What helps healthy aging?
Our congregation includes a lot of grey-haired individuals, like me. I can’t stop the clock, but I can improve my chances of living better for longer. While there are several behavioral changes that can affect this process, one of the most effective is my diet.
This month’s issue of National Geographic, an esteemed magazine, includes a large section entitled, “Living Longer — and Better” How Science Could Change the Way We Age.” It’s well worth reading
Included in this section is a short article, “Toll of a ‘typical American’ diet,” by Dan Buettner, pp. 13–14:
“If you’re eating like a typical American, you’re probably going to die prematurely. This year more than 678,000 Americans will die from diseases or conditions associated with what they eat. These include common conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar (type 2 diabetes), and high cholesterol. Collectively, we’ll spend more than four trillion dollars on health care, 20 percent on diseases linked to unhealthy diet choices, according to one study. It’s been estimated that we lose at least 13 years by eating a typical U.S. diet.”
If that doesn’t get your attention, you’re asleep.
So, what’s a healthy diet? This video by Dr. Greger on his nutritionfacts.org website, outlines this diet in just 8:16 minutes:
As Dr. Greger suggests, any change from animal protein to plant protein will improve your chances to live longer, better. Changing the way you prepare food will also make a difference. Not only do we need to omit some foods from our diet, but also we need to add others.
In this period of “New Year’s resolutions,” perhaps we need to make a step toward healthier eating. If changing to a plant-based diet is too much, maybe you can set one day a week to be only plants. Maybe you can try eating some veggies you’ve avoided, or ones you’ve never even tried. Maybe you can add a serving of fresh fruit to the same meal every day. Maybe you can try to cook more food from “scratch” rather than buying prepared food. Maybe you can limit eating at restaurants to once a week or even once a month. Consider the possibilities! And keep the pay-off in mind.
Submitted by Teresa Wilmot