Secrets to Longevity: What You Should Stay Away From

As many of us are aware, lifestyle plays a significant role in life expectancy. It has an even greater impact on how healthy we will be during those extra years. Studies have found that only around 25% of longevity is due to genetic factors. The rest, we have the chance to impact through lifestyle factors such as nutrition, mental and physical wellness, activity, sleeping habits and environment.

Most of us know what we should do to stay healthy and live longer. We all (well, most of us) understand the importance of being physically active and eating healthy foods. However, even if we do all that, there may still be things standing in the way for optimal health. In this article, we will reveal the secrets to longevity. More specifically, we will delve into what you should avoid if you are striving for a longer life.

Ultra-processed Foods

Ultra-processed foods are among the biggest risk factors for health and longevity in our modern society. In the U.S., 58% of daily calorie intake comes from ultra-processed foods. In Canada, it’s nearly the same, with 50% of daily calories derived from UPF. Ultra-processed foods, or ‘UPF,’ are foods that have undergone multiple industrial processes. Examples of such foods are chicken nuggets, sodas, breakfast cereals, crisps, frozen meals, margarine, cakes, candy and pasta sauces.

When Ultra-processed foods are made, there is a variation of extra artificial ingredients added. These ingredients are often manipulated and not anything a normal person would have in their kitchen. Examples are high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, coloring and flavor enhancers. The purpose of these ingredients and the processing is to enhance flavor, texture, and shelf life, making these products highly convenient and appealing to consumers.

The manufacturers of UPF knows exactly how to make the food irresistible and addictive. Scientific studies have shown that UPF can affect the dopamine system and that eating ultra-processed foods is linked to changes in brain areas involved in reward and decision-making.

Unfortunately Ultra-processed foods have become a significant part of the modern diet, especially in developed countries. This means that the kids of today grow up in a world where the majority of the foods they eat have high calorie density and low nutritional value. Food that can lead to overeating and poor diet quality. Scientific studies also show that UPF is associated with depressive symptom, cardiometabolic diseases and neurologic outcomes like stroke and cognitive decline. Ultra-processed foods are definitely something you should stay away from if you want to live a long and healthy life.

Alcohol

Excessive or heavy drinking is linked to several negative health outcomes and an increased risk of early death. Despite all well-known risks of drinking too much alcohol, people still tend to turn to their bottles several times a week. Some studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with certain health benefits. Although research doesn’t strongly indicate that these benefits outweigh the advantages of completely avoiding alcohol.

If you are wondering if your alcohol consumption is affecting your health, you can find out by wearing some popular health gadgets. Based on my own experience, I’ve noticed through my Oura app that even a single drink in the evening significantly affects my sleep and readiness. That’s enough information for me to understand that it’s better to avoid alcohol, except on carefully chosen occasions.

When it comes to health risks that are linked to alcohol, the evidence is clear. Drinking too much will significantly increase the mortality risk. Heavy drinking can also lead to liver, heart, and pancreatic diseases. There is also an increased risk of getting dementia and high blood pressure.

If you want to keep your alcohol consumption moderate, there are certain guidelines. Women are recommended to not drink more than 1-2 units per day or a maximum of 7 units per week. The same recommendations for men are no more than 3 units per day or a maximum of 14 units per week. But if you want to optimize your health and longevity, alcohol shouldn’t be something you consume on a daily or even a weekly basis.

Chronic Stress

A study published in National Institute for Health and Welfare found that individuals being under heavy stress, could expect a shortened life expectancy by 2.8 years. Being under chronic stress over longer periods of time is associated with many health issues. Examples of such issues are high blood pressure, heart disease, muscle tension, headaches, stroke, digestive problems, weight gain and trouble sleeping.

Not all stress is bad. Instead stress is a natural part of our lives and our bodies have ways to react to stress. There is even good stress that can occur when there is no threat waiting down the corner. During good stress, our pulse raises and our hormones surges. Like when we get excited or aroused. When we experience good stress or normal stress, our heart rate, our cortisol levels and our blood pressure returns to normal levels once the stress is over. Our bodies will adjust this automatically. This doesn’t happen during chronic stress or bad stress.

Stress gets dangerous when it starts to take over our lives. When there are constant stressors present, our fight-or-flight mode is constantly turned on. All this cortisol and adrenaline will disrupt our body’s other processes and is harmful to our health.

If you have a stressful period in your life, try to do things that is good for your body. Make sure to eat a healthy diet and to exercise on a regular basis. Focus on getting enough quality sleep and if it’s possible, do some deep breathing or meditation exercises.

Smoking

Smoking is probably one of the worst things you can do if you’re striving for longevity and optimal health and wellness. Fortunately, smoking in the U.S has declined from 20.9% to 11.5% between the years 2005 to 2021. Smoking is a major cause of mortality and according to some estimates it’s the number one cause of preventable deaths in the U.S.

Smoking is a known cause for various types of cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Even a few cigarettes a day will damage your blood vessels and can cause early signs of cardiovascular disease.

Cigarettes have no place in a healthy lifestyle. No matter how much you exercise or how well you eat, smoking still exposes you to numerous health risks. But it’s never too late to quit smoking. If you quit using cigarettes before the age of 40, it will prevent nearly all of the increased risks of early death from smoking.

Added Sugar

This is an extension of point one as a lot of Ultra-processed Foods include added sugar. The reason to this is that the manufacturers want to increase flavor and extend shelf life. Too much added sugar is a disaster for health and longevity. Sure, it’s sweet and tastes amazing, but too much of it will leave you feeling far from great. Try avoiding added sugar for a month, then eat some candy and see how your body reacts. This experiment will make it clear that added sugar is not good for your health.

Consuming a diet high in sugar can increase inflammation in your body. It’s also well documented that excess sugar can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease and diabetes type 2. It can also affect brain function, accelerate skin aging and plays a vital role in cellular aging.

As there are over 61 different names for sugar, it can be hard to know if certain foods are packed with added sugar. Make sure to learn some of the most common names to avoid too much added sugar in your food. Here are some examples; corn syrup, malt sugar, fruit juice concentrates, high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, molasses and malt sugar.

Added sugar is added in all types of modern foods. It’s not just in candy, ice cream, biscuits, sugary sodas and milkshakes that you will find added sugar. To avoid added sugar, try buying mostly foods that contain only one ingredient, such as meat, vegetables, beans, and fruits.

Conclusion

To reach optimal health and longevity requires more than just knowing what to do. Even if you have an active lifestyle, eat plenty of nutritious foods and sleep well, there might still be areas where you can improve. Making conscious decisions to avoid habits and substances that are clearly no good for you, will boost your health and wellness. Ultra-processed foods, heavy alcohol consumption, chronic stress, smoking, and added sugar are all big threats to a long and healthy life. By leaving these factors out from your daily routines, can dramatically improve your chances of living longer and healthier. Small changes in your lifestyle can lead to great improvements in both the quality and quantity of your years.