Aging Well: Dr. Peter Attia Shares Strategies for Improving Longevity

Peter Attia, MD, author of "Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity", joins a conversation inspired by his daughter's volunteer experience at a senior care center, where she formed meaningful relationships with residents. She discovered they were curious about healthspan, lifespan, and strategies for living well as they age, so she asked her dad to visit the seniors to have a conversation.

In the video below, Dr. Attia engages directly with the residents. He covers these critical topics, with a particular focus on an aging population:

• What longevity really means: not just adding years to life, but life to years.
• The 4 horsemen of chronic disease: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic conditions.
• It's never too late to start making changes for better health.
• The critical role of exercise, especially strength training in maintaining mobility, preventing falls, and preserving independence.
• How to approach exercise later in life.
• The importance of protein intake and nutrition principles for aging.
• Sleep optimization.
• Emotional health, social connection, purpose, and why relationships matter as much as physical health.

Since your health concerns may be similar to those of the seniors at the care center, you may find this discussion to be relevant to your situation.

Muscles - Fast & Slow Twitch

In the above video, Dr. Attia mentions the decline of fast-twitch muscle fibers in older individuals, and how it was these fibers that prevented him from having a fall in the woods. These are the muscle fibers that you need to help you prevent a fall.

Hopefully we'll post a future article about methods for increasing fast-twitch muscle fibers. While walking around Green Lake is wonderful, this type of exercise does not develop fast-twitch muscle fibers. However, the trick is to perform exercises that increase your fast-twitch capability -- without injuring yourself. We'll have more to say about this.

For now, here's a summary of muscle fiber types: 

• Humans have three muscle fiber types (Type I, Type IIa, & Type IIx), while most other animals have four types (Type I, Type IIa, Type IIb, & Type IIx).
• In terms of speed Type IIb are ultrafast, Type IIb > Type IIx > Type IIa > Type I.
• Type I muscle fibers are less fatigable; they have more mitochondria but don’t produce as much force; they’re slower.
• As you move from Type IIA to Type IIx they become faster but more fatigable (because they are more reliant upon glycolysis and carbohydrate metabolism).

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