One in eight Americans is 65 or older, to grow to one in five in 2030. Eight in ten seniors are living with a least one chronic health condition. I have a bunch, beginning with two sore knees. The score:
- 20% diabetes
- 25% obese
- 60% arthritis
- 70% heart disease
- spend up to five times more on health care than those younger than 65
The healthiest seniors live in Minnesota, with Hawaii at #6 and Mississippi last. The SEC football schools are well-represented at the bottom. At 17%, Hawaii has the lowest obesity rate. We are also #1 in life expectancy at 81.3. Minnesota is #2 with 81.1 and, yes, Mississippi is #51 at 75. In the world, Japan, San Marino and Switzerland are #1 with a longevity of 83.
How to live a longer life? Keep tuning-in to this blog site. Further, this is certainly not only for the senile. The younger generation needs to start today to take advantage of these findings. Let me start with part two of my Friday ordeal with a fishbone:
1. No great surprise, but a higher fish diet leads to longevity, the primary reason being Omega-3 fatty acids, with EPA, DPA and DHA being representative. However, I doubt if they eat much seafood in San Marino and Switzerland. A Harvard and University of Washington study found that those who consumed seafood with these fatty acids showed:
- a 35% lower risk of dying from heart disease
- a 40% lower risk of coronary-heart diseas death
- DPA lowering the death rate strokes
- two servings/week (or 400 mg daily) seemed sufficient.
So will I still eat seafood. Of course. Akule? Maybe not. I'm having salmon tonight.
2. This one concerns me, as my blood sugar level has recently been increasing, but higher blood sugar raises the risk of dementia. It's worse if you actually have diabetes. Simple as this: the higher your blood sugar concentration, the greater the chance of you contracting Alzheimer's or any form of dementia. Here is a 13 step diet plan to reduce glucose in your blood (click on it). These are "good" foods to the left. In general, sugars and starches (like bread and rice) are bad. Fruits, vegetables, beans and low-fat dairy foods are recommended. Geez, I had a huge spaghetti with meat sauce and a goodly amount of bread last night. Well, I need to take step two to further reduce rice, pasta and the like.
3. But some good news on dementia, which has declined by 25% in England and Wales over the past two decades. Similar trends are happening worldwide. Why? Older people today are healthier and better educated. Here is yet another reason for not dropping out of school and, instead, going on to a PhD. I like to think the better educated think more with active minds and are smarter, but it turns out they "merely" better control blood pressure and cholesterol. Whew, I've been taking those two pills for a decade now.
So how to best live longer? Move to Hawaii.
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Wow, Super Typhoon Utor is now a Category 4 at 140 MPH and is battering the Philippines north of Manila:
This storm will take around 18 hours to clear Luzon. As predicted the other day, Utor will still be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Wednesday over China between Hainan and Hong Kong.
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Wow, Super Typhoon Utor is now a Category 4 at 140 MPH and is battering the Philippines north of Manila:
This storm will take around 18 hours to clear Luzon. As predicted the other day, Utor will still be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Wednesday over China between Hainan and Hong Kong.
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