Live Longer

This weekend I had the pleasure of listening to heart-health guru Dean Ornish, most recently author of Spectrum, at Ferrazzi Greenlight’s Big Task Weekend, our annual corporate health and wellness conference. As usual, now that it’s over, I’m super fired up by all the amazing people, ideas, and ideals the event plays host to.

Dr. Ornish talked about new research that suggests we have a great deal more control over individual longevity than we thought. Genetics count, but lifestyle changes can actually alter gene expression for better health.

Most interestingly, Dr. Ornish talked about telomeres, the ends of our chromosomes which appear to act as mini “rulers” for longevity – the longer they are, the longer you’ll live. Dr. Ornish says that you can affect telomere length through four factors:

1. Diet
2. Exercise
3. Stress Response
4. Degree of Love and Intimacy

Seems like 3 & 4 are just two halves of the same coin, right?

What kind of diet and exercise are best is the subject of hot debate, but to check out Dr. Ornish’s version, get his book or check out the program here.