“Life is a road that I wanna keep going”

“Live Long and Prosper!” - Spock, Star Trek

Many of us may recognize the popular Vulcan blessing often doled out by Spock.?

To me this phrase captures the essence of my interest in the longevity movement - life and prosperity are two beautiful things - to have both of them together, and that too for a long, long time, is an even more beautiful thing, indeed.?

Like the title of this article (borrowed from the song, “At the beginning” from the 1997 movie, Anastasia), life is a road that I wanna keep going!

The more I dive into the latest science and research on longevity and well-being, the more I can’t help but feel excited by the possibilities of the future.

Whatever my own feelings on the topic may be, I wanted to learn more about your opinions and thoughts on various longevity topics as well. So, over the last two months, I’ve been conducting polls on LinkedIn to do just that.

I’m sharing the poll results, as well as some of my thoughts, below!

Age old debate - Nature or Nurture?:?

Lifestyle choices matter

The first question I asked was, “What percentage of your lifespan do you believe is influenced by your lifestyle choices compared to your genetics?

Here are the results:

Most people thought that at least half of our lifespan is influenced by lifestyle choices.?

These results seem to mirror a shift in the overall shared consciousness of humanity. For decades, we were told that our DNA determined our destiny, and there was nothing we could do to change it.?

Recent advancements have, however, revealed that our lifestyle choices play a profound role in shaping gene expression and therefore our longevity, challenging the traditional view that we are solely at the mercy of our genetic inheritance.?

Dr. Bruce Lipton, an American Cellular and Molecular Biology researcher, found that environmental and lifestyle factors such as diet, stress levels, and exposure to toxins can significantly influence the activity and expression of genes without altering the DNA sequence itself.?

What this means is that the environment outside of our cells, as well as our emotional and mental states, can "turn on" or "turn off" certain genes, impacting everything from disease susceptibility to aging.

Similarly, American neuroscientist Dr. Joe Dispenza, also emphasizes that our thoughts and emotions have a tangible impact on our biology. He argues that through healthy lifestyle practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and positive thinking, we can rewire our brains and change our gene expression.?

Together, Lipton and Dispenza’s research suggests that we are not passive victims of our genetic fates. Instead, by consciously choosing healthier lifestyles and managing our stress and emotional well-being, we can actively modify the way our genes are expressed, empowering us to take control of our health and well-being.

Aging optional?

How long should we live?

“It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” - US President Abraham Lincoln.?

The second question I asked was, “If death was optional (and you could live healthy for a very long time), how long would you like to live?”

Here’s how you weighed in:?

It was interesting to observe that the two most polarized choices, “Up to 80 years old”, and “Forever” received the most votes. I wondered why more people wouldn’t want to live until 100 or 150 than 80.?

Personally, I think this response reflects the current state of faith in a healthy, happy life beyond 80 years. Expected lifespan has been trending up globally for decades and has crossed 80 years in many countries. I wonder if maybe most people still believe that 80 is the upper limit of age where our bodies and health would still hold out. Even though I mentioned that you could live healthy up to any of those ages, perhaps it reflects an innate bias against believing that a 100-year-old or 150-year-old could be healthy and robust.

And perhaps people thought that, if we’ve figured out how to live “forever”, then by that point we would have figured out how to keep people healthy indefinitely, which could be a reason for the spike in votes for “Forever”.?

This got me thinking, what are the biggest factors that drive health? If we want to live long AND healthy, what are the key drivers of that equation?

I came across an extremely fascinating piece of research from Harvard University that seems to answer this question. The research was conducted over a period of 80(!) years and followed almost 240 people across their entire lifetime to understand the clues to leading happy and healthy lives.?

The researchers found that quality relationships are one of, if not the biggest contributor to both happiness and health in a person’s life. In fact, they found that close relationships keep people happy more than either money or fame, help protect against emotional pain, delay mental and physical decline, and predict happiness and longevity better than social class, IQ, or genetics.?

Furthermore, people’s satisfaction with their relationships at age 50 was found to be a better predictor of health at 80 than cholesterol levels.

What this means to me is that, beyond the research into the biochemistry and so-called “hard science” of longevity, it is going to be equally important for longevity researchers to study the drivers of strong and happy relationships (both intimate and otherwise), social connection, and interpersonal harmony if we are going to live not only longer, but happier and healthier as well.?

After all, just like Abe Lincoln said, it’s not just about how long you’re alive, but just as much about how lively your life is while you’re here.?

The power of a healthy diet

Eat to live, don’t live to eat

The third question I asked was “what’s your main interest in the field of longevity?”

An overwhelming 81% of you answered, “nutrition, exercise, and sleep”, and I think you might be on to something.?

We’ve already discussed the idea that lifestyle choices can trigger epigenetic mechanisms that improve health and life expectancy, and here’s the proof. Researchers in Europe and the UK found that shifting from unhealthy dietary patterns to healthy dietary patterns can increase life expectancy more than 10 years!

They found that the largest gains in life expectancy came from eating more whole grains, nuts, and fruits, and less sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats.?

In his book, Blue Zones, Dan Buettner studied the lifestyles and habits of the longest-living populations in the world, which he called “Blue Zones”.?

He discovered some interesting insights about the dietary patterns of Blue Zone centenarians. He found that, in Blue Zones, people generally:?

1. Focus on a plant-based diet, with beans as a key component.
2. Limit meat consumption to a few times a month.
3. Eat fish regularly, but in moderation.
4. Avoid cow’s milk and most dairy products.
5. Eat up to three eggs per week.
6. Make beans a daily staple.
7. Limit sugar intake to 7 teaspoons per day.
8. Eat a handful of nuts daily.
9. Choose whole grain or sourdough breads.
10. Avoid processed foods, focusing on whole ingredients.
11. Incorporate foods like sweet potatoes, leafy greens, and olive oil.
12. Drink water, herbal teas, coffee, and moderate amounts of wine.

For more on Blue Zone diets, click here

In addition to a healthy diet, exercise and good sleep are also known to have positive effects on health and well-being.

So, spinning off of the popular expression, “Eat, Drink, and be Merry”, I would instead say “Eat (well), Sleep (enough), and be Very (mindful of being physically active enough!)?

What’s next? Driving longevity forward

The quest for 120 years

The last question I asked was, “When do you think the average human lifespan will be 120 years?”

Here’s what you had to say:?

Most of you responded “After 2050”.?

At the rate things are going, that does sound about right. According to Our World in Data , the average life expectancy around the world in 1913 was 34.1 years. By 2021, it was 71 years. At that rate, the average life expectancy would reach 120 years around 2164.?

I disagree, however!

I believe that, if we apply concerted and consistent energy towards figuring out how to extend human lifespan, we will be able to get there much sooner. Up until very recently, hardly anyone was even studying longevity or thinking about how to keep us alive longer.

Nowadays, more and more scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and others are beginning to focus more on the science of longevity, throwing money, time, intelligence, and other resources behind the challenge of extending human life.?

For example, Victoria Forest is hosting an incredible event next month in Berlin called Zelar City .?

Zelar City will be a “pop-up city” where the world’s leading longevity entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, thinkers, and enthusiasts will be coming together for a 6-week-long deep-dive into defying death and denying disease.

I think that if more and more events like Zelar City happen and we collectively focus our time and energy on figuring how to slow down and even reverse aging, we will be able to cross and even surpass that 120-year milestone long before 2164 so that, to re-quote Spock from Star Trek, we’ll all be able to “live long and prosper”!

Like What You’ve Read??

I am a longevity enthusiast, and I connect with thought leaders, share insights, and explore the frontiers of healthspan. I am a lifelong learner of longevity, and I am building a community where we can all come together to learn more about the field. We discover new ideas, explore opportunities, and support each other in our journey toward extended and fulfilled lives.

Follow me for daily updates, learnings, and tips on longevity!?

To your health and longevity,

Varun Malik