The Longevity Strategy

David Mahoney

Description

A wise and compelling guide . . . the true fountain of youth.--Dr. Stephen R. Covey author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The acclaimed life plan for good health, fulfilling relationships, and financial security

The brain-body connection is the interaction among three factors: the health of your brain, your attitude, and your physical health. In this breakthrough guide to a longer, better life, authors David Mahoney and Richard Restak, M.D., draw on state-of-the-art brain-body research to demonstrate the vital importance of handling stress properly, lifelong education and mental activity (use it or lose it!), the social connection, physical exercise, and rearranging your brain's hardwiring toward optimism. Featuring 31 practical, essential tactics, The Longevity Strategy is a user's manual for the best years of your life.

"This book brings us good news: the more we use our brains, the more likely we need not retire." -- James Watson, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine

"I learned the hard way about the validity of the brain-body connection. The Longevity Strategy will make it a great deal easier for you to learn just what it means, too."--Mike Wallace

"Superb . . . chock full of practical scientific knowledge that can help one become and stay healthy, wealthy, and wise."--Bart Kosko, Ph.D., author of Fuzzy Thinking

"Intelligent, witty, and informative."--Leon Cooper, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics

Sujets

• Healthy Living
• health
• David Mahoney
• Fitness

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 mars 1999
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620459225
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE LONGEVITY STRATEGY
THE LONGEVITY STRATEGY
How to Live to 100 Using the Brain-Body Connection
D AVID M AHONEY R ICHARD R ESTAK
FOREWORD BY WILLIAM SAFIRE


John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 1998 by David Mahoney and Richard Restak. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published simultaneously in Canada Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Developed by The Dana Press, New York and Washington, D.C. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail].
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Mahoney, David J.
The longevity strategy : how to live to 100 using the brain-body connection / David Mahoney, Richard Restak.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-471-32794-8 (paper)
1. Longevity. 2. Mind and body. Brain-Aging.
I. Restak, Richard M. II. Title.
RA776.75.M1156 1998
613-dc21
97-50639
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Hillie, my wife and partner, you inspire my quest for longevity. With love and gratitude.
-David
To my mother, Alice, my wife, Carolyn, and my daughters, Jennifer, Alison, and Ann.
-Richard
CONTENTS
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
F OREWORD
I NTRODUCTION
P ART O NE : G et the L ongevity A ttitude
1. Start looking forward to living to 100 years of age or older. The twenty-first century will be the age of the centenarian.
2. Discard negative stereotyped thinking about aging.
3. Assume the odds are in your favor. If we all discard our stereotyped ideas about aging, the question about longevity comes down to this: Is it reasonable to plan to live to be 100? What are the odds?
4. Develop the correct mental attitudes now to improve your chances of being a centenarian.
P ART T WO : T he L ong -L iving B rain
5. Start learning now as much as you can about your brain. While we will live longer than any generation in history, the major advances in longevity in our lifetime are going to come from brain research.
6. Learn to foresee consequences. Pace yourself.
7. Use it or lose it. Take active measures now to combat disuse atrophy.
8. Learn to handle stress. Your brain alertness and longevity are going to depend on how well you handle stress.
9. Develop an optimistic attitude toward life. Optimists not only live better, they also live longer.
10. Try to modify personality traits known to be associated with early death and disability.
11. Try to develop and express a healthy sense of humor.
12. Be proud of your brain. As you grow older, your brain performs better in the areas that are most important for success in the last third of your life.
13. Nourish your brain through a lifetime of education.
14. Because the likelihood of becoming a centenarian depends on how successfully scientists can cure Alzheimer s disease, stroke, heart disease, and cancer, learn as much as you can about preventing these obstacles to longevity.
P ART T HREE : U se Y our B rain for L ongevity
15. Life is not a spectator sport; step out of the stands and do something now to increase your chances for a long life and change our national attitudes toward aging.
16. Invest in your family dimension.
17. Build in a backup plan; diversify your career from the very beginning.
18. Take advantage of your opportunity to wind up a millionaire.
19. Uplift yourself by doing some good for others. Dedicate yourself to making a contribution to society.
20. Nurture enlightened self-interest.
21. Play to win. Spice up your life with risk.
22. Flex your brain. As we grow older, we have to define our new standards for success. Develop a flair for dealing with this change.
23. Never retire. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Never, never, never retire. Change careers, do something entirely different, but never retire.
24. Become computer-literate and learn to use e-mail lest you lose touch.
25. Don t turn to the obituary page first. Loss is part of life. As we age, our friends and relatives may die or become disabled, but depression is not a natural response to such losses.
P ART F OUR : D o R ight by Y our B ody
26. Set priorities and stick to them, especially in regard to maintaining physical fitness. In the long run, it s the best, most efficient strategy for a potential centenarian.
27. Eat for tomorrow. Establish eating habits that will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life.
28. Start your longevity program now, and do it one small step at a time.
29. Think of the possibilities. Why stop at 100? Why can t humans live forever?
30. Don t wait for a magic bullet. There is no such thing as a fountain of youth. Despite the promise of genetic research and other potential biological extenders of longevity, don t neglect proven aids to living longer. Don t be fooled into thinking longevity can be found in a bottle.
31. Keep up with research. Almost daily, scientific research is turning up findings relevant to longevity. It may well find application in your own lifetime.
C ONCLUSION: E NJOY THE THE LAST OF LIFE, FOR WHICH THE FIRST WAS MADE .
A S PECIAL A CKNOWLEDGMENT BY D AVID M AHONEY TO D ANA A LLIANCE M EMBERS
B IBLIOGRAPHY
I NDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
David Mahoney -No one is who he is without family support. So acknowledgment is due to my three supportive sons and their loving wives who have given me six spectacular grandchildren. Their futures are the purpose of this book.
To William Safire-a figurative brother for almost forty years-my respect, affection, and appreciation. He lives and defines the meaning of loyalty and friendship.
Due to the subject, most people listed are from the medical or scientific fields. Yet many nonscientists-friends, teachers, coaches, and teammates-have shared in my ongoing longevity. It is impossible to acknowledge each friend or associate who has directly or indirectly contributed to this work, but I want to try: Cary Akins, Marilyn Albert, Robert Barchi, Kenneth Beer, Baruj Benacerraf, Colin Blakemore, Floyd Bloom, Nancy Brinker, William Cahan, Edwin Cassem, Francis Collins, Leon Cooper, W. Maxwell Cowan, Joseph Coyle; the Charles A. Dana Foundation Board of Directors (Edward C. Andrews Jr., Wallace L. Cook, Walter G. Corcoran, Charles A. Dana Jr., Donald B. Marron, Ann McLaughlin, Carlos Moseley, L. Guy Palmer II, Edward F. Rover, William L. Safire, Herbert Siegel, and Clark M. Whittemore Jr.), the Eleanor Naylor Dana Trustees (Robert A. Good, Carlos Moseley, A. J. Signorile, and Robert E. Wise), Horace Deets, Roman DeSanctis, Angie Dickinson, Roy Duke, Gerald Fischbach, Marjorie Fisher, Anne Sutherland Fuchs, Barbara Gill, Murray Goldstein, Enoch Gordis, Vartan Gregorian, Zach Hall, Francis Harper, Joseph Hayes, Bernadine Healy, Henry Heimlich, Norbert Herschkowitz, Don Hewitt, Steven E. Hyman, Kay Jamison, Lauren Kearns, Istvan Krisko, LaSalle Leffall, Alan Leshner, the Hon. John Lindsay, Pierre Magistretti, Robert and Helene Mahoney, Patricia Mangini, Christian Marich, Joseph Martin, Douglas Mathisen, Guy McKhann, Grace Mirabella, Daniel J. Moriarty, David Nathan, Jane Nevins, James Nicholas, Pascal Nicod, Gerald O Connor, Herbert Pardes, Michael Phelps, Warren Phillips, Fred Plum, Stanley Prusiner, Stuart Quan, the Hon. Paul Rogers, Bruce Rosen, Edward Rover, Lewis Rowland, Pete Rozelle, Carla Shatz, Herbert Siegel, Irwin Smigel, the Hon. Ted Stevens, Piergiorgio Strata, Suzanne Sunshine, Samuel Thier, Daniel Tosteson, Garrick Utley, Mike Wallace, Donald Warren, James Watson, and Ernst Wynder. My gratitude to each, and my apologies to those I may have unconsciously omitted. I am grateful to all who have been a part of my life.
My thanks also to the foundation staff, which, in many ways, I feel is our greatest accomplishment. We have recruited and trained some of the finest young executives I have ever met. That says a lot.
No acknowledgment could be complete without expressing my thanks to Richard Restak. He is both a professional and a friend, and I value our relationship.
Richard Restak -In addition to many of the above, my special thanks to the following for suggestions, interviews, discussions, and helpful criticism: Linda Bruce, Art Buchwald, Robert Butler, Carl Cotman, Donna de Varona, Stanley Jacobson, S. Michal Jazwinski, Leonard Poon, Michael Scheier, Burton S. Singer, and Wayne M. Sotile. Our great appreciation also to Jane Nevins, our editor, and Randy Talley of the Dana Press, and the editorial team at Wiley: Gerry Helferich, Carole Hall, Tom Miller, and John Simko. Very special thanks to William Safire for reading the early version of our manuscript and making many helpful suggestions. Finally, my thanks to David Mahoney, whose courtesy, wit, and focus made the process of coauthorship such a delight.
FOREWORD
The scene was a Black-Tie dinner at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. The host was Rolf Ekeus, who