- Dr. Michael Roizen is a longevity expert who claims to have changed his age by 20 years.
- There are some minimal things you can do to live longer, he said.
- These include vaccination, brain training games and eating salmon.
It can be difficult to find the time to take care of our health. But a doctor who claims to have changed his age by 20 years says focusing on the six basics can help us stay healthy for longer.
Dr. Michael Roizen, 78, chief health officer at the Cleveland Clinic, told Business Insider his “biological age” is 57.6, based on the health of his organs and his risk for chronic disease. (There is no agreed definition of biological age or how it can be measured).
Roizen is all about finding lifestyle changes that can help people live healthy lives for as long as possible. But he said “there are little things and easy things to do that make a big difference” to longevity, even if people can’t overhaul their lifestyle.
Below are six things he thinks everyone should do to live longer.
I walk more
Roizen tries to take 10,000 steps a day as part of his weekly exercise routine and thinks everyone should “try to walk a little more”.
To add movement to his commute, for example, he parks his car as far from his work as possible and walks the rest of the way.
Walking fewer than 10,000 steps—a somewhat arbitrary number with its origins in marketing—still has benefits. A 2023 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom found that people who walked 75 minutes or less per week had a lower risk of dying from any cause or developing cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Eat avocado, salmon and olive oil
BI previously reported on the seven foods Roizen eats for longevity. But eating just three of them — avocado, salmon and olive oil — will still confer health benefits, he said. Studies have linked all three at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
You have strong relationships
Maintaining friendships is a “fun” way to increase your health and longevity, Roizen said. Plus, “it’s always better to do things with other people,” he said.
Rose Anne Kenny, professor of aging and lead researcher on the Irish Longitudinal Study of Aging at Trinity College Dublin, said having strong social connections is as important to longevity as a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, BI previously reported .
Processing game play speed
Playing high-speed games can benefit brain health, according to Dr. Michael Roizen. Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images
Roizen recommended playing speed processing games, which are brain training games that studies suggest can help improve how quickly your brain works. Roizen recommended two: Double Decision and Freeze Frame.
Referring to a 2017 study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, Roizen said that playing these games can reduce the risk of dementia. The study found that older adults who played 10 sessions of these games during an initial six-week period, and then did additional sessions 11 and 35 months later, had a 29% lower risk of dementia after 10 years.
Roizen recommended playing these games for two hours a week for five weeks in an attempt to replicate the study’s results.
Take a multivitamin
Research is mixed on whether taking multivitamins is beneficial for longevity.
Roizen cited studies that found the risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and dementia were reduced in people who took multivitamins for years.
But recent research has suggested that these findings are not necessarily indicative that multivitamins are just as effective outside of the study setting. For example, a large study of 390,000 people published in JAMA Network Open earlier this year concluded that taking a multivitamin was not associated with longevity. And the US Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend that the general public take multivitamins because there is not enough evidence to show that it has any benefit.
Roizen said he takes a multivitamin anyway to keep his body’s overall vitamin levels stable.
Get the flu shot
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone six months of age and older should get a flu shot each season.
But Roizen also gets it for the potential benefits of healthy aging. A 2022 review of studies published in Aging Research Reviews suggested that vaccinating seniors against the flu may also help prevent dementia. perhaps because it reduces inflammation in the brain.