20 strategies to live longer
(Part I)
I am a 47-year-old business-man. Lately, I have been having pains in my back and chest. I am worried about my life and I am willing to spend money to be healthier. What can you advise me?
Everyone, at some point in their lives, will come face to face with their own mortality. It could be triggered by a biopsy, a laboratory test, or a nagging symptom. When this happens at age 30, 40 or 50, you begin to search for ways to regain your health and extend your life.
Painful fact 1: The Filipino life expectancy is only 70 years and the world’s average lifespan is 79. Many of us are past the halfway mark and we’re not ready to go just yet.
Painful fact 2: Patients vehemently assert they don’t want to live until 90 and become a burden to society. They only say that because they’re young. As my lola used to say when she was 93 years old, “Don’t tell me I’m gonna live till a hundred, because 100 is not so far away anymore.”
To lessen our STAR readers’ anxiety, I’m listing down the top 20 scientifically sound ways to add more years to your life. I’ve also placed a level of difficulty for the tips mentioned, from one asterisk to five asterisks: * = very easy, *** = difficult but doable, ***** = extremely hard.
I’ve also listed the amount of health benefit one can expect from that strategy: * = may have a little health benefit, *** = good chance of prolonging your life, ***** = will add many years to your life. Let’s start with number 20 on the list:
• Be a type B personality. More relaxed and less stressed. One sure way to get a heart attack is to have a workaholic, perfectionist, and stubborn personality, the so-called Type A personality. In contrast, the Type B personality is a more relaxed, less time-conscious and less driven person. Type B personalities are able to adapt to problems and are therefore less stress-prone.
For example, try to reduce your targets and goals for the year. Choose your battles and lessen your enemies. Learn to unload the heavy burden and guilt churning inside you.
(Difficulty level **; health benefit *.)
• Check your vitamins and supplements. Did you know that there are very few studies to prove that taking vitamins or supplements will make you live longer? In fact, in a Lancet report, Dr. Goran Bjelakovic of
As for other supplements, it’s a case-to-case basis depending on your medical condition. The best and most proven food supplement out there is omega-3 fish oil for heart disease. Ginseng and melatonin may have health benefits, too, but more data are still needed. Be careful about what you read and believe.
(Difficulty level *; health benefit **.)
• Pray (in addition to seeking medical care). In 2 Kings 20:6, a severely ill Hezekiah prayed to God, and he was granted a 15-year life extension. How we wish it was as simple as that. Recently, Time magazine boosted the stocks on prayers and healing in its special report. In a study of cancer patients, those who confronted their illness through positive thinking, medicines. and prayers, lived longer. However, those who gave up on medical care and just relied on prayers alone ended up dying sooner. Hence, use prayers and doctors together. As Sirach 38: 1-2 says, “Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them; and their gift of healing comes from the Most High.”
(Difficulty level **; health benefit**. It’s unknown, but I believe it.)
• Read up on your disease. Dr. Joslin, the world-renowned diabetes expert, says, “The educated patient lives longer.” However, you should be able to separate fact from fiction. Here’s a medical secret few people know about: Medical knowledge comes very slowly and through an accumulation of positive studies over many years. If you read a health breakthrough splashed on the front pages, please don’t believe it yet. Diet fads and taking the latest fad supplements may do more harm than good. Wait and wait until the smoke clears up. Just look at what happened to eggs, coffee, and hormone replacement therapy. They seesawed from being good to bad to maybe good again. The truth, I suspect, is somewhere in between. Read up on your problems. but always ask your doctor to guide you.
(Difficulty level **; health benefit **.)
• Get vaccinated. My good friends, Dr. Denton Chua and Dr. Anne Lagman, have made it their passion and calling to immunize Filipinos. They have started a company called the Immunizers, whose niche is to immunize, give free lectures, and educate the public about each and every vaccine.
Why such an obsession for vaccines? Simple, because vaccines save and prolong lives. Think hepatitis B vaccine. Think polio, rabies, tetanus, and pneumonia vaccines. All serious illnesses preventable by a simple vaccine. It’s easy to say that vaccines are costly and don’t make you feel better. But once you get hit by these diseases, it could shorten your life.
In a nutshell, vaccines are the thinking man’s strategy to live longer. You may contact the Immunizers at 744-5552 and 744-5553.
(Difficulty level **; health benefit ***.)
• Limit or avoid alcohol. Here’s a favorite line from my alcoholic patients, “Doc, I’ve read that red wine is good for my heart.” After a deep breath I ask, “How much red wine do you drink?” “Well,” they sheepishly say, “sometimes I finish a bottle.”
“Drinking in moderation“ is a much abused phrase. If you want to know the real score on alcohol, here it is: liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, stomach ulcers, oral cancers, brain damage, dementia, nerve damage, depression, abusive behavior, and vehicular accidents. As a cardiologist, I have never asked my patients to drink wine for health benefits. Moreover, I will never advise our youth to drink wine for some miniscule and controversial health benefit. It’s the flavonoids in the grapes that are supposed to be healthy, not alcohol per se.
(Difficulty level **** for alcoholics; health benefit for avoiding alcohol ***.)
• Do charity work. Join a volunteer group. In a study involving 3,617 respondents and conducted by Prof. Peggy Thoits of the
From the Golden Rule to recent business strategies incorporating charity work, helping others has always been the best stress reliever and anti-depressant. Help others and you help yourself. If you’re depressed because of your illness, then look at your neighbor who can’t even afford to buy medicines. Helping others, especially those poorer and sicker than you, will make you feel more fulfilled and floating with a different high. Surely, it will improve the quality and quantity of your life. Try it.
(Difficulty level **; health benefit ***.)
• Find a good doctor. A good doctor can help you live longer. If this is true, then it follows that a not-so-good doctor may shorten your life. To be safe, choose only board-certified doctors. Next, ask around about your doctor’s reputation and prescribing habits. Are his prescriptions effective, affordable, and tailored to your medical condition?
Find a few good doctors and stick to them for life. Having too many doctors can lead to confusion and too many conflicting medicines. Your doctors’ job is to guide you on your checkups (laboratories, vaccines, cancer screening) and help you decide on your treatment plans.
(Difficulty level ***; health benefit ***.)
• Exercise moderately. Recent studies have shown that even mild exercise has health benefits. Because of this, I am wary of exercise regimens where one aims to achieve 85 percent of the target heart rate. If you ask a sedentary 70-year-old guy to reach his maximum heart rate of 150, well, he might reach 150, but then his heart rate will drop to 0. No heart rate. No life. Heart attack due to overexertion. Did you know that there are several reports of fatalities from a routine treadmill exercise test?
The lesson is to exercise safely, gradually, and moderately. Moderate exercise has been proven to prevent diabetes, maintain body weight, and lessen arthritis. Exercise a minimum of three times a week to maintain your ideal weight and muscle tone. If you plan to enroll in a gym, get a doctor’s clearance first. Try to avoid high-impact exercises like basketball and badminton as you grow older. Swimming, brisk walking, and tai chi are excellent exercises.
(Difficulty level **; health benefit ***.)
• Marry. Statistics show that, on the average, married persons live longer. For single persons living alone, they may have no one to attend to them in cases of emergencies. Also, single persons may have less social support. On the other hand, married persons find fulfillment in their spouse and kids. I’ve seen successful middle-age businessmen who don’t even know what pills they’re taking. A top executive tells me in front of his wife, “Sorry Doc, you gotta ask my wife. She feeds me all my pills. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.” What a lucky guy!
But don’t feel bad if you’re single. Sometimes, it’s better to be single rather than getting stuck with an abusive and womanizing husband. In addition, single individuals can compensate by having a large support group of family and friends.
(Difficulty level *****. Where, oh where, are the soul mates? Health benefit ***.)
OK, that’s it for now. Next week, don’t miss the top 10 most proven ways to prolong your life. Some tips may surprise you!
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For questions and comments, e-mail drwillieong@gmail.com.
