What to do to live as long as possible

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Someone wants to live a happy life, someone wants a long life, someone wants both, and a pie from the shelf. Those who managed to live for about a century willingly share their secrets of longevity. But they are all different. We decided to find out what to eat and drink and how to live for someone who dreams of blowing out one hundred candles on a cake one day.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Viktor Dosenko will help us to understand the issues of longevity. Together we decided to find out what kind of life is the one who wants to live for more than a hundred years.

Does a long-liver eat meat?

Loreen Dinwiddie (Loreen Dinwiddie) lived to be 109 years old and became famous throughout the world as a long-liver vegan. Maybe the secret to longevity is to eat less meat? The confrontation between those who do not want to give up meat, and those who have chosen to give up animal products for themselves, is a subject for jokes and speculation.

The results are relative, however, say: people should eat less red meat. Scientists do not insist on complete rejection, but advise to reduce the daily consumption of meat. It seems that those who want to be a long-liver should look towards vegetables more often.

Today, scientists have absolutely unequivocal evidence that meat consumption contributes to the development of many diseases, ranging from atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and ending with neurodegenerative diseases.

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

Related book: Colin Campbell, Healthy Food. An authoritative scientist talks about the principles of healthy eating and how the diet affects the body.

Does a long-liver drink milk?

The consumption of milk and dairy products is also controversial. Someone is convinced of the benefits of this food. There are also enough arguments against. The long-livers of Sardinia admit their love for dairy products: here they drink whole milk and eat cheeses. On the other hand, scientists often state about the dangers of dairy products: among the consequences of their use they name an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer and atherosclerosis.

The main problem with milk is the inability of adults to fully absorb lactose.

Evolution has not prepared us to eat whole milk. Try to simulate the situation: an adult chimpanzee is producing milk. I can't imagine such a thing.

For millions of years, adult animals had no access to milk, only cubs received it. A mechanism has formed that turns off the gene responsible for the production of an enzyme that breaks down lactose - lactase. This gene is deactivated after completing breastfeeding - it is no longer needed.

Therefore, most people in the world do not tolerate whole milk at all - there is nausea and intestinal upset. Of course, not everyone has such a reaction, but an adult will still not have adequate assimilation of milk.

Should I give up caffeine?

A new trend is to quit caffeine, thereby getting rid of addiction to this stimulant. Coffee is often blamed for all sins, but the latest research shows that this drink does not provoke the development of cancer and contains many useful substances.

Coffee beans, green coffee contain bioflavonoids, antioxidants - a lot of substances useful for us. So drinking coffee can even have a healing effect. Caffeine is an activator of certain receptors and an analogue of adenosine. We get an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, release of calcium in nerve cells … All these stimulating effects are certainly there. And coffee mania also exists. Want to give up coffee? Okay, you'll live without stimulants. But caffeine itself is not harmful.

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

In general, if the prospect of dependence on caffeine does not bother you, this drink can be left in the diet.

Can you eat sweets?

Nutritionists strongly advise to give up sugar, and common sense dictates: it's better to eat less sweets after all. It's no secret that sweets in large quantities are a direct path to excess weight and unhealthy skin, problems with the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels. Long-liver diets very rarely include sweets - almost never. On the contrary, most of those who lived to old age ate berries, fruits, sweet potatoes.

The same principle of evolutionary training works. Where could our ancestors find foods with such a surplus of sugar? Where could these refined carbohydrates be found?

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

Related book: Dan Buettner, Blue Zones. Perhaps the most famous book on longevity. The author offers the reader nine rules for centenarians, each of which is obtained firsthand.

Let's have a drink?

Only if a little. And it's better to drink wine after all. Even though the story of a long-liver, who drank wine instead of water, scattered around the world, it would be good not to abuse this drink. I must admit: a Spaniard named Antonio Docampo García, who lived to be 107 years old, drank only his own wine, without preservatives.

The grapes were always harvested. They could go bad, they could ferment. Juice could be squeezed out of the fruit. But the concentration of alcohol in this drink was still low; ancient people were unfamiliar with pure alcohol. And from alcohol we get a lot of problems: addiction, cardiomyopathy, liver pathology. With the frequent use of large doses of alcohol, it will not be possible to maintain health and live long.

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

How long does a long-liver sleep?

The surprising verdict for sleep is: get as much sleep as you need to. Not as much as you want. Not as much as the "experts" advise. You should listen to your own body and understand how long you need to sleep in order to get enough sleep and feel awake.

Not getting enough sleep and sleeping too much is bad. It is imperative to strive for balance. It is especially harmful for people of retirement age to sleep a lot. First, it won't be that deep, good dream. Secondly, without intense physical and intellectual stress during the day, long rest will also be ineffective.

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

Does the long-liver go in for sports?

Professional, most likely not. Still, professional sports require the body to work at the limit of its capabilities. And if so, the body will surely sacrifice something and be crippled.

An active lifestyle is another matter. Intense physical activity helps to maintain good shape, avoid physical inactivity, and fall asleep calmly at night. Scientists have long equated a sedentary lifestyle with the worst health factors (along with excessive alcohol and smoking). So you need to fight it.

We all suffer from physical inactivity. And any form of physical activity will be beneficial. Let's remember: our ancestors always moved, no one could afford to lie on the grass and wait for food to be brought to him.

Therefore, it is recommended to lead an active lifestyle without excessive stress. Scientists have found that during physical exertion, the body produces the hormone irisin. It has a beneficial effect on the entire body: muscles, brain, blood vessels and heart, liver, pancreas.

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences

Related book: Arthur Lidyard, Running with Lidyard. Starting to play sports without the necessary knowledge, we can harm ourselves. The author talks about how to get stronger, healthier and slow down the aging process through running.

Instead of an afterword

People often say, “Why can't you eat this? I've been eating and I feel great. Look what my skin is, how well my hair grows. All perfectly!"

So it is: for a long time, a person will be young, strong, beautiful. But then accelerated aging will follow. You have to choose between a happy, but shortened life without food restrictions, or a less unrestrained, but much longer life, in which you can eat and drink far from everything.

Fast, but beautiful, or long, but difficult?

Viktor Dosenko Doctor of Medical Sciences