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Originally Posted by pooh
Just to throw a little bit more into this particular discussion of what one eats and the state of health or unhealth....consider that genetics play a big part in our life span, not accounting for accidents. My Dad, bless his heart, passed away about two years ago at the age of 97. His Mother, his Grandmother, also lived into their late 90's. Their diets were beyond anything one would consider good....lots of meat, butter, fried foods, cold cuts, little dairy, not much on veggies, plenty of white bread, Dad and Great Grandma smoked, they drank, not heavily, but did have liquor now and then. For years and years, food fried was fried in hot lard.
I have nothing against eating good for you foods, however, as time passes, foods once considered to be bad for us are now on the good list...remember nuts, oils, wine... chocolate  ....now on the good list.
Even Adelle Davis didn't live forever. |
Thanks, pooh, for adding to the discussion. Genetics do play a part in health and longevity. For example, some people are born with lots of cholesterol receptors and some may be born with few. This probobly explains why your ancestors could eat lots of meat, butter, fried foods, cold cuts and dairy.
As far as smoking, my grandfather, who lived to 97, smoked until he was thirty. He also worked in coal mining after he came to the U.S.. Perhaps his healthy diet compensated for it. Okinawans who smoke don't seem to have any health problems because of it. It's thought that their healthy diets compensate for the harm done by smoking.
With your ancestors, perhaps it was the liquor and quality vegetables (even thought a small amount). There may be other things like CoQ10 which is produced by the liver. Maybe they produced a lot of it.
I believe my family has a lot of cholesterol receptors too because no one in my large extended family has ever had heart trouble. Having said that, I am a vegan because I'm trying to avoid getting cancer. Imagine, I could be eating all the meat I want but have to worry about something else besides getting heart trouble. But I don't really miss it. I will have a sardine or two once in a while. I love fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes etc..