01/20/2026
"We talk about “aging well” as if the goal is simply to stay alive as long as possible.
Count your birthdays. Track your lifespan. Add more years.
Lifespan without healthspan is a hollow victory.
Healthy aging isn’t about squeezing more time out of biology.
It’s about extending healthspan, the years lived without disability, frailty, or dependence.
The years where you can walk unassisted, think clearly, cook your own meals, shower alone, travel, garden, laugh, play with grandkids, and feel like you’re still “you.”
Healthspan is trainable.
You can influence it with choices, not just genes.
Resistance training improves functional capacity and prevents frailty.
Cardiovascular exercise protects the brain and heart.
Nutrient-rich diets improve metabolic health.
Good sleep stabilizes hormones and cognition.
Community and purpose reduce mortality as much as quitting smoking.
None of this guarantees immortality
but it dramatically increases the number of years you spend living well, not just existing.
It forces us to admit that aging isn’t just fate.
That decline isn’t just “part of getting older.”
That waiting for disease and disability to arrive is a choice
just as much as strength training, walking, socializing
and nourishing your body are choices.
Healthy aging is not passive.
It’s an active, stubborn refusal to surrender your autonomy.
If you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s, the most important question isn’t,
“How long do I want to live?”
but
“What do I want those years to look like?”
Because adding years to life is medicine.
Adding life to years is wisdom.
And you still have time
right now..
to change that trajectory."
-Dr. Lux
(and what I've been saying for 23 years! :)
