Lifespan to Healthspan

 The Willy Street Reader has an interview with Naturopath Katy Wallace.

We’ve been hearing about “lifespan” vs “healthspan” lately. What do each mean? What is the difference?

Lifespan is about how long your life is and the more years you have, the better. Healthspan, on the other hand, is about the quality of your life. It is how many years you experience reasonably good health and function. The point is that lifespan might not be very important if the quality of your life is poor, so healthspan is becoming more of a focus. To identify someone’s healthspan, for example, tests may be used to assess comprehensive wellness, including physical and cognitive function, beyond just the presence or absence of disease.

What can contribute to causing you to look or feel younger than your age?

In general, people feel and look younger in the absence of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can be characterized by some of the following signs: fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, gastrointestinal issues, skin rashes, brain fog, or lack of mental clarity. There are many natural ways to address chronic inflammation to feel and look younger, and many of them are simple. 

For example, drinking adequate amounts of water was shown to be correlated with less disease and healthy aging in a study published by the National Institutes of Health in 2023. Part of this benefit is from how hydration helps with reducing chronic inflammation.

Also, going outdoors and spending more time in nature was recently shown in a large study to be correlated with slower aging on a cellular level. ... Other studies have indicated that time spent outdoors reduces inflammation for people, too.

There are major diet choices people can make to reduce inflammation. A big one is avoiding sugar and processed carbohydrates like baked goods and pasta. This is because these foods lead to blood sugar problems that promote chronic inflammation through the production of the hormone insulin. The amount of carbohydrates a person eats needs to be dialed into their level of activity and metabolism and for most people, this needs to be adjusted as they age. 

What are some things that people in their 40s and 50s can do to help them later in life?

Americans at this stage of life are often at the peak of their careers in a culture that devotes itself to work. Those in middle-age often care for children and then for their parents leading to less time and energy for friendships and personal interests. It’s well understood that strong social connections are foundational for a healthy life, and that it can be harder to establish those as we get older. I would encourage people in this group to prioritize social connections that bring them joy.

In our 40s and 50s, people begin losing muscle mass. This is a process that co-occurs with aging, but it leads to many problems. The loss of muscle leads to a slowing of metabolism and thus weight gain or poor handling of carbohydrates in the diet, which in turn can lead to inflammation and diabetes for many. According to the CDC, diabetes most often develops in middle-aged Americans. An older person without diabetes will generally have a better healthspan because they will not experience nerve damage, vision problems, and kidney or cardiovascular illness, for example. This is one reason why progressive strength training that builds muscle is so important for this age group. The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism. This makes balancing weight and blood sugar much easier and helps improve how energetic you feel.

Loss of muscle also exacerbates hormonal difficulties by allowing hormone levels to drop at a faster rate. The steady decline in hormones with age can lead to a decline in emotional and cognitive health. The more muscle, the better the hormone production. 

One more benefit to building muscle is the more of it you have, the more mitochondria you have, which is key to reducing inflammation and slowing cellular aging. The mitochondria are components of our cells that produce energy, and help prevent or allow disease to develop. Many things help improve mitochondrial health such
as nutrition, heat and cold therapy, sunlight, proper hydration, and of course, strength training. With the one habit of strength training, you get multiple benefits.

Are there regional benefits related to healthspan? Does living in Madison/Dane County/Wisconsin have its advantages?

Living in a region or community where a healthy lifestyle is easy or accessible for you is key. The Madison area was ranked in the top 10 best cities for quality of life in 2024 by the US News and World Report. One of the qualities that contributed to the ranking was having the highest ratio of parks and playgrounds to residents providing ample opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Our access to sustainable agriculture is health-promoting, as is the bike-friendly nature of our community, just to name a few. 

Do you have a few health-related New Year’s resolutions you’d recommend?

Many people already have a natural break in eating overnight from supper to breakfast. I advise people to be more consistent with this habit and break from eating for at least 12 hours overnight to promote numerous health benefits. There is an increasing amount of research showing how changes to someone’s circadian rhythm in this way benefits healthspan. One of the benefits includes supporting more butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut and protection from increased inflammation and disease. 

Progressive strength training for 3-4 days weekly would be another great resolution because it’s helpful for building muscle, hormone health, metabolic health, and mitochondrial health. Increased muscle activity also has the bonus of reducing inflammation according to a recent study out of Duke University. All of this will improve someone’s physical and cognitive healthspan.

Eating protein every 3-4 hours throughout the day is helpful for reducing inflammation from poor blood sugar control and helps reduce cravings for high carbohydrate foods that promote inflammation. It helps keep stress hormone levels under control and helps to build muscle and all its benefits. So, if your goal is to “eat better”, focusing on protein will be a game-changer.

People are often surprised by this one but going outside daily is important for circadian rhythm and healthy levels of neurotransmitters that contribute to mental health.