YOU have the power to make healthy habits last in 2024, and it all starts with the Healthspan-10™.
Discover our 5 Objectives for optimal health — plus the 5 Tools to help you reach them — and get comprehensive, connected support to make your resolutions stick this year.
New Year’s resolutions can be challenging to stick to if you don’t have a strategic game plan or a team of healthcare experts by your side.
We've all been there: Trendy diets inevitably leading to extra “cheat days,” Dry January ending a bit sooner than expected and bustling gym crowds fizzling out by February. In fact, U.S. News & World Report revealed up to 80% of people lose motivation to maintain their resolutions within just six weeks.
But in 2024, YOU have the power to make healthy habits last year-round with the right support — and it all starts with the Healthspan-10™.
What is the Healthspan-10?
Your health deserves more than the typical “eat less, exercise more and see you next year,” which you may be used to hearing from your doctor.
We've found that those who have the best chance at preventing, treating and even reversing heart issues achieve five key health objectives. To do that, they leverage five specific tools. We call this 5x5 approach the Healthspan-10.
Extensive studies from the American Heart Association show a comprehensive method like ours can:
- Reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure by over 90%
- Reduce your risk of cancer by 50%
- Reduce your risk of dementia by 40%
- Add 12-14 healthy years to your life
The 5 Objectives
To get healthier, you first have to understand where you’re at versus where you need to be. In other words, these 5 Objectives will get you clear on the best opportunities for improvement.
With these opportunities in mind, you and your dedicated care team can create a clear roadmap for the specific measures you’ll need to prioritize in order to lower risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer or dementia — and stay at a healthy weight for good.
Great Blood Pressure
Medication isn’t the only way to treat high blood pressure. If your numbers exceed that 120/80 target, small lifestyle changes can make a big difference and decrease dependence on prescriptions over time.
Optimal Cholesterol
HDL, LDL, Lp(a) or Lp “Little a”, Apo-AL, ApoB...you may have heard these terms before — but what do they mean in the big picture of your heart health? Beyond knowing your cholesterol numbers, connecting science to your history, lifestyle and genetics is crucial. This is most effective when done by experts.
Insulin Sensitive/Good Blood Sugar
Insulin resistance affects nearly 40% of Americans, but its symptoms are often silent. To catch the issue early, before it develops into diabetes, it’s important to proactively assess levels for blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and more. With the right change in habits, reversal is possible.
Good Muscle Mass/Fitness
Muscle is youth! The more you have as you age, the stronger and more resilient you’ll be. Studies show a healthy amount of muscle mass in people 65 and older can reduce risk of all-cause mortality by up to 60%.
Don’t worry, lifting heavy weights isn’t the only answer. From diet changes and daily walks to at-home planks and crunches, there are plenty of lower-impact ways older adults can keep muscle mass intact and even continuously build it. We’ll help you identify the best approach for you and hold you accountable to the exercise routine you’ve been wanting to implement into your daily life.
Healthy Fat/Visceral Fat
Your body stores different types of fat, and they don’t impact your health in the same way, especially when it comes to combating heart disease. Unlike the fat you can pinch, visceral fat wraps around your abdominal organs — which also makes it harder to detect.
From an aesthetic standpoint, most are concerned about getting rid of subcutaneous fat — yet, the real concern is visceral fat. Unhealthy visceral fat is a sign of metabolic disease and can serve as a warning for future risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia.
We have the right tools, like DEXA scans, to help you quantify visceral fat and keep it at a healthy level. This non-invasive procedure allows us to visualize the fat located deep in the abdomen and provide a clear, complete picture of your body's composition. But identifying visceral fat is just the first step. From there, you can use the 5 Tools to manage and reduce your risk factors.
The 5 Tools
You know your goals and objectives. Now, it’s time to act! Developing healthy daily habits in each of these 5 areas is critical to living a long and vital life. You and your dedicated Healthspan Coach will explore the tools you need to prioritize and help you reach them as part of your comprehensive, personalized HealthspanMD Action Plan.
Nutrition
Ditch the trends and find a sustainable diet you can stick to in 2024 instead. Nutrient-rich foods, high in healthy fats and not heavily processed, promote healthy eating habits that can significantly help you reduce visceral fat, boost muscle mass, and lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.
Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, these days, eating the right way for your metabolism is not so simple. With so much conflicting information it’s nearly impossible to know for sure what’s best for you and your unique metabolism without a comprehensive approach.
Physical Activity
Exercise can evoke mixed reactions, from excitement and joy to overwhelm, pain or even boredom. What works for others may not work for you. We’ll help you create a customized fitness regimen that’s engaging enough to keep you focused on your goals, yet attainable enough to keep you motivated long-term. And we don’t stop there: You’ll have an ongoing connection and direct messaging access with your Healthspan Coach to keep you focused and engaged.
Restorative Sleep
There’s sleep, and then there’s restorative sleep. Only the last two stages of sleep — deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) — are considered restorative, and the Sleep Foundation reports 20% of your night should be spent there. If you’re consistently waking up groggy instead of recharged, having trouble falling asleep, or waking up throughout the night, we can help pinpoint any stress or lifestyle factors that may contribute to the tossing and turning.
Stress Management
High stress levels raise cortisol, which impacts each of the 5 Objectives and increases risk for cardiovascular disease. We know emotional well-being affects your physical health, which is why we offer strategic solutions to keep stress levels in check. When cortisol numbers are controlled, losing weight, gaining muscle, getting good sleep and feeling like yourself again become much easier.
Toxin Avoidance
New year, new habits. After what may have been a libation-filled holiday, now is an ideal time to take a break from the bad habits and let your body reset. Alcohol and smoking are two of the biggest heart disease risk factors, so cutting back or avoiding them altogether will make results come sooner.
We can provide tools and resources for helping you do this. Note that if you’re struggling with an addiction that’s impacting your life beyond the usual winter overindulgence, we can help connect you with quality substance use disorder treatment centers instead.
Additionally, microtoxins that sneak into your foods, health products and other everyday items can have a big impact on your health over time. Do you have a diet high in processed foods? Should you consider switching to a fluoride-free toothpaste or non-ammonia cat litter?
We’ll dive into the lesser-known toxins — which could include some prescriptions, supplements and even toxic life situations — and help you reduce your exposure. What we’ve found is these areas are synergistic. When you improve one, the others begin to improve as well. So, it doesn’t matter where you start — as long as you start today!
Ready to make your 2024 resolutions last well into 2025 and beyond, so you can live a longer and healthier life? Let’s make it happen together.
Our expert team will not only identify and treat current health issues, but also create strategies and tactics to help you optimize your future health. Become a patient at HealthspanMD in Phoenix and work in partnership with your concierge-level healthcare team to take control of your health.
