Not Longevity, but Healthivity

We Cannot Extend Life, but We Can Avoid Shortening It

In any gathering, whether with newly met people or long-time patients, the first question is almost always the same: What is longevity, doctor, what are your thoughts on this topic? Or there are specific questions about an illness. Recently, the subject of longevity has taken a major place in people’s minds. And understandably so.

They ask, “Doesn’t it mean long life, doctor?” Yes, but what most people understand from longevity is extending life or increasing lifespan. In my opinion, this is an exaggerated interpretation. A person cannot simply extend their lifespan out of nowhere. However, through certain harmful behaviors, a person can indeed shorten it.

The first principle accepted in gerontology is this: The amount of oxygen a human or living being will use throughout its life is fixed at the moment they are born. What does this mean? The total amount of oxygen your cells will consume over your lifetime is fixed. When that oxygen is depleted, the cell or the system completes its life.

For this reason, instead of the terminology “extending life,” I prefer to say “do not shorten your life.” And if you want a more stylish term, you can call it healthy living — healthivity.

When you look at people, the picture is clear: They consume incredibly toxic substances; unbelievable foods, extreme activities, excessive workouts… By damaging their vascular health, their lung health, and straining their gastrointestinal systems, they rapidly deplete the oxygen budget they were given at birth. These are the things that shorten life.

Therefore, if the concept of longevity is understood as “extending life,” I call it healthivity — healthy living. Live healthily, my friends. Take care of yourselves during the time you are given.

When healthy living is mentioned, the same question always arises: Should we exercise? What should we do in our walks? The 10,000-step rule? My dear friends, my dear patients, my dear brothers and sisters… If your profession is not related to sports, excessive exercise is, in my opinion, harmful to health. Because you accelerate circulation too much and unnecessarily increase your heart rate.

When I tell a 50–60-year-old cardiac patient “take some walks, move a little,” the reason is simple: they live a sedentary life, they don’t leave the house. Because they are inactive, their vascular health is poor. When they move a little, blood circulation improves and cellular oxygenation increases. But coming to me the next day saying “doctor, I walked 25,000 steps, 30,000 steps” is not correct. Stay balanced, my friends. Move, but don’t overdo it.

Spending the whole day sitting, clogging your vessels, and then trying to fix it with extreme exercise is not right. When too much exercise is done, serious conditions such as hypertrophy of the heart muscle — cor bovinum — where the coronary arteries pass through, may arise. Coronary spasms triggered by excessive exercise can lead to cardiac attacks.

If you are not an athlete, if your profession is not sports, please choose balanced, suitable movements that do not exhaust you. We often hear about people who start gym workouts later in life and end up experiencing serious heart problems. This confirms everything I am saying.

The other important part of longevity — or healthivity — is nutrition. What will you eat? How will you eat? A Mediterranean diet or a ketogenic diet? What will your body’s pH be? A drop in pH with a ketogenic diet or shifting to an alkaline state can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, your nutritional pattern must be under the supervision of a good dietitian.

One of the most important principles of healthy living is the digestive system. For me — as a surgeon who cuts through all the vessels, stomach, intestines, and abdominal organs — this issue is very special. Your health passes through your digestive system. If you take good care of your digestive system and plan your nutrition properly, you prevent your life from being shortened.

Please pay close attention to this.