75. Top 2021 Longevity Tips Part 2

Dr. Stephanie Gray 0:03

Welcome to the your longevity blueprint podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Stephanie gray. My number one goal with the show is to help you discover your personalized plan to build your dream health and live a longer, happier, truly healthier life. It's the time of year again, where we're reminded of how much we're grateful for. If you've tuned in for a while twice per year, I've launched top longevity tip episodes compiling short tips from the prior past six months guests. This Thanksgiving week, I wanted to again launch another top longevity tip episode as the insights never stop amazing me. Thank you again to all the experts that have donated their time and knowledge guesting on the show, I could not have done this without them. I'm so appreciative of you taking time to listen to my podcast, follow me on instagram as Stephanie gray DNP and happy holidays. Okay, let's get to those tips.

Dr. Brian Stenzler 0:56

I guess if I had to pick one top longevity tip, it would have to be to have a chiropractor on your healthcare team.

It's not the direction that I thought I was gonna go. But the truth of the matter is, if you don't know if your nervous system is functioning optimally, you're missing out on a huge part of your life because the nervous system controls every other system in the body. So I look at the five facets of wellness as being the five wheels of a car, right, you got two tires in the front, two tires in the back, and then you got a steering wheel in the middle, and the steering wheel is going to dictate all the others. And so ultimately, if you eat all the right food in the world, but your brains not allowing your digestive organs to function the right way that food might be, you know, leading to still malnutrition, because you're not breaking it down and processing it properly.

Right, you can do all the exercise in the world. But if your brains not communicating with the nerves that feed, say the bicep muscle or the heart muscle, then you could actually be doing more harm than good. So making sure the nervous system is functioning optimally is a key component to it. So I'm gonna have to be biased here. And I'm gonna say, just hire a chiropractor to check out if you need corrective care you get under corrective care if not, chiropractor may invite you back in about six months to get checked again.

Abel James 2:04

I think it's being intentional about what you do every day. It's really about those little things that you do that add up over the long term that matter more than anything because I think with longevity, there are so many snazzy things. They're they're looking for the magic bullet all the time, especially for longevity stuff, right? And longevity has to be holistic. Like, it can't just be Botox. It can't just be vitamin D. It can't just be exercise. I mean, like it really had you have to, if you want to live a long time and live well, for a long time, you have to do almost everything. Mostly right? You don't have to do everything totally right. You just have to do everything.

Mostly right, maybe a couple of things wrong. But you can't be pursuing longevity while doing multiple things wrong and things that you know, are wrong on a daily basis, if that makes sense, right? We're all guilty of it. We're all doing the things that we know that we probably shouldn't. So it's really about, I think being intentional about finding your place to play there and what the wiggle room is. And then being honest about what you want the result to be and also how you want to live your life. There's no perfect answer. Some people who smoke live to 100 some people eat nothing but bacon, and they're fine. Some people are vegetarian, and they die early. You know, some people are the healthiest ever. And great athletes, then they have a heart attack and die early. So also, as you're pursuing longevity, don't forget about your life. Don't forget about like the quality of your life and also challenging yourself. And, you know, really thinking about why we're here. So making the best of the time that we do have.

Dr. Trevor Cates 3:39

Yeah, you know, so much of what we've been talking about today are all about longevity, because we want to live longer. We also want to feel great as we're getting older, and we want our skin to keep up with us with the rest of our body. So everything that I've talked about. So I encourage people to think back to those four different areas that I talked about, like clean slate, clean slate, clean body, clean mind, those are all really important for longevity. And if you can do one of these every day, it doesn't have to take a lot of time. But it's really those daily lifestyle choices that we make. And if you have a slip up, it's okay. It's a new day start over again, but you can't expect to just do it on the weekends. It's really about incorporating it as much as you can every day and it doesn't it doesn't have to be complicated. But like getting a healthy smoothie in the morning, having a nice clean skincare routine just start your day or enjoy your day. Having a stress management a typical even just be taking a few deep breaths or taking a moment to step out into nature. And also maybe just drinking filtered water rather than regular tap water. Just choose something and start there.

Brodie Welch 4:57

I think really it comes down to Being in touch with yourself moments a moment is really right action in the moment. That's where we find wisdom, right, knowing what to do in a given situation, you've got to be present. And you've got to be listening internally in order to know what the right thing is. So we therefore need to build a practice of self awareness, we need to build a practice of checking in with ourselves on a regular basis. And so I think my top longevity tip is, if you don't already stop at least a couple times a day, and just check in with yourself and ask yourself, what do I need right now, that could be a really potent practice going forward, because you've got wisdom within you. And taking time out so that your inner teacher can speak to you is something that we need to make some conscious space for. Otherwise, that voice goes on heard.

Nathan Crane 5:45

Oh, I love it. There's so many. I think one that that we don't talk enough about is meditation. There is so much evidence, so much research and 1000s of years of wisdom behind this, that a daily meditation practice will not only expand your lifespans, we're talking about longevity, but help you improve your quality of life. Like, who cares if you add five years to your life, but those five years, they're horrible, you're sick, you don't feel good, right? Like, nobody wants that. Like when I asked people I say, wouldn't it be amazing if you can live to 100? Most people say hell no, I don't want 100. I'm serious. And I've asked this question so many people.

And I started realizing why I said because I would ask them why. And then I realized, well, their lives really aren't that great. And so they imagine it 100 years old, it's gonna be so much worse, which is true for most people today. So I started reframing the question I said, Would it be amazing if you could live to 100? If you were healthy, if you were vital. If you could do fun things with your grandkids or great grandkids, you could still hike and move and be mobile. If you had energy and you felt good, and you still had meaning in your life? Is it? Oh, hell yeah, I'd love to be 100. Right. So it's a different mindset. And if you shift that mindset to think, okay, it's not only about living longer, but the quality of life is just as important, even more important than the length of my life, then the whole picture starts to come together. And so you know, these things are about quality of life that we're talking about.

And as a side effect, as a, as a consequence, as a benefit. These things like a daily meditation practice will not only improve quality of life, but can absolutely contribute to extending your life. And we've talked a lot about the science of how meditation works, but you know, at least 30 minutes a day practice minimum to start, that is my top tip for quality of life and longevity of life.

Dr. Roseann Capanna Hodge 7:39

There are so many ways, I'm always looking at longevity, because I work with so many people with chronic illnesses. And many of the things that treat chronic illnesses are also for longevity. Many people in my family live very long, right? And what are some of the things that they do, but I'm a mental health provider. And I'm going to tell you that we know, there are two parts that I'd love to talk about. So one is having a positive mindset. So we know that a positive mindset is tied to living a much not only longer life, but with happiness. There's lots of research in that.

And the other part of that is good mindset, you have lower stress levels. So and we know that lower stress is associated with greater health, that's a really key component. And regardless, sometimes people have lived incredible hardships. I mean, I work with adults, I have the privilege of helping adults who've had horrible trauma, you know, physical and sexual abuse, horrible things, and they work so hard on themselves. And really do you know, gratitude journaling, and you know, meditation, whatever works for them running yoga, super clean diets, and they're, they're making an investment in themselves. And everybody needs to take 10 minutes, and I and if you're a mom, and you have to hide in your car for 10 minutes, do it.

Dr. Aimee Apigan 9:07

This would be Dr. Gray would be like everybody has had stored experiences and trauma in their life by this time. And when we don't address it, it becomes more cemented into our biology, accelerating the aging process, accelerating this dress that's on our body. So if you're really interested in programming your body for health and longevity, we need to be addressing these types of patterns and imbalances in the nervous system that will with more time just accumulate more stress and more imbalances in your biology that will accelerate the aging process.

Tricia Nelson 9:49

I would say definitely slow down emotional eaters you know over as I said earlier, overeaters are over doers and that drive which really is driven by a fear of being with ourselves and our thoughts and our feelings 75% of emotional eaters do most of their eating late at night, you know, or from 4pm on is because that's when the busyness of the day settles down. That's when things get quieter. And we're just afraid to be with ourselves, you know, we have to make peace with ourselves in order to heal, we cannot keep running like a hamster on a wheel, we've got to stop, slow down. And I give people tools to do that. So it's not so scary. But that's my number one piece of advice is, you know, slow down and let you catch yourself, let you catch yourself. It's not so big, bad and scary inside there. There's so much love in there, you're good. And that's the key is to get rid of everything that's not love, so that you can feel the love that is there inherently.

Dr. Debi Silber 10:49

You know, I have to go with the first thing that comes to mind. And it's joy. Joy, we're here to experience joy. If we're not get the other stuff out of the way heal it. We're not here just to have hardships and we do nothing with it. The most joyful people I know have been through the most, because they have that gift of perspective. So clear up whatever it is get the support you need. You're it's not like you're here for just a bed game of hot potato, it sits on you. And that's it, do the work and experience the joy. That's what we're here for.

Shannon Wilson 11:22

What I would say would be stress management, right? Like managing stress, managing emotions, when we're not really processing and allowing ourselves to kind of feel things that go somewhere, right. And it makes us feel bad and makes us stressed out. And so that would be my tip, make sure that you're focusing on how to manage your stress and allowing yourself to experience the full range of human emotion because all emotions are okay.

Dr. Shiroko Sokitch 11:52

Love. Yeah, fill your life with love in every way possible. And, you know, we have tricky minds. And we're trained to think in a negative way. So we have to work at it sometimes to find ways to fill our lives. So if you love somebody, everybody loves somebody, right? So you love people love them, even if they've hurt your feelings, try to pour love on that person. Because if you can't find love for yourself, by giving love to someone else, it will come back to you. So it opens your heart to give love, it opens your heart to put energy in a loving way out into the world.

Dr. Rudrani Banik 12:31

My top longevity tip would be I really believe firmly in this that we need to nourish not only our bodies, but also our minds and our spirits. And we need to have good health overall, you know, we need to take care of our body, of course, eat right exercise, etc. But we need to pay attention to just maintaining good brain health through intellectual stimulation. And we need to also address that spiritual aspect. So you could put all three together, you can really try to maintain just good overall health for I know, a healthy, happy long way.

James Berry 12:58

You would think it would be like, forgive me, it's just eat organ meats. And I think that I could easily say that. But if I really reflect on what what has been the thing that moves the needle the most for me personally, and what I've experienced in my journey on this planet, I would have to say it's sleep. And I say that as a notorious night owl. You know, I think if you had talked to me two years ago, I would have you know, we would have had this conversation at like, 11 at night because I would be up. But now I go to bed like 839. And it's amazing. It's amazing how different life looks when you get sleep. And I say that even as a parent, like we, you know, our kids are eight and four. And out of all the kids, you know, families we know and where we live. I think our kids go to bed that earliest to this day, even our eight year old and I'm just like yeah, because they're better people when they do and I noticed that in myself. So I just believe good night's sleep. Here's why it's so important for longevity, in my opinion.

So one of the biggest issues we have with health is the choices we make particularly around food. When I get a good night's sleep, I make better food choices. It's just a fact. So if it starts on the simplest, most basic level around health is what we choose to put in our mouth. And if I make better choices when I get sleep, then that's got to be the first marker for me because every choice I make is going to be based on how well I slept. I think that's so easy in our lives particularly when there's so many factors against us you know where we have big food companies that are creating products that actually like feed our addictions and or play with our brain you know, in our addictive qualities like are they're actually manipulating us or making manipulating our flavors. I think that when we have so many things against us, we really have to dig in to the things we do have power over and we have our choice we do. No one is forced feeding your to eat whatever it is you're eating and shaming yourself for eating. No one's doing that. No one is doing that to you. You are choosing to do it. Best way is to use Your own skills around making the best choices you can make. And that's sleep for me.

Dr. Kasia Kines 15:05

The deeper longevity, following your heart and doing what you love. And in order to do that, you have to have a better way to love yourself and forgive and understand that you are loved enough that you are enough that you came to this planet. With a gift, you have a zone of genius, it's something for service something we can make this planet different better. And people get stuck in the wrong jobs, wrong careers, for wrong reasons. And if you just find a way to open the heart and love yourself just because of who you are, then you'll be more likely to do what you love. Just like what I did. You know, I love what I do. I just take one step and I listen, what am I supposed to do next? How am I supposed to serve? When you do what you love, you'll have joy, and joy, as one of the most powerful healing tools you have in your life. When we need more joy, and it comes from love that you I know.

Dr. Jim Lavalle 16:08

I just hope that people really embrace the opportunity to live a healthy life. When I work with people. Now I'm really trying to empower them to understand that it's all about choice. And you can choose to feel the way you want. But here's the path. And here's the selections that you need to make in your life. If you really want to be successful with managing your health, and enjoying your loved ones as long as you can. I just encourage people to create choices that allow for a lifestyle and not out of restriction. Because when we restrict things and we limit things at home on, I'm on a modified FODMAP diet with slightly plant based ketogenic vegan, all of a sudden, I have four foods to pick from you know, and when we really start to restrict ourselves and feel like we're putting ourselves in a box, typically, you're going to break out of that box or you're going to break all the rules you made for yourself. And so why not create things that are your freewill and your empowerment. So that's my top longevity tip and what I weigh I feel,

Dr. Joel Kahn 17:07

I would say it used to be at talking about quality of food, it's actually asleep. Now, I actually spend more time with my patients characterizing their sleep and coming up with 10 different ways they can improve their sleep. Because tired people don't work out and tired. People don't say no to a bagel and a doughnut. And tired people aren't happy people. And there's a lot of stresses on us from politics and health issues and cell phones and iPads and EMF and other things. So I actually work extensively. So get seven and a half hours asleep. Do 10 different things at night like I do from blue light blocking glasses to herbal supplements to breath and meditation to cool pads if you need to block out shades or eye masks, get your sleep tape your mouth shut I go to sleep every day with my mouth tape shot. That's a whole nother topic.

Alexis Yoo 17:59

Try not to overstress and by thing to me sleep is huge. staying consistent with a good skincare routine. So you can't treat your face like a flip flop and expect it to look like a Louis Vuitton. So I think good skincare I think is key. And then really finding balance with your diet I think is probably the the third biggest thing. And what I mean by that is like I'm a mom, I've got three kids, I have a set of twins that are 11 and a three year old, like, you can't eat perfect all the time. So I definitely think making sure that you got good balance. So as you can see, None None of it was peptides. I mean, yes, pellets are awesome. You know, I stay consistent with those just because of all the benefits you get, and they make me get the most out of my workouts. peptides are awesome, but I think it's the foundations.

Dr. Stephanie Gray 18:41

As you heard there's really no magic bullet or longevity. The majority of these tips really housed around being intentional with self care strategies for stress reduction and staying positive. So consider meditation. Don't be afraid to just be with yourself and really be in touch with yourself moment to moment. Check in with yourself on a daily basis. And when ready, consider addressing stored trauma, feel and process your emotions. fill your life with love, do something that brings you joy and get all the other stuff out of the way. Nourish your mind and spirit. Don't neglect that spiritual aspect and get a good night's sleep so you can make better food choices and have the energy you need to exercise. Consider adding a chiropractor to your healthcare team to get that nervous system functioning optimally.

Everyone needs to take time for themselves. So if you aren't, that is my challenge to you. Your first step may be scheduling an appointment with a Cairo or wearing blue light blocking glasses at night for your sleep or maybe it's just scheduling time for nothing to just be with yourself and meditate. You can embrace the opportunity to live a healthier life. So make choices that do be sure to check out my book your longevity blueprint and if you aren't much of a reader, you're in luck. You can now take my course online where I walk you through each chapter in the book. Plus for a limited time the course is 50% off. Check this offer out at your longevity blueprint.com and click the Course tab. One of the biggest things you can do to support the show and help us reach more listeners is to subscribe to the show. Leave us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. I do read all the reviews and would truly love to hear your suggestions for show topics, guests and for how you're applying what you learn on the show to create your own longevity blueprint. The podcast is produced by the team at counterweight creative as always, thank you so much for listening and remember, wellness is waiting

the information provided in this podcast is educational. No information provided should be considered to be or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with your personal medical authority.

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