While the average life expectancy in our society has increased, many people in the last months of their lives are infirm, drugged and have a stroke while watching TV. But we know people who are full of life, active at 80 and even at 90. What is their secret?
Many factors influence health and longevity, including genetics and luck. And biology itself sets age limits: humans are not designed to live forever. No more than cats, dogs or … sequoias. But let’s take a closer look at those whose lives are still bursting with youth, those who age not only gracefully, but never cease to be energetic.
What do people who maintain a healthy, athletic lifestyle have in common, bring new ideas, energy and compassion to our world even after retirement? Recent research reveals a way to preserve and prolong youth.
John Robbins’ book Healthy at 100 analyzes the lifestyles of Abkhazians (Caucasus), Vilcabamba (Ecuador), Hunza (Pakistan) and Okinawans – many of them are healthier at 90 than Americans at any time in their lives. The common traits of these people are physical activity, social obligations, and a diet based on vegetables (vegan or close to vegan). The set of diseases that plague modern society – obesity, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease – simply do not exist in these peoples. And when modernization occurs, along with industrial animal husbandry and mass consumption of meat, these diseases come.
China is a clear and well-documented example: the number of cases of meat-related diseases has increased in the country. Recent reports have focused on the epidemic of breast cancer, which was previously unknown in traditional Chinese villages.
Why is a vegetarian diet so strongly associated with longevity? The answers are emerging in labs around the world. Recent studies have shown that a vegetarian diet improves cell repair mechanisms. One of the keys is telomerase, which repairs breaks in DNA, allowing cells to stay healthy. You may choose to spend $25 annually on telomerase treatment if that’s more to your liking. But it’s much healthier, not to mention easier and cheaper, to go vegan! The amount of telomerase and its activity increases even after a short period of veganism.
Another recent study claims thatoxidative breakdown of DNA, fats and proteins can be defeated with a vegetarian diet. This effect has been seen even in the elderly. Briefly, A diet based on vegetables reduces the possibility of premature aging and the risk of disease. You do not need to consume large amounts of growth hormone to be young. Just stay active, participate in social life, strive for inner harmony and go vegan! Harmony is, of course, much easier when you don’t kill animals to eat.
Source: http://prime.peta.org/