The Secret to Live to 90 and Still Be Healthy
It’s simple too, I couldn’t believe it!
“He’s ninety years old, and he tells me that he still swims in his pool every day”
Those were my barber’s words when I got my haircut a few days ago.
Despite me being 17 and being in great shape, I have always been afraid of getting older. Not because of the age, but rather due to seeing the older gentlemen and ladies in my life do less and less because of the relation between their age to a decline in cognitive and physical ability. They can’t lift something because they’ll hurt their back, or have to go up and down the stairs slowly since they could hurt themselves. Furthermore, with cognitive ability on the decline as even remembering a simple name can be hard, who isn’t afraid of getting older?
When getting my haircut two days ago, my barber Sam and I were talking about taking care of our hair, which then turned into overall health and exercise. He eventually told me about a client he had seen earlier in the day: a gentleman who was ninety years old, looked great, still had hair, could still swim and go for runs, and most importantly was happy. He told me about his eating as well, which made me curious. I have never seen let alone heard of someone of an older age being this happy and healthy. Was he just lucky?
The answer is no. If you have read my other articles, you can probably tell that even as a teenager I’m sick and tired of this modern world filled with overconsumption. Specifically, on the internet and even on television you’ll find hundreds of advertisements talking about “a pill that will make you instantly healthy”, “a diet that will make you skinny”, or even “an exercise machine that will get you fit by even sitting on your couch”. As humans, we are constantly lazy and want to take the easy way out, myself included. However, you will never be healthy from taking one pill that doesn’t do much and probably isn’t FDA-regulated (it’s got tracings of lead in it). You won’t be fit by switching from fad diet to fad diet and certainly not as well by moving your feet on some $24.95 plastic machine you saw on a TV commercial while you sit on your couch. If you want to see results, you need to put in the effort.
So what do you need to do to live a long, happy, and healthy life? After my appointment, I did some research and what I found was intriguing and instilled me with hope. However, before I tell you the facts, here’s a list of things not to do if you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life.
- Don’t do drugs
- Don’t drink or at least limit your alcohol consumption
- Don’t drop out of high school (I understand though that not everyone lives an easy life and may have to drop out. If that’s the case, at least try to get your GED. If your life is fine, finish high school)
- Don’t do anything illegal
- Don’t be inside all day every day
- Don’t ignore safety precautions
- Don’t ignore mental health and overall health conditions/concerns
Okay, cool. Now that we have that discussed, let’s get into why you’re here.
How to Live a Happy and Healthy Life
From my research, there are three main things you have to do to be in great health, even by the age of ninety. Those three things are to eat healthily, exercise regularly, and get quality sleep. Yes, I’m that serious, it’s that easy. From now on, long gone are the days of trying to find certain products that’ll make you healthier, because truth to tell, the things that the world will try to sell you and make you buy most of the time won’t help you. You will consistently be in great health by achieving and maintaining these three things. I will also at the end present a list of a few extra things to do that can aid your health. So, let’s dive deeper.
Eat Healthy
When eating food, there are two main things you need to remember. The first is to eat foods high in probiotics and foods high in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. This can be any food that has these qualities. It’s important to eat foods with probiotics as they help rebalance your gut. Your gut health is a big sign if you are in good health or not as the gut digests food, is a large part of your immune system, plays a role in mental health, and influences metabolism and weight. Furthermore, consuming foods high in nutrients helps the brain, skin, and heart as nutrients supply your body with fuel and help you function confidently. To help, here is a list of some foods high in nutrients and probiotics that I enjoy.
High in Probiotics
- Yogurt
- Pickles
- Kefir milk
- Cheese (Some have more than others. Two ones that are high in probiotics are Swiss and Gouda, but there are many more)
- Fruit and vegetable smoothies
- Kombucha tea
- Cucumbers
- Tofu
- Onions
- Bananas
- Garlic
- Apples
- Soy milk
- Dark chocolate
- Tempeh (Actually try this one if you haven’t. Don’t knock it down, it’s pretty good)
High in Nutrients
- Green tea
- Walnuts
- Flaxseeds
- Bananas
- Nut butter
- Almonds
- Avocado
- Salmon
- Sweet potato fries
- Spinach
- Raspberries
- Pistachios
- Oatmeal
- Asparagus
- Eggs (GOD I LOVE EGGS!)
- Watermelon
- Oranges
While those are just a few, I encourage you to research others as there are many more foods under these categories.
Exercise Regularly
A lot of people know exercise is good for you, but they do not truly know why. One of the things I found during my research is that consistent exercise can help offset the brain’s natural mental decline. Around people’s mid-twenties is when a majority of people stop growing, and shortly after, the brain slowly ebbs in cognitive function. Exercise offsets it. Furthermore, exercising protects bone tissue and reduces the rate of bone loss, proving that it can help with bone health which impacts your ability to yes, walk up and down stairs and lift things. I’m sure you are starting to see now why that ninety-year-old man is still in such good shape.
However, going for a slow walk for a couple of minutes a day won’t help. Even if you have to start slow, it’s important that to get the most out of these health benefits, you must “aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day” (Laskowski para. 8). This includes so many types of activities that are all good for you and fun! It doesn’t matter if it’s bike riding, running, rock climbing, etc. While you may already have one in mind, if you are struggling, here’s a list of many that I think you will enjoy at least one of.
Exercises
- Weightlifting
- Running
- Bike riding
- Rock climbing
- Swimming
- Hiking
- Pilates
- Sports (Basketball, football, soccer, and more)
Get High-Quality Sleep
I feel like people, at least in my life, underestimate sleep. While many people I know can survive on 5–6 hours of sleep, personally, if I don’t get at least 8 I’m a walking zombie all day. While 5–6 hours is fine, 8 or more hours of sleep a day truly does wonders for you and your body. And looking at the facts of getting 8+ hours of sleep, it’s practically a superpower. Sleep helps to…
- Support your immune system
- Repair your brain
- Consolidate memories
- Process information
- Make you think more clearly
- Lower your risk for various but serious health problems
- Make better decisions
- Maintain a healthy weight
Extras
While these aren’t as directly important as the main three things I previously listed, I still thought I would bring up these two points. That is taking collagen and meditating. Meditation is the one I am 100% confident is good for you. I encourage you to do your own research on it and how to do it, as the idea of meditating has been misconstrued as it got more popularized. However, while I don’t have a source, meditating personally helps me feel less stressed and almost in a way “resets my brain”. The second thing is taking the supplement collagen. While I haven’t tried it myself I wouldn’t personally recommend taking it until you are at least 30 years old as the body produces it fine until around then when it starts to decline. Collagen helps support bone strength and density while preventing wrinkles in the skin and overall skin health, as well as many other benefits. Before taking collagen or any supplement for that matter, please check with a doctor for side effects and for possible dangers or allergies.
Final Notes
While life can throw curveballs, and seemingly always does when you least expect it, by consistently doing these things listed above it is sufficient to say that overall you will have a happier, healthier, and longer life. I know that this doesn’t count for diseases or mental health issues, but I made this article to give a few good rules of thumb for people to follow if they want to improve their lives and live happier. I hope this article helped you, and if it did, please consider clapping it or following my page. Thank you as always for reading, good luck!