We're All Getting Older

+ related thoughts on the longevity trend in wellness

Over the last two weeks, I’ve spent my mornings and evenings on calls with my family in India, figuring out which is the best course of action and who is the best surgeon to treat a rapid onset spinal issue my dad is experiencing. (As of today, he is through surgery and recovering!) Like many of us, I've been watching my parents grow older - observing how gentle they have become with their bodies, how sleep seems to escape them, how their minds are sharp but their hearing is dulling. There's something humbling about witnessing the people who once carried you begin to move through the world with more caution, their bodies telling stories of years lived. And there’s something about it that after decades of feeling invincible, makes you start to take your own health more seriously.

Somewhere between my friends sending me ads for NMN supplements and my Instagram feed being flooded with longevity experts, I began to wonder about not just how we age, but how we think about aging itself.

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The wellness industry has gone all in on longevity and anti-aging with a sprawling ecosystem of products, services, and protocols promising to extend healthspan - the years we live in good health. Between the IV drips, peptides, red light panels, sauna/cold plunge protocols and let’s not get started on the morning routines, it’s hard to know what exactly is worth exploring. Culturally, we have a complex relationship with aging, a collective anxiety about the passage of time. And when it comes to longevity, the lines are blurred between health, beauty, and industry. We've medicalized natural processes, pathologized wrinkles, and turned youth into a commodity.

Of course we all want to have an easeful life as we grow older. But there is a line between wanting to remain healthy and an obsessive pursuit of eternal youth. Perhaps the goal - instead of overcoming aging - is to make it possible to enjoy the experience.

As someone entrenched in the wellness industry, I’ve come to the conclusion that, as always, it’s not so much about what we are doing, but how and why. So long as we are anchored in a genuine desire to extend our healthspan, as long as we accept that our mortality is not optional, I take no issue with longevity practices. I strongly feel that like most of life, these protocols are not one size fits all. It behooves us to find what is right for us. That said, for most humans, if we truly want to live long, healthy lives, research consistently points to these fundamentals:

Movement as medicine: Our bodies weren't designed for constant sitting. We all benefit from strength training and heart protective cardio. Even the simplest daily movement - walking, gardening, dancing in your kitchen - costs nothing and delivers everything. The benefits compound over decades, protecting joints, maintaining muscle mass, and supporting cardiovascular health.

Real food: The most powerful supplement there is a well-balanced real food diet. At the very least, we should aim to eat 5-10 different plants per day. Most days, closer to 10. Everybody’s nutritional needs are different, but we all benefit from diverse foods, healthy fats, adequate protein, hearty amounts of fiber, and most importantly, the kind of food that doesn’t have a decades long shelf life.

Connection and purpose: I wrote recently about the benefits of friendship, and the research about how loneliness can be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes daily. Meaningful relationships and a sense of purpose provide not just psychological benefits but physiological ones, reducing inflammation and supporting immune function.

Sleep hygiene: Before investing in expensive health interventions, consider the free practice of adequate sleep. No sleep tracking device makes up for a chronic lack of rest. Your body performs crucial repair functions during deep sleep. Sleep deprivation leads to a sea of negative health consequences, including an acceleration of cellular aging, decrease in immune function, increase in risk for certain types of cancer and negative mental health consequences.

Stress management: Stress is unavoidable, but refusing to deal with it becomes a real health issue. Chronic stress accelerates aging at the cellular level. Meditation, time in nature, breathwork, or simply setting boundaries cost nothing and deliver profound benefits.

The case for personalized testing: There are strategies that work for all humans (like the fundamentals above), and strategies that support certain types of people (especially when it comes to supplements.) We each have unique biochemical needs and risk factors. Comprehensive testing - from advanced panels to DEXA scans, hormone assessments, and genetic screening - can reveal individual vulnerabilities and predispositions. For example, someone with MTHFR gene variations might need specific B-vitamin forms; another person's high Lp(a) levels might require targeted cardiovascular protection.

These deeper metrics can transform general anti-aging aspirations into precise health strategies, preventing wasted effort on the trends or interventions that our bodies may not actually need.

At the end of the day, the most powerful anti-aging protocol might be accepting that aging happens. Loving ourselves means embracing that, while still removing the obstacles to doing it well. Instead of fighting time, we might consider working with it. The best approach to longevity is protecting our ability to fully participate in life at every stage. And the best strategy may be the simplest one: intentionally living well today, with practices sustainable enough to carry us into tomorrow. Life is happening right now. Let’s not miss it.

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