5 ms·

My take away from all the 1000's of articles and studies I've read on health is: Eat real food (Not processed. (ex: eggs, fish, meat, fowl, vegetables, some fr

My take away from all the 1000's of articles and studies I've read on health is: Eat real food (Not processed. (ex: eggs, fish, meat, fowl, vegetables, some fruit)) and not so much. Don't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. Exercise daily (even if it's just a brisk walk for 30 mins). Find time to meditate (rest your mind) for a few minutes a day, even day dreaming for 5-10 minutes is great. Try to get a good nights sleep (approx 7 hours for an adult). Try to Fast at least 12-16 hours a day (typically over night while you sleep, 6 pm to 10 am). Seems like it should be easy but somehow we still make it complicated.

52-6F-62 8y ago
Because, as simple as that advice might be, it's not all there is to it—and we don't live in a vacuum. All things in moderation—including moderation. My takeaway from many mental health discussions has been to: * Look after your body/love yourself by being good to your body (this includes your takeaways) * Try to see things from others' perspectives * Relax and just have a damned beer if you want a damned beer. It's not all that heavy—it's life and life only. (just an aside/tangent: I'm not for fasting in the way you've prescribed. From what I understand about it is that it won't hurt you, but it doesn't gain you anything either unless you're having difficulty managing your caloric budget)
- magnamerc 8y ago
  Fasting has several benefits not related to caloric intake. It honestly has too many to list here, suffice to say that you should look into it a bit more.
magnamerc 8y ago
I'd agree with all points, but you should really aim for a non-negotiable 8 hours of continuous sleep time. At 7 hours total sleep time, you're still in a sleep deficit as an adult. As we age, we get less and less stage 3 and 4 deep sleep which is responsible for clearing tau and beta amyloid through the meningeal lymphatic drainage system (and the glymphatic system). Alzeihmers and related dementia are disorders that arise due to impaired sleep, either through sleep deficits, or from disrupted sleep due to sleep apnea. If you think about it, you can go without food and water for long-ish periods of time, but you can't go without sleep longer than a week or maybe two before you have irreparable damage. From an evolutionary perspective, this seems crazy since you're in your most vulnerable state and you're missing out on 8 hours of food foraging, or procreation. Obviously evolution has found that sleep is absolutely necessary for all living organisms. It's by far the most important aspect of living healthy lives, but it's the least appreciated in Western society.
byproxy 8y ago
I abide by most of those tenets..but, dammit...I'm gonna drink. I think the benefit I get from going out, having drinks, and socializing is worth more than the detriment to my physical being.
ohaideredevs 8y ago
I am not convinced on the fasting point, still feels like a fad to me. What made you adopt it?
- cstansbury 8y ago
  For me, the primary reason to try fasting was to lose weight, or to say it it another way, to lose excess body fat. I was sold on trying fasting after I read Dr. Jason Fung's book called, "The Complete Guide to Fasting". Over the years, I had my successes and failures trying to maintain a proper body weight with different diets. For me, I found that fasting was the easiest and simplest way to lose and now maintain my weight.
- 1e-9 8y ago
  There is an accelerating level of evidence that fasting results in decreased rates of disease and increased longevity. In particular, it appears that having the body in a fat-burning mode during sleep facilitates more effective cellular maintenance and repair. Note that fasting is not calorie restriction. Calories can still be normal. The key point seems to be having long periods of no eating. There is even evidence that having just one meal a day (breakfast) might be the best schedule of all. I would not call any of it definitive, but I have found the studies more than compelling enough to change my own eating habits and encourage friends and family to do likewise.
cgh 8y ago
This is a great summary of how to live a long time, except I sleep more (8-9 hours, but I am also very active). One thing I'd add is: avoid stress whenever possible. Learn perspective and don't sweat the small stuff.

52-6F-62 8y ago

Because, as simple as that advice might be, it's not all there is to it—and we don't live in a vacuum. All things in moderation—including moderation. My takeaway from many mental health discussions has been to: * Look after your body/love yourself by being good to your body (this includes your takeaways) * Try to see things from others' perspectives * Relax and just have a damned beer if you want a damned beer. It's not all that heavy—it's life and life only. (just an aside/tangent: I'm not for fasting in the way you've prescribed. From what I understand about it is that it won't hurt you, but it doesn't gain you anything either unless you're having difficulty managing your caloric budget)

magnamerc 8y ago
Fasting has several benefits not related to caloric intake. It honestly has too many to list here, suffice to say that you should look into it a bit more.

magnamerc 8y ago

I'd agree with all points, but you should really aim for a non-negotiable 8 hours of continuous sleep time. At 7 hours total sleep time, you're still in a sleep deficit as an adult. As we age, we get less and less stage 3 and 4 deep sleep which is responsible for clearing tau and beta amyloid through the meningeal lymphatic drainage system (and the glymphatic system). Alzeihmers and related dementia are disorders that arise due to impaired sleep, either through sleep deficits, or from disrupted sleep due to sleep apnea. If you think about it, you can go without food and water for long-ish periods of time, but you can't go without sleep longer than a week or maybe two before you have irreparable damage. From an evolutionary perspective, this seems crazy since you're in your most vulnerable state and you're missing out on 8 hours of food foraging, or procreation. Obviously evolution has found that sleep is absolutely necessary for all living organisms. It's by far the most important aspect of living healthy lives, but it's the least appreciated in Western society.

byproxy 8y ago

I abide by most of those tenets..but, dammit...I'm gonna drink. I think the benefit I get from going out, having drinks, and socializing is worth more than the detriment to my physical being.

ohaideredevs 8y ago

I am not convinced on the fasting point, still feels like a fad to me. What made you adopt it?

cstansbury 8y ago
For me, the primary reason to try fasting was to lose weight, or to say it it another way, to lose excess body fat. I was sold on trying fasting after I read Dr. Jason Fung's book called, "The Complete Guide to Fasting". Over the years, I had my successes and failures trying to maintain a proper body weight with different diets. For me, I found that fasting was the easiest and simplest way to lose and now maintain my weight.
1e-9 8y ago
There is an accelerating level of evidence that fasting results in decreased rates of disease and increased longevity. In particular, it appears that having the body in a fat-burning mode during sleep facilitates more effective cellular maintenance and repair. Note that fasting is not calorie restriction. Calories can still be normal. The key point seems to be having long periods of no eating. There is even evidence that having just one meal a day (breakfast) might be the best schedule of all. I would not call any of it definitive, but I have found the studies more than compelling enough to change my own eating habits and encourage friends and family to do likewise.

cgh 8y ago

This is a great summary of how to live a long time, except I sleep more (8-9 hours, but I am also very active). One thing I'd add is: avoid stress whenever possible. Learn perspective and don't sweat the small stuff.