New Year, New Longevity: Science-Backed Wellness Tips From Dr. Cory Goldberg

As we gear up for 2025, health and wellness resolutions are top of mind for many—but how can we make them stick? Enter Dr. Cory Goldberg, a renowned plastic and craniofacial surgeon with over 15 years of expertise in longevity and innovative wellness strategies. Forget fleeting trends; Dr. Goldberg’s science-backed tips promise lasting vitality, beauty, and well-being. From plant-based diets to managing oxidative stress, he shares his transformative insights for starting the year off right. In this Q&A, discover practical advice to elevate your health journey and truly make 2025 your healthiest year yet. —Vita Daily

• Health and wellness resolutions often fail quickly—why do you think that is, and how can people set more sustainable, science-backed goals for 2025? Most health and wellness resolutions are not specific enough and have indefinite time Horizons which make it difficult to follow. I recommend making specific resolutions. For example, rather than saying I’m going to become vegetarian, I would recommend making a resolution to purchase at least four fresh vegetables once a week. The time Horizon can also be shorter. For example, rather than deciding to work out and be more fit, I would suggest making the specific resolution to work out and do 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times weekly for the next 4 weeks.
• You emphasize the importance of eating foods that “grow from the ground.” What are your top recommendations for incorporating plant-based nutrition into a busy lifestyle? Everyday we make approximately 300 decisions regarding food. Simply making more of these decisions about eating food that grow from the ground is a good start. Established one day a week that you try to have a plant-based diet, such as meatless mondays. Every time you go to the grocery store spend as much time as possible in the produce section and try to get one item that you either haven’t tried or normally wouldn’t get so that you can experiment with it. Definitely try to get more mushrooms. These are great sources of proteins and vital nutrients, and make a great meat substitute.
• Movement and strength training are crucial for longevity. Can you share practical tips for someone just starting out or struggling to stay consistent? Be patient with yourself. Building up good cardiovascular fitness and strength is a lifetime endeavor. Start with simple measurable goals such as aerobic exercise at least 60 minutes in the week for the next month. Also, don’t just think about exercise as something that you do at the gym. You can get exercise all day everyday. When you get something out of the refrigerator squat down to get it rather than reaching for it. When you’re carrying shopping bags do bicep curls or raise them with your shoulders. Anytime you can walk do it. Run whenever you can. Use the stairs whenever they’re available. The world is your gym!
• Stress, both emotional and oxidative, is a major factor in aging. Can you explain the difference between these types of stress and how people can manage them effectively? Emotional stress is what our conscious mind creates for us based on the environment. Oxidative stress is what our body creates for us depending on our lifestyle. Emotional stress can be managed with ongoing effort to calm your mind. This can be done with breathing exercises or 10 minutes of daily meditation. Be present in the moment, because it’s all we have. The past doesn’t shape you, and feeling stress about the future is like paying interest on a loan that you might never take. Managing oxidative stress can be done by decreasing intake of processed foods and animal proteins, increasing activity levels and exercise, and with proper Sun protection. Besides our own internal production of oxidative stress from our normal metabolism, the greatest source of oxidative stress we face is external to our skin. I strongly recommend the daily usage of the nutraceutical GliSODin as a way of augmenting our natural enzymatic antioxidant mechanisms. This has been proven effective in many human studies for many inflammatory disorders caused by oxidative stress.
• Your mention of gratitude as a longevity tool is fascinating! What are simple ways someone can incorporate daily gratitude into their routine to improve overall wellness? Gratitude is an excellent way to reduce stress. I suggest a morning ritual of thinking of one thing in your life that you’re grateful for. Focus on that thing, why you’re grateful for it, and the goodness that it brings to your life. Throughout your day you’ll have interactions with other people. Each interaction is another opportunity to express your gratitude. Gratitude can also come in the form of compliments. If you see someone that deserves a compliment, whether it’s for how they look, something they said, or some kindness that they showed, then let it out! Gratitude and compliments are free to give  but have tremendous value to those who receive them.
• GliSODin supplements are part of your antioxidant recommendations. What sets GliSODin apart from other antioxidant supplements, and how does it support longevity and skin health? GliSODin is unique because it gives our body, organs, cells, and mitochondria additional antioxidant enzyme called Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), which is part of the product name. An enzyme is used repeatedly and one molecule of sod can eliminate 1 million oxygen radicals. This mechanism is used by pretty much every living organism on the planet and has been conserved for more than 2.5 billion years. GliSODin is my favorite supplement by far because it accomplishes something which I don’t believe any other product is able to, which is to functionally increase my antioxidant abilities, and there are more than 20 years of studies that have shown this in animals and humans. I’ve personally been using it for 15 years and consider it a cornerstone of my health.
• How do oxidative stress and free radicals accelerate aging, and what role do lifestyle changes play in combating these effects? Oxidative stress is a root cause of most inflammatory disorders in the body and has a strong role in causing heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and most other disease processes. For example, oxidative stress results in more lipid buildup in the walls of arteries causing heart disease. Oxidative stress also causes damage to our DNA and is a major contributing factor to most types of cancer. If you picture aging and other related diseases as being a river, think of the oxidative stress as being the source. The best ways to reduce oxidative stress are to: 1) modify your nutrition to include more things that grow from the ground and avoid sugars and processed foods to help reduce production of these oxygen radicals, 2) increase regular exercise to increase your body’s ability to manage the oxidative stress and reduce its harmful impact, 3) where sunscreen and protect yourself from sun exposure which is a major external source of oxidative stress, 4) take GliSODin. 
• What role does technology play in your personalized approach to healthcare and longevity, and what exciting advancements are you most excited about for the future? I personally use an Oura ring to keep track of my vitals and statistics. Well the data is not always important immediately, it identifies trends that help keep me on track, and the long-term data will become more and more useful as technology advances. Having this long-term data in my possession is quite valuable. In the future I’m excited to have integration of this kind of health tracking which integrates my home, gym, regular life, and physician. 
• Aging well is about more than just physical appearance. How do you integrate beauty, health, and longevity into a cohesive strategy for your patients? I always have conversations with my patients about lifestyle to impress on them the importance this has in obtaining a good result, having the safest surgery, if they’re having any procedures, and to maintain results afterwards. I have also started offering patients genetic and epigenetic testing to look for and manage risks related to their skin and health. I am also offering some of my patients topical Rapamycin (Sirolimus), which has been shown to be effective orally in increasing longevity. Topical application has a potent effect on the skin, which has direct implications on whole body health.
• For someone looking to completely revamp their wellness routine in 2025, what are three science-backed habits they should prioritize for long-term health and vitality? 1) regular sauna exposure will naturally increase your growth hormone. Even 10 minutes a day is effective. 2) lift heavy things. Muscle produces over 30 hormones and is directly related to your cognitive ability. It will also help improve testosterone levels in men. 3) start singing or playing a musical instrument. Being musical causes development of the right side of the brain language and interpretation sections, which improves overall long-term cognition and reduces risk of degeneration.