In a lounge thread on human longivity,
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57909 , I wrote the following:
My 14 step program for a long healthy rewarding life
1. dont smoke or use other drugs illicitly
2. dont drink
3. keep your BMI between 18.5 and 22
4. Follow the MWL program strictly
5. Exercise moderately 30 mins to an hour, everyday and generally stay active
6. Drink clean water
7. breathe clean air
8. Get plenty of sleep, relax and meditate
9. enjoy the love of friends and family
10. follow the golden rule
11. Have and practice some faith
12. don't worry, be happy
13. Keep learning your entire life and stay curious
14. And finally, start now, don't put it off. If the science changes, then change with it as needed...(but I doubt that will be the case)
Have a great day and remember, its starts and ends with you and only you
I doubt many read that and I think its important and worthy of being a stand-alone post and deserving of fleshing out a little more detail and refinement. When I wrote it it was more just stream of conciousness at the moment and I want to think about it a bit more so I don't leave out anything important. So that is what I will do now.
So here's my 14 step program for a long, healthy, and rewarding life, rev. 1:
1. Don't smoke or use drugs illicitly.
I think we all know the perils of smoking. Its probably the number one thing you can do to ruin your health and longevity. I believe that drugs also play a large roll in that, but not necessarily illicit drugs, but the illicit/inappropriate use of any drug...such as abuse of opioids and other drugs leading to addictions that disrupt physical health, cognitive thinking, emotional stability, and losing "control" of your faculties and actions.
2. Don't drink.
The science today points to modest drinking as being OK and potentially healthful. But I tend to disagree and believe that further scientific investigation will show that as a part of an overall healthy lifestyle (rather than studies on typical unhealthy lifestyles) will show that abstinance of alcohol will be proven to be the best course of action. I believe that any unnecessry "mind altering" substance, used over time will lead to poorer health and thus not worth the indulgence for overall health.
3. Keep your BMI between 18.5 and 22.
This is generally considered the healthiest range of BMI. Many believe that being closer to 18.5 and maybe even down to 17.5 may be the healthiest BMI. I think you quickly reach deminishing returns the closer you get to 18.5 and the science definitely shows a J curve at the lower end. More studies will be needed to better determine where the bottom of that J curve may be, but for now, 18.5 to 22 seems to be the best healthy place for everyone to be in.
4. Follow the MWL program strictly.
I'm a firm believer, through both testing results as well as short/long term practice, that Dr McDougall's Maximum Weight-Loss Program is the best and healthiest way to feed the human body for maximum health. JeffN's further refinements (as expressed in his last MWL rules posting) as well as his Principles, Guidlines and Recommendations explain the reasoning behind the program in great detail. Can following the regular program lead you to similar great health results...probably. But because so many of us have been in poor health all our lives from the SAD and suffer from many chronic diseases, I believe its prudent to follow the strictest form of the McDougall program to potentially regain health and reduce/stop/reverse and potentially eliminate chronic disease issues as quickly as possible.
5. Exercise moderately 30 mins to an hour, everyday and generally stay active.
Those are basically the recommendations from virtually all Medical sources for moderate exercise and to achieve the best bang for your exercise dollar.. If you want to try vigourous exercise then you can cut those times in half. The exercise should be a mixture of aerobic and strength training with flexibility/stretching exercises included as well. Just try to make sure your exercise is progressive as you gain fitness until you feel you are fit enough to do whatever you feel like doing in terms of physical activity. Fitness is not the same as becoming an athelete. The first is for health, the second for those with a competitive nature (health be damned). Staying active means to just try to stay moving. Moving is the natural state of the body. That doesn't mean not to sit or stand, just dont do those things for hours on end. I personally like to get up and move around for a few mins every 15-20 mins. In fact, the healthier and fitter you become the more naturally you will want to stay moving and be active. Don't worry you will have plenty of energy
6. Drink clean water.
Water should be your first choice for when your thirsty, its as simple as that. Drink when thirsty. Let your thirst be your guide as to when and how much to drink. Don't force it. And more importantly try to drink as clean of water as you can get, yes even distilled or RO water is great. The less contaminated water the better. Most will have no problem getting clean water from well maintained municipal sources. Personally, I like highly filtered water and if its been steam distilled and or gone through a RO (reverse osmosis) system and even a DI system (De-Ionization) thats even better. I like my water reading 0 ppm on a cheap TDS meter (Total Dissolved Solids). Though thats probably being a bit paronoid...Or just buy distilled water by the gallon from your local supermarket, its only about a $1 a gallon and will usually last for a day or two of drinking. And theres no worries about drinking water without the minerals in it...you get plenty of minerals from your food and the water it contains...
7. Breathe clean air.
This should be obvious and there are simple things you can do...like breathe cleaner air from outdoors (assuming you dont live in a city or air polluted area), open your windows to get fresh air in your house (this should also lessen any fears of radon build-up in your home), use ceiling fans to help circulate fresh air. And if your air is highly dusty or full of pollen and allergens or even bacteria and viruses there are air filter systems you can buy to take care of this as well. There are various filters that include mechanical filtration, HEPA filters, Ionizers, UV-C filters, Charcoal filters, etc... And they exist at many price points if thats what you need. Some are for indvidual rooms and some are for a whole house. Only you can decide what and how much you need...Personally I like room filters and use them in my bedroom and living room.
8. Get plenty of sleep, relax and meditate.
I find that sleep is greatly regulated by both diet and exercise. I sleep naturally (about 6 hours a day). In stead of using an alarm to wake you you should just sleep as mush as you need, naturally. Early to bed and early to rise is a nice motto we all know. As you become healthier your body will naturally tell you how much to sleep and you will soon find yourself sleeping better, deeper, and waking up naturally when you've had enough. No need to try to regulate your sleep to X number of hours. I also recommend that meditation can be a great source of re-energizing yourself. A simple daily 10-20 mins of meditation and can, relax you, reduce stress, and reinvigorate you both physically and mentally and can definitely help you get better sleep as well.
9. Enjoy the love of friends and family.
This should be self-evident. Surrounding yourself with people that you care about and that care about you can be very healthy. Of course you should try to limit your exposure to those that arent helpfull or cause you all sorts of stress or pain.
10. Follow the golden rule.
I.e., "do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. I like to think that this applies not to just people but to animals as well. There's no simpler, better way to define how you should behaive towards others. You will feel better for it! Following the golden rule will also lead you to being humble and honest. It will give you some inner perspective and teach you respect. And hopefully will help you develope both sympathy and empathy for others, 2 traits I believe are very important in life.
11. Have and practice some faith.
Faith gives you something to live for. And it doesnt have to be religious faith (though I think thats personally best). It could be a philosophy of life, or a belief in humanity itself. Whatever you believe in will help guide you and give you goals for a long and fruitful life. Life without meaning is no life at all.
12. Don't worry be happy.
Self explanatory... theres really no need to worry. The best way to do this is to simply prepare yourself for the unexpected. Ignorance breeds fear and worry and stress of a kind that can be detrimental to your long term health. Simply being happy can significantly improve your outlook on life. And it takes no more energy or time to be happy then it does to be unhappy or worried. A positive attitude will lead you to being happy and vice-versa. Remember the old adage, you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar
13. Keep learning your entire life and stay curious.
Learning leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to understanding, understanding leads to wisdom. Theres no better stimulous to your brain and keeping it young than to keep it learning. Strive to learn something new everyday and to make use of what you learn! (learning for the sake of gaining knowledge only is half the picture, you must use it or you will lose it). Staying curious is the obvious way to keep you learning. The day you stop using your brain is the day life no longer has any meaning.
14. Start now. dont put it off.
Theres no reason not to start now. Life is simple if you really think about it. Only we make it difficult in our minds. The sooner you start the longer you should expect to live and live a very fruitful, happy, loving, caring life. But don't think your not ready, trust me, you and your body are ready and waiting, even if it just means following one rule at a time.They each in their own ways will lead you down a path to a better, longer life. Following them all will eventually lead you to that which we all seek...the real meaning of life!
And I think I will add one more final rule
15. Share your life with others.
How else can you pass on to others what you have learned? Trust me, we all need it and are searching for it
It starts with you and only needs you to start. What are you waiting for?