We are all in it for the long-haul at the end of the day, we all strive to live long and age well. What we do every day, over a long period of time determines the outcome at the end. This can mean many different things to people of all walks of life.
We are all in it for the long-haul at the end of the day, we all strive to live long and age well. What we do every day, over a long period of time determines the outcome at the end. This can mean many different things to people of all walks of life.
For elite athletes it is hours and hours of exercise for that one special event.
For weekend worriers it is getting up in the dark to exercise before work to prepare for the group event at the end of season or creating a sense of belonging and connection in the group setting.
For everyday parents it is the food they introduce to their children that creates lifelong eating habits.
While there is much hype about new and wonderful supplements to increase lifespan, few have clinical data to support claims. Resveratrol, found in red wine, is often touted as the compound that will cure all age-related issues. What is not mentioned is that you need to drink about a barrel of wine per day to get the quantity of resveratrol that could make a tiny difference.
Conventional and functional laboratory testing is used to identify biomarkers to target and improve your current health.
The four corners of complete health and ageing well are:
NUTRITION
STRESS MANAGEMENT
EXERCISE
SLEEP
Creating small daily habits can be a daunting task and many people give up before they even start. Aspiring to have an ideal ‘morning routine’ can create a sense of anxiety and inadequacy. Estelle is passionate about teaching people how to be a better version of themselves – one tiny step at a time.
How to live a long life
July 2022
“What do I have to do in order to age healthy?”
Like so many of you, I have been pondering this question for many years. In developed countries people are living longer but not necessarily healthier. With ageing populations, the disease burden shifts from surviving birth and early childhood to almost certain progression to degenerative brain diseases. The bad news is that to date there is no cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia. Evidence show that disease onset can be detected as early as the third decade. Good news: there are quite several things that you can do to delay or prevent dementia onset.
Longevity researchers have identified many areas of risk reduction including diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management. In the field of ageing, there are animal studies supporting a reduced caloric intake to increase lifespan. Observational studies of Blue-zone areas appear to support this. What is less clear, is whether eating 10-20% less will lead to a healthier and longer life by itself. This sparks many questions. When should you start – in your 30s? For how long – indefinitely? Being constantly hungry does not sound like fun. On the other hand, the typical population in Blue-zones have many other characteristics that play causative roles in their longevity, including musculoskeletal and aerobic fitness, high quality nutrition, sleep, and lower stress.
Modern life does not appear to create an environment that sets us up for ageing well. We sleep poorly, our diet is high in calories yet nutritionally deficient, we make no time for exercise or over-exercise and stress levels are unmanaged.
What has become clear to me is that diet is not the only answer. In many cases it is the last lever that I address for my clients. If you do not sleep well, it is extremely difficult to eat well. If your stress management is sub-optimal, your sleep suffers. If your exercise is non-existent, your stress levels, physically and emotionally, are more difficult to bring down. A combined approach is required for optimum health and performance.
I am constantly immersed in researching this question. If your goal is to live better and age well, you have come to the right place.
To me the four aspects of complete health and ageing well are
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Sleep
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Nutrition
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Exercise
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Stress management
Estelle focuses on sleep physiology, nutritional interventions, exercise physiology and stress management to increase lifespan and improve the quality of your life.