Increasing Your Healthspan

 

While it’s considered a wonderful blessing to have a long lifespan, what we really should be hoping and working for is a long healthspan. If you don’t know what healthspan means you aren’t alone. What is healthspan?

“Healthspan” can be defined as the period of one’s life that one is healthy. However, being “healthy” means different things to different people. A better definition might include being free from serious disease or impairment. A disease is considered to be serious if it is a leading cause of death 

We should all be focused on extending the well period of our life.  If one is past their healthspan, it means while we are still alive we are chronically sick, often with a degenerating condition and diminished enjoyment of life.

With the average lifespan at 79.3 years in the US many of us will live up to 20% of our lives unhealthy. Needless to say, that is a long time.

Most of the factors we measure in this healthy living competition will aid us in having a long health span: progressing toward a healthy weight, eating a large amount and variety of fruit and vegetables, drinking lots of clean water, exercising daily etc. I want to challenge you to continue these habits even when we aren't currently participating in a competition. 

Two other things can be key in promoting a long health span in our lives. 

1. Obtaining regular feedback about our health condition (regular doctor visits including blood work- please ASK to check Vitamin D levels, and needed medical tests including mammograms, Pap smears, colonoscopies, decascans etc. )

2. Continuing to seek new information about how to best safeguard our wellness

I'm going to give you a double challenge this week and as always please contact me directly if I need to amend this challenge for you.

1. If you are in need of an annual check up or medical test SCHEDULE IT.

2. Become a continued learner about your personal health. This week either listen to a health related podcast or read a health related blog or chapter in a health related book 

I recommend:

Podcasts

The Doctor's Pharmacy

Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey

Learn True Health

Found My Fitness 

Veggie Doctor Radio

Nutrition Diva

Blog posts:

Eating Bird Food

The Art of Healthy Living

Nutrition Stripped

Myfitnesspal.com (Did you know they have oodles of informative blog posts here?) 

Books:

The Microbiome Solution

Intuitive Eating (recommended by my dietician daughter)

How Not to Die

How Not to Diet

Lifespan Why We Age And Why We Don't Have To

Food Rules

The Blue Zones Solution

Fiber Fueled 

*I would love it if you would share with me any healthy living podcasts, books or blogs you enjoy reading!