Longevity – How Old is Old?

How old is old to you? 
I can remember back decades ago when I was just a

little girl and life seemed so perfect and full of wonder and magic every which way I turned and of course at that time I didn’t think anything about aging at all … or about growing old or even about old people.
I was such a naïve little girl I guess I just thought we all came to BE at the age we were right then and we would just stay that way …

But then as I got into my teens and I was day dreaming of the day I’d fall in love and be married and have my own family.  And even as a teenager, that seemed so far off into my future.  It was hard to even imagine that even happening to me.

Then I prayed this old geezer into my life and we married and when we married … mom and daddy were only about 40.  GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!!  They were only 40 and I was going to them for advice.  AND I thought mom and daddy knew everything. It would be a cold day in the devil’s hometown before I’d go to a 40 year old for advice today. 

Well I say that but I’m always calling Kim and saying “What do you think about so and so?” And SHE’S 40. 
Our kids are 41, 45 and 47 and they still seem so young to me.  I still think of them as kids and call them our kids. 

Old Age IS NOT a Matter of How Many Birthdays You’ve Had

Longevity is within the grasp of most of us.  Do you realize that old age isn’t a matter of how many birthdays we’ve had … or how many gray hairs we have on our head or how humped over we are when we walk.  Old age is really a matter of how we have taken care of ourselves through the years and how the cells in our bodies have aged or not aged. 

I love to study anti-aging … and especially the Hunza people and the people of the Blue Zones around the world.  They have been able to keep the vitality of their youth by adhering to a good diet and lifestyle, having a purpose in life and staying busy, busy, busy!
I read of a doctor who spent 9 years in the Himalayan mountains studying the people there to try to determine why they were so healthy and strong at such old ages.  He said he would watch the men as they worked their fields and by watching the way they worked, he couldn’t tell the young men from the oldest men.
He said in the 9 years he worked and studied there he did not treat one Himilayan that had a sickness of any kind.  AND he said if it wasn’t for the Americans that had gone there to work and were eating a Standard American Diet … he wouldn’t have had any patients at all …
Dr. McCarrison said the Himalayans ate the natural diet of their country … grains in their natural state and nuts and veggies and fruits and most of their diet was eaten raw.  No meat of any kind was eaten but they did have a little milk and cheese on occasion and to them the milk and cheese were ‘treats’.

My Year At The Golden Carrot

I worked at the Golden Carrot Health Food Store in Paducah, Ky for one year in 2000 just to study under the elderly couple who owned it because they were licensed naturopathic doctors and they were also walking encyclopedias for healing the body naturally.
They were as excited as I was when I asked them if I could work for a year and study under them because they said most folks just want a ‘job’ and they were ecstatic that I was there to really learn and help others like they were doing. 
They immediately wanted to send me to seminars all across the country and this and that and I said “NO, I’m not going ANYWHERE without my old GEEZER … what I learn I will learn right here from you guys”  But they never gave up on that … they said I had such a sincere passion for learning natural healing they WANTED to furnish me with every opportunity that was available to them.  But I always declined.

My Vintage Cartoon People At The Golden Carrot

But oh my goodness the things I learned during my year at the Golden Carrot!  I was in charge of most of the longevity customers and I LOVED THAT!  
Geezer asked me one day “Can you tell much difference in the people that come in regularly and really DO this stuff … as opposed to the people who do it hit and miss?”  And I said “OH my goodness YES!!!  I called the people who juiced regularly … my Cartoon People … because they were so perfect … skin so smooth … sparkly eyes … vibrant personalities … energy out the wazoo.  And the rosiest cheeks and most beautiful complexions you ever saw in your life … women AND men.
Delores used to have me guess the ages of some of her oldest customers.  And I’d guess late 60’s or early 70’s only to find out they were in their late 80’s or 90’s.
One lady I had guessed to be in her late 60’s or early 70’s… now I was about 54 at that time … so 70 seemed kind of old to me then … but this woman turned out to be 86 and she was an aerobics instructor at a senior assisted living home.  And this goofy 86 year old woman got down in the floor and hoisted herself up on her own shoulders and did the ‘bicycle’ for me.  She was AMAZING … and sharp as a tack … jabbered just like a mag pie just like me.

But these people were regulars and they’d come in and buy 25 pounds of carrots at a time and I’d be checking them out and I’d say “I’ll carry this to the car for you”  And they’d say “Oh don’t be silly … I can get that”   And here they’d go out the door wagging a sack of whatever and a 25 pound bag of carrots.

But do you know WHY they were so vibrant and sharp?  Because they had taken care of their bodies for years and years and their cells were all still HEALTHY

We’re on kind of a regeneration program ourselves.  We’re trying to eat lots better and do juicing and walk daily.  

I’d Rather Be 90 And Act Like 50 – Than Be 50 And Act Like I’m 90

Former President Jimmy Carter was just on the news this morning talking about his newly diagnosed brain cancer at age 90.  When he was done – one of the newsmen asked the other one – “What do you think his chances are – after all – he’s 90?”  The other newsman said “There’s a big difference in 50 year old men who act like they’re 90 and 90 year old men who act like they’re 50 so I think he’s going to be just fine.”

Old age is simply a degeneration of the body brought on by our own sad diets and lifestyles. 
Let’s see what we can all do to turn our own health around.  Nobody can do this for you … you have to do it for yourself.  And if you don’t have a juicer just start with a salad a day and then add some nuts for your snack instead of a Twinkie … you’ll see a big difference in days … in the way you feel.

Peace and Love from the canyon … I love you all gobs and thanks SO MUCH … for stopping by.
#antiaging #juicing #hunzapeople #bluezonepeople #rawfoods
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