Living Healthy To 100

September 2, 2008 by GiGi

Welcome back!

Welcome to my 100th blog post! Since this is an anti aging blog, it would seem only fitting to have Living Healthy to 100 as it’s subject matter. While it’s notable to actually live to 100 (and beyond), who wants to accomplish it if you aren’t healthy – both mentally and physically?

First, let’s get the basics out of the way. I think by now everyone knows that diet and exercise are the key ingredients to a generally healthy lifestyle. And yes, there are exceptions to every rule – but do you really want to be the one taking that risk?

Jeanne Calment was the oldest person in Guinness World Records at 122. She took up fencing at 85, but she also smoked until she was 117. Do you want to take that chance?

Let’s move on to some more recent findings in healthy living to 100:
(Remember that it’s never just ONE thing that makes or breaks it)

It’s Never Too Late To Exercise

Even if you’ve been sedentary your whole life, you can still reverse the signs of aging by exercise – most dramatically by weight lifting (or weight-bearing exercises, such as push ups and squats). Studies done on people past the age of 60 that started exercising with weights showed an increase in bone density, loss of fat and greater strength than even younger counterparts.

More importantly – they really started to enjoy life more!

Have a Support System

The current issue with living to be 100 is having your friends and family die off before you. What to do? Make a new support system – new friends, neighbors, even pets. Most centurions have friends much younger than them.

It has been shown that, for the most part, those in a healthy marriage or significant-other relationship will live longer than those that are single.

How does that explain that nuns and clergymen are among the oldest living group? They also have a strong social support system as well as living a pretty clean lifestyle.

Keep That Mental Edge

Studies done on the differences between 100 year olds, 80 year olds, and 60 year olds noted people that reach 100 are more dominate. They are not easily pushed around and are naturally more curious about things. They do not take information on the “superficial level” but will question an issue and think it through. They tend to be practical rather than idealistic. And in their approach to life, they are likely to be more relaxed. In other words, they are strong but not inflexible characters.

The Difference Between Now and Then

Remember, people born 100 years ago were born in a much different time. They were raised where hard physical work and fresh grown food was just part of everyday life. Cars were a rarity. Most labor was manual then, and most nutrients were natural. Preserved food was what Aunt Maud sealed in a jar.

We don’t have that lifestyle anymore, so we need to take advantage of what we DO know about living a healthy lifestyle if we expect to be among those living to 100.

It’s All About Attitude

In closing, here’s a piece I found about a woman who lived to 102 (at the time of the article). I think it says it all:

She was 51 years old by the time she hit Phoenix, but the move brought many adventures, including three more husbands.

After dumping one (a dance-hall sax player with a roving eye) and outliving the others, she moved herself into the Eastern Star retirement center to avoid getting lonely.

A doctor assured her she would never walk again when she broke her leg four years ago, but she got herself a walker, made her way down to the exercise room and worked the injured limb until she could get around on a cane. Then she threw away the cane.

She now walks a mile and a quarter each day, and every September she travels to Indiana for a reunion at the Cadet Club. When she gets there, she climbs over the wing of a restored World War II training plane, crawls into the cockpit behind the pilot and rides that baby into the sky.

excerpted from Newsweek 6/30/97 Lifestyle/How to Live to 100