Living A Long Life – It’s Not Rocket Science!

Google the phrase, “how to live a long and healthy life” and you’ll find well over 100 million results for your effort. Interestingly, you’ll find that the search engine, Bing.com, provides over double the results of Google (316,000,000 to be exact). But who’s counting? Illustrating the point, here are some lead lines representative of that search:

• 20 Simple Ways…
• 45 Tips…
• 14 Surprising Signs…
• 50 Easy Habits…
• 6 Strategies…
• 100 Ways…

That link for “100 Ways” featured a story with the somewhat humorous recommendation that much of what we can do to live longer only consists of “minor life tweaks.” Number 1 on the list was definitely advice that made surprising sense – “Be Nicer!”

If you’d like to copy the list, just follow this link to the story on BestLifeOnline.com. Note that number 4 on their list is a pretty interesting suggestion (but I digress).

Five steps? … Ten steps? – does anyone really have that secret formula for a healthier more fulfilling life? Does scientific research or just plain common sense point to a solution for “growing old before your time?”

Scientific studies have confirmed that people “age” at vastly different rates. This is probably not news to anyone who has kept up regular attendance at their annual class reunions. Among the conversations can always be heard, “How have you stayed so young?”

It may not be altogether clear what factors contribute to the faster aging in some people, but evidence points to lifestyles, genetically inherited conditions and personal stress related circumstances.

So are we “destined” to grow old at a rate we have no control over? Perhaps not … the “evidence” mentioned above represents only one part of the process. Control of the “biological clock” definitely has some control factors that are in the hands of each of us.

Let’s use an illustration using two individuals who buy the same model car at the same time. Over the years both owners care for their vehicles in vastly different ways – Owner #1 keeps the oil changed regularly, rotates the tires, maintains the air pressure at the recommended PSI, keeps those scheduled maintenance appointments with the dealer and routinely puts a shine on the paint.

Owner #2 has a little more relaxed approach … changes the oil when the dash light comes on, wonders why the steel tread starts is showing on the outer edge of the tire and only goes through the car wash when they can’t see through the windshield. Anyone care to guess which car will be in the best shape at 100,000 miles?

You are correct! Owner #1. Not Owner #2!

O.K., so the human body isn’t exactly like a motorized piece of equipment. But there are some observations that can be made, even among the millions of health suggestions that we “Googled” at the beginning of this article. Let’s take a look…

The answers are much simpler than you would expect.

Let’s start off with one principle that we learned from Leonard Nimoy’s character, Mr. Spock, who taught us the Vulcan greeting “Live long and prosper,” presented with the famous “V” gesture.

The use of this “salute” actually came from Nimoy’s Jewish upbringing and represented a short version of the traditional Jewish blessing “Shalom Aleichem” (peace be upon you).

Perhaps we are on to something with the “religious” aspect of healthcare? Well, there might be a bit of evidence that points in that direction. In an article from Psychology Today, “Do Religious People Really Live Longer?” the author writes:

Religious Americans are reported to have more robust immune systems, lower blood pressure, and better recovery times from operations, (although these claims have been disputed). Attending church provides many potential health advantages including promotion of a healthier lifestyle, improved stress management, and better social support. Such benefits could explain why religious Americans live longer according to some studies.

So what do you think? Perhaps Mr. Spock was really on to something when he came up with his famous Vulcan salute. But to recall our auto illustration above … your mileage may vary.

Setting aside the “living by faith” aspect of good health, let’s look at some other tips that the experts recommend for taking a proactive approach to longer life. The 10 tips at TrustedChoice.com seem to summarize the recommendations one might find at a number of other websites. Among these are Exercise, Proper Nutrition, Control of Finances and 7 more solid life goals. Check them out and see if you don’t agree.

For those of you who may not think 10 tips are nearly enough, there are a many other sites that offer a more advanced collection of suggestions. One of the best we’ve found is from Prevention magazine. Check out their “30 Surprising Signs You’ll Live To 100.” After completing this course you’ll surely graduate with an honorary degree in longevity.

It must be emphasized at this point that human health also falls within the purview of your personal doctor. The importance of their advice cannot be overemphasized. Having regular checkups and lab work to gauge the results of your health choices is vital to understanding how successful you’ve been. A health sharing plan can get you the care that you need to continue living a quality and enjoyable life. With your decision to live a healthful life there’s no better suggestion than to find a good affordable health plan that involves quality health coverage and solid preventive care to avoid health setbacks down the road.

From basic medical needs to preventive services to coverage for catastrophic events, healthcare sharing ministries can nearly duplicate healthcare that is otherwise available in the traditional health insurance marketplace. For prevention and quality health coverage, consider contacting Lehrman Group for all you medical care needs.

For additional detailed recommendations about how to make a solid commitment to a healthful life, follow this link to “Your Health – It’s Not Just a New Year’s Resolution!”

Photos courtesy of pixabay.com.

About Us

Lehrman Financial Group Consumer’s Association is an offshoot of Lehrman Financial Group Corporation, an insurance brokerage based in Arizona. Founded in 1988, Lehrman Group has been marketing health insurance plans for over 30 years and serves the health insurance needs of individuals and families, small and large businesses, franchises, governments, municipalities and institutional clients. Lehrman Group maintains leadership positions in the health insurance marketplace.