Aging is a privilege — one not guaranteed to everyone. Old age and good health often appear to be mutually exclusive paradigms. In Greek mythology, Tithonus was granted immortality by Zeus, but not eternal youth. As he ages, Tithonus laments his progressively frail body and eventually craves his own death. What Tithonus shows us, aside from being careful what we wish for, is the disparity between lifespan and healthspan. That is, not just the number of years we live, but how many of those we are healthy for. The key is optimizing for both, and the power is in our hands more than we realize.
Mainstream medical advice, quite correctly, pulls our focus onto diet, exercise, and sleep as the central pillars of optimal health. However, as interest in the field of longevity grows, we’re learning more about other ways to enhance our health behaviors, some of which are surprisingly easy to incorporate into daily life.
Ultra-processed foods
Good health often lies in what we ingest daily. We all know fruit and vegetables — especially those free from pesticides — are nutritionally favorable, and that the archetypal healthy human likely follows a Mediterranean or plant-predominant diet.
It’s what we consume alongside these “healthy knowns” that might be more concerning. Over time, the ingredients in many supermarket foods have changed, with ultra-processed foods (UPFs) making up a growing share of our diets. Definitions and classifications of UPFs vary, but they are generally identifiable as products you couldn’t make from ingredients in your own kitchen. (Now’s a good time to get familiar with the back of food packets.)
Often, UPFs masquerade as health products — “high protein” or “low fat” items sold under the guise of assisting your journey to supreme health. Certainly, restricting your calories with these products may help you lose weight. But the key question is: “What’s the trade-off here?”
Whole foods reign supreme. Synthetic additives, artificial flavorings, and indecipherable configurations of numbers serving as filler ingredients very likely contribute to poor health outcomes. UPF intake is associated with several cancers, in addition to the known cardiovascular risks of consuming UPFs packed with hidden sugars and fats.
Even over time, not all products are the same. Forty years ago, tomato ketchup likely contained tomatoes, sugar, spices, and perhaps some malt vinegar. Now, you’ll likely find some of these components are subbed out in favor of “E” numbers and lab-created flavorings. So, when Grandma Pam tells you to “eat the Spam” because it’s “what she ate in her day and she’s lived to tell the tale,” you might want to talk to her about UPFs in 2025.
Xenoestrogens
It’s not just the ingredients in our food that we need to scrutinize. In many personal care products, you will find chemicals called xenoestrogens, such as parabens and phthalates. Few of us are immune to the old marketing ruse of displaying seductive models with luscious lips or soft, hairless armpits to flog their latest product. Counterintuitively, opting for renowned higher-end brands carrying heftier price tags does not assure healthier ingredients.
That might not be the fault of the companies. Paradoxically, chemicals that make your hair feel shinier, softer, or even cleaner may actually be harming your health. Xenoestrogens raise concern even at low doses, and they are found in many everyday products, including shampoo, deodorant, and make-up.
We know that oestrogenic overstimulation plays a role in breast carcinogenesis. A 2023 study demonstrated that substituting these products with items free of parabens and phthalates reversed pro-carcinogenic gene expression within 28 days, though whether this translates to long-term health benefits remains to be seen.
Choosing products without xenoestrogens may lower exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals — a small step that could support long-term health.
Cold water
An area garnering considerable attention is “cold water exposure.” Proponents bask in the adrenaline rush, claiming improved mental clarity and emotional well-being after a cold plunge. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that exposing yourself to cold water improves metabolic health, amplifies antioxidant defences, and reduces chronic inflammation.
Now, more than ever, the medical field is acknowledging the pivotal role of chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease. A recent study demonstrated that short-term cold acclimation enhanced autophagic responses in young males. Autophagy is the body’s in-house recycling process, removing waste and facilitating cell repair, mechanisms believed to help reduce the risk of age-related diseases.
Some patients with chronic pain report feeling therapeutic benefits, particularly where conventional neuropathic medications have fallen short, though robust clinical evidence remains limited. Anecdotally, some of my patients going through menopause have reported that cold water exposure improves their anxiety and overall well-being.
Cold water exposure can also be entirely exhilarating. There are now local cold water swimming clubs, providing the additional benefit of social connection.
Like many medical practices, cold water exposure is not a “one size fits all” recommendation. It would be prudent to obtain medical advice before embracing this glacial pastime, since many conditions preclude its safety.
The social connection
Humans crave connection. We’re hardwired for it. Historically, operating in groups increased our likelihood of survival. The proverb “it takes a village” is used primarily in relation to childrearing, but also holds true for our well-being and health.
Social connection and support have been shown to improve health outcomes across the board — from decreasing cardiovascular mortality to improved blood glucose control and even cancer survival rates. Unsurprisingly, social integration is associated with overall improved mental health.
The reverse is also true. That is, social isolation correlates with adverse health outcomes, namely, poorer mental health and increased mortality. This is something to be particularly mindful of with the inescapable passage of time.
Aging leaves us more vulnerable to disease. But with retirement, lost contacts, and the passing of loved ones, our social circle diminishes. Rather than simply submitting to this fate, I often encourage my patients to view retirement as an opportunity to seek out new ventures and meaning (or what the Japanese call “Ikigai”). Whether it’s volunteering, joining a walking group, rediscovering a long-lost hobby, or trying something new, these activities often cover several pillars of health, be it exercise, cognitive stimulation, or social connection.
Stimulate your brain
The good news is that cognitive stimulation can be completely unintentional, yet still beneficial to your health — an inadvertent byproduct of your leisure choices.
Reading has an association with reduced depressive and chronic pain symptoms, as well as combating cognitive impairment. Your job can also prove important. Adjusting for confounding factors, a recent study found that higher cognitive stimulation at work resulted in lower levels of proteins known to be associated with an increased risk of dementia. What you do for a living might make you live longer.
Engaging with word or number games daily has been linked to increased energy and reduced depression, and some studies suggest that regular cognitive challenges may even be associated with lower overall mortality risk. Even if you can only bring yourself to do a Sudoku on the odd occasion, it is still prospectively associated with reduced cognitive impairment.
Social mind games, such as cards and chess, mitigate loneliness and depression, which is not unexpected. But they also support mobility, may help reduce pain, and are linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline — factors associated with Alzheimer’s prevention.
Sustainable change
I often tell my patients that any lifestyle change has to be acceptable, achievable, and sustainable for them. Patient autonomy is paramount, and there’s power in evaluating what merits change in your own life. Certainly, what we’ve discussed cannot usurp the strong evidence in favor of the well-established pillars of health, namely, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and adequate sleep. But perhaps the core insight here is that there are additional mindful choices we can make that are positively impactful to our health. By incorporating small, mindful changes, we can work toward not just a longer life — but a healthier, more fulfilling one.
This article 5 science-backed ways to extend your healthspan is featured on Big Think.
The post “5 science-backed ways to extend your healthspan” by Elizabeth Xiradakis was published on 06/28/2025 by bigthink.com