Hi Jimi,
Let’s start today’s newsletter with a question: How many chemical reactions happen every second in the human body? A million? Nope. A trillion? Guess again. The answer is 37 billion billion. That’s 27 zeroes!
It is beyond our minds’ ability to comprehend the complexities of the human organism. This magical dance of molecules and chemical reactions underlies all health, disease, and aging. Learning how to fine-tune these reactions to facilitate healing, repair, and regeneration is at the heart of Functional Medicine.
It’s also the subject of my new book,
Young Forever, which hits the shelves in less than a month. I’ve spent more than 30 years as both a doctor and a patient learning what works and what doesn’t when it comes to longevity and healthspan. I’ve seen the incredible inner workings of the human body up close, and I’ve read the scientific literature. I’ve dived deep into what makes us healthy and what causes disease. In
Young Forever, I talk about what I’ve learned and how living a balanced lifestyle is one of the major keys to aging well.
The Importance of a Balanced Life
As we discussed in this newsletter a few weeks ago, the hallmarks of aging are how our biology becomes out of balance. Conventional medicine describes the
what: what disease, what pathway is dysfunctional, what drug to take. The model of Functional Medicine guides us to the
why: to the root causes of diseases and aging. Many longevity research efforts focus on just treating the hallmarks of aging, without treating their underlying causes. That’s where Functional Medicine comes in.
But what causes the hallmarks in the first place? In a word, imbalance—too much bad stuff, not enough good stuff. But the beauty of the human body is that we don’t have to look at every gene, protein, metabolite, or microbe. We simply need to know what creates imbalance or balance—and thankfully it is not millions of things; it is a few simple things.
In fact, we can ask just two questions to figure out what’s causing dysfunction in the body’s ecosystem. First, what do you need to get rid of that is causing the imbalance? Second, what do you need to put into the system to help restore balance?
What to Reduce or Eliminate to Create Health
Our biology is designed to function in very particular ways. The fact that 93 percent of Americans are metabolically unhealthy and suffering from some degree of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes (which is at the root of rapid aging and heart disease, cancer, and dementia) is largely due to the burden of exposing ourselves to too many things our bodies were never meant to handle.
So what do we need to reduce or eliminate to create health? Things like:
- Our modern, ultra-processed diet loaded with sugar, flour, and unhealthy oils
- Environmental toxins
- Gut-damaging medication, including unnecessary and over-prescribed antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and acid blockers
- Allergens and food sensitivities
- Inactivity
- Chronic stressors of modern life (both physical and psychological)
- Social isolation and loneliness
What to Increase or Add to Create Health
The flip side of the biological aging coin is that with our modern lifestyles, most of us simply aren’t getting enough of the good things we need—the things that are designed to help us thrive. And just as much as we need to cut out the bad, we must increase the good to be able to truly live happy, meaningful, and fully engaged lives.
So what do we need to increase or add to create health? What are the ingredients for health? The list includes:
- Whole, real, unprocessed foods
- Sustainably farmed, grass-fed, pasture-raised meats and eggs
- Wild-caught, cold-water fatty fish
- Phytonutrients and micronutrients (e.g., vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins)
- Adequate and ideal light exposure at the right times of day
- Optimal hydration
- Exercise and movement
- Sleep and healthy circadian rhythms
- Community, love, and belonging
- Meaning and purpose
Taking Back Control over Our Health
By adding the good stuff and removing the bad, you activate your body’s natural healing systems—its innate intelligence that is designed to create health.
We have far more control over our biology than most of us have ever imagined. That’s the
why behind my new book,
Young Forever. As we age, frailty, decrepitude, dependency, loss of mobility, pain, and disease seem to be the norm today. But is that all inevitable? Is it possible to live into our nineties, hundreds, and beyond disease-free, active, and mentally sharp? The answer emerging from the field of longevity and aging research is a resounding yes!
Young Forever explores that science but, more importantly, provides a clear road map and practical guide to incorporate the best of the science into a self-care plan that will help you live a healthy, long life.