© Arlene R. Taylor, PhD

Overview – Getting Started

Science in a Nutshell

 The Longevity Lifestyle Matters (LLM) program is the first of its kind: a 12-week brain-based approach to health and wellness. It is designed to help people learn how to create and maintain a longevity lifestyle to help them stay healthier and younger for longer. Once these strategies are in place, you simply follow them for the rest of your life!

I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become.
—Carl Jung

This is the Age of the Brain!

Everything starts in the brain. It has been referred to as the most amazing piece of biological real estate in the known universe. Konrad Kording has pointed out that the human brain produces in 30 seconds as much data as the Hubble Space Telescope has produced in its lifetime. That is just one reason that LLM Online is brain-based.

Not a fad nor a diet nor a deprivation plan nor a flash-in-the-pan solution nor a complicated calorie-counting exercise, LLM Online encourages developing new, replacement behaviors that can be implemented into each person’s daily routines and maintained for life.

For those individuals serious about building these researched strategies into their daily lives, LLM Online does require thought, time, practical application, practice, and consistency—which is why it works!

LLM Online can help you pursue gradual and permanent lifestyle changes to prevent what is preventable, reduce the risk for what is not preventable, and manage more effectively what was not—or could not be—prevented. The exponential power of science working with both the brain and body can often provide the potential to reverse deficits—at least to some degree—due to either lack of knowledge and/or personal choices and decisions. As Simone de Beauvoir put it, “Change your life today. Do not gamble on the future, act now—without delay!”

 Seventy (70) percent of how long and how well you live is in your hands. —Michael A. Roisen, MD & Mehmet C. Oz, MD

Planet Earth:  The Current Reality

• Mental health disorders 
  
  • Anxiety Disorders are the #1 mental illness worldwide, affecting an estimated 374 million individuals—2023—who worry something terrible might happen or something desirable may not happen or sometimes they don’t even know why they are anxious.
  • Depressive Disorders are the leading cause of ill health, disability, and divorce worldwide—affecting more than 246 million people—2023—50% of whom also have an anxiety disorder.
  • Worldwide, nearly 800,000 people—2023—die by suicide annually: one every 40 seconds. Many more attempt it. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death worldwide. 
• Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death worldwide. (COVID-19 deaths may eclipse usual numbers due to the pandemic).
• Obesity, a “global epidemic,” is linked with more than 50 diseases, including 200 types of cancer and four types of dementias.
  • Every 20 seconds a person in the US is diagnosed with some form of diabetes.
  • Every 65 seconds an individual in the US is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
• Estimates foresee this generation as the first to live shorter lives than their parents—largely due to lifestyle choices.

The human brain is estimated to have about a hundred billion nerve cells, two million miles of axons, and a million billion synapses, making it the most complex structure, natural or artificial, on earth. —Tim Green

What Has Not Worked

Many attempts to deal with health issues by targeting primarily diet and exercise have been less-than-successful long term. Fortunately, current research recommends surprisingly simple approaches to reduce one’s risk for illness, disease, and a shortened lifespan.

It has become clear that dieting does not work long term. Within the space of two or three years, most people regain everything they have lost and more—often as fat. There are also concerns about the impact of dieting on the brain. Faith Hickman Brynie, author of Brain Sense, explains that dieting starves the brain of serotonin. Without enough serotonin to signal satisfaction, dieters tend to overeat. A dead-end street. It’s also clear that everything begins in the brain. If you start there and get your brain on board, smart strategies that become part of your lifestyle can (hopefully) continue indefinitely.

Aristotle has been quoted as saying that “excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Pursuing excellence, the wise choice of many alternatives is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution. Turning learning into experiential knowledge and practically applying consistently it can also result in improved health.

The best time to create and implement a longevity lifestyle for yourself is around age 18—or earlier. The next best time is right now. As the old saying goes, those who are too busy to take care of their health are like mechanics too busy to take care of their tools. Your brain and body are your tools. Have you been too busy to take care of them? If so, start today!

What Does Work

“If you keep on doing what you are doing, you will keep on getting what you are getting. Science has made quite clear the relationship between lifestyle choices and many of the diseases of the so-called ‘developed’ cultures. While many of us are aware of these relationships, the actual application of what we know into our behavior and habits often lags. We would prefer a quick and ‘easy’ fix. We expect science to solve our chronic health problems with a procedure or a pill when much of the cause lies within our own lifestyle choices. For your health to improve, something needs to change. To really solve our health problems, we will need to change what we are doing. Healthy choices are of primary importance in restoring health that has been lost because of poor lifestyle practices. A long journey begins with the first step.

There is no ‘magic’ to restore health. There is no safe ‘crash diet.' There are no ‘magical’ quick fixes. You will be the one most responsible for changing your lifestyle.”        

George E. Guthrie, MD, MPH, CDE, CNS, FAAFP, FACLM

Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change.
—Jim Rohn

How You Begin

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) put it this way, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. And, the secret of getting started is breaking a complex, overwhelming task into small manageable tasks. Then, begin with the first one.”

The place to start is in your brain—with your mindset. If you think you can or you think you can’t, either way, you are right. Start by thinking you can—because you can choose to take steps to create and maintain a Longevity Lifestyle, one that helps you stay healthier and younger for longer. John Addison said, “You’ve got to win in your mind before you win in your life. “

LLM Online is designed to help you not only get started but to keep on keeping on as long as you live. Fourteen key components have been identified for helping you stay healthier and younger for longer. Each component links back to the brain in some way because everything begins in the brain. They are presented in 12 Modules: one each week for 12 weeks. Divided into bite-sized bits, the information is easier to remember and apply daily. Educational audio and video clips are built into the modules. There is nothing to write unless you like to make your own notes. You can go back and review any previous modules as you wish. Because research indicates it takes nearly 12 weeks to build new habits, we recommend that you spend at least one week on each module. Studies have shown that you are more likely to retain the information if you do it in small bites.

“Sitting Disease,” a term describing a lack of movement and physical activity, has deadly consequences over time. As such, each Module includes reminders to “Get Up and Move.” Simply standing up from a sitting position increases blood circulation to your brain and your level of alertness. Walk around the room as you listen to the audiobook segments. Walk in place as you view the videos. Drink plenty of water to keep your brain energized.

Audiobook Excerpt

Listen to “The Fact Is . . . Nature Plus Nurture Equals—You” - an excerpt from Just the Facts, performed by Dr. Taylor:

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret.
Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.
—Oprah Winfrey

Module #1 is waiting for you.