Research on centenarians and super centenarians has taught us more than we knew before about the process of aging and what keeps us alive. The Four Blue Cities, the world’s regions with the oldest populations, have been identified. These four areas are: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, Calif., and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.
o Panchita Castillo, who just turned 100 years old, lives in Hojancha, Costa Rica, a place with healthy people, and the oldest people in the world. Scientists attribute this longevity to the quality of life in the village. The following are some of the things that seem to keep people alive.
– They have strong goals
– They drink hard water that has a lot of calcium
– They focus on their family
– They have a light dinner
– They have social networks
– they work hard
– they have “smart” dates
– They have a good spiritual relationship so they don’t have any stress
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o Richard Savage, 100, of Chicago, Speedy Iavarone, 100, of Wood Dale, Ill., Marcia Hawkins, 100, of Chicago, and Lucia Klas, 102, of Morton Grove, Ill., recently edited on ESPN Zone in Chicago went to a free lunch to show their appreciation for the Chicago Cubs, despite 100 years of the team’s failure. These centenarians have a passion for sports, a passion to continue.
Aging in America
The good news is that Americans are living longer, experiencing fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke and improving recovery from cancer and other illnesses. The share of the American population over 65 has increased from 9.5% in 1967, to 12.4% in 2005, to approximately 20% by 2030, approximately 70 million. In 2011, 76 million baby boomers in America will be 65 years old.
Active Seniors Age 60 – 99
Here are just a few of the seniors who are living healthy, well-lived lives from their 60s to 90s and beyond.
o Nola Ochs, received her Bachelor’s Degree, at age 95, from Kansas’ Fort Hays State University
o Michael DeBakey, MD, 97, an internationally recognized heart surgeon from Texas and Denham Harman, MD, 89, the father of the free radical theory of aging, continue to work and speak. Dr. Harman suggests taking vitamins and anti-oxidants to slow free radicals, especially vitamins C and E and coenzyme Q-10 and betacarotene.
o Harry Bernstein, at the age of 96, became the first to publish The Invisible Wall, a documentary about growing up among Jews in the mill town of Stockport, England, during WW I.
o Irena Sendler, “a Polish worker who helped save 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis by abducting them from the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them false identities…” died on Sunday age 98 on 5/12/08.
o Dorian Paster, MD, age 86, happily married for 48 years and captain of his own surfing for more than 35 years. “This doctor spends an hour and a quarter in deep breathing, exercise, and some work with a ten-pound barbell, every morning and he prays and talks to the dead. .
o Wifold Bialokur, at the age of 71, ran 6.2 miles in less than 44 minutes, smoothly and controlled.
o Sheila Johnson, age 60, retired college algebra teacher who was the third-ranked female athlete in the USTA 60’s division, joined the school’s basketball team degree at Grand Canyon University.
The bad news is that most seniors have at least one chronic illness [physical] pain, and 50% have at least two chronic conditions that limit their basic activities.
Almost 20% of American adults have a mental illness. Many primary care physicians think that the symptoms of mental illness are just ‘normal aging’ or chronic physical illness. Almost 90 percent of patients with depression in primary care receive no or inadequate treatment. Only a small percentage receive mental health care from a psychiatrist during their lifetime.
The National Comorbidity Study found that by the age of 75, the risk of having a mental illness is more than 50%. The study revealed that mental illness begins in the early twenties followed by a gradual increase in additional symptoms, including anxiety, depression, lack of control, and drug addiction. Psychology Today reported similar findings in its study, Treatment in America.
The answers to these health problems are presented to us every day by authorities and experts in health, nutrition, nutrition and exercise. energy, counseling, therapy, spirituality. It is up to each of us to find our own health. Information and help is available if we seek it out. The next step is to follow the medicine and advice that we have been given to improve and manage our own health and emotional well-being.
In a 2005 National Geographic article, “The Secrets of Long Life,” author Dan Buettner identified three “Blue Zones,” the regions of the world with the longest lives among its inhabitants. At that time he identified three areas such as Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; and Loma Linda, California. He recently added a fourth blue zone, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, where he met and interviewed Panchita Castillo and her 80-year-old son, Tommy.
