[jackman]

http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/MH/5-ways-to-cheat-death

Interesting article on living longer.  If living at high altitude is good for you, as the article states, I'm in trouble...

[Goosepond]

Question: who the hell wants to be 95?

Answer: everyone who is 94 

Gene

[Wind Chaser]

Question: who the hell wants to be 95?

As long as I am pain free and in good health, not eating out of garbage cans, sign me up!

[Goosepond]

Yep, I agree. But the remaining sibling in my dad's family died a couple of years ago and when my brother visited him in poor health, his comment was, "you don't want to get this old. Nothing works right and everything hurts."

Gene

[Stu Pitt]

I want to stick around for as long as I'm mentally healthy.  Alzhiemer's is no joke.  I tell my wife all the time to shoot me if that happens.  She thinks I'm kidding.

[S Clark]

Watching my dad in the last couple of years of his life definitely changed my way of thinking about how we spend our last years.  I am certain that there is a point where additional longevity is not necessarily a good thing.  Quality of life is the key. 

[jackman]

The thought of living a long life, in a bed or on life-support is not appealing.  There are some people who cram a lot of life into a relatively short number of years.  Heck, guys like Keith Richards has managed to cram a lot of crazy times into way more years than anyone expected! 

For me, I want to live as long as I want to be around.  My grandfather died at 98 years old.  He was miserable because all of his friends were dead, his wife (my grandmother) was gone for 30 years, many of his children were dead, he could no longer drive a car (took it away when he turned 91), and he was unhappy.  I enjoy spending time with all of my friends and family.  The thought of living in a world where all of the people I was close to and all of my friends were dead (of old age) is kind've sad, even if I was in good health.  That's an extreme example but maybe you can live too long, even if you are healthy. 

[Tyson]

Give up sugar and grains - both drive insulin spikes, which drives all sorts of very, very bad things.  Things like heart disease, alzheimers, type 2 diabetes, stroke, etc... Basically these "diseases of civilization" trend up as people eat more and more grain and sugar.  It just takes a long time for it to manifest.  IMO, the best thing you can do for your health is give them up and eat more unprocessed foods like meats, fish, vegetables, raw dairy.    People think that adults get fat because they are lazy, but in reality it's the sugar and grains which drive insulin spikes, followed by crashes, which are all very hard on your body, rob you of energy, create constant hunger, and make you fat.  Wow, ranted a bit more than I thought I would...

[Quiet Earth]

[satfrat]

Question: who the hell wants to be 95?

Answer: everyone who is 94 

Gene

I would recommend you go to any nursing home and ask that question.. You might get an inside look on how it's like to be that age. Me, I see no benefit in growing older by 1 more year when the quality of life has suffered so bad that death becomes a blessing. Many that I've met in that situation tend to agree and it pains me to see folks lying in bed waiting for that final relief to come.
 
So I'll say no to your question of living longer but I do say yes to doing what's necessary to extend my quality of life while hoping I don't live long enough to end up being instituted til death.
 
Cheers,
Robin

[Tyson]

Agreed, it's not just about living longer, but living well while you are here.

[Daedalus Audio]

Give up sugar and grains - both drive insulin spikes, which drives all sorts of very, very bad things.  Things like heart disease, alzheimers, type 2 diabetes, stroke, etc... Basically these "diseases of civilization" trend up as people eat more and more grain and sugar.  It just takes a long time for it to manifest.  IMO, the best thing you can do for your health is give them up and eat more unprocessed foods like meats, fish, vegetables, raw dairy.    People think that adults get fat because they are lazy, but in reality it's the sugar and grains which drive insulin spikes, followed by crashes, which are all very hard on your body, rob you of energy, create constant hunger, and make you fat.  Wow, ranted a bit more than I thought I would...

all those studies talk about adding 2.3 years etc but it really is about quality of life. eating well, exercising and paying attention to your mental and emotional well being will make you feel like getting up in the morning even when you are 'old'.
Tyson, in general I agree with your diet recommendations but some grains are very good for us, and different genetic backgrounds react differently to certain foods. also a big omission many new diets make is NOT talking about the source of the foods we eat.  for instance factory farmed meat is very far from unprocessed, often the very genetics of the animal have been so processed there is questionable nutrition left.
another aspect is commercial vegetables and fruits that have only a fraction of the nutrients of quality organic. (yes I know there are 'studies' claiming there is no difference... studies paid for by big agri-biz. there are also independent studies that show organics to be rich in many vital trace nutrients which are virtually absent from commercial foods.)
be well,
lou

[Phil A]

I want to stick around for as long as I'm mentally healthy.  Alzhiemer's is no joke.  I tell my wife all the time to shoot me if that happens.  She thinks I'm kidding.

I'm with you on that one.  An old girlfriend worked for an assisted living facility specializing in alzheimer's.  They used to have a family get together dance thing once a month and I used to go along and help the maintenance guy set-up.  I said exactly that to her that if I got that way I want to be shot and she did not take it kindly.  It's horrible.  Some of them you hardly can notice but the bad ones are really sad.

[mjosef]

I'm gonna' live 'til 90...then I will implode and disintegrate like the aliens in V.
Nice and clean. 

[Tyson]

all those studies talk about adding 2.3 years etc but it really is about quality of life. eating well, exercising and paying attention to your mental and emotional well being will make you feel like getting up in the morning even when you are 'old'.
Tyson, in general I agree with your diet recommendations but some grains are very good for us, and different genetic backgrounds react differently to certain foods. also a big omission many new diets make is NOT talking about the source of the foods we eat.  for instance factory farmed meat is very far from unprocessed, often the very genetics of the animal have been so processed there is questionable nutrition left.
another aspect is commercial vegetables and fruits that have only a fraction of the nutrients of quality organic. (yes I know there are 'studies' claiming there is no difference... studies paid for by big agri-biz. there are also independent studies that show organics to be rich in many vital trace nutrients which are virtually absent from commercial foods.)
be well,
lou

Agreed, and I think the whole discussion gets bogged down if we move away from the idea of nutrient density.  If a food has high nutrient value, we should eat it.  If it does not, then we shouldn't.  And don't eat the same dozen foods over and over again - variety is very important.  Look at the French - I don't think it's the wine, it's the variety of high-density nutritious food they eat, a huge variety.  Plus the culture there is geared toward actually enjoying life, which is very important, as you alluded to.

Looking back on my own diet from 5 years ago (the Standard American Diet, or SAD), and it's no wonder I had serious health problems as a result.  Soda, pasta, sugar, potato chips, store bought cookies, fast food, etc.... Oh well, getting on the right path - better late than never!

[toxteth ogrady]

I've recently changed my eating habits in a way I would never have thought I could maintain, but it's become second nature now. The diet is a 'Paleo' diet which I was turned on to from one of the trainers at the local Crossfit where I'm a member. I have always been a moderation is key guy, but I accepted the trainers challenge and dropped 99% of the grains and dairy from my diet. I was already eating organic fruits and vegetables, but have now adopted eating only hormone/antibiotic-free grass fed beef, wild fish (lots more of it) and free range chickens.

I thought I was eating healthy before, but I could not believe how much dairy, grains and processed crap was part of my regular diet. The difference in how I feel now is pretty staggering. The disadvantages are that it's far more labor intensive to prepare food, shopping is more frequent and certainly more expensive, but the proof is undeniable so this is how I'll be eating going forward.

[martyo]

all those studies talk about adding 2.3 years etc but it really is about quality of life. eating well, exercising and paying attention to your mental and emotional well being will make you feel like getting up in the morning even when you are 'old'.
Tyson, in general I agree with your diet recommendations but some grains are very good for us, and different genetic backgrounds react differently to certain foods. also a big omission many new diets make is NOT talking about the source of the foods we eat.  for instance factory farmed meat is very far from unprocessed, often the very genetics of the animal have been so processed there is questionable nutrition left.
another aspect is commercial vegetables and fruits that have only a fraction of the nutrients of quality organic. (yes I know there are 'studies' claiming there is no difference... studies paid for by big agri-biz. there are also independent studies that show organics to be rich in many vital trace nutrients which are virtually absent from commercial foods.)
be well,
lou

A big    And obviously no cigs or distilled spirits. Sorry........

[timind]

This may be the first thread I've read here that actually depressed me.

[Crimson]

Do I want to live longer?

You bet your ass I do. That's why I've been smoke-free since 11/15 of last year. The quitting process added 22 pounds to my already slightly overweight body (at 5'10"), tipping the scale at 225 lbs. On my 3-month quit anniversary (the 15th of last month) I decided to reverse the weight gain, and so far I've lost 10 pounds. Sensible diet (lots of fruits/veggies, no red meat) and exercise. Nothing crazy and it's easy. I hope to hit 180 by the summer, which is my ideal weight.

EDIT: I still enjoy my fine vodkas, although I'm trying to reduce there, too. At 100 calories/jigger, they're not in the 'light' camp.

[ctviggen]

Egad!  No one understands science, do they?  This isn't "science:

"A 2009 study of people in Switzerland found that those living at high altitudes had a 22 percent lower risk of dying of coronary heart disease."

This is an epidemiological study, meaning that it proves correlation, NOT causation.  In other words, it could be living at a high altitude causes a lower risk of coronary artery disease, or it could be a million other things (more exercise, lower stress, you name it). 

This article is complete crap.