Dr. Frank Lipman has over 35 years of experience in functional medicine and throughout his career, he has always considered researching longevity as an extension of his work.
Lipman is an author of seven books, including “The New Rules of Aging Well,” which he co-authored with Danielle Claro.
When it comes to longevity, “almost everything I recommend to my patients, I do myself,” Lipman tells CNBC Make It.
These are his daily practices for a long, healthy life.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
‘Almost everything I recommend to my patients, I do myself’
CNBC Make It: What are some of the things you do to keep your body healthy?
I exercise, that includes strength training a few times a week, aerobic and intermittent high-intensity intervals a few times a week.
I walk. I move as much as I can. I tend to go to sleep at the same time every night. I do some sort of meditation practice. [I] try to do it daily.
What else do I do? And I take a sh-tload of supplements [including vitamin D and fish oil]. I do hormone replacement.
I do many things to optimize my health, [I’m] very proactive about my health. Almost everything I recommend to my patients, I do myself.
There is a lot conversation that focuses on brain health. Are there any things you do specifically to keep your brain healthy?
I’ve had my brain mapped. And at least five or six times a week, I [use] a red light helmet at home. I put that on for at least 15 minutes to treat whatever we found on brain mapping.
You can actually measure under active and over active areas in the brain and then target those areas with specific red light frequencies. So that’s what I do.
Apart from exercising, and trying to deal with my stress and sleep, I use a red light helmet.
Having really important connections in your life is something that we hear when we talk about longevity. What’s your social fitness like?
My social fitness is very good. I’m quite obsessed with spending as much time as I can with my grandson.
When he gets older, he’s probably not going to want to spend as much time, so I’m taking advantage. He’s soon to be five, but he’s still at an age where he wants to be around his grandparents.
We spend a lot of family time, and then we spend time with friends as well.
What are some of the foods you really aim to get into your diet, either every day or every week?
I tend to eat a low sugar, low carbohydrate, high protein diet. I’m a little bit obsessed with getting enough protein in my diet, so that’s my focus. That can be eggs, red meat, chicken, fish.
Then I eat a lot of green leafy vegetables, non-starchy vegetables. I love fruit, but I try not to eat too much of it. But I’ll eat berries.
So, I would say my diet is full of protein, fatty fish, non-starchy vegetables and berries. It’s a Mediterranean diet without any bread or pasta.
I usually do time-restricted eating, so I usually don’t eat for a 16-hour period. I eat all of my food in an eight-hour period.
What are you reading right now?
Lately, [I’ve been] digging deeper into rapamycin. That’s what I’ve been reading. Just exploring rapamycin.
A longevity expert’s 5 daily practices for a long, healthy life
Summing up Dr. Lipman’s longevity practices, here’s what he does to stay happy and healthy:
- For his body: Exercise, a consistent sleep-wake time, meditation and supplements
- For brain health: Brain mapping and red light therapy, plus less stress and more sleep
- For social fitness: Getting quality time with loved ones, especially his grandson
- For his daily diet: Protein and vegetables, specifically fatty fish, non-starchy vegetables and berries
- For his media diet: Reading up on rapamycin