Donna said:
My mother lives in DeFuniak Springs and is part of a very active and healthy group of women, most of them in their late 80s. One of their bridge ladies was active until the age of 102, when she passed away. None of their little group has had any kind of cancer or heart disease, and none have had hysterectomies or even so much as a gall bladder removal. They eat fried chicken, fried cornbread, and coconut cake all the time and get hardly any exercise except for gardening. A few years ago, I considered the common denominators. None of the ladies took birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy and they had a pretty simple life in that little town, so probably minimal stress over the years. They also go to church a lot!
Yup, the things you mention do contribute to longevity. According to Thomas Perls MD who is in charge of the New England Centennarian studies, most of us are genetically programmed to live to about 85 if we take care of ourselves (of course, there are exceptions -- diseases and events we can't control -- but barring these, 85 is a reasonable goal). The centennarians tend to share certain characteristics: they eat well and they typically eat fewer calories (although there's some new research that suggests that people who are slightly overweight but not obese tend to bounce back from illness better than people who are thin); they stay physically active; they have supportive relationships; they cope with stress very well (they don't necessarily have fewer stressful life events than others -- many centennarians have lived long enough to experience some terrible life events, but they cope with them better -- they face their problems, grieve, forgive others, make adjustments, move on and don't dwell on the past and they have ways of making sense of life's events that make them feel better rather than worse); they stay intellectually engaged; they go to the doctor regulary and take care of their health (they do tend to get vaccinations and they floss their teeth -- apparently good flossing is one way of preventing heart disease - strange but true); and they are optimistic about life and aging.
As for faith, I don't know if the studies suggest it contributes to longevity (I don't think this was found in the centennarian studies), but the research on happiness consistently shows that faith contributes to happiness -- although the researchers can't pinpoint why (it may have to do with faith giving people a way to make sense out of life in a way that is supportive and calming). Another interesting finding of the happiness research is that people who "satisfice" (don't always look for the "best" decision but rather are satisfied with the decisions they make -- interesting insight for SoWal given all the speculation about housing, housing values, property, etc.) are happier than people who "maximize" (always look for the best decision, but that's a set up for unhappiness because there's always going to be a "better" choice no matter what you choose). As for money, once you're over the poverty level, it doesn't predict happiness. If you don't have money to feed your family, get health care, etc., of course money would make you happier.
Interesting stuff...
At least we we will be more aware when considering future Rx's.
