You can age well, live well, and feel great without trend chasing, restrictive diets, or expensive biohacking.
Welcome to the Healthy Aging Newsletter, a free publication translating trustworthy medical research into simple habits to age well, free of chronic disease. I’m Dr. Ashori, a family medicine doctor turned health coach.
Most people think of aging as something that happens to them. But the truth is, how you age is in your control, more than you might think. While some behaviors and actions are exciting at first, they often don’t last and their perceived failure leaves an unpleasant void.
Measuring Biomarkers
The healthcare industry is busy at work coming up with new biomarkers weekly. Whether it’s a new imaging study, an AI algorithm applied to an older study, new blood tests, whole body scans, or even tissue biopsies.
Biomarkers are as abundant as apps. And just like most apps, they offer little value to the person who wants to live a healthier life. From $99 to $4,999, you can get detailed, invalidated studies done by direct-to-consumer labs.
Even Tests Have Risks
No test is risk-free. Of course, each of us defines risk differently.
For myself, anticipating the results of a colonoscopy or endoscopy or whole body MRI would be nerve racking and the results shared with me would make me feel less solid when it comes to my overall health.
This isn’t to argue against biomarkers which are among the most wonderful tools we’ve developed in modern medicine. But knowing when to use them is more important than ever.
Health & Individual Quality of Life
Mr. L. asked me if he had to stop his weekly whiskey nights with friends or the occasional cigar he smokes twice a year. These are real life decisions people are facing culturally and socially.
I can’t say yes or no because it’s a personal decision. Instead, I can help him think through it.
Health is as individual as a car preference. Some prefer practicality and others want speed. One person wants to make it to the 500K mile club and another wants a new car every 24 months. What they both have in common is that they want to enjoy the car but are willing to make some trade-offs.
Most of us, even those with chronic diseases, can enjoy health. Our daily decisions and our mindset and perspectives are huge determinants of perceived health.
If my chronic pain is controlled with opioids that leave me bedridden, constipated, and foggy brained, that may not be my ideal definition of being healthy or being pain free.
Maybe I’d prefer to suffer through slightly more pain but regain my social functionality.
What I Do in My Practice
In my practice, I help adults take charge of their health and help them with healthy aging with the goal of preventing chronic diseases.
We focus on habits, actions, choices, and decisions and not quick fixes or extreme interventions. Degrading the quality of life too much makes life not worth living.
It is possible to take lots of supplements daily, take multiple prescription medications, monitor all vital signs, get blood tests weekly, imaging studies monthly, and visit with a doctor quarterly for the longest and healthiest life possible. But this comes at a major cost. One that most abandon quickly.
My practice is about quality of life. Because most of us want to live a life that has a healthy balance of productivity, activity, longevity, contentedness, and relatively misery free.
This is often achieved by helping my clients understand which decisions are likely to get them to their ideal goals through health coaching and which may be of little value.
Want a simple plan that actually fits your life?
If you’re tired of trend chasing, restrictive rules, or expensive biohacking, you’re not alone. Healthy aging doesn’t require more tests. It requires a few high-leverage habits you can repeat with consistency and enjoy.
- Define your “healthy” in one sentence
- Choose 1–2 habits that move sleep, energy, and metabolic health together
- Keep it realistic so it survives busy weeks, travel, and stress
- Use biomarkers only when helpful and ignore the noise
If you want help building your personal plan, book a Fit Call. We’ll map out the next 2–4 weeks so you know exactly what to do, without overthinking it.
Bring your main goal (energy, weight, sleep, blood pressure, digestion, mood). I’ll help you pick the simplest next step that makes everything else easier.
