Live Long & Prosper?

[HappyHiker]

Seriously, I'd like to live a long life filled with good health and avoid medications, illness, operations and many doctor's visits. In your opinion, what steps can I take to achieve this?

Mucho gracias.

[loosechickens]

maintain a normal weight, eat a "real food" diet, heavy on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, get plenty of exercise, have an optimistic attitude about life......those are good for starters.

Also, avoid chemical exposures, pesticides, etc. on your food, and in your everyday surroundings as much as possible. It goes without saying, don't smoke and keep alcohol consumption to a VERY moderate level (maybe the occasional glass of red wine kind of very moderate), and cultivate a close group of friends, family, etc., where you ARE a friend, and HAVE friends and a support group in your life.

Let go of expectations that everything in life be the way you think it should be, which will reduce lots of frustration in your life......

those are all I can think of in just a few minutes, although I'm sure others will be along soon with more ideas.

[razz]

The most important start is a good mental attitude and the best start for that is a daily gratitude from the simple to the great.

One day, I struck me that I had water that simply flowed from my tap on demand. I had read about families in refugee centres who had a gallon per person per day for everything.
I needed doors opened for me to day as I worked as a volunteer and people were amazing - teens, older adults etc everyone opened the door just as I needed.

[Zoebird]

1. get plenty of good food and clean water (i follow a paleolithic diet, personally);
2. get plenty of sleep;
3. avoid toxins as much as humanly possible;
4. have realistic expectations but also a lot of hope, faith, and excitement about life (positive mental attitude);
5. gratitude is a big deal;
6. practice preventative medicine and get holistic, alternative, and allopathic medicine *as required* and as soon as you feel you require it.
7. find a good "family" or community -- build those networks, care for and support others as best you can, while maintaining your autonomy.
8. figure out how you want to live, and then live it.

This is what I can think of right now. :)

[Polliwog]

Remember that "guilt" and "anger" can be real killers; not the normal guilt and anger present in all of our lives, but the kind that hangs on.

[ApatheticNoMore]

In order of importance:

1) get some exercise! Even if it's just 30 minutes of walking a day, and that's what you do. Sure if you do more and work with weights and so on it's better for maintaining bone and muscle, but if we're just talking baseline requirements: at least take regular walks! (of course since you are a happy hiker you probably have this down)

2) love and be loved, have people you are close to.

3) Yes eat real food, avoid processed food, food with weird ingredients etc.. Eat the best quality food you can get and afford and is sustainable :). (By best quality here I mean in terms of nutrition, I mean things like get organic if you can etc.). Get some sunshine. Sleep when you are tired. May want to limit sugar if you have the discipline, despite much knowledge about its harms, I'm not convinced it's the worst thing out there for everyone IF you have all the other things down pat, but it's definitely not a thing you want to consume every day if you can help it.

I'm assuming you don't smoke or anything, if you do that then obviously that's the first problem to address.

[catherine]

My model is my great-aunt, who died when she was 92. Up to the very moment she died she was happy and healthy. She was so "with it" that while she was waiting for the ambulance to take her to the hospital the night she died she laid out her social security card and driver's license and other important papers to make it easier for us to find them.

I spent all my summers with her at her beach cottage "taking care" of her (it was really more of a companionship role--she sure didn't need MY help). Her only medication as long as I knew her was one aspirin a day. Here are my observations of how she got that way:


She had a great sense of humor: Here I was a teen and she was a nonagenarian, and we would giggle like schoolgirls all the time.
She had pride in herself: Even when no one would be visiting for the day, every single day she got up, washed up, dressed in a very attractive a-line dress, put on earrings, pearls, necklace, and short-heeled pumps. She always carried herself upright and proudly as if she were queen. She had perfect posture even at 92.
She was engaged: She was glued to the Watergate hearings, she read the paper every day, she asked philosophical questions She got around, also: She used to drive to see her friends on other states, in her 80s she traveled to Hawaii and then brought her slides home and showed them in a Carousel (remember those?). Or she would go to Florida, or Arizona. She didn't "exercise" but she was very active. Never had any trouble climbing the dozen steps up to the front porch, or getting in and out of anywhere.
She loved the simple life: OMG, how I remember the scent of her slips soaking in Ivory soap in a porcelein bowl. She loved setting out a cardtable, dressing it with a linen tablecloth and having breakfast of berries and cream on the porch looking over the water.
She ate simply: Our dinners were at noon, light suppers at night. Breakfasts were our biggest meal. The meal routine was not extremely varied (Yankee food, meat and potatoes) but it was simply purchased (at local markets) and simply prepared--no heavy creams or packaged foods
Even though the food was simple, the meals were "an event" As I mentioned, breakfast was the biggest meal, and it was served as if company were coming--Victorian china--tons of plates (much to my chagrin, being the dishwasher), and every day we'd have cold or hot cereal, a soft-boiled egg, three prunes, toast, and juice. Every day.
Finally, and most important, she was a kind, loving woman. She taught me how to sew and bought me fabric for my upcoming fall wardrobe. She listened to me. She never, ever complained about ANYTHING. When something negative happened, she would make a joke of it and move on.


She had no family of her own--her only son died at 3 years old of pneumonia, which was her big trial of suffering in her life. I'm glad I got to be her surrogate child, that's for sure. I'm trying to take to heart her instructions for a long happy life.

[Karma]

Start with a positive attitude then add walking, real foods and reducing the toxins in your environment. :)

[HappyHiker]

Loving these replies, advice and examples...thank you...

[Jemima]

Having a pet such as a dog or cat helps. Petting my cat lowers my blood pressure, as does watching her do something cute or comical.

Avoid anything with hydrogenated fat in it like the plague. Use olive oil in cooking, salad dressings, and as a spread on bread as much as possible. Walnut oil is good too, and although it's rather expensive, it doesn't cost nearly as much as statin drugs and their side effects. Have a small handful of nuts every day (real nuts, not peanuts or cashews, which are actually members of the legume family). Eat mercury-free fish at least once a week. These habits and regular, frequent exercise should take care of any cholestrol problems.

Do something for other people. Volunteer work doing something you love is one of the most satisfying, happiness-making activities and it gets a person out and meeting people with similar interests.

Avoid prescription drugs as much as possible. Ditto for doctors, particularly specialists. Listen to your body.

Use it or lose it. This goes for the intellect as well as the body. Take a course. Do crossword puzzles. Read.

For me, gardening is a very gratifying, stress-reducing activity. I come home from work some days just frazzled, but pulling weeds or planting something makes it all go away. The same goes for other hobbies, such as cooking, sewing, painting, and others that require my full attention.

I might add, avoid all the aggravating type of stress that you can. Learn to say "No."

[JaneV2.0]

http://www.sparkplugpeople.com/inspiration/dr-leila-denmark-turning-112/

Some tips from 112-year-old physician Dr. Leila Denmark:

Don’t abuse your body with junk food.

Love what you do.

Drinking cow’s milk is dangerous.

Do your best to help others.

Too much sugar is not a good thing.

A sense of humor is very important for longevity.

As a doctor, it’s important to find the root cause of a problem.

We need to think about everything we eat and drink.

“Let’s do” is easier than do.

Anything you have to do is work and anything you love to do is play
During the Great Depression, 11,000 of America’s 25,000 banks closed (Save what you can, appreciate what you have.)

Children and adults should eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juices.

Drink only water.


Catherine, your great-aunt sounds like a peach!

[iris lily]

I"m glad to see that the doctor listed "a sense of humor" because I've thought for some time that a real laugh each day is good for your health. Ok, even if it isn't a belly laugh, being amused probably releases healthful chemicals into our systems.

[JaneV2.0]

I couldn't agree more, Iris Lily. I'm doing pretty well so far, and I couldn't imagine a life without a robust sense of humor. I mostly attribute my good health to sturdy genes, but daily laughter certainly helps. I'm also gratified by recent studies that indicate that the longest-lived people fall in the "overweight" bmi category, because try as I might, I'll never be a sylph.

[HappyHiker]

Dr. Leila Denmark--a Wise Woman with two capital W's--amazing to read her bio. I've a new heroine--thanks so much for posting her advice so I could get to know this remarkable woman.

[puglogic]

I like these tenets from Blue Zones:
http://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/power-9/

They all seem to make perfect sense, and more than longevity, I think they have a lot to do with happiness and prosperity as well.

[razz]

I like these tenets from Blue Zones:
http://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/power-9/

They all seem to make perfect sense, and more than longevity, I think they have a lot to do with happiness and prosperity as well.

That was interesting to read, thanks for posting.

[Yppej]

I've had lots of long-lived relatives. They were all vegetarians. Most were women. The women were all hefty and did not "exercise" but they were active with housework, gardening, etc - very active especially early in their lives when they did not have modern appliances to assist them. The men did exercise (walking and cycling) in their old age and manual labor when young. They all got lots of fresh air and never worried about sunscreen.

All the women had multiple children which they breastfed (maybe some protective hormonal effect?). All were "queen bees" who did not let their husbands boss them around and who were perfectly content to spend decades as widows. All had strong social networks - were very close to their siblings and cousins, in most cases to their children, attended church, and had other friends. None of the men or women were divorced though some were widowed and remarried.

All were "too stubborn to die" and would challenge doctors and fight to stay healthy and independent rather than just give in to some diagnosis. One refused to go to the doctor at all.

[fidgiegirl]

Wow, the Blue Zones link is really rich. Amazing how positivity and laughter and connectedness keeps coming up here.

[Selah]

As all of the above, and get good at differentiating between good stress and bad stress. Take time to attend to your spiritual life, both privately and, if appropriate, in some kind of community or congregation. Live beneath your means. Be grateful for all you have experienced, even the bad stuff...if it didn't kill you, it at least gave you the chance to become stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. Don't tell lies (bad stress) or gossip meanly about people (also bad stress). Give to charity in money, effort, or both. Laugh your head off as often as you can! :)

[benhyr]

In addition to all the awesome advice, unless I missed this, wear sunscreen ;)

oh, and don't smoke.

oh, and don't play in traffic.

[JaneV2.0]

Keep moving, lest you fossilize in place.

[creaker]

I like these tenets from Blue Zones:
http://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/power-9/

They all seem to make perfect sense, and more than longevity, I think they have a lot to do with happiness and prosperity as well.

These are good just for living - what is the point of longevity without peace & happiness?

[pinkytoe]

In addition to all the suggestions here, I have noted a certain quality in all my long-lived relatives. Not sure how to describe it, but they have a "cork in the water" attitude about all of life's traumas - an ability to be resilient and stay floating when pulled under.