Living longer sounds like good news. But there is another question that may matter just as much: How many of those years will be spent in good health?

That distinction is at the heart of the difference between lifespan and healthspan. Lifespan is simply how long we live. Healthspan is how many of those years we spend healthy, active and able to enjoy our lives without being overwhelmed by chronic disease, medications and medical care.

In this episode of the NHA Today Podcast, Dr. Stephan Esser speaks with Charlyn Black, MD, ScD, physician, public health researcher, educator and co-author of Plant Powered Seniors, about what we can do to close that gap.

Dr. Black has spent much of her career studying health and disease at the population level. Now in her 70s, she also brings something equally valuable to the conversation: lived experience with the realities of aging and the ways our health needs evolve over time.

Her message is both practical and hopeful. Getting older changes the body, but that does not mean we are powerless over how we age.

Living Longer Is Only Part of the Goal

For decades, increasing life expectancy has been viewed as an important measure of progress. But Dr. Black points out that longer life does not necessarily mean more years of good health.

In fact, she explains that the opposite of what many public health researchers once hoped for has occurred.

Researchers once proposed the idea of a “compression of morbidity,” in which people would live longer while experiencing illness and disability during a shorter period near the end of life. Instead, Dr. Black says the amount of time people spend in poor health has increased. She cites recent U.S. data suggesting the gap between lifespan and healthspan now exceeds 14 years.

That can mean spending a significant portion of later life managing chronic conditions, taking multiple medications, making frequent medical visits or losing some of the physical function needed to live independently.

The goal, then, is not simply to add years to life. It is to protect as many healthy years as possible.

Your Body Changes With Age, and Your Habits May Need to Change Too

Healthy aging is not necessarily about doing exactly what worked when you were 30, 40 or even 50.

Dr. Black explains that real physiological changes occur as we get older. Stomach acid can decline, making certain nutrients more difficult to absorb. Muscles become less responsive to protein. Fast-twitch muscle fibers decline. Our sense of thirst can become less reliable, increasing the risk of dehydration. Changes in appetite and activity can also reduce calorie needs while making it more challenging to get adequate nutrition.

Those changes make nutrient quality increasingly important.

They also mean that even someone who has followed a healthy lifestyle for decades may benefit from making adjustments along the way.

Dr. Black has experienced this herself. After transitioning from a vegetarian diet to a whole food, plant-based diet, she lost approximately 40 pounds. She also learned new approaches to cooking and continued refining her diet as she learned more about the nutritional needs of older adults.

Healthy living is not a finish line we cross. It is something we continue adapting throughout life.

Movement Becomes Increasingly Important

Nutrition is only one part of protecting healthspan.

Dr. Black openly shares that movement was an area she had to work on herself. During her 50s, much of her work kept her tied to a computer. As she got older, she became more intentional about bringing physical activity back into her life.

Today, she practices somatic movement to support mobility and flexibility, works with a personal trainer a couple of times a week and makes an effort to exercise regularly.

Maintaining physical function becomes particularly important because falls can have serious consequences as we age. Declines in balance, muscle strength and the ability to catch ourselves can turn a simple fall into an injury that dramatically affects independence.

Dr. Black’s advice is not simply to “exercise more.” Adding movement, or introducing a different type of movement, can help support function and help us continue doing the things that make life enjoyable.

Healthy Aging Is Bigger Than Food and Exercise

Food and movement receive plenty of attention, but they are not the only factors influencing how we age.

Dr. Black points to the six pillars commonly emphasized in lifestyle medicine: nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, healthy social connection, stress management and avoidance of risky substances.

Some of these areas can become even more important with age.

Sleep may become more difficult. Social connection can change as people retire, lose loved ones or become more isolated. Chronic stress can continue taking a toll on physical and emotional health.

That means protecting healthspan requires looking at the whole person rather than searching for a single food, supplement or exercise routine that promises healthy aging.

It Is Never Too Late to Make a Change

One of the most damaging assumptions about aging may be the belief that the opportunity to improve our health has already passed.

Dr. Black strongly disagrees.

She says it is “never ever too late” to make a difference and that people may notice changes in how they feel within weeks of improving their habits. The process does not have to begin with a complete lifestyle overhaul either. It might start by eating more plants, learning a few new recipes or adding more movement to the day.

That message applies to people who are currently healthy as well as those already managing chronic conditions.

Plant Powered Seniors, which Dr. Black co-authored with registered dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, was created with both groups in mind. The authors wrote it for people in their senior years who want to remain healthy as well as those looking for ways to lessen the impact of existing chronic conditions.

Health Is Personal, but It Is Not Only Personal

Dr. Black’s background in public health brings another important dimension to the conversation.

We often talk about healthy living as a matter of individual discipline. Eat the right foods. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Make better choices.

But the environment surrounding those choices matters.

Dr. Black points to the constant advertising of unhealthy foods, the prevalence of fast food and the foods made available in schools, hospitals, universities and other public institutions. When unhealthy options are everywhere, maintaining healthy habits can require swimming against a powerful cultural current.

She sees lessons in the enormous shift that occurred around tobacco. Education mattered, but so did changes in advertising, regulations and the environments in which smoking was permitted.

Her hope is that similar thinking can help create food and physical environments that make healthier choices easier for everyone.

And change does not have to begin at the national level. Dr. Black suggests something as simple as asking your local grocery store to stock healthier foods. Individual choices can improve our own health, while advocacy can help make those choices more accessible to others.

More Years of Life, and More Life in Those Years

The conversation around longevity often focuses on how to live longer. Dr. Black offers a useful shift in perspective.

The better question may be: How can we remain healthier for more of the years we already have?

Our bodies will change as we age. Our nutritional needs may change. The movement that serves us best may change. Sleep, relationships, stress and our surrounding environment all deserve attention.

But aging itself does not eliminate our ability to influence our health.

Add more plants. Find ways to move that support strength and function. Protect your sleep. Stay connected. Continue learning what your body needs as it changes.

The goal is not simply a longer lifespan.

It is a longer healthspan.

Learn More About Plant Powered Seniors

Dr. Charlyn Black co-authored Plant Powered Seniors with registered dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. The book explores the nutritional and lifestyle needs of older adults and offers practical guidance for using plant-powered living to support health as we age.

Learn more and purchase Plant Powered Seniors:
https://plant-poweredseniors.com/

Listen to the Full Episode

Listen to How to Close the Gap Between Lifespan and Healthspan with Charlyn Black, MD, ScD on the NHA Today Podcast for the full conversation with Dr. Stephan Esser.

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