The Nutrient: Updated Labs, Activities, and Diet for Longevity

Research

Associations of body mass index, fasting insulin, and inflammation with mortality: a prospective cohort study

I've said it here before: weight is a poor predictor of health. According to this study, which was published in Nature, BMI is also a poor predictor of longevity. This information is useful because it helps answer the question of why being overweight is associated with poor health, but doesn't always cause it.

"After accounting for levels of fasting insulin and CRP, we found no evidence of an association between higher BMI and increased mortality. Instead, higher fasting insulin and higher CRP were each associated with an excess risk of mortality"

My goal is always to treat the cause of an illness, so lowering weight for the sake of weight-loss isn't going to increase lifespan.

"While most people with hyperinsulinemia and chronic inflammation do have higher BMI, our data show that a subset of people with lower BMI also have hyperinsulinemia and/or chronic inflammation, and that these participants are at the highest risk of mortality."

Takeaway
If you have an elevated BMI, then aiming to lowering it in the name of health isn't a useful goal. This research suggests that lowering elevated CRP (an inflammatory blood marker) and fasting insulin is what will help you live longer, regardless if your BMI is considered "normal" or "obese."

News

Physical Activity May Have a Stronger Role than Genes in Longevity

This study found that higher levels of light physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with lower risk of death, regardless of genetic predisposition. Another example of how your genetics load the gun, but your lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Article

Longevity Diet: Eat More Nuts, Legumes, and Whole Grains, Less Red Meat

Eating processed food is now so common that when someone starts eating healthy, it's labeled as dieting. Another name for the "longevity diet" is "eating to match your body's design."

Words of the week

"So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
– Seneca from On The Shortness of Life

Enjoy the long weekend.

Dr. Rondo