3 Simple Jensen-Approved Health Upgrades

This post is for you if you’d like a healthier path forward.

Confession: I am a relentless health science junkie. I was digging into the research and collected three relevant health habits you might consider. Interested in what you can do over the next couple of months?

DISCLAIMER: Before I begin any comments about health, I am required by law to make a disclaimer: “The following comments are not meant to diagnose or treat any disease, nor have they been approved by the FDA.”

The Research

What are you most likely to die from in the next five years? It may sound a bit morbid but getting a reality check is good. Why? DNA is not your destiny. While some diseases we will discuss below may appear genetic, lifestyle choices can prevent most diseases. I’ll summarize this newsletter segment in 4 words: “Most diseases are preventable.”

You are about to get the Top 7 Mortality summaries.

Each bit of research that we use is a bit more applicable for different reasons (age, recency, gender, government vs. independent sources.) Our first list is from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) with the all-cause mortality list, 2021. (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db456.pdf). We wish there were fresher data, but COVID-19 skewered mortality rates. COVID related deaths were 3rd in 2020-2021 but today, have dropped out of the top 10.

Our second list is a look at only women, as females make up the largest number of educators and there are slight differences in the data. https://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2018/all-races-origins/index.htm The previous report I shared from the CDC (above) showed that ‘external causes’ are higher for males than females, thus skewing the overall mortality risk.

Additionally, there’s a lack of accurate, recent data on how menopause status may impact mortality studies. Insights could unravel the female correlations between mid-life lifestyle risk factors and morbidity (Colpani, et al., 2018). That’s why the list below should be understood less by the numbers and more as either ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ risk factors.

Here is the merged list of risk factors for both males and females.

1. Heart disease: Risks include heart failure from smoking, high blood pressure, poor stress regulation, obesity, poor diet, and physical inactivity.

Notice I left out HDL and LDL cholesterol levels. Recent evidence suggests the better metric to use is ApoB levels (Apolipoprotein B). Get tested for ApoB levels so you get a baseline. My go-to M.D. says, “I just don’t see a reason to have an ApoB ever north of 60 milligrams per deciliter.” —Dr. Peter Attia.

2. Cancer: Lung cancers account for the most deaths, followed by colon/rectum, pancreatic, breast (in females), prostate (in males), then liver and bile duct cancers. Melanoma risks include ultraviolet (U.V.) radiation exposure, tanning beds, moles, and aging.

3. External Causes: Risks include falling, car accidents (including driving after drinking, recklessness, or texting), exposure to toxic chemicals, homicide, careless use of appliances/tools, suicide, or drug overdoses.

4. Lung: Chronic lower respiratory diseases. Risks include cigarette smoking, second-hand smoke, air pollution, allergens, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

5. Nervous system, including Stroke: risks include physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, poor diet, obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Mental & Behavioral disorders: PTSD, depression, chronic stress, etc. Alzheimer’s disease: risks include aluminum exposure and traumatic brain injury.

6. Digestive, Nutritional, and Metabolic Diseases: Inflammatory issues, Biome instability. Diabetes: risks include chronic poor sleep quality, cigarette smoking, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and physical inactivity.

7. Chronic liver and kidney disease: risks include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor diet, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and obesity.

PRACTICAL: 

The good news is that doing fewer things well is way better than a wide range of sloppy and on/off actions. You will be doing the fewest number of things that can make the biggest difference across the board. Adjustments you can add to your life include things to eat, how to move your body, and running your own brain. They are the A, B, Cs of health.

A) What to EAT:
Most of the world’s population is under-nourished. The well-known vitamins (A, B, C, etc.) were discovered as “essential” with a relatively short impact after depletion. That’s why we were told to take these vitamins daily. Most ‘minimum daily requirements’ are based on what healthy humans need to survive.

The Triage Theory (Ames BN. 2018) asserts that because humans are highly volatile, the metabolic resources are preferentially allocated in the body based on need, just like an EMT first helps those who need lifesaving support.

Here’s another example.

When the availability of a micronutrient (e.g., selenium) is inadequate, nature ensures that what is necessary for short-term survival is protected and used at the expense of nutrients beneficial for longer-term consequences. Selenium is one of many longevity nutrients that qualify as long-term.

So instead of a vitamin or mineral getting used for optimal health and delayed aging, it’s used for survival. This is another way of saying that the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, telling you what you need and how much, is based on a flawed paradigm. Life has its ups and downs; your body’s needs are all over the place.

In short, your body “robs Peter to pay Paul” in the nutrient department. When your body is in survival mode, every nutrient is channeled into keeping you alive. Once I learned this about my own body, I became more thoughtful about which supplements and how much I needed for optimal living. In short, you’ll need more than you think.

Weight management. About 74% of adults are overweight or have obesity (USDA, 2020). The impact on your life is far-reaching. Being overweight means more compression on hips, knees, and ankles. Being overweight means your heart works overtime and your mobility drops. And worst of all, you are at greater risk for five of the seven risk factors above.

What to Do. There are a few ways to get to and stay at your optimum weight. Let’s get smart and have no more than three alcoholic drinks (or less) per week. You can change what you eat (less sugar, less starches, more fiber and protein). You can change when you eat (light or no breakfast, lunch, dinner, and zero after-dinner snacks). You can change how much you eat and drink (drink two glasses of water 20 min. before a meal and use smaller plates).

The items below are known to have some protective effect from the seven diseases above (except accidental deaths).

Fruits: berries (cranberries, blueberries, strawberries), coconut, mango & papaya

Vegetables: avocado, broccoli, collards, kale, cauliflower, spinach

Oils: extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil

Nuts: walnuts, almonds, chia, peanuts, pistachios

Drinks: Oolong tea, organic coffee

Breads: whole grains (plus eat fewer starchy items)

Other: brown rice, berberine extract, flax seed, chitosan

Must: reduce or eliminate 90% of all sugars and prepared products with long, unpronounceable ingredient lists; Eat real food as much as you can.

The bottom line is you can create partial immunity to multiple diseases with better nutrition. So, what’s your eating switch from now on?

B) What to DO:
First, let’s begin with movement. You already know it is good for your health. Movement matters because it raises circulation and upgrades the core neurotransmitters and hormones that keep you sharp and healthy.

How much do you need to optimize your health? First, it’s tough to track the “I went to the gym” diaries or “My friends said I…” What’s easy to track is to start with a large, randomized number of participants who are given accelerometers that send signals to a tracker daily. Do this for five years, and you can get pretty good data.

I am sharing the conclusions from two large studies. The first one (Saint-Maurice P.F., et al. 2020) had over 4,840 participants. Compliance was tracked by automatic uploads. Here’s what you likely didn’t know. You get the best return on your time, effort, and mortality rate odds when you take 4,000 to 12,000 steps/day. Take more steps, and your mortality rate drops (but barely). Take less, and your mortality rate goes up (a lot).

The second study was with women only (Lee, IM et al. 2019). The sample size was large (22,500 participants). Using the same process (accelerometers that were uploaded daily), It showed the same sweet spot as the first study (4,400 – 7,500 steps/day). More steps than 7,500 did not give better results.

Now you know. Moderate daily exercise is priceless.

Unfortunately, I could not find a study that compared matching alternatives (such as jogging, swimming, or treadmill cardio stints) to the pedometer readings of walking. The problem with choosing any alternative is tracking. For such a study, you need reliable data.

In my own exercise routine, I alternate workout days between swimming and resistance training. With resistance training, I typically blend the upper body with core and balance work, so I feel more agile, stronger, and capable. On swim days, I will go 24 laps at full speed on 3-4 days/wk. Not much, but over a year, it adds up. Last year, I swam over 32 miles while holding my breath on every lap. Don’t be impressed; that was just two weekends of swimming for Michael Phelps during his Olympic training.

I swim as much for my heart, lung, muscle strength, and stress resilience as for toning and breathwork. I think it matters less what you do and more THAT you do something moderately active to move your body (Oja et al., 2015). The bottom line is you can create immunity to multiple diseases with everyday movement. So, what’s your movement activity from now on?

C) How to Run Your Own Brain
Here are a few characteristics of those who run their own brain. Read each one, then ask yourself if you, too, are doing these. Circle YES or NO to answer whether this is already a part of your life.

1. YES/NO. ‘Amor Fati’. In Latin, the translation is ‘love of fate.’ But the real meaning is, “You don’t always get what you want, but you can always embrace it and love the process.” Take what you’re given and love what you get. It says to make the most out of the fate that happens. Why? When you ‘choose’ to enjoy your fate, you’re an active player who loves life. When you assert you’re a victim, you dislike the process, the people and are likely to have another lousy day (again).

2. YES/NO. Grudges and Slack. You refuse to hold grudges. You release the other person and yourself from blame. You cut others some slack when you are disappointed or let down. We all make mistakes.

3. YES/NO. Compliments and Affirmations. Ensure that in every conversation, you can find the good in an idea or person. Give a compliment and thank the other for their sharing or support.

4. YES/NO. Foster loving, kind, and joyful relationships. A bad relationship is worse than none at all. Fortunately, most relations can be repaired. Be the one who apologizes first to start the process.

5. YES/NO. Foster a healthy brain. Learn the tools to manage your stress better. Take control of the small daily, tiny things that help you feel in control. Make more things less relevant to you. Focus and care about the things that matter most: connecting with family, health, money management, and having fun.

6. YES/NO. Practice some form of relaxation or meditation exercise daily to learn to stay in the moment. Stay away from catastrophic predictions and be in the moment. It also means you avoid ruminating over prior negative memories. Start each day fresh.

Each of the six items above is simple. But the work you put into them is critical. It takes time. Work on implementing just one per month. Over a year or two, you’ll start to feel different because you’ll feel like you are running your own brain, not the reverse. So, what’s your run your own brain switch from now on?

Eric Jensen
CEO, Jensen Learning
Brain-Based Education

CITATIONS

Ames BN. (2018). Prolonging healthy aging: Longevity vitamins and proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 115(43):10836-10844.

Colpani V, Baena CP, Jaspers L, van Dijk GM, Farajzadegan Z, Dhana K, Tielemans MJ, Voortman T, Freak-Poli R, Veloso GGV, Chowdhury R, Kavousi M, Muka T, Franco OH. (2018). Lifestyle factors, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in middle-aged and elderly women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Epidemiol. 33(9):831-845.

Lee IM, Shiroma EJ, Kamada M, Bassett DR, Matthews CE, Buring JE. (2019). Association of Step Volume and Intensity with All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. JAMA Intern Med. 179(8):1105-1112.

Naghshi S, Sadeghian M, Nasiri M, Mobarak S, Asadi M, Sadeghi O. (2021). Association of Total Nut, Tree Nut, Peanut, and Peanut Butter Consumption with Cancer Incidence and Mortality: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Adv Nutr. 12(3):793-808.

Oja P, Titze S, Kokko S, Kujala UM, Heinonen A, Kelly P, Koski P, Foster C. (2015). Health benefits of different sport disciplines for adults: systematic review of observational and intervention studies with meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2015 Apr;49(7):434-40.

Saab S, Mallam D, Cox GA 2nd, Tong MJ. (2014). Impact of coffee on liver diseases: a systematic review. Liver Int. 2014 Apr;34(4):495-504.

Saint-Maurice PF, Troiano RP, Bassett DR Jr, Graubard BI, Carlson SA, Shiroma EJ, Fulton JE, Matthews CE. (2020). Association of Daily Step Count and Step Intensity with Mortality Among US Adults. JAMA. 323(12):1151-1160.

Theodore LE, Kellow NJ, McNeil EA, Close EO, Coad EG, Cardoso BR. (2021). Nut Consumption for Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review. Adv Nutr. 12(3):777-792.

Tippairote T, Bjørklund G, Gasmi A, Semenova Y, Peana M, Chirumbolo S, Hangan T. (2022). Combined Supplementation of Coenzyme Q10 and Other Nutrients in Specific Medical Conditions. Nutrients. 14(20):4383.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020. Downloadable: DietaryGuidelines.gov.

Wadhawan M, Anand AC. Coffee and Liver Disease. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2016 Mar;6(1):40-6.

Wang X, et al. (2021). Higher plain water intake is related to lower newly diagnosed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk: a population-based study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 75(12):1801-1808.