24 Longevity Products for 2024

Longevity as I define it is simply the ability to be able to continue to do the things you love at any age. Personally, I plan to live healthfully to 104 and have spent much of my life studying how.
We have few role models for healthy longevity in this country. So over the remainder of the year, I’ll be presenting my 24 for 24. These are my 24 favorite products to increase the likelihood that you can get there healthfully.

I’ll also tie in stories of how these things have made a difference to clients and myself.

Today I’ll start with Juice Plus+ 

The best evidence says that we should eat a large variety of fresh fruits & veggies daily. Actually, at least 8 servings! Few of us, myself included, do this daily.

What if there was a low-cost convenient answer? 

We know vitamins aren’t the answer. They contain only a small fraction of the necessary nutrients needed for good health. 

Juice Plus+ was founded by Dr. Huberto Santillo. He started drying fresh fruits & veggies, turning them into powders to put into his father’s feeding tube back in the 1990’s. Eventually, as his dad improved, connections ensued, and Juice Plus+ was born. 

Over the intervening 30 years, over 40 studies have been conducted on people (many double-blinded) and published throughout the world in peer-reviewed medical journals that show the positive effects of Juice Plus+. Studies show it is highly bio-available and positively impacts numerous biomarkers associated with decreased inflammation, increased cardiovascular health, better immune health, and more. It offers anti-oxidant protection and protects DNA from damage. It positively impacts skin health, lung health, gum health, metabolic health, athletic performance, and cognitive function. 

Juice Plus fruit, vegetable & berry blends are available in capsules and chewables for just a couple of dollars daily. They contain over 30 different fruits, vegetables, and berries. Ripe, fresh-picked products are dried using a low-temperature proprietary method. It maintains significant amounts of the inherent nutritional value of the whole produce. 

Because I believe that we can never get too much good nutrition into our systems, I take Juice Plus+ daily in addition to everything else I do for my health & longevity.

Thinking back to when I first started using this product over 10 years ago, I have more energy now than I did then. My stamina is better. My eyesight and my gum health have also measurably improved as noted by my optometrist and dentist.

The many clinical health professionals associated with Juice Plus+, myself included, consider the fruit, vegetable & berry blends to be essential. These 3 are what I personally take daily.

Now through March 1st, Juice Plus+ is also offering 10 free sachets each of their “Complete” vanilla & chocolate protein powders with each new order of Juice Plus Essentials capsules. (a $60 value)

In addition, Juice Plus also has a family Healthy Starts program and a referral that can help you & your family get free or discounted products. (You can check with me about details.)

To get started and get your free additional product, contact me.  

The post Simple Steps to Lifetime Mobility & Clear Thinking appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

What if it was 680,000? Would that make you even MORE scared?

Here’s the thing: there’s a PREVENTABLE disease that kills 680,000 Americans. . .EVERY. . . SINGLE. . .YEAR! And has for many years.

Why are we not up in arms about that?

Let’s prevent THAT! (Along WITH doing what we can to prevent CoVID.)

Oh, yeah, and by the way, preventing it will also make it LESS LIKELY that you’ll get a SERIOUS CASE of CoVID!

A good Win-Win; no?

So what IS this disease? It’s heart disease! 

Yes, the most common preventable disease of the Western World. More than one person every. . .single . . .minute succumbs to this disease in the United States! 

It killed more people last year than CoVID did (though we don’t have the exact numbers yet.)

As someone living in this society, it’s highly likely you already have it without knowing or are well on your way to developing it.

“Who me?” I can hear you asking? 

Yes, you! The one with high blood pressure, who conveniently forgets that your dad died of a stroke, just like my dad did or your mom died of heart failure when she was only 70, or any of the other ways it can display that we just avoid thinking about.

What about your heart and properly placed fear?

Yes, you! Sitting there eating your cheese and crackers and your burgers! 

Yes, you! Who’s stressed about the kids, the job . . .and . . .and . . .and. . .

So, how do you prevent it? 

It’s not like you don’t know this: it mostly comes down to what’s on the end of your fork.

Doctors who work to prevent and reverse heart disease agree on the basics:

A whole food plant-based diet  with no added oil.

Keeping nuts & seeds to a minimum (2 ounces or less per day). Oh, yeah, and skip the avocados and coconut too. 

To become what they term ‘heart-attack proof’ you want to get to and maintain a total blood cholesterol of under 150. 

Once you cut out animal products, added oil, and most nuts, that’s really not hard. (Truth be told, if you don’t already have heart disease, you can eat a little animal food on occasion IF you can still keep your cholesterol below 150.)

Where do you begin?

How about by getting rid of the junk food and restocking with healthier whole food?

If that seems like a reasonable place to start, 

Let me help you by starting with a Zoom Pantry Clean-out. 

Once you’ve done that, the rest is SO much easier. Just like anything else you want to accomplish in life: you just need to make the ‘doing’ more effortless; putting systems and habits in place to get started and keep going in the right direction.

So let’s agree: what’s happening with CoVID19 is heart-breaking and what’s literally without hearts is heart-breaking as well. Let put the pieces in place to prevent ALL of it. NOW! Let’s concentrate on your heart and properly placed fear and appropriate prevention.

I know this has been harsh, but it all comes from love and compassion and from being sick and tired of remaining silent while people suffer.

You can schedule your pantry clean-out here:

The post CoVID19, Your Heart, and Properly Placed Fear appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

I just learned that a long-time business associate, someone I consider a friend died very recently of a heart attack. She was in her mid-60’s and was overweight for as long as I knew her (30 years). One simple measure; healthy eating could’ve made a huge difference in her life and I was sad to learn nothing I or others had said or done had made enough difference to get her to act before it was too late. If YOU are reading this now, healthy eating could make a difference for you. But thinking about it and following through on it are two very different things for most of us.

I’m going to share ONE SIMPLE MEASURE for healthy eating you can start on today. It can make a significant difference.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole, get paralyzed & go nowhere.

What do I mean by this?

We know that Americans eat way too much sugar, empty carbohydrates, and processed foods. In fact, the average American gets more than half their daily calories from foods that have almost no nutritional value. Graphic here

It’s easy to say, “Stop eating processed foods.” However, many people don’t understand what is processed and what isn’t. There’s a TON of vegan processed junk food out there, for example. Some people are under the impression it’s “healthier.”

It’s easy to say, “Stop eating high-fat foods.” But people don’t consider chicken or fish to be high fat, though it is higher in fat than what most people realize. Not to mention that while eating a small handful of nuts can be healthy, eating a 12 oz. bag while watching a football game can add a walloping 2,000+ calories and 200gms of fat (1800 calories’ worth of fat!) to your daily intake!

It’s easy to say, “Eat less sugar,” but there is hidden sugar in many foods. And drinking juice by itself (which many consider ‘healthy’) can adversely affect your blood sugar and triglyceride levels as much or more than a candy bar.

And it goes on and on and on.

A simple change isn’t easy for most

It’s easy for someone like me to come along & tell you that you “should” change it all. It’s too easy for you to say, “That’s too much. I’m just going to continue eating what I want and hope for the best.”

That’s the rabbit hole I’m referring to: the one where you get stuck in all the ‘I could, I should’s’ but you stay paralyzed and don’t do a thing to change.

Then, you’re like my friend mentioned above… .6 feet under. . . or suffering the consequences of chronic disease, in constant pain, living between doctor’s appointments and feeling like crap. I don’t want that for you.

Fortunately or unfortunately (your choice) as I often point out, for most of us, how we take care of ourselves during mid-life will dictate how much suffering we do over the final 5-10 years of life. (For simplicity sake, if you’re looking for numbers, we’ll consider mid-life 35-70+.)

One Simple measure of healthy eating you can improve on

What if there were an easy simple solution that would just steer you in the right direction? One thing that you could continually measure and continually work to improve? And what if there were substantial proof that it WOULD make a difference? The good news is that there is.

Now, this solution is far from the ‘end all be all’ but if used in the way I suggest, it will, at least head you in the right direction. Then you can take more steps, by working with me, for example, to better structure your diet for a long healthy life.

So, what is this measurement? You ask.

Simply this: Take a look at your diet; overall; day-in and day-out. What is the percentage of your diet that is plant-based whole food?

More Plant-based Whole Food

By plant-based whole food, I mean fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole (unpulverized) starches. A little more specifically: corn is a whole starch, cornmeal is not. A potato is loosely considered a whole starch, but a French fry, mashed potatoes or baked potato slathered with butter, no. Bread, even whole wheat or gluten-free grain is pulverized; so, not a whole food. Brown rice=whole grain, white rice=NO. Steel-cut or thick rolled oats=yes; quick-cook or instant=no. Quinoa, barley, millet, buckwheat, and amaranth are more examples of whole grains if they are not pulverized and ground into flour.

This doesn’t mean don’t ever eat pulverized grains again. Just be aware of how much you are eating and work toward more whole food (more below).

Similarly, whole fruits are great; juiced fruits; fruit in cans with sugary syrup; not so much. A glass of plant-milk is fine as is a little juice in a smoothie (again, more below).

For practical purposes, don’t concern yourself about juiced veggies but know that pulverizing them in a Vitamix or blender is better than a juice extractor.

Now understand, none of this means your diet needs to be 100% whole foods. That’s nearly impossible; even for crazy health nuts like me!

For most Americans, the sad fact is that their diet is less than 15% fruits, vegetables, beans & grains. The most abundant vegetable in the American diet is the French Fry and the most common fruit is (fiber-less) fruit juice! When calculated out of the mix, Americans get about 10-12% of their daily calories from whole plant foods! NO WONDER WE ARE SO SICK! 

We get over 1600 calories per day from processed grains, added fats and sugar alone! In fact, according to Governmental studies, the average 51-70-year-old gets 73.8% of their calories from 30 foods that are all either processed & prepared or are animal-based.   

So, the ONE SIMPLE MEASURE for HEALTHY EATING is this: What percentage of your calories daily comes from WHOLE PLANT FOOD?

That number may be difficult to accurately calculate but you don’t necessarily need to. Just look at your diet and estimate realistically. Then, start by adding an extra serving each of fruit and vegetables daily. Get to at least 5 per day if you’re not already there. An additional step can also be to start substituting beans as a protein source/main dish.

Just getting to 5/day along with other simple measures like getting a mere 30 minutes of exercise 5 days/week, not smoking and limiting alcohol to 14 servings or less/week meets the basic parameters for the mid-life changes shown to make a substantial difference. 

Once you’re at 5/day, increase to 7/day then more. Become more aware of how much processed foods you eat and start choosing to change that. This will automatically help your one simple measure of healthy eating.

Don’t have the time to avoid eating junk food? Does it take ANY less time to open a potato chip package than it does to bite into an apple? Does it take any less time to cut up cheese and get out crackers than it does to peel an orange? You can buy ‘baby carrots’ & cut up broccoli crowns and dip them hummus (email me for a no-added oil recipe or experiment on your own.) A lot of this is awareness, choice and which isles of the grocery store you choose to spend your time in. (Hint: spend more time in the produce aisle, go to Farmer’s Market or sign up with a local CSA group for home delivery)

Now, if you have major or minor health issues; are on medication, are over-weight, have a hormonal, gut or other health problems, this step-wise progression may be too little to make the progress you need quickly enough to make a difference. I urge you to contact me today and have a Complementary Conversation to discuss working together to help you get the results you need before it’s too late.

For the rest of you, I urge you to begin today. Comment below and let the world know what you’re commi

The post Healthy Eating Starts with One Simple Measure appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

Last week another local Facebook friend underwent heart bypass surgery and once again I witnessed the common social media reaction: prayers for his safety and quick recovery, shock that this was happening to another seemingly healthy person, tons of well-wishes and genuine concern. All of which I share. Still, for me, once again there is disappointment and even anger. Anger at the Medical Industrial Complex that feeds itself and makes trillions yearly at the expense of individuals who don’t know and are not informed of the facts and the real science before they are forced to make a decision about surgery, procedures and/or medication. With one artery 99% occluded, it’s highly likely that this gentleman was beyond the point where he had much choice. Still, I maintain that people have a right to full informed consent, which SHOULD include other options and truthful associated statistics as well as full disclosure regarding their future. Unfortunately, as anyone who has had a medical procedure can attest, you are only told about that procedure vs. doing nothing.

A look at journal articles on bypass surgery indicates a 5-year mortality rate of 7%-16% depending on the study design and 16% – up to 30% with other (drug) interventions. But what if you could do something that had a 99% survival rate? And further; a less than1% re-occurrence rate of ANY cardiovascular symptoms and THEY DIDN’T EVEN TELL YOU ABOUT IT!? This is where my anger comes from!

Caldwell Esselstyn MD, Dean Ornish MD and others have shown separately through numerous studies that about 99% of people can, not only survive without surgery, but drastically improve their lives as well through diet. Dr. Esselstyn’s most recent study followed 198 consecutive cardiovascular patients for an average of 3.7 years. In those who adhered to the diet, there were a total of 3 adverse (cardiovascular) events. In the 21 controls (those who didn’t follow the diet) the adverse event rate was 62% including strokes, stint placements, bypass surgeries; even 2 sudden cardiovascular deaths and a heart transplant surgery! (It’s useful to note his protocol kept people ON their medication unless their physician decided otherwise.) Further supporting these findings; in a brief literature search of traditional medical care I found an adverse event rate of 21 per person-years in one study and a 94% need for additional procedures in another!

So what IS this diet? It is a whole food plant-based diet without the addition of added oils. It is a version of the diet eaten by healthiest people all over the world. People in regions referred to as Blue Zones; Okinawa, parts of Japan, Sardinia (Italy), the Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica) and other regions world-wide where they eat a diet comprised 90% of plants. These regions have more Centenarians (people who live to 100 healthfully) than anywhere else globally. They have an extremely low rates of heart disease and far less cancer, diabetes and  other chronic diseases than Western cultures.

So, as I write this, now that he has had the surgery  and now that another business associate is recovering from an emergency stint implant brought about by a massive heart attack, it is my best hope that both (and others) will adopt those measures commensurate with the 99% success rate and experience ‘the best of both worlds.’

Continue to learn more about this diet and the power of food reverse nearly all disease by reading my blog, watching my posts on Facebook/drlesliek and registering for my upcoming Food Over Medicine Program; a 5 part series running April 2-16 .

The post Heart Health: Knowledge & Power appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.