Live longer: Expert details most effective types of exercise to 'add years to your life'
Keeping inflammation levels down to a minimum is pivotal
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Efforts to prolong lifespan are taking wing, and scientists have already unveiled several components associated with old age.
As the diets and routines of the longest-living populations have come into focus, it’s become overwhelmingly clear that managing inflammation is pivotal.
Doctor Mohammed Enayat, GP and Founder of HUM2N cites inflammation as one of the most crucial determining factors for longevity.
While diet is often recognised as the most effective weapon for combatting inflammation, so is aerobic exercise, according to Dr Enayat.
Keeping muscle mass in check will boost the body's defences against signs of ageing
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Aerobic workouts are characterized by movements that get the heart and lungs working and reduce body fat.
The aim, according to the expert, is to keep the heart variability rate elevated for an extended period. Steady-state exercises like walking can facilitate that.
Moreover, low-intensity workouts offer long-lasting protection against stress; which is another crucial piece of the longevity puzzle.
“Aside from exercise and diet, energy preservation and stress management are important factors which can help to increase longevity,” Doctor Enayat told GB News.
Thus, the expert recommends exercises that don’t let the heart rate go too high but help it remain slightly elevated for around 45 minutes.
These can include brisk walking, which has frequently proven one of the best strategies for fighting chronic inflammation.
“[Keeping] your heart rate variability high [...] or preservice a healthy stress response, can help achieve better longevity and add years to your life,” he said.
Helping maintain muscle mass and preserving joint space is paramount, but working the proximal muscles is “especially important”.
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Brisk walking is one of the best strategies for fighting inflammation
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“Exercises such as squats and deadlifts are ideal for helping your core and your back, which will help to keep your muscular-skeletal system functioning," explained Doctor Enayat.
He continued: “The second type of exercises are those which help increase your VO2 Max, which is your ability to create energy ultimately through being able to take in as much oxygen as you can.”
Additionally, paying attention to other factors like digestion will further prevent harm being caused to the gut barrier.
This is essential for preventing a leaky gut; a microbiome imbalance which invites bacteria, fungi and pathogens into the digestive tract.