The ‘Suck-Less-At-Being-Healthy’ Framework—Part 2 of 4

 I view health through two lenses:

  1. Short-term improvements for right now

  2. Long-term improvements for increasing longevity

There’s tons of overlap between the two, but I find it easier to attack them separately.

The former is trying to answer the questions:

  • How do I feel and look better tomorrow without rearranging my whole life?

  • What are the simplest adjustments that provide the most benefit that require the least amount of time and effort from my lazy ass?

The latter is trying to answer the questions:

  • How do I delay the inevitable chronic illness that’s gonna kill me (i.e., increase lifespan)?

  • How do I avoid being a dementia-ridden, decrepit in the last decade of my life (i.e., increase healthspan)?

With that in mind, I’m primarily focused on taking action on the short-term stuff—while maintaining vigilant on the longevity stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m obsessed with the longevity research to an unhealthy degree (see what I did there?).

The “problem” is that the science gets so complex that it’s really not a great place to start sucking less.

But here’s a quick primer in case you’re interested:

If you don’t die in a tragic accident, there’s about an 80% chance that you are going to die from one of the following (1):

  • Cancer

  • Cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart attack)

  • Cerebrovascular disease (e.g., stroke)

  • Neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease/dementia)

Exciting, right??

And the thing that sucks is that these things are not “preventable”—they’ll getcha eventually—so any strategy to increase lifespan must include finding a way to DELAY the onset of these diseases.

If you were to 100% optimize for delaying those asshole diseases, you’re talking about a full on psychotic approach of doing things like…

*deep breath*

…monitoring and refining your LDL particle levels and Lp(a) levels, taking action that would cycle your IGF-1 levels from low to high, using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for whole-body cancer screening, an exercise regimen that is focused on increasing your muscular insulin sensitivity, testing for and understanding your APOE genotype, a nutritional strategy that creates the least amount of fluctuation in your blood glucose levels as a proxy for understanding your body’s sensitivity to insulin, hormone replacement therapy, implementing fasting protocols that prioritize maximum autophagy…

(another deep breath)

…understanding and correcting your omega-3 index of your red blood cell membranes, mastering mindfulness meditation to address hypercortisolemia, potentially taking drugs like metformin or rapamycin, sifting through the hundreds of supplements that (claim to) offer life-extension benefits (e.g., NAD), monitoring your heart rate variability during the various sleep stages…

…Have I stressed you out/increased your excretion of cortisol yet?

Bro, I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Nor have I mentioned that the strategy of implementing many of the above listed items would need to be individualized with the help of a not-terrible doctor (a surprising small percentage of docs) based on a person’s unique genetic profile and predisposition for certain disease outcomes…

…Or that I only was referring to lifespan—just HALF the equation of longevity—the other half being “healthspan” which is in reference to remaining physically functional as we are extending the number of years we’re living (i.e., who the hell wants to live to 100 if you’re in a wheelchair for last 12 years?).

The good news for us?

Most of the “short-term improvements”—the stuff that is gonna help us suck less and feel better tomorrow—are contributing to the longevity piece.