Do you wonder if you’ll make it to 100 and if so what will your quality of life be like? I often do and I now know that it is absolutely possible if you lead a healthy diet and lifestyle and perhaps choose your risks accordingly! (I personally wouldn’t sky jump for this reason). This book “Healthy at 100” is my affirmation that it is possible and I am devouring it right now- see the sticky notes! In a nut shell John Robbins (Also author of “Diet for a New America”) shares research of four very different cultures where some of the world’s healthiest, oldest people live to be 100-120yrs old. Robbins reveals their secrets for living an extended and fulfilling life. These elders are wise, vibrant and healthy, often out on the soccer field, not just watching the center field but playing this position! Thru analyzing these cultures it is apparent that the common threads are diet, exercise and surprisingly healthy personal relationships. Their diets are comprised of real food, period. Processed food is virtually non-existent, save for some soybean curd or rather tofu.
I would have to say that many of the people that I know that are in their 60’s even those in their 50’s are not old, they are just unhealthy. They are winding down their lives by retiring and walking around with aches and pains and arthritis and what not- and they blame it all on old age, even diminishing eyesight. It’s what we’ve been conditioned to believe and yet it is not the case in these 4 cultures examined within this book. Most of the world’s population is unhealthy and yet we know it doesn’t have to be this way if one chooses otherwise. With the wealth of knowledge at our fingertips thru incredible research, authors and the internet as our library there is no reason for us not to be aware of how to live a healthier lifestyle. So why don’t we live a healthier lifestyle is the question?
You would think it would be so simple to just eat your veggies and fruits, but we have swayed so far from our natural ability to be healthy that it’s a long way back to where we should be. From what’s actually readily available to eat that is easy and tempting (fast foods), to what we believe to be a healthy diet including the food guides that are completely unbalanced and to the addictions that many have to the processed foods they think are pretty good choices it’s a sea of bad, bad food options. It’s an enormous problem this food thing. So much so that it is often overwhelming to think about it and how to help that I find it difficult to shop in conventional grocery stores and witness the heaping shopping carts full of all the wrong food choices being pushed down the aisle by an unhealthy looking shopper. I just want to help them because they don’t realize the implications of that heaping shopping cart and the potential for disease that will plague them just by eating their poor grocery choices. Add to that the stress of their everyday lives which most of us are burdened with and it’s a ticking time bomb for disease.
So here I sit, making my contribution to further enlighten anyone who is considering extending their life whom I hope will too share with others and spread the word that we really can live to be healthy at 100! Thanks to John Robbins for your wonderful contribution to educating and inspiring the worlds population with the wisdoms of our healthy elders.
Although this book doesn’t discuss the alkaline diet guidelines, it is revealed that the diets of these cultures have an intricate balance of nutrition that is completely missing in the diets of most of the worlds population. Naturally following plant based diets, with very limited amounts of animal proteins and ample minerals, & omegas these folks are living proof that food does make a difference. Add to that their spiritual & mental health and exercise, you too could live to be 100 or even 120!
Order your copy right here and check out John’s website.
Alkaline Green Smoothie
Carrot, Jicama & Sweet Pepper Slaw
Roasted Root Wrap
{ 2 comments }
Julie – I rarely shop in conventional supermarkets any more. I find it much too distressing. I have been a primary teacher for many years and still do relief teaching from time to time. Watching what the children have to eat I wonder if many of them will live to be fifty, let alone a hundred. So many of them are overweight, unfit, and so badly behaved. In my school we have at the last count, ten type1 diabetics, so many ADHDs, and two children with childhood arthitis (for which they are on a cancer drug by the way!). This beggars belief! None of these diseases was around when I was a child!
You see as a society we have become such passive shoppers. We are complacent. Under an avalanche of persuasive advertising, we fail to crtitically assess or reflect on what is on offer and we buy. Price, taste and convenience have taken pride of place over healthy.
We are fortunate where I live, in that we have a terrific organic shop close to home, and one very good health store. There (and in my garden) is where I shop. I make my own toothpaste, so when I really have to shop in the supermarket it’s for toilet rolls, toothbrush heads and washing powder, and not much else.
But getting back to schools and children, one thing that really concerns me is one little girl who is diabetic. She has a pump that serves to regulate her insulin levels. So, she takes her readings and determined by the showing, she is allowed to have a packet of chips, or a meusli bar, or some other junk food – the very things that have caused her to be diabetic! This disgusts me. But doctors tell her mother that she needs to feel just like any other kid! Bit hard to trust that kind of feedback in my opinion.
I used to run long distances. I did so for many years but stopped a few years ago because my knees hurt…and then I changed my diet, (which at that stage I’d considered to be pretty healthy compared to most) drank lots of purified water, alkalised my system and now I am back running.
Maria, thank you for sharing. Gosh it deeply saddens me too, thus my journey here to share this alkaline lifestyle. More and more folks are becoming aware of the reasons for their ailments-diet & lifestyle- and the word alkaline is becoming a buzz word. It takes time to seep into peoples lives but those of us doing it are inspiring others to take notice of why we are so healthy and then inquire as to how we go about it. The motivation has to come from them so I hope to also reach the parents of unhealthy children who can inspire their children. If there was only more time in a day I would visit schools, maybe one day. Jamie Oliver is doing a wonderful job and I hope parents are watching his TV appearances. On the flip side, some we may never inspire since they will only listen to their doctors, many of whom refuse to acknowledge the desperate need for a whole food diet free from processed foods, let alone an alkaline diet. We can only hope that these doctors wisen up sometime soon, for the sake of their patients lives and that these patients learn to do their own research.
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