How To Live Longer And Prevent Disease

Seven Secrets Of Longevity

(PEERtrainer note: If you have come here from our Tip Of The Day email, use this guide to assess your current progress and really think about some new goals beyond weight loss. And when you have some new goals identified, please post them here. )

A careful study of long-lived people and long-lived populations around the world combined with a comprehensive understanding of animal experiments effecting animal life span, makes it clear that decisive action must be taken if we wish to retard aging and protect ourselves against the diseases of aging.

With so many conflicting theories and ideas swirling about, it is not surprising that there is mass confusion in the general population about what is healthy and what is not. However, there is nothing confusing about the scientific evidence regarding health. Health excellence, high-level mental and physical performance as we age, disease prevention, and longevity all are linked to certain well-documented behaviors. In short, health is the result of healthful living, and healthful living involves seven key concepts.

The human body has a built-in capacity for healing and rejuvenation. This inborn process can be inhibited by a variety of influences, such as personal habits and the environment. The best and most effective methods for renewing health are to follow the requirements of proper diet, wholesome environment, appropriate activities, and adequate sleep.

The idea that you can purchase health or longevity by taking Growth Hormone, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, or IV vitamin drips has not been backed up by animal or human studies. You simply cannot purchase longer life from a health food store or from an anti-aging physician who dispenses hormones. Food choice is the single most important factor effecting human health, and it is easily within our control. Good food choices, in combination with other important health factors, give you your best possible chance for a long and rewarding life.

The seven key concepts in longevity are listed below. Your best health insurance is to keep these guidelines in mind and to put them into practice. The finest health care in the world is proper self care: learning to live so healthfully that you can safely avoid hospitals, doctors, drugs, and surgery.

Today, many people in our society mistakenly think heart disease and cancer are the result of living longer and a natural consequence of aging. (A similar misconception is the notion that disease is largely genetic and beyond our control.) Healthy populations around the world see no heart disease or cancer in their eldest. Plus, there are no strokes in populations consuming natural food diets with no added salt.

Disease is not caused by aging. Disease is caused by those negative influences that stress the body over the years and lead to eventual cellular dysfunction and breakdown. Water dripping on a rock over thousands of years may eventually wear a hole in the rock. But it is not time that makes the hole; it is the water hitting the rock over and over. In a similar way, we create the diseases of aging through our behavior. Fortunately, we can just as easily create a long, hundred year life span, free of serious illness from birth to a gentle death.

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Dr. Fuhrman is a board certified family physician and a graduate of the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine. He is the author of the national best selling book Eat To Live and is considered a world leader in the area of nutrition-based weight loss. Dr. Fuhrman has appeared on Good Morning America, Fox News, CNN and MSN. Mehmet Oz M.D., the renowned heart surgeon, calls Dr. Fuhrman's program: "A Medical Breakthrough."

To download the first chapter of Dr. Fuhrman's latest book, Eat For Health (free) you can click here and you can read it in PDF format. It gives an excellent introduction, and really focuses on the WHY of his approach.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman's work is a must read for anyone looking to lose weight and improve their health. If you want to learn more about the ideas presented in this article, his books show you how to put his ideas into practice.

References:
1. Blair SN, Kampert JB, Kohl HW 3rd, et al. Influence of cardiorespiratory fitness and other precursors on cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in men and women. JAMA 1996;276:205-210.