#009. Universal Foundations of Healthspan
Hi friends, family, and extended internet family!
This week in my writing class I coined a phrase - “Universal Foundations of Healthspan”. It’s the idea that the same core ideas for health can be used for anyone, anywhere, at anytime. I hope you enjoy it!
When I have children, I will do everything in my power to give them a long healthspan. My plan is to help them create healthy daily habits like eating more vegetables and assessing their poop. But I can only use my helicopter parenting tactics for as long as they live under my roof. Therefore, my hope is to instill enough curiosity about the fundamental components of healthspan for them to want to learn far more than I can teach.
Fortunately, the four areas of food, lifestyle, genetics, and environment neatly categorize all one needs to know. Together, I call this the Universal Foundations of Healthspan.
Food includes what we eat and drink as well as how we digest, absorb, and eliminate.
Lifestyle includes all aspects of sleep, rest, movement, spiritual practices, and managing stress.
Genetics include the genes we inherit from our parents as well as how our genes change in response to food, lifestyle, and environment.
Environment includes external factors such as air quality, access to nutritious foods, work or home environments, toxicant exposures, climate, and community. It also includes one’s internal environment such as emotions and sense of belonging.
Similar to the laws of physics that apply across time and space, there are principles governing human health that are translatable across borders, cultures, and even generations. Some of these principles are obvious now that we are bridging thousand year old Eastern health practices with modern Western scientific understanding.
Recently, I heard a recent researcher relate the ancient Ayurvedic concept of digestive fire, or ‘Agni’, to the modern medical concept of the gut microbiome. I’ve also heard physicians practicing Precision Medicine relate epigenetics back to the Traditional Chinese Medicine concept of ‘constitutions’ or the Ayurvedic concept of a ‘dosha’.
The concept of Universal Foundations of Healthspan is as complex as it is simple. While it may seem incredulous that there are only four areas of focus, each is richly embedded with details personalized to each individual. This is why siblings raised together and even twins who move apart may still have very different health needs and health outcomes. This has been the call to action for the emergence of personalized healthcare.
If we can teach future generations how each foundational component affects their healthspan, perhaps we can then nurture humanity’s next self-sufficient and self-aware health decision makers. In a world that tempts them with heart-stopping carnival foods and pickled cabbage juice cults, this might be their only insurance policy for having a long healthy life.
Thanks for hopping aboard my train of musings! Over and out.
Something pique your interest? Got a question? Feedback?
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I read all your responses.
Until next time - have a happy healthy journey,
Maymie