We all want to live for as long as we possibly can, but a body that will take your right into your 80s or 90s must be built.
A nutritionist has revealed the most important age period, when you can add years onto your life with just a few simple changes.
Age you have ‘maximum power’
During an episode of the ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast, Dr. Federica Amati said that our mid-20s to mid-30s is when we have what she calls “maximum power” to “build the body we want to take into the future”.
This decade-long period is a “window of opportunity in adulthood to really make a difference to your future health”.
She explained it’s a time when you can most easily build muscle, your metabolism is still really flexible and your cognitive skills have been sharpened. It’s also the age when cardiovascular disease, the number one killer worldwide, beings to form.
The nutritionist said that if you’re in your late 20s, early 30s or even mid-30s and have a vision of being able to walk up and down the high street and carry your groceries home at 85, you have to be active in your 30s.
This includes being physically active, maintaining your strength and making sure that you’re feeding yourself with foods that support long-term health, which will all ensure you are “spritely” in your later years.
4 things you can do in your 20s and 30s
Amati recommened doing these four things in your 20s and 30s to add years onto your life:
- Good diet
- Reduce alcohol
- No smoking
- Physical movement
These are the “four pillars” to make sure that we live a longer and healthier life.
She advised focusing on a plant-based diet with plenty of polyphenols, the micronutrients that naturally occur in plants, which are “protective” against the damage that can be done to our blood vessels.
It’s also a time to lower harmful habits, including reducing alcohol consumption and quitting smoking. The nutritionist described smoking as the “quickest way” to take lots of years off your life.
Good nutrition is important in keeping people healthy throughout their lives, can help you live longer and lower your risk of health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, MedlinePlus explains.
This means regularly choosing healthy foods and beverages that give your body the energy and nutrients that you need every day including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Less healthy foods should be eaten in moderation.
They advise healthy US adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, or a combination of the two. This should be spread across the week.
You should also do strengthening activities twice per week, such as lifting weights, working with exercise bands, and doing sit-ups and pushups, which work all the different parts of the body.
Dr. Federica Amati is a medical scientist and nutritionist with over 10 years of experience in scientific research and communication.
