Feeling young and vital, like children, at least sometimes - that's it. Age research has some good suggestions for people who want quality of life in old age.
Do you know healthy older people? If so, what is your secret to your quality of life?
Research Results
Medicine professor Thomas Perls * is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of longevity. He acquired his findings in a study on 150 people who have turned 110 and over. He found these people in USA, Canada, Japan and other countries. There are currently around 350 people worldwide who are over 110 years of age. In his opinion, these are extremely few.
The medical professor speaks about his “centenarian” research at universities and congresses. Which people will be 100 or even 110 years old, and why? Perls, 58, has been asking this question since his youth.
He likes to open his presentations at congresses with a little quiz: "Do you smoke? Okay, subtract 15 years. Are you good at coping with stress? Good, then add 5 years."
It is known that the following risk factors played a decisive role in the death of these old people: 1. Smoking 2. Obesity 3. High blood pressure 4. Diabetes 5. Lack of exercise
In the German-speaking countries we have a life expectancy (2015) of
Germany: 82 for women and 77 for men
Austria: 84 for women and 79 for men
Switzerland: 84 for women and 80 for men
One could be of the opinion that if we are already around 80 years old according to statistics, then we would like to experience it healthy. Makes sense right? And when we grow old healthy, why shouldn't life go on a little longer?
Mr. Perls suspects that there would actually be a lot more in our latitude and state of development. He is thinking of 89 for women and 86 for men. The question is whether we want to make use of our genes or fight against them! He followed up on the oldest people in the world and found them primarily among the Seventh-day Adventists.
Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) and Health
The STAs have the highest life expectancy in the United States. They are very ethnically diverse and spread across America. They tend to lead healthy lives, that is, they do not smoke or drink alcohol, are vegetarians and exercise a lot.
SDAs have many health programs (see NEWSTART blog) and have a science center in California that is responsible for the latest knowledge. They also tend to have hospitals and health centers that are strong in the use of natural healing methods. They are professionals in cures for diabetes II and other lifestyle diseases.
Mr. Perls discovered that genes are only responsible for 30 percent of our age. More important is our behavior, our lifestyle. That's the good news:
We are largely in control of how healthy we want to be in old age and how old we want to become.
Alzheimer's problem
About half of people over 85 get Alzheimer's. That should be avoided. How ? Research tries to get at the genes. Drinking water regularly is sure to have a positive effect. Those who take their 2-2.5 liters of water in their old age have an advantage, because around 85% of the brain consists of water. In addition, thirst disappears with age, so that one has to consciously take care of drinking. Many elderly people in retirement homes 'forget' this and then suffer from many signs of aging that would not be necessary if the blood had a better quality thanks to the water.
Problem Stress
How older people have learned to deal with stress appears to be an equally important health factor. It is not so important how much stress people have, but how they have learned to deal with it. Eustress, i.e. positive stress, also makes older people flourish and motivates them.
In affluent countries, insufficient management of stress is more damaging to life expectancy than smoking and alcohol! (BLOG).
Most people know how to reduce stress, namely with exercise, meditation, prayer, enough sleep or individual recipes.
It is important that you do your best not to let the stress get to you. Research shows that otherwise the risk of heart disease, but also cancer and Alzheimer's, increases.
Mr. Perls reports that you have observed these very old people to have low scores for neuroticism and high scores for extroversion. To put it simply: you don't eat it all up, you can process worries and let go. They are also exceptionally good at building and maintaining social bonds. How far this trait is genetically present or learned, he cannot say.
He recommends that you have your high blood pressure and cholesterol level checked regularly so that you can react in good time and without medication.
Why do Women get older than Men?
Thanks to the reduced number of men who smoke, they will come closer to the age of women. Since increased smoking has been observed in women, it can be assumed that their age expectancy will be somewhat reduced. What hardly changes is that extremely old age is almost only reached by women. It is genetic. Men have the advantage that when they reach 90 years or more, they are healthy more often. Women often live on for a long time even with chronic diseases - they are more resilient.
Sounds good: women are more resilient! In a family you are usually responsible for their health and thus develop more knowledge.
Anyone who has a lot of exercise in old age and drinks enough water to do so has decisive advantages.
Anti Aging Industry
The pharmaceutical industry and also Silicon Valley companies are researching drugs that are supposed to make us grow older. Most of what is being advertised is charlatanism. Allegedly life-extending substances, snake oil and the like have been a business since ancient times.
Nothing against marketing healthy foods. But nobody makes big money with it. But, for example, with senseless hormone therapies that cost 11,000 to 20,000 dollars a year and can even have dangerous side effects. The antiaging industry seems legitimate to have very little faith.
There is also serious research that works towards extending life. The research is still very theoretical. The big problem is that any treatment has side effects. What is supposed to prolong life in theory can in practice increase the risk of cancer.
5 Tips
Getting old healthy largely depends on our lifestyle. Genetic advantages may also contribute.
The following 5 tips can be used advantageously:
WATER - Start drinking 2 - 2.5 liters of water (no beer or coffee !!) early enough. With this you clean the blood and supply one of your most important organs, the brain, with the necessary functionality. (BLOG)
EXERCISE - Create an exercise plan that will allow you to take up to 6-10,000 steps a day. Exercise nourishes muscles and improves blood circulation, and allows better stress management. Sometimes it helps if you pursue this goal together with someone. (BLOG)
NUTRITION - The more plant-based diets you indulge in and the fewer animal products like meat and dairy products, the more beneficial it will affect your body and mind. (BLOG)
GOOD THOUGHTS - We know from research that positive thoughts can have a corresponding impact on the whole body. Find joyful literature, pleasant people and positive experiences! (BLOG)
DEALING WITH STRESS - As soon as you identify a stressor, remind yourself: I don't want any unnecessary stress! Push it away, replace it with good thoughts, and shelve it. This takes some practice. But if you do all the other points, then this last point will also be within reach. (BLOG)
Ref: Tagblatt (Swiss Newspaper)
* Thomas Perls
Age researcher Thomas Perls, born in 1960, is a professor of medicine at Boston University in the United States of America and a doctor at Boston Medical Center. He studied at the renowned Harvard University, among others. His specialty is age research. Perls founded the “New England Centenarian Study”, a project that he still leads today and that researches people around the world who are 100 years or older. He is one of the most prominent critics of hormone therapies, which should extend the life span. He considers most anti-aging products to be bawdy and useless. Perls is the initiator of the “Living to 100” web calculator, on which you can use dozen of questions to calculate how high your life expectancy is. Link to the calculator.
