Longevity Unlocked An Interesting Look at How Lifestyle and Blue Zone Lessons Shape the World’s Longest Lives

So What Do We Know About Longevity?

When it comes to a long lifespan, who better to study than populations living in “Blue Zones” - such as Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), and Sardinia (Italy) - as well as the general population of Japan as these populations tend to have the longest life expectancy.   

But…why? These groups are characterized by:

• High intake of plant-based foods and fish

• Low consumption of red and processed meats

• Regular physical activity 

• Strong social integration

• Low rates of smoking

• Low rates of obesity

All these things lead to reduced mortality from ischemic heart disease and certain cancers. 

So what about genetic factors like APOE and FOX03A which are attributed to longevity? This is really cool stuff!

• APOE and FOXO3A are two most consistently replicated genetic loci associated with human longevity, particularly in Blue Zones and Japan

• The APOE epsilon 2 allele is associated with extreme longevity

• The APOE epsilon 4 allele is associated with higher mortality risk 

• So epsilon 2 appears to protect against age related diseases such as heart and neurodegenerative disease

• FOXO3A variants are associated with longevity as they are involved in cellular stress resistance, metabolism, regulation of apoptosis 

So, add this genetic lottery to a healthy environment and you have made yourself a long life

But…APOE and FOXO3A may be important contributors to longevity, yet their influence is modest at best and other genetics and epigenetics (got a blog on this one too), lifestyle and environment still have a bigger impact on lifespan

So does this mean we all have a shot at longevity even if we didn’t inherit the genetic lottery for lifespan? YES!!!  Lifestyle factors are the BIGGEST determinant of lifespan.  So, adhere to these things for your shot at becoming a centurion:

• Avoid smoking

• Maintain healthy body weight

• Regular physical activity

• Adherence to high-quality diet (such as Mediterranean diet)

• Cognitive function

• Social integration

• Psychosocial well-being

These things alone across multiple long-term cohort studies have consistently shown the largest impact on lifespan - even mores than genetic variants or biomarkers which play relatively much smaller roles at 10-25%

So we may not all be blessed with longevity genes, but it looks like we do have a choice when it comes to optimizing how long and how well we may live.  Rooted Health wants to help you achieve this balance, because as we all know, living long does not always mean living well.