Reader’s Choice: 13 Most Popular Dr. Lipman Posts of 2024
As the year comes to a close, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the articles I’ve published these past twelve months. We’ve covered a lot of ground, to say the least! Each post has been about exploring compelling health and longevity pathways and connecting with readers. Some articles emerged as clear favorites, sometimes to my surprise. What made it to the top of the anti-aging must-read list? Posts on maintaining brain health, heart health and managing metabolism ranked high, while posts on red light therapy and biohacking followed close behind. (See the full favorites list below.) It’s tough for me to pick personal favorites, so I’ve left that to my readers – and here are their 13 top choices for 2024. Enjoy!
1) BETTER BRAIN HEALTH: 7 High and Low Tech Ways to Avoid Alzheimer’s and Dementia
When the brain starts to sputter, the consequences are devastating and life-changing. Small wonder that the mere mention of terms like cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease –in relation to us or our loved ones –strikes fear in our hearts. What’s more, the rates of these debilitating neurological conditions are expected to skyrocket over the next 20 years as the population ages and life expectancy increases – we’re looking at you Gen X’ers and younger Boomers. The good news is there’s a lot you can do to steer clear. To learn more, check out:
7 Do-Right-Now, High and Low Tech Ways to Avoid Alzheimer’s and Dementia
2) PROTEIN PRESCRIPTION: 7 Reasons Why You Need More Protein for Anti-Aging – and 6 Ways to Get Yours
Just about every day patients ask me how they can age well, or at minimum, do it better than their parents and grandparents did -- and the good news is that many of them can! As the biology of aging has evolved over the past few decades, we now know so much more about how to help our bodies age more slowly, in better health, than ever before. And there are a number of steps we can take, starting now, to get into a slower aging groove. One of the biggies is protein. While it may not seem like an obvious clock-stopper, as we age, increasing protein intake becomes especially important – and a lot of people overlook this relatively simple, longevity upgrade. To learn more, check out:
7 Reasons Why You Need More Protein for Anti-Aging – and 6 Ways to Get Yours
3) BLOOD SUGAR BALANCE: The Life-Changing Benefits of Balancing Blood Sugar — and 9 Ways To Do It
There are a million reasons not to eat sugar, to purge it from your life and not look back. No news there. What may be news to a lot of people is the far-reaching, systemic damage the stuff inflicts on multiple aspects of your physiology. In other words, that cookie isn’t just a cookie, it’s a weapon of health destruction. Turns out, the optimal functioning of so much of you – and down the road, your longevity – suffers when you bomb it with sweet stuff. With that in mind, it’s helpful to understand the profoundly positive impact that balancing your blood sugar levels has on your health – and how to stabilize those levels so you can stop trouble before it starts. To learn more, check out:
The Life-Changing Benefits of Balancing Blood Sugar — and 9 Ways To Do It
4) HANDLING HEART HEALTH: 2 Heart Tests You May Need – But Don’t Know About
Nothing is more essential than taking care of your heart. Heart attack risk increases significantly when underlying issues go unchecked and yet many people overlook the importance of understanding the m mechanics of their cardiovascular system until it's too late. This is where diagnostic tests that capture images of your heart should enter the picture, revealing artery-blocking plaque before it becomes life-threatening. Having this kind of information at your fingertips now empowers you to take control of your heart health while there’s plenty of time to do something about it. Fact is, most heart attacks should be preventable. With a little extra effort, we can nip atherosclerosis in the bud – and that’s music to your heart’s ears! To learn more, check out:
Two Heart Tests You May Need — But Don’t Know About
5) BODY COMPOSITION MATTERS: 6 Essential Ways Your Body Composition Can Keep You Younger Longer
Body composition matters, and today, our ability to precisely determine the proportion of fat, lean muscle, bone and water in the body has blossomed into a must-have tool for many of us in the wellness and longevity world. In fact, it’s now one of my favorite ways to identify a patient’s current state health and to call out what needs addressing, to support longevity and improve ‘healthspan’ -- the length of time you’re able to stay youthful and robust. To learn more, check out:
6 Essential Ways Your Body Composition Can Keep You Younger Longer
6) MINIMIZE ALCOHOL: 7 Ways Alcohol Hurts Your Heart – and Ages You Fast
As you might imagine, when it comes to alcohol consumption, I’m really not a fan. As much as it may not seem to be a big deal – it is, after all, available everywhere – alcohol is a toxin, one that far too many people pour into their bodies multiple times a week. We use alcohol to unwind, relax, commune with others, feel more festive or enhance a nice meal. These are all understandable motivations but the trouble is, alcohol has enormous potential for dependency, speeding up aging and shortening longevity. Cardiovascular damage is probably the most obvious health hit, but it sits atop a long list. To learn more, check out:
7 Ways Alcohol Hurts Your Heart – and Ages You Fast
7) REST & RENEWAL: 7 Types of Rest You Really Need for Longevity
If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that self-care isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. And while self-care may mean different things to different people, the need for adequate rest is universal. To live well and feel well for as long as possible, it’s essential to build rest into your daily routine, because you can’t really bank or stockpile rest; it needs to be a daily habit. Most people equate rest solely with sleep, but there's a good bit more to it. To truly thrive over the long-haul, be advised that rest is more than just sleeping soundly through the night (though that’s an excellent start). Fact is, rest has many faces, and there are seven types of rest you need to get to know better. To learn more, check out:
7 Types of Rest You Really Need for Longevity
8) AGE-WELL WONDER: The Body, Brain and Healthspan Benefits of Methylene Blue
While sustaining and restoring wellness is at the core of everything I do, focusing on aging well is fast becoming central to my approach. No, we can’t yet stop aging altogether, but advances in the longevity field, are making slowing down the aging process well within our reach. With this in mind, I want to introduce you to a fascinating substance called methylene blue that’s showing a lot of promise as a powerful ally helping our bodies stand up to the health-eroders that limit human lifespans. To learn more, check out:
The Body, Brain and Healthspan Benefits of Anti-Aging Wonder Methylene Blue
9) BIOLOGICAL BIRTHDAYS: 6 Ways Your Biological Age Matters More than the Number of Candles on Your Cake
When we think about age, we should be thinking of it in terms of two numbers: your actual chronological age and what researchers and some forward-thinking clinicians are now calling “biological” age, which captures the differences in how our bodies change over time. The good news? Medical science is in the first stages of being able to measure the biological processes that underlie aging, and clinicians who embrace “longevity medicine” can use that information to tailor therapies and target lifestyle upgrades to slow that process down. To learn more, check out:
6 Ways Your Biological Age Matters More than the Number of Candles on Your Cake
10) HAPPY HACKING: 16 Ways to Turn Your Health Around with Biohacking
While many hacks are geared towards automating life’s more mundane tasks – better ways to cook, get your steps in, grow more vegetables, etc. – the kind of hacking I’m most interested in is ‘bio-hacking,’ as in, the kinds of hacks that focus on smarter strategies to improve health, wellness and, ultimately, longevity. To learn more, check out:
16 Ways to Turn Health Around With Bio-hacking
11) RED LIGHT REVOLUTION: 10 Life-Improving Benefits of Red Light Therapy
Light therapy has been around for thousands of years, but, over the last few decades, a specific kind of light therapy, red light therapy (or RLT), has emerged as one of the most exciting ways to help preserve youthfulness, both inside and out. Besides tamping down rapid-ager inflammation and promoting antioxidant activity – and no matter what your age, everyone needs that – red light has the ability to stimulate the mitochondria. Keeping those energy powerplants inside our cells functioning at optimal levels is essential if we’re going to stay active and vibrant ourselves. To learn more, check out:
10 Life-Improving Benefits of Red Light Therapy
12) KINETIC KETONES: 7 Crash-Free Ways Ketones energize Your Life – and Support Your Longevity
Energy. We all need it and we all want to get more of it, in as healthy a way as possible. Bottom line, we’re all in the market for a healthy energy hack and I’ve got one you might not be aware of -- ketones. True, people who have experimented with the keto diet are familiar – the whole point of the no- or super-low carb diet is to cue the body to produce ketones for energy. But even they may not realize you can actually take a ketone supplement, not only to support energy production but also to enjoy an impressive roster of other health benefits. To learn more, check out:
7 Crash-free Ways Ketones Energize Your Life – and Support Your Longevity
13) MEET METFORMIN: A Diabetic Medication with Anti-Aging Superpowers
To be sure, healthy diet, physical activity and stress management are still, and for the foreseeable future, the best ways to help ensure a long, vigorous life. But researchers are continuing to chip away at the biological mechanisms that explain how and why we age, that drive the physiological changes that make us “old.” And they’re looking closely at one medication that may help slow it all down: metformin. To learn more, check out:
