Longing for Longevity

by Eric Munson | June 3, 2024

Experts offer their nutritional/wellness advice for healthy aging and vitality.

In a world where people are growing increasingly older, healthy aging is a high priority for many individuals in America. According to CVS Health, one in five people will be aged 65 or older by 2030 with around 60 percent of them managing multiple chronic health conditions.

“Vitality, a term used to describe healthy aging, encompasses having both physical and psychological energy,” said Dr. David M. Brady, chief medical officer at Designs for Health (Palm Coast, FL). “Using telomere length as a biomarker for healthy aging and a reflection of cellular health, research supports three main approaches to maintain vitality: diet, exercise and stress reduction exercises such as meditation.”

Vitality is a dynamic state of well-being achieved when one feels, moves and looks vibrantly well including abundant energy, a positive mindset, resilience to daily stressors and no significant physical or mental impediments, according to Greg Cumberford, vice president, science and regulatory at Natures Crops International (Winston-Salem, NC).

“Aging in chronological years does not necessarily track with biological aging at the cellular level,” Cumberford said. “We can truly feel younger at higher chronological ages than we have felt in earlier life chapters, because we can reduce stress loads and pro-inflammatory influences in the organ systems noted above, while mindfully cultivating physical, mental, community and spiritual wellness that reinforce healthy (not toxic) emotional connections with friends, peers, mentors and family members.”

According to Dr. Austin Perlmutter, managing director at Big Bold Health (Bainbridge Island, WA), a healthy lifestyle is one of the most reliable ways to promote vitality. “That includes consumption of a diet rich in minimally processed foods, prioritizing quality sleep, stress mitigation techniques, daily movement and prioritizing community engagement,” Dr. Perlmutter said. “These factors appear to exert their beneficial effects in large part by modulating the immune system.”

Healthy Aging Strategies

Pat Conboy, health care practitioner support and education at Omni-Biotic/AllergoSan USA (Port Chester, NY), said the most accurate way to maintain vitality is a comprehensive approach including eating whole foods, staying hydrated, adequate sleep, nutritional supplementation, movement, being present and engaging with friends, family and pets.

Crystal Anderson, a licensed acupuncturist based in Huntington Beach, CA agreed that sleep and diet are some of the most important things people can do when it comes to health and longevity. She added eating at the same time every day is important for proper enzymatic function.

“Eating warm cooked vegetables is a very ancient Chinese way of battling any major illness as well as maintaining good health and digestion. Our digestive enzymes work at our body temperature and if we throw in raw or cold food our enzymes will actually stop working until our body can warm up our stomach organ for them to start working again,” Anderson said. “By that time the food has been sitting in our stomach acid leaving it with little nutritional value by the time we break it down for absorption. If this happens too often it can damage proper gastrointestinal function.”

Serena Goldstein, a naturopathic doctor based in Delray Beach, FL, said that diet, exercise and sleep are important for healthy aging, while spending time in nature and pursuing hobbies can also be effective.

Hank Cheatham, vice president of Daiwa Health Development (Gardena, CA) noted that aging well and maintaining vitality can be accomplished through a relationship with the sea and seawater. Due to its salt, mineral content and temperature, health care professionals will often recommend spending time near the ocean to improve health and vitality, he explained.

“Cold seawater swimming stimulates the nervous system, which is responsible for repairing the body. Cold seawater swimming can also build immunity. For example, swimmers in general get fewer colds during winter months than non-swimmers,” Cheatham said. “In addition, seawater promotes healthy respiratory systems, and clears nasal passages of irritating pollens thereby reducing hay fever symptoms. Seawater also has antiseptic properties that assist in healing wounds.”

According to Céline Torres-Moon, senior scientist at Protocol for Life Balance (Bloomingdale, IL), most people are not able to reach an ideal healthy lifestyle. While people can improve their diet and exercise, there are environmental elements over which they have little control.

“Maintaining vitality requires a multiprong, lifelong, balanced approach, including supporting both physical and mental health. Tobacco smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, exposure to atmospheric pollution and toxins from the environment, excessive eating, daily stress, too little or too much exercise are factors that will contribute to the acceleration of the normal aging process and may negatively impact people’s vitality,” Torres-Moon said.

Products for Longevity and Vitality

As practitioners recognize the growing demand for longevity supplements, manufacturers have developed unique, targeted products for their patients.

Protocol for Life offers Progesterone Wild Yam Lavender Skin Cream, which may help women maintain a healthy skin appearance, Torres-Moon said.

Dr. Perlmutter said omega-3 fatty acids are almost always at the top of the list for healthful aging nutrients. He said these fats seem to especially improve balance, which may help protect against many negative effects of aging. Big Bold Health has numerous omega-3 products that are carefully sourced from Alaskan waters to maximize natural omega-3 and other nutrient levels.

Some of Dr. Goldstein’s favorite supplements include vitamin C, B complex, magnesium glycinate, vitamin D3/K2, hawthorn, protein powder, trace minerals, fish oil and inositol.

“I usually start with coffee. Americans love coffee and while there are a lot of health benefits to regular consumption of coffee, most coffee being consumed is ridden with mold and other toxins like heavy metals,” Anderson said. “In my years of research, I’ve really only found a few coffee companies willing to have their coffee tested for mold and heavy metal and also willing to publish the results for anyone to access. My favorite is PurityCoffee.”

Anderson also encouraged use of infrared saunas, which have a vast array of health benefits including increased energy, better endurance, increased strength, faster metabolism, body fat reduction, lower joint and muscle pain, increased flexibility and skin rejuvenation, she said.

“The science on the health benefits of infrared is vast and includes things like measurably increased energy, better endurance, increased strength, body fat reduction, fast metabolism, lessened joint and muscle pain, increased flexibility, reduced visible cellulite, an enhanced release of built-up toxins and waste, faster recovery time and skin rejuvenation,” Anderson said.

Omni-Biotic offers three popular products that can play a role in healthy aging—Stress Release (gut-brain axis, mood, stress response, memory and cognition), Hetox (metabolism, detoxification, cholesterol, blood sugar, HOMA-IR, inflammation and toxin clearance), and AB-10 (microbiome restoration and pathogen clearance).

“Our probiotic formulations are developed to support specific functional goals via microbiome modulation,” Conboy said. “Each final formula is tested in both preclinical and human clinical studies to prove the hypothesis.”

Daiwa offers Daiwa Brain Health and Plasmanex1, both of which can help with healthy aging. As people age, the need to improve memory and cognitive function increases especially if one wants to remain active. One cause of a decline in cognitive function could be loss of plasmalogens in the brain, Cheatham explained.

“Plasmalogens are a type of phospholipid present in almost all human tissues and are most abundant in the brain and heart,” Cheatham said. “They are essential for their critical role in memory, focus and other cognitive functions and are especially crucial for remaining active.”

Designs for Health offers multiple products that can support healthy aging including Liposomal NMN Synergy, Mito-NR, Senolytic Synergy and MyoStim.

“In addition to diet, exercise and meditation, supplements can support an anti-aging regimen, especially related to cellular health and muscle mass,” Dr. Brady said. “Aging occurs when cells enter a period of senescence or programmed cell death.”

Ahiflower oil from Natures Crops fundamentally supports healthy aging. It a rich source of naturally occurring omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids with some of the highest levels of steraidonic acid (SDA) and gamma linolenic acid (GLA), according to Cumberford.

“Ahiflower oil provides an enriched source of omega-3 ALA alongside SDA and GLA, allowing the body to efficiently form as much EPA and DHA needed for optimal cell membrane structure, function, and signaling without raising LDL cholesterol nor inhibiting normal ALA to EPA to DHA conversion,” Cumberford said. “For this reason, and with mounting published evidence of Ahiflower oil’s capacity to exert an overall anti-inflammatory phenotype—which will affect joint health/mobility, immune function, cardiovascular and neuro-physiological wellness status differently than how fish and algal sources work—we see that Ahiflower oil is beyond fish oil.”

Changing our lifestyles and diets may not be easy habits to break, but doing so is the ideal approach to improving vitality and longevity.

“The first step for enhancing health always starts with intentionality,” Anderson concluded. “Being intentional, making goals and developing steps to reach them is a great start. Like I said, consistency is key.”

Healthy Take Aways

• One in five people will be aged 65 or older by 2030 with 60 percent managing multiple chronic conditions.
• Vitality is a dynamic state of well-being achieved when one feels, moves and looks vibrantly well.
• Lifestyle changes, healthier diet and supplementation are some of the many ways to improve vitality and longevity.