Hey Friend,
One of the most important things, especially as you get older, is your health. Wouldn't you agree?
It's not something anyone really thinks about when they are in their 20's or 30's, and maybe not even in their 40's.
But once we hit the 50's and 60's+, I think we start to think a lot more about it.
Maybe because we see our parents aging, or our friend's parents, or people we work with, etc.
Whatever the reason, it's definitely something that most of us start to contemplate as we get older.
And I know for me, it's not just about wanting to live long, but to also live long AND healthy. I don't want to live long if I'm in a nursing home or if I'm not able to walk or think clearly.
So how can we prevent our bodies and our minds from aging ungracefully (I had to check if that was actually a word...and it is! :)
Well, as ironic as this is, there is one thing we can do that will give us a much better chance at aging gracefully well into our 90's and maybe even our 100's and dare I say our 110's and 120's?
There was an article (screenshot below) that appeared recently in the March 25th issue of the New York Times.
It's about a scientist from Italy, Dr. Longo, who is also a professor of gerontology and director of the U.S.C. Longevity Institute in California.
He says that Italy has a very large population of Centenarians (people living to 100 years old and beyond).
He says the Italians aren't studied enough about their longevity, but he attributes it to these centenarians having been protected from later disease by a *STARVATION PERIOD and old-fashioned Mediterranean diet early in life, during rural Italy’s abject war-era poverty. Then a boost of proteins and fats and modern medicine after Italy’s postwar economic miracle protected them from frailty as they got older and kept them alive.
*Starvation Period...I have that in all caps and with an asterisk because I want to share something with you that was the basis of the entire article. THESE PEOPLE WERE FASTING! It wasn't by choice, it was done during a time of war and poverty, but they were still fasting.
It could, he said, be a “historical coincidence that you’ll never see again.”
And why will we never see it again?
Well, my thought is because it's very difficult to get people on board with fasting because it's not talked about enough by mainstream media.
And why isn't it?
By now you should be able to recite this with me....Because there is no money to be made by the big box companies and food industries by telling people to fast.
