How to live to be 100 years old.
The 15 anti-aging techniques I’ve learned from 34 years of formal study, 27 years of practicing functional medicine, and 52 years of personal experience.
Updated October 05, 2016
It’s strange to think that I have been in practice, treating patients, more than half my life. When I include my university education, I’ve been studying health, anti-aging, and the human body for more than 34 years. That’s a long time studying one topic, of which, I feel I would need three lifetimes to do it justice. I have had many successes along the way that I am very proud of. I have helped patients that were sent home to die who are still alive today or who outlived all, so called, medical experts ‘predicted date of demise’. I have helped reverse, too many to keep track of, conditions that were supposedly incurable or irreversible. I have also hugged hundreds of parents who thanked me for helping their children get off their medications or be able to now live a normal, productive and vibrant life.
So, what have I gleaned from all of my years of study, practice and living? The list below, presented in no specific order, is what I feel to be the pearls worth sharing. I also feel that the concepts and techniques below are of vital importance to any wellness, healing, or anti-aging protocol. Most, if not all, should be followed daily in order to achieve and maintain health, vibrancy, and reduce stress, throughout one’s lifetime. Anti-aging and wellness is a lifestyle that in time becomes a very easy lifestyle to follow. I will only be touching briefly on each item. Please feel free to e-mail me with the pearls of wisdom you’ve learned and live by.
1. Strive to achieve a constant state of alkalinity. Each day strive to eat a net-alkaline diet. This means that you will need to intake a greater amount, by weight, of foods that contain the alkaline minerals: potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium and zinc (healthy foods; fruits and vegetables) than foods that contain the more acidic minerals: phosphorus and chloride (unhealthy foods; most everything else). It will look something like this: an 85/15 diet containing (85%) fruits; vegetables; nuts; seeds, and (15%) grass-fed or wild-caught proteins and pasture raised eggs. Physical, chemical and especially, emotional stress is the number one cause of an acidic body. Add stress to our standard American diet and you are 100% guaranteed to be acidic. An acidic body is the number one contributing factors for the development of all degenerative and inflammatory diseases (cancer, autoimmune, anything ending in ‘itis’, Alzheimer’s, diabetes…). Recommendation: We all could benefit from a good supplement program (see #7 below). Equally important for any anti-aging protocol is to juice fresh greens every day and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day. Children should only follow the diet recommendation. Supplements may be used by children but only if recommended by a doctor.
2. Do not hold on to negative emotions such as anger, resentment, and jealousy. Nothing will turn on a bad gene or age you more quickly than immersing yourself in negative emotions. Energetically these emotions affect the gall bladder and liver meridian, which can cause headaches, back pain, vision problem, bad skin, wrinkles, weak connective tissue, and many other body problems. Recommendation: This is a very tough one to teach. I didn’t start to embrace this concept until I was 29. It took another 5 years to really get it down to where it was second nature. First, love and let yourself be loved. Second, be grateful for everything you have and have had. Don’t be envious. Yes, there may be times you ‘want’ but as long as you don’t let the ‘want’ consume you, you will be okay. It may sound strange to some but living in a perpetual state of ‘love and gratitude’ allows no room for negative emotions in one’s life. It also makes it a lot easier to be around those who live in a chronically negative state. (Also, see #6 below).
3. Exercise or move vigorously every day. (a.) To the degree that one can confront physical motion or physical activity is to the degree one stays young – mentally and physically. (b.) The day one stops moving is the day one begins to age – mentally and physically. (c.) The body remodels according to the stress placed upon it – physical, emotional, chemical, gravity, electromagnetic… This means that what you do or don’t do has a direct influence on your appearance, attitude and/or physiological state (hormones, blood pressure, neurotransmitters…). Recommendation: Get a gym membership and workout, at least 3-4 days a week! It’s only $14-35 per month. You couldn’t buy a better anti-aging serum, for $14-35 if you tried. Do the things you did when you were young, whatever that may have been – as long as it’s legal.
4. Follow a non-reactive food diet. (examples: Paleo Diet, Simple Carbohydrate Diet or Vegetarian w/animal protein). Reactive foods are those foods that possess a potential to initiate an inflammatory reaction within the body. Reactive foods are mainly, but not limited to, grains; cow’s milk products; and beans. Our body buffers (neutralizes) substances that it doesn’t like (primarily acidic foods or unhealthy foods) with water. We call this an allergy or hypersensitivity reaction. In this scenario, the buffering agent is water, which can be water and/or fat. Human adipose tissue (fat) is 25%-60% water, depending on one’s age. So we have two ways that food can make us fat: over eating and having an allergy or hypersensitivity to the foods we eat. Reactive foods, primarily wheat; soy; corn; and cow’s milk products, can also cause or fuel autoimmune conditions; allergies; ADD; cancer; Alzheimer’s; and many other diseases. Recommendation: GO PALEO! Eat no grains, cow milk products, or legumes/beans). It’s basically a vegan diet with a little animal protein. Tip: just type, in Google, ‘paleo’ before any recipe you are interesting in making and you will find a ton of paleo options. You can find a months of fun reading here – Paleo Blogs.
5. Get ‘grounded’ for at least 15-30 minutes each and every day. Over the course of our history humans have walked barefoot and slept on the ground. Our modern lifestyle, which includes sleeping in beds and the widespread use of insulative rubber or plastic-soled shoes, has disconnected us from Mother Earth’s, beneficial, negative charge. Fascinating new research has raised the possibility that this disconnect, the build-up of a more positive charge, may actually contribute to chronic pain, fatigue, poor sleep, aging, and disease. Recommendation: The remedy for this disconnect is very simple: walk barefoot, outdoors, whenever possible and/or sleep, work, or relax indoors in contact with conductive ‘grounding’ sheets or mats that transfer the energy (negative ions) to your body, which innately has a neutral or slightly negative charge. I get grounded daily, either through going barefoot or by sleeping on my grounding sheet (fitted, bottom sheet). I sleep better, feel better, and have more energy. This simple practice is also called ‘Earthing’. Try grounding for just 15-30 minutes, a day, for a week or two, and see the positive difference it makes on your pain or stress level. Sit, stand, or walk on grass, sand, dirt, or concrete (on the sand, by the ocean, is the best spot of all). These are all conductive surfaces from which your body can draw in the Earth’s negative charge and/or disperse any build-up of positive charge. When there is a flow of electrical charges (positive charge) from the body to the earth (negative charge) the body achieves a neutral charge and there is a balance. When our body has a net-positive charge, anxiety, stress and ill-health may develop. I call negative ions, The Invisible Healer. Get some today – it’s free healthcare!
6. Don’t sweat the little things; have fun. It’s very difficult to not get too caught up in the minutia (small. trivial details of something) of daily life. Let’s be honest, our daily life is primarily made up of nothing more than the small stuff: bills, most eating, work, traffic, car repair, e-mails, texts, etc… (also see #11). When we stop making enough time to have fun, we can get caught up in the minutia and succumb to its negative effects. The result of primarily focusing on the small stuff is that it will keep us from life and living – FUN. I truly believe that to the degree, I’m having fun, is to the degree I’m actually living. ‘Living’ isn’t just about breathing and the existence of a heartbeat; it’s about having fun and feeling ‘ALIVE’. Your idea of fun may be unique to you. It could be spending time with family, skydiving or going to church. As long as you consider it to be fun, it IS fun. There are no rights or wrongs, just legal and illegal. If you are constantly doing things that you consider not fun, but you feel you have to – I call BS; stop it. You actually do have a choice to change your patterns and behavior.
7. Anti-aging supplement protocol, both internal and topical. Internal: I may add some to this list but I doubt I will ever take any off. NAC (Now foods – 1 cap 2x/day); CoQ10 (Now Foods – 300mg’s day); Non-GMO sunflower lecithin granules (Now Foods – 1-2 level tbsp/day; vitamin D3 (Bio-D-Mulsion Forte from Biotics Research – 3-5 drops per day – 6000-10,000 IU’s); magnesium aspartate (Now Foods – 3 caps/day – 450mg’s); potassium bicarbonate (Nuts.com – 1/2-1 level tsp [600 – 1200mg’s] mixed in with 2 tbsp of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, mix then add 2oz water. Taken before bed); zinc (Zn-zyme Forte from Biotics Research – 2 tabs/day – 60mg’s total and/or raw shelled pumpkin seeds); selenium (it’s in the Now Foods, NAC); probiotics and/or fermented foods (I rotate strains and companies – 1/day); plant based and animal based digestive enzymes (Now Foods – Super and Plant Enzymes – 1-2 each with every meal). I only supplement what I feel I’m not getting or can’t get from my diet. RegeneMax Liquid (silica source – 10 drops/day); MSM powder (1-3 tbsp/day); spirulina powder (1 tbsp/day) and collagen hydrolysate protein powder (Great Lakes Gelatin – 2 tbsp/day). Topically: Superoxicell or Oxicell (Speroxicell may stain clothes – Apex Energetics) and HA Firming Serum (Now Foods). After washing your face, squirt 1 drop of each onto the palm of your hand, rub hands together and gently massage on your face and neck. Do this routine in the morning and before bed. 15-20% glycolic acid solutions should be used 1-4 times per month as well. *If you have compromised kidney function, validated by a blood or urine test, do not take supplemental potassium – food sources only.
8. Get routine blood work performed as a disease-prevention measure. If you are not testing, you are guessing! There is no more important or better disease-prevention technique then routine blood testing. I’m including the blood panel components I recommend for anyone over the age of 40 (for informational purposes only). I personally get this panel done once a year and recommend that others over the age of 40 do the same. As we age other tests can be added, as well as gender specific tests. Components of the panel should include: Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP 14); Lipid Panel with LDL/HDL Ratio; Iron, Serum with Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), Percent Iron Saturation, Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity (UIBC); Ferritin; LDH; GGT; Magnesium, Serum; Phosphorus, Serum; Uric Acid, Serum; Creatine Kinase, Total; Thyroid Panel with TSH; C-Reactive Protein (CRP), High Sensitivity; Cortisol; IgA, Total, Quantitative; IgE, Total, Quantitative; IgG, Total, Quantitative; IgM, Total, Quantitative; Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA), IFA with FANA Pattern [autoimmune disease markers]; Glucose 6PD, Quantitative, Blood and RBC; Complete Blood Count (CBC) with Differential and Platelet Count; Beta-2 Microglobulin and Serum; Beta-2 Microglobulin, Urine [cancer markers]; Urinalysis, Routine; and Vitamin D. My price on this panel is $300. Insurance price (it would NEVER be covered anyway, but if it was) would be around $1,800.
9. Go to bed by 10:00pm and get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Each hour of sleep you get before midnight is physiologically equivalent to 2 hours after midnight. Our body was innately created to go to bed within a few hours of sunset and rise with the sun. This is called our circadian rhythm. When we violate this natural law, disease, inflammation and aging will accelerate. There is no such thing as catching up on one’s sleep once lost. Recommendation: Get into the anti-aging habit of going to bed by 10:00-10:30pm and arise by 6:00-6:30am. You will be more productive and you will be less prone to disease and illness. Add a grounding sheet for added benefit and increased anti-aging potential. (also see #5)
10. Practice good manners. Treat others with respect. Keep your word once given. Yes, these possess anti-aging properties! All of these concepts, when implemented into one’s daily life, will help others to feel more comfortable when they are around you. Acting this way will also let others know that you are trustworthy. It can be very difficult, if not impossible, to earn someone’s trust back when it’s lost. Also, those without manners and respect for others will surely have fewer friends and/or job opportunities throughout their life. Recommendation: First, one needs to make a conscious decision that this is what they want. Next, apply action steps to anchor in the decision. Napoleon Hill’s, “The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons” audio book (24 CD’s) is an amazing tool to help anyone start or improve on #10.
11. A cell phone is not a fashion accessory and texting while driving is extremely dangerous. I made myself a promise a long time ago to never evaluate or invalidate a person or their actions, I will only try to educate. All I will say on this concept is that I have manners, respect for my fellow man and I value the lives of my family and those around me. Because of this, I choose not to talk/text on my cell phone inside public places or text while driving. Recommendation: I would hope that if you share these same beliefs, you would want to do the same and be a great role model for those around you. It’s just a phone call or text message – it’s daily minutia, a little thing, and can surely wait. One in a thousand may be important. If it is PULL OVER and take the call or text! If you are over the age of 40, remember when we didn’t have cell phones and we got along just fine.
12. Drink at least 48oz of water and use at least 1/2 tsp of raw, unprocessed, sea salt daily (Seasons-90 Baja Gold Gourmet Sea Salt). Dehydration is far more than merely a lack of H2O. Dehydration is both a lack of water and electrolytes (sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium and potassium). This combination is the underlying cause of many chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, arthritis and even cancer. Proper intake of water, salt (salt the lifesaver) and minerals (electrolytes) can prevent these illnesses and potentially reverse the damage already done. So-called “modern” medicine still blames viruses or genetics for most of these degenerative conditions, and the pharmaceutical industry would lose billions in profits if people relied on the natural healing properties of water and minerals rather than expensive and toxic drugs. Proper hydration is one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have. Why the body needs water, the reasons why a lack of water causes the body to age, become stressed and diseased, as well as very simple methods to ensure your own vibrant health, are all explained in detail. Transcript of his lecture at ‘The Government Health Forum’ in Washington D.C. March 2003. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D.
13. Never procrastinate. As Edward Young said some 350 plus years ago, “Procrastination is the thief of time.” 100 years later Thomas Jefferson thought he invented the idea when he said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” The point is this, just get it done and move on to the next thing! And yes, this is anti-aging as well.
14. Give thanks and praise for everything you have and experience. Give thanks and praise for every bite of food you put into your mouth; for every breath you breathe; for every time your spouse, child and you share a hug; for every time you surf a spicy-wave, etc… I’m sure you get the point – Be thankful for all that you have, will have and have had. Be thankful for all that you’re experiencing now, will experience and have experienced (see #6 above). Recommendation: Live in the now, this moment, not in the past or in the future. Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” So true. Taste your food; listen to every sound around you and pick out each one; pay attention to your breath; feel the sun, the wind, the air; look AT, not through your children, spouse or friends; wherever you are at, right now, BE there comfortably. This is not BS! This is what it is, for as long as it is, and for as long as you are here being a part of it. Andy Dufresne so eloquently said in Shawshank Redemption, “It comes down to a simple choice, get busy living or get busy dying.” Truly living life is one of the fundamental principles of anti-aging.
15. Receive routine chiropractic care. I am including this not because I’m a chiropractor but because I’m a life-long chiropractic patient. I’ve been receiving the anti-aging effects of chiropractic adjustments since I was 9 years old. I will continue for the rest of my life. It’s that important to me. My wife gave birth to our daughter at home. Maile received her first chiropractic adjustment that day, as did my wife, another life-long chiropractic patient. On Earth, we have this thing called gravity and our body is constantly being affected and remodeled by it. Work, play and bad postural habits can also affect our body in a negative way. This constant insult to our nervous (electrical) and musculoskeletal (structural) system will cause imbalances, that if left unchecked can lead to disease and pain within our body. Recommend? First, one must get past the minutia of daily life and become aware that they have a body, and that the body does not just run indefinitely without high-octane fuel and maintenance. Second, make taking care one’s self a priority. Third, commit to a program of care and stick to it. This could be from once a week to once every six weeks. The key here is consistency, just like all of the concepts above.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post about anti-aging. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know – lab tests, nutritional evaluation, chiropractic, whatever… Also, please share this with those you care about. Take care and have the best day ever!
Dr. Marcus Ettinger, D.C.