2023-08-29 08:34:59
Physical exercise is one of the main allies to delay aging. The key? According to Dr. Peter Attia, choose practices that we can maintain throughout our lives.
President Kennedy used to say that the best time to repair a roof is when the sun is out. Similarly, we could say that the best time to worry about our hope and quality of life is when we are still healthy. Since the elixir of eternal youth does not exist and science has not yet managed to reverse the aging of our cells, we need to find a more realistic alternative that is within everyone’s reach. This consists of becoming an athlete of life, as suggested by Peter Attia, MD, author of the book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Harmony Books, whose publication It is being a best seller in the United States. To do this, we need a change in mentality, that is, understanding and approaching anti-aging from a proactive strategy, without waiting to contract a disease or be frightened by the loss of a loved one.
Preparing ourselves to become an athlete in life involves understanding and acting on our longevity. Any of us could face the “four horsemen”, which are the main causes of death and deterioration of our bodies: heart failure, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic dysfunctions or type 2 diabetes. If we know what these diseases feed on and take action, we will be better prepared to minimize their impact.
The proactive strategy needs to be grounded in concrete tactics. We can intuit the most appropriate ones, such as physical exercise, a balanced diet, a good rest routine, taking care of our emotional health and reviewing exogenous molecules, such as medications, hormones or supplements. Well, of all of them, curiously, if one had to be highlighted, the tactic that most helps us reduce aging is physical exercise. Not only does it strengthen the heart and muscles, but it improves blood circulation and our longevity. In fact, Dr. Attia provides very motivating data even for the most skeptical: going from zero minutes of physical exercise to an hour and a half a week can reduce the risk of dying from any of the “four horsemen” by 14%. In addition, sustained regular exercise gives us an average of a decade more life compared to a sedentary life.
Studies by Dr. Wendy Suzuki, a professor of neuroscience at New York University, corroborate the cognitive reinforcement that occurs in the brain with activity. Prolonged exercise over time strengthens our hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which are great allies when it comes to reducing neurological diseases.
But increasing our longevity through physical exercise does not require practicing an intense sport. What’s more, this proactive approach isn’t about cutting calories or looking to be more attractive. Instead, it means working on the three fundamental dimensions that defend us from the “four horsemen”, regardless of how old we are: endurance and aerobic efficiency, strength and stability. For example, in the case of resistance and aerobic efficiency, Attia suggests training cardio in zone 2, that is, in the one where we can have a conversation with someone while we train, but fast enough so that the conversation is somewhat tense and uncomfortable. That is, an aerobic activity classified at an easy and moderate level.
Likewise, when defining our activities, it is worth focusing on those that we would really like to continue maintaining when we are over a century old. As if we had to do a decathlon with what really interests us. José Luis Llorente, former elite athlete and co-author of the book Vitamina X (Alienta, 2019), suggests various activities adapted to personal tastes, from yoga or cross-country skiing (a sport practiced by elderly people in the Nordic countries) to dancing. In fact, an experiment conducted by German scientists showed that six months of practicing a dance program had an impact, more than just exercise, on brain volume in areas related to higher cognitive processes.
Lastly, it should be remembered that, although sport is the cornerstone of our longevity, we cannot ignore other fundamental practices: a nutrient-rich diet, restful sleep and knowing how to take care of our emotions are basic ingredients for living longer and in better health. conditions. Pilar Jericó (psychologist)
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