FMBGN-HW-ReNew Yu-Longevity Hype versus Facts

More years are meaningless if you can’t use them. We dig into the difference between chasing longevity and building a healthy lifespan you can feel—walking stairs without pain, lifting groceries with ease, and getting on the floor with grandkids and standing back up strong.

With Dr. Greet’s guidance, we separate hype from evidence. We call out the buzzwords that muddy judgment—anti-aging, age reversal, detox for everything—and highlight what actually moves the needle: strength training to protect muscle, quality sleep to reset your brain and hormones, and balanced nutrition with enough protein to rebuild tissue. We talk about biological age tests as tools for trends, not diagnoses, and we name the supplements with real support—omega-3s, vitamin D when needed, and creatine—while explaining why many “stacks” are mostly marketing.

You’ll hear why genes are not your fate, how lifestyle often writes 80 percent of your story, and the simplest ways to steady blood sugar and energy with post‑meal walks. If you have only ten minutes a day, we show you how to split it for maximum return. We cover safe experimentation—one change at a time, measurable, and time‑boxed—and the red flags to avoid: black‑market sourcing, high‑dose peptides without long‑term data, and pricey clinic packages without transparency. Finally, we offer practical next steps, from strength three days a week to protecting your bedtime and getting labs before you buy another pill.

Ready to trade hacks for habits and build a body that lasts? Press play, share this with someone you love, and tell us the first change you’ll make today. If the conversation helped, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on so more neighbors can feel stronger, sleep deeper, and live better.

REnew-YU Natural Health-Beauty
Dr. Greet Baestaens
801 Tamiami Trl E, Naples, FL 34112
(239) 682-1306
RENEWYU3801@GMAIL.COM
renew-yu.com
#REnewYU
#NaturalHealth
#MindBodySoul
@REnewYUNaples

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Transcript

Welcome And Series Setup

Intro/Close 0:00

Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor Podcast Health and Wellness Series, brought to you by REnew Yu, Natural Health and Beauty, where we make wellness feel possible and turn everyday choices into stronger living. Each episode brings you uplifting conversations, local resources, and practical tips to help you look better, feel stronger, be emotionally balanced, and more connected to the community around you. So take a breath and settle in because feeling better starts right where you are.

Defining Healthy Lifespan Vs Longevity

"Cabo" Jim 0:30

Welcome, good neighbors, to our new series where we share insights on health, beauty, and wellness. And thank you to our sponsor, REnew Yu, Health and Beauty out of Naples, for allowing us to bring this to you. And today we have Dr. Greet, who has a rich background in the health and beauty industry. And today we're going to start off by touching on the longevity longevity hype versus facts, correct?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 0:55

Yes, that's what we start out with today.

"Cabo" Jim 0:58

So when people so when people say longevity, what are they usually actually trying to buy? Is it more years, more energy, the disease avoidance, looking younger? What are they trying to achieve?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 1:12

Well, you know, here at Renew U, we we talk about longevity, but what we really mean is actually a healthy lifespan. Longevity, you know, everybody has a lifespan. We can maybe add a few years, but the most important thing is that we are having a healthy life until we end our lifespan. So that is what we are focused on. It's really uh healthy lifespan, not longevity. And that means that as we get older, that we are still in very good condition to play or have activities with our grandkids, you know, being able to go on the floor, play with them, getting up, uh being healthy. That's the key thing, not just expanding the lifespan and being in a wheelchair the last 10 years of your life. Yeah, you want to be active, right?

No Quick Fixes And The Role Of Data

"Cabo" Jim 2:09

You want to be active. So, what's the biggest misconception you see in the longevity space right now?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 2:17

I think when you know, when people talk about longevity, they think it's uh you know, a quick fix. It's really not a quick fix. There is nothing that can be uh be a quick fix with no uh negative influences, so it's not one injection, not one test we can do, you know, it's a combination of getting something like a personalized uh data and report for everybody different to extend or to have a healthy lifespan.

"Cabo" Jim 2:53

Very good. So so when we're talking and people are kind of doing research on longevity, you know, what's important to to focus on? I mean, there's a lot of studies out there, you know, animals versus humans, other other documents and things. What should they focus on?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 3:10

You know, I I think you know, when people are looking uh, you know, for longevity, uh you know, uh solving things or or or getting into longevity. I think data is very important. There is a lot of studies that are done with mice, but that's you know, their biology is totally different. They live in uh they live much shorter. It's the environment. So when we go to people, there might be no real good data long term out there. So we really have to be careful what we take for what's right and what's wrong, and really investigate in like what is out there data-wise long term. It's not a quick fix, you know. We are not we are non-comparable with mice or any animal. So when we look at data, it needs to be randomized, you know, data that has value.

"Cabo" Jim 4:09

And speaking of data, are there are there some buzzwords out there that they, you know, it's marketing what it what it is, but are there certain buzzwords that we are probably abused maybe by certain yeah, I yeah, I think like the buzzwords that we can find very uh, you know, often is like anti-aging.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 4:29

You know, we are we are gonna age. There is nothing, nothing that's out there uh as anti-aging. And then the other thing is like age reversal. Uh the other buzzword might be uh cellular, we hear that a lot, and then detox, it's all about detox, detox, detox. Detox can be, you know, in some ways very uh unhealthy and uh anti-inflammatory is also one of the buzzwords, but everything needs to be used in the right context.

Biological Age Tests: Use And Limits

"Cabo" Jim 5:03

Absolutely, yeah, and over over misstating. So biological age tests, you know, are they either useful, are they expensive horoscopes to kind of predict in the future? When do they help and when do they mislead?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 5:17

Well, I I think they can be helpful for tracking some trends that are out there over time, uh, but they have to be transparent, very clear. Uh, they shouldn't be treated as a diagnosis. Uh many are better as predicting health risk than actually lifespan or healthy lifespan.

"Cabo" Jim 5:44

So there's a lot of high pipe on supplements as well. I mean, you know, there's a lot of different things out there. Are there are there some that are good, some that are bad, some we should avoid.

Supplements With Evidence And Hype To Skip

Dr. Greet Baestaens 5:57

So we go again to, you know, there is evidence for some supplements. Number one, you know, when I talk about supplements in general, we need to have a health system, a blood test, and see what we are lacking. We're not just taking a supplement here and a supplement there. But if we talk about uh some supplements that have a stronger evidence of being good, uh, we might talk about omega-3s, but are pretty good in specific populations, vitamin D's creatine for muscle and cognitive support. Those supplements have strong evidence data-wise. Now, if we see somebody or we hear somebody talking about NAD boosters, the NMN, and and you know, anti-aging stacks, and and you know, there is that's a hype. There it's it's there is not enough evidence over those supplements to really say, hey, they're gonna they're gonna help me, they're gonna work.

"Cabo" Jim 7:02

So yeah, it's kind of like back in the day with with the food, you know, we all fat-free or you know, yes, all this. It's uh it's just a word, it's they they put other things into it to cover that, but yes, yeah.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 7:15

Uh-huh.

"Cabo" Jim 7:15

So is there go ahead, go ahead.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 7:18

So anything we, you know, you really want to do, and you talk about healthy lifespan when we use the word longevity, is data-based. And you have to have enough data and evidence and good research that is proven. Otherwise, you know, you don't know where this is going. Today it might be good, but if we have long-term data, it might have been not so good. So I would start always first what is already proven instead of going to all these hypes, uh, the exosomes, the you know, all that stuff. Where is it coming from? So you need to also know what the source is. So that is a I think a lot of misconception that's out there because people are looking on Instagram or platforms and they hear that over and over. So when you hear it over and over, it makes you think it's good, but it might be not so good.

"Cabo" Jim 8:11

And like you said, it might be good in the short term, but long term it's not good for you.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 8:16

So yes, yeah.

"Cabo" Jim 8:18

So what's the difference between, and I think you touched on this a little bit earlier, but extending your lifespan versus expending your uh extending your health span. I mean, big difference there, right?

Lifespan Vs Health Span In Practice

Dr. Greet Baestaens 8:30

Big difference there, you know, lifespan. We can maybe extend your lifespan. You know, you might be sick and we put you on an IV and you we might extend your life for on an IV, whatever, for you know, five years. Who wants to live like that? Your heart keeps sticking. But the biggest thing is, you know, we're talking about functional health, and that is a healthy lifespan. So if we would do some testing, functional health, like how many uh pounds can you take from your store, grocery store to your car? Uh, can you get on steps? Can you get easy out of a chair? Uh, can you open a jar? So we talk more about functional health. What is then the healthy lifespan? Now, our lifespan, we can extend that, but it might not be so good to extend it if we are not healthy.

"Cabo" Jim 9:23

Absolutely. If you can't get around and do anything and be active, it's why you know what's what's the point behind that? What's the point? Yeah, yeah. So if someone wants the highest ROI for their longevity, what are the top your top three behaviors they should probably focus on?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 9:40

If somebody would uh ask me the question, what's important?

"Cabo" Jim 9:44

Yeah, so with the highest ROI, you know, is it uh for longevity? Is it sleep? Is it movement, nutrition?

High‑ROI Behaviors: Strength, Sleep, Nutrition

Dr. Greet Baestaens 9:51

I you know, nutrition is important, you know, but I would say uh exercising, strength training is very important. You know, we need muscle to you know have a healthy lifespan, high quality of sleep, you know, what we what is very easy to do, what's easy to work on. Uh, we have a certain circadium, so you know, when the sun goes down, we really should go to bed. We should have eight, nine hours of sleep, and when the sun comes up, we should really wake up. But we need, you know, quite a bit of hours of quality sleep. And then so first strength, you know, uh exercises, especially strength training, some cardio, then our sleep, and then also nutrition, you know, because we everybody's like, well, I'm overweight because my genes that's I I inherited that. You know, our genes are only responsible for 20% of who we are today, and you know, the other 80% is really what you eat and and your lifestyle, your lifestyle. So we can change that. So we can really reprogram our DNAs there, but we can reprogram the software around it, the cellular behavior. So, and that will give us, you know, there's things that we can do but are very easy, you know.

Fix Sleep And Protein Before Pills

"Cabo" Jim 11:12

So is there is there one habit that you know I'm gonna say maybe people chase for you know optimizing their health that maybe it's overhyped or over, you know, that that maybe they shouldn't be focusing on, but it's been over marketed. So they think, hey, I'm doing it, I'm healthy. What are you talking about?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 11:30

Well, I think a lot of people go for supplements, okay? You know, like we said, there's big uh hypes out there for NAD and NMN and and other stuff, you know. Uh so I think really before the supplements, try to fix your sleep. Protein intake is very important. Uh, there is a lot that we can do that really doesn't cost anything instead of just like picking out of nowhere the supplements and hope that it's gonna fix us. Like, even you know, people go and have IVs done. So, like, okay, it's like supplements. Okay, now eat healthy first, do good blood work, have a functional uh physician, medicine doctor, look at it deeper than traditional uh medicine and see what you're lacking after you eat good, sleep good, exercise good. And then we maybe might not need anything. But also, it not every supplement is uh uh gets absorbed by your body. So if we don't look at the quality where they're made and how they're made, it might do nothing, and you just take it, it's money in the mouth and money back through the toilet. So that's what it is.

Genetics Versus Lifestyle

"Cabo" Jim 12:44

And correct me if we're wrong, but there's some supplements that really depends on what else you're taking as well, too, because it could have might be harmful, yes. Yep, exactly. Yeah, absolutely. So I think you touched on this just a little bit uh prior, but how do genetics versus lifestyle stack up against longevity and everyday people?

Fasting, Balance, And Glucose Control

Dr. Greet Baestaens 13:04

Well, you know, as I said, genetics play only a small role when people use that it's as an excuse, you know. Well, my genetics, my mother or my father was overweight, so I I'm the same way, I'm built this way, and you know, you can sometimes even see just with twins they have the same uh identical, identical twins, yeah, the same uh genetics, and one twin can be like uh you know, Miss Universe, healthy, working out, do everything, and the other one might be 200 pounds overweight, lifestyle. It's all about lifestyle. So it's we cannot blame it on our genetics. We have to, you know, if we want to have a healthy life, a healthy lifespan, we have to work out, we have to eat healthy, we have to sleep, we have you know, the nutrition, it's it's just a lifestyle, it's a lifestyle change if you want to have a healthy life.

"Cabo" Jim 14:08

And it's interesting that you bring that up because I am a twin myself, so I have a I have a twin brother, and you know, uh he he's not he's a little bit skinnier than I am. I'm kind of skinny and in kind of in in shape per se, but I think he takes it to the extreme the other way, where you know he figures he figures if I don't eat, well, I'm not gonna gain weight. Well, not eating isn't the healthiest thing either. You've got to fill your body with the the energy, yep.

Ten Minutes That Matter

Dr. Greet Baestaens 14:34

Yes, yes, not eating that is uh you know a big issue. We have a lot of the fasting right now, and people are not eating for like you know, uh a certain amount of time. Yep, in some cases it is healthy when you do it when you are healthy to begin with, but if you are diabetic or you have other issues going on, you should should not do any fasting. So um normally we need our three meals, we need some time in between, uh, so to give our system a break, and we need the protein and we need some carbs, you know, you know, and we need our fruits and vegetables. So you know that's what we need. We cannot just starve ourselves forever because we don't want to have our blood sugar going up and down and spiking. Uh that's not good either. We need to kind of have our blood sugar as low as possible and at least as possible spikes.

"Cabo" Jim 15:30

Yeah, and a nice, like you had mentioned, a nice balance because there's certain people that that cut out certain, well, I'm not gonna eat this, I'm gonna eat that. Well, that's not good either. Nice balance is where it should be. Portions and balance. That's what it should be all about.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 15:43

And then also, you know, even after we eat, normally our glucose level goes down after a meal. If we go out for a nice walk, what's real easy to do, again, it doesn't cost anything. You walk around the block, you you also control more your glucose level. What is important to keep that under control? Um, so there's easy things, it doesn't have to be expensive.

"Cabo" Jim 16:05

Yep. And speaking about you know, time as well, too, that's important. So if somebody has say 10 minutes a day, what what should they focus on?

Safe Experimentation And Measurable Change

Dr. Greet Baestaens 16:13

Well, I would say exercises, I would say five minutes of resistance training and five minutes of like a brisk walk, like you know, like cardio that you really raise your heart rate, and then you know what you eat has nothing to do with time, prioritize protein, and then consistency over intensity intensity. So five minutes weight training, five minutes, some cardio. Those are the 10 minutes that are the most important thing to start with.

"Cabo" Jim 16:47

Yep, yep. Again, balance, and you know, it doesn't need to take an hour a day, 10 minutes a day can help and go a long way. No, so is there I don't want to say a sane way uh to experiment with some of the stuff without getting scammed or overwhelmed, uh maybe one change at a time.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 17:07

Yes, yeah, and that was exactly what I'm gonna say. If you really see something that you think, okay, this might work for me, don't take 10 times or five, whatever, do do one change. Or is better, right? It's yeah, not in that way. I would start with one change and also something that is measurable, you know, that you can say, I can measure this really. So, and and also uh set a defined timing. If you don't see anything over six months, it's probably doing nothing, or you don't feel anything, you know. So avoid multiple in interventions, always start with one. Be very clear.

Safety Risks And Red Flags

"Cabo" Jim 17:48

Yep, great advice. And you know, speaking along, being careful, what trends currently with longevity are you most worried about from a safety standpoint?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 17:57

You know, I think there is a lot of uh you know, I would say black market sourcing. We don't know where things are coming from, and and you know, uh also healthy individuals that are taking some immunosuppressive drugs, you know, anti-inflammatories, but they should not really take that. Uh, like also steroids, you know, for building uh muscles. I think some peptides have long-term data, what are very good or could help some individuals, but if they don't have long-term data, I wouldn't really take high doses of that at all. And then, you know, in clinics, when they start selling very expensive protocols and they're not uh without transparency, I would not uh walk into that. I think you know, the person that you talk to needs to have the experience, needs to have the data, and have the best interests of you instead of just you know selling something very expensive.

"Cabo" Jim 19:01

Yeah, just because you read it, you hear it, you say you say it, it doesn't mean it's true. Do your research.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 19:07

We don't want because yes, yeah.

Stop Doing This Today

"Cabo" Jim 19:10

So so what should listeners stop doing after today to make themselves better?

Start Doing This Week

Dr. Greet Baestaens 19:16

Well, I think they should stop, you know, just start buying supplements uh, you know, after they see something on on Instagram or on the platforms or Facebook. First do your homework, and I would probably never take supplements without really going to my physician, functional medicine physician, take a good blood test, you know, have uh you know, have a DEXA scan, uh, have your hormones tested, have your thyroid tested. Good base, a good base to start with, and go from there. Just don't pick off of the internet, you know. That those are just ads, and and some are very good in tricking your brain, and it might be more harmful, you know. So go to the person you trust, have a blood test done, you know, have a base, data to start with, and if you're lacking something, yeah, follow their direction.

"Cabo" Jim 20:12

Because like you and you had mentioned, like anything health-wise, it's on a per base person basis. Just because it works for you doesn't mean it works for me. It's you know, it's it's not a one one fit all non-shot one shop stop kind of thing. No, yeah. So, what should our listeners start doing this week to help increase their longevity?

Free Consultations And Personalized Plans

Dr. Greet Baestaens 20:32

Well, I think they should start exercising. Everybody who's not exercising should start weightlifting uh three times a week and you know, really put you know a good weight on it, that it's an exercise. If I see somebody doing ups and downs with a lightweight in the gym, that's not gonna do anything. So you really have to overload your muscles, and I would say do that three times a week, and then you know, do your cardio, and that can be a brisk, a brisk walk. You can, you know, also um do a four-minute uh bring your heart rate up and then four minutes rest, or work your way little bit by little bit up to those four minutes to get your cardio in. And it doesn't have to be hours, you know, it can be 20 minutes, it can be 15 minutes a day. So, but exercising number one, and then intake of protein, you know, make sure you have enough protein that we can build muscle because muscle is a healthy lifespan.

"Cabo" Jim 21:32

Yep, all around. So, where would our listeners go, you know, without falling into that height trap we have out there? Uh obviously they can come to you to learn a little bit more. How would they do so?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 21:44

Well, yeah, if they come to me, they can just uh we actually do free consultations because we want to have it available for everybody. And you know, we make a plan, you know, we can also measure your uh visceral fat. We have the Inbody scale because I think if there's a lot of fat around your organs that might diminish your healthy lifespan. So we will do some testing here at the office. But first, the consultation, what is free, we lay everything out here very clear. It's available for everything. And then we make your personal plan. You know, we will advise you to do which exercises, what exercises. We have a nutritionist on board, we have a functional medicine doctor on board. So we really work as a team after my consultation that we can help you. But that will be your choice. At least we do the consultation with what's available for everybody, and then it's your choice to go through it or return a different way. But you know, I think it has to be very clear what is going on with you, and then you start from there.

Final Motivation And Closing

"Cabo" Jim 22:51

Absolutely. Dr. Greet, it's been a pleasure. Thank you for this valuable insight. It's been great. Any last words for our listeners today?

Dr. Greet Baestaens 22:59

Well, I think you know, it's uh just get started, don't postpone. Because really, our decline in in at aging starts pretty early in our 30s, you know, 40s. So we really want to start as soon as possible. Don't postpone. Start building your muscles, start building on your health today.

"Cabo" Jim 23:19

And extend your life in a positive way, right? In a healthy way. Yep, that's what it is. Well, thank you very much. We will see you next time on the health and wellness series. And I look forward to that. You have a wonderful day. Thank you.

Dr. Greet Baestaens 23:34

Thank you. Bye-bye.

Intro/Close 23:36

Thank you for spending this time with the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor Podcast, Health and Wellness Series brought to you by REnew Yu, Natural Health and Beauty. If today's episode helped you, share it with a friend and check the show notes for local resources and next steps you can try this week. Until next time, be gentle with yourself, celebrate the small wins, and remember, better days are built one breath, one choice, and one good neighbor at a time. Also, to nominate your favorite health and wellness expert to be on the show. Go to fmbgoodneighbor.com, that's fmbgoodneighbor.com, or call 239 427 4100. Until next time, remember to cabo until you wobbo and keep being a good neighbor.