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I think about my grandparents and my parents, in terms of being aware of what health conditions they had that I need to be watchful of.
I still have all of my teeth. I am well passed the age when each of them had lost their teeth already. Since all 6 of 'them' lost their teeth early, it should make sense that the loss of teeth before your 50 was genetic. But here I am with all of my teeth. So no that was not genetic.
Among my 6 ancestors; one [my maternal grandfather] was diabetic. I am not diabetic.
Among my 6 ancestors; one [my paternal grandfather] was hyperthyroid. I do not have that disorder.
My paternal grandmother was the only survivor among her siblings to avoid contracting female hysteria. Her six siblings were all institutionalized for the disorder and they died young while in institutional care.
My mother suffered from gout [which I suspect was largely related to her diet].
All six of them suffered from various forms of arthritis and bursitis. Modern medicine has made huge leaps in
inflammation disease and anti-inflammation diet. I have bursitis, though I have been able to control it entirely by diet.
The diseases that plagued my ancestors have proven to not be genetic in nature, or else they are controlled now by diet and lifestyle.
Submariner above raises some interesting points. How much of our health is due to genes--and how much to lifestyle?
The author of Blue Zones, the study on longevity zones of the worlds, says it's 10% genes and 90% lifestyle.
Others have different ratios.
Sometimes, it seems people use the it's all about the genes as an excuse for their choices in lifestyle. "I'm gonna have heart disease, 'cause everyone in my family gets heart disease, so might as well eat what I want" excuse.
There was/is heart disease and diabetes in my family -- but there's also crummy diets and obesity and little exercise.
I am healthy and have normal weight, choose a healthy way of eating and go to the gym, ride my bike and do yoga.
I do this because it feels good to be healthy, have energy and not suffer pain. The gene blame game doesn't fly for me. Except for my stubborn high blood pressure which everyone in my family has/had. But we're all emotional and my BP falls a lot following yoga -- so is it genes -- or emotions?
As we age, we want to postpone death and disabilities and maintain an active lifestyle. Sadly, it is not at all clear what if anything we can do. We know little except that exercise helps and we should maintain an average body weight avoiding anorexia and obesity. Treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol are essential. Beyond that it seems we know little. We know we should avoid excessive salt and a diet high in animal fats. That is about it. Everything else is probably ok in moderation.
In our quest for prolonged life and health we are prone to adopting the latest fads of which there are an endless number: supplements and strange diets of all sorts, antioxidants, anti-GMO, gluten free, probiotic, etc, etc. There is virtually no scientific validation for any of these ideas with the exception of gluten free for a very small percentage of the population. It seems to me that science and especially the federal government has let us down. The FDA has a hands off policy regarding foods and dietary supplements. They seem to bend a long way with even the snake oil promotions as long as the claims are not to forceful when it comes to medical/drug promotion. The USDA is even worse. They have no mandate and no budget to investigate diet and health. The USDA mandate is to promote agriculture, which could mean promoting harmful foods. No one polices the sensational and/or outright false articles in the health magazines. Even peer reviewed science publications are full of studies that were too small and arrive at tentative conclusions that are not validated in later studies.
Personally I have little idea of what to do about a "healthy" diet. I do try to avoid a lot of red meat and animal fats. I try to keep the oils and fats to a minimum partly because of the calories. I don't do well with a high carb diet. BTW, high carbs from fruits are no better than raw sugar and many fruits contain minimal other nutrients. Manufacturers love to include labels stating claims such as high in antioxidants. It is not clear what that means and there is no strong scientific data to support the claim that antioxidants promote health. The more you try to learn, the worse it becomes.
I am 62 years old, watch what I eat (except for weekends), and exercise every day.
Can do 1 armed chin ups and push ups (not many, but I can still do them).
Recently hooked up with a 37 year old woman who is keeping me young.
Took some Vitamin V this weekend and went 6 rounds with her (you know what I am talking about) from about 11 pm until 2:30 a.m. and then up at 7:30 to make breakfast.(stamina? yeah, got that)
I am 62 years old, watch what I eat (except for weekends), and exercise every day.
Can do 1 armed chin ups and push ups (not many, but I can still do them).
Recently hooked up with a 37 year old woman who is keeping me young.
Took some Vitamin V this weekend and went 6 rounds with her (you know what I am talking about) from about 11 pm until 2:30 a.m. and then up at 7:30 to make breakfast.(stamina? yeah, got that)
She says I look great in my genes (jeans). Lol
You win for the most entertaining post of the week! I would say keep it up but that would be gilding the lily, so to speak..lol
You can have the best genes in the country, but if you get hit by a car while out walking the dog.......
It will be the trauma surgeon who saves your life, not your family history. That's why so many gunshot victims are surviving now, advanced paramedic care at the scene and very professional medical care at the hospital.
Think about that the next time you get the urge to go up on the roof to do something.......A 20 foot fall can kill you, and it does every day, some place in your State.
Its a good idea and the experts tell us that on average you'll live longer and healthier but there's no guarantees. My wife is the paragon of virtue when it comes to healthy living; vitamins, a daily mile walk, keeps her weight in check, healthy food etc. etc. She even has good genes as her dad lived to 95, very healthy most of his life, and her mom is still alive at 96. But, she just recently found out she has breast cancer, and next week she finds out it she might also have ovarian cancer. See what I mean.
My father smoked, drank, early life stress, died at 67 after being hit by a car.
My mother smoked, drank, ate poorly in last years of her life, endured a great deal of stress most of her life. Died 2 months shy of 88.
One sister died one day short of 65th birthday, smoked, drank, lots of stress, ate poorly.
Other sister died 82+ years, smoked, drank, stress, several handicaps.
I'm 73. Never smoked except to see if I wanted to (didn't); drink minimally; overweight--not always eat right; some health problems--cholesterol, blood pressure, depression, early breast cancer, glaucoma.
I guess I could go at any time but for now doing OK.
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