Happy 100th Birthday!

Happy Monday! The title of the February issue of U.S. News and World Report caught my eye - "How to Live to 100", and it's been an interesting read. I am one of those people who would love to have Willard Scott's successor on the "Today Show" someday wish me a happy 100th birthday, so I'm always interested to read article on how to live long - and well. I have also been re-reading "Dr. A's Habits of Health" and the last section of the book addresses what Dr. Andersen calls "ultra health" to potentially extend our lifespan by a couple of decades.

Living long is only appealing to me if I have a decent measure of health, and as long as I have my wits about me :-). I used to think that whether or not I live long and lived healthy (body and mind) was pretty much determined by my genetics, but I don't think that any longer. The U.S. News and World Report issue and Dr. Andersen's book both make the point that while genetics factor in, they take a back seat to the choices we make.

One of the biggest factors in determining how long - and how healthy - we live is our weight. Excess weight puts us at a higher risk for a host of diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, which can rob us of both quality of life and years of living. Excess fat and an unhealthy diet creates inflammation in our bodies that not only contributes to the aging process, but it damages blood vessels, joints, and even our brain (researchers are exploring the relationship between inflammation and Alzheimer's disease).

Perhaps you're in your 20's or 30's (or even 40's) and think that aging is something you don't have to think about for decades, and your motivation for losing weight right now is just to look good. Please consider that your health is also an issue, both your current health and most certainly your future health. Perhaps you're in your 50's, 60's or beyond and think it's too late to make changes in your health, believing that the die has been cast. The reality is that it's never too late to make changes that will improve your health for both today and tomorrow! I've shared before, but my own mom (age 80) lost 40 pounds on this program a little over a year ago and has seen a significant improvement in her own diabetes and energy level. On page 283 of "Dr. A's Habits of Health," he tells the story of a woman approaching her 90th birthday who lost 67 pounds, got off most of her medications, and is now able to do volunteer work and enjoy time with her family and friends.

My pastor has been preaching a series of sermons on "Wising Up." Yesterday morning's sermon was entitled "Wise Up About Aging." One of the things he said was that someday we're going to meet an old person, and it will be us. We determine who that person will be by the choices we make today. Choose wisely :-)