Is it possible to live a long life with a bad diet? (state, diabetes)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yeah I would say that I know people that don't eat what I consider healthy and yet still are quite old and no serious illnesses. My MIL is 90 and pretty much just eats what she wants and is still healthy. Her husband (FIL) ate similarly and died 27 years ago.
My wife seems like her Mom in that she seems to be able to eat what I would consider slightly unhealthy but is still mostly healthy. I at poorly for over 50 years until it caught up with me and caused multiple health issues. Now that I'm approaching Medicare age, I have to be very careful with what I eat and I do keep my issues in check with a strict diet.
My great-grandmother lived to 92, and she loved eating fried green tomatoes, fried pork chops, eggs, bacon, and she would drink a regular Coke at nearly every meal. She also lived a very sedentary lifestyle but wasn't fat. I guess she just had very good genetics.
I also know of someone who had an active lifestyle and had a healthy diet, and he died of cancer in his 30s.
I believe in moderation, not loading up on unhealthy garbage but also not being picky about everything I eat. I exercise every day or two for half an hour (sometimes I even skip two days in a row, shhh).
When it's my time, it's my time. Nobody lives forever.
It's impossible to know whether it's genetics or just luck that lets you glide through life on a trash diet.
My own personal test subject, my spouse, will eat anything as long as it comes from Costco. He lives on 4-packs of Costco cherry danish, whole trays of Costco lasagna and Costco tamales. Devours loaves of Costco white raisin bread. Pounds down fruit juices and sugar-filled juice cocktail blends. Refuses to eat actual fruit other than bananas and if Costco made banana juice he'd drink that, too. He is skinny as a rail. If he turns sideways, he disappears.
He neglects his health. But he will outlive me, because the universe is cruel and arbitrary.
I live on brown rice, vegetables, fresh and dried fruit, lean chicken, fish, the occasional egg. No sugar, no alcohol. There is no reward for this other than losing weight. I don't get thank-you notes from my liver. Talk about ingratitude.
If you have good genetics, it probably doesn't matter what you eat. But if you have bad genetics, I think you can help yourself with healthy food. I know someone with a familial cholesterol disorder, and none of his ancestors on his father's side had been known to live to 50. His father died of heart attack at the age of 36-37. This guy was rail-thin, and lived basically on granola and veggies. He is still healthy in his early 70s, almost twice the age at which his father died, so I guess healthy eating did beat the truly bad genetics in his case.
If you have good genetics, it probably doesn't matter what you eat. But if you have bad genetics, I think you can help yourself with healthy food.
There are people who can live on junque food and there are some that cannot. I live near several Indian reservations and many there have suffered from the American diet. Many can't afford quality food. Their heritage genetics and metabolism is calibrated toward a different diet. We almost need a food pyramid devised for different types of people. I have always carried too much weight since high school and now, in my 70s, ballooned to 250 lbs. During the pandemic isolation I cut out milk products other than cheese and cut out all red meat a few months ago. I am enjoying food more now than before and have lost over 16 lbs. Once you are off of something for a few weeks or a month you don't seem to miss it (I don't). I might have red meat two or three times a month rather than almost every day. My motivation was cholesterol readings that were creeping higher and my Doctor threatening me with statins. My dad was partially paralyzed from a stroke a few years younger than me. I have a genetic quirk that keeps my "good" cholesterol too low. I actually feel better now, in my 74th trip around the sun, than I have for a while.
My father is 95.5 (his age is WPLJ - a radio station!) He never had a picky diet. Always enjoyed restaurants. When he lived alone at home, he'd keep a stash of cookies and other treats. He liked Hostess Snowballs!
He did like to walk and his parents made it into their late 80s. (But he was always a type "A" personality, problems with his temper. We marvel that he never had a heart attack).
He used to make some odd concoction containing V8, lime juice(?) and I think Worcestershire sauce. It had some smoke coming out of it. It looked like something Grandpa Munster would make in his basement lab. Maybe that was the secret to his longevity. His kids wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
Have you witnessed your partner, parents, relatives, peers, etc live to a long age with a poor diet? I'm not talking obesity but people who just have poor eating habits and it never seems to catch up with them? Talking about those who seem to live on canned goods, processed meats, microwavable dishes, take out, sugary foods, fried foods, basically anything that is said to shorten your lifespan.
I'm excluding smokers and alcoholics and focusing on poor food choices. Can genetics sometimes trump a life filled with a bad diet?
My father lived to age 86, ate everything that was on his no-no list. He didn’t drink alcohol or smoke. I don’t advocate it unhealthy eating.
My father is 95.5 (his age is WPLJ - a radio station!) He never had a picky diet. Always enjoyed restaurants. When he lived alone at home, he'd keep a stash of cookies and other treats. He liked Hostess Snowballs!
He did like to walk and his parents made it into their late 80s. (But he was always a type "A" personality, problems with his temper. We marvel that he never had a heart attack).
He used to make some odd concoction containing V8, lime juice(?) and I think Worcestershire sauce. It had some smoke coming out of it. It looked like something Grandpa Munster would make in his basement lab. Maybe that was the secret to his longevity. His kids wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
The "odd concoction" sounds like a Bloody Mary with Grandpa's hidden vodka stash, lol. That was probably his longevity secret!
I think that as long as you don’t overdo it and have the right genes you could live a lengthy life. Genes are the key. There are many examples of people who have a great diet and exercise regimen yet do not make it to old age.
The question arises regarding your quality of life, rather than great longevity, imho.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
