Key to Health and Longevity

By Vishal | No Comments

In the book, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, by Deepak Chopra, there is a mention of one research conducted by a senior psychiatrist Dr. Stephen P. Jewett in New York. The study was conducted by Jewett on seventy-nine people of 87 years of age and older to learn and understand the physical and psychological characteristics that contributed to their longevity. Although seventy-nine is a relatively smaller number, the findings are interesting and justified. Here’s a summary of common characteristics found among the group:

• Freedom from anxiety and worry.
• Physically active.
• They were their own bosses.
• Optimistic and had good sense of humor.
• Adaptable to changes.
• Contented.
• Religious.
• Moderate eaters with a diet rich in protein and low in fat.
• Early risers.
• Had no vices except for occasional drinking and smoking.

There is another mention of people living in Abkhasia, in southern Russia who were reputed to live up to ages of 120 and more. In his book The Methuselah Factors, the author Georgakas, who traveled to Abkhasia to study the people there, writes “Abkhasians dislike being rushed, loathe deadlines, and never work to exhaustion. In the same vein, they consider it extremely impolite to eat quickly or to eat too much…. Their routines have a tempo more linked to biological rhythms than the helter-skelter patterns that predominate in most developed countries.” Other findings include:

• Vegetables were picked just before cooking and all leftovers were discarded.
• Majority of the food was consumed raw or boiled, with no fried items.
• They were light eaters and slept well.
• They were very active, with most of them laboring for ten to fifteen hours a day.
• They walked a lot.

To sum it up, all you need to be healthy and live longer is a calm and cheerful mind, an active body and a healthy diet, which is just the opposite of what most of us follow at the moment - A stressful and hyperactive mind, sedentary lifestyle and unwholesome diet!

Posted in Health

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