We’ve always heard that the best indication of how long we live is our parents, and their parents before them. If you got good genes, you’re in like Flynn.
Not so, according to a new meta-analysis that looks at more than 400 million people.
“It used to be thought that genetics accounted for 20-30% of your longevity,” says Texas neurologist and anti-aging specialist Dr. Jacob Rosenstein, author of the book Defy Aging. ”Turns out that genetics only plays about 7%.”
The study was conducted by the people that run the genetic testing website Ancestry.com, which led to the same conclusion Dr. Rosenstein found more than a decade ago. It’s what you eat, what you put in your body, and how much you move.
“Actually your lifestyle is much more important than your genes because your genes load the gun and environment pulls the trigger, so you can keep the safety on just by practicing healthy lifestyle habits,” says Dr. Rosenstein. He’s over 60, and you need to see his picture on his website. This guy could be on to something.