In the book The Telomere Effect is reported that:

• both the gene and the environment contribute to live an healthy life.
• the experiences we live and how we react to them can change the way we aging. In particular stress, rumination, anxiety and thought suppression have negative effects on health. In the books The Telomere Effect and La grande via, the following contributes to live an healthy life.

Physical activity

• Perform physical activity every day in particular:
  • activities like tai-chi and qiqong that involve slow gentle movements and physical postures with a controlled breathing.
  • brisk walking every day for half an hour. We should monitor the heart frequency and reach the 68-80% of the maximum heart frequency (calculated doing 220-age). A more accurate value for heart frequency can be calculated here: https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/health/target-heart-rate-zone-calculator.php. Select Karvonen by Age & RHR, then fill your Age and RHR (your resting heart rate measured in the morning after wake up). The reference value is the one that correspond to an intensity of 70%.
  • exercises to strengthen the muscle at least 2 days per week.
• Limit the time spent sitting down
• Perform 2-3 times a week exercises that stimulate all the main muscle groups: abdominals, pectorals, biceps, muscles of the back, quadriceps, hamstrings, calfs. It is suggested to perform one day of exercise and one day of rest for these exercises to allow the muscles to recover, strenghten and grow.

Meditation

• Practice meditation

Sleep

• Sleep adequately. It is important to wake up rested and with a fresh mind. Also if there is no a ideal number of hours of sleep, you should sleep at least 7 hours per night if you are adult.

Healthy diet

• Eating an healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet, in particular:
  • Eating lots of vegetables (fruits, vegetables, legumes) because they contain antioxidants (see How to reduce the risk to develop oxidative stress).
  • Mainly consume whole grain carbohydrates because they contain more fiber, vitamines, minerals and other nutrients than the refined carbohydrates.
  • Consume foods rich of Omega-3 at least three times a week because they contribute to lower triglycerides that, when high, have negative effects on health.
  • Reduce the consumption of meat and in particular of red meat because they are high in saturated fat that have negative effects on health. Prefer white meat that can be consumed 3 times per week considering a portion of 100 gr. Red meat should be consumed less than 1 portion (50 gr.) per week.
  • Reduce the consumption of food high in salt because they increase blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Reduce the consumption of dairy products from animals milk because they are high in saturated fat. However milk and dairy products are important and should be present in a varied diet because they are source of important nutrients.
• Avoid to have a belly fat because it is related to various diseases in particular heart disease and chronic conditions. A waist circumference of 94 cm for the men and 80 cm for the women are considered at moderate risk. According to official guidelines, the bottom of the tape measure should be level with the top of the right hip bone, or ilium.
• Avoid sugary drinks like soda, cola and similar because they contain many calories almost without other nutrients and therefore increase the risk of disease like diabetes, heart diseases and chronic diseases.
• Concentrate the major of your daily calories intake in the firsts part of the day through the breakfast and the lunch. Instead, eat less at the dinner in the evening. This reduce the risk to be overweight and its negative impact on health.

Breathing

• Voluntarily reducing the respiratory rate from the usual 12-16 breaths per minute to 5-6 breaths per minute because it contributes to reduce stress. See also Breathing.

Protection from toxic substances

• Avoid to:

  • drink from plastic bottles that have been exposed to high temperature
  • eat from plastic dishes heated up in the microwave because it increases the release of chemical substances potentially not good for health.

• Verify if there is an high concentration of gas radon where you live because it increase the risk to develop lung cancer.

Posture

• Correct posture. Ideal posture is when:
  • the upper and the lower part of the body are perfectly aligned with the barycenter
  • the shoulders are relaxed and straight
  • the chest is open and the abdomen is flat
  • the neck is well centred on the shoulders both in the antero-posterior and latero-lateral side.
  • the weight of the body should not weigh on the heel or on the toes but uniformly distributed on both the soles of the feet.

Stimulate the brain

• Stimulate the brain by always learning new skills and being curious.

Related Questions:

Related Topics:

• Environment-gene interaction
• Health
• Stress and pain are inevitable

References

• The Telomere Effect | 2020 | Elizabeth Blackburn, Elissa Epel
• La grande via | 2022 | Franco Berrino, Luigi Fontana