Many doctors refer to the period between ages 50 and 70 as the harrowing-sounding “sniper’s alley.” Because that’s when the effects of the past few decades will start to be felt and people will start dying. “It’s not the result of car accidents or severe early cancers, but preventable things like heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and strokes, 80 per cent of which can be prevented with diet and lifestyle changes.”
But is this primarily due to the genetic cards we’ve been dealt? “Our genes don’t exactly drive change,” Dr. Amati says. She likens them to the notes in a “concerto” of our lives. “How soft or loud a note should be played is determined by the conductor or, in this case, our diet and lifestyle.”
She has seen this happen firsthand in her own family. Her beloved “Papa” was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the age of 60 after years of battling his health. Dr Amati said her father stopped playing sport when her family moved from Italy to the UK. Her favorite activities were skiing, horse riding and swimming, all of which she could not participate in in London. His eating worsened and he gained weight.
“None of his medical professionals intervened and talked to him about the importance of his diet or exercise. He was told that ideally he could lose weight, but not to worry. ” Lack of this advice, or lack of it, can have fatal consequences. He died at just 63 years old. The last thing he did before being hospitalized was go to my wedding. I’m very happy about that. But if I had known then what I know now, I could have kept him here longer,” she says sadly. “A lot of what I’m doing now is because of him.”
Meanwhile, her grandfather (“we are Italian”), who had lived with Dr. Amati’s family since he was 83, was told by a doctor they were talking to on the bus that he should stop smoking and lose weight. I was told this and changed my mind. If you want to see your children’s growth, check their weight. “He never saw him again, but it really hit home.” Amazingly, he followed the instructions. “My grandfather passed away at the age of 97, but he was alive and well until his last week.” The difference between [him and my father] It was diet and lifestyle. ”
She wants us to understand that it’s never too late to turn things around.
“If you’re in your 40s or 50s and you’re stressed, you have visceral fat, your metabolism is abnormal (high cholesterol, blood sugar), and you’re not in very good shape, you can’t expect to live to the full 90s.” But even at that age, you can still change and maintain your core. That’s what happened to my grandfather. Of course, this is just one example, but in his 40s and 50s. There are many examples of people in their 60s and 70s turning their lives around.
“You often hear that it’s very confusing. But when you actually look at the science, it’s very clear, and the science is very basic. It’s really, it’s really natural. Food and really eating a variety of plants. There’s room for animal products, eggs, fish, poultry, meat, dairy, but it’s not the main part of your plate.”
Key fact: You can add an additional 7 years to your healthy lifespan.
“Even into your 70s, you can add another seven years to your healthy lifespan,” Dr Amati said, citing recent research data from UK Biobank. However, our physiology is changing and we need to be more aware of the effects of alcohol. “Our bodies become less and less tolerant of that level of inflammation from alcohol. So if you’re a habitual drinker, I wouldn’t drink every day. “In older people, alcohol can cause symptoms that may be symptoms of dementia.”
