As we get older Lori and I become increasingly aware of the hazards of aging. Numerous friends and family members have tangled with various health issues with varying success. Realizing that immortality is unlikely, we’ve tried to plot how to manage our remaining time (75 more years for Lori, 10 years for me) so that we’re as functional and comfortable as possible. Michael Greger’s book “How Not To Age” is misleadingly titled but jammed with a lot of distilled research evidence that points to some specific factors that influence our longevity and utility.
The research evidence about nutrition, exercise, and environment is plentiful, often flawed, sometimes influenced by commercial pressures, and broadly misinterpreted once released into the wild. Michael Greger with his medical background has for years been sorting through this to extract the evidence-based factors influencing health and longevity. It’s not easy.
So far, the most credible evidence making the cut indicates that an active life (mentally and physically) combined with a diverse plant-based diet, regular exercise, a clean environment, and vibrant social connections enhance the chance for better longer lives.
But no matter what we do as individuals, we’re still at the mercy of cosmic rays, radon, text-messaging morons in giant pickup trucks, pandemics, our genetics, social media, pure dumb luck, and myriad other factors we have no control over.
The factors we do have control over are often difficult. For example, eating a healthy diet in the US is not easy. Eating a healthy diverse plant-based diet is expensive and time-consuming, and a difficult transition for those used to hyper-processed cheap convenient industrial food.
We’re doing the best we can to optimize the quality of our lives and are grateful we have the means to do so. Whether it results in the outcome we hope for, well, we’ve been humbled enough to make no confident predictions. But we’ll keep on keeping on as we’re able. Please pass the kale and edamame.