Alka Patel: A one-million-hour life

As we prepare to welcome 2023, what better time to kick start a new healthy longevity lifestyle.  We're excited at LLAMA to continue our never ending journey of learning, with this inspiring conversation about living for a million hours. Have a wonderful New Year! 

Dr. Alka Patel is a London-based General Practitioner who believes that it is possible to live for well over a century, with targeted self-care and "compassionate lifestyle changes." In this interview Dr. Patel shares her wisdom and enthusiasm for healthy aging interventions - some of which are based on her own struggles with stress and burnout.   

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie with whom we share a common goal of helping people pursue a long healthspan.  The pioneering health and wellness destination, nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, combines preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, and offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier, and longer lives.

We discuss:

• The role of a doctor - from treater of the sick to health care coach
• What it means to focus on minute-by-minute self-care
• The pivotal life moments that shaped Dr. Patel's approach to health coaching
• How health advice during moments of pain can be overwhelming
• Tracking lifestyle changes and being accountable to yourself
• Explaining the LQ - Lifestyle Quotient - test
• Why access to personal bio data is vital to understand your health
• Partnering up with a friend or qualified mentor to champion your healthcare journey.
• The Hawthorne Effect - the power of being observed
• The 'teachable moments" in life that challenge and ultimately inspire us
• Embracing the "reality of life" from the dark moments to the fun side of living. 
• Making fitness tech and wearable devices work for you
• Downtime, calendar white space and time to breath
• Diet dilemas and the power of fasting or restricted eating
• The different stages of sleep and why they matter
• Why Alka believes a million-hour-life is a realistic goal

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The Live Long and Master Aging (LLAMA) podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice. If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.