How to live healthy for longer

Increasing longevity is possible by making basic changes now, says Dr Brad Stanfield. He talks to health writer Nicky Pellegrino about nutrition, exercise and what you shouldn’t be doing.

The quest for eternal youth has been going on for centuries. While life expectancies may have doubled over the past couple of hundred years, our bodies continue to deteriorate at a cellular level as we age. Our immune systems misfire and create chronic inflammation. Our brain power is at more risk of declining. We lose muscle mass and strength. Our DNA is damaged. We get sicker and more reliant on medication.

This is a depressing story that science is focused on changing. In a bid to help us live healthy for longer, researchers are trialling everything from stem cell therapies to growth hormone injections and infusions of youthful blood. Existing drugs are being repurposed, and the market is becoming more crowded with age-defying supplements. Longevity, it seems, is big news. But how likely is it that we can slow, or even stop, the ageing clock?

“People have been spreading the hopeful message that breakthroughs are happening and we’re on the verge of reversing ageing,” says Auckland doctor and MAS Member Brad Stanfield. “But actually, when you look at the research, we’re not close to that at all. What we are at the forefront of is preventive healthcare. There are things we can be doing right now to live longer and healthier lives.”

Brad, who practises as a GP in Tuakau, also spends his time deep-diving into the latest science. To help people with effective ways of feeling and looking younger, plus letting them know the fads to avoid, he set up a YouTube channel which now has 280,000 subscribers.

Building strong foundations for longevity

Before trialling any longevity bio-hacks, Brad stresses that we need to be getting the basics right – optimising our diet, exercise and sleep to help control blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.

To prevent frailty, we need to maintain muscle mass, so regular resistance training along with a protein-rich diet is crucial. “People tell me they work on the farm or do a lot of gardening or walking, which is great,” says Brad. “But we need to go further than that to hold onto muscle strength.”

Once the main pillars of wellness are in place, a supplement he thinks is worth considering as a bonus is creatine. “There’s lots of evidence that it improves muscle strength, performance and recovery when you combine it with exercise,” explains Brad. “There’s also some emerging evidence that, if you supplement older adults with creatine, it seems to improve memory and cognitive performance, so that’s another reason to consider it.”

Another supplement with science to back it is omega-3 fatty acids. The Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL), which followed over 25,000 people in the US, found that omega-3 supplements lowered the risk of heart attack by 28%, with effects most strongly seen in those who didn’t eat much fish. Meanwhile, a recent trial involving 700 older Swiss adults found that taking just one-gram of omega-3 a day seems to slow the rate of biological ageing, particularly when combined with exercise.

“Sometimes there are going to be nutritional gaps in our diet so there’s a possibility that taking a well-crafted multivitamin and mineral supplement might also be a good idea,” says Brad. “It’s not going to extend lifespan, but a study of older adults, called COSMOS, showed that it can have benefits for brain health.”

Not all health hacks are helpful

Some longevity bio-hacks have turned out to be counterproductive. Resveratrol is a natural compound, primarily found in grape skin and long touted as an anti-ager, but there is now evidence that taking a supplement may blunt the positive cardiovascular effects of exercise. Meanwhile cold-water therapy may be trending but it could have a downside too. There is some evidence that cold water immersion after resistance training may actually hinder muscle growth and strength gains.

“Again, we need to be careful,” says Brad. “Just because something is creating headlines doesn’t mean we should all jump in.”

Sometimes a particular therapy will be shown to extend the lifespan of worms or mice, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for humans. There has been particular interest in an immunosuppressant drug called rapamycin being used to protect ageing muscles and it has been shown to increase the lifespan of mice significantly. However, it might not have the same benefits for humans.

Brad is conducting a clinical study to try and find out. He will have 40 people work out regularly on exercycles – half will take rapamycin and half will take a placebo, and Brad will then investigate whether there really is any pay-off for muscle strength.

“I’m wary of some of the stuff that’s happening in the longevity space,” says Brad. “There’s a lot of money being spent, a lot of anxiety and health testing, and it doesn’t move the needle.”

Getting the basics of health and wellbeing right

• Relax: Prioritise stress management. That might mean practicing mindfulness and meditation or simply taking regular walks in nature.
• Move: While cardio, balance and flexibility exercises are all important, delaying muscle wastage requires strength training exercises twice a week. Weights, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises can be done either at home or at the gym.
• Sleep: A regular sleep-wake cycle is important and adults need seven to nine hours per night. Particularly from middle age, getting enough sleep can be a problem. Exposure to morning light is important, as is avoiding screens at night. Alcohol also disrupts sleep quality. If you’re still sleeping badly then melatonin may help – this is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and, as we age, our levels decline. In New Zealand, melatonin is a prescription-only medicine, unless you are over 55 when you can get a 13-week supply after consultation with a pharmacist.
• Eat: The biggest mistake Brad sees people making is not eating enough protein. We need 1.6g per kilogram of body weight – more if we’re over 60. Ideally this should come from plant foods like beans, lentils and chickpeas, tofu and nuts, as well as some fish, meat, eggs and dairy. If you’re struggling to reach that target, then he suggests adding no-sugar protein powder to your diet.