Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, once asked Warren Buffett, “If your investing thesis is so simple, why doesn’t everyone just copy you?”
Warren Buffett replied, “Because nobody wants to get rich slowly.”
In my understanding, this exactly applies to our health too, nobody wants to get healthy slowly but sustainably.
Most of us don’t like to do things that make us healthy and progress slowly towards healthy lifestyle.
We have to have a big vision for our healthy body which is the only one ultimate asset in this life, and for this we can start small to make it possible.
Just know this, by any chance, if this invaluable asset falls apart, there remains nothing valuable in this life.
And, most importantly, we have to just start a small healthy habit at a time and follow it consistently.
Two minutes of consistent breathing exercise changes our brain chemistry, eating one strawberry daily changes a lot of metabolic activities
As an example, one simple ritual which I’ve developed over the last many years: there is a cinnamon powder on my dining table at home.
I am a big fan of tea, both black and green, so, every time before I drink my sip of tea, I put a pinch of cinnamon powder in my tea.
Remember, it’s a small habit but does amazing work in our body.
Cinnamon is a natural source of many antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, and also has antimicrobial properties.
Onc research fact regarding cinnamon: an addition of a half teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl of oatmeal increases the antioxidant level fivefold in our body.
This can significantly increase the antioxidant capacity of our bloodstream and lower the free radical damage to our DNA.
I’m just giving tiny examples of healthy habit formation which have long term health benefits, there are hundreds of these types of small tiny healthy habits which we can adopt, and bring tremendous health benefits.
BJ Fogg, PhD, founder of Behavior Lab at Stanford University and author of ‘Tiny Habits’ says, “With the tiny habits method, you focus on small actions that you can do in less than thirty seconds.The easier a behavior is to do, the more likely the behavior will become habit.”
In your opinion, which is more true?
People become healthier because they are happier.
Or people become happier because they are healthier.
You can say either way, but the research says that mainly happier people become healthier in the long run.
That means we should be happy first to become healthier, but how?
Long lasting happiness comes with tiny habits because they unknowingly change our biochemistries in our body.
For example, two minutes of consistent breathing exercise each day changes our brain chemistry, eating one strawberry daily or five minutes walk in the backyard changes a lot of metabolic activities.
So, the key is habit formation of those tiny actions and follow religiously day in and day out to get benefits.
And, obviously, happy people live a lot longer because happiness helps to bring mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well being.
Apples, berries, grapes, onions and green tea contain phytonutrients to inhibit MAO, monoamine oxidase, a depression causing agent
We all are treating aging as a malady, but getting older does not have to be getting sicker all the time.
So, the crux is, happier people live longer but we need longer lives without becoming sick.
Research also shows that all sick and diseased people don’t want to live longer internally because it creates pain not only for themselves but also for their suffering families.
Michael Greger, MD, author of ‘How Not to Age’ and ‘How Not to Diet’
said, “In the evolutionary tree of life, the most reliable way to extend a happy and healthy lifespan is long-term bad food restriction, especially animal products, by consuming as much as natural plant products in our diets.”
Michael Greger, MD, is also a research director of the extremely useful website NutritionFacts.org.
Mostly, happiness comes in life when we make more happiness hormones like serotonin and dopamine.
So, what is the science behind happiness hormones?
One factor that hinders happiness in the long run is animal products.
Let’s see how animal products affect our happiness levels.
Arachidonic acid found in many animal products especially in chicken and eggs is a pro-inflammatory compound.
It adversely impacts our mental health through a cascade of neuroinflammation in our body.
Research indicates that excess arachidonic acid in our body can contribute to inflammation and chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and cancer.
Anti inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen work by blocking the conversion of arachidonic acid into inflammatory end products.
Scientifically, depression is caused by very low levels of monoamine neurotransmitters due to high levels of a neurotransmitter breaking enzyme called monoamine oxidase, MAO.
Serotonin and dopamine both are monoamines.
The amino acid tryptophan helps to make more serotonin, the happiness hormone.
Carbohydrate rich food helps tryptophan transport into the brain but we still need tryptophan rich food like sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds.
Antidepressant medicines work by a mechanism to increase the levels of neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals which help to communicate billions of nerves in our brain.
These billions of nerve cells don’t physically touch one another.
Remember, the human brain is one of the most complicated things in the universe.
It has 100,000 miles of 86 billion neurons with 150 trillion connections.
Just imagine its complexity.
Many plant foods like apples, berries, grapes, onions and green tea contain phytonutrients that naturally inhibit the MAO.
Cloves, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg also lower MAO.
When you see salad, remember one teaspoonful of vinegar on top of salad to extend your lifespan
Here is a little bit of science to understand long, happy, and healthy life.
Autophagy is a process that reuses the unusable junk in our body, think of it as a recycling process.
It’s a complicated process but think like a toilet flush.
One way to live longer and healthier is boosting autophagy by a compound called spermidine.
The important thing to remember is that spermidine levels decrease as we reach the sixties and seventies so that we have to supply from foods.
Spermidine is a key for cell growth, a potential activator of autophagy, so it helps to extend lifespan.
Research also indicates that spermidine is an anti-aging vitamin.
Soybeans, tempeh, mushrooms, wheat germ, and mango are spermidine rich natural foods.
Wheat germ is also very effective for dementia, it helps to improve cognition.
It is also effective to reduce hair shedding.
Autophagy cleans up, removes accumulated waste, and establishes a cellular reset in our body.
It is induced by an enzyme called AMPK, AMP activated protein kinase, it is a pro-longevity factor in our body.
When we become older, AMPK levels drop and aging is accelerated.
Most importantly, this enzyme is involved in the functioning of the majority of the aging associated regulators.
The saturated fat, especially palmitic acid, mainly found in meat and dairy fat suppresses AMPK.
Saturated fat is very toxic for the liver especially for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Barberries, hibiscus tea, and black cumin are AMPK booster foods, these foods work by interfering cellular energy production in our happy mitochondria.
Vinegar is another food which is an AMPK activator.
It not only activates AMPK, it also controls blood sugar.
Remember, vinegar is nothing but diluted acetic acid.
When we drink alcohol, it also changes into acetic acid but by a different route.
It goes into acetic acid via acetaldehyde path which is a carcinogen and responsible for many cancers.
So drinking alcohol is bad, no no, even though it also gives acetic acid.
But if we take vinegar, we avoid acetaldehyde.
So, my formula is, when you see salad, remember one teaspoonful of vinegar on top of salad.
Your AMPK will laugh and help to extend your lifespan.
The best way to remove senescent cells is exercise, caloric restriction, and diets with excess quercetin, fisetin, and piperlongumine
Fiber rich foods like legumes, beans, split peas, chickpeas, lentils, and whole grains also activate AMPK because happy microbiomes make acetic acid from them in the colon by fermentation.
We must feed our good bacteria in our gut with prebiotics like fiber.
These bacteria feed us back with short chain fatty acids like butyrates which are primary fuels for the colon cell lining.
Keep in mind, Metamucil, a fiber supplement, is not fermentable, this is inedible for good bacteria.
Cellular senescence means cells are getting older and powerless.
Cellular senescence is the marker of our aging.
Senescent and zombie cells are damaged cells which don’t divide but continue to produce inflammatory molecules, contributing to tissue damage and age-related diseases.
Zombie cells are no longer productive, they damage surrounding tissues and eat our brain.
The inflammatory SASP, senescence associated secretory phenotype, produced by senescent cells, is a factor of tissue deterioration and disease.
One way is to prevent DNA damage and clean senescent cells and their inflammatory SASP, we have to eat natural foods containing senolytic compounds.
Senolytic compounds are a group of small molecules which have the ability to selectively kill senescent cells.
The best way to eliminate these senescent cells is exercise, caloric restriction, and dietary supplements.
Eat quercetin rich foods like onions, apples, kale, and tea.
Quercetin is a flavonol, an antioxidant, also called unannounced vitamin P.
It reduces and removes senescent cells and improves healthspan and lifespan.
Eat fisetin rich food like strawberries.
Eat piperlongumine rich spices like pippali, also called long pepper.
One type of microbiome, christensenellaceae, a bacterial family, is associated with longevity based on study of centenarians and supercentenarians, people who are 100 and 110 years old respectively.
Conclusion
Living longer, happier, and healthier is also directly or indirectly related to strong muscles and a powerful brain.
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, author of ‘Forever Strong’ said, “What we commonly think of as diseases of aging are really diseases of impaired muscle. Muscle contraction during both aerobic and resistance training stimulates the uptake of glucose without any need for insulin’s assistance.”
Some of the nerve cells die due to free radicals that shrinks the emotion centers in the brain.
The antioxidants diets like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and folate packed greens are natural sources for tackling free radicals.
Also remember, the most antioxidant plant foods to tackle free radicals are berries, herbs, and spices.
Lisa Mosconi, PhD, a neuroscientist, integrative nutritionist, and author of ‘Brain Food’ describes three mechanisms that clean up the internal infrastructure of our brain.
The number one is deep sleep.
During the deep sleep zone, there is activation of the cleaning glymphatic system.
It is a pathway in the brain that acts as a waste clearance channel.
Number two is aerobic exercise which boosts enzymatic activity that dissolves Alzheimer’s disease plaques in our brain.
The number three is intermittent fasting, especially more than 12 hours that cleans up amyloid in our brain.
Yam Timsina, PhD, writes primarily on health basics, scientific progress, social upliftment, and value creation.
Disclaimer: “Please note that some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.”