YouTube star Dr. John Scharffenberg of the Loma Linda University’s school of public health in southern California advises people to maintain exercise and fasting as a healthy way of life and a means of achieving a happy, longer life.Â
Scharffenberg has been traveling frequently to share his thoughts on longevity in lectures and seminars where he has repeatedly advised attendees to practice daily walks to avoid a detrimental lifestyle of inactivity.
The 101-year-old nutrition professor points in one lecture that based on a recent study, it was found that people who walked more than 2 miles a day had only half the death rate of those who walked shorter distances.
His lectures have made him a celebrity of sort in social media: “Now all of a sudden, 6 million people are listening to me. It’s amazing. I’ve never had anything like that before.”
Scharffenberg adds that being overweight or having obesity raises the risk of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer—this according to the National Institutes of Health.
“The risk of health problems starts when a person is very slightly overweight and only increases from there,” he quotes from the World Health Organization warning.
Aside from active regular exercise, Scharffenberg also believes that one of the reasons he’s outlived his brothers is that he practices intermittent fasting and eats two meals a day—breakfast and lunch. He skips dinner, so he stops eating in the early afternoon and doesn’t consume food until 6:30 a.m. the next morning.
“Intermittent fasting can help with weight loss and is linked with health benefits,” he asserts.
Scharffenberg is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which recommends a well-balanced vegetarian diet.
“I haven’t eaten any meat since I was 20 years old. I follow a plant-based diet that includes milk and eggs. My favorite foods include fruits like mangoes and persimmons, macadamias and other nuts, and seeds. I also like potatoes,” he shares enthusiastically.
In addition, he notes that the average person eats about 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day, which can lead to obesity, heart disease and other health problems, according to many studies. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women, 9 teaspoons for men.
So Scharffenberg advises: “Look for ways to modify recipes to eat less sugar.” Waffles made with oats, a healthy recipe his wife created, is recommended and instead of drenching them in sugary syrup, serve them with cashew cream and bananas or berries on top.
He cites that the sugar in fruit provides energy in a healthy way because it comes with many other nutrients, like fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant compounds.
As a final word, Scharffenberg describes the vegetarian diet as “the optimum diet,” even as he tells audiences during his lectures that “(he) prays all will live the right lifestyle.” (Tracy Cabrera)