Erin O'Hara: Naturopath and wellness expert on the 'silver bullets' promising to extend lifespan

A recent article about a woman who engineered her life to ensure she lived to 150 made the rounds online and sparked discussion about whether we can really extend our lives though diet and excercise.

'Biohacking' has recently captured the minds of people - but are there really practical 'silver bullet' solutions that can keep you healthier and livelier for longer?

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara says there's no expensive trick to help you look better, live longer or stay healthier, and regular exercise and a healthy diet can boost wellness without the gimmicks. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
And joining us now to talk wellness is naturopath Erin
O'Hara hi erin good morning. Hey, there was an article
in the paper, I said, on the New Zealand Herald maybe,
and it was about a British woman who mentions about
the fact that she gets up at five o'clock in
the morning and she goes to bed at eight thirty
and throughout the day everything she does is an attempt

(00:35):
to biohack herself so that she can live till she's
one hundred and fifty. And it looks like a very expensive,
time consuming, unrealistic weight and live your life, to have
a healthy life. But we're hearing so much more about this,
aren't way about sort of biohacking and how all these

(00:57):
little tips and tricks that we should be doing to
you know, live longer. Some of them are ridiculous and
some of them are hugely expensive. It's just not realistic, sick,
is it.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah? The wellness industry has really exploded since the nineteen
fifties and all these wellness tools and tricks and gimmicks
and bio hacks are all promising all sorts of amazing
things improving health and healing the body and better flexibility
and stronger body, better immune systems, shinier here. And I
think we can really get caught up in the marketing

(01:30):
of all these different products, whether there are supplements or biohacks,
sort of gadgets that supposedly will help us live longer
and be healthier. And I think it's really making being
healthy so complicated because back prior to the nineteen fifties,
it was literally people just lived life and lived healthy
life of getting ours and eating normal whole foods. It

(01:53):
was just their normal diet, where now it's become more
like it's a diet to eat more healthy foods. And
I think made it super super complicated that instead of
when we're wanting to get healthier, instead of turning to
the foundations of health, we're looking at more about buying
supplements and buying products to help us, instead of looking

(02:15):
at focusing on the harnessing the healing power that's really
within ourselves. And we just need to have some support
to do that.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
So we've got some simple tips to build the foundations
of your health without the gimmicks.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yep, that's exactly what it's about. I think that it's
about not going on an extreme diet, but just going
through and maybe this week can being a long weekend,
doing a little review of your diet and noticing maybe
some of your unhealthy habits. And I think that we
sometimes forget what we do every day, whether it's having
some chocolate bikis at three o'clock or a big glass

(02:48):
of orange juice when we could really have a glass
of water. And I think just doing those little simple
changes to our everyday diet can be massive for health.
And I think also changing the mindset around instead of
eliminating foods and depriving yourself of having you know, some
what I'd like to call sometimes foods or maybe a

(03:08):
little bit more processed foods, but instead focus around adding
more fruits and vegetables into your diet, because obviously there's
only so much you can actually eat, so if you're
eating more fruits and vegetables, you tend to eat less
junk food by just focusing on more healthy foods. And
then I think sleep is really underrated too.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Prioritizing our sleep's important, moving our body is important. You
don't need to have a gym membership. Interestingly, though, connection
and community is also important too, is an Erin.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, it's about putting all of those elements together. I
think when you're looking at being healthy, it's about healthy body,
healthy mind, healthy lifestyle. And that can be from eating
the right food, getting enough sleep, managing your stress, and
then having the right friends and family and support network
around you that can help you stay healthy and stay
on track and be in a loving environment, which is

(04:01):
just you know, having that support network around you. And
if you're wanting to make some changes to your health,
sometimes it's about telling someone a friend or a family member,
and be like, hey, I want to get healthier. Can
you help me reach my goals? And you could maybe
get out for a walk once a week with a
friend and that can keep you motivated and keep you
healthy and you can both be healthy together.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Wonderful, Thank you so much. Erin Erin also joined us
on The Little Things. Recently we did a whole podcast
on creating great new habits. She's got lots of really
good tips. If you want to make some changes, go
and have a listen at iHeart or wherever you get
your podcasts.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to news talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
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