As it is my birthday. I woke up this morning, had a cup of tea and decided I would re-calculate my life expectancy. I tried this quacky US-MD website – “Living to 100”, which was resaonable enough although some correlations are hard to take seriously as predictive factors e.g. How do I like my barbeque? Medium rare? Well I just won myself 2 years of life from eschewing chargrilled carcinogens but lost some months exposing myself to viruses found in raw meat.
Here are some of the factors that are considered to affect how long I’ll be on this earth and some strange prescriptions that may provide additional or cumulative stays on my mortality.
Personal
- + 0.75 You manage your stress poorly. Do a significantly better job how? and add three quarters of a year
- + 0.5 Cutting back hours at work, approaching, 40 or fewer hours, could add half a year. Yeah!
Lifestyle
- + 0.5 Minimizing or cutting out your caffeinated coffee consumption completely could provide about half a year more.
- + 1.0 If it is ok with your doctor, taking an 81 mg aspirin every day improves your heart and brain health and could help you delay or escape a heart attack or stroke. It is best to take the aspirin every day rather than your occasional habit of taking aspirin. Taking an aspirin each day, preferably in the evening, could add another year. WTF?
- + 2.0 Sexual behavior and drugs are powerful risk factors for AIDS, hepatitis and viruses that cause cancers; all potentially lethal illnesses. Rats.
- + 1.0 There is a clear link between the inflammation of gum disease and heart disease. Do a good job of flossing daily and add a year. Double rats.
Nutrition
- + 8.0 The more you can get fast foods out of your diet the better. With your current consumption, removing fast foods from your diet could add 8 years. Noooo!
- + 0.5 Osteoporosis (brittle bones) is a terrible disease that becomes more common with older age. Among the important ways to prevent osteoporosis, it is important to have adequate amounts of calcium in your diet. Add more dairy products or take 1500 mg of calcium a day. Doing so could add a half a year. Cheese please.
- + 1.0 Red meat is the primary source of potentially life-shortening iron. Cutting back read meat consumption to 1-2 days per week or less could add 1 year. Not impossible, I suppose.
- + 1.0 Cutting back sweets in your diet to 1-2 times per week or less could add a year. I don’t plan to have any of my real teeth by 50 years of age anyway.
- + 2.0 Changing your daily dietary intake so that you get to and maintain a healthy weight could add two years.
- + 5.0 Increasing your exercise regimen to 4 days a week could add a year and a half, to 5 days a week could add 3 years, to 6 or 7 days a week could add 5 years. Maybe.
Medical
- + 0.5 Increasing the frequency of your bowel movements to at least once every two days could add half a year. That’s just added time wasted on the toilet seat. Unless I get a TV fitted to the bathroom wall…
- + 1.0 Examining yourself for cancer could add a year. Which ones? Cervical? Tick? Breast? Tick? Bowel? Errr…
- + 0.5 Being in touch with your health care provider annually is very important to your strategy to screen for and prevent illness. Getting the appropriate blood tests on a regular basis could add a half a year. Consider it done.
- + 10.0 Decreasing your diastolic blood pressure (the second of the two numbers) to less than 80 or even lower could add 10 years.
Below are the pro-tips from the esteemed, Thomas Perls M.D regarding my risk factors. (I think he should have called his website Perls of Wisdom: The Secret to Immortality.) Consider them duly-noted, Doc. I have, however, decided to increase perceived life expectancy (and satisfaction) by going to Costco and getting me some new cut-price spectacles. À la Opalka, I took a photo of myself this morning. All things considered, (including my woolly jim-jams) I look okay (kind of sultry in a domesticated-cat-way), peering into the webcam preview window. However, holding up my over-sized plastic-tortoiseshell, hand-me-down frames is a blight on this luminous portrait of middling to below-average health. I will get a pair of econmoncial lenses that are the correct prescription and size so that I won’t further deterioarate my already-senescent eyeballs.
Happy birthday to me!
Proximity of Family
Having frequent contact with family, or friends who are like family, can be an important element of your ability to manage stress well, and is probably a life expectancy extender.
Extended family cohesiveness and frequent contact is a notable feature of centenarian families. Researchers have noted that people who do not belong to cohesive families have fewer coping resources and increased levels of social and psychological stress. Psychological stress is associated with heart disease, various cancers, and increased mortality risk.
How Do You Cope With Stress?
Please make better management of your stress a top priority. Doing your best to manage your stress will positively impact many aspects of your emotional and physical health. Consider numerous options in better managing your stress. Take a deep breath the next time you are stressed. Step back for a moment, knowing that shedding the stress will be a better immediate way of dealing with the matter. Long-term, it will help you delay or even avoid illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Try to learn methods that help you shed stress instead of internalizing it, such as Tai Chi, breathing techniques, meditation, physical exercise, and prayer.
Centenarians shed emotional stress exceptionally well. Their stress-shedding personalities, and the familial support which they receive and contribute to, are important stress-reducing mechanisms.
Sleep Habits
Not getting enough sleep, or experiencing ineffective sleep, is common. Trouble with sleep every night could indicate a serious problem. There are many causes of sleep-related disorders and of not getting enough effective sleep. There are numerous good approaches and treatments to reverse these problems. Unfortunately, there are also ineffective and even harmful ways of attempting to cure sleep problems.
Here are some tips to better sleep:
• Go to bed and get up in the morning at the same times every day
• Keep your sleeping area dark, cool, quiet, and comfortable
• If you cannot fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and read something boring until you feel sleepy
• Listen to soft, soothing music or other sounds
• Take a hot bath an hour before bedtime
• Use visualization and picture a relaxing scene
DO NOT:
• Drink caffeinated beverages for at least 6 hours before going to bed
• Drink alcohol within 2 hours of bedtime
• Smoke cigarettes within 4 hours of bedtime
• Fall asleep with the television on
• Exercise within 4 hours of bedtime
• Take long naps during the day
• Go to bed too hungry or too full. If hungry, have a light carbohydrate snack.
Years of Education
Scholarly pursuits are likely an important contributor to your longevity. The association between years of education and longevity has been well documented. The underlying reasons may include the association with higher socioeconomic status, better health behaviors, and access to healthcare. There might also be an association with enhanced brain functional reserve, though anyone can improve this by engaging in cognitively novel and complex activities such as brain teasers, learning a new language, or learning a musical instrument.
Days of Work per week
A recent Japanese study of the relationship between work hours and heart attack risk reveled that men who worked, on average, 11 hours or more a day had twice the risk of heart attack. Interestingly though, is that those who worked less than 7 hours a day were also at increased risk. If you find your current workload comfortable and that you are taking advantage of your leisure time to perform healthy and enjoyable activities, good for you and keep up the good work!
Quality of Air
The good news is that cities are cleaner now than they were even ten years ago. The bad news is that you are still exposed to air pollution. If you are experiencing new respiratory symptoms and you don’t smoke, consider air pollution as a potential cause and discuss this with your physician or a specialist. Don’t go out exerting yourself when smog alerts are in effect.
Seatbelt Use
You probably know the statistics about survival from a car crash with a seatbelt versus without one. Wearing a seatbelt, even in the presence of an airbag, dramatically increases your chances of minimizing injury or surviving a serious car accident. Continue to be diligent about wearing your seatbelt.
Coffee Consumption
Drinking one to two cups of coffee daily is certainly better than drinking more than that. You are doing a good job keeping your coffee consumption down to a minimum. If you can now take those 1-2 cups of coffee and convert them to tea, even better!
Tea Consumption
Try to give tea a chance. You may find that it grows on you. Regular tea consumption is a healthy habit that may actually be life-extending. The antioxidants in tea may decrease your risk of heart disease and cancer.
Tea contains a powerful class of antioxidants known as polyphenols.
Smoking Habits
By not smoking or being exposed to substantial second-hand smoke, you are avoiding a prevalent cause of people dying in their 70s and earlier. 400,000 deaths per year are attributed to smoking, and many more people suffer from smoking-related diseases each year.
Cigarette smoke contains toxins which directly damage DNA and subsequently cause cancer. Cigarettes are the biggest direct source of nitro amines humans are exposed to. These substances, along with other constituents of cigarette smoke, are potent oxidants and carcinogens that lead to accelerated aging and diseases associated with aging.
Second-hand Smoke Exposure
Avoiding second-hand smoke is a very important habit. Because second-hand smoke is even more toxic than the filtered smoke that smokers inhale, it takes less of a “dose” or exposure to be toxic to your lungs and your body in general. Such exposure is clearly a substantial cause of cancer, heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases. Thus, keep avoiding second-hand smoke as you have been doing.
Alcohol Consumption
Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with decreased heart disease risk. This may be one explanation for the so-called “”French paradox””. The French are known for their love of foods high in saturated fat, yet their heart disease risks may be lower than those of Americans (except in the case of those who smoke cigarettes), perhaps because of the higher consumption of wine by the French. Significant controversy revolves around what types of alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) may have this benefit.
Aspirin consumption
Taking an aspirin daily has been shown to decrease the risk of heart attack by half. Try to increase your intake to daily.
81 mg of aspirin per day has been noted to significantly decrease heart disease risk. This benefit may be due to the anti-blood clotting effects of aspirin. Chronic inflammation may also play a role in heart disease (see 11, below) and therefore, aspirin’s effect on inflammation may also be helpful.
Sun Protection Habits
You are doing a good job protecting yourself from the sun, and therefore from accelerated aging of your skin, as well as from deadly skin cancers such as melanoma. But just because you do protect yourself does not mean you should not have a regular skin (dermatology) check-up and perform a monthly self-examination of your skin.
The association between sun exposure and accelerated skin aging is clear. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight directly damage DNA. More sun means more wrinkles sooner. It also means a higher risk of deadly skin cancer. Excessive sun exposure may also have toxic consequences for the body in general.
Risky Behaviors
Assumptions about the infectious status of your partner might end up being the worst assumption of your life. Viruses such as HIV, which are transmitted by risky behavior, not only cause AIDS but also various cancers including lymphoma. These viruses change DNA, and as a result probably influence aging as well.
Flossing Habits
You need to floss your teeth. There are benefits that go far beyond better breath, but don’t underestimate the benefits of good breath! Diligent and regular flossing means keeping your teeth and very possibly reducing your risk of heart attack.
Recent scientific evidence reveals that chronic gum disease leads to the release of inflammatory, toxic substances and certain bacteria into the bloodstream, which leads to plaque formation in arteries and ultimately lead to heart disease. This process probably also increases the risk of stroke and accelerated aging.
Bowel Habits
Having a bowel movement at least once every two days may be associated with decreased risk of colon cancer.
Keeping “gut transit time” under 20 hours seems to decrease the incidence of colon cancer, probably by decreasing the contact time between the gut lining and cancer-potentiating substances in the diet. These substances influence DNA damage and repair, and therefore probably influence the rate of aging as well. Epidemiological studies of humans and animals suggest that increasing dietary fiber will reduce the risk of certain cancers, perhaps by increasing the frequency of bowel movements. On the other hand, some recent reports indicate that the association may not be as clear as once believed. In addition to increased transit time, and therefore less contact between carcinogens and the bowel wall, perhaps other factors that increase transit time, such as regular exercise, might be the real reason for decreased cancer risk.
HDL Cholesterol
Not knowing your HDL level should be considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It means you are not availing yourself of some key information to decrease your risk for these diseases. nHDL cholesterol is known as “”good”” cholesterol because a high level of HDL cholesterol appears to protect against heart attack. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is processed, dumped in the intestine, and then passed from the body. Some experts believe that excess cholesterol is removed from atherosclerotic plaque by HDL, thus slowing the build-up. However, HDL cholesterol levels lower than 35 mg/dL may result in a greater risk for heart disease and stroke.
LDL Cholesterol
It is apparent you are interested in your health and well-being because you are taking this calculator. Now you need to take the next steps, including diligent screening. Get your cardiovascular disease risk factors checked, including your LDL cholesterol level. A level of LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) higher than 130 mg/dL reflects an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. That’s why LDL cholesterol is often called “”bad”” cholesterol. When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can lead to the formation of plaque in the blood vessels that feed the heart and the brain. With enough of this blockage, a heart attack or stroke can occur.
Systolic blood pressure
You have what many would call “low blood pressure”. This can occur if you are on blood pressure medication and you are getting over-medicated. On the other hand, if you are not on blood pressure medications, this level is probably conducive to longevity. Centenarians generally have a history of a low blood pressure for most of their lives.
Blood pressure results from two forces. The first force is created as your heart pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system, and this is the systolic pressure. The second force is created as the arteries resist the blood flow, and this is the diastolic pressure. A systolic blood pressure greater than 140 is considered high, meaning that the person is at increased risk for heart attack and stroke. The risk climbs thereafter in proportion to the pressure.
Diastolic blood pressure
If you truly have a diastolic blood pressure this high (116 or greater), stop taking this quiz and get yourself to an emergency room, or be seen by your health care professional ASAP. You more than likely need to be on blood pressure-lowering medication. Currently, your pressure puts you at significant and immediate risk of heart attack and stroke. Whoops, I think is mis-entered a field. Should I call 000? Now? I haven’t had breakfast!
Diabetes and Blood Sugar
Like high blood pressure, a person can have diabetes for a long time and not know it. Thus it is very important that children and adults are regularly screened. Get your blood sugar checked at least every three years, and watch for some of the common symptoms of diabetes, including excessive and persistent thirst, unexplained weight loss, and voiding large amounts of urine frequently despite normal amounts of fluid intake.
Heart Attack History
Having no history of heart attack is very good, of course. Now, do all you can to minimize your risk for one by not smoking, exercising regularly, avoiding red meat, managing your stress well, being lean, and monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol. Also, consider taking an aspirin a day if your healthcare provider says this is a good idea. A sparkling glass of aspro-clear as a night cap?
Medical Checkups
Regular checkups are so important. How often you need a checkup depends on your age and any medical or other clinically relevant problems you might have. Generally, anyone age 40 or older should be having annual checkups. Please set up an appointment for a checkup as soon as possible. A conscientious program of screening and prevention is key to living into old age in good health.
BMI
Maintaining a lean body mass is one of the most important things you can do to maximize your life expectancy.
As you age, you may find it more challenging to keep the weight off. You will find, if you aren’t doing it already, that getting into a regular regimen of weight training to maintain or build muscle mass will be very effective in keeping the weight off. Of course, diet is also important, and lowering your consumption of carbohydrates is helpful. Diet advice is covered by the questions related to carbohydrates and sweets.
Fast Food and Processed Meat Consumption
You probably go to fast food restaurants way too much. Please consider what a weekly intake of this unhealthy diet will do to you over the course of a year. Fast foods, including fried foods and hamburgers, are high in calories and saturated fats. These will make you gain weight, and they increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and perhaps cancer. Some studies suggest that 90% of all human cancers are environmentally induced, 30-40% of these by diet. Another potential risk factor for cancer is preserved meats. Preserved and cured meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats) are the largest source of nitrites in our diet. Nitrites in our bodies lead to the formation of nitrosamines, which are environmental oxidants and probable carcinogens. For instance, there is a suggestive association between nitrosamines and stomach cancer. Do whatever you can to make your diet more healthy.
Barbecue Habits
Good – you are being careful with your grilling and barbecuing by not exposing your food to extremely high temperatures. Such high temperatures can alter proteins to produce carcinogens known as heterocyclic amines. On the other hand, be careful to cook foods such as poultry and hamburger enough so that harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella are killed.
Dairy Consumption
Most adult men and women fall short of optimal recommended calcium intake. The bones of the human skeleton contain 99.5% of the total calcium in the body. Thus, if your body needs calcium for purposes other than making bone, and there is not enough calcium in your diet, then the body will take the calcium away from your bones, making them weaker. Ensuring that you have enough calcium and vitamin D (which facilitates the body’s ability to use calcium) in your diet will help prevent this.
Adequate calcium intake in later life can slow the bone loss associated with aging. In addition to dairy products, calcium-fortified juices, breads, and cereals are excellent sources, as are supplements like TUMS and over-the-counter calcium supplements.
In addition, be sure that you have enough vitamin D in your diet. Vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb the calcium we get in our diets. Most milk is fortified with vitamin D, and our bodies also make it when our skin is exposed to 15 to 20 minutes of sunlight daily. People who rarely go outside are prone to vitamin D deficiency.
Large quantities of salty foods and meat can significantly increase the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Adequate calcium intake may not prevent accelerated bone loss in women caused by estrogen deficiency during and for several years after menopause. Some foods high in calcium also contain oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium absorption. Spinach is such a food.
Snacking Habits
The snacks you are eating are at least healthy. Be careful that you don’t eat too much though, as this can lead to weight gain. Be mindful of the number of calories in the foods you eat, and try to not exceed a healthy number of calories per day.
Nutrition experts vary on the benefits of snacking. Some say that eating 6 small meals a day is better than three big meals. Others suggest the opposite. You should choose a dietary habit that works best for you with the goal of not being overweight. Certainly, if you do snack, be sure they are healthy snacks. Most sweets have little (if any) nutritional value, and because they tend to be so calorie-rich from fats, they will certainly predispose you to being overweight. Switch from those unhealthy snacks to healthy ones. Then, consider if the snacks are helping you maintain a lean body mass or not.
Fast Food and Processed Meat Consumption
You are eating too much red meat. Those who eat meat as often as you do have greater risk of heart disease and stroke than those who eat it less often. You are also missing out on alternatives to meat that actually can protect you from these and other diseases. For example, polyphenols present in certain vegetables and fruits, and the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol, contribute to a more healthy cardiovascular system.
When weighed against vegetables and fish or skinless poultry, red meat loses out when it comes to your health. The American Heart Association recommends a diet that minimizes meat and emphasizes these alternatives. Vegetarian dishes, in addition to being an alternative to meat, also have antioxidants that protect the heart and brain. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which help you raise your good cholesterol (HDL) and lower your bad cholesterol (LDL), thus decreasing your risk for heart attack and stroke.
Interestingly, the vascular risk associated with red meat may be related to the fact that it is the major source of iron in our diet. The iron present in vegetables like spinach is relatively bio-unavailable. As you will read in greater detail under the topic of iron supplements, iron plays a critical role in our cells’ ability to produce harmful free radicals that likely potentiate aging and age-related illnesses.
Consumption of Sweets
You are eating too many sweets. Just one candy bar a day means 30 or more in a month. Or what about 365 a year? Such a habit is very unhealthy and will shorten your life. Cutting down on sweets, and doing your best to avoid them altogether, will make a big difference in the health of your heart and brain. These foods are high in saturated fats and calories. Both predispose you for weight gain, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. By helping you become obese, they increase your risk of various cancers. If you are overweight or obese, cutting these high-cholesterol, high-fat foods out of your diet will be a big step in your attempts to lose weight.
These foods have little in the way of nutritional value. By staying away from them, anyone will make great gains in their life expectancy and the proportion of their lives spent in good health.
Consumption of Carbohydrates
Not only is the number of calories you eat important, but the type of calories is important as well. Grains, pastas, fruits, and starchy vegetables like potatoes are the most common carbohydrate foods. Simple carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes (especially French fries), pasta, white rice, and sugar cause the body to produce insulin in response to elevated levels of glucose in the blood. The insulin in turn induces the storage of fat, instead of burning it. Other foods like fats, protein, and more complex carbohydrates, like whole grains and fiber are less likely to turn on the production of insulin.
The glycemic index is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels, and thus the production of insulin. Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes, causing blood sugar and insulin to rise fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have low glycemic indexes. The lower the glycemic index, the less likely that food is going to contribute to the production of fat. There are numerous books and websites that provide the glycemic indexes for foods and drinks.
Diet and Weight Gain
Obesity is associated with inefficient energy production, and increased production of oxygen radicals within cells. This leads to increased risk of various cancers, heart disease, and accelerated aging. It may also lead to diabetes.
Cutting down on the amount you eat is one of the most important interventions you can do to have a dramatic impact on your health. For many people, eating too much is the main reason they are overweight.
For others, it is more difficult than just not eating so much, and a consultation with a diet expert may be warranted. Be conscientious about how much you eat. Become a calorie counter. Don’t eat until you are full – stop before you get there.
Iron Consumption
It is probably good to stay away from iron supplements and iron-rich foods – specifically red meat – if you can. There is growing evidence from animal and human studies that iron levels are related to aging and age-associated diseases. Some epidemiological evidence supports the role of elevated iron levels in lipid peroxidation, the first step in the formation of atherosclerosis (arterial plaque).
Menstrual blood loss and resultant iron deficiency might protect against vascular disease, and may even contribute to the premenopausal survival advantage of women over men. Some men may be able to reduce their risk of vascular diseases by regularly donating blood, which could induce an iron deficiency. Blood donation has been associated with a decreased risk of arterial plaque. Further studies are needed to determine additional cardiovascular benefits or risks associated with blood donation.
Exercise Habits
It is great you are making time to exercise at least three times a week. Don’t forget to balance aerobic exercise with strength training. Both are important. Also, if you do a lot of high-impact workouts, gauge the wear and tear you put on your weight-bearing joints so you don’t set yourself up for premature osteoarthritis. Exercise leads to more efficient energy production in your cells, and decreases formation of oxygen radicals linked with aging and the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Strength training is an important component of exercise. Muscle is a tremendously efficient burner of fat, and maintaining muscle mass has many benefits. Every year after age 30, we lose about one-third of a pound of muscle, which is replaced by fat. Muscle loss can be reversed by regular strengthening, no matter what your age.
Leisure Time Activity
Try to be less of a couch potato. A recent study of English twins found that couch potatoes take off about ten years from their life expectancy compared to those who are physically active during their leisure time.