[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by golf4me

You say that but I don't think you agree with VPs diet. I think your diplomacy made golfingnut miss your point.. In fact you have disagreed with VPs diet many times.

Completely plant based with a teaspoon or so of fat is very hard to maintain over time. I would call it an extreme diet.

My diet is mostly plant based but not completely plant based. I often put one teaspoon of olive oil in a dish of soup for flavoring. That's for taste. 2 or 3 teaspoons of olive oil would taste the same, so there's no point in using more.

I bet I could find a lot of faults with your diet. But one would have to be confident to put their diet out for everyone to see. And I don't know of anyone else who has done it.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by gomoho

Well now, that certainly sums things up!

Yes, it does. 0 + 0 = 0

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

Really?!? You're equating moderate health and a moderate lifespan" with a philosophy of all-things-in-moderation? Really? I mean...REALLY??!!??

Absolutely! And it has been proved scientifically. High calorie foods (even in moderation) equate to a shorter lifespan.

The lowest calorie whole-foods diet yields the longest lifespan, on average.
And to the extent you increase calories, lifespan gets shorter.

And it doesn't mean you have to count calories. You just have to be aware of the difference between high calorie processed foods and natural whole foods.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by AutoBike

BTW, the Okinawan diet is high in pork and sweet potatoes, from what I read.

I should have made it clear in my opening post that I was referring to the Okinawan lifestyle as set forth in the book "The Okinawa Program". That book was the result of a 25 year study. At that time, Okinawans were the healthiest and longest lived people in the world. When the book was written, several years ago, the authors mentioned that lifestyle standards were declining. For example, I believe there were already one or two McDonald's restaurants and the younger generation was slowly acquiring a taste fast food.

That's why the 25 year study and the book are so valuable. It's a snapshot in time of a healthy lifestyle. In the future, we may never have another example like it to follow.

As far as eating a lot of pork: That may very well be true today but at the time of the study, their total consumption of animal protein was only about 15 % of their diet, on average. By comparison, the total amount of animal protein consumed by Americans was about 52%, on average.

Sweet potatoes: Back in the very early days when there was a drastic shortage of food, they ate a lot of sweet potatoes to keep from starving.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

It's not all about nutrition. Having a social network of supportive friends also contributes to a long and happy life. And this has been statistically proven. Even the love of a pet will help reduce blood pressure. I personally believe that living a life filled with zest and joy helps the immune system to fight disease.

I won't disagree with that in general. It certainly shouldn't hurt to have a social network and it might help. But suppose a person has high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease because of being overweight or obese? And suppose that person's friends like to go out to eat fast food? Is that going to help or hurt?

At best, a dog might shave a couple of points off of high blood pressure. So it's not a cure for high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease.

Zest and joy, oh boy! That's definitely a plus but lets put it together with a healthy diet. Let's not eat all the wrong foods and then try to fix it with "zest and joy". I've seen people try to do that and it works up to a point but then they develop all kinds of health issues in their older years.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by janmcn

A recent newspaper article about a centenarian birthday party in Sun City, attended by about 20 some celebrants, asked the age old question to one 101 year old man. What advice do you have to live a long life? His reply "I can't give any advice since I still smoke and drink" he said as he climbed in his car and drove away. This guy, in my opinion, will eventually die with a big smile on his face.

People absolutely love stories like that because it means that maybe their bad habits won't hurt them either. When he says he drinks, it may be something as harmless as 4 ounces of wine with a meal. And it has been speculated by doctors that the harm from smoking can be offset by a diet that is high in antioxidants. Many years ago, there were some Okinawans who were known to smoke into very old age without any health issues. But if a smoker eats the standard American diet of highly processed foods, I wouldn't count on living to any advanced old age.

There was a story of a woman in France who lived to be about 115 or older. When they asked her to what she attributed her longevity, she said she quit smoking when she was 100 years old. But the media never try to get the whole story. I believe she lived in the country where people grow and eat their own fruit and vegetables and don't eat processed foods.

Also, no one knows how much they smoked. When I was in high school, my best friend's father smoked exactly one cigarette per day, after dinner. He would get it from his son who smoked a pack a day.

About dying with a smile: I only smoked for 15 years but I grew to hate it. I hated it but had a difficult time quiting. In my opinion, there's nothing to smile about when it comes to smoking addiction. It stinks!

Notice how few men are in the photo.

Also notice that men are bigger, taller and stronger than women. And they pay a price for it. The bigger you are, the more calories you need to sustain yourself. And this is what I just finished telling someone else. The higher the number of calories your diet calls for, the shorter your lifespan will be.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

...And it has been proved scientifically...

You keep telling yourself that, VP. Using your interpretation I have no doubt it's true.

[Barefoot]

...

[KeepingItReal]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
That's why I went back and changed the word from "deserve" to "qualified".
If you're satisfied with moderate health and a moderate lifespan that's your choice. I love life and expect to have the best health and live a long long life.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
...And it has been proved scientifically...

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

You keep telling yourself that, VP. Using your interpretation I have no doubt it's true.

In ones own mind and in their own mental world anything can be true to them, no medical credentials, medical training, or experience here to base anything on...much less science...just conjecture based on opinion, biased surveys to promote a cause, and self serving half truths..there are many many more contributing factors to health than just diet. Good diets do not guarantee good health, bad diets do not guarantee bad health, and good diets do not guarantee we will live longer. God will decide how long we live not us by eating a certain way. If one is blessed with good heath they should be thankful instead of disparaging others, guess the previous post had the best idea..the least said the better...

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

VP

I have a great solution for you. Move to Okinawa. I bet you would be so much happier then you are in TV. It's really not such a bad place. Been there many times. My wife lived there for a while. Except the last time I was there, they moved us to each different location in the airport with armed guards carrying AK 47's. Not for me, but you might love it.

I doubt that I would love it. I don't speak Japanese and I wouldn't like eating restaurant food 3 times a day. What would be the point of it? Anyway, it's my patriotic duty to stay here to help make The Villages "America's healthiest hometown." And I can help just by being here, being healthy without taking prescription drugs, and setting a good example for others.

And health care is not so good either. There infant death statistic is excellent. Of course they don't count it as a birth until the baby is 6 weeks old. Here we count it when born. Look it up if you doubt me.

It would help if you would give your source of information.

And also the poor there have limited access to good health care so some of those "facts" you quote might be skewed just a bit.

In what way would my facts be skewed? If they enjoy good health, in spite of limited access to good health care, that makes their good health and longevity all the more amazing.

But you seem very willing to bet your life they are right. Sorry, but I don't believe there life is so perfect.

Lets not get carried away. I don't follow the Okinawan diet completely as it is presented in the book. I only used it as an example of the benefits one can get from a low calorie diet. I would never bet my life (as if it would be a big risk) on one source. As far as their lives being perfect, who said that?

I do agree that eating good food improves your quality of life, and exercise is a benefit to longevity as well. Obesity is also not good for a healthy life, however there is no magic answer.

Well, then we are in agreement!

As to your wine advice. Cheap wine does not equate to the price, but to the quality. I have had some excellent wines for under $10 a bottle. And some excellent wines for $300 a bottle. I have about 1000 bottles in my wine cellar......

Is that cellar in your restaurant?

[Villages PL]

I did find some information in the book, "The Okinawa Program", that was based on the 25-year study of Okinawa. It was conducted by 2 American doctors and 1 Japanese doctor, and they were the authors of the book that came out in 2001. You can say it's outdated if you want to, but the point of the study is to provide a snapshot in time of a healthy lifestyle.

At the time of the study, the world rankings for longevity were as follows: (And the source of information was the World Health Organization, Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare)

....................Average Life expectancy
1) Okinawa...............81.2

2) Japan...................79.9

3) Hong Kong.............79.1

4) Sweden.................79.0

8) Italy......................78.3

10) Greece..................78.1

18) United States.........76.8

The authors claim that every city, town and village has had reliable birth and death statistics since 1879. And based on those statistics, Okinawa had the highest concentration of centenarians. In a population of 1.3 million, they had 400 centenarians. That's about 34 per 100,000 population. In the U.S. it was 5 to 10 per 100,000. That's a big difference.

The 3 doctors spent 25 years doing this study, they put their reputations and credibility on the line, so I'm sure they gave careful thought to providing accurate statistics.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

You keep telling yourself that, VP. Using your interpretation I have no doubt it's true.

It's not my interpretation, read the following book that was written by a highly qualified gereatrician/research doctor: "Beyond the 120-Year Diet" by Roy L. Walford, M.D. He provides a brief history of all the studies going back to the 1930s. These studies have been done over and over again all around the world to show a direct relationship between calorie consumption and lifespan.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by KeepingItReal

In ones own mind and in their own mental world anything can be true to them.......God will decide how long we live not us by eating a certain way.

I found it amazing that you scorned me by stating that it's all in my mind and my own mental world, and therefore, that's what makes it true to me. And then you state that God will decide how long we live. Is God not of your own mind and mental world?

[perrjojo]

I love reformed Smokers, Drinkers, Born Again Christains and diet experts.
I may say that PL has many valid points but sometimes our zeal for a thing gets in the way of others hearing the message.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Yes, I agree. Even among the Okinawans, who are the healtiest and longest lived people in the world, 6 out of 100,000 people die from breast cancer each year. That was in my opening post so I'm glad you understood that "usually" doesn't mean "always".

But what must you think when you read: 6 Okinawan breast cancer deaths per 100,000 people versus 33 in the U.S.?

Buy the way, I looked up the word "deserve" in the dictionary and it has multiple meanings, as one might expect. One implies punishment but then it said "qualified" and I think that word works better to express my point. So I went back and changed it to "qualified".

You're talking about a difference of 27 out of 100,000. It's really pretty insignificant if you look at it that way.