Fitness
7 health and longevity secrets to borrow from Amitabh Bachchan – Times of India
Amitabh Bachchan, one of India’s most iconic actors, has maintained his health and vitality well into his 80s. His enduring career and active lifestyle offer valuable insights into maintaining health and longevity. Here are seven health and longevity secrets we can borrow from Amitabh Bachchan.
Consistent exercise routine
Amitabh Bachchan is known for his disciplined approach to fitness. Despite his hectic schedule, he ensures regular physical activity is a part of his daily routine. He incorporates a variety of exercises, including walking, yoga, and light strength training, which help maintain flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular health.
A consistent exercise routine that includes a mix of aerobic activities, strength training, and flexibility exercises is good for longevity. Experts suggest at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.
Always opt for a neat and clean diet
Bachchan follows a balanced diet that emphasizes nutritious, wholesome foods. He focuses on eating fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Being a vegetarian, he ensures he gets all necessary nutrients through a well-planned diet, avoiding junk food and maintaining portion control.
Adopt a balanced diet rich in nutrients. Include a variety of foods to ensure you’re getting a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Avoid processed foods and excessive sugar, and pay attention to portion sizes.
The Shehenshah’s breakfast includes coconut water, amla juice, dates, banana, and tulsi leaves or almonds as mid-morning snacks. His lunch menu includes dal, sabzi and chapatis.
Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan is fond of chaats?
Amitabh Bachchan’s love for chaat is known to all. He loves having chaats at Bengali Sweet House in New Delhi’s Bengali Sweet House. Chaat is a popular Indian street food known for its vibrant flavors and diverse textures. It typically includes a mix of crispy fried dough, tangy tamarind chutney, spicy chili, cooling yogurt, and fresh herbs. This savory snack offers a delightful blend of sweet, sour, spicy, and savory tastes.
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The catch here is that you eat to your heart’s content.
Eating to your heart’s content, when done mindfully and healthily, offers numerous benefits. It promotes emotional well-being by allowing enjoyment and satisfaction from meals, reducing stress and feelings of deprivation. Mindful eating encourages better food choices, leading to improved nutrition and digestion. It helps develop a positive relationship with food, preventing overeating and fostering a balanced diet. Savoring meals can enhance social connections during shared dining experiences, further boosting mental health. Embracing this approach supports overall health and happiness, aligning dietary habits with physical and emotional needs.
Make sure to have an adequate amount of water
Staying hydrated is a crucial part of Amitabh Bachchan’s health regimen. He understands the importance of drinking plenty of water throughout the day to maintain optimal bodily functions and energy levels.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. Hydration supports digestion, circulation, and temperature regulation. Carry a water bottle with you to ensure you’re drinking enough throughout the day.
However, he avoids having tea, coffee and caffeinated beverages.
Mental fitness and lifelong learning
Bachchan keeps his mind sharp by engaging in activities that challenge his intellect and creativity. He reads extensively, writes blogs, and is always open to learning new things. This mental stimulation helps keep cognitive functions strong and reduces the risk of age-related mental decline.
Engage in activities that challenge your mind. Read books, solve puzzles, learn new skills, or take up a new hobby. Lifelong learning keeps the brain active and healthy.
Regular health check-ups
Amitabh Bachchan advocates for regular medical check-ups and preventive care. He believes in monitoring his health closely to catch any potential issues early, which is essential for maintaining long-term health.
Schedule regular health check-ups and screenings. Early detection of health issues can lead to more effective management and treatment. Follow your doctor’s advice and stay on top of your health metrics.
Positive attitude and stress management
Bachchan’s positive attitude and ability to manage stress play a significant role in his longevity. He practices mindfulness and remains optimistic, which helps him navigate the challenges of life and maintain mental well-being.
Cultivate a positive attitude and practice stress management techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, and yoga. Mindfulness practices can help reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
Quality sleep
Recognizing the importance of rest, Amitabh Bachchan ensures he gets adequate sleep. Good quality sleep is essential for physical and mental health, helping the body recover and rejuvenate.
Prioritize good sleep hygiene. Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Establish a regular sleep schedule, create a restful environment, and avoid screens before bedtime to improve sleep quality.
As the popularity of smartwatches, also called wearables, increases, so too does the amount of data users can access about their health.
Statistics like resting heart rate, V02 max (maximal oxygen consumption) and heart rate variability (HRV) provide valuable insight into your fitness levels.
But not all measurements are created equal.
While HRV has long been used by elite athletes to dictate their training schedule, it has become a “buzzword” among the broader community.
Matthew Ahmadi, deputy director of the University of Sydney’s Mackenzie Wearables Hub, says HRV has been around for more than 20 years in the competitive sports environment.
“Over the past 10 years or so, it has really picked up among the general population, mainly due to increases in the use of wearables,” Dr Ahmadi says.
HRV has long been used in the competitive sports environment. (Getty Images: Sportsfile/Sam Barnes)
WHOOP, a leading wearable brand and official partner of the Women’s Tennis Association, has been collecting data on the most consistent factors that boost or harm your HRV.
Global statistics from 2024 show that getting quality sleep, consuming caffeine and having a consistent wake time are most likely to improve your HRV, while consuming alcohol, being sick and highly stressed will see your numbers crash.
So just what does HRV measure, and how might you use it to maximise your workouts?
HRV indicates how ‘balanced’ your autonomic nervous system is
Dr Ahmadi explains that HRV measures the “variation between heartbeats”.
The heart does not beat consistently (like a metronome or clock).
Dr Ahmadi explains that a high HRV indicates that your autonomic nervous system is in “balance”. (Supplied: Matthew Ahmadi)
So, while your heart might be beating at 80 beats per minute, there will be longer or shorter gaps between each heartbeat.
How variable these gaps are determines your HRV, with a higher number indicating greater variability.
A high number is ideal, and an indication that the body is in homeostasis (or balanced), Dr Ahmadi says.
This is because HRV is a window into the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system consists of two main divisions: the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
In simplistic terms, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for ‘rest and digest’ processes, while the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for ‘fight or flight’ responses.
Ideally, Dr Ahmadi says, the two are in balance, meaning the body is equally responsive to both inputs.
“The more fit someone is, the more their body is able to adapt to different stressors and therefore recover better,” he says.
Your HRV score is best understood as a window into the automatic nervous system. (Supplied: WHOOP)
But if your HRV is low, it indicates that one branch of the autonomic nervous system is dominating:
“It generally means your sympathetic system is dominant, so your body is on high alert.”
HRV indicates how ‘ready’ you are to exercise
When your HRV is measured is also critical to its interpretation.
Measuring it before you go to bed will tell you how well the body has recovered from the current day’s activities or stressors, Dr Ahmadi says.
“[Measuring HRV] right after you wake up will give you a good indication of what your body is prepared to handle over the coming day,” he adds.
The time of day your HRV is read determines how it should be interpreted. (Supplied: WHOOP)
This is the key reason HRV offers an advantage over other measures of fitness.
Not only does a higher HRV indicate a higher level of fitness, it can also be used to dictate what level of intensity you should take on in your current day’s exercise regime.
“In the sport science world, we think of HRV as a proxy for ‘readiness’ [to train],” Kristen Holmes, WHOOP’s principal scientist, says.
Kristen Holmes is WHOOP’s Global Head of Human Performance. (Supplied: Kristen Holmes)
“Higher HRV yields more capacity to train, whereas low HRV means less robustness and less capacity to train.“
WHOOP uses HRV to determine its users’ daily “recovery” scores, grading them as being in the green, yellow or red.
On green days, WHOOP encourages users to go “all out”, while on a red day, it recommends “active recovery” activities like meditation, light walking or yoga.
Many elite athletes similarly use HRV to adapt their exercise regimes, with research showing those who do so achieve better performance outcomes.
Whoop uses HRV to determine “recovery scores”. (Supplied: WHOOP)
Factors that improve or decrease HRV
WHOOP also collects data on the most common positive and negative influences on HRV.
Positive factors include being well-hydrated, following a healthy diet, getting quality sleep and keeping consistent sleep and wake times.
“That’s what makes it both a great measure and really frustrating,” Dr Holmes says.
“It’s hard sometimes to pinpoint exactly what isn’t allowing me to respond and adapt to external stressors in a functional way.”
There are, however, consistent factors that lower HRV, with the top being the consumption of alcohol.
In fact, Dr Holmes says alcohol is such an “HRV crusher” that 89 per cent of people who use the platform report decreasing alcohol consumption in the long term.
Across the board, alcohol consumption has been found to lower HRV. (Getty Images: Gregory Lee)
“That’s because people can directly see the performance cost from their behaviours,” Holmes says.
“Your coach can tell you, ‘Hey, alcohol is really bad for your performance’, but until you see directly how it affects your HRV, you’re like … wow, I’m a lesser version of myself today. It’s sobering.”
| ‘Boosts’ HRV | ‘Harms’ HRV | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sleep quality and duration | Alcohol |
| 2. | Caffeine | Fever |
| 3. | Consistent wake-up time | Sleep at altitude |
| 4. | Consistent bed time | High stress zone |
| 5. | Daylight eating | Sickness |
| Source: WHOOP 2024 Year in Review user data | ||
But you should avoid comparing your HRV scores to others’.
Generally, the older you get, the lower your HRV will be, while women also tend to have a lower HRV on average.
If you want to improve your HRV, both Dr Ahmadi and Dr Holmes instead advise taking a baseline level and judging any changes relative to your own scores.
Generally, it isn’t useful to compare your HRV score to others’. (Getty Images: Thomas Barwick)
Don’t panic if your HRV is low
It’s also important to note that a low HRV is not always bad.
As one example, Dr Ahmadi says that you should expect to see a drop-off in your HRV if you are beginning a new exercise program, especially if you were previously sedentary.
“The first few weeks, you’re likely to see a big decrease in your HRV on a daily basis,” he says.
“But ideally, if the program is working the way it should be, you should start to see your HRV increase over the coming weeks and months, and then taper off as your body adapts to the current program’s load.”
Once your HRV starts to stabilise, it’s a good indication that you are ready to “progress” your program.
But if you don’t see an improvement in your HRV, it’s likely you need to take your foot off the pedal.
“If you see a big drop-off, then it’s a good idea to not push as hard the following day, because your body is giving you signs that it needs time to recover,” he says.
“As you settle into a new training regime, your body will adapt and you’ll be able to handle higher stress and workout loads closer together.”
Spring Outdoors With
Workout Swag From Amazon’s
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Fitbit Inspire 3 Health & Fitness Tracker
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ECCO Men’s Biom 2.1 Low Gore-Tex Trainer
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NORTIV 8 Women’s Walking Shoes
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SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch FE
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Have a ball and play it too with this Outdoor Basketball Hoop!
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BCAN Foldable Mini Trampoline with Bungees
Add a little spring in your step with this Foldable Mini Trampoline with Bungees!
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Women’s Butt Lifting Leggings & Crop Top Set
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ON Men’s Cloudridge Textile Trainers
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All prices subject to change.
Nicolas Rocca
is a social media video creator with BU’s Office of Public Relations, producing short-form content for the university’s flagship social media channels. He grew up near Boston and received a bachelor’s degree in media arts production from Emerson College. In his free time, Nick enjoys hiking, scuba diving and photography. Nick can be reached at nrocca@bu.edu.
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