Reflections.
I was born in 1944 and that makes me 81. I am still relatively healthy but find myself wondering how long I will live. My father died in 1956, aged 55, and my mother died when she was 97.
The website Super Age recently spoke of foods that slow biological ageing. I quote:
The gut microbiome is the collection of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in your digestive tract. These microbes help regulate inflammation[in-fluh-mey-shuhn]nounYour body’s response to an illness, injury or something that doesn’t belong in your body (like germs or toxic chemicals). LEARN MORE, blood sugar, immune function, mood, and metabolism. Research increasingly links microbiome diversity to longevity and reduced risk of chronic disease.
Researchers have come up with a simple way to measure how your diet supports your gut. One science-backed framework being studied right now is the Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota (DIGM). It’s designed to help people (and researchers) better understand the connection between diet and gut microbial health.
Developed by a team from the University of South Carolina, the DIGM pulls together two decades of research linking specific foods and food groups with positive or negative impacts on gut microbiome diversity, richness, and functionality.
Then there is the emotional health of a person. Here’s an extract from Equinox.
HOW EMOTIONS INFLUENCE LONGEVITY
The most popular scientific study on how emotions influence longevity is the “Nun Study,” a longitudinal study that involved 687 Catholic nuns. Researchers found that the sisters who experienced positive emotions (like happiness) lived longer than the sisters who experienced negative emotions (like depression). Another scientific study found that people with a high level of optimism were associated with “exceptional longevity,” which means surviving to 85 years old.
The way emotions influence health is not fully understood, says Robert Levenson, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California Berkeley. But what is known is that continuously experiencing negative emotions (like sadness, stress, or anger) can cause wear and tear on the body, which can accumulate over time. He explains that chronically high levels of stress or depression cause sustained levels of autonomic nervous system activation. This, he says, can raise blood pressure (bad news for your heart) and weaken the immune system. “On the flip side, experiencing feelings of positive emotions, like happiness, can undo that activation,” Dr. Levenson says.
One emotion that’s well-documented to shorten lifespan: anger. “People who are angry or show a lot of hostility are more likely to experience heart attacks and get coronary artery disease,” Dr. Levenson says. These emotions cause blood vessels to constrict, which raises blood pressure and makes the heart work harder. Over time, this can put too much stress on the heart.
Besides the physical reactions emotions can have on health, negative emotions can cause people to neglect taking care of themselves, adds Dan Blazer, M.D., Ph.D, a professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University. This can, in turn, negatively impact their health. For example, someone who is depressed may not have the energy to go to the gym to make nutrient-rich meals. They may stop seeing friends or doing anything social, something that is associated with a shorter lifespan. Dr. Blazer says that people who are depressed are more likely to have trouble sleeping—and getting consistent, good sleep is very important for longevity.
So staying positive isn’t only good emotionally but it has benefits for our body.
For me, I just welcome the deer each morning when I go out to feed them.
They give me a perfect start to the day!
Learning from Dogs 