Want to Live Longer? Here’s What a Longevity Expert Recommends

How can you add years to your life? The best person to answer this question is someone who has made studying what makes people age and how to slow—and even reverse—this process his life’s work. Our Core Expert, Dr. William Li, gives us his Rx for prolonging healthy living.

Eat a traditional Mediterranean-style diet—but don’t overeat! 

The Mediterranean diet consists of all the key health-promoting ingredients shown to promote longevity: whole vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, healthy oils (like extra virgin olive oil), and seafoods. These foods are rich in polyphenols, dietary fiber, and healthy fats and oils that activate the body’s health defenses to help you resist disease. And by not overeating, you are limiting your caloric intake, which has been shown to slow cellular deterioration and support healthy aging.

Stay active—both mentally and physically! 

When it comes to body and brain health, it’s a “use it or lose it” situation. By staying physically active, you’re keeping your muscles and circulation in shape and stimulating your immune system as well as your stem cells, which are crucial for regenerating your health from the inside out. And cognitive and mental engagement, curiosity, and a lifelong interest in learning are hallmarks of people who live to ripe old ages.

Cultivate your social connections. 

Having strong connections with supportive friends and family helps improve immune function and mental health, and makes you feel positive with a sense of purpose in life. This is a hallmark of people living in our planet’s Blue Zones, where longevity reigns supreme!

Get good quality sleep. 

When you’re sleeping, your body is anything but inactive. This is the time when your brain actively drains toxins that accumulate during the daytime, your immune system has a chance to reset, your metabolism burns away excess body fat, and your gut microbiome is groomed. Chronic lack of sleep makes you miss out on these key functions that promote long-term health.

Avoid dangerous activities. 

Simply, you live longer by staying out of harm’s way. Activities such as extreme sports, free climbing, and base jumping go without saying, but reckless driving or continually overtaxing your body or putting yourself in hazardous situations may also put you at greater risk for fatal accidents. Just don’t.

Shed unhealthy habits. 

Ditch the habits that are known to shorten your life, such as smoking or vaping, consuming excess alcohol, and taking opioid drugs. These habits erode your health and put you at risk for cancer, organ failure, and lethal overdose. Quit while you’re ahead.

Lower your stress levels. 

It's normal and even beneficial to have some stress, but for the long run in life, it’s important to try to lower excessive and chronic stress. High levels of stress cause inflammation in the body, which is a set up for chronic diseases and it accelerates cellular aging.

Our Core Expert

William W. Li, M.D., is an internationally renowned physician, scientist, and two-time New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longerand Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. He is president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation; his groundbreaking work has led to the development of more than 40 new medical treatments and impacts care for more than 70 diseases, including cancer, diabetes, blindness, heart disease, and obesity. His TED Talk “Can We Eat to Starve Cancer?” has garnered more than 11 million views, and he has been featured on multiple national media platforms. drwilliamli.com @drwilliamli