A Strategy for Healthy Longevity

Drawing on insights from the discussion between Dr. Jordan Peterson and Dr. Peter Attia , an overall strategy for maximizing healthspan and longevity emerges. While genetics play a role, simple lifestyle choices allow us to radically reduce disease risk.

The three pillars of the longevity strategy are:

1. Exercise: Make regular exercise non-negotiable, even starting with just brief, daily walks. Building up to aerobic conditioning, strength training, and mobility work helps delay physical and cognitive decline.
2. Diet: Emphasize whole, unprocessed foods over refined carbs and added sugars which drive obesity, diabetes, and cancer risk. Consider intermittent fasting and ketogenic approaches for metabolic health.
3. Purpose: Discover a sense of meaning and contribution. Develop relationships and community. Reflect on motivations for self-care.

Additional keys to integrate:

• Stay cognitively and socially active to build resilience against Alzheimer’s and dementia.
• Prioritize sleep, stress management, and mental health support. Manage psychological trauma.
• Undergo regular screenings for early cancer detection, starting earlier than guidelines suggest.
• Maintain perspective: avoid hyperbolic discounting of the future. Think in decades not days.

No single factor confers longevity. But using lifestyle as daily preventive medicine allows us to stack the odds in our favor. By making small, positive changes one day at a time, we can add healthful years to our lives.

Watch the interview here: