Melissa's 10 Longevity Tips from SHA Wellness Mexico

As spas have evolved over the past decades, I have become increasingly curious about those with medical offerings, so I recently traveled to the Riviera Maya to visit SHA Mexico, the first international outpost of the celebrated Spanish wellness clinic and arguably the most medically advanced spa in North America. A 40-minute drive from the Cancun airport, SHA is a sleek 10-story tower on a quiet stretch of beach facing Isla Mujeres. Read my full report on the property here—and get 10 wellness and longevity tips from my stay below.

1. Do not drink water for 30 minutes before, during or for 30 minutes after a meal to allow your stomach to better absorb the nutrients from your food. This has long been a tradition in Japan, where they serve warm broths or teas with meals instead of water, as they are less likely to interfere with the gastric acids and enzymes that break down the food.
2. Add Kombu seaweed to the water in which you cook quinoa, rice or barley to enrich the umami and texture but also to provide trace minerals, calcium and iodine nutrients to your meal.
3. Stock dehydrated shiitake mushrooms as an easy way to add the myriad benefits of mushrooms to your meals.
4. For a major immune boost, add Kuchika tea to your routine. The Japanese tea is made from twigs and stems, not just leaves, so it is rich in minerals from the soil like zinc, copper, calcium and manganese as well as polyphenols and L-theanine, which means it can fight free radicals, aid digestion and lower stress.
5. Season with gomasio, a Japanese blend of ground sesame seeds and salt, instead of salt, to keep the savory flavoring but to lower your sodium intake and increase the benefits of plant-based minerals like magnesium, potassium, iron and vitamin B. Sprinkle it on top of salads, grains, avocado toast or cooked fish rather than cooking with it.

6. Cryotherapy is preferable to a cold plunge. There are arguments over which treatment is better for you; however, now having tried both, I can definitively say that hyper-cooled air being blown on you is much less unpleasant and shocking to the system than submerging in frigid water.
7. SHA Mexico has a stem cell department where patients can be treated with regulated donor cells for cases of chronic arthritis in joints such as shoulders, knees or ankles, as well as for rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's, lupus and chronic liver failure.
8. Clinical studies have proven that regular acupuncture sessions do improve sleep quality and duration.
9. Diaphragmatic breathing is so effective at turning off the nervous system's fight-or-flight response that institutions like the Cleveland Clinic recommend it to help lower blood pressure. Practicing it before bed can help with sleep as well.
10. A Tabata workout, based on 20- or 40-second intense sets with 10-second rests, is not just great for women over 50 to build heart, muscle and bone health, but it is also super efficient for staying in shape while traveling.