Live Longer
We know a few things that have been proven, at least empirically, to shorten our lives. Not all of them are well-recognized.
The first thing to avoid is smoking. I think we all understand this one. This includes avoiding breathing second-hand smoke and avoiding diesel fumes from unfiltered buses. Live away from major bus routes (or avoid drift-in fumes) if you live in a city that has old unfiltered buses like many, including the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, otherwise famous
for being “green“. Arrange for your children to get to school without taking a diesel school bus that has not been upgraded to meet the 2007 Clean School Bus Standards for buses made in the US. Walk and bicycle for exercise and transportation but avoid bus and truck routes as much as possible,. Opt for tree-lined quiet street routes where possible.
The second thing to avoid is obesity. A Princeton study has conclusively proven that obesity is connected with diets with high fructose corn syrup. There are life-threatening and life-shortening aspects to obesity that go beyond all the ones that are obvious. One is that deaths at birth are much higher for women who are obese. Is it possible for a cultural shift to drinking water preferentially to drinks with high fructose corn syrup, or even drinking sweetened drinks that contain real sugar? This would make a tremendous difference in life expectancy.
Give blood, you will live longer, this is particularly true for males.
Maintain good dental hygiene.
Protect your skin. Use only sunscreen with the active ingredient zinc oxide and apply religiously. Avoid irritation by using zinc oxide lotion. If you are in an area with insects that can convey a deadly disease, take triple precautions. Use repellants (natural is as good as the bad stuff), use clothing protection and use barriers.
Drive, walk and bicycle safely.
Don’t keep loaded guns in the home and be wary if your spouse or ex-spouse suddenly seems to need a bunch of handguns and/or a short-barreled shotgun. Alert everyone you are around to be wary also.
If your work or your hobby involves using toxics, use full personal protective equipment. Downscale the toxicity of any products or chemicals to the extent possible and educate yourself on the dangers. For example, systemic hybrid rose treatment, and some other pesticides, contain IMD. IMD attacks the nerve ganglia of insects and is known to be a major factor in bee colony collapse. Regarding your health, quality of life and lifetime, before using pesticides that are essentially “weapons of mass destruction” compared to the old fashioned simple chemicals, which are only mildly toxic, consider that Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are human diseases that are on the rise and are associated with neural functions. Steer clear of any biocides that are so powerful and new and released without adequate testing regarding the effects on animals and humans or worse, released in spite of known effects. Reducing the time spent tending roses is not worth the risk of agonizing diseases and death. This is simply one example. Again, educate yourself as to chemical dangers with any products you use and at work consult the Material Safety Data Sheets your employer must maintain for your reference.
Keep your immune system happy. Take vitamin C, fish oil and natural foods. A natural food is something that your great-grandmother would have recognized as food.
Whatever you do and wherever you are, stretch at least every two hours. Figure out some sort of exercise routine, even if it is just doing sit-ups and jogging in place on a daily basis. Stay hydrated. Don’t just drink alcohol or coffee, drink water. Don’t snack uncontrollably, one good rule is to not eat after 8 PM. Seek out advice on health from knowledgeable people and be proactive with preventive care. Remember the credo, first, do no harm. And keep thinking!
We know a few things that have been proven, at least empirically, to shorten our lives. Not all of them are well-recognized.
The first thing to avoid is smoking. I think we all understand this one. This includes avoiding breathing second-hand smoke and avoiding diesel fumes from unfiltered buses. Live away from major bus routes (or avoid drift-in fumes) if you live in a city that has old unfiltered buses like many, including the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, otherwise famous
for being “green“. Arrange for your children to get to school without taking a diesel school bus that has not been upgraded to meet the 2007 Clean School Bus Standards for buses made in the US. Walk and bicycle for exercise and transportation but avoid bus and truck routes as much as possible,. Opt for tree-lined quiet street routes where possible.
The second thing to avoid is obesity. A Princeton study has conclusively proven that obesity is connected with diets with high fructose corn syrup. There are life-threatening and life-shortening aspects to obesity that go beyond all the ones that are obvious. One is that deaths at birth are much higher for women who are obese. Is it possible for a cultural shift to drinking water preferentially to drinks with high fructose corn syrup, or even drinking sweetened drinks that contain real sugar? This would make a tremendous difference in life expectancy.
Give blood, you will live longer, this is particularly true for males.
Maintain good dental hygiene.
Protect your skin. Use only sunscreen with the active ingredient zinc oxide and apply religiously. Avoid irritation by using zinc oxide lotion. If you are in an area with insects that can convey a deadly disease, take triple precautions. Use repellants (natural is as good as the bad stuff), use clothing protection and use barriers.
Drive, walk and bicycle safely.
Don’t keep loaded guns in the home and be wary if your spouse or ex-spouse suddenly seems to need a bunch of handguns and/or a short-barreled shotgun. Alert everyone you are around to be wary also.
If your work or your hobby involves using toxics, use full personal protective equipment. Downscale the toxicity of any products or chemicals to the extent possible and educate yourself on the dangers. For example, systemic hybrid rose treatment, and some other pesticides, contain IMD. IMD attacks the nerve ganglia of insects and is known to be a major factor in bee colony collapse. Regarding your health, quality of life and lifetime, before using pesticides that are essentially “weapons of mass destruction” compared to the old fashioned simple chemicals, which are only mildly toxic, consider that Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are human diseases that are on the rise and are associated with neural functions. Steer clear of any biocides that are so powerful and new and released without adequate testing regarding the effects on animals and humans or worse, released in spite of known effects. Reducing the time spent tending roses is not worth the risk of agonizing diseases and death. This is simply one example. Again, educate yourself as to chemical dangers with any products you use and at work consult the Material Safety Data Sheets your employer must maintain for your reference.
Keep your immune system happy. Take vitamin C, fish oil and natural foods. A natural food is something that your great-grandmother would have recognized as food.
Whatever you do and wherever you are, stretch at least every two hours. Figure out some sort of exercise routine, even if it is just doing sit-ups and jogging in place on a daily basis. Stay hydrated. Don’t just drink alcohol or coffee, drink water. Don’t snack uncontrollably, one good rule is to not eat after 8 PM. Seek out advice on health from knowledgeable people and be proactive with preventive care. Remember the credo, first, do no harm. And keep thinking!
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