Adding 10 Good Years to Your Life.

I recently read a book called "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest" by Dan Buettner.    In this book,  the author discussed the lifestyles, diet and exercise patterns of certain locations around the world where there is a high preponderance of people living past 100 years of age and in many cases,  having an active, independent lifestyle at the same time.   He refers to these areas as Blue Zones.    One of the areas that he researched and discussed was a town about 60 miles east of  Los Angeles called Loma Linda,  California.

Loma Linda has one of the the largest concentrations of Seventh Day Adventist  (a Christian Religion founded in 1863 in the United States) in the world .   One of the major tenets of the religion is its focus on health.    Adventists are required to keep a kosher diet and are encouraged  not drink alcohol or smoke and to keep a vegetarian diet.  In Loma Linda,  many restaurants have a large vegetarian menu and the largest supermarket in the city is completely  vegetarian.     Regular exercise is also encouraged.   Quoting the official Adventist website.

"Part of that example includes taking care of our health—we believe God calls us to care for our bodies, treating them with the respect a divine creation deserves. Gluttony and excess, even of something good, can be detrimental to our health.

Exercise and avoidance of harmful substances such as tobacco, alcohol and mind-altering substances lead to clear minds and wise choices. A well-balanced vegetarian diet that avoids the consumption of meat coupled with intake of legumes, whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables, along with a source of vitamin B12, will promote vigorous health. 

Such health is a gift from a loving God who wants us to live life in its abundance. When we benefit from such love, we feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation toward our creator. Because of this, Adventists choose to praise God with joyful living."

In 1974,  the School of Public Health in Loma Linda University started a study of the health of all Seventh Day Adventists in California.   The study  was " designed to find out which components of the Adventist lifestyle give protection against disease".   Over 34,000 white, non-Hispanic Adventists had their health tracked for 12 years and were continually updating the study with their health , diet and exercise information.    The results of the study showed that the Adventist diet and lifestyle (including < 1% smokers) contributed to a longer life than the average life span of a Californian in the same demographic group.     To quote a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article on the study;

" California Adventists have higher life expectancies at the age of 30 years than other white Californians by 7.28 years (95% confidence interval, 6.59-7.97 years) in men and by 4.42 years (95% confidence interval, 3.96-4.88 years) in women, giving them perhaps the highest life expectancy of any formally described population. Commonly observed combinations of diet, exercise, body mass index, past smoking habits, and hormone replacement therapy (in women) can account for differences of up to 10 years of life expectancy among Adventists.,"

The chart below is very interesting because it shows that at age 80,   over 60% of Adventists versus less than 40% of the non-Adventist population were still alive.    What is also significant is that more than 25% of Adventists were still alive at 90 versus less than 10% of the non-Adventist population.

   
While cigarette smoking is a major contributor to the decreased life expectancy amongst non-Adventists,  other factors contributed to variations of longevity within the Adventist population itself.    The study also analyzed the impact of diet choices on the Adventist longevity.   Additionally, the study  looked at patterns of exercise.  The  7.28 years for men included both vegetarian, vegan and non-vegetarians, sedentary and active.   Just looking at the impact of diet on longevity,  the article concluded "Adventist vegetarian men and women have expected ages at death of 83.3 and 85.7 years, respectively. "  This compares to 73 for men and 79.7 in the general US equivalent population.   While this does not conclusively point to just vegetarianism,   it does indicate an increased life span for those who take care about what they eat.     The JAMA article does say "

Non-Adventists are usually non-vegetarian, eat nuts much less frequently, exercise vigorously less frequently,and are more likely to be current (or past) cigarette smokers than Adventists who for practical purposes do not smoke.  Vegetarians also have lower body mass index values.The magnitude of the longevity contrasts between California Adventists and non-Adventists can be readily accounted for by the combined effects of commonly seen differences in these behavioral variables. The analyses comparing Adventists with others, and those within the Adventist population, are broadly consistent. This suggests that we have been able to identify many of the important variables accounting for their higher expected age at death."

Adding in the impact of exercise,  we find a range of 2 to 5 added years on studies done.

"It was estimated that higher physical activity may extend life by at least 2.1 years in a Finnish study. The College Alumni Study group estimated an extra 2.51 years for more active 35- to 39-year-old men, before the age of 80 years. The Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly found that nonsmokers with high physical activity had more than 5 years greater life expectancy at the age of 65 years when compared with those with low physical activity.   "

On top of the additional years that a healthy diet and exercise focused lifestyle can give us,  we must also be aware of the impact of this diet  and exercise focus on your general health and at an advanced age.   It would be no joy to live a long life to not be able to enjoy these later years.   Studies have shown that that the vegetarians take less medication and have fewer overnight hospital stays, surgical procedures, and x-ray examinations than non-vegetarians. Vegetarians also have a reduced prevalence of such diseases as hypertension and diabetes.     Regular exercise keeps your body stronger,  more balanced and less prone to injury.  

So in  a nutshell,   who would not want ten more years of a healthy active life.   While it is not guaranteed and there are many contributing factors to our mortality,  moving toward a vegetarian diet (at least reducing meat and dairy consumption) and exercising more will give us a chance.  It is really in your own hands.

Below is the link to the JAMA Article.   It is a really good read. 

Journal of the AMA Article



Namaste.