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How to Live Longer and Healthier
People ask me how they can improve their health. Over the years
I have read many articles on population studies with many varying results
regarding this subject. I decided I would begin to record some of the results
here for you. They are not generally earth shattering ideas, but it is good to
remember what really seems to work.
"Healthy Living is the Best Revenge, Findings from the
European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam Study
from the Archives of Internal Medicine 2009;169(15):1355-1362
In this study they were looking at a population of 23,153
Germans aged 35-65 years old (men and women), beginning the study between
1994-1998 and following them for an average of 8 years. The end points they
followed were the development of type II diabetes mellitus, heart attacks,
strokes, and cancer. They investigated the effect of 4 factors on the
development of these conditions. The four factors are: never smoking, a body
mass index less than 30 (You have to be at a good weight), (defined as one's
weight in kilograms divided by body surface in meters squared), 3 1/2 hours
of exercise per week, and adherence to healthy dietary principles (eating
plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grain bread while eating a low intake
of meat). There was 9% of the population who met all four criteria. They did
various adjustments for sex, age, educational levels, occupation, and such.
If you met all 4 criteria your chances of developing one of the target
conditions was 78% lower. The chances of developing diabetes were 93% lower,
heart attack 81% lower, stroke 50% lower, and cancer 36% lower. So, if
you want to lower your risks: keep your weight down, don't smoke, exercise,
and eat well getting in plenty of fruits, vegetables, and grains while
avoiding excessive meat. I think we probably all know this already, but
we know it because of studies like these. Could it be more complicated than
this, sure it is. This study may not consider your genetic risks, ability to
exercise, or other issues. But, on average, people who have healthy habits
and weight will do better longer. It's not rocket science, but it is
remarkably hard to do in our culture.
People often ask me about how they can prevent Alzheimer's
disease. This is a controversial topic. This recent article from the Archives of
Neurology sheds some light on how this might be accomplished
"Diet and Prevention of Alzheimer Disease", "Food Combination
and Alzheimer Disease Risk: A Protective Diet" from Archives of Neurology
2010;67(6):699-706) as summarized in JAMA, June23/30,2010;303(24):2519-20.
The study involved following 2148 elderly subjects over 64
years old for an average of 3.9 years. About 253 of the subjects developed
Alzheimer's dementia during the study. They were routinely evaluated using
neurological tests and their dietary intake was assessed by recall methods.
They developed a profile of dietary factors that correlated with protection
against developing Alzheimer's dementia. The dietary pattern associated with
this protection consisted of a higher intake of "salad dressing, nuts,
fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables [cabbage, broccoli, Brussel
sprouts, etc], fruits, and dark and green leafy vegetables and a lower
intake of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter".
Now correlations of one thing with another are not proof that it
will work. Never the less, this seems consistent with a lot of other dietary
recommendations. Perhaps someday we will understand this better, but for now, if
you want to try something this seems worthwhile. |