September 01, 2021 | LINDSEY WILSON

Longevity Practices — 7 Tips for Living a Long, Healthy Life

With so much information accessible to you about the best exercise programs and diets that can help you get into “the best shape of your life” or “make you lose ten pounds in five days”, it can be difficult to know where to start and who to believe.

At OWL, we’re not into gimmicks and quick solutions. We believe in practices that support your overall health and contribute to the health of your whole body. We’ve compiled a list of areas on which we find it most important to focus for a long, healthy, and prosperous life.

For an easy transition into healthy living, find one or two that you feel confident you can easily incorporate into your daily life. Once you have a good handle on these, slowly add in another area focus as you feel appropriate and achievable. Before you know it, you’ll be living your best life in a body that operates at an optimal level.

Support Your Liver

The purpose of your liver is to remove toxins from your body. It also produces the bile which helps you digest your food.

Coffee lovers will be excited to learn that drinking coffee is one of the best ways you can take care of your liver. Coffee has the ability to prevent collagen and fat build up in the liver. These are two of the biggest signs of liver disease¹.

Multiple studies show that coffee can protect the liver from certain diseases. For instance, it lowers the risk of cirrhosis, may help reduce the risk of a common liver cancer, and is associated with lower risk of death in people with chronic liver disease².

That being said, you should still focus on getting plenty of water. This gives your liver a rest from the daily grind and keeps it ready for whatever is next.

Green tea improves liver enzymes, reduces fat deposits in the liver, and lowers the risk of liver cancer. In people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, multiple cups of green tea improved liver enzyme levels and helped reduce fat build up and oxidative stress in the liver¹².

Other foods that keep your liver operating at the optimal level include:

Berries
Nuts
Beet juice
Fatty fish
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Grapes

Support Your Body’s Digestion and Elimination Process

Staying hydrated is a great place to start when it comes to helping your stomach do its job. Your body draws water into the contents of your intestines which keeps everything moving smoothly. In addition to water, you can add more fiber and healthy fats to your diet which adds bulk to your stool and lowers inflammation in your intestines.

OWL Venice Digestive Bitters

Bitter greens and bitter supplements, like our Digestive Bitters, stimulate the production of bile and digestive enzymes. This is a signal to your body that it’s time to start the engines in your digestive system. Apple cider vinegar prior to meals is another option to stimulate stomach acid production, which aids in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Daily exercise helps move food through your digestive system. In fact, one study showed that people who participated in moderate exercise like jogging or swimming increased their gut movement by 30 percent³.

Get Plenty of Protein Every Day

Proteins are the foundation of your body. Not only does protein contribute to building and retaining muscle, but it comprises your skin, tendons, organs, neurotransmitters, and important enzymes as well. As we age, the importance of protein increases. A sufficient amount in your daily diet can help prevent osteoporosis and sarcopenia - both common health risks among the elderly⁴.

A higher protein intake can also protect you against high blood pressure⁵ and fight diabetes⁶, both of which can lead to kidney disease. The best sources for protein include:

Meats
Fish
Eggs
Dairy
Quinoa
Chickpeas
Black beans
Green peas
Lentils
Nuts
Hempseed
Chia seeds
Oats

Balanced Meals for Longevity

Balance Your Blood Sugar Levels

Keeping your blood sugar in check can solve a lot of health problems at once. It can increase your insulin sensitivity, lower your risk for diabetes, help maintain a healthy body weight, and help you sleep better. We recommend two practices to maintain the balance.

Drinking enough water daily helps your kidneys flush out any excess sugar and can lower your diabetes risk⁷. Eating plenty of fiber can help slow carb digestion and sugar absorption⁸. Be sure to monitor where your foods fall on the glycemic index.

High fiber foods with low to moderate glycemic index:

Non-starchy veggies, especially leafy greens
Fruits, like berries, apples, and avocados
Legumes, such as beans, peas, & chickpeas
Whole grains, such as oats, barley, or wheat pasta

Eat Antioxidant Rich Foods

Antioxidants help prevent free radicals from harming the brain and other organs, and will prevent premature aging. Free radicals can form within your body through a number of different stimuli including everyday stress, a harsh lifestyle, and environmental factors like:

Air pollution
Cigarette smoke
Sun radiation
High blood sugar levels
Alcohol consumption

Free radicals are linked to multiple chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Your body has natural antioxidant defenses, but by fortifying these defenses you can help your body sustain a long-lasting regenerative cycle.

To add to your antioxidant defenses, you’ll want to look for foods high in Vitamin C and E, both very effective antioxidants.

Oranges
Red peppers/green peppers
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Strawberries
Brussel Sprouts
Sunflower seeds
Peanuts
Hazelnuts
Almonds

Exercise can also impact the effect that stress has on your body in the long run. Your overall cortisol levels are lower when you exercise and your endorphins receive a boost. Moderate exercise can also improve your sleep quality which helps in lowering stress levels and repairing the body from daily stressors.

Antioxidant Rich Foods & Anti-inflammatory Herbs

Consume Anti-inflammatory Herbs and Foods

Inflammation can be problematic for many people because most of the time, you can be unaware that it even exists inside you. Chronic inflammation can lead to a number of different diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, diabetes, and even cancer.

Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and natural herbs into your diet can help control silent inflammation in your body.

Cinnamon
Turmeric
Green tea
Berries (also high in antioxidants)
Fatty fish - mackerel, herring, salmon, sardines
Avocados
Red peppers
Mushrooms

Add Probiotic Foods to Your Diet

The healthier your gut is, the healthier your entire body becomes. Probiotics help the good gut bacteria flourish which supports superior digestion and boosts your immune system. This good bacteria also turns soluble fiber into short chain fatty acids that strengthen your gut wall.

When you have a healthy gut wall, your bloodstream stays free of unwanted substances that can make you feel less than stellar⁹. Additionally, your body can fight depression and anxiety¹⁰, lower your bad cholesterol¹¹, and stave off digestive disorders like IBD, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

Ideas for probiotic foods to add to your menu:

Plain yogurt
Pickles
Garlic
Onions
Leeks
Asparagus
Bananas
Oats
Apples
Flax seeds

Prioritize Your Health

It all boils down to what makes you feel good each and every day. Whether it's thirty days from now, or thirty years. Your future self will not regret the decisions you make today in order to flourish later down the road. Here's to you and healthy practices for the sake of a life that is whole and well lived.

Sources:

Julie Weller

Julie is a self-made writer on a forever journey of fitness and health. As a high school music teacher, she has seen and experienced the challenges of maintaining good health while simultaneously balancing a career and healthy relationships.

Julie has always lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She loves the outdoors, hiking, and camping. Over the years she has continued to learn smarter and better ways to take care of her body while continuing to do the things that make her smile. Naturally, all of her teacher friends wanted to know how she did it - what was her secret?

Julie found herself explaining over and over everything she'd learned in her research, and sharing her experiences through trial and error. Her friends would take her advice, try some new things, and then come back to ask how to take it to the next level.

"You should charge for this kind of information!" Became a constant phrase, and so began her career of writing to share her knowledge with the world through health and wellness companies looking to spread healing and healthy habits within their communities. Now Julie gets to combine two of the things she enjoys most - writing and wellness - and use them to affect change in a real way.

When not making music with her kiddos, or writing wellness tips for a higher quality of life, you can find her reading, hiking, drumming, and fitnessing