Growing up, mom was always yelling. “Slow down! You’re going to kill yourself!” or “You’re playing too rough!” and my favorite “Don’t swim too soon after eating!”
It seemed like she was always giving out some form of health advice. And I never anticipated how right mom would turn out to be. Sure, she was overprotective and occasionally misguided, especially with her swimming worries. But the majority of her advice stands the test of time. Let me explain how.
Imagine if you were like Ms. Jeanne Louise Calment and you lived until you were 122 years old. What would you do to prepare? There is an old saying that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
https://philosiblog.com/2014/02/22/luck-is-what-happens-when-preparation-meets-opportunity/
Most people who live a healthy life to a ripe old age have had the opportunity to prepare. And since we don’t know when we will die, I recommend making preparations for a long life.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to prepare. There is no special secret nor is there a significant expense. It just takes some motivation. And it begins with change.
Changing your lifestyle in a manner similar to people who live a long healthy life.
And you only have to change as much as you want. But the more you prepare, the luckier you will get. And even a little bit of a change will create a little bit of luck.
So what are some easy things people do to live a long healthy life?
Drink more green tea. There are studies that show green tea will increase your lifespan by over 1 year. And it will improve your overall health.
https://www.eatthis.com/news-green-tea-live-longer/
If you enjoy it, adding green tea into your diet is an easy lifestyle change. And the results can be huge.
Physical fitness is also an easy lifespan enhancing activity. Before you couch potatoes begin to groan, I state emphatically that physical fitness can be easy. It is only as difficult as you make it. Because even a little bit of activity has a positive effect. If you had to, could you find one body part to stretch for 30 seconds? Or another body part you could move for 30 seconds? If you did only that little bit, you would have gained over six hours of exercise last year. And if you find the motivation, you could probably do more.
Another common factor among long-lived people is their ability to maintain their weight. This can be a hard one for many people. Try intermittent fasting. Or removing sugar from your diet. Don’t worry about your weight. Just make a change. And hold yourself accountable by making a goal to keep your waist size less than 1/2 your height. Grab a tape measure and measure around your waist at your belly button. And then compare that to how tall you are.
https://www.health-calc.com/body-composition/waist-to-height-ratio
And to be honest, most life lengthening activities are similar to what mom always said.
“Go out and play, spend time with your friends, stand up straight, eat all of your vegetables, get good sleep, don’t drink, don’t smoke, and always be nice to everyone you meet.“
It seems incredibly simple, but the best scientific research that we have says the same thing. It’s a lifestyle that mom always recommended.