Do the most long lived people that you know have healthy lifestyles?

[Bumpitybumper]

I have been listening to a few podcasts lately that have really stressed the importance of healthy living and things like diet and exercise. None of them really have any tolerance for things that I think most of the population enjoy quite regularly like the odd biscuit or cake. They also don't think it's enough to eat a diet that would be traditionally considered healthy with 57
portions of fruit and veg as now the emphasis is on eating the right fruit and vegetables and nuts and seeds etc. You have to do a certain number of days cardio and strength training. It really is never ending.

It got me thinking that the people that I know that have lived the longest in relatively good health have generally been pretty active and eaten well but haven't really got anywhere close to the lifestyle that these health experts advocate. Is my experience unusual or have others found the same thing in their lives?

My DF is 90 and (to my knowledge) has never drunk water (except with whisky) and has a fridge full of chocolate. He has always had a tipple but not to excess. He has significantly outlived the ready of his family despite having a heart condition. I think growing up in the war years helped, healthy diet of lots of veg, few sweets ( he's making up for it now) and exercise. I think the issue now is all the absolute crap that our food is pumped full of. We don't know the long term effects of sweeteners etc.

My grandad lived to 96 and generally the for last 30yrs after my gran died, just lived on boiled eggs & soldiers, watery tea, a once a week Sunday roast at the golf club and lots and lots of gin & tonics. He walked lots (miles) and played golf til the end.

It's not a diet I would recommend to anyone though.
My gran, his wife died in her 60s - she was a national championship runner and was picked for the olympics, even when she gave up her running career to get married she was extremely fit & healthy. They were poor but she cooked everything from scratch and grew their fruit and veg in the garden. Did her no good, she got breast & ovarian cancer & died.

My GMIL did very little healthy stuff in life & lived to 97 but being extremely wealthy was probably the main factor in that.

Wealth, genetics, luck all play a huge factor in the longevity stakes. Although I also think grandad was pickled in gin which helped.

I'm a nurse and have cared for dying people for twenty years.

Honestly I can't say I've noticed much difference apart from smokers who generally die a bit younger.

I've had super fit, clean eaters die at a young age of cancer and very unhealthy people make it to their 90s.

I don't think it's as simple as diet and exercise as environmental factors and genetics are also important.

Why stop at £20?

All I’m saying is you can be all baffled about why low income areas have lower health than higher income areas, when the most logical reasoning is that the problem is that lower income areas have less money

I don't think it's purely down to money. Less income equals more physical jobs or being out of work. If you're out of work you're more likely to feel lethargic and depressed. Working more physical jobs or caring roles you're going to be more tired and less likely to want to cook anything but easy oven food which is highly processed.

Social determinants of health https://www.health.org.uk/topics/social-determinants-of-health

people Love to suggest individual solutions to structural problems

I do think the stress of being poor is underestimated. I’ve been there and it is constant and unrelenting.

I’m now in a position where, (although not rich) I can pay all my bills, buy food, save some money for a holiday or unexpected expenses. The weight of poverty has been lifted from me and it’s changed everything. I think it’s done a lot more for my health than just being able to buy more fruit.

My Nan didn't exercise, smoked like a chimney, and lived until 83. Her son (my Dad) has THE MOST unhealthy lifestyle of anyone I know. He drinks to excess daily (half bottle whisky), eats thousands of calories a day in biscuits, chocolate, crisps, pasties, chips, black pudding, full fat milkshakes etc, hasn't exercised for at least 40 years, and he is 81.

Someone I know had a heart attack in her 50's. She didn't drink, didn't smoke, was very sporty and very slim.

I think genetics plays the largest part. Diet and exercise help obviously, but genetics is the key.

One problem is what many people think is a balanced diet is actually full of shit. A balanced diet could include some cookies or cake but the cookies and cakes people are eating now are just synthetic simulations if cookies and cake. A little fried food ends up being some ghastly super processed nuggets from a freezer bag. Even the milk and jam is ultra processed. The vast majority of food people in the west are eating is shit. So people think 'well a couple of coffees a day and a slice of cake with pasta for dinner should be fine' but the pasta sauce is all sugar and colour and preservatives and emulsifiers etc and the cake is some Mr Kipling absolute crap and the coffee has some chemical processed beans. People have no idea how far away from real food their diet has travelled.

A lot of older people didn't and don't eat this because they didn't grow up getting used to it.

Our life experience has started falling 🙄

Just stating that is not very useful though is it. It's what money affords people that is the point. What is it that those with less money are or are not doing that causes the shortened life span

Hmm in my hubby's family and men he grew up near only lived til their 50s....years of working in heavy industry long hours and drinking no doubt to numb the pain! The ladies lived to 90 plus....active, reasonable diets, tipple every now and again, support of their good friends, no long hours. I think it's work, and the type of work that is a big determinant and today's working culture is so stressful.

Totally agree on the poverty and stress levels though, stress is so bad for your health, worrying about how to pay bills and rent, things breaking etc horrific.

Yes also people in the past in office based jobs worked 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch. They weren’t expected to take work home or be in constant touch on their phones. There was a demarcation between work and home life.
Some jobs like teaching involved taking work home but the work environment was far less stressful. Also travelling to and from work didn’t involve long commutes in heavy traffic in general. Even the trains were less crowded and more reliable. There was a lot more job security too.

All of my grandparents were smokers during their lifetimes as were most of their generation. I think the oldest was in her late 70s when she died, the rest much earlier due to smoking related illnesses. Smoking also caused the untimely deaths of other family members so it’s definitely one to avoid.

My Dad's side:
My great aunt lived to 102- her life involved everything in moderation, simple and uncomplicated.
My great gran lived to 98. She lived through 2 world wars in East end of London. She loved a good party- even in her 80s. She was a solid (prob considered overweight/obese today), strong woman. She ate as she wanted, drank socially and socialised at all opportunities.
My Mum's side:
My gran smoked from the age of 14, drank gin a few times a week, was overweight at points in her life, quite happy with own company. She lived til nearly 90.
My mum was an identical twin. Both twins (as adults) were dependent on alcohol-ate like sparrows and drank like fish! My mum is still going at 75, her identical twin died at 59. The only real difference I can think of, in their lives, was the life choices they made; in terms of their husbands/partners and careers. My mum was probably more fulfilled/successful in her choices.
Personally I think sleep and happiness have a big impact on longevity.