Even in the summer when the days are longer, the ‘to-do list’ never ends. And too often, especially for women, nurturing your wellbeing through movement, nutrition and mindfulness is what takes a backseat to everything else.
But for health to be sustainable, it has to be intentional. And if you don’t take steps to look after yourself and nourish your physical and mental health now, it may have a negative or even irreversible impact in your golden years. So what does it take to build health and vitality that lasts?
We’re digging into the new science of ageing to explore what true longevity looks like.
Approaching long term health with purpose
Longevity is the length of time you live, otherwise known as your lifespan. It’s influenced by genetics, your lifestyle and environmental factors that will all have an impact.
When it comes to understanding longevity in the wellbeing context, the clue is in the name: there’s an important focus on long-term health. Rhian Stephenson is a nutritional therapist, naturopath and founder of ARTAH – an award-winning nutrition programme and supplements brand who focuses on helping you feel better by transforming your metabolic health.
“I’ve always wanted to make health feel engaging, educational, and sustainable because I have seen what an amazing difference it can make in people’s lives,” Rhian said. “ARTAH was built to embody this notion – to inspire individuals to be happier, healthier, and achieve more through improved health.”
This focus on purpose over the long term is particularly important when it comes to maintaining and improving your health. “We’ve been conditioned to think about our health in terms of seasonal, short term goals; post holiday detox, getting a summer body, back to school cleanse,” Rhian tells AllBright. “This perpetuates the sole focus on body composition, which can be both emotionally and physically damaging. Secondly, it ignores the fact that our health and wellbeing are the most important things we can invest in – and to truly benefit, we must be consistent,” she said.
Where quantity meets quality
Any conversation about longevity and lifespan should include talk of the healthspan. Claire Stewart, professor of stem cell biology and Chief Scientific Officer of health tech startup Prorizon Ltd, said: “While longevity measures the total years one lives, healthspan focuses on the years lived in good health.”
“The two are intertwined, as a longer healthspan naturally contributes to increased longevity. This is important because although we have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the last 50 years, a similar increase in healthspan has not followed
“There has never been a more important time to invest in our long-term health,” added Rhian. She cited the World Health Organisation’s findings that the average person spends the last 20% of their life in poor health – an average of 16 years.
What the science says about longevity
Scientific research confirms that lifestyle choices have a significant impact on longevity. “Family studies reveal that 75% of our longevity is influenced by our lifestyle choices, including diet, exercise and stress management, highlighting the power of modifiable lifestyle factors in not only prolonging life but enhancing the quality of those extra years,” Claire highlights.
Longevity looks different for women and it should be supported through important life stages like menstruation, fertility, the menopause and getting older. “Because of our biology, we face more inherent physiological challenges than men do, so I think we are forced to be more savvy about our health,” said Rhian.
One of the most exciting molecules in the world of longevity is undoubtedly NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a natural compound that is involved in every aspect of our biology. It plays a key role in regulating metabolism, energy, and longevity; from blood sugar control and energy production to switching on the pathways involved in cellular maintenance and repair. By the time we’re 40, NAD+ levels have dropped by 50% and continue to halve every 20 years. Our lifestyle factors like diet, stress, sleep, lack of exercise, and environmental toxins can also contribute to its decline, leading to possible reduction in physical and mental energy, slower recovery, metabolic dysfunction, and accelerated ageing. For women, this can be particularly impactful, as it coincides with perimenopause and menopause.
By improving NAD+ levels, we can improve energy production, restore our capacity for cellular repair, reduce inflammation and help support a healthy metabolism; put simply - more energy, better sleep, less pain, improved metabolic control and more.
How to build longevity
Rhian shared her top tips for women to build longevity in a healthy, responsible and sustainable way. Give your health an honest assessment; gauge where you need to shift your focus and what to prioritise, nail your nutrition, by cultivating realistic habits that are easy to stick to. Make time for mindfulness, and strength train to maintain muscle mass.
Another way to build longevity is to start supplementing. We’re not getting what we need from our modern food supply. Add on the chronic stress that working women are facing and it becomes extremely difficult to function at an optimal level without a little support. My must-haves for working women in their late 30s and beyond are Enhanced NAD+ Complex, which supports energy, stress, inflammation, and overall cellular health and Essential D3/K2, which every adult in the UK is recommended to take.