Longevity and Quality of Life

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In November 2006 I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a lecture called “The Secrets of Longevity and Quality of Life” given by Paul Taylor who is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and practicing Nutritionist. (Paul has a Masters Degree in both fields plus he is a part-time University Lecturer in Exercise Science and frequent corporate speaker.) Paul is also the Director of the Melbourne-based, PT Academy, which provides Personal Training Courses and Certification. He has kindly given me permission to share with you, what I learned from that lecture…

As I mentioned, Paul’s lecture was about “The Secrets of Longevity and Quality of Life”. The lecture covered longevity theories, mechanisms of aging, chronic disease, the impact of exercise on chronic disease, muscle wasting with age, the best forms of exercise, the impact of stress on aging, importance of sleep and the role of nutrition and calorie restriction. I have summarized the key points from this lecture below…

There are quite a number of theories surrounding the subject of longevity.

• There’s the Gene theory (i.e. our genetic make-up determines how long we live);
• the Free Radical theory (i.e. highly reactive molecules attack our cells resulting in aging);
• the Hormone theory (i.e. a reduction in various hormone levels results in aging);
• and the Immune and Inflammatory Theory (the immune system has difficulty differentiating “foreign” from “itself” and in essence begins to “attack” itself. Therefore, avoiding illness is a very good way to have longevity.)

To better understand longevity it would be a good idea to look at some of the mechanisms of aging…

• The cells that make up our bodies turn over regularly. Some turn over every few days and others (such as liver cells) turn over every 2 years. Sometimes there are cell division errors that occur and these contribute to aging.
• Oxidative Stress. This is where the Free Radicals and/or Reactive Oxidation Species (i.e. highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules) attack nucleic acids, proteins and/or unsaturated fatty acids. When Free Radicals attack fats it leads to Cardiovascular Disease and when they attack proteins or DNA it leads to Cancer.
• Glycation (the attack on proteins by sugar). This affects collagen and elastin in the tendons and ligaments (they become less resilient). Articular (joint) cartilage frays and the synovial fluid (the “lubrication” in your joints) thins. This process is accelerated in people with diabetes who don’t manage their sugar levels. In some cases of glycation, your body produces byproducts called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). AGEs in your tissues increases the rate of Free Radical production. Free Radicals then attach to LDL cholesterol which in turn accelerates atherosclerosis. Kidney failure, cataracts and Alzheimer’s Disease are also linked to glycation. As well as being a byproduct of glycation, AGEs can also be ingested in foods such as fried chicken skin or cigarette smoke.
• Changing hormonal profiles also result in aging. Among these, a decreased Growth Hormone level results in increased fat deposits, decreased muscle mass and bone demineralization. Combine the decreased Growth Hormone levels with decreased estrogen levels (which is what happens to post menopausal women) and it explains why post menopausal women lose bone mass at double the rate of men. It was also interesting to learn that a High Protein Diet for post-menopausal women is a big No-No! This is due to the fact that more calcium is leached from the bones to try to combat the increase in sulphuric acid thereby decreasing bone density (osteoporosis).

When you understand some of the mechanisms of aging, it becomes easier to understand how you can help yourself prevent chronic disease. Chronic diseases account for 60% of all deaths worldwide.

It is also interesting to note that 80% of Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes, and 40% of cancer is preventable by eliminating major risk factors of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and smoking. I found those numbers staggering…all you have to do is eat well, do some exercise and refrain from smoking and you will dramatically reduce your risk of chronic disease. But when you look at the numbers, obviously we all have some difficulty managing this.

When these risk factors were further analysed, it was very interesting to note the importance of exercise.

• Low Fitness out-ranked Smoking as a risk for Cardiovascular Disease (Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise)
• Physical Inactivity ranks second only to tobacco use as a risk factor for all chronic diseases
• Having a good level of Fitness and good weight control prevents illness.
• In a UK National Audit Office Study…Adults engaging in enough physical activity for health benefits – 62% (1997): 57% (2000): ? (2008)
• Muscle Mass decreases by 60% over 80 years with decreased physical activity. Combine lack of exercise with under-nutrition (esp Vit D), decreased hormone levels, increased stress, illness & medication, and dieting and you end up with a reduction in power and strength and increased falls risk and loss of function due to more fast-twitch muscle fibre denervation and atrophy (decrease in size) than slow-twitch muscle fibres. In other words, for Older Adults, muscular power helps prevent falls.

So what type of exercise is best for longevity?

A combination of resistance training (weights) 2 days per week and lots of cardiovascular exercise (at lease 20 minutes of aerobic activity at >60% MHR plus Interval training with Hi-Intensity Anaerobic exercise is the best form of exercise as it promotes a leaner form because more triglycerides are used). This regime should be finished off with flexibility training.

What impact does stress have on the body?

Back in the days of caveman… the traditional stress response was Fight or Flight and that physical release brought our hormone levels back to normal. When we have short-term stress we still behave in much the same way. Our heart rates increase, we get increased alertness and metabolic rate and decreased digestive and kidney activity.

In modern days, often our stressors don’t permit the Fight or Flight… (Hard to run when you are stuck in traffic or chained to a computer desk). When we are stressed for long periods of time, our bodies end up with elevated levels of Cortisol. Cortisol mobiles the blood glucose and depresses the immune/inflammatory response. The effect of elevated levels of Cortisol on the body is enormous.

• Breaks down lean muscle tissue
• Decreases protein synthesis
• Interferes with Serotonin (the chemical in our brain that helps us feel happy) – mood changes
• Reduces Metabolic Rate
• Increases Blood Sugar Levels
• Decreases Insulin Sensitivity (precursor for Type 2 Diabetes)
• Increases carbohydrate cravings
• Increases body fat (and redistributes body fat to around the abdominal area).
• Increased blood pressure

The Long-term responses to stress are:

• Retention of sodium and water in the kidneys
• Increased blood volume and blood pressure
• Increased blood sugar levels
• Suppression of the immune system.

So it’s no wonder we all seem to fall prey to illness when we lead stressful lives!

And a lecture on longevity wouldn’t be complete without talking about nutrition.

The bottom line is you should be matching your energy intake with your energy requirements. If you eat too much and don’t do enough exercise, you will gain weight. Other key points that Paul mentioned were:

• There is a lot of evidence to suggest that Calorie Restriction plays an important part in Longevity and quality of life. If you look back at portion sizes in the 50’s and the portion sizes today what do you see? “Super-size Me!!!” Based on this, about 60% of the average daily calorie intake is the most beneficial for longevity. In general, most people eat too much!
• Good fats are omega 3 and omega 9 and bad fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Trans fats resemble plastic more than they do resemble saturated fat and they penetrate and harden the cell membranes.
• I was also astounded to discover that the (healthy) olive oil that I had been cooking with was possibly converting to trans fats! When cooking with olive oil you should add 1 tablespoon water to keep the temperature down (although I’m not sure how oil and water will go when heated!). This lessens the destruction of the chemical makeup and lessens the conversions to trans fats. Canola Oil is a better option for cooking at higher temperatures (but then I’ve heard horrible things about canola oil too! So maybe we should try cooking without it at all?). Oil should be stored in a dark container and be kept refrigerated to reduce oxidation.
• EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study concluded that a high intake of red meat was linked with colorectal cancer (bowel cancer).
• A High Protein diet causes liver and kidney problems and a decrease in bone density. The recommended daily protein intake is:

Sedentary: 0.8g/kg of body weight
Average Active: 1g/kg of body weight
Endurance Athlete: 1.4g-1.6 g /kg of body weight
Strength Athlete: 1.4g – 1.8g /kg of body weight

• Anti-oxidants can be useful in balancing out the damage by Free Radicals. Anti-oxidants are found in berries (Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, and raspberries), small red beans, red kidney beans, pinto beans, cooked artichokes, prunes, red delicious apples, granny smith apples, pecans, plums, cherries, and walnuts. Antioxidants aren’t completely understood. You might think that you should eat heaps of these foods and you will prevent aging effects, but excess antioxidants can increase risk of cancer. So, I guess it comes back to everything in moderation.

Overall, the best way to ensure a long and healthy life is to follow the following tips:

• Build up your immune system to reduce the occurrence of illness
• Have regular health checks
• Get plenty of cardiovascular exercise
• Do at least 2 resistance training sessions per week to build up muscle mass

• Manage your stress to reduce cortisol levels. If you are unable to completely remove the stressors try taking a 10 minute break every 90 minutes and do deep breathing, meditation and/or listen to classical music. This will reduce your cortisol levels. Tai chi and yoga are also excellent for stress.

• Control your blood sugar. Choose a Low GI diet and exercise.
• Match your Energy Intake to your lifestyle
• Limit your exposure to toxins and stimulants
• Drink Plenty of Water
• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and Omega 3 and 9 (found in fish)
• Get 7.5-8.5hrs of sleep (very important for growth and recovery). Growth hormone is manufactured during sleep and this won’t happen if you are getting broken sleep. Lots of people are fine on 7.5hrs.

If you found this as interesting as I did, please let me know because I may be able to get Paul to do a guest post at some point in the future. I’d love to hear your comments!

Liz Harper

Some more Great Posts to check out:

• 7 Ways To Burn Calories While Playing With Your Kids
• Get Rid of Obesity Once and For All?
• Longevity and Quality of Life