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News and ideas worth your attention.
Four decades of writing on living long and living well, with 1,000+ posts on functional and longevity medicine.
438 written by Dr. Frank Lipman
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Apr 8, 2024 · Healthy Aging16 Ways to Turn Health Around With Bio-hacking
While many hacks are geared towards automating life’s more mundane tasks – better ways to cook, get your steps in, grow more vegetables, etc. – the kind of hacking I’m most interested in is ‘bio-hacking,’ as in, the kinds of hacks that focus on smarter strategies to improve health, wellness and, ultimately, longevity.
Apr 1, 2024 · Healthy Aging6 Ways Nitric Oxide Amps Up Immunity, Muscle Performance and Circulation
So, what is nitric oxide? It’s a gas that circulates in suspension in the blood, travelling throughout the body doing good things wherever it reaches. It helps neurons talk to each other and to the muscle cells. It helps fortify the immune system. And perhaps most importantly, it plays a critical role in ensuring that blood flows easily through the blood vessels, bringing oxygen and nutrients to every corner of the body. So how to help nitric oxide deliver an even greater load of health benefits? I have a few ideas for you.
Mar 25, 2024 · Healthy AgingUnlocking Longevity: Delving into the Final 3 Hallmarks of Aging (Part 4)
Of the hallmarks of aging discovered in the last decade or so, three of them have been added only recently. Previously they had been folded into the original 9 pre-existing hallmarks, not surprising since all the hallmarks affect each other, one way or another. But now they’ve got their own spot on the marquee, in part because they’re especially sensitive to the daily choices we make about diet, physical activity and stress. Here’s how to take charge of the additional three hallmarks believed to be responsible for making us grow old – ideally not before our time, that is, if we follow some sensible lifestyle advice.
Mar 18, 2024 · Healthy AgingUnlocking Longevity: Delving into the Next 3 Hallmarks of Aging (Part 3)
In this four-part series on what scientists call “the hallmarks of aging,” the specific biochemical processes that are happening in your body every day, every second, which, taken together, take us from our physical peak in our twenties right on through to the end of our lives. The idea, as I explained, is “know your enemy,” as in, if we can identify what’s going on in the body, we can take steps to fight back against it, whether that’s healthy lifestyle choices now or, down the line, with the help of new treatments being studied in the lab today. My advice? Get familiar with the hallmarks – and what to do about them now – so you can get ahead of the aging process.
Mar 11, 2024 · Healthy AgingUnlocking Longevity: Delving into 3 More Hallmarks of Aging (Part 2)
In last week’s post, we looked at the first three “the hallmarks of aging,” the specific bio-chemical processes that are happening in your body every day, every second, which, taken together, take us from our physical peak in our twenties right on through to the end of our lives. The idea, as I explained, is “know your enemy,” as in, if we can identify what’s going on in the body, we can take steps to fight back against it, whether that’s healthy lifestyle choices now or, down the line, with the help of new treatments being studied in the lab today. In this post, we’ll take a look at the next three hallmarks, and what you need to know about them:
Mar 4, 2024 · Healthy AgingUnlocking Longevity: Delving into the 12 Hallmarks of Aging (Part 1)
Most of us were raised to think about aging as this mysterious thing that just happens to us. But over the past decade or so, scientists have made great strides in figuring out what’s going in our bodies at a cellular and even molecular level to explain the differences between a 30-year-old and a 70-year-old and why it is the older we get, the more vulnerable we become to the dreaded “diseases of aging.” The good news is that science is now showing us that you have more control over how well and quickly you age than you may realize.
Feb 26, 2024 · Healthy Aging6 Ways Cold Exposure Makes You Younger, Happier and Healthier!
More than just a change of scenery, stepping outside in winter and exposing yourself to cold can help slow your aging roll and extend your ‘healthspan’ (aka, the life in your years), so take advantage now – before it warms up! Think of winter’s chill as your youth-preserving secret weapon – and here’s how and why I encourage you to harness that chilling power all season long.
Feb 19, 2024 · Healthy Aging5 Ways Stress Ages You All Over – and How to Fight Back
It’s no secret that too much stress is bad for your health. However, what is new is that integrative physicians like me appreciate that health is best understood as the ability to withstand the age-related decline in function in every part and system of the body, starting as early as our thirties. And stress? Cutting-edge research is now starting to pinpoint ways that stress turbocharges this aging process – so its up to you to start fighting back a.s.a.p.!
Feb 12, 2024 · Health & WellnessMeet Metformin – and It’s Anti-Aging Superpowers
By now, my readers may be aware of my interest in longevity-focused medicine, particularly in light of all of the exciting anti-aging and longevity research and promising treatments making news almost every day.
Feb 5, 2024 · Health & Wellness9 Ways to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
Particularly these days, life is not without its challenges. We live in a time of global upheaval and chronic anxiety, and the prospect of navigating through it can seem daunting.
Jan 29, 2024 · Health & Wellness10 Tips to Banish Blood Pressure Problems Naturally
So, you go for an annual check-up and your primary care doc slaps on the blood pressure cuff and then delivers the bad news. Your blood pressure, which has been steadily ticking up for years, has now crossed the threshold, into either borderline or bona fide hypertension.
Jan 22, 2024 · Healthy Aging6 Ways Your Biological Age Matters More than the Number of Candles on Your Cake
When we think about age, we should be thinking of it in terms of two numbers: your actual chronological age and what researchers and some forward-thinking clinicians are now calling “biological” age, which captures the differences in how our bodies change over time. The good news? Medical science is in the first stages of being able to measure the biological processes that underlie aging, and clinicians – myself included – who embrace “longevity medicine” and can use that information to tailor therapies and target lifestyle upgrades to slow that process down.
Jan 15, 2024 · Healthy Aging7 Thoughts on How AKG Can Make Aging Better – and Slower
Pharmaceutical drugs. They are, for better or worse, just about everywhere these days, and while they have their place, they’re also wildly over-prescribed – blunt instruments that can sometimes create more problems than they solve. That’s why I’m always curious about promising alternatives and excited by the growing research into natural compounds – and one candidate that may be able to keep health moving in a positive direction is something called ‘alpha-ketoglutarate’ or ‘AKG – which can help the body restore itself when it begins to run down.
Jan 8, 2024 · Movement24 Ways to Ditch Sugar in 2024 (and Beyond)
In honor of 2024, I’ve put together my 24-point list of tips for slaying the sugar monster once and for all. Here’s where to start.
Jan 1, 2024 · Health & WellnessInspiring Words of Wisdom to Guide Your New Year
Welcome to 2024!
Dec 25, 2023 · Health & WellnessTOP 10 MOST POPULAR BLOGS OF 2023
Now’s a great time to look back at 2023 and think about what you want for the New Year.
Dec 18, 2023 · Health & WellnessRediscovering Tea Tree Oil – and 8 Reasons to Stock Up
The deeper you go exploring the ins and outs of your own health, making health-enhancing tweaks becomes second nature.
Dec 11, 2023 · Gut Health15 Everyday Ways to Keep Constipation At Bay
Constipation. It’s a punchline of a word that can set off giggles, but when you’re experiencing it, it’s anything but funny. Uncomfortable and unpleasant, constipation gets in the way of normal life, leaving you wanting to eliminate the problem as quickly as possible. And while occasional constipation isn’t that unusual, frequent bouts are. They’re also your body’s way of letting you know it’s time to pay more attention to how you’re treating it, what you’re putting in it and what may be missing. Think of constipation as a message, and if you choose to ignore it, chronic gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea, IBS, leaky gut and inflammation are very likely to follow.
Dec 4, 2023 · Health & Wellness5 Ways Prebiotics Help Supercharge Your Health From Head to Toe
Regular readers of this blog are likely familiar with the idea of eating ‘probiotic’ foods and, when needed, also adding a probiotic supplement to the mix to support the health of your microbiome, aka, the community of billions of friendly bacteria that live in your gut.
Nov 27, 2023 · Health & Wellness9 Ways to Grow Your Friend Group at Any Age
There’s another key element that often gets overlooked in the anti-aging game – and that’s emotional well-being. Numerous studies have shown that neglecting emotional health, particularly when it comes to social connection, can speed up aging. Here’s some background on why you need to connect with others and how to grow your tribe no matter what your age –and a few pointers on how to go about it.
Nov 20, 2023 · Health & WellnessClean and Green Tips for Taming Household Toxins
Back in the day, many of us had concerns about office air quality – breathing in toxins eight hours a day in our hermetically-sealed downtown office cubes.
Nov 13, 2023 · Health & Wellness7 Ways to Put Vitamin D to Work for Your Winter Wellness
Ah, winter. Like it or loathe it, there’s no denying, it’s heading our way. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight will soon be in short supply. Not great news for our bodies which need sunlight to help us produce our own vitamin D supplies, but an...
Nov 6, 2023 · NutritionTap Into the 7 Amazing Health-Saving Properties of Apigenin
Safe to say, as a person who’s had the great good fortune to be on this earth for a few decades, with each passing year, on both a personal and professional level, I’ve grown increasingly interested in the idea of how to do aging better. While there’s no way to stop...
Oct 30, 2023 · Relaxation9 Ways Conscious Breathing Instantly Upgrades Every Aspect of Your Health
You don’t need to be a meditation guru or yoga practitioner to tap into the power of the breath. Conscious breathing is easy to learn and can be practiced anywhere anytime. In just a few breaths, wonderful mind/body changes start to happen as the body’s relaxation response kicks in. Those escalating emotions begin their descent as blood pressure and heart rate start to slide back down to a healthier range as you activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest-and-digest system which counterbalances the fight-or flight response). The result? Improved cardiovascular health, immune function, possibly better longevity and numerous other benefits. My advice? Start breathing!