It is in your best interest to care good care of your self. With the Obamacare Plan looming over our heads and all the nasty things that are in store for us that have yet to be unveiled it will become more and more obvious to us all that prevention is the best medicine. Therefore the best doctor is within us. We must learn as much as we can how to promote health instead of waiting to become diseased.
I am reading a very good book at this time entitled Healthy at 100, by John Robbins. It is a book that has put together the studies of cultures that have a very healthy lifestyle and thus increases their years on the planet that are very fruitful. These cultures where the Abkhazians living in the Caucasus, the Vilcabamba’s of South America, and the Okinawa’s of Japan. There were things that were consistent to all three of these culture’s that promoted long-term health with increased age.
One of the consistencies was a diet that was high energy but low calorie compared the diet of people in the U.S.A. These cultures consumed a total of 1900 calories to out diets that were more than 2600 calories per day. Our lifestyles are more sedentary and yet we consume more calories. These cultures lived in areas that were isolated. They had all there food fresh, consisting mostly of vegetables, whole grains, some meat, tubers, and nuts. Most of there food was eaten raw so more nutritional value was maintained.
While this was the first study that looked in medical depth that humans who have deliberately maintained a low calorie, high-nutrient diet over the course of years, many other studies have shown that diets that provide optimal nutrition while remaining low in calories, improve blood sugar control, produce younger appearing, leaner bodies, and increase mental sharpness. As well, diets super high in nutritive quality but low in calories have been shown to retard the basic rate of aging in humans, to greatly extend the period of youth and middle age, reduce the risk of later life diseases as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers and even to lower the overall susceptibility to disease at any age.
One other factor besides diet and exercise was the quality of these cultures relationships, and how much the elderly are valued and respected. So it really boils down to mind, body, and spirit that fulfill a long, healthy, and prosperous life. I encourage you to get a copy of this book. The more we know on how we can promote a healthy lifestyle for ourselves and our families the higher quality lifespan we can accomplish. Taking responsibility for our own health is the first step. For more information on these issues please visit my website at www.drtjbolt.com/blog or call me at 402-572-8000.