8 “To Do’s” for a Longer HEALTHIER Life
Gone are the days of blaming your parents and grandparents for your poor health.
How you choose to live plays a much larger role in your health than your genes do.
This is GREAT news because it means you can take positive actions NOW to impact your current and future health.
With that in mind, here are eight lifestyle factors proven to boost health and slow aging.
I’m always happy to see major organizations like the American Heart Association embracing lifestyle changes as significant in boosting heart health and reducing factors associated with aging.
In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers evaluated the impact of following the AHA’s Life’s Essential 8.
These include eight lifestyle factors that are critical for heart health:
- Dietary intake
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Smoking status
- Body mass index
- Cholesterol levels
- Blood sugar levels
- Blood pressure
After following 5,682 volunteers for 11 to 14 years, the research revealed that for every 13-point increase in the Essential 8 score, there was a…
- 35 percent reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease
- 36 percent reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
- 29 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause at all
Higher Essential 8 scores were even more impactful in people with a higher genetic risk.
This was due to lifestyle’s impact on DNA methylation—a process that determines which genes are turned off or on.
In other words, even if you’re genetically predisposed to heart disease, making better lifestyle choices can help keep your heart disease switch in the OFF position.
The study showed that in people without genetic risk factors, the impact of lifestyle on DNA methylation was responsible for 20 percent of the association between lifestyle and heart disease risk.
However, in people with a higher genetic risk, the impact of lifestyle on DNA methylation was responsible for 40 percent of the association.
The heart and longevity benefits of incorporating a healthy lifestyle are nothing new.
However, understanding how lifestyle choices impact health risks will hopefully encourage more people to finally put them into practice.
P.S. Powerful nutrient targets the TOP 12 hallmarks of aging.
SOURCE:
Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, Norrina B. Allen, Cheryl A.M. Anderson, et al., Life’s Essential 8: Updating and Enhancing the American Heart Association’s Construct of Cardiovascular Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association, Circulation. 22;146:e18–e43, [doi. org /10.1161/CIR.0000000000001078]
