Shaklee's Roger Barnett On Living Well, One Life Shake At A Time
Roger Barnett
Here, Barnett shares his go-to lifestyle hacks for staying healthy and energized while living with purpose. From mindful routines to small yet impactful daily choices, he offers tips for creating a lifestyle that balances wellness and sustainability.
I've always been interested in science and research, and when I turned 40 two things happened. First, I started to care more about maintaining my health, so I could live younger longer. Second, I bought Shaklee, the company that pioneered the wellness movement, which provided a platform to shift our healthcare system from sick care to well care. I started to learn from scientists about how so much of our health is not determined by our genes but by our diet and lifestyle. I became passionate about finding ways to share information and clinically proven products that could deeply impact the ability for people to look, feel, and live younger longer.
I have focused on three pillars of health. Sleep, daily exercise, and fueling my body with optimal nutrition. With that in mind, I exercise at least five days a week, and I make sure I have the micro and macro nutrition my body needs, at levels designed to not just survive but to thrive.
I believe that each of us should do the most that we can while still having a balanced and fun life. I'm in a privileged position to have access to the best science, but I also think that part of a long, healthy life is being surrounded by friends, community and support. Health is a team sport. And you have to live in order to live well.
I think the first thing people get wrong is they focus on their life span, meaning at what age they will live to. That's wrong. Instead of focusing on how long you live, everyone should focus on how long you live well. That shift allows people to pay attention to how they can increase the number of healthy active years of their life, and that's really what longevity should be about.
I wake up every morning and I have a Shaklee Life Shake, which is packed with 20 grams of protein with a complete amino acid profile, fiber and 24 essential vitamins and minerals. That is non-negotiable. For lunch I have a vegan soup and some kind salad with either chicken or fish as protein. Midday, I'll reach for a Shaklee protein boost. Dinner is generally a salad and then some kind of vegetables and lean protein.
I'm not vegan or vegetarian. I'm mostly a pescatarian, and I do eat poultry. Like your life, everything in your diet should be in balance.
Particularly as you age, men and women need more protein to preserve your lean muscle mass. For that reason, consuming protein in a healthy and non-inflammatory meal, like our Shaklee Life Shake is really important to me. Plus finding ways to boost your protein intake throughout the day is also critical to build and maintain your lean muscle mass. In addition, I take our multivitamin, omega 3s for health and heart, and our probiotic. I also take Vivix, which has 27 global patents and is clinically proven to slow cellular aging, along with MindWorks, to help with short term memory and focus and help slow long term cognitive decline.
For me, it's always a blend of looking at the science and marrying that with the enjoyment of life. The data on coffee is pretty good, and we know that it does more good than harm. I do think it's valuable to go through periods when you are caffeine free, but my philosophy is that coffee or green tea have benefits.
There's a growing body of evidence that alcohol is not good for you. People should generally drink less, but if you are socializing with friends and building community, there's value in that. We know that we live longer and live better when we're surrounded by the people and things that we love.
Again, as we age, we all need to think about preserving lean muscle mass. The best way to do that is to consume the right protein with the right amino acid profile and engage in strength training. I work out five days a week with a balance of weights and cardio. On weekends, I run and I love to play tennis and padel. Sunday I rest. I also cold plunge every day.
Working out is critical for me to help manage my stress, and it makes me feel great - sometimes I don't love it while I'm doing it, but knowing I'll love the feeling afterwards is motivating.
Very simple - protein and leucine. Leucine is an amino acid that directly triggers muscle protein synthesis and it can only be obtained through diet and supplementation. It activates the process in which the body repairs and builds new muscle tissue, making it uniquely effective in maintaining strength, mobility and overall health as we age. We've been using it in our products for 20 years like our Life Shake®, because we saw how beneficial it could be for so much of the population. Lean muscle is key for longevity. As we age ,we all lose lean muscle but it's now being compounded by the enormous growth and adoption of GLP-1 drugs which has the potential to lead to a crisis of muscle loss. The solution is increasing consumption of high-quality protein with leucine and engaging in strength training.
I keep my sleeping area as device free as possible. My phone and iPad are plugged in out of reach from my bed and I use a Kindle on dark mode to read before sleep or if I wake up in the middle of the night.
Exercise. That's number one. It's absolutely critical to help relieve stress. It is also so helpful to find purpose and meaning in what you do professionally. If you believe that what you are doing is making a meaningful contribution to the lives of others, you can face most of life's challenges with incredible resilience.
Community is everything. Your genes have a very modest impact on your actual health outcomes. Your lifestyle and specifically surrounding yourself with community are much greater drivers. People who are lonely are proven to have significantly worse health outcomes, so it's critical to develop and be part of a community that supports and encourages you through your life journey.
That's really hard. If you have to pick one, maybe it's balance. Foundationally, the three things you are trying to incorporate into your life are exercise, nutrition and community. Those are the keys to increasing your health span, not just your life span.
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