My food rules for longevity

[njohnson]

I'm sure the list is great in theory and I agree with some points on it but going through the hassle of trying to follow all the items on that list for 50+ years would probably lessen my life rather than prolong it.

I've known a lot of people who have grown to a VERY old age and really haven't eaten that healthy. One is my grandfather who makes his own moonshine and routinely eats very starchy fatty foods in Puerto Rico along with lots of white rice. The only rule he probably follows on the list is eating lots of fish and fruits, but they tend to be the less healthy ones like mangos and plantains. I think there are too many external factors like your environment that play a role to your mental health.

 

[superstition]

I'm sure the list is great in theory and I agree with some points on it but going through the hassle of trying to follow all the items on that list for 50+ years would probably lessen my life rather than prolong it.

I've known a lot of people who have grown to a VERY old age and really haven't eaten that healthy. One is my grandfather who makes his own moonshine and routinely eats very starchy fatty foods in Puerto Rico along with lots of white rice. The only rule he probably follows on the list is eating lots of fish and fruits, but they tend to be the less healthy ones like mangos and plantains. I think there are too many external factors like your environment that play a role to your mental health.

I have tried to make the point that people should learn the rules of nutrition before deciding when/how/to what extent to break them.

I love sweets. When I make brownies, I buy a box of Kroger brand with walnuts, add a can of organic black beans (they're lower in salt than regular), pumpkin, fat-free yogurt, egg whites, and whole wheat flour. I cut the oil in half. Adding some nutritious things to the brownies makes them a bit healthier to eat and cuts the sugar content of each brownie down to a more reasonable level. I also bake them at only 325 degrees, take them out and cut off the edge (which cooks faster) and then put them back in for the rest to finish cooking—to reduce acrylamide formation. But, brownies from a Kroger mix will never be a truly healthy food because they're made with white flour, tons of sugar, and so forth. I indulge all the time, but I try to at least moderate the unhealthiness of what I eat. So, when I make brownies I don't use egg yolk usually, I add beans, pumpkin and other nutritious fillers, and only cook them until they're set - not crisp at all.

The theobromine and caffeine in chocolate wrecks my sleep cycle and I pay the price for eating brownies. But, yes, sometimes in life it seems worth it to be somewhat less healthy. In the big picture, though, I think the ounce of prevention is generally worth more than the pound of cure.

 

[Sentinel]

Sentinel's report on Day #30 of Dr Superstition's Starvation Diet ....

By day #20, I had moved from "healthy" to "scarecrow". Went to donate blood, was turned away.

Day 30: Now "progressed" from "scarecrow" to "skeleton".

Wondering if I'd be better off with the Jain fast-unto-death.

Will post another report in 10 days if alive.

 

[LafayetteHitter]

Following strict eating habits can become challenging when you look at people like both my grandfathers who were alchoholics and ate terrible diets and both lived into their 90's without any major issues other than minor heart and joint issues. Then I have a doctor buddy who ran daily and ate a superb diet yet he passed on at 46.

These thoughts just make it a bit frustrating sometimes when i'm eating a soy patty on ezekiel bread with a sweet potato sipping water.

 

[pound cat]

Following strict eating habits can become challenging when you look at people like both my grandfathers who were alchoholics and ate terrible diets and both lived into their 90's without any major issues other than minor heart and joint issues. Then I have a doctor buddy who ran daily and ate a superb diet yet he passed on at 46.

These thoughts just make it a bit frustrating sometimes when i'm eating a soy patty on ezekiel bread with a sweet potato sipping water.

Having a family history of long life is the real key to a long life. Unfortunately if a person come from a family in which cancer /heart disease/ name your disease is prevelant, eating all the fish in the world won't help you.

So make the most of the life you have...right now. (Before you get too old and feeble and can't find the door to get out of the nursing home )

 

[superstition]

Following strict eating habits can become challenging when you look at people like both my grandfathers who were alchoholics and ate terrible diets and both lived into their 90's without any major issues other than minor heart and joint issues. Then I have a doctor buddy who ran daily and ate a superb diet yet he passed on at 46.

There's no telling how much longer, and better, they could have lived in they had been healthier. Alcoholism, anyway, causes a lot of unpleasant things, not just for the alcoholics, but for those around them. It's an example that there is no free lunch. Everything has consequences, whether one lives into one's 90s or not.

If people eat arsenic, some may not die, and others will. Does that mean it's no problem to eat arsenic? Lead is an even better example. It won't kill you right away unless you have a huge dose of the right lead compound, but it will do things like impair your mind. Should a person be unconcerned about lead ingestion if that person lives a long impaired life because of it?

The bottom line is that people have a potential lifespan and quality of life. Health choices determine how much of that potential can be reached, along with various uncontrollable environmental factors (such as the bad luck of being hit by a bus). People have to decide between indulgence for short term pleasure and the long term pleasure of living a long healthy life. But, there are obviously examples where eating right isn't important. Terminally ill cancer patients really have little reason to worry about how much acrylamide they're getting, for instance.

The conflict between short and long term happiness is one that affects all aspects of life, from the person who, in the midst of passion, doesn't require his/her partner to wear a condom, to the person who lives an ascetic life and never really "lives" according to some. There are no easy answers to the conflict, except one—it's worth knowing the rules in order to make decisions about how to follow/break them. I, for one, don't want to have to wear Depends in order to eat chips made with Olestra.

 

[Applesauceman]

Wrong. Calorie restriction without careful nutritional planning will lead to malnutrition.

Also, according to my professor, fasting may lead to loss of lean muscle mass and a lowered metabolism. A lowered metabolism may lead to a longer life, but most of us prefer to keep our muscle mass.

"According to my professor..."

How can you argue that what you've written is completely true when this information is coming from someone else?

Don't get me wrong, there is some merit to what you've listed here, but these should be suggestions rather than fact.

 

[Andres]

What exactly are you trying to accomplish by posting this?

Guru status.

 

[superstition]

"According to my professor..."

How can you argue that what you've written is completely true when this information is coming from someone else?

Don't get me wrong, there is some merit to what you've listed here, but these should be suggestions rather than fact.

So, everything that you know of as being factual is something you have tested scientifically yourself? Amazing. That professor is a Ph.D in Nutrition and teaches at a major university. Even so, I am not simply "parroting" what she said. I differ from her on some issues, issues I mentioned already (such as artificial sweeteners), due to other scientific literature I've read.

 

[Nanshiki]

Or, we could ignore that entire list and actually ENJOY our lives, shorter though they may be.

85 years of fun is better than 115 years of crap.

 

[kairosntx]

You need to adjust the numbers to reflect current life expectancies. 85 of fun certainly is better than 115 of crap but since present day diet and lifestyle has lowered the life expectancy for the first time in over a century, it is unrealist to have 85 years of fun.

If you eat what you want when you want then it will be more like 65 years of fun if your lucky.

 

[Phil]

Or, we could ignore that entire list and actually ENJOY our lives, shorter though they may be.

85 years of fun is better than 115 years of crap.

I'll take the extra 30 years myself. I'm pretty sure I can make something out of them other than crap.;-)

 

[kimbahpnam]

question is: would you rather live a long life that is unenjoyable or a moderately shorter one that is?

 

[Phil]

question is: would you rather live a long life that is unenjoyable or a moderately shorter one that is?

Unenjoyable for whom? I'm pretty sure I can enjoy myself even if I follow some common-sense nutritional rules and lay off the pastries. I KNOW how to make life enjoyable, even on less than 5,000 calories a day. Now if I'm in prison or something else, then yeah, I'd reather live a shorter, more enjoyable life than be caged for the rest of my life...

 

[pabletion]

So where does beer and roasted pork and sausages fit in this list??? Cause I've got Oktoberfest comming up and man, I aint givin that up anytime soon.......

 

[Sentinel]

So where does beer and roasted pork and sausages fit in this list??? Cause I've got Oktoberfest comming up and man, I aint givin that up anytime soon.......

Pass it over here, you lucky hog, haha !

This diet is killing me at 50, and you guys are talking of reaching 115 !

 

[pabletion]

^^ theres plenty of piggie for everyone! two whole pigs slowly roastin to perfection...., german style
throw a couple of KÖSTRIGER beers in the mix and we're set...

 

[Nanshiki]

Unenjoyable for whom? I'm pretty sure I can enjoy myself even if I follow some common-sense nutritional rules and lay off the pastries. I KNOW how to make life enjoyable, even on less than 5,000 calories a day. Now if I'm in prison or something else, then yeah, I'd reather live a shorter, more enjoyable life than be caged for the rest of my life...

I'm not talking about 5,000 calories a day. That's a sumo wrestler diet right there...

Keeping fit and eating good food is better than going totally anal like that list is just for a few extra years.

 

[J011yroger]

^^ theres plenty of piggie for everyone! two whole pigs slowly roastin to perfection...., german style
throw a couple of KÖSTRIGER beers in the mix and we're set...

PROST!

J

 

[pabletion]

PROST!

J

PROST back to ya!

 

[Nanshiki]

I demand bratwurst.

 

[Phil]

I'm not talking about 5,000 calories a day. That's a sumo wrestler diet right there...

Keeping fit and eating good food is better than going totally anal like that list is just for a few extra years.

That's all it takes. In cultures where people tend to live longer and healthier lives than we do, no one consults some kind of "list". It's all about common sense, moderation and fresh and non-fat laden cooking ingredients.

 

[Applesauceman]

So, everything that you know of as being factual is something you have tested scientifically yourself? Amazing. That professor is a Ph.D in Nutrition and teaches at a major university. Even so, I am not simply "parroting" what she said. I differ from her on some issues, issues I mentioned already (such as artificial sweeteners), due to other scientific literature I've read.

Of course I haven't scientifically tested everything I know to be fact. Come on, let's be realistic. All I am saying is that you're arguing with others about a subjective topic, a hypothesis. If others don't agree with these "rules to live by", then so be it. You're trying to be objective when the topic is subjective.

 

[Sentinel]

Sentinel's last report on the Superstition diet:

Over a month on this diet, and I am now ready to meet my maker. All i see all over is the sweet face of the Lord.

There is almost no flesh on my bones. .. I feel sad that the vultures circling above won't get a decent meal from me. (I did cheat on the diet by having some icecream once, but that hasn't helped much.)

Lord, do bless your kind servant (Superstition) for delivering me to you so quickly!

Farewell !