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Dr. Sandy Zanella

@dr.sandyzanella

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Lifestyle Medicine MD DipIBLM | Longevity Expert | Speaker
Award winning author
Well-being for all🧘🏽‍♀️
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We’re spending billions trying to figure out how to live longer.

Meanwhile, I think we’re overlooking one of the most interesting questions:

What happens before someone ever becomes a longevity patient?

That question fascinates me.

Because I don’t want prevention to mean waiting until risk appears and then trying to reverse course.

I want us to think further upstream.

And I especially want parents included in that conversation.

Not because we can control our children’s future health.

We can’t.

But because the environment we create today deserves a place in the longevity conversation too.

I think it’s time we moved the starting line.

And it’s what I want to explore much more deeply here.

Longevity starts at home.

This is only the beginning 💫

#lifestylemedicine #longevitymedicine #lifestylemedicinedoctor #longevitystartsathome #healthspan by @dr.sandyzanella

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18 days ago

A diagnosis isn’t the beginning of disease. It’s the end of years of biology.

That’s why, for me, longevity has never been a trend.
It’s a shift from treating disease to building health long before disease has the chance to develop.

Here’s what the science tells us:

• Up to 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes could be prevented through healthy lifestyle behaviors and addressing key risk factors.

• Insulin resistance can develop 10–15 years before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, meaning metabolic changes are often happening while someone feels completely healthy.

• The earliest signs of atherosclerosis have been found in children and adolescents, reminding us that cardiovascular health doesn’t suddenly become important in adulthood.

• According to the World Health Organization, 74% of deaths worldwide are caused by chronic diseases, many of which are strongly influenced by the environments we create and the habits we repeat every day.

This is why I don’t see longevity as biohacking, expensive supplements, or chasing the latest wellness trend.

I see it as creating the conditions for lifelong health.
It’s helping children develop healthy habits before unhealthy ones become difficult to change.

It’s teaching families that shared meals, movement, quality sleep, emotional connection, stress management, and a sense of purpose aren’t just “healthy lifestyle tips” they’re investments in decades of future health.

The research is becoming increasingly clear: our daily choices shape our biology. While genetics matter, they don’t tell the whole story. The environments we create at home, the habits our children observe, and the routines we repeat as a family can influence health trajectories across a lifetime.

Because longevity doesn’t start at 50.
It doesn’t start after high cholesterol.
It doesn’t start after prediabetes.
It doesn’t start after a heart attack.

It starts in the homes we build, the habits we model, and the choices we make long before anyone receives a diagnosis.

That’s the conversation I want more families to be having.

If longevity started at home, what would you change first? by @dr.sandyzanella

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3 months ago

I spend a lot of time thinking about my children’s health.

But I don’t want them spending their lives thinking about it.

There’s a difference.

I want nourishing food, movement, sleep, emotional regulation and taking care of themselves to feel like part of life, not a never-ending project to optimize their bodies.

Because I think somewhere in the wellness conversation, we’ve started confusing health-conscious with health-obsessed.

And I don’t want to raise children who are terrified of sugar, feel guilty for resting, exercise because they ate “too much,” or believe that one imperfect choice is somehow damaging their health.

I want them to understand their bodies.

To know what supports them.

To have habits they can come back to.

And then… go live their lives.

Maybe one of the greatest things we can give our children isn’t perfect health.

It’s a foundation they don’t have to obsess over maintaining.

Longevity starts at home.

Save this for the days when “healthy” starts feeling a little too much like “perfect”, and send it to a parent who might need the reminder 💫

#longevitydubai #longevitymedicine #lifestylemedicine #lifestylemedicinedoctor by @dr.sandyzanella

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17 days ago

But what about just one glass?🍷

Alcoholic beverages are Group 1 carcinogens: there is sufficient evidence that they cause cancer in humans. This classification describes how certain the evidence is, not that all carcinogens carry equal risks.

And the risk isn’t limited to heavy drinking.

A 2024 research review found:
• Under one drink daily: approximately 4% higher relative breast cancer risk.
• One drink daily: approximately 10% higher relative risk.

Both compared with not drinking. These are relative increases, not percentage-point increases in your personal risk.

The review defined one drink as 10 g of alcohol: roughly 105 ml of wine at 12% alcohol by volume, less than a typical 150 ml pour.

Why? Alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, which can damage DNA. It can also raise estrogen levels, a pathway relevant to hormone-sensitive breast cancer.

Red wine contains that same alcohol. Its antioxidants don’t erase the risk.

This is information for informed choices, never blame for a diagnosis.

Save and share with someone who’s wondered about “just one glass.”

Follow @dr.sandyzanella for science-backed lifestyle medicine 🤍

Sources: NCI, Alcohol and Cancer Risk; Sohi et al., 2024, DOI: 10.1111/acer.15493. by @dr.sandyzanella

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3 days ago

Luna Alchemy by L’Atelier 🕯️

A moonlit gathering to release, reconnect and welcome new possibilities, held beneath October’s Hunter’s Moon.

Join @dr.sandyzanella for a guided evening in the Talise Spa Garden at Jumeirah Al Qasr, illuminated by red light from @werejuv

The evening will include:

* A moonlit mindful flow
* A release ceremony
* Manifestation, connecting with what you want to welcome next
* Closing together in gratitude

Taking place on Sunday 25 October:

📍 Talise Spa Garden, Jumeirah Al Qasr
🕖 7:00–8:30 PM
🎟️ AED 220 per person

DM @latelierconsulting to reserve your spot.

#LunaAlchemy #DubaiWellness #WellnessDubai #HunterMoon #FullMoonRitual taken in Jumeirah Al Qasr by @dr.sandyzanella

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3 days ago

Press Clipping 🤍

Featured in @soignemiddleeast for World Mental Health Day on Oct 10th 🤍

L’Atelier supported in bringing together Dr. Rhea Kotecha, Noona Nafousi, Melissa McAllister, Roshani Hill, Dr. Sandy Zanella and Jay Gardner for this feature in Soigné Middle East, exploring the physical, psychological and social factors that influence our mental wellbeing.

Swipe through and explore the full feature on @soignemiddleeast.

#WorldMentalHealthDay #MentalWellbeing #HolisticWellness #MindBodyConnection taken in Dubai,UAE by @dr.sandyzanella

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3 days ago

A little lakeside magic, with a meaningful reason to gather ✨🌸

Loved being invited by @cozymoodsevents.ae_ to speak about lifestyle medicine and cancer at this beautiful Pinktober evening, held in collaboration with Al Jalila Foundation.

Flowers by @flowers.ae heartfelt conversations, charm-making with @fosc.art , and delicious chai by @cabokoncept made the evening even sweeter. Hearing a cancer survivor share her story brought such a moving, personal perspective to our conversations about health.

Thank you, @yzelalalala for bringing us together with so much heart 🩷 by @dr.sandyzanella

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5 days ago

Children notice the sigh in the kitchen, the change in our voice, the silence on the drive home.

Research gives us a reason to pay attention to those everyday moments.

In an experiment involving 109 parents and children aged 7–11, parents completed a stressful task before working with their child. Those instructed to hide their emotions showed less positive interaction overall than the comparison group, although the effects differed between mothers and fathers. This measured a brief interaction, not children’s long-term mental health. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, escholarship.org)

A broader research review also identified three ways families shape children’s ability to manage emotions: what children observe, how adults respond to feelings, and the emotional atmosphere at home. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

For me, the takeaway is reassuring: a happy childhood can include hard days. We can build a home where nobody has to earn their place by being cheerful all the time.

That includes us. 🤍

This World Mental Health Day, a question to sit with: what did you learn growing up about which feelings were welcome at home?

#mentalhealthday #lifestylemedicine #lifestylemedicinedoctor #childrensmentalhealth by @dr.sandyzanella

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6 days ago

Evening light can suppress melatonin, the hormone that helps signal nighttime. That includes room lighting, not just screens.

So what should you use instead? 💡

For bedtime reading, choose a dim, warm-white lamp with enough light to read comfortably, rather than brightly illuminating the whole room.

If buying a bulb, warm white around 2700K is a practical starting point, not a proven sleep threshold for children. Brightness matters too.

If your child needs a nightlight afterward, a VERY DIM red light is a reasonable option.

🔴 Why red?

The light-sensitive system that helps regulate our body clock responds more strongly to blue-rich light than to long-wavelength red light. A dim red nightlight can therefore provide some visibility with less stimulation of that system.

But red light doesn’t “boost melatonin” or guarantee better sleep.

A 2026 study measured 25 nightlights across 79 settings. Red-toned lights generally had the lowest estimated biological impact on the body-clock system. The study tested the lights, not whether children slept better with them.

The practical lesson: colour, brightness AND placement matter.

🌙 Choose an adjustable nightlight, use the lowest setting that allows safe visibility, and position it away from the pillow and direct line of sight. Keep unnecessary lights off.

⏰ When should you start?

Begin reducing household lighting at least ONE HOUR before bedtime, as researchers studying evening light in preschoolers recommend.

For an 8 PM bedtime, start around 7 PM, including in the living room or other spaces where your child spends that final hour.

You don’t need complete darkness while getting ready or reading. Once your child is sleeping, keep the room dark, with a minimal nightlight if needed.

This is about ordinary household lighting,not an expensive red-light therapy device, and one part of a sleep-supportive routine.

Longevity starts at home, including the environments we create for rest.

Save this for tonight and send it to whoever shares bedtime duty with you.

Follow @dr.sandyzanella for specific, science-backed ways to support your family’s lifelong health. by @dr.sandyzanella

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9 days ago

Health isn’t only built in the things we deliberately do for our health.

Sometimes it’s hidden in the way we live our ordinary days 🤍

What would you add? by @dr.sandyzanella

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14 days ago

SAVE this recipe 🍓🫐

No complicated ingredients, no protein powder, and it takes just a few minutes.

Berry Greek Yogurt Smoothie

1 cup strawberries
½ cup blueberries
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp chia seeds (soaked)
1-2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
½–1 cup milk of choice
Ice as needed

A few easy swaps:
→ Frozen raspberries work perfectly too
→ Kefir can replace some of the yogurt
→ Ground flax can replace chia

And remember: a smoothie doesn’t automatically make something “healthy.” What you put in it matters. I like using whole fruit rather than juice and including sources of protein, fiber and fat to make it more nutritionally complete and satisfying.

I’m using the @beasthealth_me Mighty 850 with its stainless-steel blending vessel. I’m intentional about the materials I use in my kitchen, so I love having the option to blend directly in stainless steel.The vessel is double-wall insulated to help keep blends cold, and I love that I can blend, add the drinking lid and take it with me 💃🏻

Save it for the next time you have no idea what to make 🤍

Gifted by Beast. by @dr.sandyzanella

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15 days ago

We talk a lot about protecting our children’s future. This counts too.

Bone health isn’t determined by one thing. Genetics matter, and so do nutrition, vitamin D status, hormones, overall health and physical activity.

But what fascinates me is that childhood gives us an important opportunity to help build the skeletal foundation they’ll carry forward.

And it doesn’t require turning childhood into a training program.

Let them run. Jump. Hop. Climb. Play sports. Build strength in age-appropriate ways. Let movement be part of normal life.

Research backs this up: a 2023 meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials involving 1,305 children and adolescents found that exercise improved bone mineral content at the spine and hip, with effects differing across stages of growth.

And a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that high-impact jumping improved bone mineral content at the lumbar spine and femoral neck.

No single childhood habit guarantees healthy bones later in life. But helping children build a stronger foundation while their skeleton is developing is one piece of the longevity conversation we should be having much earlier.

Save this for the next time you need a reason to send the kids outside to play, and share it with a parent who might not realize how much of their child’s future bone health is being built right now 💫 by @dr.sandyzanella

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16 days ago