Patient walks in to the doctor's office. Doctor, he says, I want to live to be 100. What should I do? Doctor replies, give up wine, women and song. Patients asks, and will I definitely live to be 100 if I follow that advice. Doctor replies, no, but it will certainly feel as if you have!
An old, old doctor's joke which it turns out may be giving the wrong advice!
More and more people are making it into their 90's and reaching 100. And more and more are relatively independent with few medical restrictions. This is the result of many different factors. The scary news is that the latest generations may not live as long as we have because of the obesity epidemic and issues surounding the opiod crisis.
For most of us living longer and healthier is possible and a number of studies have highlighted the path we should follow.
1) Stopping or never smoking is important; as is.
2) Not drinking too much alcohol (no more than one or 2 drinks a day for a woman or 2 - 3 a day for a man);
3) Exercise, daily. High intensity brings added benefits but even low intensity for 30 minutes cumulative a day will help and don't sit in front of a screen. For every hour you're immobile in front of the TV for example, you may increase your risk of an early demise by 11%;
4) Eat your fruits and veggies. A diet high in both and low in fats and carbohydrates and processed foods. Also limit your calories. Studies looking at people living long lives in Japan and elsewhere have emphasized that along with being active every day, they don't eat a lot of calories and in the case of the Japanese appear to stop when they are 80% full;
5) Sex 2 - 3 times per week. Turns out supportive relationships including regular sex is good for your health as is not being lonely!
6) Be careful with your exposure to the sun to reduce the risk of UV related cancers.
So turns out the old joke was wrong after all!
While I cannot guarantee that everyone who follows these recommendations will make it to 100, they do increase your chances considerably and aren't horribly restrictive, so why not go for it?