RealAge Doctor Tells How to Live Into Your 90s

Back in 1993, Dr. Michael Roizen had the concept of RealAge and told a patient that his blood pressure of 140/90 was making his body 12 years older than his chronological age. That man wanted proof and wrote a $25,000 check, which started research that eventually led to the development of the RealAge test.

After analyzing data from medical studies, the RealAge test was created to give people an assessment of how they're aging and encouragement to make lifestyle changes.

"We use it to motivate patients to stop smoking or take blood pressure medication," Roizen said.

He said there are four things that make up about 75 percent of the factors that affect aging. They are toxins, physical activity, food choices/portion size and stress.

It's clear that he considers smoking to be particularly detrimental to longevity.

"If you smoke, you end up being the equivalent of 12 years older," Roizen said. He added that smoking also carries with it the risk of an average of 16 years of disability.

The good news, however, is that the problems created by our unhealthy choices are reversible, as he explained in a -sponsored talk, "How to Live to 90 and Beyond," on Saturday at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven.

Roizen, chief wellness officer for the Cleveland Clinic Health System, told an audience of 700 people that they have control over turning on or off genes that control health problems like heart disease or diabetes – even if there is a family genetic history.

In explaining how genes work, he said the enjoyment an ice cream cone provides may last as long as an hour, but the saturated fat in it changes your genes for 23 days.

"You can't have that ice cream cone today and exercise it away," Roizen said.

His keys to living a long, healthy life are to eliminate five foods from your diet, walk 10,000 steps a day and meditate for 15 minutes three times a day. The things to avoid eating are saturated foods (four-legged animal meat and skin from two-legged animals turns on that gene), trans fat, sugar, simple carbs and syrups.

He added that small amounts are OK, but you reach the limit at 2 ounces of a sugared soda, and it's not likely people will stop at that point.

"We can't do moderation in America," Roizen said.

Not only are there health benefits from making these lifestyle changes, there are economic benefits as well. Roizen said employee health care costs add $2,245 to the price of a General Motors car built in this country compared to $203 of a Toyota built in Japan.

Health problems, such as an 18.6 percent obesity rate, and related costs have driven manufacturing jobs out of the United States and the service industry will follow if changes aren't made, Roizen said.

"That's how important it is that you do what you can do to get to be 90," he said.

Roizen, known as "the enforcer" on the Dr. Oz Show for how he motivates patients to make lifestyle changes, practices what he preaches. For example, he hasn't had an ounce of red meat since 1996.

"And pork is not the other white meat, it's a red meat and carries all the health hazards of red meat," said Roizen, who is 65 years old, but doesn't look it – reflected by his RealAge number of 44.8 years.

As for the odds of people living to be 90, he said people who are now 70 can expect to live to be 87.

"To extend that to 90 is pretty easy. The key is to make sure it's with the same quality of life," Roizen said. "The earlier you start on doing healthy habits, the easier it is."