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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cGenes are not your destiny,<\/em>\u201d says Dr. David Sinclair, Ph.D., A.O., on the Dr. Axe show podcast. \u201c\u2026 You can modify that rate of aging by doing the right actions<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n What are those actions? Sinclair, a professor in the Department of Genetics, co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Sinclair Lab at Harvard\u2019s Blavatnik Institute, which specializes in genetics and longevity, says that a healthy lifestyle is the key, emphasizing these five things the most: \u201cThese points can extend your life span by 14 years or more just by doing the basics<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it turns out an estimated 80% of your health and longevity is not genetic. It depends on how you live your life<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Keys to longevity<\/strong><\/p>\n Sinclair says four important factors in longevity are: It turns out, these genes are not predetermined. They can be fostered to help extend longevity and support a healthier overall lifestyle. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the wrong conception about what aging is. We tend to think that it\u2019s just a natural process that we can do nothing about, but we\u2019ve learned that that\u2019s not true<\/em> \u2013 80% of the rate of our aging is in our own hands. It\u2019s actually controlled by how we live and what we eat<\/em>,\u201d Sinclair says.<\/p>\n \u201cI am proposing a new theory about why we age: the loss of information in our body and how to preserve that information over time. The analogy would be if we had a DVD of information on ourselves, over time it gets scratched, so the cell cannot read the original genetic information easily. What we\u2019ve discovered is we can now polish that DVD and get the cell to read the useful information again. And in that way, we\u2019re actually showing that we can reverse the aging process<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n How to support longevity<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of evidence that fasting turns on these longevity pathways<\/em>,\u201d Sinclair says. \u201c\u2026 Don\u2019t eat three large meals a day and snack in between. I think the old idea of always having food around and never being hungry has to be revised.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t sit in a chair all day. Get a standing desk if you can. Go for walks, and even better do HIIT if you can. Work out. Keep your muscles from declining<\/em>,\u201d says Sinclair.<\/p>\n Sleep affects all aspects of health and has huge effects on aging. It\u2019s vital. Aim for at least seven hours a night.<\/p>\n
\n1. Eat healthy.
\n2. Don\u2019t get obese.
\n3. Exercise.
\n4. Get enough sleep.
\n5. Have friends.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 blood sugar levels
\n\u2022 inflammation
\n\u2022 liver function
\n\u2022 testosterone for males and hormones in general
\nBy looking at these factors and others, Sinclair\u2019s team has been able to determine people\u2019s biological age \u2013 how old they are based on their bodies and health, not necessarily how long since they were born \u2013 and his researchers have discovered a group of longevity genes called sirtuins<\/u>.\u201cThey control how fast we age<\/em>,\u201d Sinclair says of sirtuins. \u201cThere are molecules in foods we eat that activate these defenses in our body, these genes. These molecules are the same that are in food types that people in Blue Zones eat: resveratrol and oleic acid found in foods like olive oil, avocado and nuts<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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