A common New Year’s resolution made by many people is to live a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Brett Osborn shared with Fox News Digital his opinions on others desiring to become a better and healthier version of themselves.
"Life expectancy is at its lowest in decades despite our wealth of scientific knowledge," Dr. Osborn said.
"But it doesn’t have to be this way — you have a choice to be healthy in 2024 and onward." Highlighted are 5 steps recommended by Dr. Osborn to live a healthier life:
1. Eat a low-glycemic index, anti-inflammatory diet
All foods are assigned a score from 0 to 100 based on how it affects glucose levels with lower-scored foods such as vegetables and additional greens having a smaller impact, while higher-scored foods such as sugar, bread, pasta and rice can have a larger impact.
"Sticking to a low-glycemic index (low-GI) diet will lower insulin levels and drive fat loss while maintaining muscle, as long as daily caloric intake is adequate," said Dr. Osborn.
"Eat liberal amounts of fat — olive oil, avocados, nuts and butter — to train your body to burn fat instead of sugar and moderate protein (from lean meat and fish) to support your muscle mass," Dr. Osborn recommended.
2. Prioritize strength training
Strength training is essential to protecting your muscles and increasing cognitive function. "It is a fact that your ability to stave off age-related diseases such as heart disease and cancer resides in your muscle mass," Dr. Osborn said.
Dr. Osborn said increasing muscle mass is the fastest way to burn fat off your waistline and recommends following basic exercises and gradually increasing the amount of weight to build muscle overtime.
There are five “basic yet effective” exercises Dr. Osborn states are the pillars to strength-training:
1. Squats
2. Bench press
3. Deadlift
4. Overhead press
5. Pull-up/chin
"They stress the maximal amount of muscle in the minimum time," he said. "They require no fancy machinery and are non-gender specific."
3. Monitor your blood pressure
"There is no easier way to lower your risk for age-related disease than by monitoring your blood pressure,"Dr. Osborn told Fox News Digital.
Dr. Osborn recommends investing in an automated blood pressure cuff as an effective way for monitoring your daily blood pressure. High blood pressure may increase your risk of developing plaque in your coronary or carotid arteries, making you vulnerable to heart failure or strokes.
Achieving a healthy blood pressure can be completed by eating healthy, exercising daily and minimizing stress.
"Supplements such as magnesium, beetroot extract and omega-3 fatty acids may also help lower your blood pressure," he added.
4. Check your bloodwork
Dr. Osborn said regulating blood sugar levels becomes more difficult with age as inflammation in your body increase and hormone levels start to decrease. "The combination of these three, among many other factors, accelerates the aging process," Dr. Osborn said.
"But if you could get an instantaneous snapshot of your body’s inner workings, you could potentially intervene and optimize your biochemistry, and thereby slow the oxidation process," he said.
Getting your routine bloodwork is beneficial for managing your health. These are the most impactful health markers to check in your bloodwork:
1. HbA1c
2. Insulin level
3. Lipid profile
4. Apolipoprotein B
5. CRP
6. Hormone levels
5. Keep stress levels at bay
Reducing stress levels is essential for maintaining your overall health.
"Chronically elevated levels are associated with hypertension, insulin resistance or pre-diabetes, and low testosterone levels, the last of which impacts energy levels, libido and body composition," the Dr. Osborn told Fox News Digital.
Some of Dr. Osborn’s relaxing activities to help reduce stress include yoga, meditation, spending time on the beach or sitting in a red-light sauna.
A healthy amount of sleep and spending quality time with friends and family are additional examples that are important for maintain healthy stress levels.
