When I don’t exercise, my life force leaves me, and I can no longer run. I walk slowly and often clock out of work to sleep throughout the day. This has a lot to do with a health condition, chronic fatigue. But when I return to exercising, I gradually turn into a machine. I do three hours of sprints and technique drills on weekends in the pool, cycle most every night for twenty to thirty minutes, do weights two to three times a week, and do martial arts, stretching, and ab work.
My life span would plummet hard if I didn’t exercise. But with exercise, the promise of life seems to extend forever. Yet, it takes more than training to maximize health and energy; it also requires a strict diet. And the diet I created was most akin to the diet in the book How Not to Die, a godsend for turning any health condition around.
Yesterday, I watched a video by Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D., about lifestyle habits that can impact aging. Her presentation was fabulous, and I hope my overview and commentary on her key points will help us all change our lifestyles so that we steer clear of disease and live long, healthy lives. We can view her video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGNLrWxsTiw.
In her video, she recommends the following supplements and exercise components we can all incorporate into our lives. I’m making significant changes based on her advice, and I hope to celebrate us all doing the same:
Eat at least 2 grams of Omega 3 daily, ideally through seafood. Before questioning whether this is worth the investment, consider the following: Nonsmokers with low omega 3 had a similar life expectancy as smokers with high Omega 3 intake, according to Rhonda. That means not eating Omega 3 (ideally through seafood) is as bad as smoking. According to Rhonda, the low consumption of Omega 3 from seafood is one of the top preventable causes of death. To get 2 grams of Omega 3s daily, I eat half a can of salmon for dinner, giving me 1.6 grams of Omega 3. I also eat Sunny Boy cereal every morning, which contains flaxseed, which tips my Omega 3 intake over the 2-gram range. However, I want a higher Omega 3 daily intake, so I will add dollar-store walnuts for an even more significant benefit. (Did we know Omega 3 is good for the brain, especially regarding learning and memory? So, consider loading up on salmon, Sunny Boy Cereal, and walnuts, especially before exams.)
Eat magnesium daily for a longer lifespan. Rhonda states magnesium is linked to a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 50% reduction in cancer deaths compared to the lowest magnesium level intakes. Magnesium is found in leafy green vegetables—in chlorophyll. I eat a bowl of premade salad with no sauce daily for dinner. To get more chlorophyll in my diet, I buy unsweetened greens powder from Amazon, which is a powder made of various vegetables, fruits, matcha tea, and other healthy ingredients. Also, I purchase barley green powder from Amazon USA, so the shipping cost is high, but it tastes delectable. These chlorophyll-rich powders are so tasty that my hunger for them is insatiable, indicating I might have a magnesium deficiency. I wonder if my extreme cravings for these powders are related to chronic fatigue.
Take 1000 IU to 4000 IU of Vitamin D daily. Vitamin D deficiency accelerates aging, states Rhonda. Furthermore, she says, “70% of the population has inadequate levels of vitamin D.” She recommends 4000 IU of Vitamin D daily. I take 1000 IU of Vitamin D a day. Sometimes, I accidentally take up to 3000 IU of Vitamin D a day, which gives me toxic effects that are uncomfortable, so I would only personally take up to 2000 IUs.
According to Rhonda’s chart, vigorous cardio exercise can increase lifespan by over 4.9 years. Studies also show that people who got their maximum heart rate to 75-80 percent, five to six hours per week for periods of 25-30 mins in a session, reduced the structural makeup of the heart by 20 years, according to Rhonda. That sounds like five to six hours per week of exercise with 30 minutes at maximum heart rate leads to a 20-year younger heart. So, if we’re 40, we’ve now got the heart of a 20-year-old. I swim about 3 hours a week over the weekends. However, I may join a second swimming pool facility in 2025 to do two additional hours of swimming. My sweet spot goal is to get at least 5 hours of swimming each week and make up for the remaining hour with my exercise bike.
Instead of an hour of exercise, try an exercise snack! Exercise snacks consist of one-to-two-minute bouts of vigorous activity done only thrice daily. According to Rhonda, exercise snacks can give us a 40 percent reduction in all causes and cancer mortality. Exercise snacks include jumping jacks, fast lunges, sprints up staircases, speed cycling, and sitting in a chair to a standing position. I will hop on my exercise bike, which I purchased on credit from Amazon, and do two-minute sprints three times daily for my exercise snack. The stationary bike sits about one meter from my work desk, making it convenient for 2-minute exercise snack work breaks.
Try my favorite snack! I found ways to indulge in a treat as tasty as dark chocolate ice cream without sugar or aspartame. Instead, this delicacy is pure health. I take a bowl of plain Greek yogurt, add a tablespoon of pure, raw organic cacao powder (from Amazon), and add frozen blueberries, bananas, or pineapple. I indulge in one to two bowls of this a day. Raw organic cacao is filled with magnesium and is loaded with antioxidants. And it’s delicious!
When I was so unhealthy that I couldn’t function enough to work a full day, I started by walking the hallway for about ten minutes a day. And it exhausted me. So, if we want to live healthier lives with less risk of disease—or overcome low energy or pre-existing conditions—make the above lifestyle changes. Start with one change and build from there. And remember, fantastic health starts with making health a goal. Once health is a conscious goal, we enter into worlds we would never have imagined had we not entertained it. Even ChatGPT says that people with severe chronic or autoimmune conditions could work their way up to acquiring a varsity athlete level of fitness within two years. Just ask ChatGPT for a routine.
[This column is for interest and entertainment purposes only. The author is not medically trained or certified and you should alway seek professional medical advice from a qualified practitioner in matters of your health]
