TimDaddy said:
I wonder how much of it is simply due to third world countries gaining access to the technologies in medicine that we already have. In the future, will "really old people" be any older than the "really old people" of today, or will poorer countries just start living closer to todays average, thus brining the average up? The U.S. even has some catching up to do, as Europeans seem to live longer. Then, when the U.S. catches up, those of us in Kentucky will catch up ten to fifteen years later.
While the medicines of today can be very benificial to one's health, the modernization of chemical agents, including medicines, is contributing to the declination of general health. The more chemicals we put in our foods, the more people have heart attacks at earlier ages. The more people use medicine for small problems like head aches, the more unhealthy they get. I think many people live to be so old because they live a simple lifestyle, away from chemicals and medicine.
It's kind of like chicken-farm chickens vs. free-range chickens. The free-range chickens are much healthier and live to be much older because they aren't pumped full of hormones.
Another good example is the logevity of many Asians. I'm betting that they haven't had much experience with modern medicine, and prefer traditional treatements like acupuncture, herbs, and dietary healing.
So, my suggestion is (assuming you want to live to be old):
Live far away from pesticides. Keep 'em out of your yard, out of your food, and out of your life. Eat organic.
Stay away from medicine unless you need it. I know people who pop a pill at the first sign of a headache, and now they have to take pills all the time just to keep from getting headaches. This has gotta be horrible for you.
Monitor your diet. I bet those people who lived to be so old didn't do so by eating McDonald's everyday. If you eat organic, preferably local, produce then you are doing your body a big favor. Don't eat too much meat. If you are worried about protien, eat beans. Don't consume too many dairy products. If you're concerned about calcium, just know that milk isn't even a good source for it. If you have to drink 7 cups of milk a day to get enough calcium, then it's not a good source. Plus, most milks have hormones in them from cows that are fed hormones to get them to produce more milk. Plus, although milk has a lot of nutrients, it is harder for our bodies to absorb them than nutrients in vegetables and fruits, because they are cow nutrients. So, if you are worried about calcium, there are plenty of better sources than milk and other dairy products. Try Horizon's Organic Orange Juice with added calcium. I love that stuff.
Stay away from saturated fats. It's no wonder that there are so many heart attacks happening all around America when you look at the average American diet. Saturated fats are everywhere. Fat in itself isn't bad, but you gotta get the essential fatty acids, that actually help to break down the bad fats.
I'm not a proponent to veganism or vegatarianism, although there's nothing wrong with those lifestyles. Meat isn't all bad if it isn't over-eaten. But your better off getting protein from vegetables, so limit the amount of meat you eat.
Okay, I better stop, because I'm feeling very hypocritical. I ate horribly today (Thanksgiving
). Plus, I'm the king of hypocracy being that I'm the King of Ramen Noodles, and the author of this post
.
Oh well. Eat right, exercise, stay away from chemicals and you'll live to be much older than if you didn't.
scem0