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| Live Long and Prosper |
If you want to live to be one hundred years old, first thing you need to do is arrange to have parents that managed the same feat. Statistically, it also helps to be an old maid of Scottish-English extraction who’s grown up in the area stretching from Minnesota to Nova Scotia.
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The rest of us are dependent on information derived from the good example of a small but hale and hardy centenarian population — 85 per cent of them women, by the way —which currently constitutes one of every 10,000 Americans.
Leaving a beautiful corpse may be the goal of supermodels and rock stars, but it seems a vastly overrated ambition when measured against the good quality of life enjoyed by
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centenarians who generally remain physically, intellectually and emotionally vital.
Studies seem to confirm Darwin’s theories about fitness and natural selection. “The human body has 23 pairs of chromosomes,” says JaeMi Pennington, a researcher with the New England Centenarian Study. “Our research has found that consistently in the centenarian population their fourth chromosome is different from the normal population. We don’t know exactly how this difference is affecting the body but we know it’s there.”
Of course, if longevity were wholly a matter of genetic predetermination then the rest of us might as well take up smoking and settle into the sofa with a bowl of whipped cream. In addition to blessed genes, most centenarians share specific common traits.
They practice moderation, exercise regularly and have a positive but realistic outlook.
“Centenarians seem to manage stress more efficiently. Not saying they don’t have stress, they just deal with it in a manner that seems more efficient than the rest of us. They aren’t quitters and they aren’t dwellers,” says Pennington.
Strategies For Living Longer Healthier Lives:
- Reduce daily caloric intake, sleep seven hours and exercise. Do strength training to reduce loss of muscle and improve balance. Stretch for elasticity.
- Eat a low-fat diet rich in antioxidants
- Experts suggest taking Vitamin E and Selenium each day. Avoid iron — it may contribute to heart disease
- Know your family medical history. If cancer is a concern then practice prevention. You can’t protect against everything. Concentrate on what threatens you most.
- Shed bad habits. Lose weight. Don’t smoke. Drink moderately, if at all.
- Challenge yourself intellectually and socially. Take courses, learn a new skill, do crossword puzzles. Keep current and interact with family, friends and different people. “The brain is a muscle, too. One of our centenarians is a practicing attorney. He reads cases every day. Another woman goes to yoga and aerobics every week. She visits friends, she travels the world,” says Pennington.
- Be optimistic. Depression and bitterness undermine the immune system.
- Meditate regularly. Spend silent time alone. Clear your head of the day’s emotions.
- People with a strong spiritual bulwark seem better able to weather life’s storm.
- Manage your emotional life. Worry, guilt, and anger deplete energy.
- Spend time with grandchildren — recent studies suggest a link between nurturing and longevity. For more information go to the New England Centenarian Study web site at www.bumc.bu.edu/centenarian
Allow for a little mystery. “One of the doctors in our group loves to tell a story about a couple who are both in their hundreds,” says Pennington. “He attributes his longevity to eating a daily bowl of some mixture of oatmeal, apples, dates, raisins, and a touch of olive oil. His wife, on the other hand, prefers donuts.”
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