Will you live to be 100?

Will you be competing in sports into your 70s? (Marie Casey Breen, you are amazing!)

Some of my patients are only in their 40s or 50s but one of the first things they say to me: “I just feel so old.” or “I’m older than I should be for my age.”

Ireland ranks 18th in world for life expectancy. Not bad. But it’s not just about the number of candles on the birthday cake. We want to live well, age well – with good health and fully active. Heart disease, stroke, COPD, lung cancer care among top causes of death over past decade.

It really comes down to 3 things:

1.) Things you can’t control at all: genes are about 20% total impact overall on your life expectancy (averaged out over causes of death, population, etc)

2.) Things that most people can’t change: includes the country you live in, poverty, access to healthcare, systemic racism/discrimination/sexism. (some people are able emigrate/change some of these)

3.) Things you can control. Yes, these things make a BIG difference. Costa Rica is a case in point: In a country with extreme poverty, they still rank among the best for longevity due to factors like diet and community.

@BlueZones studies these factors:

In a very brief summary, what did they find among the 5 communities around the world with the healthiest aging? Nutrition matters – plant-predominant, high fibre diets without overeating. Physical movement matters – not necessarily formal exercise. Those with spirituality and good stress management were healthier, longer. Low-risk drinking was healthier than not drinking or alcohol misuse. Not smoking. Good family and community connections. Strong sense of purpose.

I usually start with the last: the sense of purpose. I always start by asking patients to tell me their story. The purpose is always part of the story. Many of my patients tell me that it is their children. A desire to get back to a loved activity. From there, we can start to make meaningful changes.