Fight Aging: The Real Secrets to Staying Young

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Scientists in search of the Fountain of Youth share their findings. You can try these tricks today.

“With aging, we’ve always studied things that decline,” says Changiz Geula, PhD, research professor of neurology at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. But now she and other experts are looking instead to unlock the secrets of the “superaged,” those lucky individuals who seem to stay vital well into their 80s and beyond. Here’s some of their latest research, with advice on how you can add years to your life.

1. Stop eating so much. In Okinawa, Japan—home to some of the world’s oldest people—centenarians stop eating when they’re 80 percent full, says The Blue Zones author Dan Buettner, who studies longevity all over the planet.

They’re onto something: Scientists at St. Louis University found that, while both exercising and eating less led to weight loss in the study’s volunteers, cutting calories also lowered production of T3, a thyroid hormone that slows metabolism. The researchers believe that lower T3 levels may also slow the aging process.

2. Make love. Women who enjoy sex live longer, says Mehmet Oz, MD, professor and vice chairman of surgery at New York Presbyterian–Columbia University and co-author of YOU: Being Beautiful. In fact, doubling your amount of satisfying sex can add up to three years to your life, he says. “Sex gives you the Zen moment you can’t find throughout the day otherwise.”

Next: Use your brain