Prevention

Advancements in Artificial Intelligence are reinventing medical care and changing the way we diagnose illnesses. As Fountain Life co-founder Peter Diamandis points out in his book The Future is Faster Than you Think, “convergence of sensors, networks, and AI is upending medical diagnosis.”

One of the areas Fountain Life is most excited about is our full body MRI with AI. Our non-invasive MRI provides a head-to-toe scan, using a powerful magnetic field that allows doctors to see a 3D rendering of your body and brain. Unlike an X-ray, there are no negative effects on your body. Through convergence Fountain Life can link the MRI imaging with artificial intelligence (AI) to scan for any abnormalities or irregularities.

MRI with AI allows doctors to see, with unparalleled precision, the body, and spot abnormalities at their earliest – and usually treatable – stage. It can reveal cancer tumors before they arrive at stage 3 or 4, and even find small aneurysms in the brain. It can also show neurodegeneration and signs of blood vessels narrowing in the brain and heart, and offers imaging of all organs in the body, such as the liver and kidneys.

Annual MRI with AI Testing for Fountain Life Members

Fountain Life members can use this valuable tool annually to find illnesses in their infancy before they can cause harm. While no one wants to hear that they have cancer, finding it early saves lives. You can start treatment for cancer while it’s still at an early, highly treatable stage. Alternatively, based on findings, you may be instructed to change medications or modify your lifestyle to help prevent or reverse heart disease or even dementia!

All Fountain Life members receive an MRI scan with AI annually as part of our precision diagnostics preventative tests. Together, these annual tests play a key role in helping you live to 100 – while feeling like you’re 60.

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Do deadlines make you particularly anxious? Do you constantly worry that you’ll be late for appointments? If so, you have been experiencing a condition called time anxiety, and it can rob your productivity. Time anxiety is a general sense of stress or unease related to time. It involves feeling pressured, overwhelmed, or anxious about time-related factors like dates, appointments, and being late. While time anxiety presents itself in many ways, there are also solutions and treatments for this often-debilitating condition.

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‍Identifying Time Anxiety

‍Most people experience anxiety when they are late, or if they have missed an important meeting. However, when you live with time anxiety, your feelings about time-related concepts often exist without concrete reasons or triggers. Time anxiety is accompanied by various features that manifest in an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in the following ways:

• Constant Worry: People with time anxiety often experience continued worry about the passage of time. They often feel pressure when faced with deadlines, often worrying that they won't have enough time to complete tasks. This worry can extend to worries about lateness and about missing appointments, or manifest as an overall unease about the day getting later.

• Fear of the Future: There is often an underlying fear of the future associated with time anxiety. People may worry about potential negative outcomes of planned or unknown activities. Those with this feature of time anxiety may worry about specific events in the future or may deal with existential dread, a generalized worry about the passage of time and the unknowable future.

• Sense of Urgency: The average person feels motivated to complete time-limited or urgent projects. However, people with time anxiety may feel a heightened sense of urgency in their actions. always rushing to complete tasks or meet deadlines, even when the situation might not require immediate attention.

• Procrastination: Though they are obsessed with lateness and deadlines, some people with time anxiety may also engage in procrastination. The fear of not having enough time can be overwhelming, and that fear can lead to avoiding tasks until the last minute. Unsurprisingly, procrastination feeds on existing anxiety and causes further worry.

• Feeling uneasy when you don’t get around to everything you had planned to: ?When Alex Lickerman, MD, described this factor of time anxiety, he used a vacation as a metaphor. When you go away, you make plans and create timelines. Before a trip, you may look at upcoming plans with pleasant anticipation. However, if you don’t complete all your plans, you may become more preoccupied with the sites and attractions you missed than with those you could see. This dwelling on the negative can turn into obsession with what was missed, and a self-renewing cycle of anxiety and regret.

• Impaired Time Management: Paradoxically, even with their intense focus on time and time-related concepts, people with time anxiety may struggle with effective time management. The anxiety may interfere with their ability to plan and prioritize tasks efficiently. Procrastination falls under this umbrella, as do misjudging the time it takes to complete a task or misunderstanding the tools needed to keep an effective schedule.

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Treatment is Available for Time Anxiety

The good news is that time anxiety can be treated with intervention by mental health professionals and others who treat mental and emotional maladies. Treatments for time anxiety are like those for other types of anxiety. They range from the clinical to the recreational. The Cleveland Clinic notes that these four treatments are effective for people with time anxiety:

• Talk therapy - A licensed therapist will help you uncover the source of your condition and provide a safe space to explore the lifestyle components of your time anxiety.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – CBT deals with identifying the thoughts that trigger compulsive activities, and then “retraining” the brain to choose healthier responses to anxiety.

• Hypnotherapy – A licensed hypnotherapist uses focus and breathing to bring you into a calm, dream-like state. In that position, you can feel safe to explore experiences and trauma that may have led to time anxiety. A hypnotherapist can also give you a post-hypnotic suggestion, which will replace anxious thoughts and behaviors once you wake up.

• Meditation – Many people use meditation to treat various forms of anxiety, and it can be used to treat time anxiety. Meditation trains you on how to breathe and focus your mind in a particular way that calms your mind and reduces your stress response. In a calmer state, your anxiety will lessen.

Time-related mental conditions like time anxiety can be very debilitating. Fortunately, once it is identified properly, you can receive treatments to make it less of a disruption to your life.

APEX Membership from Fountain Life

Taking care of your health doesn’t just benefit you. Your health is important to your loved ones who want you to live long and live well. Fountain Life programs are designed to help you do just that – extend your lifespan and healthspan – with advanced diagnostics and personalized treatment plans that detect and prevent major illness before it manifests as symptoms. Our Chief Medical and Science Officer, Dr. Helen Messier, spoke with us about how one Fountain Life program, the APEX membership, provides members with the kind of proactive healthcare that can find and detect disease and lead to increased performance and vitality.

Personal, preventive, proactive care

APEX is Fountain Life’s yearlong program that addresses the top causes of morbidity and mortality: cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disease and neurocognitive disease. APEX does this with a series of diagnostic tests that combine the latest, scientifically vetted preventive methodologies with the personalized attention of a team of longevity healthcare professionals.

APEX starts with brain and body scans – like EKG, MRI and CCTA – and blood and urine tests that detect the presence of disease as well as assess your risk for developing life-limiting disease. These procedures can detect the early signs of cancer, pulmonary embolism and cardiovascular trauma even before symptoms present. This allows you to get preventive and restorative treatment before your medical condition becomes more serious.

But the APEX membership doesn’t stop there. The next level of testing provides a more comprehensive look at your disease risk, not just the presence of disease. As Dr. Messier notes, “we look at those 4 biggest risks of death and disability, but we go deeper and look at maybe why you have those… in additional testing that looks at not just the what, but the why.

”The “why” entails obtaining genetic information for diseases like heart attack, dementia and various forms of cancer, and assessing your risk of developing these conditions. This advanced level of testing combines genetic information found in your organs and bloodstream to statistics on disease incidence using AI tools. This allows for disease prevention through medical treatment and/or lifestyle modification.

The preventative aspect of APEX is its most compelling, as our existing healthcare system is predicated on treating diseases that you have, rather than preventing disease outright. Dr. Messier emphasizes that “you want to find those early because those take a long time to develop, and by the time you have symptoms for any one of those 4 diseases, it’s really late and it gets very difficult to do something about it. But if you find them earlier, it’s much easier.” With APEX, you can trust that you’re finding disease and illness at the best stage for treatment.

APEX is more advanced than your PCPs office

You may be thinking that blood tests and scans in your primary care physician’s office can give you the same information provided by the APEX program. While your primary doctor may order bloodwork and body scans for you with an annual physical, they cannot provide the level of technology and advanced analysis that is possible with the tools used in APEX.

Many of APEX tests integrate artificial intelligence, using AI tools to get a more detailed view of your test results, and enabling us to analyze your test results in comparison with millions of data points from other individuals. This process makes testing more accurate, which gives you a greater chance of targeting precisely what and where disease may lurk in the body.

AI overlay and analysis is available for the following APEX tests:

• Full body and brain MRI
• Coronary CTA
• Low-dose lung CT
• Retinal scan
• Skin cancer screen
• Early cancer detection blood test
• Genetic blood testing
• Whole genome sequencing
• Cardiovascular risk blood test

…and several other advanced and genetic evaluations.These types of tests, as well as their highly technical analysis, simply are not available from your primary physician. As experts in longevity and preventive medicine, Fountain Life can bring you a level of care to which you ordinarily would not be exposed.

Concierge-level of care

The differences between APEX and your regular doctor also extend to the personalized care we provide you during your year of membership. “Not only do you get a Longevity Physician, [but] you [also] get a [Health] Care Team. You have a nurse and a nurse practitioner, a health coach, a nutritionist, to really make those changes that are needed to optimize your health,” notes Dr. Messier.

Your Longevity Physician is available to read out the results of your tests and provide you with a treatment roadmap to correct any illness and reduce disease risk. Your dedicated Longevity Physician is available to meet with you four times during the annual APEX membership to gauge your progress and make any necessary changes.

During the year, your Health Coach and Nutritionist are on hand to help you make any lifestyle changes necessary to improve your condition, and to monitor your progress through your healthcare journey. Finally, you have a Nurse and a Nurse Practitioner to provide medical guidance when your Physician is not available. A Health Care Coordinator works with you and your team to streamline communication and coordinate your contact with Fountain Life staff.

There are many reasons to choose Fountain Life and APEX to advance your healthcare goals and take control of your lifespan and healthspan. Our preventive treatments, AI-enhanced methodologies and personalized care make APEX the best choice to find underlying disease and restore your body to health and vitality.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a very hot topic in healthcare, and it has become a buzz word in both medical and popular media. For some, the idea of an artificial intelligence may bring to mind science fiction scenarios of robots controlling humans. However, AI is a tool that can make it easier for physicians to detect and diagnose disease, and does not involve a secret robot brain to accomplish this.

AI machine learning powers data analysis in preventive medicine

Machine learning is a subset of AI that focuses on developing algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data without being explicitly programmed to perform specific tasks. It can make predictions based on a larger number of data points than is possible through human cognition. As AI datasets get larger with more inputs, machine learning algorithms become better able to provide fast, accurate analysis better than humans.

Dr. Helen Messier, Chief Medical and Science Officer at Fountain Life, believes that AI is a critical part of practicing medicine: “AI helps us take a deeper view of what’s going on, we can see it with more clarity. We don’t use AI exclusively to make decisions, obviously, we have a physician that helps interpret that. It’s a tool that we use, that doesn’t take the place of the physician. It’s a very critical component” in providing advanced medical care.

Using AI for brain scans at Fountain Life

Fountain Life’s brain MRI diagnostic employs machine learning techniques. Utilizing images already taken of your brain, this assessment provides you with information on the key indicators of overall brain health. It also uses a machine learning algorithm to connect brain structure with the genes that affect your brain health. This process helps to get a more well-rounded picture of how genetics impacts your brain’s symptomatology.

Dr. Helen Messier: “We can now quantify all of the different volumes in your brain in the different regions of your brain. We can get an assessment of their size," which can reveal the presence of dementia, tumors, infections or blood clots. MRIs can detect brain anomalies before any symptoms occur, which could mean treating a condition in its early stages when interventions are more likely to be successful.

Fountain Life uses AI-assisted CCTA to predict heart disease

If you are at risk of a future heart attack, Fountain Life’s AI-guided approach to Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) provides heart imaging, along with an AI overlay that analyzes your heart in comparison to hundreds of thousands of data points that improve the accuracy of the results.

According to Dr. Messier, “We use an AI overlay that helps us characterize any plaque that you might have in your coronary blood vessels, the blood vessels that feed oxygen and the blood supply to your heart. We can see if you have hard plaque that’s calcified. We can [also] see if you have soft plaque.”

By accurately identifying the presence of soft plaque — a less dense and more vulnerable type of arterial buildup that is more likely to rupture and cause blockages — we can offer a precise assessment of your current heart disease risk. This enables early intervention and timely preventative measures reducing the likelihood of life-threatening events. Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the United States, often manifesting as heart attacks without prior symptoms, so early detection and intervention are very important in saving lives.

The future of AI in medicine?

The future of medicine will likely be driven by artificial intelligence. Large tech companies, medical companies and hospital systems have invested time and money into harnessing the power of AI for the healthcare industry. Organizations are tasked with finding AI solutions to disease diagnosis, emergency room triage and medication reconciliation. There are many areas of inquiry within healthcare that could benefit from, still, Dr. Messier doesn’t believe that AI is a danger to the practice of medicine. She believes that “doctors that don’t use AI will be replaced because it gives them a much better toolkit and allows us to see things in a much better view…so it’s really an important component. We’re always on the lookout for new AI technology that we can incorporate the appropriate vetting. And a lot of these technologies are FDA approved, so they’re very, very helpful, and I think they should be adopted and used much more widely.”

New studies link endocrine disrupting chemicals with reproductive health  

The human endocrine system comprises a network of glands that produce and secrete hormones, which are chemical substances responsible for controlling a range of bodily functions. The major glands that make up the endocrine system include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, hypothalamus, and adrenal glands. These glands regulate various body functions such as metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among others. The system operates via feedback mechanisms that maintain a stable internal environment, or homeostasis, within the body.  

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are a class of environmental toxins that can interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system. These chemicals can mimic, block, or alter the hormones in the body, leading to a disruption in the body's normal hormone balance. New research have connected EDC exposure to disrupt metabolic and reproductive health in men and women.

We are exposed to EDCs every day

Commonly encountered Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals include Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and certain pesticides. BPA is frequently found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, often used in food and beverage packaging and toys. Phthalates are commonly used in PVC plastics, cosmetics, and medical devices. PCBs were once widely used in coolants, flame retardants, and insulators, and despite being banned in the 1970s, residues persist in the environment.   Certain pesticides, such as DDT, used to control pests in agriculture, can also act as endocrine disruptors. These chemicals often enter our bodies through the consumption of contaminated food and water, inhalation of polluted air, or physical contact with contaminated products. EDCs also include parabens, commonly used as food preservatives; and triclosan,?an antimicrobial compound used in personal care products.

EDCs have effects on women’s reproductive and metabolic systems

In this year’s studies, researchers identified impacts of EDCs on women’s reproductive health, including:

• Early menopause
• Endometriosis  
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Delayed menarche
• Uterine fibroids

Several of these conditions are not only disruptive to reproduction, but they also increase the risk of breast and uterine cancers.  Endocrine-disrupting chemicals were also found to cause metabolic syndrome, a disease that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and stroke – three of the most life-limiting health conditions.

Men’s reproductive health also takes a turn when exposed to EDCs

In a separate research review of endocrine disruptors on men, the team found that the chemicals caused several reproductive issues, including:

• Irregular testosterone levels
• Infertility
• Reduced sperm production, quality, and motility
• Testicular abnormalities and cancer

These conditions not only impact fertility but can be life-threatening Low testosterone is associated with loss of bone density and muscle mass; high testosterone is associated with prostate cancer.

How to reduce exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals

• Choose household and personal care products formulated without EDCs
• Look for plastic bottles that are BPA free, and better yet, drink from reusable bottles
• Limit plastic usage in your home, and replace it with wood, glass, or metal
• Eat organic foods that have not been exposed to pesticides

Fountain Life can help

As part of our APEX membership, Fountain Life delivers diagnostics that test for the effects of these dangerous chemicals in your body. Fountain Life offers a comprehensive suite of tests that help to identify damage caused by environmental chemicals such as EDC's. With our APEX Membership, Fountain Life can help you identify diseases before you have symptoms, and provide a suite of diagnostics and therapeutics to keep you performing and living at your best.

With advances in medical science and an increased focus on healthy living, we have more control over our lifespan and healthspan than ever before. But the key to longevity isn't just about staying alive, it's about thriving in our golden years. Here, we provide simple, yet effective evidence-based strategies that can be easily incorporated into your daily routine to not only add more years to your life but also enhance your vitality and well-being as you age.

Exercise

Physical activity serves as a near-universal remedy for contemporary health issues. It enhances muscular strength, optimizes cardiovascular functioning, and diminishes the risk of injuries. Exercise has demonstrated multiple pathways through which it can effectively prolong one's lifespan.

A 2022 study illustrated the life-extending benefits of frequent exercise. Researchers analyzed the exercise and activity patterns of over 416,420 adults across a 30 year period. Applying a Cox regression analysis to the self-reported activity data, researchers found that moderate aerobic exercise (defined as 150–299 minutes per week) resulted in a 19% to 25% lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and non-cardiovascular disease mortality. Vigorous exercise was less effective at reducing mortality, but still had an impact (2% to 4%).

Most notably, the gains in longevity were more pronounced for those who hadn’t exercised previously, indicating that those new to fitness stand to improve their health at a greater degree than people who’ve always exercised regularly. This is good news if you’ve just begun your physical fitness journey.

Adding muscle strengthening exercise to one’s fitness and activity routine also impacts longevity. Another study looked at activity and mortality data from 1997 to 2014, with researchers performing the same regression analysis to correlate exercise level with all-cause mortality. The study found that one hour per week of muscle strengthening exercise provided a reduction in all-cause mortality, with gains up to 3 hours, at which point the benefits begin to decline.

According to these two studies, an optimal exercise program would include five hours of aerobic activity, plus up to three hours of muscle strengthening exercise per week. Even if you do one of these activities, you will still be lowering your risk of mortality across several areas.

If you are considering starting or adding to your current workout routine, consider adding functional fitness. The purpose of functional fitness is to mimic everyday movements so that your body is strong enough to function without injury. Good exercises to try are squats and lunges for legs, and pushups and dips for upper body and core. Using large muscle groups with these exercises not only provides strength- and muscle-building benefits, but it also raise your heartrate to give aerobic and cardiovascular benefits.

You might have seen articles on the practice called “rucking”, which is essentially walking over hills with a weighted backpack. This activity provides aerobic benefits and strengthens the lower body in two different ways. First, climbing hills works the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps and gluteus muscles. Going downhill engages the knees and hip flexors, which are very important in stopping forward motion, such as when you trip or fall. Lack of strength and flexibility in these muscles causes falls in older people, which are a leading cause of injury and illness.

Change your diet

Food is our fuel for living. It makes perfect sense that when we put better fuel into our bodies, we reap the rewards in improved health and vitality. But the food we eat often determines how well, and how long, we’ll live.The link between diet and longevity was illustrated in a research study that correlated various healthy eating patterns, with human mortality. This study compared the mortality of a cohort of over 100,000 to their eating patterns, as defined in the chart below:

The analysis found that the less likely a person was to eat in any one of these dietary patterns, the greater their likelihood of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease. In addition, the Alternate Mediterranean Diet and Alternative Healthy Eating diet were inversely associated with mortality from neurodegenerative disease.Even if you don’t follow one of the eating plans mentioned above, you can still realize longevity gains by making other changes in your diet consistent with these food regimes.

• Reduce saturated fats/increase healthy fats: Replacing all your added fats with extra-virgin olive oil is a good way to increase your monounsaturated fatty acids, which are responsible for the “good” cholesterol in your blood.
• Increase fiber: Research findings indicate that individuals who have a higher intake of dietary fiber demonstrate a notable reduction, ranging from 15% to 30%, in mortality rates related to all causes and cardiovascular incidents. Moreover, these individuals exhibit a lower prevalence of coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when compared to those with a lower fiber intake in their diet. The range for high fiber in this study was between 25 grams and 29 grams of fiber per day.

The best way to increase dietary fiber, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is to increase the amount of plant-based foods in your diet. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts are excellent sources of fiber.

Get better sleep

In the hustle and bustle of our modern lives, it's easy to overlook the importance of a good night's sleep. We often sacrifice those precious hours of rest for work, socializing, or binge-watching our favorite shows. But sleep is not a luxury: it is a fundamental pillar of a longer, healthier life.

While most sleep studies have investigated sleep duration as a factor in health, several studies have looked at the quality of sleep as a determining factor in longevity and mortality. One such study investigated the correlation between sleep quality and cardiovascular disease mortality.

Researchers combined chronotype (one’s propensity to be a “morning person” or an “evening person”), duration, insomnia complaints, snoring, and daytime sleepiness to devise an index for measuring sleep quality.This index was applied to over 140,000 health records, and the results showed a reduction of about two years of CVD-free life for poor sleepers when compared to those with average-quality sleep. Moreover, women and men with sleep disorders (eg, insomnia) lost 1.4 and 3.8 years free of cardiovascular disease.

Similar results were reported in another study using a multi-factorial approach to sleep quality, though looked at mortality across several conditions. In the second study, researchers created their sleep quality index using the following factors:

• Ideal sleep duration of seven to eight hours per night
• Difficulty falling asleep no more than two times per week
• Trouble staying asleep no more than two times per week
• Not using any sleep medication
• Feeling well rested after waking up at least five days per week

The results of this study revealed that subjects who had all five of the characteristics above (high quality) were 30% less likely to die from any cause than those with zero or one characteristic. These individuals with high sleep quality were 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19% less likely to die from cancer, and 40% less likely to die of causes other than heart disease or cancer.Longevity expert and Fountain Life founder Dr. Peter Diamandis counts sleep as one of his longevity pillars and uses several techniques to ensure he gets eight hours of high-quality sleep.

• Unplug: turn off electronic devices and the television 30 minutes before bed. Diamandis’ wind down includes donning blue-light-blocking glasses, which help the body produce enough melatonin to get and stay asleep, and dimming the lights.
• Establish a sleep routine: go to bed/sleep at the same time each day. You can also create other bedtime practices that signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.
• Stop snoring: Snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops and starts during the night. Using devices that keep your airway open, like a CPAP machine or mandibular alignment device, can help you get a better night’s sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation also maintains guidelines for good sleep which center around tools to assess and manage sleep satisfaction, sleep quality, and sleep duration. You can use these tools and suggestions to better manage the effectiveness of your sleep.

Get your mind right

Mental health is a crucial component of overall wellness, profoundly impacting lifespan. Research has indicated that mental health conditions, especially depression and anxiety, can shorten life expectancy due to the heightened risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Moreover, sound mental health fosters healthier lifestyle choices and habits, including regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep, all contributing to an extended lifespan. It is also observed that a positive mental state bolsters the immune system, enhancing the body's resistance to various diseases. Hence, investing in mental health isn't solely about enriching the quality of life, but it's also a step towards longevity.

One life factor that affects your mental health is happiness. Happiness researchers have illustrated the connection between living a happy life and longevity. One study followed a group of elderly people for either 10 or 30 years to track their health and well-being. Over the course of that time, they were given a survey each year to measure their level of happiness and optimism. The results revealed that the subjects who lived the longest reported the highest levels of positive emotion.

An estimated 5% of adults experience depression, and almost 17% of adults will experience depression at some point in their lifetime. Depression has a direct result on physiological function, as it is often accompanied by various physical symptoms such as sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and weight, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Scientists have investigated the connection between depression. In a study published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, the respondents’ performance on strength and functional tests was plotted against the respondents’ level of depression. The results showed that those who suffered from depression performed statistically significantly worse on functional tests than those without.Another aspect of mental health is overall cognitive function, which declines with age as well as with the onset of various types of dementia. While there are treatments that can improve cognitive decline once it starts, the best defense is prevention. Harvard-affiliated, Massachusetts General Hospital neuroscientist Rudolph Tanzi has developed an acronym – SHIELD – as a mnemonic for remembering how to protect your brain from deterioration:

• Sleep
• Handle stress
• Interact with friends
• Exercise daily
• Learn new things
• Daily exercise

Practice preventive healthcare

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventive healthcare plays a fundamental role in extending longevity by allowing early detection and management of potential health issues. Regular check-ups and screenings can effectively identify problems in their initial stages when they are usually easier and less expensive to treat. Preventive healthcare also promotes healthier lifestyles, encouraging individuals to adopt habits like a balanced diet, regular exercise, and good sleep hygiene. These habits help to mitigate the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, which are leading causes of premature death.

Longevity medicine is an important part of preventive care. It is an emerging branch of medical science focusing on the promotion of healthy aging via the prevention of the maladies that come with getting sick and getting older. Its primary aim is not just to prolong human life but to extend the years of health, productivity, and quality of life.

Longevity medicine targets the biological process of aging itself, comprising strategies and therapies that slow the rate of aging and decrease the risk of age-associated diseases. This field of medicine takes a comprehensive approach to health, considering the whole body and its intricate systems, and uses the latest advancements in genomics, biotechnology, and molecular biology to decipher the underlying causes of aging and related diseases. The goal of longevity medicine is not just to increase our lifespan, but to allow us to live healthier for a longer time.

Fountain Life employs preventive and longevity medicine through advanced diagnostics that help detect pre-symptomatic disease so that you can live a healthier, longer life. Fountain Life’s diagnostics are centered around the diseases and conditions that are the most salient causes of premature death, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Preventive diagnostics are proven to have an impact on catching and curing these conditions.

The impact of preventative diagnostics in assessing the risk for cardiovascular disease has been illustrated in the scientific community. In the “Framingham experiment”, a well-known, multigenerational study of a specific population in Massachusetts, revealed the genetic component involved in cardiovascular disease risk, proving that CVD is tied to inheritable traits. Fountain Life’s test for heart disease risk factors can now use a blood test to determine whether certain genes are present in your body. Cancer screening using genetic biomarkers is also a part of Fountain Life’s preventive diagnostics and is available with all Fountain Life programs. Our testing uses blood serum and advanced machine learning to detect and analyze a person’s risk for developing certain cancers.

To learn more about Fountain Life's programs, connect today!

Your heart is the engine that keeps your body running, and taking care of it should be a top priority. Heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, and one of its primary culprits is the buildup of arterial plaque. While many people are familiar with the concept of plaque in the arteries, it's crucial to understand the difference between hard and soft plaque and how getting preventative heart scans, such as Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA), can help prevent heart attacks, aneurysms, and other life-threatening conditions.  

The plaque predicament

Arterial plaque is a substance that builds up inside your arteries over time. This plaque is composed of various substances, including cholesterol, fat, calcium, and cellular waste. However, not all plaque is created equal. Plaque can be categorized into two primary types: hard and soft plaque.  

Hard plaque vs. soft plaque  

• Hard Plaque: Hard plaque, also known as calcified plaque, is the more stable and older form of arterial buildup. It is characterized by the presence of calcium deposits within the plaque itself. This calcium makes the plaque hard and inflexible, like a rigid shell. Over time, hard plaque can narrow the arteries, reducing blood flow to the heart muscle. It may eventually lead to a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD) or atherosclerosis.  

• Soft Plaque: Soft plaque, on the other hand, is the more dangerous and volatile form of arterial buildup. Unlike hard plaque, soft plaque is composed of fatty deposits and inflammatory cells, making it soft and unstable. This type of plaque can rupture suddenly, leading to blood clots that can block blood flow to the heart or other vital organs. When a blood clot obstructs an artery supplying the heart, it can result in a heart attack. Soft plaque is also associated with an increased risk of aneurysms, which are potentially life-threatening bulges in blood vessel walls.  

Preventative heart scans: The role of CCTA  

Now that we understand the difference between hard and soft plaque, it's clear why preventative measures are so crucial. One of the most effective tools in early detection and prevention is the Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) scan. CCTA is a non-invasive imaging test that uses advanced CT technology to create detailed, 3D images of the coronary arteries. Here's how CCTA can help:  

• Early Detection: CCTA can identify both hard and soft plaque in the coronary arteries, allowing for early intervention and treatment.  

• Risk Assessment: By assessing the type and extent of plaque present, CCTA can help determine your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and aneurysms.  
• Treatment Planning: Based on the findings from a CCTA scan, healthcare providers can develop personalized treatment plans, which may include lifestyle changes, medications, or even procedures to remove or bypass blockages.  
• Assessment of Anomalies: CCTA can also identify other cardiac anomalies, such as congenital heart defects or abnormalities in the structure of the coronary arteries.
• Peace of Mind: Regular CCTA scans can provide peace of mind for individuals at higher risk of heart disease, allowing them to monitor changes in plaque buildup over time and make necessary adjustments to their health regimen.

While genetics and DNA are Alzheimer’s-inducing factors that of course cannot be changed, there are thankfully ways to help slow down its onset or possibly prevent its severity.

Through diet, nutrition, socializing and sleep, you can start implementing a more proactive approach to your health, decrease your risk of Alzheimer's Disease and improve your overall quality of life!

At Fountain Life, we also implement Precision Diagnostics to help detect neurological and degenerative diseases at their very start, when action can be taken.

Read the full article and begin your proactive lifestyle today!

Boost your brain with the right foods

The changes in the brain that lead to Alzheimer’s usually begin years before any symptoms are found. While this hidden change in brain chemistry might sound scary, it actually presents patients with a pivotal time to try to implement some lifestyle changes that might reduce the severity of the disease.

The Mediterranean and MIND diets have shown some promising results in reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, precursors of Alzheimer’s. The diets also reduce risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, which are also linked to increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. If you’re concerned about any of these health issues or just want to live a healthier lifestyle, the Mediterranean and MIND diets are a great place to start.

The Mediterranean diet features lots of fish, legumes, and unsaturated fats like olive oil, with a reduction of red meat and sweets, and is derived from the local diets of cultures surrounding the Mediterranean sea. The MIND diet is similar but specifically tailored to prevent cognitive decline, and focuses on lots of green, leafy vegetables, whole grains, fish and lean poultry, and berries. And good news: both diets encourage a glass of wine with dinner every so often, so you don’t have to give up all of life’s simple pleasures to regulate your brain health.

Cognitive health starts with exercise

The benefits of a regular exercise regimen positively impact nearly all aspects of a person’s life, and a major included benefit is Alzheimer’s prevention. The Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation found that regular physical exercise can reduce your risk of developing the disease by up to 50%. Exercise also helps with sleep regulation, energy levels, and weight loss, so what’s to lose?

Exercise stimulates the brain’s ability to make connections and maintain the memories it has already made. It can also slow down cognitive decline once it starts, so it’s really never too late to start integrating an exercise program into your life. An average of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, like brisk walking, swimming, and yoga or Tai Chi, is recommended in order to see effects.

Even a small amount of exercise helps, so if a whole new lifestyle plan sounds intimidating at first, remember that you can incorporate it gently. Start by taking evening walks with a family member or friend, or enroll in one Tai Chi class a week, and you’re already off to a great start!

Socialization helps brain functionality

Humans are by nature very social creatures. An unfortunate side effect of aging is often isolation from one’s family or friends, and loneliness takes a real toll on both mental and physical health. Incorporating weekly social regimens helps keep the brain active with social stimulus, and helps one feel tethered to a structure of time and place. We’re often used to our lives being ruled by schedules and appointments, and the lack of routine post-retirement can end up feeling rather disorienting.

Group classes, clubs, or regularly meeting up with other folks to go to a museum or restaurant are great ways to keep the mind active and keep people feeling socially stimulated. Social activities help the brain focus on the present moment, too -- it’s a lot harder to lose yourself daydreaming when someone is looking across at you and expecting an answer to their question!

Consider enrolling in a weekly activity that piques your interest and includes other people. A Tuesday bridge club, for example, helps give participants a sense of schedule while engaging the mind in a fun, brain-stimulating game.

Sleep quality greatly affects the mind

If you’ve ever struggled with insomnia or gotten even one bad night of sleep, you know how difficult it can feel to go about your life as usual. Studies have linked bad sleep to higher levels of beta-amyloid in the brain, a metabolic waste product that’s found in the fluid between neurons. When it clumps together in one’s brain, the clusters form amyloid plaques which halt communication between brain cells. In other words, poor sleep causes a protein buildup in your brain that, over time, increases memory loss and cognitive impairment and is directly linked to Alzheimer’s.

Establishing a regular sleep schedule is one of the best ways to combat sleep loss. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day-- even weekends! Creating a wind down nighttime routine also helps prepare the body and mind for restful sleep. This might look like taking an evening bath and reading before bed, meditating, or listening to calming music and having a cup of decaffeinated tea. If sleep trouble continues to be an issue, consult your doctor to talk about ways to help.

While genetics and DNA are Alzheimer’s-inducing factors that of course cannot be changed, there are thankfully ways to help slow down its onset or possibly prevent its severity. All of the tips that lead to a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s improve one’s quality of life overall, so it’s never a bad time to start implementing them!

October is breast cancer awareness month and a reminder of how critical proactive steps are for early detection and not only winning the fight against disease but thriving.

The American Cancer Society reports that 13% of women develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, which means 1 in 8 will get breast cancer. However, with proactive care, including early detection, only 1 in 39 women will die from this devastating disease.

For breast cancer, this requires getting an annual breast cancer screening for all women beginning at age 40.

Early detection is vital

The best way to beat cancer or any disease is through preventative medicine. For breast cancer, this requires getting an annual breast cancer screening for all women beginning at age 40. Yearly screenings can detect tumors and lesions early to take corrective action to ensure the best outcome.

This proactive approach is one of the few ways we can ensure our long-term health. Women with a family history of cancer should begin mammograms early. Additionally, proactive care includes genetic screenings, which can help identify gene mutations. Experts estimate between 5% and 10% of diagnoses are hereditary. You can't change your predisposition to breast cancer, but you can detect it early.

This breast cancer awareness month, take action to do your part in winning the battle against cancer by getting an annual screening. A mammogram is a type of X-ray that uses low-dose radiation to look for abnormalities inside the breast.

Proactive health: Wellness tips to live long and prosper‍

Proactive health is the best approach to ensuring our long-term wellness. When you're aware of your body and looking for warning signs, it's easier to take action before the condition progresses. Here are some proactive steps you can take to live a long, happy life free from disease.

Stay Active

Make exercise a priority in your life. Exercising releases endorphins boosts energy, and can help maintain a healthy weight. This step is essential to ensure good heart health, which reduces the risk of disease.

Eat Smart

Proper nutrition is critical for good health. Make sure to eat healthy meals and snacks every day and make the right choices. Limit your intake of processed foods and eat lots of vegetables.

Stay Positive

It's never healthy to dwell on the negatives in life. Instead, make an effort to stay happy and surround yourself with positive people. Yes, it can be difficult, especially when struggling with cancer or other debilitating diseases. However, studies have found that a positive attitude can significantly impact your health and well-being.

Get regular health check-ups

It's crucial to know your family history. If your parents, grandparents, or other relatives have battled cancer or heart disease, you may be at a greater risk yourself. Regular check-ups are essential for the early detection of disease, and this simple step can save your life by catching symptoms before they turn into serious problems.

You might also consider more proactive methods like Fountain Life's , which can help with the early detection of several illnesses and diseases, such as heart and vascular disease, stroke, cancer, joint disorders, breast disease, and neurological conditions. Unfortunately, this procedure is often performed by physicians after it's already too late.

At Fountain Life, we believe in PROACTIVE rather than reactive medicine. We want to catch diseases before they've planted roots, which results in lower medical costs and higher survival rates.

Take the PROACTIVE approach and take back control of YOUR health.

Precision Diagnostics is the most critical thing you can do to reduce chronic illness risk.

You may be doing all you can to lead an active, healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise and annual physicals, yet heart disease, cancer and stroke still account for 77 percent of all deaths in people over the age of 65. The grim statistics are mostly due to the fact that regular medicine still relies on 200-year-old diagnostics tools to forecast your health. Fortunately, Fountain Life’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and new data collection technologies allow us to see inside the body in a way that was never before possible. That means masses or abnormalities that would previously have gone unnoticed can now be caught in their earliest phases when non-invasive intervention is still highly effective. With this incredible technology at your fingertips, we truly believe that 100 is the new 60!

By focusing on prevention and early detection, the superior science behind Precision Diagnostics can significantly delay or even prevent diseases such as: cancer, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular conditions. It can also stave off illnesses caused by insulin resistance, autoimmunity, and inflammation. Precision Diagnostics testing has proved to be a life-saving tool for our clients.

Your ticket to longevity begins with taking advantage of Fountain Life’s Precision Diagnostics package, which includes a full body and brain MRI with Artificial Intelligence, AI Coronary Artery Scan, Early Cancer Detection Test, Executive Blood Panel, Biological Age, Whole Genome Sequencing, Gut Microbiome Analysis, DEXA Bone Density Scan and a detailed return of results with a Fountain Life physician.

Here’s a brief summary of each part of our essential health package:
‍

Full Body and Brain MRI

Our non-invasive MRI provides a snapshot of the entire body and brain, then links it with AI to scan for any abnormalities. Custom MRI protocols have a high accuracy in cancer detection, while specific organs can be imaged in detail for advanced protocols. The leading AI technology can also analyze brain patterns to detect neurodegenerative diseases in their infancy.

AI Coronary Artery Scan

If there’s a heart attack looming in your future three, five or 10 years down the road, this new AI-guided approach to Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) allows us to detect the warning signs so you can take actions to prevent it. We do this by accurately assessing your present-day heart disease risk by identifying newer, soft plaque that is prone to rupture. By using a non-invasive injection of an iodinated contrast media, the AI Coronary Artery Scan can examine the arteries that supply blood to your heart and determine whether they have narrowed. This visual snapshot allows us to implement changes and treatments where necessary so we can prevent heart attack, heart failure, stroke and even dementia.

Executive Blood Panel

Receive a comprehensive blood work panel to assess your kidney and liver function; vitamin, mineral and hormone levels; lipid panel; and glucose markers. This test will flag potential health risks and enable our team to make suggestions to optimize your health and performance – including nutritional and lifestyle changes.

Early Cancer Detection

Detect cancer in its early stages with our multi-cancer early detection blood test. This simple test screens for over 50 types of cancer—over 45 of which lack regular screening tests today. This multi-cancer early detection test is effective in finding cancers at stages 0 to 1, enabling doctors to treat before cancer spreads or causes harm.

DEXA Bone Density Scan

Our DEXA bone density scan measures the mineral content of your bones and, ultimately, your bone strength. This provides helpful details on your risk for osteoporosis (bone loss) and fractures (bone breaks). The DEXA scan can track bone health changes over time and monitor treatment to determine its efficacy. DEXA also measures body composition, such as body fat and muscle mass.

Gut Microbiome Analysis

Keeping the balance between good and bad bacteria is essential for optimal immunity, digestion, and overall health. Assessing GI can be especially helpful for those who have vague symptoms that they have been unable to previously diagnose, as well as conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Determine Your Biological Age

This epigenetic test looks at methylation markers on your DNA to predict your biological age in comparison to your chronological age, and further determine how these changes will affect your body and overall health. The test looks at over 900,000 locations on the DNA, then uses a machine learning algorithm to find correlations linked to health outcomes. Your biological age determined by this test is potentially more accurate at predicting health span (how healthy you are) and lifespan (how long you will live) than any previous molecular biomarker.

Whole Genome Sequencing

Sequence your DNA with whole-exome sequencing for the broadest insight possible into your DNA. This genomic testing is the first to integrate DNA sequencing data with lab values and other properties to enable us to better understand how your DNA affects your health. Using sophisticated computer algorithms, we can link the gene variations you have to peer-reviewed published papers to determine the impact of even very rare mutations. The database contains more than 350,000 associations between genomic mutations and health-related findings, making it the world’s most powerful DNA test.

Heart disease is when the heart's blood supply becomes narrowed due to plaque build-up in the arteries. The arterial plaque can lead to chest pain (angina), heart attack, and even death. Each year 805,000 Americans have a heart attack. For over 200,000 of them, it's not their first one. Unfortunately, for many, it's their last. However, it does not have to be this way. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable. Knowing your plaque score and taking charge of your health through diet and lifestyle changes can help you maintain a healthy heart as you age.

Heart disease describes the group of illnesses that affect a person's heart and circulatory system. Over 800,000 Americans die from cardiovascular disease every year. Additionally, 160,000 heart disease deaths are people under 65.

Heart disease does not have just one cause. Many factors increase the odds of developing this condition, including age, family history, lifestyle choices, and risk factors such as obesity or diabetes, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Understanding the risk factors for heart disease

The heart is a muscle. To work, it needs oxygen-rich blood and nutrients from the body's other organs. Individuals leading a sedentary lifestyle and not getting enough physical activity are not maintaining the strength their heart needs to pump blood. This inactivity slows down the heart's functions allowing plaque to build up more easily on the artery walls, which causes calcification.  

When this happens, the arteries are narrowed or blocked, and blood flow slows down or stops altogether, either of which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Plaque also builds up from two other major risk factors—smoking and high cholesterol.

Preventing plaque build-up

Plaque is a thick layer of fatty substances that can build up in the walls of an artery, also referred to as calcification. It starts to stiffen the walls of the arteries as the thickness increases. High levels of cholesterol, smoking, alcohol use, and stress are all factors that contribute to plaque build-up and calcification in your arteries.

Leading a healthy lifestyle

It's never too late to make changes to your lifestyle. The three top ways to help your heart are quitting smoking, improving your diet, and increasing your daily physical activity. Change isn't easy. Talk to your doctor about working with a nutritionist and fitness trainer to boost your overall health. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and worldwide. But what many people don't know is that you can prevent and even eliminate heart disease through education on how to control plaque and calcification. By understanding heart health, cardiovascular disease, the risk factors, and your plaque score, you have the tools necessary to make the lifestyle changes essential to extend your longevity and life quality.

North Americans have the highest life expectancy in the world — 77 years for men and 81 years for women. But why settle for average? A new study reported in Scientific American suggests humans could actually live up to 150 years. That is, if they can avoid getting sick.

As part of Fountain Life’s mission to extend longevity, we are steadfastly focused on disease prevention and catching illnesses early before they can cause harm. New Artificial Intelligence (AI) and biotechnology advancements can dramatically increase your chances of living to 100 and beyond.

Here are the 5 biggest health mistakes people make when it comes to disease prevention:

Fountain Life’s advanced precision diagnostics find illnesses earlier than ever before to prevent progression and possibly eliminate disease completely. We strive to help our members make 100 the new 60.

It’s not enough to just live longer, at Fountain Life we make it possible for you to live better so that you can live at the top of your health summit. Cutting-edge science and artificial intelligence (AI) tests offer insights into finding illness earlier than ever before. As a valued APEX member, our promise to you is to be the trusted fiduciary for all your health needs. From medical, nutritional and lifestyle recommendations, our primary goal is to extend lifespan while optimizing your health span.

Preventative, predictive and personalized care

Welcome to preventative, predictive and personalized health care that puts you at the center of your lifelong wellness journey. Fountain Life’s APEX membership offers early detection technology, advanced treatment plans and concierge medical service. The primary goal of this membership is to find illnesses in their infancy before they can cause harm, and then provide the necessary treatments and resources to turn the table on cancer, heart disease, dementia and a host of other ailments.

Your annual APEX Membership includes:

Full Body and Brain MRI with AI

A snapshot of the entire body and brain, which will identify any masses or abnormalities before they become symptomatic.

AI Coronary Artery Scan

Our AI Coronary Artery Scan, also known as Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA), allows us to accurately assess present-day heart disease risk, providing the opportunity to implement changes to prevent heart attack, heart failure, stroke and even dementia.

DEXA Bone Density Scan

Osteoporosis risk and fractures are detected as well as measuring the mineral content of bones and bone strength. Body fat and muscle mass are also determined.

4 Executive Blood Panels

Comprehensive blood work assesses kidney and liver function; vitamin, mineral and hormone levels; lipid panel and glucose makers. Four times a year this blood analysis will be conducted, and customized nutritional and lifestyle suggestions will help optimize your health and performance on an ongoing basis.

4 Review of Results

After each blood panel test, your personalized health coach will meet with you and adjust your programming and supplement recommendations according to the results obtained.

Early Cancer Detection Test

An annual screening of 50 types of cancer, more than 45 types of cancer that aren’t screened in regular testing. This multi-cancer early detection test is able to identify cancers at stage 0 to 1, permitting the luxury of proactive treatment in its infancy long before any harmful spread occurs.

Determine Your Biological Age

This epigenetic test looks at methylation markers on your DNA to predict your biological age in comparison to your chronological age, and further determine how these changes will affect your body and overall health. The test looks at over 900,000 locations on the DNA, then uses a machine learning algorithm to find correlations linked to health outcomes. Your biological age determined by this test is potentially more accurate at predicting healthspan (how healthy you are) and lifespan (how long you will live) than any previous molecular biomarker.

Whole Genome Sequencing

Sequence your DNA with whole-exome sequencing for the broadest insight possible into your DNA. This genomic testing is the first to integrate DNA sequencing data with lab values and other properties to enable us to better understand how your DNA affects your health. Using sophisticated computer algorithms, we can link the gene variations you have to peer-reviewed published papers to determine the impact of even very rare mutations. The database contains more than 350,000 associations between genomic mutations and health-related findings, making it the world’s most powerful DNA test. Performed only in Year One of your Apex Membership.

Heart Monitoring Analysis

If any flags occur as a result from the CCTA testing, your heart will be monitored throughout the year by our medical team ensuring effective treatments will reduce any risk of heart disease

Gut Microbiome Analysis

Keeping the balance between good and bad bacteria is essential for optimal immunity, digestion, and overall health. Assessing GI can be especially helpful for those who have vague symptoms that they have been unable to previously diagnose, as well as conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Concierge Physician

Access to a Fountain Life Concierge Physician to answer any medical and proactive health questions you have throughout your journey.

Health Coordinator

Contact your dedicated Fountain Life Health Coordinator for all scheduling inquiries, updates, questions and more.

Emotional Support

We recognize that preventative diagnostics can be an emotional journey for our members. That’s why, if and when disease is detected, our experienced medical team will chart out a therapeutic treatment plan and ensure that you feel safe and empowered throughout the entire process.

Superior healthcare is also about providing exceptional service, which means we’ll proactively take care of all scheduling. As an APEX member, your Fountain Life Healthcare Coordinator and Concierge Physician will proactively reach out to you to thoroughly review results and ensure all medications and supplements are up-to-date based on your latest test results. Anytime you need support on your health journey, our team is available via phone, text or teleconference; we make your healthcare needs are our highest priority.

Living at the top of your health summit means having a team of longevity scientists, physicians and health experts you can count on. We’re continually reviewing the latest advances in medical research so that we can identify compelling treatments for our patients. With Fountain Life Centers soon to be located around the world, our full suite of services and medical care will be available to members no matter where their travels take them.

Are you ready to reach your personal health apex?  
Schedule a call today to learn more.

The toxic stress of childhood trauma can hurt your heart – literally.

Children who experienced adversity – such as verbal, physical or emotional abuse or living with drug or alcohol abusers – were 50 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease later in life than those with low exposure to childhood trauma, according to a study by the Journal of the American Heart Association. Those with even moderate exposure were 60 percent more likely to die from any cause by middle adulthood.

While no childhood is perfect, key traumatic experiences increase your health risks. To assess your risk, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a list of 10 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), as well as a simple test you can take to define your score. The ACE test originated in a ground-breaking 1995 study by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente. It investigated the connection between childhood abuse and household challenges and later-life health and well-being.

How emotional trauma impacts your physical health

The chronic stress of difficult early-life experiences increases the amount of cortisol in your bloodstream. This, in turn, can increase heart rate, blood pressure, weight gain and blood sugar levels. The CDC estimates that at least five of the top 10 leading causes of death are associated with ACEs. If your score is higher than you anticipated, don’t be alarmed. ACEs are more common than you might think – 61 percent of adults have experienced at least one ACE, and 16 percent have had four or more.

These events can make it more difficult to cope with the ups – and inevitable downs – of life. You may choose to self-medicate by drinking too much, smoking, overeating or taking illicit drugs. You might self-isolate or have difficulty regulating your anger – all of which can wreak havoc on your health and contribute to traditional cardiovascular risk factors, which include high blood pressure, obesity, inflammation and diabetes. In addition to affecting our health and coping behaviors, ACEs can also negatively impact education, job opportunities, and earning potential.

Learning to cope in spite of ACEs

Exposure to childhood trauma, while tragic and difficult, does not have to result in poor health and damaging behaviors – or limit your chances of achieving your goals. Of course, you can’t undo what happened in your childhood, but you can take action to preserve your health by finding ways to manage your stress levels. This can include a number of positive habits, such as staying socially connected, getting regular exercise, establishing good sleep patterns, spending time in nature and taking advantage of stress management tools such as meditation, deep breathing and yoga.

Sometimes, more intense intervention is required, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy or working with a trauma-informed therapist. ACEs affect people of all incomes and social levels, but not everyone who has experienced them is destined to have poor health. The important thing is to recognize that childhood adversity plays a role in how you manage stress and to take the necessary steps to mitigate its impact.

One of the ways to do that is by being aware of your current health status. Fountain Life’s Precision Diagnostics allow you to detect the early warning signs of disease before they become a crisis. Knowledge is power and will help you feel more in control of your health and your life – even if yours got off to a rocky start.

Metabolic syndrome is increasingly common. The Centers for Disease Control have found that more than 34% of adults over 18 have the condition. This is incredibly concerning as metabolic syndrome dramatically increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Here’s how to determine the risk factors and take steps to lower your risk.

Defining metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels. If you have any three of these factors, you are considered to have metabolic syndrome. According to the National Library of Medicine, metabolic syndrome is diagnosed using these five characteristics:

• A large waistline (over 35 inches for women; over 40 inches for men)
• A high triglyceride level (over 150 mg/dL)
• A low HDL cholesterol level (below 50 mg/dL for women; below 40 mg/dL for men)
• High blood pressure (130/85 mmHg or higher)
• A high fasting blood sugar (100 mg/dL or higher)

In addition, most people with metabolic syndrome are insulin resistant, which makes it more difficult for cells in the body to respond to insulin, dramatically increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Who does it affect?

Metabolic syndrome can happen to anyone. However, it is more common in people who are overweight, and it is strongly associated with an inactive lifestyle and poor diet. The condition is also more common in people who are older and in those who have a family history of metabolic syndrome or its associated conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. The genomic industry's recent advancements have highlighted the pivotal role of genetics in various conditions. For instance, we now understand that certain factors, such as being male or belonging to specific ethnic groups like Hispanic, African American, and Native American populations, can increase the likelihood of developing the condition.

Risks of metabolic syndrome

Cardiovascular disease is the most important risk factor in metabolic syndrome. Studies have shown that cardiovascular disease risk increases as much as two times in people who have metabolic syndrome. Heart disease has proven to be the leading cause of death among adults. The individual components of metabolic syndrome are themselves risk factors in developing certain cancers, the combination of factors increases those risks. In fact, those with metabolic syndrome are approximately twice as likely to have elevated risks of endometrial, pancreas, and colorectal cancer compared to individuals with only one metabolic syndrome condition.

How to prevent metabolic syndrome

To help prevent the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, it's important to maintain a healthy approach to the following factors:

Diet

A healthy diet is a very important part of preventing and treating metabolic syndrome. A diet that is low in saturated and trans fats and high in protein, low-sugar fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is recommended to help maintain a healthy weight, control blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and reduce the risk of developing heart disease and other health problems. Limiting the intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates, eating an array of vegetables, and choosing healthy sources of protein, such as lean meats, fish, and plant-based proteins are the most significant things you can do to prevent metabolic syndrome.

Physical Exercise

Regular physical activity can help to maintain a healthy weight, control blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It is also proven to improve mood and reduce stress – both important factors for your general well-being. For overall health, the recommendation for adults is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, each week. Including strength-training exercises at least twice a week will also help maintain muscle mass and bone density.

Tobacco Use

Smoking can increase blood pressure and worsen insulin resistance, two risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Quitting smoking can have immediate and long-term benefits to your health, and it can also help to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that can damage the heart and blood vessels, and can also increase the risk of blood clots, which lead to heart attack and stroke.

Managing Stress

Chronic stress can have a negative impact on overall health and worsen existing risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as high blood pressure and insulin resistance. Find healthy ways to relax and unwind, such as taking regular breaks from work, engaging in physical activity, or practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation. It's also helpful to prioritize your physical and mental health by getting enough sleep and avoiding excessive alcohol intake.

Pre-Existing Health Conditions

Pre-existing health conditions that are associated with metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. They can not only increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome but also worsen the effects of the condition. If you have any of these conditions, it's important to work with a medical professional to manage them effectively and make immediate lifestyle changes to help prevent the development of metabolic syndrome and reduce the risk of complications.

Treatment

Metabolic syndrome can be treated, but it is often a chronic condition that requires ongoing management. The main goal of treatment is to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. This can be achieved through lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet and increasing physical activity. Medications may also be used to control high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other risk factors. In some cases, weight loss surgery may be recommended for people who are severely obese and have not been able to lose weight through other means.

How can Fountain Life help?

The best way to treat disease is to prevent it. With Fountain Life’s Precision Diagnostics, you can access the best early detection technology to find illnesses, like diabetes and heart disease, in their initial stages, before they cause harm. Specifically, our advanced metabolic blood biomarkers panel, cutting-edge imaging technologies, metabolic genomics panel, and continuous metabolic monitors have created unprecedented opportunities to understand the metabolic condition of our bodies. By harnessing these new tools, our longevity providers can offer the most effective treatment strategies to promote better health and longevity. Start your journey toward a healthier you today!

As part of Fountain Life’s commitment to disease prevention, we’re turning the tide on diabetes. You monitor your weight, heart rate, and steps – so why not add blood sugar? While healthy people only need to measure blood glucose annually, if pre-diabetes is detected, a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) can identify spikes and drops, and a medical professional can work with you to prevent the onset of full-blown diabetes.

Eighty-four million Americans have pre-diabetes, and that number is rising. Early detection is crucial to halt disease progression. A CGM monitors blood glucose levels day and night with high accuracy. This non-invasive technology provides real-time biofeedback that can enable life-saving behavior changes.

How CGM works

A small, white circular sensor sticks to your arm and its thin, flexible filament inserts just under the skin, where it taps into the interstitial fluid. Every one to five minutes, it takes a reading of the amount of glucose in the interstitial fluid and saves the data for up to eight hours.

Once the appropriate CGM app is downloaded, your smart phone acts as a scanner, picking up the data as it briefly hovers over the sensor. The CGM app analyzes the glucose reading, producing trend reports and glucose history, and sending alerts when blood sugar is too high or low. You can program the app to send the data directly to your Fountain Life healthcare team, so they always stay in-the-know.

The at-home kit provides an applicator, sensor and instructions, which makes adhering as user-friendly as the technology. To stick the sensor to your arm, firmly push the applicator and then lift it away gently. You may feel a slight pinch upon application, but there’s no discomfort thereafter. Every 14 days, the sensor times out and needs to be replaced—the app sends you a reminder. Slowly peel off the old one and adhere a new sensor to your other arm.

Benefits of CGM

Night readings

This is invaluable if you are prone to hypoglycemia during sleep. An alert sounds and wakes you if your blood sugar drops too low, allowing you to take appropriate measures quickly before you are in a life-threatening situation.

Blood glucose trends

Based on the collected and stored data, the app identifies glycemic patterns and forecasts the future direction of your blood sugar levels. This information can help your health care provider adjust your medications and provide lifestyle recommendations appropriately, so you have the best health outcomes.

Real-time readings

Frequent samples collected day and night make it possible to pinpoint how exercise, specific foods and medications impact your blood sugar. With this insight, your medical team can customize a diabetes management program to keep your blood sugar stable.

Helps keep blood sugar in ideal range

Alarms that sound for hyperglycemia help to ensure glucose levels do not go too far off course, reducing the likelihood of long-term complications like diabetic ketoacidosis, vision changes and lower limb amputation.

Ask us how to get started

Based on the data collected, our team will work with you to formulate an exercise, nutrition and medication regimen that allows you to prevent diabetes. If you have diabetes, we can help you get a stronghold on the disease.

Talk to your Fountain Life doctor or wellness concierge about improving the quality of your glycemic control.