Live well to age well

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

~Mark Twain

This week, a relative prompted me to watch an interview of 100-year-old Dr. John Scharffenberg, who taught nutrition for 62 years at Loma Linda, California - a Blue Zone.

What a pleasure it was to learn of a life well lived! Dr. Scharffenberg’s memory, sense of humour, disposition, and energy levels were impressive.

He attributes his longevity to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and recommends avoiding the following seven lifestyle risk factors to significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes:

1. Tobacco

2. Alcohol

3. Inactivity

4. Overweight

5. Excessive meat and sugar consumption

6. High blood pressure, and

7. High blood cholesterol

Fix the first five, and the last two will resolve themselves. According to the professor, cholesterol levels are not a reliable indicator of heart health. He believes nutrition training should be mandatory for all doctors.

Love and healing

Eventually, you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is. The journey may take many lifetimes, but you will complete it. It is impossible not to complete it. It is not a question of if but of when. Every situation you create serves this purpose. Every experience you encounter serves this purpose.

~ Gary Zukav

While watching this interview, I was encouraged to learn more about Dr. Gladys McGarey, an incredibly sharp and inspiring 102-year-old. Her longevity secrets are equally compelling. She encourages meaningful movement and finding the hidden gift in every challenge. Dr. McGarey recognizes the power of love in healing.

I am convinced that unconditional love is the most powerful known stimulant of the immune system. If I told patients to raise their blood levels of immune globulins or killer T cells, no one would know how. But if I can teach them to love themselves and others fully, the same changes happen automatically. The truth is: love heals.

~ Bernie Siegel

I have written a series of blogs on aging well. To learn learn start here.