Book Review: Healthy at 100 - How to Increase Your Life and Health Span

"Exuberance is beauty."
- William Blake, English Poet -
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"How you can - at any age - dramatically increase your life span and your health span." is the statement on the cover of this book. Let's turn that statement around and make it into a question "Can we dramatically increase our life and health span at any age?"


"Healthy at 100" gathers longevity ideas from four diversified cultures that most people have never heard of: Abkhasia, Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Okinawa. The author, John Robbins, discovered through his research these rare traits of each of the four cultures:

1. Abkhasia - People are healthier at 90 than most Americans are in their 30s and 40s. (Located in southern Russia)
   
2. Vilcabamba - Heart disease and dimentia does not exist. (Located in Equador's Andes Mountains)
   
3. Hunza - Cancer, diabetes, asthma are unknown. (Located in the northern most tip of Pakistan)
   
4. Okinawa -More people live to a 100 here than any place in the world. (Located in southern most Japan)
   
   
   

So why? Why do most people in these four cultures outlive the rest of the world with no knowledge of cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, asthma, and are healthier than any other group on earth?


They all have specific traits that promote and encourage long, healthy lives. Some that are common to all four cultures are:

1. Diet - consists mostly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. They all treat meat as a condiment and not the center of attention and fish is big, also.
   
2. Physical activity - they move a lot. They walk mostly and some walk everywhere they go.
   
3. Emotional - they have strong relationships with family and community.
   
4. They celebrate life - virtually stress free, happy, contented, accepting of other's individuality, laugh easily.
   

"If you can't fly, then run.
If you can't run, then walk.
If you can't walk, then crawl. But whatever you do,
keep moving."


- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -


Although this book is full of so much more, it is to be taken with a grain of caution, in my opinion. Our world, our culture, is quite different from theirs. There are some factors in our world that don't exist in these four cultures and we must keep this in mind.


I suggest reading this book to encourage you to learn these four cultures. Also, much of it can be applied to our lives and will definitely improve your health and happiness.


The book sprinkles chapters at the end of each part called Steps You Can Take. These chapters attempt to simplify all the information you just read into usable and applicable information.


I recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their health and happiness. The audio version of this book was easier for me to digest. I actually read this book once and listened to the audio version once. I learned something from each.


Do you desire to improve your health, happiness, or extend your years? What do you already do that you think makes you healthier and happier? Please share your thoughts on healthy living.


XOXO