How many of use are really prepared to live a long life?

[Esmi]

I am going to live forever in spite of myself.

I quit smoking hundreds of years ago for parent/kid example reasons (ie not for health reasons).

I quit drinking about five years ago for day-to-day happiness reasons [not really for health reasons, but I got to start sleeping inside again ;-) ].

My work is somewhat physically-demanding, so I assume I am reasonably cardiovascularly fit (again, health independent).

I pay my bills on-time, use good judgment when choosing who to piss off, and drive without using my horn (these are personal traits, not directly tied to health maintenance). I don't really do much drugs.

So on the OP's chart, seems like death by sexually transmitted diseases is my calling. I suppose everybody has got to go somehow...

 

[stevenmd]

My paternal side tends to live to almost 100. My dad is 62 and has been fighting pancreatic cancer for almost 10 years now.

I was quite sad when Patrick Swayze died. He and my dad have(had) the same doctor and are(were) on the same experimental treatment medication regime at Stanford.

My great grandfather died at 102 years of age. Drank hard liquor and smoked cigars everyday but exercised as much as possible, including riding his bike several miles a day until he was 96.

My maternal side dies around 60. Fat, angry people.

I plan to exercise, hug my kids, drink beer, smoke cigars and make love to wife everyday of my life. Not all at the same time of course.:ylsmoke:

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I feel pretty well prepared personally. Luckily I don't smoke, which is surprising because my whole family as I was growing up did, more or less. I have some genetics to fight which I think I'm doing a pretty good job of on the alcohol and weight fronts. Alcohol consumption is totally appropriate (way less than 1 shot a day but I have too many friends friends and went to college with people who live in binge drinking environments, which me and my wife occasionally partake in) and I'm only 5-10 lbs over weight at most though my BF percentage is a little high at about 23% (which surprises me). Cosmetically I believe I mostly look like a 'skinny guy' to an extent. My brother got the opposite, the skinniness gene from my mom but unfortunately has some difficulty with alcohol. My old man believes it is a native American gene (in this case from South America - my mother is Brazilian) and some sort of variant on the same gene that allows many Native Americans to be strongly affected by alcohol. I respect his opinion on it as he wrote a book about kinship and genetics nature versus nurture etc in the early 80's. I am tremendously lucky and thankful to not be affected by it as its a hell of a beast. That said alcoholism, smoking, drug abuse, are all rampant in the pasts of both sides of my family.

There is also an interesting blood test that measures your fat content and ability for your blood to fight infections and repair itself which I think is also a good long term indicator of health as well, if you ask me. When my wife was in for ACL surgery we all took the test for shts & giggles and I scored the worse unfortunately, somehow indicating that my BF percentage was due to a higher fat/poorer quality food diet than I would have expected as well when honestly at the time I really ate fastfood seldom (though I exercised a lot less, which I do now rigorously, via my mountain bike), though my diet has probably not gotten particularly better and probably a hair worse. I'm going to research what that test is and post the name unless anyone is a physician and can remind me. It was recommended to us by the famous knee surgeon Rosenberg here in Park City who has a very holistic approach to surgery and also did Tiger Woods' knees (and is very good, I might add).

The one area I'm weak personally is personal strong life savings mostly because it wasn't a focus, at all, in my 20s (and I'm only 30 now). Though the marriage of the assets with my wife and I strengthened our position considerably though it is something constantly on our mind. I do think financially is relevant to the discussion as well and should be discussed in terms of stress, etc.

 

[trailsurfer]

JAMA recently came out with a study, last couple of months, that studied about 40,000 individuals over about 30 years. The purpose of the study was to determine what type of individual lived the longest on average.

The conclusion was skinny people died the earliest. Obese people died next. And those that were 5-10% overweight lived the longest.

They concluded that those a little overweight could fight off illness better at older age, and that those a little overweight saw their doctor more often and took recommended prescriptions.

But as talked about earlier, the best way to live longer is:

wear your seat belt
don't smoke
drink moderately

 

[kerry]

I recall an article in the NYT last year, reporting on a study which showed that there was no correlation between the life expectancy of any individual and the lifespan of that person's parents.

 

[ExpoMike]

Mike...I love you, man.

Group hug... but I am not snuggling with you in a sleeping bag... :elkgrin:


Actually I feel I was headed for a very early grave. I spent 36 years of my life very angry, hateful and revengeful. I really didn't care about others and was a self proclaimed ************. This had transpired from a very early childhood of being picked on and teased due to my birth defect. Children were very mean and nasty to me and in turn I shut the door on everyone around me and used that to protect me and get me through life. It was a very unhappy life, even with as much as I might seemed happy on the outside.

In late 2004 I made a trip to Maui, my first to any Hawaiian islands. Something over there caused me to have what I call "my awakening". The second day back home, I awoke and said to myself, "I am never going to be the person I have been previously" and from the very moment, I have changed my life around 180 degrees. I broke thru the walls I put up, I opened my heart and let it guide me. I truly became a happy, positive spirit and in turn my last 5 years have been the happiest I have ever known. There were times in the beginning that it was a struggle to continue this change but anytime I would think I might start slipping back into old ways, I would pause for a moment and reflect on what was happening and how this played into the grand scheme of things. This was even through a divorce, which was not something I wanted to see happen but know it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was a very negative, hurtful relationship, which I found out later, had started very early in our marriage.

Today I am married to my soul mate, Lisa and life could not be better. Our love and positive energy we share together, no matter what life throws at us (and it has done a couple good ones). With this life altering change, everything about me has become a very different outlook. I cherish what truly is important, family and friends. Material things are just that material. They do not define who you are nor your happiness in life. Sure they can add to the enjoyment of life but they are not life.

Beyond all the drinking, smoking, drugs, etc. (not that I do any of these), find the really deep rooted problem within yourself and make the change for yourself. I believe that a life is not how long it is but how happy you can make it. Anyone with an addiction problem, there is really a much deeper problem and the addiction is a symptom of it. Start fixing that problem and the symptoms will start to go away. I know the hardest part is taking the first step but don't forget that other steps will be hard as well. Continue with the focus of where you want to go and the steps get easier with time. Soon you look back and can't believe you were the person you once were and you'll vow to never go back. No matter how many years you live, life is short and make the best of it, with inner happiness, peace and love.


I guess I'll stop my ramblings here as when I get started, I can write a novel. Not sure anyone wants to read for the next couple hours. :Wow1:

I only hope I have inspired someone to make a positive change in their life and in turn, it will add years to their life. Cherish those you love... including yourself.

 

[SunTzuNephew]

You're stuck with the genes you got back when your zygote first formed. For awhile longer, anyway.

However, I see the results of people making bad life choices all day long. People who should know better (you'd think) who just don't seem to care, or think that medicine can overcome stupidity (it can't).

The single biggest problem I see: Smokers. No, not everyone who smokes will die from lung cancer (only about 1/3 of smokers will - if you were electrocuted one time in three flipping a light switch, would you flip the switch?). However, I see people with heart disease made far worse by smoking (the smoke irritates your blood vessels, folks: It makes them rough on the inside, so clots form! You get strokes from that!), lung disease (hunched over, breathing from an O2 concentrator your last days seems a particularly nasty vision of hell that Dante missed, imho - especially since you can live for years like that), and just flat out smelling bad are the results of smoking.

Next on the list: obesity (and I have a problem too, in this regard). Get out, take a walk every day. It doesn't have to be far today, just further than the TV, toilet, and refrigerator. Figure out what sort of diet program you can handle and follow it at least mostly. Try and lose excess fat, it's bad for your heart and makes things like diabetes far worse.

#3 is alcohol. I enjoy a drink or two (actually a cocktail, and a glass of wine at dinner) just about every day. I also enjoy my beer (Moose Drool!), but if it's the center focus of your life there's a problem. Taper off, down to the point where it doesn't control you: For those who can handle it (and a large percentage of the population can't, due to biochemical reasons that have nothing to do with character) there are positive health benefits from moderate (1-2 drinks per day) of alcohol consumption, but it has to be moderate. Too much? You get fat, and your heart has to work harder, and you turn into a socially unacceptable slob.

And finally, if you have an existing medical condition (high blood pressure, whatever) take care of it. The common (and very effective) drugs for most common problems cost less per month than a single package of cigarettes ($4 prescriptions at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc) even if you have to pay out of pocket, and will do a hell of a lot more to improve your life than a package of smokes will. I strongly suggest to most of my patients (not all, and while I'm a physician I'm not YOUR physician so this isn't professional advice) is to take an 82mg aspirin every day: It helps prevent strokes. And gorked out from a stroke, in a con home bed, developing bed sores from your urine and feces filled diaper is no way to spend your last days.

 

[ThomD]

Specifically what would you say is a good goal weight to be at, at say Christmas?

What do you advise for someone who eats when stressed, or simply
doesn't have that "off" switch when they're full.

I feel like sometimes I really try to set standards and goals, but they
just fall by the wayside...

Opps. Not sure how I missed this.

No one solution works for everyone. I'm pretty good a limiting what I eat, but not good at regular exercise. My wife can't live without a daily ice cream nibble, but works with a trainer 3 times a week and does yoga runs.

You just have to find what works for you. Don't keep trying the same method over and over again if it doesn't work.

 

[stevenmd]

Opps. Not sure how I missed this.

No one solution works for everyone. I'm pretty good a limiting what I eat, but not good at regular exercise. My wife can't live without a daily ice cream nibble, but works with a trainer 3 times a week and does yoga runs.

You just have to find what works for you. Don't keep trying the same method over and over again if it doesn't work.

I recommend the ebook "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle" by Tom Venuto. That book changed my lifestyle. Remember, being healthy is not dieting to get to your "ideal" weight. Being healthy is a lifestyle.

 

[bobDog]

WOW, im going to die....soon. I smoke, drink, and dont work out (im 5'5" and 170). yeah im gonna die soon. But the good news is males in my family rarely live past 55.

Genetics.....everyone in my gene pool has lived to 90+ they all ate french food, smoked and drank to excess. I gave up smoking 20 yrs ago but now I'm worried. What if I messed up the formula!:coffeedrink:

 

[cstamm81]

Take from it what you will...
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/benefits_cholest.html
Always remember to do your own research. Believe it or not what the big drug companies are selling you might not be in your best interest. And some of the most well-meaning doctors may not know any better.

If that has sparked any interest then I strongly suggest you all give this a read:
http://www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Price/dp/0916764206
I know a lot of this seems to contradict a lot of what we have beaten into our heads, but the alarming rates of heart disease and cancers in the past 100 or so years has me thinking we must be doing something wrong.

 

[YJake]

Bump for good health!

Very inspirational. I try my best to stay fit and go to the gym at least 3 times a week but as mentioned before, there are many more factors at play here than just excercising. Although, staying active does provide a better quality of life for however long it is that you share the Earth with the rest of us.

So cheers and :friday:to our health folks!

-Jake

 

[BlueBomber]

Thought I should post an update to my previous post. Ive started to quit smoking (down to 2 or 3 a day), I only drink wine now and thats down to a glass or two on the weekends and it seems my father, who is 53 now, will live a while longer if he gets his weight down and stops eating so badly (ie : DAD GET YOUR FACE OUT OF THE CHIP BAG!). Maybe I should start for a long life after all.

 

[109 Pretender]

Good read everyone! Especially XJ Mike's and Sun's thoughts...

My take on this comes from nature - there must be balance in all we do, think and feel. I guess we westerners would call it 'moderation'??

Anyways, a deep and hearty "Ommmm" to all who shared their feelings and flaws - after all, that IS the 1st step towards achieving your point of balance...

cheers!

 

[Fireman78]

Stress is a major componant in death. The stats don't lie, given the same factors, a career firefighter/policeman will die, on average, 10 years earlier then the rest fo the population.
I'm sure there are plenty of other careers out there with similar numbers. I feel it is important to manage STRESS in your everyday life, JUST as important as managing weight, tobacco, ect, ect.


(Using this fomula on my wife.. , I get a week in Moab at least once a year, and at least one river trip). :sombrero: