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May 03, 2015

Is living to 120 possible?

A report published by The Centenarian claims that Centenarians, people who live to 100, are the fastest growing group in the world right now. There are roughly 450,00 people 100 years old and older, according to current estimates, and people are only expected to get older!

In the words of one reader,

"My grandmother is 104 years young and lives in Saskatchewan, Canada. Born in Guangdong province, China. Never ate processed food, grew her own vegetables, boiled her water and always active. Never touched alcohol or smoked...That's the secret! Congrats to all Centenarians!"

Is it that simple? Just eat a healthy diet and stay active and you can live to 100?

Living to 120 is someone's God-given privilege?

"And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.'"
~ Genesis 6:3

After the Biblical account of the flood, Judeo-Christian tradition says that God set in motion a physiological limit to human life: 120 years. Many are now claiming that this is the reason why there is such a rise in centenarians today. Modern medicine, they suggest, is simply capitalizing on the natural boundaries of nature, and scientists are simply exploiting ways to enable people to live to their God-given age potential. This is an interesting theory because, in spite of their harmful diet and lifestyle decisions, people continue to defy nature's limits and are living well beyond the physiological boundaries that have been put in place.

In addition to removing toxins, eating a well-balanced diet and keeping stress at bay, research has suggested that there are least three ways to promote longevity.

Shaping life through desire and faith

According to USA Today, a survey was conducted last year that tells us something shocking: people do NOT want to live more than 100 years! Just under 70 percent of interviewed Americans 18 and older reported that their ideal age is somewhere between 79 and 100 years. It is foundational, therefore, to desire longevity and to believe that living a life into the 100s is desirable.

Never retire

"The first 25 years of my life are something I would rather forget, but the contrary has taken place. The older I get the more alive those years have become.... My 90s were the most productive years of my life."
~ Harry Bernstein

The American concept of "retirement" has created an apathy during the Golden Years for personal development and learning. Not only does this lack of mental stimulation rank high on the list of dementia and Alzheimer's risk factors, psychologists have found that it can literally suck the desire to live right out of you.

Harry Bernstein, the British-born American writer, first started his book when he was 93. Three years later, when The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers was published, he gained almost immediate fame. He died at 101 after writing four books.

Stay active

Jim 'Pee Wee' Martin, a 93-year-old WWII veteran who parachuted into Normandy 70 years ago, celebrated the 70th anniversary of D-Day anniversary by taking one more jump. And his reason?

"A little bit of ego, because I am 93 and I can still do it. Also, I just wanted to show all the people that you don't have to sit and die just because you get old."

Research has suggested that centenarians remain active up until the point of their death. They are definitely not couch potatoes and regularly live life to the full well into their 100s!

1 comment:

  1. Yes, but for people of faith we say...who wants to hang around here for 120 years? No thanks!

    ReplyDelete