Sunshine Coast doctor and genetics expert Denise Furness reveals health research on ageing well

A renowned genetics expert has divulged frontier methods revealing the key to not only living longer but ageing better.

Sunshine Coast doctor and genetics expert Denise Furness reveals health research on aging well. Picture: file.

A renowned genetics expert has divulged groundbreaking research revealing the key to not only living longer but ageing well, the true indicators of optimal health, and how to avoid chronic diseases in old age.

Australia’s globally renowned functional geneticist and nutritionist, Dr Denise Furness, a Sunshine Coast local, has revealed how her research is creating health trends globally focused on living longer and healthier lives – shifting the focus from gut health to cell health.

While as a global population we are living longer, this is often in ill health.

Globally, healthcare experts and researchers are shifting their focus to cell health.

Dr Furness, 46, of Doonan, is leading the way with her research.

She said Australians needed to change their approach to healthy ageing.

She emphasised the importance of bringing cell health to the forefront to help Australians live longer and, more importantly, healthier lives.

Dr Furness said her research was inspired by the rising burden of ageing related health conditions such as dementia.

Her research focused on the role of mitochondria, sub-cellular health, antioxidant Ubiquinol and energy production decline in rising statistics on challenges to healthy ageing.

“The mitochondria is essential for making energy in your body,” Dr Furness said.

“It all comes down to cell turnover and recovery which is making energy. Energy is required for every action in our body. Our body is always in a state of repair.

“In today’s world we’re exposed to harmful toxins and chemicals, stress, blue light, processed food, and a sedentary lifestyle … all of which is bad for our health.

“In Australia we have one of the longest life spans but research shows we’re not living a higher quality life.

“Less than 100 years ago and most women weren’t even living through menopause. Now that we are living longer we need to take steps to improve our health early to start living better and preventing chronic diseases.”

Dr Denise Furness. Picture: contributed.

Dr Furness said the best case scenario was setting yourself up for healthy ageing in your younger years but that it was never too late to prioritise health.

“For a lot of us the reality is you’re stressing lots and drinking a bit more in your 20s,” she said.

“A lot of people in the middle years are starting to see their parents suffer from chronic health issues and illnesses later in life and that’s when they start taking their health seriously.

“It’s never too late to start. I help a lot of elderly patients improve their day-to-day life.”

According to Dr Furness’s research a key indicator of your health was your energy levels.

“When you’re healthy you should wake up feeling energised,” she said.

She said the key factors to taking care of your mitochondria, so it was producing energy for your body, was through eating whole foods, putting on muscle, moving your body everyday, having healthy sleeping habits, reducing or managing stress, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, dancing, reading, socialising, engaging in your community, investing in relationships, lowering screen time and avoiding blue light as much as possible and having a good work/life balance.

Research shows a good night’s sleep is essential for healthy ageing. Picture: File.

“Firstly you need to address any nutrient deficiencies and eat whole, real food majority of the time,” Dr Furness said,

“Put on some muscle. We start to lose muscle as we age so we need to counteract that. I’d recommend strength training at least three times a week and moving in some way even if it’s just walking every day.

“Sitting down all day is not good for you so we’ve got to counteract that by moving to create energy.”

Sleeping for at least eight hours a night was also crucial.

“You need to be getting deep sleep every night so your body can repair,” Dr Furness said.

“To do that and wind down don’t have screens or devices in your bedroom. No blue light for at least two hours before bed.

“Research shows a television blue light is okay at night time and can actually help wind down but scrolling on your phone and watching videos is not good for your body.”

Stress also played a huge factor in ageing and health.

“Stress ties into everything. If you’re stressed you eat bad food, might drink more, skip exercising and then it affects your mental health and causes inflammation of the brain,” Dr Furness said.

Research shows stress is bad for your body, mind and ageing. Picture: file.

“If your mind or body is stressed then you won’t have energy or be able to function well.

“By maintaining a healthy lifestyle and focusing on restoring your energy you are building resilience in your mitochondria to fight off infections and chronic illnesses.”

Dr Furness said think of stress as rust in the mitochondria.

“We don’t want rust in our batteries,” she said.

“We want to reduce that rust and the earlier the better.

“Studies show alcohol is linked to accelerated ageing and does cellular damage. We age at different rates not based on our birthdays. It’s all based on lifestyle.

“Even though our world is fantastic and I love it – it’s not set up for healthy ageing so we need to make an effort. It’s too easy to just sit around on our devices all day eating poorly and not going outside.

“Especially in today’s society with a lot of us working from home boundaries get crossed and we can end up working really long hours.

“We all need to prioritise down time that isn’t on a screen. We need to get outside into the sunshine and disconnect from our devices.”

To take health to the next level, Dr Furness said lowering screen time and blue light was essential.

“If you really want to age well and be healthy you need to disconnect from your devices,” she said.

“Don’t have them in the room at night. It affects melatonin the sleep hormone. Because of the blue light melatonin won’t naturally kick in when it gets dark to help us wind down.

“No devices in bed and limit daily scrolling. It’s one of the easiest and hardest things to do for your health.

“It’s easy because you’re just putting your phone down but it’s hard because people see time scrolling or on their devices as down time.”

To start today, Dr Furness suggested booking an appointment with a medical practitioner to have essential nutrient levels tested.

Research shows eating real, whole foods helps ageing. Picture: file.

“New research shows dancing is actually one of the best things you can do for your brain too,” she said.

“It can improve memory and is good for your co-ordination and all while socialising.

“Another huge risk is isolation. Not socialising is so bad for you.

“We need to be out interacting with others and in our community.

“You need a sense of purpose and community too for brain health. Staying engaged and keeping your mind active is important too.”

All of these lifestyle and health tips combined should make for healthy cell turnover in your mitochondria, said Dr Furness.

“If you’re lacking energy and feeling fatigued then you’re not ageing or living well,” she said.

“And it all comes down to cell repair in your mitochondria. It’s all about recovery and producing energy to fight off illness and live a long and a healthy life.”

Originally published as Sunshine Coast doctor and genetics expert Denise Furness reveals health research on ageing well