Obviously, reasonable people want to enjoy robust lives, free from the ravages of aging and aging-related diseases. The question is how to secure that admirable goal. Numerous books address preserving health, but none is comprehensive and approaches successful aging from a scientific evidence-based methodology. Invariably, piecemeal attempts describe aspects of attaining health from fitness, emotional aspects, or, most commonly diet and they offer authoritative opinions. Be aware, there is a huge difference between knowledge and opinion. Opinion is without data; it is arguable and different “authorities” disagree. Do not base your health-program on opinion; it is gambling with your future—big time. The last decade exploded with scientific data about aging successfully. Throughout this book, I have collected and triply distilled the wisdom that data holds.
This effort’s purpose is to provide the reader with a primer that includes principles necessary for living a better life. I believe in the foundation of knowledge attributed to but described before the philosopher Spinoza—The Principle of Sufficient Reason. It simply states that everything that happens has a reason for happening. Amazingly, we generally apply that wisdom to everything in our lives, except our bodies
Almost everything important having to do with our wellbeing is incremental with increments that are incredibly minute, which is the problem. The helpful habits and, unfortunately, the harmful habits go unnoticed.
Seven out of ten deaths in America are incrementally acquired and over 90% largely are avoidable by choices. The incremental diseases are termed chronic when a better term is aging-related, or even better lifestyle-related. The non-lifestyle-related causes of death (and disability) that mostly are avoidable are suicide and injuries.
The approach I embrace is not to concentrate on health-promoting lifestyle-behaviors but to focus on the reasons certain behaviors are beneficial or harmful. With scientific evidence-based facts, one can design their best life-style approach. Readers are not automatons following a specific program. Instead, they need to understand the underpinnings of aging and then they will know how to age successfully.
