Why More People Are Embracing Aging and What It Means for the Future of Wellness

Written by ilyse August, Guest Writer

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Aging is no longer seen as a process of decline but as a chance to grow stronger in body, mind, and spirit. As modern science blends with ancient wisdom, a new perspective is taking shape that celebrates aging as a journey toward greater vitality. This article explores how mindset, nutrition, and holistic wellness are transforming the way we approach getting older and creating a future where we can truly thrive.

What is aging?

This question can derive so many various replies that it’s a fun topic to write about and discuss. My journey truly began to unfold as I sadly sat by and “watched” my 63-year-young mother get diagnosed with ovarian cancer and go down that awful rabbit hole of figuring out how best to combine her Western medicine approach with holistic support for her needs during this challenging time. Inevitably, along the way, I began to grasp and better understand how important nutrition is and how ancient nutrition can affect and support different body systems.

When you understand how and where the body uses nutrients, you can make the best choices on how to support your body. Unfortunately and sadly, I did not know this as Mom was “going through it.” It took her journey to help better educate myself on how vital our genome is in working in tandem with nutrition.

The experience with my mother opened my eyes to a new perspective on aging, not as something to fear or avoid, but as an opportunity to deepen our connection to our health, our bodies, and our wellness journeys. Aging, in many ways, is misunderstood. It’s often framed as something that just “happens” to us, a process we can’t control, filled with decline and loss. However, this mindset is beginning to shift. More people are embracing aging with the understanding that it’s not about fighting time but about optimizing it.

As we delve deeper into the future of wellness, it’s clear that this transformation is happening not just on an individual level but across society. The future of wellness will be characterized by a holistic approach to aging, one where advanced science and ancient wisdom go hand in hand to support healthier, longer lives.

Two voices leading the charge in redefining how we age are Dr. Joseph Chang, with his thought-provoking book The Aging Myth, and Dr. Kevin Passero, founder of LiveDurable.com. Dr. Chang’s research challenges the traditional view of aging, arguing that it’s a process we can influence by making informed, proactive choices about our health and nutrition. In his book, he emphasizes the power of supplements and lifestyle adjustments to slow down and even reverse certain aspects of aging.

Dr. Passero, on the other hand, brings this concept into practice with his LiveDurable brand, which is dedicated to helping people optimize their health and vitality throughout their lives. Dr. Passero’s deep commitment to research has led him to create a supplement line that focuses on the critical nutrients needed to support cellular health, cognitive function, and overall longevity. His work reinforces the idea that aging doesn’t have to be a process of inevitable decline. Rather, it can be a time of flourishing, as long as we arm ourselves with the right tools.

Both Dr. Chang and Dr. Passero understand that aging healthily requires more than just accepting the passage of time. It’s about taking control through informed choices, including what we put into our bodies. Supplements, when used thoughtfully and effectively, can be key to supporting our bodies as they age. Ancient foods like algae, which provide essential nutrients, are also growing in popularity as they nourish cells, promote energy, and contribute to longevity.

The science of aging has advanced, and with it, our understanding of how nutrition, supplementation, and holistic wellness intersect. Personalized approaches such as biohacking and genetic-based nutrition are emerging as powerful tools to not only extend lifespan but also improve health span, ensuring that we age with vitality and resilience.

But this isn’t just about science and nutrition. It’s also about mindset. A huge part of this shift involves embracing the idea that aging doesn’t have to mean decline. It’s about redefining what it means to get older, not as a process of losing, but as a journey of transformation, growth, and empowerment. As we continue to educate ourselves on the importance of nourishing our bodies with the right foods, embracing both modern and traditional wisdom, and caring for our minds and spirits, we will witness a revolution in how we approach aging.

In the future, wellness won’t just be a buzzword or a trend. It will be an essential part of how we live our lives at every age. As we move forward, it’s time we embrace the fact that aging can be beautiful, thriving, and something to look forward to with vitality.

The missing link in the aging conversation: The mind

An area of contention, or more accurately, a space where profound education is still lacking, is the brain. More specifically, the mind and its power to either amplify or impair the body’s innate ability to heal, restore, and thrive. In the landscape of longevity and wellness, the mind is the missing link.

It governs more than our thoughts. It influences our biochemistry. Every belief, every emotional imprint, every chronic stressor sends signals that affect how our immune system responds, how our hormones behave, how efficiently we repair on a cellular level. The mind can act as a silent partner in our healing, or as a quiet saboteur.

Science gives it names like psychoneuroimmunology or epigenetic signaling, but the truth is simpler: what we think, feel, and repeatedly focus on either feeds vitality or depletes it. The mind, in all its invisible power, can either be the catalyst for graceful aging or the root cause of accelerated decline. Our perception of stress, our emotional reactivity, our internal dialogue—all of it either fortifies the body or gradually wears it down. Science may call it psychoneuroimmunology, but at its core, it’s this: the stories we tell ourselves, the emotions we carry, and the thoughts we repeat daily are either medicine or toxins.

This connection becomes especially urgent when considering conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. While traditionally viewed as an inevitable part of aging, emerging research suggests that cognitive decline is not a foregone conclusion. The brain is adaptive, resilient, and profoundly responsive to how we nourish and treat it. Engaging in activities that stimulate the mind, managing stress, and feeding the brain with intentional nutrients can significantly impact its long-term vitality.

Functional nutrition offers extraordinary tools to support brain health, from brain-supportive nutrients like omega-3s (think wild edible AFA microalgae) and magnesium to adaptogens and medicinal mushrooms like lion’s mane, which emerging science shows may help reduce amyloid plaque buildup and support neural regeneration. The mind must be fed just as intentionally as the body. When we engage it, support it, and believe in its capacity to heal, it becomes not just a passenger in aging but a powerful driver of vitality, clarity, and resilience.

Lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) has been studied for its neuroprotective effects. Preclinical studies suggest that its compounds may reduce amyloid-β plaque burden by enhancing degradation processes, pointing to its potential role in preventing cognitive dysfunction.

Meanwhile, wild edible AFA microalgae has a unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, delivering naturally occurring nootropics—substances known to enhance mental performance. Often called “cognitive enhancers,” nootropics have deep roots in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine, yet are only now gaining mainstream attention in the wellness and performance space.

Nootropics generally work by modulating neurotransmitters, the brain’s chemical messengers. Though each acts through different pathways, the outcome is similar: increased clarity, attention, memory, creativity, and learning potential.

This is the new frontier in aging, supporting the brain with ancient foods and intelligent compounds that speak the language of our biology. It’s not about escaping age; it’s about activating the full potential of the mind as we move through it.

Moreover, the field of psychoneuroimmunology highlights how our psychological state can influence immune function and inflammation, both of which are linked to aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

In essence, the mind isn't just a passenger in the aging process. It can be a powerful driver of vitality, clarity, and resilience. By engaging it, supporting it, and believing in its capacity to heal, we can redefine what it means to age well.