DR SHAH
If someone had asked me a few years ago what ageing felt like, I probably would have cheekily said, ‘Oh, it’s just time doing its thing.’ I didn’t think of it as anything I could influence, let alone shape. But after speaking with Dr Darshan Shah, a surgeon and longevity expert, I realised that the real story of ageing isn’t written in years at all. It lives in the choices we make, in the habits we build, and in the quiet signals our bodies send us every day.
I keep coming back to the image Dr Shah shared of two 75-year-old men: both born in the same year, both alive for the same number of days, yet living entirely different lives. One wakes up with energy, walking, laughing, travelling, playing with his grandchildren. The other struggles just to get out of bed, weighed down by medications and fatigue. As I figured, longevity is not about how long we live, but how well we live those years.
Building Your Longevity Pyramid
I kept thinking about how often we chase complex wellness trends while forgetting the foundations that matter most. The “longevity pyramid” brought me back to basics: real nutrition, daily movement, and restorative sleep. These aren’t flashy bio hacks; they are the true drivers of health. Science echoes this simplicity. A 2018 Harvard study on lifestyle and longevity found that consistent movement, nutritious foods, quality sleep, and stress management significantly contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
Movement as Medicine
I didn’t expect walking to play such a central role in longevity until Dr Shah said, “If you’re not moving 8,000 steps a day, you’re sedentary, even if you exercise”. A study found that taking 7,000 steps or more per day dramatically reduces the risk of early mortality. He also talked of muscles and how loss of muscle is loss of resilience. That’s why a 2014 American Journal of Medicine study revealed that higher muscle mass is one of the strongest predictors of longer life.
Making Peace with Stress
I felt an unexpected sense of relief when I finally accepted that a stress-free life doesn’t actually exist. The real shift happened when I stopped trying to eliminate stress and started focusing on shortening how long I let things bother me. Small resets throughout the day, a few minutes of breathing between tasks, stepping away from my screen, taking tiny pauses before emotions spiralled, these practices began softening what used to become long-term tension in my body. The difference I felt over time made me realise how longevity is built through these quiet, everyday decisions rather than any sweeping intervention.
Overlooked Trio: Hormones, Gut, Detox
I’ve often underestimated how much my hormones and gut health shape the way I age. It took me a long time to realise that these systems are the quiet foundations of how I feel every day. Hormones shift naturally after 30, and when I ignored those changes, I could feel my energy, mood, and metabolism slipping out of balance. The more I began paying attention, the more stable I felt, which made perfect sense when I later read the 2020 Mayo Clinic Proceedings review showing how age-related hormonal changes can significantly influence metabolic health. The same happened with my gut. Something that once felt too abstract suddenly became central to my immunity, inflammation, digestion, and even emotional steadiness. Supporting it with fibre-rich foods, probiotics, and fewer irritants made an almost immediate difference. And then there’s the environment I live in. When I learned just how many chemicals surround us, my definition of detox changed. It was no longer long retreats, but more of drinking cleaner water, breathing cleaner air, and using cleaner products. Little by little, they reduced the invisible load my body had been carrying for years.
My Takeaway
The older I get, the more I notice how much the small things matter. A night of poor sleep, a stressful week, skipping movement or meals that don’t feel good in my body, affects my health. It has made me realise that ageing well is less about big changes and more about noticing the quiet patterns that shape how we feel every day. What reassures me is that despite all the new science and tools, the foundations of wellness are still simple and within my reach.
