Last updated on March 26, 2021 at 03:29 am
We all dream to live longer and today’s conventional medicine is a system in which doctors and medical professionals treat diseases using the conventional tools (drugs, surgery, radiation…) that are taught in Western medical schools. It is extremely important of course, and it does not have all the answers. It is most helpful in acute care, infection, and trauma settings.
When it comes to lifestyle and chronic diseases that take years to develop, conventional medicine does not treat the problem at its root, instead only scratches its surface.
1: Live Longer with an Integrative Approach
The best way to deal with chronic diseases is to employ an integrative approach that doesn’t see the individual as a symptom but rather as a whole, taking into consideration his or her environment, habits, lifestyle, and most importantly, their nutrition.
Is Cancer the Consequence of Lifestyle or Increased Lifespan?
In the past, the world used to suffer from infectious diseases that could kill millions of people at a time.
Conditions like leprosy and the plague were responsible for major deadly outbreaks that marked history [1].
Thanks to the development of modern medicine and the improvement in our environment, our life span has improved.
Nevertheless, our quality of life has taken a hit, because many new lifestyle diseases have emerged [2].
Scientists and doctors are still not clear on whether the chronic diseases we see today like cancer and metabolic syndrome are a consequence of our lifestyle or of our increased lifespan.
The debate has not been settled, and both factors certainly play a role, but the effect of diet and lifestyle is more pronounced. Many people think that the body is programmed to decay and collapse in its sixties, but the truth is the human body is a machine that can do wonders even at an old age, if it’s well taken care of in its youth.
2: Focus on Lifestyle and Nutrition
Most lifestyle and chronic diseases we see in the world today are closely linked to lifestyle and nutrition. They are known as civilization or lifestyle diseases [3]. In western countries and parts of the world with a high income, people are now consuming more animal products, smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and relying on fast and processed foods.
3: Focus on Physical Activity
People have also become less physically active. These changes in nutrition and behavior (that the developed world has known in the last half-century as a result of industrialization) are responsible for an increase in the numbers of many diseases like high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and many more.
4: Mind Your Overall Food Consumption
Diseases like prostate, colorectal, breast, and endometrial cancers have also become more common in western countries where civilization diseases are more prevalent, while remaining quite rare in countries with a low income that do not consume as much meat, processed products or high starch foods.
5: Focus on the Quality of Produce
The protective effect of nutrition may also explain why Mediterranean countries like Spain [4] and Italy are some of the healthiest in the world, along with countries in some parts of Asia, that still consume a whole foods plant-based diet with daily servings of healthy grains, fresh produce, and healthy fats.
Sadly, poor diet and bad lifestyle habits have caught up with most parts of the world. Even those that were once the healthiest are now being haunted by the ghost of tobacco use, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity, and as a result, the diseases these bad habits are responsible for [5].
6: Ensure Great Air Quality to Live Longer
The world has changed so much in the last century, and not necessarily for the better. Air quality has declined, and the air we breathe is filled with pollutants that harm the respiratory system, causing inflammation and congestion. If you can chose where to live, consider the local air quality. There are a number of air quality monitors out there that help you measure the level of pollution in your home.
7: Watch the Quality of Soil
The quality of the soil has also diminished, lacking in essential nutrients like vitamin B12. As a result, the nutrient profile of the vegetables and fruits has also declined. The plastic [6] and aluminum foil [7] we use may contribute to the onset of conditions like dementia and reduced fertility.
8: Protect Yourself Against Electrosmog
Our current lifestyle is mostly sedentary, and the blue light from the electronic devices we are addicted to disrupts our sleep schedule and depression rates in the world have never been this high.
We currently live life choosing convenience over value, in the habits we adopt, and the relationships we build. This approach of convenience over value also translates to the food we eat.
9: Eliminate Processed Foods
Most developed countries gravitate towards a westernized diet of extra processed foods and animal products because they are more convenient. But these foods are high in sugar and salt, and as a result, can cause diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
Processed foods also contain additives and taste enhancers that disrupt the balance of hormones and neurotransmitters. As a result, diseases like depression and anxiety can occur.
The food we eat is supposed to supply us with energy, but processed foods and meat-based products require energy to be digested, and as such, they neither contribute nor support our wellbeing.
10: Minimize or Avoid Animal Protein
Animal products are also high in cholesterol and their consumption can be responsible for atherosclerosis, obesity, and diabetes.
The Western diet is also energy-dense, and as a result, it can cause obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Too much animal protein is responsible for kidney stones and hyperuricemia, a buildup of uric acid, that can deposit in the joints and the kidneys causing joint destruction and kidney failure.
But on the other hand, plant-based protein may stimulate the secretion of glucagon, a protective hormone that reduces the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer [8].
The consumption of meat, dairy, and processed foods in western diets increases the production of insulin and Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The chronic production of these hormones is responsible for acne and insulin resistance which is the leading factor behind diabetes, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, and cancer [9].
11: Avoid Inflammatory Foods
The foods typically consumed in the western diet are also known as inflammatory, causing inflammation in the body because their digestion requires a lot of energy, produces metabolic waste, and because they are not as high as plants in antioxidants. The consumption of these foods stresses the body instead of helping it heal and restore. As a result, inflammation markers increase in the bloodstream, causing manifestations in most organs and tissues.
Inflammation has recently been identified as the root cause behind conditions like psoriasis, acne, depression, cancer, and metabolic syndrome [10].
Additionally, consuming a western diet rich in animal products and processed foods disrupts the gut biome [11], the microorganisms that live in the digestive tract and that are not only responsible for digestion, but that also govern the function of the endocrine, immune and neurological systems.
Consuming mainly a plant-based diet full of healthy vegan meals has been shown to improve health markers by decreasing insulin resistance, and by lowering markers of inflammation in the body [12].
12: Reduce Starch and Glutinous Products
The consumption and overindulgence in starches and wheat-derived products instead of fresh produce may also be responsible for inflammation, especially in people with gluten sensitivity who can develop celiac disease and psoriasis.
Food & Environmental Choices Make You Live Longer
Hippocrates once said: “Let food be thy medicine”. Twenty-five centuries later, and this quote is just as relevant. The best way to deal with chronic diseases and lifestyle-related illnesses is to educate oneself on nutrition and its impact on health.
Food is NOT neutral – It will either make or break your body.
Every time you do not choose the healthier option or that you underestimate the power of the food you put in your mouth, you are choosing to wreck your body and not to live longer.
Fortunately for us, we live in a time where resources are abundant. Today, it’s easier than ever to take matters into our own hands and to effectively make an effort toward claiming back our nutrition and health.
This is where self-education comes in, because the right information is available if you search for it. You just have to look in the right place and trust in the right sources, those untainted by conflicts of interests and that are not financed by pharmaceutical companies or the animal agriculture industry.
Books like the “China Study” and “How Not to Die”, along with shows like “What The Health”, “Game Changers” and “Forks Over Knives” have truly revolutionized the game of nutrition, by educating the public on the impact of the food we eat and its healing abilities, by sharing simple vegan recipes and by simplifying complex concepts and making them more accessible.
The Bottom Line
To live longer, prevention is the best medicine. Nutrition and lifestyle are the pillars of health.
Consuming a whole foods plant-based diet, staying physically active and efficiently dealing with stress are essential habits that need to be adopted, not just as a curative measure after disease strikes, but especially as preventive measures that need to be acquired in our thirties and forties to preserve our health and to reap the reward of wellness instead of illness when we are older in life.
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