How to Live a Long and Healthy Life - Part 4
Welcome to day 4 of our 5 part series on “how to live a long and healthy life.” Yesterday we learned how the residents of Loma Linda, California achieve great health and longevity by following a vegetarian diet, not drinking, not smoking and having a spiritual dimension to their life. We also found out that the link that ties all longest living communities on Earth is a good coping mechanism when it comes to stress.
Today we find out more about the stress resistant personality and meet inhabitants from a city that is experiencing the other end of the spectrum and that is the shortest lifespan on Earth. What city is that? Well I won’t ruin it for you, watch part 4 now of “How to Live to 101″, to see who is barely making it to 60 and then read on if you would like for further comments from me.
Well it is again no surprise that low stress or better yet dealing effectively with stress can promote good health and longevity. Most of us I am sure know that when you are under lots of stress, it is then that you become more prone to all sorts of infections. On top of that stress compounds over time and the damage it does slowly and sometimes in a discreet way may manifest as something bigger in the future. It is no surprise that higher stress levels are linked to cancers, heart disease, anxiety, depression, obesity and the list goes on! So at the same time we can understand that having the opposite will lead to good health and potentially even a longer life.
It is not that one must avoid stress in their life. Yes, that would be nice, but it is unrealistic. As we heard the residents for example of Okinawa, Japan had their share of stresses. The difference is they have learned to cope with it. Amidst the greatest stresses a saying like “don’t worry, it’ll all work out” may seem easier said then done, but can go a long way if you choose to truly apply those words. In an article on Evolving Beings entitled “It’s not the Situation; It’s how you choose to experience it“, I explain some ideas on how we can look differently at things that happen to us in order to get better results from our lives. The best part is that to develop effective stress management skills you do not necessarily need months or years of therapy or counseling, you simply need to change your mind about how you view things, people, the world, etc.
Aside from good stress coping mechanisms, the final piece of the puzzle is that people who have meaning in their life are happier, healthier and live longer. And we do not need to look at these 3 countries whose inhabitants we have been exposed to over the past week. You can see it all around you I am sure. People who do not accept ageing or do not age well, get to an age where they feel they are useless and worthless and so that is the same message their body gives them. On the other hand people who have hobbies, creations or are passionate about things in their life are sending their body a message of being worthy and needed. So not surprisingly the body delivers just that. Ultimately as the narrator said, “we need to have something meaningful to get out of bed for every morning”, especially as we age. Otherwise our mind and our body will simply start to deteriorate.
In the next part of today’s segment we were guided into Glasgow, UK. Here we found out people’s life expectancy is the lowest out of the entire Earth and people are barely living to 60 years of age. Wow! Now that is something - who would have every thought a developed country like that would have such low results. So after studying this population scientists concluded that in this case it is not the diet or the drinking or the smoking, but actually an evolutionary change in the genetics of the people of Glasgow. This mutation that was beneficial is actually now acting like an over active immune system (autoimmune disease) which may help at first but then turns on the body itself. Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis are examples of autoimmune diseases.
So ultimately to understand more about ourselves and our health and possible longevity, our choices are huge determinants in what the outcome will be, but naturally we also have to look at our genetics for clues as to what we should watch out for or thrive off of. In our last segment tomorrow, we will wrap up our 5 part series on “how to live a long and healthy life” by looking at one final piece of the puzzle starting in Honolulu, Hawaii and summarizing the top 10 things for optimal health and longevity. Till then!
5 Part Longevity Series
How to Live a Long and Healthy Life - Part 1
How to Live a Long and Healthy Life - Part 2
How to Live a Long and Healthy Life - Part 3
How to Live a Long and Healthy Life - Part 4
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