07-17-2016, 04:29 PM
It goes both ways.
On the one hand, being 74 and semi-retired has some of the best features of my whole life.
OTOH, I see lots of older folks in my retirement gig who are in their 80's and 90's. I agree with you at that point. There is much that is NOT to admire in the lifestyles of the 80-90's.
One cannot do much about one's genetics. That's just a given. There is also a lot of variation among different folks when it comes to the interaction of environment with one's own genetics. For example, some folks just arent' sensitive to salt in their diet. Some really are. Some do well on complex carbs, some do better on high proteins. So, diet can be tricky and hard to design - doing good faith experimentation with oneself is probably the best plan, and it can't be too bad a plan to avoid prepared (boxed, canned) supermarket crap, and eat more freshly prepared fruits, veggies, meats, grains, etc.
Two things I've noticed: Stay the f**k away from cigarettes! After over 8 years on the ambulance I just ran into the first patient with an acute heart attack that DIDN'T smoke! He had bad genetics.
Exercise. Exercise appears to cure most anything, or at least make it somewhat better. Moderation of course is always a good idea.
Alcohol kicked my ass, but some folks can probably even benefit from moderate alcohol use. Many of us can't moderate very well, but that's not everyone.
Street drugs don't seem to do most folks much good. I don't have an opinion on the THC craze as yet.
And then ... Avoid the deliberate manufacture of misery! Choosing a slighly more positive outlook seems to add to my quality of life, on the whole.
On the one hand, being 74 and semi-retired has some of the best features of my whole life.
OTOH, I see lots of older folks in my retirement gig who are in their 80's and 90's. I agree with you at that point. There is much that is NOT to admire in the lifestyles of the 80-90's.
One cannot do much about one's genetics. That's just a given. There is also a lot of variation among different folks when it comes to the interaction of environment with one's own genetics. For example, some folks just arent' sensitive to salt in their diet. Some really are. Some do well on complex carbs, some do better on high proteins. So, diet can be tricky and hard to design - doing good faith experimentation with oneself is probably the best plan, and it can't be too bad a plan to avoid prepared (boxed, canned) supermarket crap, and eat more freshly prepared fruits, veggies, meats, grains, etc.
Two things I've noticed: Stay the f**k away from cigarettes! After over 8 years on the ambulance I just ran into the first patient with an acute heart attack that DIDN'T smoke! He had bad genetics.
Exercise. Exercise appears to cure most anything, or at least make it somewhat better. Moderation of course is always a good idea.
Alcohol kicked my ass, but some folks can probably even benefit from moderate alcohol use. Many of us can't moderate very well, but that's not everyone.
Street drugs don't seem to do most folks much good. I don't have an opinion on the THC craze as yet.
And then ... Avoid the deliberate manufacture of misery! Choosing a slighly more positive outlook seems to add to my quality of life, on the whole.
[font=Arial Black]... a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition.[/font]