Easy Way To Live To 100 Years Old

Hello Health Champions! Today, we're going to  talk about an easy way to live to 100 years old—something you can do that is simple  that's greatly going to increase your chances of reaching a hundred years old. And  of course, it's not just about reaching 100; it's about being healthy so that you have quality  of life along the way.

But for this to make sense, we have to briefly talk about the  causes of aging so we know what it is that we're trying to slow down, and they  include cellular damage and dysfunction, metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation,  hormonal imbalances, and mitochondrial decline. The thing we're going to talk about that you  can so easily incorporate into your lifestyle is called intermittent fasting, meaning you eat fewer  meals and you have longer periods without eating. But then the question we have to answer is, of  course, how does fasting help reverse or slow down these destructive mechanisms?

And then the second  question we have to answer is just how easy is fasting because a lot of people think that fasting  is just about the hardest thing that you can do. So we're going to go through these mechanisms  one by one and talk about how fasting can help. So the first one is cellular damage and  dysfunction, and this includes free radicals, oxidative stress, toxins, and regular wear and  tear.

The more of this we have, the more likely that we have malfunctioning cells, and we can  think of those like little machines that turn rusty. The more we abuse a machine, the more we  use it, the more we use it harshly, the sooner it's going to start rusting and not perform as  well. And of course, in terms of human cells, if they're getting rusty, if they're  malfunctioning, that's going to increase the risk of disease and early or premature aging  and degeneration.

And the way that fasting can help with this is that fasting increases something  called autophagy, which is a word composed of two pieces: auto and phagy, meaning self-eating.  And all it means is that when you're fasting, when you're not adding resources to the body as  frequently, then resources become more precious, and the body upregulates its recycling mechanism  that includes the cleanup crew and immune system and so forth. So the body starts going out and  looking for misfolded proteins and cellular debris that it may not have gone to look for if  we kept eating.

But if we take a little break, now the body gets better at going out and finding  those resources and turning them into something valuable. So we can think of this as recycling  and cleaning up, and you can also think about it as thinning out the herd. If you have a huge  herd of animals somewhere and there are predators, they're going to go and pick up the sick and the  slow and the animals that might have died anyway that didn't have so much longer to live.

And the  same thing holds true in the body. If we have cellular components and misfolded proteins and  cells that are about to die, if we can recycle them sooner, then we are thinning out the herd,  and we're keeping the healthier cells around. The next destructive mechanism is chronic  inflammation.

It is so tied to aging that it's actually called inflammaging as well, and  chronic inflammation drives all chronic disease. And it's important that we understand what chronic  disease is and how that's different—that those are all the things that people take medication for,  like blood pressure medication and cholesterol medication and so forth, pain medication. When  you have a disease, it's not like you just have a fever because if you get an infection or if you  eat something you weren't supposed to and you get nauseous and you throw up, then that's only the  body doing what it's supposed to do.

You're not really sick; the body is just responding in the  appropriate way. But chronic disease is when things don't work the way they're supposed  to. We have pushed the body out of balance; there are normal, natural mechanisms that have  been worn out, that don't kick in the way they're supposed to anymore.

And some examples of chronic  diseases are cardiovascular disease with the high blood pressure and the plaquing and so forth and  also arthritis and Alzheimer's and different forms of dementia where Alzheimer's is the most common  one. And what we know for a fact is that fasting, intermittent fasting, just stretching your  window of not eating a little bit longer, is going to reduce many, many different blood markers  that indicate inflammation. Two of the main ones are called C-reactive protein, which  is a general inflammation marker, and another one is interleukin-6.

And we know for  a fact that fasting will reduce both of these, and in doing so, fasting will protect your  tissues. It will maintain a higher quality of the tissues in your body, and in doing  that, you will dramatically reduce your risk of these chronic diseases that we  talked about: the cardiovascular disease, which of course is tied to diabetes and insulin  resistance, as well as arthritis and Alzheimer's. And the next factor is metabolic dysfunction.

And  what is metabolism? Metabolism is the ability of a cell to take fuel or substrate and turn it into  something else. And the something else is we turn it into energy and we turn it into tissue, and  this ability to metabolize is what constitutes life.

Dead things can't do that, and when we  no longer can make energy and new tissues, then that's when we die. But when we talk  about metabolic dysfunction, we're typically talking about the most widespread form, which  is increasing insulin resistance. And this is so common today that we assume that it happens with  age, that if we get older then this is supposed to happen because it happens to just about everyone. 

We see more than 80% of the American population has some degree of insulin resistance, and this  is spreading like wildfire across the world, so it's not just the United States anymore.  But it's a huge misconception that this is something that has to increase with age. It  is something that tends to increase with age, but only because we live a longer period of time,  during which time we eat too much carbohydrate and we eat too many meals.

So of course, that's  what fasting is all about—eating fewer meals and stretching the time that you're not eating. And  of course, insulin resistance is about having high levels of insulin, chronically high levels of  insulin, and having had your cells stop responding properly because that level of insulin is so  high. And fasting is perhaps the most powerful way to reduce insulin and insulin resistance,  and there's some tremendous benefits that we get from that fasting and from lowering insulin  and insulin resistance.

And one, of course, is we can increase fat burning because insulin  is a fat-storing hormone; it blocks fat burning. So if we can lower insulin, now we can start  burning fat again. And on the previous slide, we talked about chronic inflammation, which is  strongly tied to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.

So when we can lower insulin, we also  reduce chronic inflammation and cardiovascular disease, and along with that, we also dramatically  reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. We can also have hormonal imbalances that shorten  lifespan. And when we have too many fat cells and we have too big of a fat cell, then it's going to  produce estrogen.

And if we have excess fat, then that's going to produce excess estrogen, which  of course then becomes a hormonal imbalance. But what a lot of people don't know is that insulin  resistance with chronically high levels of insulin is the strongest factor that will unbalance the  other hormones. So if we have insulin resistance, then what tends to happen in women is that  we convert a lot of this excess estrogen into testosterone, which of course is the  male hormone.

Now, both men and women have both of these hormones, so we all have some  estrogen and some testosterone. But in women, there's supposed to be a dominance of estrogen,  and in men, it's supposed to be a dominance of testosterone. But when we're insulin resistant,  now we tend to reverse that; we tend to unbalance that natural dominance so that in women,  we convert the estrogen into testosterone, and we have women becoming more like men.

And  the opposite thing happens in men but through a different pathway. So with insulin resistance,  now we start turning the male testosterone into estrogen in men, so men now become feminized. So  basically, what can happen now is that women start growing a mustache; they start getting more facial  hair, and in men, we have the feminizing effect, and we could have men start growing man boobs,  for example.

Now, it's really the toughest on the grandchildren because when Grandma  starts looking like Grandpa and vice versa, they can't tell the difference anymore, and this  can be really traumatizing for the little ones. And another thing that can happen is that  in women, especially with this imbalance, we have something called PCOS—polycystic ovarian  syndrome—which can lead to painful periods and infertility and all sorts of unpleasant  things. And also in both men and women, we can have decreased libido or sex drive.

Now, when  we start doing some intermittent fasting, when we don't eat as often, what's going to happen is the  body starts producing more human growth hormone, and it reduces the insulin dramatically. So these  are the top two hormonal changes that happen, and in doing that, we start rebalancing; we start  improving the regulation of the other sex hormones because, again, the insulin is the primary factor  that unbalances those sex hormones. And then the human growth hormone will help improve  muscle mass and also improve bone health.

And then aging is also accelerated by  mitochondrial decline, and we talked about before how metabolism—the ability to  produce energy and tissues—is the hallmark of life. And mitochondria is the energy factory  of our cells, so there are little inclusions inside your cells where virtually all of your  energy is made. And now here's what we're going to understand about making energy—that the very  reason that we breathe is that we need oxygen, and the reason we need oxygen is simply and only  to make energy.

So we have a fuel; we have a fat or a protein or a carbohydrate, and we need to  turn that into energy. So we oxidize it; we use oxygen, and the only place where this oxygen is  used is inside the mitochondria. So we use the oxygen to turn this fuel into energy, and in the  process, we kind of speed up how much rusting, how quickly these mitochondria get rusty.

So  when we talk about free radicals and oxidation, most of that happens inside the mitochondria,  and that's why these mitochondria are a little more sensitive. They burn a little  hotter than any other cellular component, and if and when they start getting a little rusty,  then they will reduce their energy production. They won't be able to make as much energy,  and it won't be able to make it as cleanly as before.

But what happens now with fasting is  that we increase the mitochondrial biogenesis, meaning that we make new ones. We have  mitochondria replicate; we get new mitochondria. And just like with thinning the herd, we can  recycle some of the most rusty mitochondria.

So now we have healthier and fresher mitochondria  to make energy for us. But not only that, fasting also increases the efficiency; it sort  of cleans up the existing ones. So we get rid of some of the most rusty; we make new ones,  but we also increase and make the old ones that we keep around work better than they have been  before.

And of course, with those two factors, as a result, we can greatly increase our energy  production and how cleanly we make that energy. So the first question that we set out to  answer is: does fasting help slow down aging and help reverse and slow down those aging  processes? And the answer is absolutely yes; there's no doubt about that.

Now, we need  to also answer and help you get on the way to understanding the second question, which  is: isn't fasting really, really hard? Well, that's the next question, and I want to show you  that it is incredibly simple, and you really just have to try it and try the simple steps that I'm  about to explain to you because the biggest thing that keeps people from doing these healthy steps  is that they just believe that it's uncomfortable. So how hard is fasting, really?

Well, I want to  ask you a question: do you sleep? And I want to bet that the answer is yes. Some people sleep  a few hours at a time, but for the most part, we sleep somewhere between six and eight hours,  and that means that you are already fasting.

If you have your last meal, let's say, at 1 p. m. ,  you have that little snack right before bed, and then you get up in the morning and then you  have your breakfast maybe around 7 a.

m. Now you had nine hours of fasting; you had nine hours  where you didn't eat anything. And how's that possible?

How did you do it? How did you survive  all those hours? Well, it's because the body can make energy; it has backup mechanisms.

So we're  told all the time that we're supposed to eat every couple of hours to top off the blood sugar. Well,  it is not necessary; that is not how it works. If you can make it through the night, if your body  knows how to make energy when you're sleeping, then why wouldn't your body know how to make  energy when you're awake?

You just have to make sure that you can consume enough food substrate,  enough calories, so to speak, for your overall requirements, and you just need to do it in a  shorter window because it's so much healthier. So the easiest way to start with this is to delay  breakfast a little bit. Most people aren't really hungry when they wake up in the morning,  so if you can, if your schedule allows it, then instead of having breakfast first thing,  just postpone it a little bit.

So first you have it maybe at 8 o'clock; move it one hour, then  you move it one more hour to 9 o'clock, and then to 10 o'clock. And in just doing that, now you are  already fasting 12 hours. You are showing yourself that you can go 12 hours without food, and during  that time, your body knows perfectly well how to generate energy and blood sugar and ATP to make  every cell in your body function.

And here's an idea for you: if you don't have the flexibility of  just eating later, then if you need to go to work, what you can do is you make a smoothie,  make yourself a rich, nutritious smoothie, and you take it with you. And then at first you  can start eating it maybe at 8:00, and then you push it a little bit, and then you have your  smoothie at 9:00 and at 10:00 and so forth, so you don't actually have to be at home; you can  still delay that first meal. And then, of course, if you can compress your feeding window by pushing  the breakfast later, you can do it at the other end as well, which means don't eat so late. 

There's absolutely no reason to have something to eat right before you go to bed. So instead of  eating at 10:00, then why don't you set a limit where you don't eat anything after 9:00, and when  you know you can do that, then you can do it at 8:00 p. m.

and at 7:00 p. m. as well.

And now what's  happening is if you had your breakfast at 10 like we talked about on the previous slide, now you  have your last meal at 7, and you have a 15-hour fasting window. This is what we call a 15:9—you  eat all your meals during a 9-hour period of time, so you have 15 hours without any food. And for  those—the vast majority of people, 90 plus percent of people—this is so easy; you just have to try  it and show yourself just how easy it is.

Most people who try this, they can't believe that they  ever ate so many meals and that they ate so many meals over so many hours when they could just  do it like this. It's easier; they save time; they don't have to eat all the time, and they  don't get nearly as hungry. And then when you notice that you're not so hungry anymore, what's  going to happen is I pretty much guarantee that you won't be so hungry that you forget to have  breakfast.

Even if you had that smoothie with you, you stick it in the fridge; you're just going  to keep doing your thing, and you forgot to eat because there really is no reason to eat. And  then what you do is you have your lunch at noon, and then you go home and you have dinner at 6, and  guess what? You did it!

You are now performing; you're practicing intermittent fasting. And if  you just try that, it's going to show you that it's so easy; it's actually easier than having  to eat all the time because it takes time; it's a bother; it's a hassle. And if you did  this, now what you're practicing is an 18:6 pattern of intermittent fasting, meaning you have  18 hours of not eating and 6 hours of eating.

And it doesn't have to be like that; this is just  an example. Some people will just have a 12-hour fasting window; some people will have a 16-hour  fasting window; other people will have 18 or a 20-hour. Just try something and see what works for  you, what's most comfortable and most practical for you.

And like I said, the vast majority of  people are not going to have to do anything else. However, there are some people who have pretty  strong cravings, so there will be some stumbling blocks for them maybe, and the number one thing  that you can do then is to eliminate sugar because sugar is a drug. And sugar, more than anything  else, it's not just about the blood sugar or metabolism; it's the combination of a drug that  gives you cravings, that changes your emotional state, and the fact that you're also having your  blood sugar go up and down.

So if you eliminate the sugar, then the cravings will go away for most  people. And then it's also very important that you eat real food, that you eat quality food. And in  terms of macros, it's not all that complicated, but you want to eat moderate to high fat  compared to the regular guidelines.

It's probably going to be a higher level of fat, so  if they recommend 30% of your calories from fat, don't be afraid to let that get up to 50 or 60  or even 70% fat as long as it's a high-quality fat. And then you want to eat moderate protein,  and don't overcomplicate that; just eat a little bit of meat, chicken, fish with some meal during  the day, and you'll be taken care of there. And the biggest difference for most people is going to  be that you want to go moderate to low carb.

Now, some people might want to go very low carb  all the way to keto; not everyone has to, and not everyone has to do it all the time, but it  is an option, and for a lot of people, that also really helps to curb your cravings. But it does  not mean that you are very strict in avoiding all kinds of carbohydrates like some people think  that carbohydrates are evil and when you go low carb you shouldn't have any—that zero is the  best. That's not true.

You want to make sure that you eat a diet that's high in fiber, high in  leafy greens, and high in non-starchy vegetables. You can basically have as much of those types  of carbohydrates as you want. What you don't want is to follow the mainstream guidelines in  terms of how much carbohydrate—they'll typically recommend that you eat 60 to 65% of your calories  from carbohydrate, and that's not a great idea.

Even if you eat whole food, that's going to be  too much carbohydrate; it's going to be too much starch for most people because most people are  already insulin resistant. It doesn't mean that you can never have some brown rice or potatoes  or some beans, especially if you are relatively healthy metabolically, but you don't want to eat  as much carbohydrate as the guidelines because most people are insulin resistant. And if you  eat according to the guidelines, you'll probably start moving toward insulin resistance.

And of  course, one of the biggest steps that you can take toward health is to reduce or eliminate how much  processed and packaged foods and fast food you eat. So doing all the things on this list is not  absolutely necessary for most people to practice intermittent fasting, but it's going to be a huge  help; it's going to make it easier, and of course, the better quality food you eat, the more you're  also contributing. It's another building block toward your overall health.

If you enjoyed this  video, you're going to love that one, and if you truly want to master health by understanding how  the body really works, make sure you subscribe, hit that bell, and turn on all the notifications  so you never miss a life-saving video.