Longevity: How to Reduce the Risk of Lifestyle Diseases and Live Longer?

If you watch the evening news or read news online, you’ll probably agree that we see practically the same scenario every day. Whether it’s tragic highway accidents, violent criminal cases, fires, floods, or war conflicts. These events often dominate headlines and prime-time broadcasting. Many of us thus get the feeling that if we want to live longer, we should crawl under the bed and avoid everything waiting in the world out there. But did you know that most people don’t die because of these dramatic events?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), people worldwide mainly die from silent and slow lifestyle diseases:

⛔️in 2021 alone, non-communicable and lifestyle diseases claimed over 43 million lives, which is 75% of deaths worldwide ^[3]

⛔️cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for nearly 20 million lives annually. For comparison, this is similar to the number of deaths caused by World War I, which lasted 4 years and was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. ^[1,4]

⛔️cancer takes approximately 10 million lives annually ^[2]

Based on this data, it can be said that our biggest enemy is the silent epidemic of heart diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and chronic lung diseases. The good news is that today’s era brings a decent set of measures and options, through which we can significantly reduce the risk of premature death from the above-mentioned causes. The answer is longevity. If you want to live longer, better, and in good health, and you’re ready to take action for this journey, you’re in the right place!

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So What Does it Mean to “Take Care of Yourself”?

From a longevity perspective, taking care of our health doesn’t mean selling your apartment and moving into a gym, counting every leaf of vegetable salad, chewing kale instead of gum, or running away from pizza as if it were a demon from hell itself. Longevity isn’t about perfection, but about how well we manage risk.

Most of the deaths mentioned above are preventable. Taking care of yourself means actively intervening in processes that are proven to kill us. Therefore, we should understand that our healthspan (length of healthy life) and lifespan (total length of life) are directly influenced by measurable indicators of our health. Health isn’t an abstract concept. It’s represented by a set of key indicators (biomarkers) that determine our fate. So, which indicators of your body should you monitor? ^[5]

• ❤️Cardiovascular health: blood pressure, “bad” LDL cholesterol, “good” HDL cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats), heart rate and rhythm.
• 🔋Metabolic health: blood sugar levels (glycaemia), insulin sensitivity, and visceral (intra-abdominal) fat.
• 💪Body composition: percentage of fat and muscle in the body, BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), which are indicators of metabolic syndrome, a kind of combination of risk factors.

In summary, if you’re around 30, have obesity, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and your plate primarily consists of junk foods, your prospect for a long and healthy life dramatically decreases. The good news is that you can still influence all of this, and longevity is the tool to do it.

The mentioned indicators are directly influenced by the following 5 pillars. Striving to respect them can determine whether you’ll be an active cyclist at 70, like your neighbour’s father, who enjoys life despite his advanced age, or your almost daily program will be a pill dispenser, tours to doctors, and complaining about back pain. If at all.

5 Basic Pillars of Longevity

Here are 5 lifestyle areas that have the greatest impact on your risk factors and length of healthy life.

1. Move, Because Humans Aren’t Trees (Movement)

A sedentary lifestyle is the new form of smoking in today’s age. Our body is naturally designed for movement, and if we don’t have it, it naturally deteriorates, similar to a car that mostly sits in a garage.

Why Move?

Excessive sitting throughout the day is directly linked to a significantly higher risk of ^[19]:

❤️heart diseases

✝️cancer and overall mortality

🔋metabolic disorders (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia)

🦴musculoskeletal disorders (joint pain, bone loss, muscle loss)

😞depression

🧠cognitive disorders

Exercise is the most effective known way to increase insulin sensitivity. Muscles learn to take up glucose directly from blood (even without insulin presence), which immediately reduces blood sugar levels. At the same time, it relieves the pancreas, as the utilised muscles have done part of its work. This entire mechanism then serves as a key prevention against the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.^{[6 – 7]}

Goal

🏁At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of high-intensity activity weekly. That’s 22 minutes of movement daily or 30 minutes 5 days a week. This is, of course, just the necessary minimum. Ideally, combine strength training with endurance training and engage in activities you enjoy. This is exactly how you’ll achieve the best progress in this area. The article can help you with this How to Start Exercising at Home and Stick with It? Simple Tips to Help You^[11]

What Do I Gain from Movement?

⬆️ better mood, better cognitive functions (memory, concentration, attention), positive impact on the immune system, improved sleep quality, better blood sugar levels, positive effect on relaxation, better flexibility and balance, muscle mass gain, better bone density

⬇️ lower blood pressure, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, less visceral fat, lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancer, lower risk of mortality from all causes ^{[8 – 14]}

2. Eat Real Nutritious Food (Diet)

In terms of diet, the biggest problem for longevity is highly processed foods. They are often full of fat, salt, sugar, and other components that are directly linked to preventable health problems. Resisting them isn’t easy, mainly because their captivating composition deceives our brain, which screams for more, while our body calls for nutrients. Just like when you open a chocolate bar thinking “just one piece”… and soon you’re finishing the whole bar while your brain sings Show Must Go On!

Why Eat Healthier?

Diet is the strongest tool for controlling body weight, inflammatory processes, cholesterol, and blood sugar. What you eat directly affects the biomarkers that your doctor measures. There are simple rules here:

❌ = 🌭🍔🥓🍟🍕🌯

✅ = 🍎🥦🍗🥚🥒🥔

Goal

🏁Focus on real, minimally processed foods in the form of complex meals with complete representation of all important nutrients in the form of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats. If you want to learn how to do this, the article What is a Healthy Diet and How to Learn to Eat Healthy. will help you.

What Do I Gain from Healthy Eating?

⬆️ healthier skin, teeth, and eyes, better immunity and bone health, optimal digestive system function, healthy weight

⬇️ lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, reduction in cholesterol, lower blood pressure and weight ^[15]

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3. Pay Attention to Sleep Hygiene (Recovery)

While billionaires invest large amounts of financial resources into anti-ageing, sleep remains one of the best and free tools of longevity. However, its importance is quite underestimated, especially in today’s age. Lack of sleep means disrupted hormones, higher cortisol (stress), uncontrollable cravings for bad food, zero muscle regeneration, and premature brain ageing.

Why Care about Sleep?

Neglecting sleep hygiene is also associated with chronic diseases such as ^[16]:

❤️Heart disease

😷Kidney disease

🩸High blood pressure

🍭Diabetes

🧠Stroke

🥓Obesity

😞Mental health issues, including depression

During sleep, repair and maintenance occur in the body. The brain cleans itself of toxins, hormones reset, and cells repair themselves. If you shorten this process, your internal system gradually collapses. ^[17]

We covered this topic in more detail in the article What Happens to Your Body When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

Goal

🏁7 – 9 hours of quality and uninterrupted sleep every night.

What Do I Gain from Healthy Sleep?

⬆️ better mood, positive impact on heart health and metabolism, better attention and memory, maintaining a healthy weight, better resistance to diseases, more energetic feeling

⬇️ stress reduction, lower risk of chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, stroke), less fatigue ^[18]

4. Work with Stress (Mental Health)

Short-term stress, such as before an exam or public speaking, is beneficial and serves as our booster. However, this certainly can’t be said about long-term chronic stress, for example, from work, finances, or relationships, which lasts for months and years. In this case, stress becomes a silent killer, and constantly elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol literally eat away at our bodies from the inside.

Why Manage Stress?

Chronic stress can cause the following ^{[20 – 21]}:

🩸 increased blood pressure

❤️ higher risk of heart attack or serious cardiac event

🧠 higher risk of stroke

😩 feelings of fear, anger, sadness

🍟 changes in appetite

🎯 concentration problems

😴 nightmares or sleep problems

😷 worsening of chronic diseases

🍷 increased alcohol or drug consumption

🤕 physical reactions (headache, body pain, stomach problems, etc.)

Goal

🏁 Find a functional outlet. It can be meditation, nature walks, green exercise, breathing exercises, hobbies, time with friends, strength training or any other sport. Our article Why is Stress Dangerous and How to Reduce It? can help you manage stress.

What Do I Gain from Managing Stress?

⬆️ improved sleep, better blood sugar control, better emotion management, overall sense of well-being

⬇️ reduced blood pressure, lower cortisol levels (stress hormone), reduced inflammation, reduced anxiety ^[22]

5. Avoid Toxins (Prevention)

This is one of the strongest points in the question of longevity. You can exercise, eat healthy, or meditate, but if you smoke and drink excessive alcohol, the whole effort comes across as fighting fire with gasoline.

Why Avoid Toxins?

The question of why is no longer about moralising, but about pure data and scientific evidence. Substances like drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes are proven carcinogens and toxins that directly damage DNA and blood vessels. They thus sabotage any of our efforts for a healthier lifestyle.

Alcohol and Smoking are Associated with ^{[23 – 24]}:

🚬🍷 cardiovascular diseases: high blood pressure (hypertension), heart diseases (heart attack, ischemic heart disease) and stroke

🚬🍷 specific types of cancer: mouth and throat (pharynx), larynx (vocal cords), oesophagus, liver, colon and rectum

🚬🍷 weakened immune system: body fights infections worse

🍷 liver diseases: cirrhosis, fatty liver, and alcoholic hepatitis

🍷 brain and mental health: dementia, learning and memory problems, brain shrinkage, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, alcohol poisoning, accident injuries, violence and risky sexual behaviour

🚬 lung diseases: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), emphysema and chronic bronchitis

🚬 specific types of cancer: lung, bladder, kidney, cervical, pancreatic, stomach and acute myeloid leukaemia

🚬 eyes and bones: increased risk of cataracts and lower bone density (risk of hip fractures)

🚬 type 2 diabetes: smokers have a 30 – 40% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-smokers

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Goal

🏁Quit smoking completely and minimise alcohol consumption.

What Do I Gain from Avoiding Toxins?

⬆️ regeneration of vital organs (lungs, liver, brain), stronger immunity, extended life

⬇️ dramatic reduction in blood pressure, lower risk of heart attack, stroke and certain types of cancer ^{[23 – 24]}

Bonus Tip: Know your Genes

A great complement to overall longevity can be DNA tests, which help you understand how your organism is programmed. They reveal genetic predispositions to diseases, nutrient processing, stress management, and recovery. Thanks to them, you can adapt your diet, supplements, and training exactly according to your needs.

They are also a great tool for disease prevention and motivation to improve your lifestyle. They show what your body needs for longevity, help predict risks, and give impetus to healthier habits for a longer, more vital, and more energetic life.

Conclusion

Your journey to longevity doesn’t start in the future, but today. The important thing about Longevity is that it relies on biomarkers, measurable indicators of our health that we can influence. It’s not just a way to live healthier, but an effective tool to start managing your health and systematically reduce the risk that you’ll be another number in mortality statistics from lifestyle diseases. Current knowledge paves our way to longevity, but the final decision is up to us. Choose one pillar where you feel the biggest room for improvement, and make one small change today. Your future self will thank you!

Sources:

[1] Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) –

[2] Cancer –

[3] Noncommunicable diseases –

[4] World War I casualties –

[5] What is Metabolic Syndrome? –

[6] Aviroop Biswas, Paul I. Oh, Guy E. Faulkner, Ravi R. Bajaj, Michael A. Silver, Marc S. Mitchell, David A. Alter, – Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis –

[7] Erik A. Richter, Mark Hargreaves – Exercise, GLUT4, and Skeletal Muscle Glucose Uptake –

[8] Huseyin Naci, Maximilian Salcher-Konrad, Sofia Dias, Manuel R Blum, Samali Anova Sahoo, David Nunan, John P A Ioannidis – How does exercise treatment compare with antihypertensive medications? A network meta-analysis of 391 randomised controlled trials assessing exercise and medication effects on systolic blood pressure –

[9] JOHN P KIRWAN, JESSICA SACKS, STEPHAN NIEUWOUDT – The essential role of exercise in the management of type 2 diabetes –

[10] Dr Chi Pang Wen, Jackson Pui Man Wai, Min Kuang Tsai, Yi Chen Yang, Ting Yuan David Cheng, Meng-Chih Lee – Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study –

[11] Benefits of Physical Activity – ​​

[12] Kristjana Dhuli, Zakira Naureen, Maria Chiara Medori, Francesco Fioretti, Paola Caruso, Marco Alfonso Perrone, Savina Nodari, Paolo Manganotti, Suela Xhufi, Marsida Bushati, Dhurata Bozo, Stephen Thaddeus Connelly, Karen L Herbst, Matteo Bertelli – Physical activity for health –

[13] Aditya Mahindru, Pradeep Patil, Varun Agrawal – Role of Physical Activity on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Review –

[14] Scientific Report –

[15] Benefits of Healthy Eating for Adults –

[16] What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? –

[17] What Is the Purpose of Sleep? –

[18] About Sleep

[19] Jung Ha Park, Ji Hyun Moon, Hyeon Ju Kim, Mi Hee Kong, Yun Hwan Oh – Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks –

[20] Dr Ahmed Tawakol, Amorina Ishai, Richard AP Takx, Amparo L Figueroa, Abdelrahman Ali, Yannick Kaiser – Relation between resting amygdalar activity and cardiovascular events: a longitudinal and cohort study –

[21] Managing Stress –

[22] Stress –

[23] Benefits of Quitting Smoking –

[24] Alcohol Use and Your Health –