What are the keys to a long and healthy life?

If you follow some of the prominent voices in the online health world, it’s easy to be convinced that longevity depends on supplements and treatments. But is that the case?

You might have come across talk of, for example, resveratrol or NMN (supplements) or hyperbaric oxygen chambers, red light saunas, cold plunges, stem cell therapy and so forth. (NMN stands for Nicotinamide Mononucleotide — it’s not TGA approved so theoretically we can’t buy it off the shelf, though I’ve seen a pharmacy advertising it. There’s also some question as to whether it’s a supplement or a drug.)

The expense of some put them out of range for a lot of us, but that aside, are they the special somethings that will take our lives to the next level, now and in the future?

While most of us are possibly more interested in doing what we enjoy and having enough energy for that, rather than living on and on, it’s asserted in these circles that ageing isn’t inevitable, and that it’s a medical condition that can be treated and reversed.

It’s a tad disappointing to discover that these assertions are based on experiments with mice. Those little critters are said to run twice as far and live longer if there’s NMN in their water.

Certainly, most scientific and medical breakthroughs begin in a lab, often with mice, but it’s a huge leap from there to the end of human ageing.

Maybe this kind of research will indeed bring that about, and maybe it’s true that the first person to live to 150 has already been born. But there’s not much hard evidence at this stage.

In the meantime, what do we know will support us in being healthy older women that we can apply right now?

Tails and whiskers aside, our best bet is to look at the big, well-run studies of humans.

An obvious one is the Swedish Longevity Study, results of which were published last year. This examined markers of metabolism, inflammation, nutritional status, anemia, and liver and kidney health.

I’ve written about it before, but it followed nearly 45,000 people for 35 years and compared those who lived to 100 with those who didn’t make it to 90.

The study didn’t include measures of, say, vitality or life satisfaction, which might give an indication of quality of life rather than quantity, but there were several obvious characteristics of the long-lived.

1. They had normal blood sugar (vs elevated).
2. They had sufficient iron (vs low) and normal serum ferritin levels. Ferritin reflects the amount of stored iron and a higher level is a marker of inflammation.
3. Their liver markers were normal, with no sign of alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver. Too much sugar and starch can give us the non-alcoholic form.
4. They had healthy kidneys, with normal creatinine levels. Creatinine is a waste product which gives us a reading of kidney health. (Note this is creatinine, not )
5. They also had healthy uric acid levels. We mostly associate high uric acid with gout; it can be increased by obesity, excess alcohol, sugary drinks, and fructose.
6. Their total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL were on the high side. Factors that support higher HDL include being a healthy weight, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, being physically active, and not over-eating — three meals a day rather than lots of snacking. Higher total cholesterol and LDL measures were no impediment to a long life.
7. Finally, their triglyceride and VLDL levels were low. Triglycerides are fats made by the liver from excess calories, especially from alcohol, sugar and starch. VLDL carries triglycerides from the liver through the blood to our cells.

No doubt genes come into it too, though an older Italian study concluded that these play a bigger role for men who live to a ripe old age than for women.

But statistically, those seven sets of markers tell us a lot about longevity. Or perhaps more accurately and importantly, they tell us how to avoid cutting our lives short unnecessarily.

In a nutshell, the basics are sensible use of alcohol, limited sugars and starches, a nutrient-rich diet, and enough physical activity to keep strong and healthy. Not too complicated really.

Moreover, it was clear by age 65 who would live longer — and 85% of those who blew out the candles on their 100^th birthday cake were women.

Notably, they weren’t taking NMN or doing hot and cold therapy and the like.

By all means dive into those if that’s what floats your boat. Just know that the evidence on human longevity isn’t there. Not yet, anyway.

If a long and healthy life is what matters to you, first nail the basics.

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