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To Remain Healthy In Every Stage of Life |

The Heavenly 7 |

The Quiet Risk Factor

• Aging as a complex and multi-factorial process is universal in nature and only through a holistic consideration will the individual reach her or his maximum potential.
• Aging is an asset, a privilege and not a curse– an instrument that manifests the talents, handling and knowledge of its conductor. 
• Depending on the characteristics and experiences of each person’s life, aging transpires in different manners. What are the secrets of a long and healthy life? Perhaps the answer can be found among those that have experienced it.
• The HAPY phenotype can be defined as the condition of being alive, while having highly preserved functioning metabolic, hormonal and neuro-endocrine control systems at the organ, tissue and molecular levels (Franco, Karnik 2009).
• The HAPY phenotype is further characterized by having a higher degree of physiological complexity in aspects of functioning such as heart rate variability, neuronal structure and bone architecture, which is associated with a biologically younger body (Franco, Karnik 2009).
• The HAPY phenotype represents optimal reserve and biological resilience to respond to and accommodate daily environmental stressors, which translates into the absence of debilitating conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease, dementia, cancer, Parkinson’s disease) and the presence or maintenance of other important aspects of human functioning (e.g., cognitive and physical function, emotional wellbeing).
• The HAPY phenotype is multidimensional, age and gender-dependent and determined by the uninterrupted and complex interaction between our genes, acquired epi-genetic imprinting and environmental factors.
• The secret to living the HAPY phenotype can only be found in a healthy lifestyle and 7 are the key characteristics of a healthy lifestyle that determine and adequate trajectory of aging or a HAPY phenotype. These we dub as “the heavenly seven of the HAPY phenotype”

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• For centuries we have known that to a very large extent we are responsible for our own health, and that the decisions we take in our daily lives affect us both immediately and in the long term.
• The activities of our lifestyle, and the way we live our daily lives are the most important factors in the maintenance of the homeostatic network as well as the capacity to respond and accommodate after the exposure to stressors (as presented in the “spring model of aging”) (Fried et al 2004).
• A healthy lifestyle is the key to maintain a robust and resilient organism. What we do every day, our habits and what we eat, determine the integrity of our physiological function and our capacity to adapt in response to the challenge generated by a stressor (Franco, Karnik 2009).
• The characteristics of a healthy lifestyle can be summarized in two key words: balance and moderation.
• A healthy lifestyle is further characterized by a number of factors that together interact to permit adequate maintenance of resilience and decreased vulnerability. Factors that can be included or considered as part of a healthy lifestyle include the “heavenly seven of the HAPY phenotype”:
  • Good dietary habits
  • Plenty of physical activity
  • Good sleep patterns
  • Adequate levels of sun exposure
  • Optimal levels of wellbeing
  • None to low alcohol consumption
  • No smoking
    
• There is a treasure trove of high quality, scientifically sound evidence supporting each of the heavenly seven. Browse each of the seven areas on this website and find out what the areas are, why they are good, and steps you can take to incorporate these simple changes into your lifestyle. By making some choices over others, you can build your healthy aging capacity.
• Science says…Go for it!!

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• Many chronic conditions share common underlying pathways and are lifestyle and age dependent. For example, high-energy intake (diet) with low energy expenditure (physical activity) results in increased visceral obesity, insulin resistance and vascular inflammation.
• High levels of inflammation itself, have been associated with increased risk of developing future CVD, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes and neuro-degenerative disease by mechanisms linked to microvascular and macrovascular disease, adiposity (fat gain and muscle mass loss), and insulin resistance among others (Brinkley et al 2009, Yaffe 2007).
• Different biomarkers can be used to measure systemic inflammation in blood, among those CRP (C-Reactive Protein) is the most extensively studied biomarker of low grade inflammation (Ye et al 2007).
• Different studies among populations from different latitudes and ethnic backgrounds have shown that increased CRP levels are associated with increased risk of future cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, among healthy individuals (Danesh et al 2004) (Hu et al 2004) (Laaksonen et al 2004, Ye, Yu 2007).
• Furthermore, high levels of inflammation (measured either with CRP levels of Interleukin-6 levels) have also been associated with muscle mass, strength, sarcopenic obesity, physical function and disability, therefore, chronic subclinical inflammation has also been suggested to be a significant marker of functional limitations among elderly across different conditions and health states (Brinkley, Nicklas 2009).
• Nevertheless adopting a healthy lifestyle (including the heavenly seven) can significantly contribute to reduce the levels of inflammation and halt its advance and progress into chronic disease and disability.
• Following adequate levels of physical activity have been shown to be associated with a significant decrease in the levels of inflammation across different populations from different ethnic backgrounds and ages (Abramson et al 2002, Yu et al 2009). The mechanisms associated with this protective effect of physical activity include reductions in improvements in endothelial function, insulin sensitivity, abdominal obesity, antioxidant effects, decreases in triglycerides and increases in the levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol!)
• But not only physical activity can help to control chronic inflammation. Different studies have also found that following adequate dietary patterns provides a sound manner to reduce inflammation and its deleterious consequences (Fargnoli et al 2008).
• Once again, following the heavenly seven is the key!

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