How I extend my healthspan
Having just published my first book, how to extend your healthspan, I thought it would be timely to write an essay/list of what I do. My first effort to explain my choices was presented in a research poster at the Linus Pauling meetings.
Sugartown
One Day in Roc’s Life
46 resolutions to prolong healthspan (revised 2024 Age 76)
(and again in 2026 Age 77)
Behaviors:
(1) stress -A main causes of aging is inflammation, and stress causes inflammation. If you cannot do something to improve a situation, it is better to not worry about it.
(2) waking and going to sleep at a regular time is important to maintain biorhythyms. I am early to bed, early to rise – 10pm and 6:30am.
(3) water – Especially when older, people get dehydrated without realizing it, causing hunger and sore muscles.
(4) 8 hours of sleep a nite – Lack of sleep contributes to obesity, poor concentration, and weak immunity, contributing to onset of many chronic illnesses. But the amount of sleep particular individuals require varies from 4 to 12 hours.
(5) a 30 minute nap- Naps of 15-30 minutes are restful and allow for a proper sleep cycle. Longer ones disrupt the normal sleep cycle, and shorter ones provide no rest.
(6)I brush my teeth for 2 minutes – 2 minutes twice a day is considered optimum to maintain teeth and gums. I also floss. The bacteria that grow on the gums migrate to the heart and cause heart disease.
(7) two jobs – Retirement to a life without purpose is a major cause of death. If you lack a purpose beyond yourself, that is unhealthy.
(8) Reading/learning – It is important to keep learning new things, and exercising the brain. For me, that is my nutrition newsletter and website. As of 75, I also started writing books. My first one, How to Extend Your Healthspan, comes out in May, 2026.
(9) Thinking about sex to build healthy new neurons! Note it only requires thinking about it. Sadly in our world, doing it (or even speaking about it) can be dangerous for many reasons.
(10) singing – Volunteer work has been shown to significantly improve healthspan, and social interaction reduces risk of Alzheimer’s.
Forgot these so not numbered consecutively:
(51). See a doctor once a year – I do a cologuard test when allowed, I think every two years.
(52) See a dentist twice a year – Unclean teeth are a major cause of heart disease, because of bacteria the grow on unbrushed teeth.
(53) See a dermatologist annually.
(11) Sugartown, by Nancy Sinatra, is a song of hope, optimism, and relaxation. Whenever I sing it, every verse reminds me “I got some troubles, but they won’t last.” One characteristic of healthy mature people is optimism. Having a positive outlook is valuable to good health.
Exercise:
(12) 1 to 8 hours of exercise daily – While nutrition is useful, the only documented way in numerous studies to maintain health and weight as we age is through exercise, although it remains controversial whether exercise is useful to reduce your weight. Take the stairs, walk faster, balance on one foot while brushing your teeth. In 2017, it was shown that HIIT increases protein synthesis in mitochondria, making HIIT the most scientifically validated form of exercise.
Types of exercise:
(13) Jogging three times a week, I try for a mile each time, or more.
(14) tai chi for exercise, balance, and meditation – Learning new things is important to healthy aging and your brain.
(15) Gardening is great, mowing the lawn, shoveling snow in winter.
(16) Getting up frequently when I am sitting, at least every 30 minutes.
(17) balancing on each foot 1 minute each – Balance declines with age, and consequences of falls are the major cause of death in older people.
(18) yoga for 60 minutes – Yoga is great to maintain flexibility and balance and strengthen bones and joints. The meditation component is good for brain health
(19) I have stopped meditating, but do Tai Chi weekly, and practice some days – Meditation is the only proven way to increase the size of your brain. Just an hour a day for 2 weeks in college students provided measurable increase in size by MRI.
Diet:
(20) vegetarian or fish dinners often- The whole plant diet can even reverse diabetes. Fish is also good for health, esp. cold water fish that contain EPA and DHA.
(21) two-legged meats -Turkey and chicken do not have the harmful saturated fat level of four legged animals.
(22) four-legged meats BAD- The saturated fat level is harmful, and promotes weight gain. Worse still is processed meats like sausages, with nitrates.
(23) I avoid processed meats- sausage, salami, etc.
(24) dark grape juice – A glass daily substantially improves mental function.
(25) 2 cups of coffee – Coffee is for mental health. It reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease
(26) oatmeal or granola- A whole grain breakfast, it lowers cholesterol a little.
(27) 15 blueberries – Blueberries are the most documented source for brain health, and contain many polyphenols which are antioxidants. It has lots of quercetin, which prevents degradation of EGCG, found in green tea, that substantially improves health.
(28) one cup of green tea – There is a linear relationship between cups of green tea daily and overall health. But having one cup after getting the quercetin in blueberries, that prevents degradation of EGCG, gives me the equivalent of drinking 6 cups.
(29) honey – This may reduce allergies, esp. local honey, to local hay fever and pollens.
(30) turmeric – A spice which prevents cancer. It also gives me a bunch more water.
(31) broccoli – A cruciferous vegetable, which kills cancer cells
(32) cayenne – A spice, which like turmeric, kills cancer cells
(33) a couple of tablespoons of olive oil – It signals the body to lose weight.
(34) one serving of alcohol/day for a woman, two for a man – Alcohol improves healthspan
(35) 2 squares of dark chocolate – dark chocolate was declared the new vegetable years ago, and is very beneficial to health, including weight loss.
(36) a few handfuls of red grapes – grapes have a low pH, whereas most modern foods are basic. Like red grape juice, they have other benefits, including hydration.
(37) a few handfuls of mixed nuts – Nuts are very healthful. Like green tea, health increases linearly the more days each week you eat a handful of nuts, including peanuts.
Medications:
(38) Aleve when I have had a hard workout – Sore muscles are caused by inflammation, and inflammation is one of the major causes of aging.
(39) aspirin – stopped taking this. My heart was stress tested and it needs no help. While most take a daily baby aspirin, a report I read long ago suggested that a full dose of aspirin has more power to prevent heart attacks. There is now controversy over whether to take aspiring.
Supplements:
(40) 1g krill oil – Despite controversy, many nutritional studies show a variety of health benefits of EPA and DHA, which we are unable to synthesize sufficiently, and make up 70% of the brain. Fish oil is often oxidized, so I use krill oil.
(41) resveratrol – This helps maintain weight and brain health
(42) AREDs – This is the Johns Hopkins formula to maintain eye health and prevent macular degeneration, including vitamin C, E, and other beneficial ingredients.
(43) Spirulina – This is a blue green algae. This helps rejuvenate the brain.
(44) SAMe 200mg – Distinguished scientist Lester Packer led a symposium years ago that concluded this is the most effective anti-depressant there is – kids make tons naturally, but we make steadily less as we age. Plus it provides single carbon tags so that epigenetic labeling of DNA functions properly. And it helps prevent cirrhosis of the liver.
(45) vitamin B3 – Niacin is needed for NADH, for energy. Science magazine had an article stating that most older adults are deficient and the RDA is not enough
(46) vitamin D – I take 2,000IU daily, sometimes 5,000IU. The official requirement is 600, but the man who established that value now states we need at least 2,000, and experts are taking 5,000IU daily. This is necessary for strong bones, and for the innate immune system, that prevents many diseases, especially the start of colds.
(47) vitamin B12 – For brain health, it is fat soluble, so it can be taken once a week.
(48) 3mg of melatonin – In a talk at AGE years ago, a study was done of gene expression in older and younger men. When the older men took melatonin 3 times weekly, their gene expression pattern reverted substantially to that of a younger man.
(49) Mito-C – twice a day – After retiring, I was invited to develop a nutritional supplement containing whatever I want. The result is Mito-C, which has many ingredients to prevent protein misfolding and burn fat. Distinguished scientist/friend Bruce Ames discovered the natural combination that makes old mice become physically active and mentally smart like young mice, N-acetylcholine and carnitine, which transport fatty acids into the mitochondria to burn fat and maintain energy. But it was expensive. So I developed Mito-C, which has the same two molecules as Juvenon, and many others. It is much less expensive. It also contains many other ingredients to extend healthspan. Protein misfolding is a major cause of aging. Mito-C contains EGCG, the active ingredient in green tea. Green tea extends healthspan linearly up to six cups a day. Quercetin, the active ingredient in blueberries, prevents the degradation of EGCG. EGCG slows the rate of protein synthesis so misfolding is much less likely.
Having vitamin C twice a day, 500mg each, saturates the blood, providing the best protection from free radicals. This lessens the risk of damage from strokes, and reduces the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Taking the combination of AREDs in the morning and Mito-C twice a day provides that essential level of vitamin C.
(50) Triumph – Another supplement I developed when I got bladder cancer about 25 years ago. I smoked for many years, addicted as child as my parents smoked. I was unable to quit until a freak accident knocked me out with traumatic brain injury. By the time I recovered fully, thanks to all the vitamin C I had taken that protected my brain, it was six weeks later, and I had lost the addiction to cigarettes.
At any rate, I had told my biochemistry students if I ever got cancer I would cure it. After my bladder cancer was surgically removed, I was told it had a 95% chance of recurring within 5 years. So I developed Triumph, a mega-dose of vitamin C taken twice a day for two consecutive days, twice a month, which builds a level of vitamin C in the bladder which kills any recurring cancer cells. Oral vitamin C cannot accumulate to high enough levels in the blood to kill cancer cells. But as excess serum vitamin C is filtered into the bladder, there one can develop a concentration fatal to cancer cells.