How can you increase your healthspan?

In the year 1942, Albert Einstein was teaching at Oxford. One day he gave a physics exam to his senior class students. While he was walking on the campus, his assistant asked him….Dr. Einstein, this exam you just gave your class today….isn’t it the exact same exam you gave this same class, 1 year back?

Einstein said yes, they’re exactly the same questions!! Hearing this reply his assistant got confused and asked him…..Dr. Einstein how could you possibly do that?

To that, Einstein replied…..”well, the answers have changed”.

What was true back then, is even more true today. We live in a world today, where questions might be the same, but the answers have changed. If you want to get results that we never got before, we need to start doing things, we haven’t done before. There has been a common observation, that when we hit a wall of some kind, we either do more of the same things, or do less of the same things….but seldom anyone does different things instead. 1

Let’s talk numbers. United States is #1 in world when it comes to healthcare spending per capita. Based on this statistics, if we were to measure outcomes on a basic metric of lifespan…where do we stand? Are we #1, or even in the top 10. Sadly not…..we’re #50 on the list. Our healthcare system is broken, but we’re not here to debate that, as we don’t know all the answers. But what we do know is that our entire healthcare system revolves around the goal of treating the sick. We’ve become quite good at treating sickness and symptoms, which has increased overall life expectancy in the last 40 years. But is it just life expectancy or “lifespan” we’re after…..or is it healthy life expectancy or “healthspan”? 2

Aging is a fact of life and we all have to go through that, whether we like it or not. Looking at all medical advancements in treating the sick, our average lifespan is expected to increase even further in times to comes. But do we just want to live our lives, or do we want to live it well? Living a long, healthy and active life, is a measure of our healthspan.

Let me give you an example….if you and your spouse/partner live up to an age of let’s say, 90. At age 50-60, God forbid you develop some chronic disease like Type 2 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, and so on. What would your life be like, for those next 30-40 years until 90? Going in and out of doctor’s offices/hospitals, long lists of medication, frequent tests, dietary restrictions, reduction in your range of motion, and more importantly inability to live your life to the fullest. All this doesn’t come without stress and anxiety for your spouse/partner. Same goes the other way around. Medical science will definitely help you get to 90 or maybe more, but what about your quality of life? Those golden years won’t stay that golden and fun…..not only for you, but for the both of you, and your loved ones too.

While we’re living longer, we’re not living healthier. The main reason being onset of chronic diseases as we age. But the good news is that if we start early in creating a personalized health plan proactively, most of these chronic diseases could be avoided. Here’s how….

mature woman is running

A health plan doesn’t have to be complicated but it definitely needs to be simple and proactive.

• Walk or run 30 minutes daily…even better play a sport
• Eat healthy and avoid or at least minimize processed foods
• Take vitamins & supplements to supplement your diet
• Meditate 20 minutes daily to increase focus and reduce stress
• Get your routine/annual check-ups done with your health practitioner

If we are proactive about our health right from the age of 40-50 or even earlier, it’ll not just increase our lifespan, but more importantly, it will increase our healthspan.

Suviio Proactive Health’s mission is to proactively increase our healthspan, and help you live life to the fullest!!

July 7, 2016  was the day we started on our mission…..so we dedicate July 7 as “Proactive Health Day”. Please do share what are you doing to increase your healthspan?

1 Ted Talks – Paul Rulkens on why majority is always wrong

2 Ted Talks – Brian Kennedy on live healthy longer