7 Lifestyle Rules to Slow Aging According to Thomas DeLauer

Despite aging being a natural part of life, there is increasing evidence it doesn't move at the same speed for everyone. Some individuals just don't seem to age like the rest of us, staying fit and healthy for longer. What's their secret? Is it good genes? Is it their diet? Is it lots of exercise?

It's an interesting question because nearly all of the same practices seem to work across humans and canines. So how do we slow aging in ourselves and our dogs?

According to health expert Thomas DeLauer, everyone should follow seven lifestyle rules to slow aging and maximize their health. We're going through each one of his rules below.

1. Consuming a high fiber diet

It turns out not all carbohydrates cause aging. Rather, as DeLauer explains, fiber intake is key to slowing aging. Prebiotic fiber is a type of carbohydrate that is not digested by you specifically—but by the bacteria in your gut microbiome.

When your gut bacteria digest fiber, they turn it into short chain fatty acides that are associated with greater healthspan. That means selecting carbs with a high fiber content (i.e. oats compared to rice) can have a positive impact on helping your dog live longer.

2. Practicing a cyclical ketogenic diet

A cyclical ketogenic diet involves doing keto for a few months, followed by a few weeks back to a carbohydrate-based diet. This may sound like poor willpower, but it's not.

Keto helps with anti-aging through a variety of mechanisms including sirtuin activation, which has been shown across studies to increase longevity.

However, dogs don't enter into ketosis the same way as humans do. They generally need to be in starvation for 3 days to enter ketosis. As natural carnivores, their bodies are adapted to extremely low carb diets and use the gluconeogenesis pathway more than we do. 

One way to mimick the effects of ketosis in your dog are to do 24 hour fasts 2-4 times a month. Another way to get some of the benefits is to feed your dog coconut oil, which has MCT oil that directly converts into ketones in your dog's body.

3. mTOR stimulation

mTOR is bad, right? Being anabolic and pro-growth, doesn't that raise your metabolism and trigger aging?

Well, as with any protein in your body, it's necessary for proper function. mTOR promotes muscle growth and memory formation. It's also a central regulator of lifespan and aging according to NIH studies [*].

What's ironic is that while mTOR reduction has been associated with increased lifespan in multiple studies[*], DeLauer believes that mTOR should be periodically spiked through exercise to signal to the body that it's alive and healthy.

So be sure to take your dog on regular walks! But then keep their carbohydrate levels low in their diet to keep mTOR levels low afterwards.

4. Getting lots of sunlight

By far, the best way to generate vitamin D and slow aging is exposure to sunlight. When the sun hits our and our dog's skin, it triggers a critical reaction in vitamin D production.

Vitamin D3 is essential for bone strength, muscle building, mood and especially metabolism. So if you weren't already convinced to take your dog on a walk today, get out there and do it.

5. Feed between an 8-hour block

For anyone trying to lose weight or live longer, grazing all day has been shown to be a counterproductive routine. Thomas DeLauer is not along in saying this. The world's leading anti-aging expert David Sinclair also recently said that the best way to live longer is to eat less often.

That's why one way to promote a longer lifespan is intermittent fasting.

Keep all your dog's meals in an 8-hour block provides plenty of time to give their metabolic system a rest. When our dog eats continuously, their insulin is constantly spiked due to raised blood sugar. When their insulin is spiked, their body is no longer sending hormones to lose weight and live longer. 

6. Having space between your dog's meals

This is somewhat of an addendum to rule 5. Making space between meals provides time for your dog's body to send signals that lower insulin and mTOR levels – and, by extension, slow aging.

According to Thomas DeLauer, adding 3 or 4 hours between your dog's meals further prevents insulin resistance (an early step towards diabetes). It'll also mean your dog is likely to stay fit and not become one of the 60% of dogs who are now obese.

7. Zone 2 cardio

Zone 2 cardio is the goldilocks of exercising. It's about the intensity of a fast walk. It's ideal for fat loss and boosting your dog's cardiovascular health. Entering zone 2 cardio three or four times a week can yield remarkable benefits. It gives your dog all the benefits without the high-intensity stress of zone 3.

The Bottom Line

Not every rule here will fit you and your dog's lifestyle. But Thomas DeLauer has some solid evidence backing up his lifestyle rules. Implementing these rules can boost your dog's health and significantly slow aging. It's the modern-day fountain of youth.