8 Realistic Practices to Boost Your Healthspan Despite Chronic Illness

This is the second article of a short healthspan series. Click the link for more detailed advice on how to improve or maintain quality of life as you age, even when you’re chronically ill right now.

This article contains some affiliate links to resources you may find useful, at no extra costs to you. All opinions are my own.

Have you been hearing a lot about longevity lately? With an aging population dealing with degenerative diseases, it’s no wonder that we’re trying to understand what it takes to maintain or rebuild decent health as we get older.

Thankfully, you can find lots of great books, podcasts and protocols related to longevity and healthspan, packed with cutting-edge research. But as much as I admire the work these experts put in to health promotion, most of their tips are so far off from what a chronically ill person can do – you would almost get hopeless and/or never even start to make small, doable changes.

That’s why I’ve tried to modify research-backed longevity advice to be suitable for various (low) levels of fitness, energy and health conditions, while accounting for possible limitations you might be facing.

In last week’s article, we discussed why improving your healthspan still matters when you’re sick right now. Today, we’ll get into what you can do to boost your healthspan despite chronic illness.

It’s a long read, so grab yourself a cup of tea and bookmark this post for future reference!

What can you do to increase your chances of aging well?

To be clear: The goal of this healthspan article isn’t to help you live to a 100 in great shape, but to be functioning reasonably well throughout your life. I would love for you to regain or maintain enough mobility, energy, mental clarity, emotional wellbeing and overall daily functioning to have a decent quality of life, now and into the future.

However, there are no guarantees in life. Sometimes you lead a healthy lifestyle and you’re still sick. Genetics, your physical and social environment all play a role too, but you don’t always have influence over them. And still, focusing on positive changes you can make gives you a sense of personal control and hope for the future.

This is by no means a complete guide. There are plenty more healthspan tips worth mentioning, especially as the science on longevity keeps evolving. What’s more, over the next few months, I will publish more in-depth articles on the practices mentioned below, so this post will get updated with fresh additions over time.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 8 realistic practices you can start doing now to boost your healthspan despite chronic illness. 

Resources consulted, i.a.: Outlive by dr. Peter Attia; Built to Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett; Blue Zones by Dan Buettner; The Glucose Goddess Method by Jessi Inchauspé; Perform podcast by dr. Andy Galpin.

8 Realistic Practices to Boost Your Healthspan

Disclaimer: The information provided is meant for educational purposes only. Always contact your doctor or other medical professionals when you’re dealing with health problems and/or making big lifestyle changes. 

1. Work on your functional fitness

Having strong abs or toned legs looks great and is certainly helpful to your health, but you also need to focus on lesser known elements of fitness as you age, like your balance and range of motion.

What’s more, as we get older, we gradually lose muscle mass, strength and function, making it harder to perform everyday tasks like walking, climbing stairs carrying groceries and twisting the lid off a jar. Our cardiorespiratory fitness also decreases with age, but that turns out to be an important marker for vitality and longevity.

Although you cannot avoid this natural decline, science suggests that improving your baseline of aerobic capacity and muscle mass can put you in a better starting position and help prevent age-related health issues. The question is, how do you support your functional fitness for everyday living when you’re chronically ill right now? 

According to longevity research, it helps to focus on 3 areas of fitness: your stability, your muscle mass and your VO2 max.

a. Improve Your Stability

You’re probably aware that falls are a huge risk over the age of 60, as an all-too-common cause of injury and death in seniors, due to age-related changes in eye sight, balance, muscle weakness and cognitive decline.

And just as important, working on your balance and stability improves your ability to perform daily activities and may even reduce symptoms.

In the highly-recommended book Built to Move, Kelly and Juliet Starrett describe 10 easy-to-adapt mobilizations to help you move freely, no matter your current fitness level. But here are some functional ideas to start with:

• Improve your balance by standing on one leg as you brush your teeth each morning and evening. You could also practice the ‘Old Man Balance Test’, where you try to put your shoes on while balance on one foot.
• Train how to safely get up and down from the floor unassisted. This sit-and-rise challenge is a surprising indicator of longevity. But no worries if you’re not able to perform this movement yet, because these 5 natural movements will help you rebuild your ability to get up from the ground easily.
• Consider taking a fall training by a physical therapist or other qualified medical worker if your chronic illness makes you prone to falling.

b. Maintain Muscle Mass

Starting in your 30’s and 40’s, you lose 3 to 8% of muscle mass per decade. And this process of sarcopenia even speeds up after you hit the age of 60, contributing majorly to disability in elderly people.

A loss of muscle mass, strength and function leads to overall weakness, being more prone to injury and falls, and having difficulties with climbing the stairs, walking without help and even getting up from a chair.

Sadly, physical inactivity contributes to sarcopenia, which is why many chronic illnesses could accelerate the decrease of muscle mass and strength.

So is there anything you can do to maintain muscle mass when you have to spend a lot of time resting? I’m planning to write an extensive article on this topic, but here are some important points for now:

• Eat 15 to 30 grams of good quality protein with each meal. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue, so include some eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fatty fish, lean cuts of meat, soy, nuts, legumes or quinoa with your breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Make sure you get enough vitamin D from your food, safe exposure to the sun or supplements. Studies show that having low levels of vitamin D greatly increase your risk of loss of muscle strength.
• Experiment with gentle ways to do resistance training, preferably 2 to 4 times a week. Resistance training is not just strength training with weights, but also consists of using resistance bands and any movement of your body against gravity, like planks and squats. Depending on your health and fitness levels, you could try sit-to-stand exercises from a stable chair, do a standing push-up against the wall, practice downward dog, do seated strength training or walk with some weight in your backpack. Everyday activities like shoveling snow, digging in the garden, carrying your groceries home and climbing the stairs also totally count to increase your muscle strength and boost your sense of independence!

c. Boost Your VO2 Max

VO2 max measures your body’s capacity to take up and use oxygen during physical activity, and it’s not just a sign of your cardiorespiratory fitness, but also a metric for longevity. As you get older, your VO2 max inevitably declines, no matter how active you are, but higher aerobic fitness levels usually result in a better quality of life.

The most effective way to improve your VO2 max is by doing vigorous workouts and interval training, but that’s not always an option when you’re living with chronic illness.

So if you’re currently (very) out of shape, the first step to boosting your VO2 max and healthspan is to (re)build a (wide) aerobic base. Start with walking consistently and gradually work your way up to 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day. Get back into cycling if you enjoy that or try swimming for a low-impact but full-body workout. A physical therapist or qualified personal trainer could help you create a realistic plan to slowly improve your cardiorespiratory fitness.

But if that all sounds too daunting right now, taking small steps like dancing to one song each day can also lead to significant improvements over time if you keep moving forward.

Click here for more advice on how to overcome obstacles to exercising with chronic illness, learn how you can easily add tiny bursts of activity to your day with exercise snacks and discover 25 exciting ways to get more daily steps in.

2. Manage your blood sugar levels

When you eat, your body breaks down the sugar in your food to glucose. Next, your pancreas produces a hormone called insulin to allow glucose to enter your body cells, so it can be used as energy or stored for later use.

But due to being overweight, lack of physical activity and other medical problems, your muscle, fat and liver cells may no longer respond as effectively to insulin as they should, and consequently can’t efficiently take up glucose anymore.

Research shows that this insulin resistance is an important underlying factor in developing diabetes type 2, other metabolic diseases, cardiovascular problems and even Alzheimer. Insulin resistance seems to precede the onset of these chronic diseases by 10 years, which means we can take action now to set ourselves up for better health in the future.

Eating sweetened, high-carbohydrate foods will cause your blood sugar levels to rise and fall quickly. These glucose spikes put extra stress on your pancreas to produce insulin, and if that happens too regularly, it puts you at risk for insulin resistance.

So one powerful way to boost your healthspan is to manage your blood sugar levels better. You can find detailed advice in The Glucose Goddess Method by Jessi Inchauspé, but here are some doable tips to get you started:

• Cut down on sugary drinks. Soda, fruit juices and highly sweetened coffees are the biggest sources of sugar intake in the United States. And yet drinking one can of soda every day will already increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes with 26%! So gradually replace your sugary drinks with (infused) water, vegetable juice, (herbal) tea and plain coffee.
• Swap white bread, pasta and rice for wholegrain versions or low-carb alternatives. Whole grains contain more fibers, which slows down the absorption of the food, preventing blood sugar spikes. So next time you empty a box of pasta, rice or cereals, see if you can buy a wholegrain variety made from spelt, buckwheat, oats or wild rice instead. You could even consider vegetable versions like zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice or pumpkin lasagna.
• Have a savory breakfast. That way, you start your day with stable glucose levels, which will reduce your sweet cravings later. Check out these savory yogurt bowls, healthy egg dishes and other hearty breakfasts to get your started.
• Combine eating carbs with healthy fats and protein. Fibers, protein and fats delay the digestion of carbohydrates. By having peanut butter on your toast, yogurt with your fruit or a green salad before your pasta, you end up with lower glucose spikes. That’s why according to Jessi Inchauspé, it’s better to indulge yourself with a dessert (after a nourishing meal) than to have a sweet treat as a stand-alone snack.
• Stretch your legs after your meal. Studies show that even a 5-min walk right after your breakfast, lunch and dinner has a measurable effect on your blood sugar levels. That’s because muscle activity requires glucose to be dissolved from the blood to be used as energy. So if you’re able, go for a short stroll around the block each day, or find other gentle ways (like standing) to break up sitting down after meals.

You can start improving your healthspan today by implementing one small lifestyle change that will help you manage your blood sugar levels better.

Read more in Curb Your Cravings: 6 Steps to Resisting Sweet Temptations or get inspired by 32 Sweet Recipes to Reduce Your Refined Sugar Intake.

3. Keep your mind sharp

As we get older, our brains naturally change: some parts shrink in size, communication between neurons can become less effective and the brain seems to release less neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin with age. As a result, older people may have trouble finding the right words or remembering someone’s name, need more time to learn new things and find it harder to multitask.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to slow down brain aging.

To get all the nutrients and oxygen that your brain cells needs to function well, your brain requires good blood circulation and healthy arteries. So in order to keep your mind sharp, it’s important to maintain healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, and these healthspan practices can help you do that:

• Don’t smoke and limit your alcohol consumption. Both behaviors hurt your brain health, so try to break these unhealthy habits with the tips under point #4.
• Eat healthily. Promising research suggests that the MIND diet, rich in wholegrains, vegetables, nuts, beans, berries, poultry and fish, and limited intake of red meat, unhealthy fats and sugar – can have a protective effect on the aging brain, although more research is needed. You can see how you can start eating more unprocessed foods this week under point #5.
• Move your body regularly. Gentle exercise supports good blood flow, improves your cholesterol and blood glucose levels, triggers the development of new nerve cells and build connections between brain cells. Check out how you could still work on your functional fitness despite the limitations of chronic illness under point #1.
• Prioritize sleep. During your sleep, your brain processes information and cleans up plaque-forming toxins related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Sadly, catching enough zzz’s isn’t always easy when pain keeps you up at night, so head over to point #7 for some illness-proof sleep advice.

What’s more, you can boost your brain health by challenging yourself with mental activities, even if your body needs to rest:

• Play an instrument. Whether you love playing guitar or the piano, making music improves your cognitive functioning throughout your life, and protects against cognitive decline as you age. Not able to play an instrument? Actively listening to music and singing (especially in a group) support your brain health too.
• Learn a new language. Did you know that people who speak two languages are less likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia? That’s because being bilingual contributes to your cognitive reserve – the more mental abilities you build up over the course of your life, the better you can adapt to age-related brain changes. So if you’re mentally up for it, download a free language app, or try to freshen up the French/Spanish/German lessons you used to take by listening to songs in that language and watching subtitled movies.
• Bring out the board games. Engaging your mind with chess, Mahjong or card games is linked to better cognitive functioning in children to seniors. The effects seem to be even stronger if you socialize by playing against others, but enjoying yourself with solo games work too, as do crossword puzzles and sudoku.

But what if you’re dealing with brain fog, poor memory or low attention span right now? Chronic illness itself, medications, pain and insomnia can all have a negative impact on your brain functioning. Obviously, you should treat the underlying cause of your cognitive problems when possible, but if that’s not an option, take a look at how you can best deal with brain fog, rebuild your attention span and get back into reading long-form texts.

4. Break unhealthy habits

Of course you know that smoking, doing drugs and drinking too much alcohol aren’t good for you. In fact, drinking more than one glass of alcohol a day is linked to a shorter lifespan, while one study showed that every cigarette a man smokes reduces their life by 11 minutes.

That’s because both behaviors increase your chances of developing cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure and strokes, cancer and other serious health problems like liver disease or COPD.

But that knowledge unfortunately doesn’t make it easier to break these unhealthy habits. Aside from being physically additive, lighting a cigarette, pouring yourself another drink or popping a pill also fills emotional needs. It doesn’t matter if you’re just bored and frustrated or trying to cope with serious stress or hidden trauma, it’ll be hard to overcome addictive behaviors unless you identify the root cause and try to deal with those difficult emotions in a more constructive way.

If you’re struggling with alcohol abuse or drug addiction, talk to you doctor or counselor first to come up with a plan to handle withdrawal symptoms safely. You’ll also need practical and emotional support from friends and family to get through this process. Don’t be ashamed to contact healthcare providers or doing group meetings like the AA or NA.

Even if you just want to stop smoking or quit drinking wine on the weekends, reach out to loved ones for help and get health advice from trusted sources to make it easier to break unhealthy habits.

Changing your lifestyle and having to face difficult emotions or even trauma will be hard, but remember that a better – and probably longer – life is waiting for you.

Don’t know where to start? This is The #1 Question to Ask Yourself to Break Bad Habits. 

5. Eat mostly unprocessed foods

At the Health Sessions, we don’t advocate for a specific diet. Every body is different, we all have different food preferences as well as cultural backgrounds. But even vegan, keto and Mediterranean food patterns all have something in common: they’re based around mostly unprocessed foods.

It’s no hard to see why. Eating more foods in their natural state, like fresh produce, cuts of meat and fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, provides you with the nutrients your body needs to function well. Also, centering your meals around unprocessed ingredients will usually automatically limit your intake of additives, transfats, too much salt and sugar.

So what exactly counts as ‘unprocessed foods’? That depends on your strictness – technically butter, bread and canned fish have all been slightly altered from their natural state, although they can all be part of a healthy diet. These simple food rules from Michael Pollan can serve as a helpful guideline:

“Avoid food products with more than 5 ingredients and/or containing ingredients that a third-grader can’t pronounce.”

The idea is to limit your intake of ultra-processed foods, like deli meats, sausages, potato chips, cookies, instant soups, fried foods, containing too much preservatives, (artificial) sweeteners, sodium, and unhealthy fats. A higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an increasing risk of heart disease, cancer, poor mental health and overall mortality, according to a world-wide review study.

That doesn’t mean you should never have French fries, donuts or instant noodles again, of course. Life is all about balance, and sometimes a sweet treat to celebrate or a microwave dinner when you’re exhausted is just what you need.

But how can you eat more unprocessed foods when you have little energy to make healthy meals?

• Master a few go-to healthy recipes, that you can easily tweak flavor-wise. Think of overnight oats with seasonal fruits and nut butters for breakfast; an omelet with spinach, peas or mushrooms for lunch; one simple tomato soup you can eat 3 ways, or a stir fry with a rotation of different proteins, veggies and spices for dinner.
• Use low-effort cooking methods. Are you often struggling with fatigue, pain or limited mobility around meal times? Invest in a slow cooker or Instant Pot to make dinner prep easier, or let your oven do most of the work for you with sheet pan meals.
• Simplify snacks. I love wholesome banana bread and raw energy bites as much as the next person, but when you’re low on energy and time, just keep it simple. Have whole fruits and nuts, a boiled egg, carrots dipped in hummus, or a cup of plain, unsweetened yoghurt topped with some berries if you wish. Snacks don’t have to be home-baked to be good.

Get more tips at How to Effortlessly Make a Healthy Dinner When You’re Tired, try one of these 25 recovery-boosting recipes to support the healing process or browse the healthy eating archives for helpful strategies. 

6. Reduce chronic inflammation in the body

Inflammation is the natural response from your immune system to heal injuries and infections. But when this acute protective reaction persists unchecked long after the threat to your health occurred, it turns into a chronic inflammation that actually hurts your health. You could experience joint pain and aching muscles, skin problems, headaches, digestive issues or unexplained fatigue.

Low-grade chronic inflammation doesn’t just speed up the aging process, it also plays a big part in health conditions like autoimmune diseases (arthritis, lupus, MS, ulcerative colitis, Hashimoto’s), heart problems, Alzheimer’s, cancer and type-2 diabetes.

What can you do to reduce this invisible chronic inflammation in your body to boost your healthspan? 

• Limit your exposure to harmful substances, like air pollutants, chemicals and molds, as well as tobacco and too much alcohol.
• Move your body regularly. Studies show that 20 minutes of moderate activity throughout the day can help reduce inflammation in your body. That can be tough when you’re chronically ill, I know, but hopefully the functional fitness tips above (pain #1) will move you in the right direction, one step at a time.
• Consider adopting an anti-inflammatory diet if you struggle with related health problems. That involves consuming less sugar and ultra-processed foods (see point #2 and #5), less red meat but more omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish, walnuts and chia seeds, and more fresh fruits and vegetables. You can find more details in this online guide from dr. Andrew Weil. What’s more, you could also support your gut health and consequently your immunity by adding fermented foods to your meals.
• Get enough sleep. Again, not always easy when you lie awake with pain and worries, but a pattern of sleep loss is linked to higher levels of inflammation markers in your blood. Read on for tried-and-tested advice on how to get more high-quality rest with chronic illness under point #7.

Another important contributor to chronic inflammation is stress. When you’re stuck in fight-or-flight mode, your body doesn’t have enough resources left to also properly digest your food and fight off a virus. That’s probably how over time chronic stress builds up to low-grade chronic inflammation.

The problem is that living with Graves’ disease, ME/CFS or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is not exactly a walk in the park. You’re dealing with symptoms on a daily basis, including the emotional rollercoaster that comes with that, and you probably have to push yourself to your limits regularly to get simple, everyday things done.

In this case, how do you manage your stress levels well to reduce chronic inflammation?

• Reframe stressful events when possible. Don’t stick your head in the sand or turn to toxic positivity, but psychological tricks like seeing problems as challenges can lessen the negative impact of stress on your health.
• Find healthy ways to deal with emotional stress. Express your feelings with art therapy, go for a stroll to clear your head or sing along to your favorite songs.
• Relieve tension from your body by practicing gentle yoga, breathing exercises or soak away the stress in a warm bath.
• Avoid going over and over your problems in your mind. Stop overthinking with these strategies and try to let go of unhelpful thoughts if you keep feeling down.
• Experiment with practical strategies to reduce overwhelm and chronic illness overload.

Have a look at 11 emotion-focused ways to better deal with uncontrollable stress – the kind you can’t escape or ignore. 

7. Prioritize rest for your body and mind

You already read it above: no matter if you want to support your overall fitness, keep your mind sharp, reduce inflammation or stick to healthier eating habits, you need to get enough restful sleep.

Because while you’re asleep, your body performs countless of restorative actions, from repairing tissue to flushing out toxins. So if you don’t get enough shut-eye to allow these healing processes to do their job, over time your blood pressure rises, your blood glucose levels go up, you disrupt your hormones leading to food cravings and weight gain, and your brain functioning diminishes.

Sleeping well can literally add years to your life, but that’s easier said than done when pain and problems keep you up each night. How do you avoid tossing and turning and staring up at the ceiling and get enough rest when you’re chronically ill? There are no magical solutions, but these sleep strategies can help you boost your health span:

• Catch natural light during the day. Especially exposing yourself to the early morning daylight helps to reset your biological clock and improve your sleep at night.
• Reconsider naps. Taking a nap can be helpful and even a necessity when you’re living with chronic illness. Just make sure you time your nap before 3pm and keep it short enough to prevent nighttime sleep problems.
• Get real rest. Yes, it’s boring, frustrating and annoying when your health forces you to rest often. So you might as well figure out how to make the most of those rest moments with activities that really calm your nervous system (hint: scrolling on your phone isn’t it). You also want to avoid sensory overload and mental overstimulation before bedtime, to make it easier to fall asleep.
• Try to deal with difficult emotions during the day, so you don’t end up staring at the ceiling at night, overthinking your problems. See point #6 for tips and links. You could also consider scheduling a ‘worry session‘ in the evening to clear your head before bedtime.
• Create a relaxing routine to help you wind down at night and signal to your brain that it’s time to prepare for bed. It doesn’t matter if it’s sipping some chamomile tea, keeping a gratitude journal or taking a warm bath, as long as it helps to releases tension from your body and/or quiet your racing mind.
• Make sure your bedtime basics are covered. If possible, keep your bedroom cool and dark to promote sleep, and invest in a comfortable mattress and pillow if you can. Avoid physical and mental stimulation in the evening – caffein, alcohol, heated discussions or scary movies – if you struggle with falling a sleep.
• Explore *your* best way to deal with ‘painsomnia‘. Chronic pain can leave you tossing and turning all night, so see if you can fine-tune your pain medication, use mental techniques to cope with the pain and what things you can do best when you can’t sleep with the advice in this painsomnia guide.

Here’s why chilling isn’t the same as real rest, and 12 practices that do activate your body’s natural relaxation response. Plus, try these 9 relaxing routines to wind down at night and 5 helpful sleeping positions for chronic back pain. 

8. Foster community

When examining the habits of the longest-living people in the world, Blue Zones author Dan Buettner found a surprising element they all had in common: a close community.

Research shows that having strong and secure relationships not only makes you feel happier, but actually helps you live longer. This positive effect on mortality is comparable to or even stronger than well-known risk factors like (not) smoking, physical (in)activity and (not) having obesity.

That’s because social connections provide emotional and practical support, improving your ability to handle stress, anxiety and feelings of depression. A simple smile from a friend can trigger the release of stress-relieving neurochemicals. What’s more, your family and friends influence your health behaviors more than you might think, for better or for worse.

Social isolation and loneliness, on the other hand, hurt your health in several ways. Sadly, a growing number of teens, adults and elderly feel alone, without close friends or simply missing a sense of belonging. And living with a chronic illness can definitely make it harder to connect with the people in your life, both practically and emotionally.

How can you still foster social connections and a sense of community when you’re chronically ill? It can be hard to do when you’re mostly housebound or struggling with a rollercoaster of emotions, but here are some things that might help:

• Reach out to the people who are already in your life. That’s not always easy when you’ve been hurt or let down, but see if you can slowly rekindle friendships and strengthen family ties by giving your cousin a call, texting that old friend or chatting with your next-door neighbor.
• Don’t overlook short everyday interactions. It turns out that having casual conversations with the barista at your local coffeeshop, the neighbor down the street or even a stranger in the waiting room has a surprisingly positive impact on your mood and overall mental health. Time to dust off your smalltalk skills!
• Join a group or a shared experience if you’re able. Go to places where people gather and easily connect, like in church, but you could also watch a big game in a sports bar or go to a local festival for a fun group experience, even if you went there on your own. In too much pain to leave your home? Join an (online) book club, host a movie-watching party from the comfort of your own homes or have a virtual coffee date.
• Try to lessen your emotional loneliness. Sadly, you can be in a room full of people and still feel alone, like nobody understands what you’re going through. If that’s you, connecting with others in similar situations via (online) patient support groups or online communities can help you feel a little less lonely.

Learn more how you can mobilize your support system and make new friends despite chronic illness. 

How to Start Boosting Your Healthspan

This guide is packed with actionable advice to boost your healthspan, but the amount of tips can also be overwhelming and make it seem like a daunting goal that’s almost impossible to achieve, especially when you’re chronically ill.

But there’s no reason to be intimidated or feel discouraged, because you don’t have to do it all or all at once to see improvements. Just start small, by choosing one doable lifestyle change that could have a significant impact on your overall wellbeing.

What that is depends on your unique situation. Maybe you’re desperate for more restful sleep, which over time leads to less sugar cravings and more energy to work on your functional fitness. Or perhaps calling a friend once a week helps feel more connected and less stressed, resulting in a better mood and reduced inflammation in your body.

Even the tiniest improvements can eventually add up to a significant better quality of life.

Which small change will you start making this week to support your wellbeing and boost your healthspan?

For much more detailed advice on longevity, check out Outlive by dr. Peter Attia; Blue Zones by Dan Buettner; and Young Forever by dr. Mark Hyman.

You can read more tips to boost your healthspan, now and into the future, in The Glucose Goddess Method by Jessi Inchauspé; and Built to Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett.