Health is a result of action, not luck

[buickman50401]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
Genes = 20%


Let me give you an example of a real family, mine.
Grandparents on fathers side still alive 98 and 96 yrs old living at home and in very good health.
Grandfathers older brother 105 living at home and doing fine.
Grandfathers other older brother dies at 107 did great till the end.
Grandparents on mothers side lived into their 80's and 90's
Great grandmother on mothers side died at 99 she was not so good from about 95 on.
Uncle dies at 86 years old.
My parents are in their late 70's and doing fine.

All smoked, drank (some to real excess), didn't care what they ate, never used vitamins and stayed clear of doctors.
Uncle dies at 86 in a moped road accident, he was well hammered when he fell off driving home from the pub, he had a non filter hanging out of his mouth when they found him.
This is pure genetics and a lot more than 20% i'm sure.

All survived WWII, uncle was sunk twice in the north sea.
This is pure luck.


Another example illustrating the genetics component.

Jim Fixx.

Quote:

James Fuller Fixx (April 23, 1932–July 20, 1984) was the author of the 1977 best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running. Best known as Jim Fixx, he is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging.

On July 20, 1984, Fixx died at the age of 52 of a fulminant heart attack, after his daily run on Vermont Route 15 in Hardwick. The autopsy revealed that atherosclerosis had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%.[3]

Granted access to his medical records and autopsy, and after interviewing his friends and family, Cooper concluded that Fixx was genetically predisposed (his father died of a heart attack at age 43 and Fixx himself had a congenitally enlarged heart)

Exercise guru drops dead at age 52.

 

[Trajan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Corea

I used to listen to his show.

 

[Scoot_4_20]

Originally Posted By: Trav

Let me give you an example of a real family, mine.
Grandparents on fathers side still alive 98 and 96 yrs old living at home and in very good health.
Grandfathers older brother 105 living at home and doing fine.
Grandfathers other older brother dies at 107 did great till the end.
Grandparents on mothers side lived into their 80's and 90's
Great grandmother on mothers side died at 99 she was not so good from about 95 on.
Uncle dies at 86 years old.
My parents are in their late 70's and doing fine.

All smoked, drank (some to real excess), didn't care what they ate, never used vitamins and stayed clear of doctors.
Uncle dies at 86 in a moped road accident, he was well hammered when he fell off driving home from the pub, he had a non filter hanging out of his mouth when they found him.
This is pure genetics and a lot more than 20% i'm sure.

All survived WWII, uncle was sunk twice in the north sea.
This is pure luck.


That's great that your family has good genes. My family's genes aren't that good.

I once had 5 uncles and 1 aunt on my Dad's side, and all left is 1 uncle and my aunt, and they're both in their mid 80s and doing fairly well. One uncle died at age 43, one at age 50, another at 55, my Dad at 58, and another uncle at 64. Their Dad was 83 when he died. Their Mom died quite a bit younger at age 50 or so, I think.

My Mom died at age 76 of cancer. My Dad also died of cancer at 58. I lost one of my 2 sisters to pulmonary hemorrhage at age 56. I have 1 sister left that's in good health and in her mid 60s. she goes to a gym often and is fairly health conscious.

My family ate a lot different than me. My Dad used to eat a lot of processed meats like bologna, hot dogs, etc., (but we also ate real meat like beef, pork, etc.) and he worked at a gas company and I'd bet exposure to propane may have led to his illness.

I live my life and eat different than they did. Nowadays, we have the internet to help us live longer, if we're interested in alternative health, etc. I probably helped my Ma live longer because I got her interested in whole foods, etc., and she ate quite well in her later years (after 1979) a LOT better than she did when my Dad was alive.

I've heard about people with life threatening conditions turn their health around by changing their diet, etc., and that's why I place genes lower on the list, but that's just my opinion.

Now, if someone with great genes also dedicated themselves to whole foods, IMHO, they'd live to way over 100.

 

[JOD]

Outliers like Jim Fixx are just that: outliers. To be honest, your percentages probably underweight the lifestyle factors.

Folks who think that genetics dominate the equation are either incredibly ignorant, or smoking crack. If you have questions about this, simply take a look at the average lifespan of someone of African descent living in the Virgin Islands versus Liberia...

Genetics matter, for sure--but other things matter much, much more. Anecdotes are just that: anecdotes. Actual statistics paint a much more clear picture.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Statistics paint a clear picture? Then our medical establishment and the big drug/hippie conglomerates must be lying to all of us...consider this single simple statistic.

Our own government and any number of studies have basically shown again and again that the longest lived people on this planet have a cholesterol level of between 210 and 250. So why on Earth do we have a 20 billion dollar industry revolving around lowering our cholesterol to unsafe levels. Maybe it's because then they can also sell us drugs to correct the hormone problems caused by the low cholesterol levels?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Good one. Low cholesterol is linked to stroke, and my doctor gets testy when I tell him mine is right where I want it. The objective is to get you on any drug that you must take FOR LIFE.

That's where the money is.

Great quote, javacontour: Like everything else in life, it's about balance and making the most of what you have.

There's a lot of baloney being promulgated by the Medical Establishment. Note there are absolutely no stats proving any life extension benefits from exercise or drinking excess water. Yet they are constantly touted as saviors.

Not to sound too much like Urchin, but I smell a conspiracy here.