Longevity

#14 Getting Back on Track after the Festive Season

Getting back on track ASAP after the festive season is a jolly good idea for health and longevity. Fortunately, while you’re still feeling utterly stuffed, it may not be so hard to do. 

Have you recently been derailed by mince pies? – or Prosecco, or pavlova, or whatever your seasonal poison may be? I know I have. It doesn’t take long to go off the rails. Fortunately, there’s nothing to stop us getting right back on track – and in the case of Roy and me, that means back on to the Low Carb, No Crap TM eating plan that helped him lose 35kg… and keep it off.

The pics below, taken a year apart, are presented as evidence. (It’s a shame I couldn’t afford a new dress.)

Slim, svelte Roy, Christmas 2020 …
… and again in Christmas 2021

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#13 Keep Moving! – It’s the secret to longevity

How to live to 100? Keep moving, says 96-year-old Peter Eaton – just one of VERNE MAREE’s inspirational older friends in Perth WA. Apart from the advantage of making you feel young by comparison, there’s a lot to be learnt from people who are fit, active and thriving well into their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Down on Burns Beach the other day – 23 December, to be precise – I bumped into Peter and Peta, two of my local Burns Beach friends. That wasn’t unusual, but this was a special occasion. It was Peter’s 96th birthday – and he was celebrating it by doing his favourite thing in the world: swimming in the ocean.

“Just 1,460 days to go to my 100th!” he announced. Peter doesn’t think in terms of years. He lives day by day, and having a sea swim – or at least a walk on the beach – is what makes a day a great one.

Live to 100!
Peter and Peta – 96 and 80 years old respectively

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The Big Fat Surprise

#11 How Much Fat Do We Need to Eat?

How much fat we need depends on other things – how many carbs we can tolerate, for example, and what sort of fat we choose. Saturated fats from sustainably pastured animals is a pretty good start.

Note: The droolworthy featured image (above) is from the cover of The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz

How much fat

I’ve always liked this old 16th-century English rhyme, mainly because it sounded just like my parents – my tall, skinny, carrot-crunching father and my plump, butter-loving mother. Luckily, though I inherited her penchant for pork crackling, fatty lamb chops and anything sautéed in butter, I also inherited a tendency to Dad’s lanky frame – as long as I curb my cursed sweet tooth!

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Blood donation at Edgewater Donor Centre

#8 Blood donation benefits – rejuvenation and longevity

Blood donation benefits go way, way beyond saving the lives of others. Wondering why I’m donating blood? If you guessed it was for selfish motives, you’d be right. Though I do like the idea of helping my fellow citizens – and it’s estimated that each 470ml donation can save up to three lives – I mainly do it because it’s good for my own health and longevity.

By donating blood I’m burning calories, reducing my risk of cancer and protecting myself from liver disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other signs of heart disease – plus, the fact of helping others has been shown to increase our happiness and improve our mood.

Selfie of me donating blood, increasingly happy and in a better mood

Donating Down Under

Last week, I finally succeeded in donating blood here in Australia. I’d registered as a donor around three years earlier, but was deemed unsafe because of having visited South Africa, a malarial region, within the previous six months. (Odd thing, that: they happily took and used my blood in Durban!)

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#7 Creatine – for muscle, bone strength, memory and more

What is creatine? Who should take creatine? Why to take it: to improve muscle strength, bone mass, brain health, memory, eyesight and hearing, and to prevent sarcopaenia and frailty. Keep track of muscle and promote anti-frailty with the InBody 570 body composition scanner.

What is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid found mainly in muscle and brain tissue. Our livers, kidneys and pancreas naturally produce 1-2g of the stuff each day, mostly from eating fish and meat.  In the form we’re likely to buy it, it’s a derivative of three amino acids: L-arginine, glycine and L-methionine. It’s also the most highly researched supplement out there – and you can be sure that it’s not just effective, but extremely safe.

Verne with creatine
Before or after? Maybe somewhere in-between…

According to Healthline.com, creatine grows muscle by causing numerous changes within muscle cells that signal the body to produce new muscle proteins and increase muscle mass. It also helps to maintain existing muscle mass by limiting protein breakdown – another win. And remember, its effect on muscle mass is just one of many benefits.

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#6 Biological Dentistry – for holistic oral health

What is biological dentistry – or holistic dentistry, or integrative dentistry – and why we need it: gut health and the mouth-body connection; the dangers of fluoride and mercury amalgams; root canals and cavitations; ozone dentistry

Have you still got so-called silver fillings? (They’re actually mercury amalgam, and almost certainly poisoning you.) Still using fluoridated toothpaste? – or letting your dentist paint fluoride on your teeth? (Also harming you.) Submitting to dental x-rays at every six-month check-up, while the hygienist makes a dash for cover? (Hello, brain tumours and thyroid cancer.)

Chances are you’ve never heard of biological dentistry, also known as holistic dentistry, or even integrative dentistry. Until recently, I hadn’t either. But I found out more, tracked down a state-of-the-art practitioner locally, and got my oral health back on track. If that’s in any way an option for you, I sincerely suggest you do the same.

Biological dentistry Itero scanner
Me with my iTero dental scan at biological dentistry practice Ozone Dentistry, Karrinyup WA

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What is a biohacker? Verne rebounding on a trampoline

#4 What is a biohacker, and why am I one?

What is a biohacker, and why do I call myself one? For me, why I’m a biohacker is to optimise health and wellness, longevity and health-span. In other words, living long and strong! Like to give it a try?

Especially important is health-span – meaning the length of time I’m living a useful, happy and productive life. What’s the point of lingering on to 120 if you can’t dress yourself, scramble your own eggs or recognise your great-grandchildren?

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#3 Low-carb substitutes – how not to fall off the low-carb wagon

Try these easy, gluten-free and low-carb substitutes – almond meal, paleo seed bread, konjac, natural low-carb sweetener, plus ways with cauliflower that are almost too good to be true.

Going low-carb can be an effective diet strategy for shedding excess fat and keeping it off – apart from multiple other benefits that I will get to in future posts.

Here’s how I used easy comfort food substitutes to help Roy lose 35kg – and they certainly worked for him! An amazingly effective tool in lifestyle and body transformation, they can be useful for anyone practising keto, or simply cutting back on carbs for blood glucose control, metabolic flexibility or general health, wellness and longevity.

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#1 Why a health blog?

Here’s why I started a health blog – and it all started with my husband Roy’s  weight-loss and body transformation achievement that allowed him to lose 35kg and ditch his blood pressure meds. I also want to talk about wellness, longevity and biohacking – and to share tips on tackling my own issues: atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

If any of this pushes your buttons – the good kind! – then welcome to the first post of my new blog, Living Long and Strong with Verne and Roy!

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