3 days ago
Longevity expert builds world's healthiest home to 'live to 120 years old'
Home is where the health is when it comes to this fitness-focused abode.
Dr Paul Saladino, 47, a holistic medicine doctor originally from California, recently opened the doors of his Costa Rican getaway.
He claims he has 'built the healthiest house to live to 120' with a range of design features focused on driving away chronic disease and promoting mental wellbeing.
The influencer and fitness fanatic purposely went about choosing a location to help foster a positive mindset.
He told his nearly 1million subscribers during a YouTube tour of his home: 'As you can see here I've got a pretty amazing view. So we'll look out here, there's an amazing river below my house. This is where I wanted to live in Costa Rica.
'I wanted to be able to see the ocean but I want to be in the jungle. So, I basically have a treehouse.'
Jungle environments and sea air have been found to offer numerous health benefits, including cleaner air, climate regulation, and reduced pollutants, as well as potential relief from respiratory conditions.
At the heart of Dr Saladino's 'treehouse' is an outdoor gym. He says he hates working out indoors with LED lights, and outdoors, he gets his fix of infrared light from the sun.
He tells viewers: 'Infrared light is essential for human health. I think so many of us are deficient in infrared light because we're living in buildings with glass and we're not getting outside. I love working out outdoors in Costa Rica.'
While infrared light is not essential for human health in the same way that other life-sustaining necessities like water, air, or food are, experts say it offers numerous health benefits.
Some of the healing abilities of infrared light - which works by stimulating cells at a cellular level - include promoting wound healing, stimulating tissue repair, improving circulation and potentially mitigating some side effects of cancer treatments.
Meanwhile, while LED and fluorescent lights offer energy efficiency and other benefits, concerns have been raised about potential health impacts, including eye strain, sleep disruption, and even more serious issues like eye damage.
From the gym, Dr Saladino takes the viewers into his laundry room.
He says he avoids all synthetic laundry products as chemicals such as phosphates, bleach, formaldehyde, and synthetic fragrances can cause problems like skin rashes, breathing issues, and even more serious health concerns.
The fitness experts explains: 'I don't use any detergents. I hate dyes and fragrances.
'I've got a washing machine and I put in vinegar and sometimes baking soda and then I dry my clothes. They don't smell it and works great.'
Moving upstairs to his kitchen, Dr Saladino says he tries as much as possible to avoid plastics and all of his countertops are wood, as are his cutting boards.
He also has a stainless steel Vitamix, a good knife set and stainless steel pans.
Dr Saladino's dislike of plastic products is due to the fact that microplastics have been linked to various health concerns, including heart disease, lung disorders, and issues related to inflammation and hormone disruption.
Offering viewers a glimpse inside his fridge, the doctor explains that he 'doesn't eat much' and avoids processed foods.
Inside the cooling unit, some of the items include chicken for his dog, along with pots of honey, some beef tallow, a bottle of raw cow's milk, some ground beef, bone broth and some fruit for his own consumption.
Summing up his daily diet, he says: 'It's basically meat, a little bit of organs, raw dairy, raw milk, honey and fruit.'
Despite Dr Saladino's appetite for raw dairy, it has consistently been proven to be unsafe and hold no additional nutritional benefit over pasteurized products.
Off the kitchen is Dr Saladino's living room, which boasts spectacular views over the lush jungle surroundings.
He highlights to viewers that the rugs in the space are 'all wool,' along with his couch, to keep things as naturally made as possible.
'There's no polyester in here. Polyester puts microplastics into the atmosphere, so I tried not to get any polyester.'
As he goes on to tour his master bedroom and ensuite, he explains that his ideal design aesthetic in a home is 'simple' and 'clean' with no plastics anywhere.
In his bedroom, his mattress is made from natural materials with no polyester and it is topped with organic cotton sheets.
His bed is fitted with a grounding system, also called an earthing system, which pushes the bed closer to the ground to 'connect the body to the Earth.'
Some holistic health experts believe grounding systems allow for a flow of electrons that can help reduce inflammation, pain, and stress, and potentially improve sleep. However, the data is scarce.
Grounding sheets or mats are commonly used, containing conductive materials like carbon or silver that are then connected to a grounding port in a wall outlet or directly to the earth.
While the weather in Costa Rica is hot - ranging from the low 70s to high 80s Fahrenheit - Dr Saladino says he does not use air conditioning as the units are prone to getting moldy in the humidity, which can breed harmful bacteria, and he uses a ceiling fan instead.
Continuing on his drive for simplicity, Dr Saladino says he doesn't really use many toiletries as he enters his bathroom.
Detailing some of the bathroom products he uses, he explains: 'I have a silk floss because Oral-B Glide Floss had very high levels of PFAs or forever chemicals so I use a silk floss.
'I use a boar's hair toothbrush because I don't want microplastics from toothbrush bristles going into my mouth [and] I don't use toothpaste, I just brush my teeth with water... toothpaste is a scam. I definitely don't want extra fluoride.'
Fluoride is a mineral in toothpaste and much of America's drinking water meant to strengthen teeth.
While emerging research has linked the mineral to bone loss, IQ loss and autism, research on the potential health effects is mixed, and many experts have claimed the evidence is unclear and the dental benefits of fluoride outweigh potential risks.
Skipping toothpaste entirely can lead to dental decay and foul breath.
Moving over to his shower, Dr Saladino says his water comes from a fresh spring.
However, he instructs people who have a main water supply to use a filter to avoid absorbing commonly used chemicals such as fluoride and chlorine.
His pool, for example, does not have any chlorine and he uses an alternative sanitizing system instead.
To date, Dr Saladino's home tour has been viewed more than 1 million times with many viewers applauding his design.
One fan wrote: 'Man you can only hear nature sounds, no traffic, no people screaming drunk on the streets and breaking beers, this is the dream...'
