MYTH: People live longer than ever before.

Many of us believe this statement. Do people live longer today than they did 100 years ago?

 

It is often claimed that lifespan has increased significantly in the past 100 years, but when we re-examine the data, we find that this is not the case. The statistic shows improvement because children being lost early in life in the beginning of the century to infectious disease skew the statistics. Later on in the century, when the water and food supplies were cleaned up, the statistics improved, not because we were living longer, but because the young age at which many children were dying suddenly improved. Do we currently survive any longer once we are past childhood than we did one hundred years ago? The longevity of white males in 1900 was 24.5 years survival as an adult. In 1990, it was 28.2 years, an increase of only 3.7 years. The numbers are only slightly better for white women.

Put in another way, the question is: how many more healthy years have been added to our lifespan?

 

After all, we want not only an increase in the number of years that we live but we also want to be healthy during those years. However, our healthy lifespan has not increased. This means that we are living a little longer, but only as disabled individuals. Why would we want to live longer if the additional time is spent suffering? The important point here is : how can we increase the amount of time that we spend HEALTHY?

 

MYTH: People get physically weaker as they get older.

The research is clear --; older people are physically weaker. Why? Not because they are aging, but because they are more sedentary than their younger counterparts.

 

In nature, most creatures spend almost their entire lifespans in a healthy state. Their health degenerates very quickly at the end of their lives. Humans currently have a very different pattern, in that their health begins to degenerate slowly right after reaching adulthood to the end of their lives.

 

Dr. Evans of Tufts University describes aging as nothing more than the accumulated results of a lifetime of inactivity. The theme here is use it or lose it! Rest is not what people need as they age.

 

What are the risks of inactivity?

• Low energy
• Fatigue
• Decreased strength
• Decreased aerobic capacity
• Poor regulation of blood sugar levels (diabetes)
• Increased risk of AS due to cholesterol rise
• Increased risk of hypertension
• Decreased bone density (OP)
• Decreased ability to regulate body temperature.
• In fact, after age 40, the average person loses 6.6 lb of muscle per year. At age 20, 90% of the volume of the thigh is muscle. By age 90, its only 30% - the rest is fat and bone. Having maintained only a third of their muscle mass, it is no wonder many seniors feel physically weak and feeble.

 

The good news is: even a modest strengthening program can double or triple an elderly person's strength in only a few months. Even at the age of 96, studies have shown that men and women can substantially increase strength and the size of their muscles.

 

To most of us, progressive degeneration with age seems an unavoidable fact of life. Yet while aging is inevitable, degeneration isn't. Our unhealthful lifestyles and toxic modern environment greatly accelerate the process, and much can be done to improve the situation. The body normally repairs most damage in a timely and effective manner. It is only when damage becomes excessive or repair deficient that degeneration occurs. The greater the imbalance between damage and repair, the faster our rate of aging and degeneration.

 

Causes of excessive damage include: overuse injuries, exposure to environmental pollutants, excessive free radicals, poor metabolic function

 

Causes of deficient repair: inadequate rest, excessive stress, poor blood supply, neurological defect, inadequate nutrition, loss of DNA repair adequacy.

 

MYTH: As we age, we can expect to suffer from chronic degenerative disease.

More than 80% of Americans over 60 suffer from at least one serious chronic degenerative disease, and figures are similar in many Western cultures. In the naturopathic community, we see a lot of seniors who suffer from such diseases. These are primarily diseases of lifestyle. Also think about the relationship of these processes to other diseases:

• Alzheimer's disease
• ALS
• Angina
• Cancer
• Congestive heart failure
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Macular degeneration
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis

 

Lets use the example of osteoarthritis. It is a degeneration of the protective cartilage on the end of individual bones that make up the articulating surfaces of the joint. Osteoarthritis is caused by an imbalance between degeneneration and repair.

Deterioration is accentuated by our conventional treatment of OA which is to treat it's symptoms, not it's cause. Treating the symptoms in the case of OA usually means taking painkillers like aspirin or ibuprofen. Decreasing pain allows us to continue to use a joint as if nothing was wrong with it - adding to the overuse stress on the joint. In addition, the painkillers themselves actually block collagen synthesis required for cartilage repair. Now we are adding stress to the joint (damage) while inhibiting the repair processes that could fix it. So in the long run, we are contributing to the problem by treating the symptoms in this way.

 

Another startling thing to note is that although those over 60 make up only 1/6 of the population, they take 40% of all prescription drugs. The typical senior takes 13 different medications each year, resulting in a 10% incidence of adverse drug reactions.

 

MYTH: People in this country are well fed. There is little or no malnutrition in Western countries.

This is totally untrue. A survey or Americans 65 to 98 found that virtually all were deficient in at least one nutrient and than 40% of men and 35% of women had an intake of less than 2/3 the recommended amount of at least five essential nutrients. The problem is often accentuated in the elderly because preparation of regular meals can be a problem in a population with low income and resources, or in particular, for elders who cannot manage on their own without help.

In fact, a person can be obese and still be malnourished.

This reflects not only on how much we eat, but WHAT WE EAT. Where is our food coming from? How do we prepare it? What are our food choices based on? Think about what this means in terms of repair &endash; if you do not have the materials to repair your body as they are required, your body cannot do its' job.

 

What can we do?

"To the Chinese, health is the natural or normal state of all things. To become sick, man must destroy his own health and this can be done either objectively or collectively. To the Chinese mind, therefore, moderation of action is considered the best defense against sickness. The individual who is uncertain should adjust his own life to natural patterns and try not to disturb universal processes. His concept of health should not be victory over sickness, but rather a victory over his own shortcomings. The person who follows nature in all things is a healthy person." -- Manly P Hall from The Medicine of the Sun and Moon.

 

We can take preventive measures:

• Proper nourishment
• Proper movement
• Proper rest and recuperation
• Proper cleanliness

 

We can take remedial measures:

• Supplement with key nutrients or herbs depending on the disease process.
• Maintain optimal weight
• Keep physically strong
• Recognize your inherited weaknesses and prepare for them
• Listen to your body
• Have a healthy emotional and spiritual life

 

From the publication of the Unity Church:

I am a spiritual being, ageless and eternal.

The idea that the older one gets, the more one slows down may be a widely accepted belief,

but I do not accept it.

I am a spiritual being, expressing the ageless, eternal life of God.

I do not look upon sickness as something synonymous with decreased age.

I erase from my mind every thought and belief that would age or idle me either physically or mentally.