The BIG secret to living a long life!

I am so happy to have the pleasure to talk with you about longevity and life. If you are looking for the fountain of youth then look no further! These facts I will present to you are based on over 15 years of working around elderly folks that are over the age of 70 years old. Every day I would hear story after incredible story of how each one of these resilient people lived thrived and survived the; Dust Bowl, great depression, famine, war, holocaust, Hitler, concentration camps, slavery, extreme temperatures, and life threatening situations and overall life in general. Each one of these dear folks lived to tell about it, and I had the privilege of hearing these stories. I would like to share with you the root of this information on how to stay healthy and live a long life through all these adversaries. I will not divulge names and actual stories at this time due to privacy. However I can give you the bits and pieces that make up a long life.

You can start a healthy lifestyle today...

• Walk daily, so many residents I have known throughout the years walk daily, they still do even into their 80s and 90s. Walking helps renew the mind and helps you put your thoughts in order, It gives you the physical benefits too. These walks get you out into the sun, it is needed for vitamin C & D in your body. Get out today and go for walk soak in the sunshine and breathe the fresh air in feel alive again. you will meet people on the way and smile.
• Eat an Apple a Day, Eat Two. Apples do really keep the doctor away. Most folks I knew who lived to be one hundred ate apples. I had a lovely lady that I knew who was 104 years old. Guess what her favorite food was? Apples, so plant an apple tree today!
• Garden, many people had grown their own gardens and ate food from this source. Plant trees for fruit. For those who live in the city can grow some plants indoors, container gardening is fun. Fresh herbs are so nice and beneficial for you.
• Keep your mind sharp. Be determined in your mind to survive don't let go of life. Keep dreaming and keep thinking, do crossword puzzles. Write down some goals for yourself, keep learning, learn a new language. Some memorization is good for memory but do not try to hold it all in your mind though, get feelings out on paper. Many residents have kept a diary for years.
• Don't stress out ~ so many folks are happy go lucky, when things come at them full force they just take it in stride and keep going. My mom told me once, if nobodies dead or dying don't worry about it. Stop take a deep breath and think of how your body feels, is it tensed up? Wiggle your shoulders, take some deep breaths and let the tension go. Write down what's bothering you and see if you can't fix it ? If you cannot, then you will have to get through it somehow. Personally, I smile through it all! "Smile though your heart is breaking" have you heard that song? I have sang it a few times. Get a list and check that stuff off. Many of these residents who lived to be one hundred, did not let stress bring them down.

• "Quit smoking" many people do not realize that if you smoke you are guaranteed to die from lung cancer,stroke or heart attack. If you want to live a short life, keep smoking. I quit for the sheer fact that i want to see my great grandchildren be born. It doesn't mean you cant quit now and live to be one hundred.
• Love, find love and love people, I have never met a person who lived past 90 years old who wasn't friendly and loving. Through it all ,the pain, the past, the loss of loved ones, they still kept loving. Many found love again in the retirement homes, on some accounts these folks would find a new "love" when one would pass away. Some still have pets to love and take care of too.
• Laugh! Tell jokes and smile at people. Smiling and making someone smile back at you is so rewarding! Laugh often at least daily. Laughing releases endorphins that make you happy, its like taking a happy pill. We laugh every morning in our fitness class.

• Avoid going to doctors regularly. Once a year is good enough, unless you have medical conditions that need attention. If you let them, they pass you around the whole horn of specialists. You find out you have all kids of stuff you didn't even know about and you have instantly went through you bankroll and there is no real solutions to these issues. If you are hurting by all means GO! if your not then don't go.
• Some people had a glass of wine on occasion, most did not drink heavily. Many never did drugs or drank at all. Some did not take prescription drugs on a regular basis. Residents told me how they watched many of their family members and friends die before them from using these "crutches". Let me make this clear, if you are diabetic, you need your insulin. Many people need some things that can not be avoided coumadin etc. But the constant use of pain medications can be slowly tapered down some and your pain threshold will come back up.