Additional Coverage:
- A longevity researcher says everyone’s too obsessed with living forever. Here are his 2 anti-aging habits instead. (businessinsider.com)
Local Longevity Expert Says Skip the Fads, Embrace the Basics
[City, State] – In a world increasingly obsessed with “anti-aging” trends and the promise of eternal youth, Dr. Steven Austad offers a refreshing, grounded perspective.
As the scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research, Dr. Austad has spent his career delving into the mysteries of healthy aging, yet he rarely frets about his own lifespan.
In fact, his past includes a stint training lions, hardly a career choice for the overly cautious.
“I used to train lions for a living,” Austad told reporters. “It was not something that you would do if you were thinking about living a long time.”
Before his current role at the nonprofit dedicated to healthy aging research, Dr. Austad was a field biologist, exploring remote regions like Venezuela and East Africa.
His initial interest in aging wasn’t about finding a fountain of youth, but rather understanding the fundamental process of why healthy cells age. He notes that the field has since seen a surge of interest in longevity, often fueled by trends with what he calls “dubious science backing the claims.”
“I’m not one of those people who spends an hour a day in a hyperbaric chamber or gets infusions of some weird protein-vitamin cocktail,” he states, emphasizing his skepticism towards popular, often costly, anti-aging interventions. Despite his demanding past and even a battle with malaria, Dr. Austad maintains remarkable health.
He doesn’t take supplements, citing a lack of compelling evidence for their guaranteed benefits, and even enjoys a glass of wine from time to time. His philosophy is simple: “If you spend all your time thinking about how long you’re going to live, you kind of forget to live.”
Instead of chasing fads, Dr. Austad adheres to a few simple, science-backed habits – principles he humorously notes are “basically the things that my mother probably told me.”
He Exhausts Himself at the Gym
For Dr. Austad, serious exercise isn’t just a recommendation; it’s a daily commitment.
He recalls an eye-opening experience in Papua New Guinea where a 12-year-old girl effortlessly carried his bag up a mountain, leaving him grateful and stunned by her fitness level. “To me, that was a window into what our bodies evolved to be like,” he says, noting that villagers in such environments rarely suffer from conditions linked to sedentary lifestyles.
Now, he considers himself “kind of a gym rat.” Due to an old knee injury from his lion-training days, biking is his cardio of choice, often for 40 minutes to an hour and a half. Strength training is also a priority, with routines alternating muscle groups and always including core exercises.
“I probably spend one to two hours a day in the gym, which it’s a big commitment for someone who’s in academics,” he admits. “I basically physically exhaust my body into submission.” He’s always found satisfaction in the feeling of being completely worn out after a workout.
Beyond muscle and heart health, research now reveals exercise’s widespread benefits, including cognitive improvements, immune system boosts, and crucial for Dr. Austad, quality sleep. “I don’t have great sleep unless I physically exhaust myself, and I just figure I have to live with that,” he explains.
He Only Eats Twice a Day
Long before it became a trendy buzzword in longevity circles, Dr. Austad was practicing time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting. It simply felt like his “natural rhythm” to skip lunch, eating a late breakfast around 11 a.m. and finishing his day with dinner between 6 or 7 p.m.
“Now, recently it’s come out that there are all kinds of health benefits associated with that kind of timing, and I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t appreciate that earlier,” he chuckles. While intermittent fasting schedules vary and some studies suggest potential risks, Dr. Austad’s consistent schedule aligns with his circadian rhythm, which researchers believe can significantly improve metabolic health.
His diet generally follows the Mediterranean style, emphasizing fish as a primary protein source, reducing red meat, and incorporating a diverse array of fruits and vegetables. But again, he stresses, he doesn’t obsess.
He recounts attending a calorie restriction conference banquet that offered little more than “leaves and nuts and zero-calorie dressing.” For Dr.
Austad, such extreme measures aren’t worth the sacrifice. “Even if it made you healthier, and I’m not convinced that it does, it’s just too much for me,” he concludes.