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Introduction
A new study led by Professor Kay-Tee Kwah,
a gerontologist at Cambridge University
has published its findings (journal of PLoS Medicine 2008) which
reveal that a person's lifespan can be increased by as much as 14 years by
not smoking, by drinking only moderately, eating healthily and keeping
physically fit.
Professor Kwah said that there were
substantial differences in mortality associated with the four health
behaviours combined. She went on to say "The result strongly suggests
that these four achievable lifestyle changes could have a marked improvement
on the health of middle-aged and older people, which is particularly
important given the ageing population in the UK and other European
countries."
The gene pool from which we are derived
also influences our
life expectancy - long-lived parents are more likely to have off-spring who will live
longer. How long we live also relates to where and how we live, a longer life relating to
the economic prosperity of the region in which we live.
So, accepting that in some respects our demise is foretold in early life and that there
are unalterable as well as unforeseen events that effect our health, let us consider what
we can do to take charge of the inevitable ageing process.
Keep Fit!
Exercise offers the single most important way to keep healthy. If we failed to keep
fit when we were young we will still benefit, even if we start when we are already in our
70s.
Walking, jogging, riding a bike or swimming - and activities such as dancing, gardening
and golf - promote cardiac and pulmonary function. Even modest weightlifting will increase
muscle which, with the liver, stores energy in the form of glycogen.
It is muscle which helps us maintain our independence. If we are unable to get out of an
arm-chair because the quadriceps in our thighs are wasted we dependent on others to
move us. Warming-up exercises keep us lithe and supple and are an essential preliminary to
more vigorous exercise when we are older.
Exercise can help to:
*improve heart and lung function and immunity -
*strengthen muscles, ligaments and tendons -
*reduce anxiety, improve sleep. heighten well-being and self-esteem -
*burn up excess calories and assist in losing weight -
*reduce the risk of cancer of colon, prostate and breast -
*help alertness and short-term memory -
*correct the tendency of blood pressure to increase with age -
*increase the high density lipoprotein (HDL) which is the benign of cholesterol -
Eat Well!
A poor diet may account for as much as a third of
mortality from cancer, stroke and heart disease. These conditions, so prevalent in the
Western world, derive in part from an imbalance in the foods we consume.
Diet, or more correctly, nutrition, is the key to health. Essentially, our genes have
remained unchanged in 15,000 years, arising from ancestors who were hunter-gatherers,
grazing the plains of Africa. Their diet of grasses, roots, berries and fresh fruits
remains a source of nutrition to which we are well adapted. It may be supposed that meat
became an important part of our ancestors' diet as concentrated calories became necessary
to survive in the cold of the last ice age. Salt was scarce and we came to savour it -
there was sugar derived from fruit and honey, but in less abundant amounts than in our
present diet. Consumption of cereals significantly increased when our ancestors
established a settled way of life perhaps 3000 years ago.
Planning a healthy diet
An easy way to obtain the right quantities of the right food for a healthy diet is to
think of what you eat and drink in terms of servings. Follow the guidelines below to plan
your daily diet. A typical serving would be a piece of fruit, half a cup of vegetables,
pasta or rice, a slice of bread, 55-85 grams (2-3 oz) of lean meat or 55 grams (2 oz) of
cheese.
Grain products 5-12 servings Choose whole-grain and
enriched products. They are filling and contain vitamins and minerals.
Fruit and vegetables 5-10 servings These are rich in
vitamins and minerals and also contain a high percentage of fibre and water to fill you up
and prevent constipation. Eat - or drink in juice form - as much fruit and vegetables each
day as you like, but no fewer than 5 servings.
Meat and alternatives 2-3 servings Choose lean meats,
poultry and fish as well as dried peas, beans and lentils. These are protein-rich foods,
which are vital for muscle and nerve function.
Dairy products 2-3 servings Choose low-fat milk
products. They contain calcium which is needed for healthy bones, nerves and teeth.
Food to be eaten sparingly These include foods that
are mostly oils, such as butter, margarine, cooking oils and lard; foods that are mostly
sugar, such as jam, honey, syrup and sweets; and high-fat and/or high-salt snacks such as
crisps.
Emotional Well-being
‘Attitude’ plays a part in retaining emotional well-being, which in itself plays
a great part in physical health. Feisty independence is a character trait identified
amongst people who live longer. That, and active engagement within the community, enable a
sense of purpose to be maintained. Retirement is a concept born more of economics than
consideration for individual preferences and wellbeing. Self-employment, where
possible, in the field in which we previously worked seems to work well for some people.
In Praise of Families
The family gives the best, although not the exclusive, example of a setting within
which we have physical contact, give and receive love, and have sexual expression. Within
it we have children and share with them the future through their growing up. In it three
generations may find continuity and a sense of belonging. When we don’t belong to a
family of this conventional sort we may seek a ‘family’ amongst friends who are
like-minded, a peer group, or in a same-sex relationship.
Research affirms the need for intimacy! Infant observation studies have shown the crucial
importance of a satisfying first relationship for the individual to develop a sense of
separate identity, while ‘good-enough’ parenting is a prerequisite for achieving
satisfaction in adult relationships. Married people live longer than those who are single,
while older people who are single, but have a pet, get less illness than those who live
without a pet.
Despite changing social behaviour patterns the qualities sought in relationships have
changed little. A recent survey about sexual behaviour asked repondents to rank in
order ‘what makes a happy marriage’. They listed faithfulness, mutual
respect, sex, having children and shared interests. Twenty years earlier a similar survey
on sex and marriage rated, in order: comradeship, understanding, give and take, mutual
trust, love and affection. With the exception of sex, about which we have higher
expectations, and the changing views on marriage as an institution, the surveys show that
valued qualities in relationships have largely remained constant.
Sex
What is there in making love that is good for our health?
At a physical level it relaxes muscles tensed by work; physiologically, it boosts the
hormones which keep us young; emotionally it provides the physical contact without which
we fail to thrive.
The sex drive is so strong that from puberty onwards it
finds outlet or is channelled into other physical and mental activities. In our
striving 30s there may be a reduction in sex-drive in the primary relationship. By
late mid-life a couple's sexual enthusiasm for their long-standing partner often flags,
and while 'free-floating' libido may remain, loyalty to the partner dictates a faithful
but largely companionate relationship. However, couples may continue sexual
activity with satisfaction through four to five decades of their life and it can remain an
important aspect of the lives of older people for as long as they wish it. Help for sexual
failure in its various forms is readily available and medicine offers a wide choice of
treatments. Hormone replacement therapy for both men and women offers a means of extending
the years of fruitfulness with benefits outweighing risks to health.
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