How to Be a Centenarian Anti-ageing Secrets

Functional Medicine is a legitimate approach to live a happy healthy and long life. It encompasses a whole-body approach and it pays attention to addressing the root cause of all chronic lifestyle diseases.

I had an opportunity to closely watch the lifestyle of some centenarians and it surprised me to notice the simplicity of lifestyle they follow, and that’s the reason for their happier healthier long life!

No fancy food, mostly eating unprocessed raw real food, no fancy cars, basic comfortable housing, community living, extending support to each other are the key areas to focus upon in life!

Everything is need based and not based on insatiable wants!

Functional medicine is one such approach which works by connecting the dots and addressing the root cause of all chronic lifestyle “man made” diseases.

Ageing is a result of some or all of the following factors:

• Nutritional deficiencies

In olden times food eaten was whole, nutritious, freshly cooked, unprocessed and not stored for long, however in current times food available is lacking in nutrients , as it is stored for a long period of time in cold storage before it reaches the end consumer. Soil is becoming deficient in nutrients and is loaded heavily with pesticides and toxins.

Most of the crops are genetically modified to increase the yield.

Therefore, the lack of basic micro-nutrients is becoming too common and this is leading to disrupted metabolic pathways.

People in general are consuming more sugar and high glycemic index foods which lack in nutrients and rich in calories .

Sugar is already established to be the addiction of the 21st century and it is highly inflammatory.

Sugar is responsible for diabetes , cardiovascular diseases as well as various brain and skin related disorders, such as wrinkling and acne!

• Toxic overload

We are living in a world where there are toxins in the food, air and water! Our body has pathways to get these toxins out , however our organs such as liver, kidneys, lymphatic system give up due to excessive accumulation of toxins and poor lifestyle which does now allow these organs to function well, such as lack of sleep, no physical activity, excessive eating of wrong foods and so on…

• Disrupted gut microbiome

Our Intestines have a healthy bacterial flora, which requires pre and probiotics to stay alive. These bacterias are responsible for keeping gut healthy as well as help absorb the required nutrients.

Disrupted gut microbiome is a common problem in todays time due to multiple factors such as frequent use of antibiotics, eating food which feeds pathologic bacterias and fungus.

• Chronic infections such as Candida, Lyme, EBV, Herpes etc…

Chronic undiagnosed infections are far too common as our conventional medical system mostly ignores these for the reason they do not cause acute symptoms and person looks otherwise physically healthy, however feeling of anxiety, depression, fatigue lethargy, various neuronal disorders may be associated with such chronic underlying infections.

• Heavy metal accumulation

Lead mercury, cadmium, Aluminum, Arsenic etc are not required by our body. These heavy metals are responsible for many neurological as well as metabolic disorders such as cancer, autoimmunity etc…

• Chronic stress

A little stress is good for us , as it keeps our cortisol levels healthy. However, pathologic stress which lasts for long periods can cause adrenal fatigue and in turn serious hormone imbalances.

These days, people live at a frantic pace and in a nearly constant state of competition.

Stress has huge impact on the body functioning and excessive stress , which is faced by all of us in today’s lifestyle is responsible for developing chronic inflammatory condition and can lead to adrenal fatigue, fibromyalgia, mental health disorders etc…

• Sleep deprivation

Insomnia, again related to multiple factors such as stress, poor gut health, neurotransmitter imbalance, hormone imbalance etc.. only adds fuel to the fire and worsens the chronic inflammatory condition.

• Lack of physical activity

Due to extremely busy schedules and stressful work conditions physical activity and recreation has taken back seat . most of the people are prioritising high stress work over relaxing activities and this is taking its own toll.

• Food Intolerances

Unhealthy gut endothelial lining, which is the result of many of the above mentioned factors ,cause multiple food intolerances, due to repetitive exposure to intolerant food products such as gluten, lactose, and many other foods endothelial damage occurs and it causes gaps to develop in the endothelial lining. This leads to a condition called leaky gut, which means food particles, bacterias viruses can leak out and incite an immune reaction.

These immune cells mis identify body’s own organs as foreign, and leads to various autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s. Lupus, MS, Fibromyalgia , colitis etc…

• Pollution

Air pollution is causing severe damage to lungs and other body organs. Our environment is damaged due to excessive smoke, and suspended air particles which are regularly inhaled by us and leads to inflammatory reactions.

In short, all the above factors are responsible for chronic inflammatory metabolic condition and accelerated ageing.

To prevent this we need to go back to basics and look at a simplified clean lifestyle.