20 easy ways to eat healthier

On February 1, 2017 my life expectancy clocked in at 65.2 years, according to the RealAge test, which estimates your life span based on your health habits.

65.2 years?! No one wants to live forever, but that’s barely even retirement age.

At the time, I’d published a number of articles on Blue Zones, or areas with the world’s longest living people. Residents of Blue Zones tend to live by nine core principles, which include:

• Building exercise into their daily routine
• Eating a mostly plant-based diet
• Spending meaningful time with family and friends

In sharp contrast, I was living the hectic, carb and caffeine-fueled life of a full-time employee and graduate student—and my test results proved it.

Medically reviewed in July 2019.