food has made America fat and is a growing health hazard
worldwide. Eating these foods can lead to any number of ailments, including high blood
pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and many types of cancer.
But here’s the good news: Cutting junk food out of your diet may not be as hard as you think.
Blue Zones Checklists offer science-backed tips on how to set up your environment to cut out
junk food and eat healthier.
CUT SODIUM
Shaking your salt habit will help you lower blood pressure, which can curb risk of stroke and
heart disease. A recent study also suggested that high sodium intake is also bad for our bones.
But Americans love their salt. The American Heart Association recommends that adults get no
more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day; U.S. government guidelines recommend less
than 2,300 milligrams. But most U.S. adults get way more than that, roughly 3,400 milligrams.
And the salt shaker is not our biggest enemy. More than 75 percent of our sodium intake comes
from restaurant and processed foods (roughly 40 percent of it comes from a list of 10 of high-
sodium foods, including pizza and deli meats).
For tips on how to change your environment to eat less salt and lead healthier lives, check out
our Blue Zones Kitchen Checklist.
BE FRIENDLY
Research suggests that strong friendships may lead to a longer life. That certainly seems true
in the world’s Blue Zones, where social connectedness is the traditional norm. In Japan, they
have a name for close knit circles of friends who lean on each other for support throughout
their lives: moai.
It makes sense when you think about the things our friends do for us. As the Mayo Clinic notes,
friends take an interest in our health and well-being, increase our happiness and reduce stress,
help us cope with trauma and drama in our lives, and boost our sense of purpose (which is also
among the secrets to longevity in the Blue Zones).
Blue Zones Checklists offer science-backed tips on how to set up your environment to cut out
junk food and eat healthier.
CUT SODIUM
Shaking your salt habit will help you lower blood pressure, which can curb risk of stroke and
heart disease. A recent study also suggested that high sodium intake is also bad for our bones.
But Americans love their salt. The American Heart Association recommends that adults get no
more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day; U.S. government guidelines recommend less
than 2,300 milligrams. But most U.S. adults get way more than that, roughly 3,400 milligrams.
And the salt shaker is not our biggest enemy. More than 75 percent of our sodium intake comes
from restaurant and processed foods (roughly 40 percent of it comes from a list of 10 of high-
sodium foods, including pizza and deli meats).
For tips on how to change your environment to eat less salt and lead healthier lives, check out
our Blue Zones Kitchen Checklist.
BE FRIENDLY
Research suggests that strong friendships may lead to a longer life. That certainly seems true
in the world’s Blue Zones, where social connectedness is the traditional norm. In Japan, they
have a name for close knit circles of friends who lean on each other for support throughout
their lives: moai.
It makes sense when you think about the things our friends do for us. As the Mayo Clinic notes,
friends take an interest in our health and well-being, increase our happiness and reduce stress,
help us cope with trauma and drama in our lives, and boost our sense of purpose (which is also
among the secrets to longevity in the Blue Zones).
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