Dance legend Mary Anthony has had a life-long love of dance. At 93 years old, she continues to dance and teach students. Dr. Jon LaPook talks with Anthony about her philosophy on life.
Twenty-five years ago, Jennifer Dunning wrote in The New York Times: “DANCE doesn’t seem to take much stock of its wise elders. Among those veterans is Mary Anthony, one of the city’s most highly respected modern dance teachers.” I’m a big fan of wise elders. It’s how I learned medicine.
So when I got the chance to meet the now 93-year-old Ms. Anthony earlier this week, off I went to her beautifully-lit, peaceful but active studio in the East Village of New York City. My goal as a doctor: try to gain some insight into her longevity. Yes, genes are important and she certainly chose the right parents. Exercise and diet are important (she still dances and is a vegetarian). But — more interesting to me — what have been the emotional and philosophical foundations of her life? Read more »
For decades, research has suggested that people with positive emotions may live longer and healthier lives. An analysis of the autobiographical writings of 180 Catholic nuns found those with the most positive feelings in their early twenties had the greatest chance of being alive sixty years later. Now, the first study of its kind has linked positive emotions to a lower risk of coronary heart disease. Read more »
Research from Denmark shows that life expectancy is increasing steadily and there is a good possibility that by controlling life factors, most everyone can live to be 100. Of course, living in a high income, first world country is the first factor. The Danish experts report that since the 20th century, people in developed countries are living about three decades longer than in the past.
Check out the list (click on it for a better read) to see what factors you can control.
Tip: Don’t eat the nuts if you have an allergy. That would definitely lower your chances! And having a baby “later in life” does not mean with IVF or infertility drugs. And a “little” wine doesn’t mean a bottle a day.
If you want to improve the health of Americans, why not look around the world for places where people live the longest, healthiest lives and try to copy whatever it is they’re doing? That’s exactly what Dan Buettner has done. He is the author of The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.
Examples of areas he calls “blue zones” are Sardinia, Okinawa, Costa Rica (the Nicoya Peninsula), Ikaria (a Greek island), and Loma Linda, California. Things residents have in common include exercising regularly, eating more vegetables and less meat, engaging in social networking, and having a sense of purpose. Read more »
We would all like to live longer. The most promising longevity research indicates that severe calorie restriction might extend life span, but such a diet is difficult to follow. Resveratrol, a phytochemical found in red wine, has been evaluated as a possible way out of the dilemma. When given to obese mice on a high calorie diet, it produced a number of changes associated with improved health, such as increased insulin sensitivity, and it increased survival. Perhaps by taking resveratrol you could eat as much as you want and get fat without suffering the usual consequences. Perhaps you could get the longevity benefits of severe calorie restriction without restricting calories. Read more »
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