Health
'I'm a doctor — here's the wellness routine I follow for a longer, healthier life'
Humans may have reached their max life expectancy, according to a recent Harvard study — but that’s likely not going to stop them from trying to extend their years.
A recent poll found that 81% of respondents reported being “somewhat or very willing” to spend money to live longer — although many are unsure of where to start.
Dr. Sajad Zalzala, co-founder and chief medical officer of AgelessRx in Detroit, Michigan, is committed to helping people live not only their longest, but also their healthiest lives.
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As a physician with a background in functional medicine, Zalzala worked to find and treat the root causes of symptoms and illness — which led him into the longevity space.
In 2019, he launched AgelessRx to try to “solve the puzzle of aging.”
Dr. Sajad Zalzala, co-founder and chief medical officer of AgelessRx in Detroit, Michigan, shares his secrets to living a longer, healthier life. (Dr. Sajad Zalzala / AgelessRX)
Zalzala spoke on camera with Fox News Digital about the hallmarks of aging and what he sees as the most important components of a longer, healthier life.
The hallmarks of aging
While the aging process can look different for different people, researchers have identified some “common denominators” of cellular and molecular aging, which Zalzala shared with Fox News Digital.
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1. Genomic instability: This occurs when damaged DNA leads to diseases like cancer and weakens the body’s ability to heal, according to the doctor.
2. Telomere attrition: Shorter telomeres (DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome) are what cause visible aging signs like wrinkles and slower cell regeneration.
3. Epigenetic alteration: This is when environmental factors alter gene function, accelerating skin aging and metabolic issues, Zalzala said.
4. Loss of proteostasis: “Misfolded proteins contribute to age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s,” the doctor said.
5. Mitochondrial dysfunction: Reduced energy production leads to fatigue and muscle weakness, according to Zalzala.
6. Deregulated nutrient sensing: “Dysfunction in regulating metabolism and controlling energy production is a cause of why we age,” the doctor said.
7. Cellular senescence: With this phenomenon, cells stop dividing, causing aging signs like thinning skin and age spots.
8. Stem cell exhaustion: “Fewer stem cells result in gray hair and slower tissue repair,” Zalzala noted.
9. Altered intercellular communication: Poor cell communication weakens tissue health and immune responses, according to the doctor.
10. Disabled macroautophagy: This is a slowdown of the process that provides metabolites and energy to cells, according to ScienceDirect.
11. Chronic inflammation: As people grow older, an increase in inflammation is directly linked to the development of many diseases and effects of aging, experts agree.
12. Dysbiosis: This condition causes an imbalance in the microscopic organisms within the body, which can have negative impacts on health, per Cleveland Clinic.
Many of the hallmarks of aging can be addressed through behavioral changes, the doctor said. (iStock)
Many of these hallmarks can be addressed through behavioral changes, Zalzala said.
“A lot of things can be benefited by lifestyle,” he said. “For example, eating a highly processed diet, not exercising and being sedentary promotes inflammation, and that accelerates the aging process.”
5 cornerstones of health
The doctor shared some of his habits in each of the five “buckets” of healthy living.
1. Eating right
Zalzala follows a “Paleo-like” diet, which consists mainly of whole foods like vegetables, low-glycemic fruits and lean protein.
“I stay away from excessively processed foods, excessive sweets, and foods with too many starches or simple sugars,” he said.
“Eating a highly processed diet, not exercising and being sedentary promotes inflammation and accelerates the aging process.”
There’s a lot of debate about whether grains are healthy, Zalzala noted. He tends to avoid them.
“From a pure health perspective, I don’t think there’s much nutritional value in them,” he said.
When it comes to fruit, not all are created equal, according to Zalzala.
Zalzala follows a “Paleo-like” diet, which consists mainly of whole foods like vegetables, low-glycemic fruits and lean protein. (iStock)
“Bananas and grapes are high-glycemic foods — you want to stick to low-glycemic fruits such as berries and cherries.”
The doctor also abstains from drinking alcohol.
“Alcohol is not very good for longevity, and I would recommend limiting it,” he said. “More studies seem to show that there’s really no good level of alcohol consumption.”
2. Staying active
While Zalzala said he’s “not a huge exercise guy,” he does recognize the importance of physical activity in slowing down aging.
He uses a walking desk in his office for a couple of hours each day, and he does martial arts classes with his teenage son.
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The doctor also spends 20 or 30 minutes per day doing a mix of exercises, including riding a stationary bike, using a rowing machine and lifting free weights.
“I try to get a little bit of cardio and a little bit of weight resistance training each day,” Zalzala said.
3. Choosing the right medications
While Zalzala said he is “very comfortable” with medications, they should be prescribed carefully based on each person’s individual health goals.
One medication he regularly takes is metformin, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
While the aging process can look different for different people, researchers have identified some “common denominators” of cellular and molecular aging. (iStock)
Some studies have shown that metformin could help to promote longevity and better health outcomes, the doctor said.
“I started taking it mostly for prevention, as I’ve always struggled with my weight,” Zalzala said.
The doctor has also recently started taking rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug that has been heralded for its potential longevity-boosting properties.
“Having some way to measure and monitor sleep is very important.”
Zalzala also sometimes takes acarbose, an anti-diabetic medication that helps to regulate blood sugar.
“When I do eat starches and carbs, I try to take acarbose to limit some of the blood sugar spikes that can occur — and it also helps improve the microbiome,” he said.
While Zalzala said he is “very comfortable” with medications, they should be prescribed carefully based on each person’s individual health goals. (iStock)
Most recently, Zalzala started taking atorvastatin (Lipitor) to help keep his cholesterol at a healthy level.
“I have a family history of heart disease, and I just couldn’t get my LDL cholesterol down with diet and exercise,” he said.
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The doctor occasionally takes NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which is a coenzyme that helps to regulate metabolism.
“Aging or certain disease conditions can drain the body of NAD+, so I take it here and there when I feel drained and need an energy boost,” he said.
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“There’s been more and more data showing that keeping youthful energy levels can help with all sorts of things, so I take it as needed for mitochondrial support and also for general longevity.”
4. Supplementing for health
Zalzala has always been an advocate of supplements to promote healthier living.
“Over the years, I’ve tried a bunch of different supplements — I always like to try things on myself, see how I feel, see how it moves the marker.”
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Vitamin D is among the most important supplements, he said.
Studies have shown that vitamin D supplements can help to improve bone health, brain health and immune function, among other benefits.
Studies have shown that vitamin D supplements can help to improve bone health, brain health and immune function. (iStock)
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a hormone produced in the adrenal gland, is another of his top picks. Some studies have shown that DHEA helps to reduce abdominal fat, improve insulin resistance and reduce inflammation in the arteries.
The doctor also takes Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant supplement, to counter the potential downsides of his heart medication.
“If you can’t get your sleep right, very few things matter, because it will throw off your metabolism and all your hormones,” the doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“As long as somebody is free of any major diseases, I think most supplements won’t do any harm and could have benefit if taken intelligently,” he said.
It’s important to talk with a doctor before starting a new medication, supplement or exercise program, the doctor emphasized.
5. Improving sleep hygiene
One of the most important and overlooked aspects of health, according to Zalzala, is sleep.
“If you can’t get your sleep right, very few things matter, because it will throw off your metabolism and all your hormones,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“So having some way to measure and monitor sleep is very important.”
If someone suffers from sleep apnea or another sleep disorder, it’s essential to talk to a doctor about ways to improve sleep, the doctor advised.
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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