Longevity V
It's been great to be outside more. This week is the last in the series of Longevity and health. I trust you have benefited by it. I remind you of what the author of The Agebeaters and their Universal Currency for Immortality, Dr. Joel Wallach, stated:  "All humans can easily reach 100 years of age by simply following certain known and predictable physiological laws. These laws for longevity are as unforgiving and predictable as gravity.  . . ."  If you ignore them, you will not make it to 100, but if you follow them, you can easily make it healthfully to 100."  The last principle of Longevity deals with what Dr. Wallach refers to as land mines.

Avoid the Land Mines
Land mines are things that affect your health negatively, and they will definitely keep you from reaching 100 years of age. These include smoking, drinking excess alcohol, using street drugs, not getting a second medical opinion, eating fried foods (contain trans fatty acids), eating burnt meat (contains heterocyclic amines), consuming sugar,  consuming large quantities of super-heated carbohydrates (acrylamides), indulging in high-risk behaviors, exercising without supplementing, using prescription drugs, prescription polypharmacy, etc. [1]

One of the benefits of the Blue Zones (groups of people who have high numbers of centenarians), was that they were in remote areas and did not have access to pharmaceuticals, doctors, drugs, junk food, and other health hazards. Dr. Wallach also goes into detail about certain groups of people who DO NOT make it to 100 years of age. Here they are:

Billionaires - According to Forbes Magazine, the average lifespan of billionaires is 78, and there has never been any to live to be 100! [2]  This is astounding since if anyone can afford good food, and expensive medical treatment, the billionaires should! Yet, living to be a healthy 100 is not a matter of how much money you have, it is more about following a healthy lifestyle. Health cannot be bought, it must be earned.

Nobel Prize Winners - Surprisingly enough, there has never been a Nobel Prize winner live to be 100. Yet, they have complete access to information, advanced technology, and people on the cutting edge of science. Sadly, Nobel Prize winners die of common diseases. The answer for living healthy and longevity is not in modern science.

Medical Doctors - According to their own surveys and published research, the average life span of primary care and family physicians in 1999 was 56 years of age. Furthermore, the main causes of death reported in medical doctors are cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, and stroke! [3]  If doctors were to live to 120 and be healthy, then we should seek their advice and follow their instructions to the letter, but if they are dying in their 50's and from diseases we want to avoid, why on earth should we  seek their counsel or follow their advice!!

Athletes - It is shocking, but with the exception of three black athletes from the old "Negro Baseball League" days (20s and 30s), there has never been a professional athlete ever live to 100. In fact the average professional athlete lives to be 62, while the average "couch potato" lives to be 78. This is due to the fact that when one works out they sweat out nutrients, particularly essential minerals. If these are not replaced, disaster is inevitable. Water, soft drinks, tea, and Gator-Aid is not enough. Exercise without supplementation is suicide! According to the Center for Disease Control, some 75,000 to 100,000 young Americans under the age of 35, who work out or train regularly, die suddenly each year. [4]

Vegans - A true vegan strictly eats only grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and plants. They avoid all animal products. According to Dr. Walluch, there has not been any vegan in modern times reach the age of 100. Furthermore, within five years of becoming a vegan, those who do not seriously supplement begin to develop gray hair, blood sugar problems, periodontal disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, anemia, hypertension, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypertension, cancer, liver cirrhosis, cognitive, memory, and emotional problems. [5]  All the long lived people groups on the earth eat some form of animal products, including meat. As I mentioned in our first study on longevity, although people were vegetarians before Noah's Flood, the earth was different then, and for us to go back to Eden and become strict vegans, we will not have the same results.  

To cap off our study on living to be a healthy 100, here are the 4 Common Threads of Anti-Aging:

• Consume large amounts of anti-oxidants;
• Eat a calorie restricted diet;
• Supplement with all known essential nutrients;
• Avoid landmines.

I hope you enjoyed this study as much as I did.