Eat chocolate, drink wine, add fun to life: SLU geriatrician shares secrets of staying young

Little lifestyle changes can pay big dividends to aging baby boomers who want to stay vibrant, says John Morley, M.D., director of the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University, in a new book that outlines a 10-step program to improve quality of life as we age.

“Living well and feeling good enough to do whatever you want to do throughout your lifetime is priceless,” says Morley, who is coauthor of “The Science of Staying Young.”

“I suggest little changes that involve good eating, such as including dark chocolate in your diet, drinking wine, socializing and adding simple exercises that anyone can do. It’s more fun than most people think. Being proactive about living well and feeling better for the rest of your life, regardless of your current chronological age, doesn’t have to be a chore.”

Morley, who co-directs Saint Louis University’s Center for Aging Successfully, pushes those who want to stay young to add a little SPF – spontaneous physical fun -- to their lives.

He advocates fidgeting in your office chair to burn calories, spending time walking from your car to the mall rather than driving to find a close parking space, working in your garden, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going dancing once a week.

“Spontaneous physical fun is such a logical thing, and so appealing,” he says.

Morley and coauthor Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Virginia, are clear that their book is not a guide to living longer. Rather it is a passport to living better, packed with practical tips to stay young, healthy and vital.

“We both fervently believe that enjoying life is far more important than adding years, particularly if those additional years are spent in poor health,” Morley says.

“Quality of life is more important than quantity of days. Do you want to have more energy, be healthier, feel mentally sharper and rev up your sex drive? All of these are quality questions.”

In his book, Morley blends advice for living better with a prescription to detect medical problems early, when they are most easily treated. “It’s all about being proactive. Boomers like to ask questions, and we’re giving some answers so they can take control of their lives,” he says.

The book breaks the science of staying young into 10 steps.

“The process of getting older, although inevitable, can be a difficult one, both physically and mentally,” Morley says. “But take heart, because you can do many things to keep yourself feeling and looking younger than you really are.”

Source: Saint Louis University

   

• MathieuHamaekers - Nov 20, 2007
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  It is a relief to read this article and to see that there are still scientists who believe in the quality of live. Human sciences and medicine have become to much of a religion telling people what is alowed for there healt and what not. It somethimes feels, as if science has found a scientific translation of the concept of 'sins' in Catholic dogma's of what is alowed and what not. It is not that long ago that sickness was seen as a result of a sinfull live and desise as a kind of punischment for your sins. And suffering and pain was your punnishment. Helping these people ( these sinners) was not alowed and against the dogma's of the believesystem. The origin of modern medicine was the believe to help these people no matter if they where living a sinfull live or not. In or modern world sickness is to often seen as, a result of livestyles, proven unhealty by science. You feel almost as a sinner, a 'doing wronge' scientificly proven. And there are even ideas circulating to refuse treatment of illness if you do things that are scientificly prooven unhealty. In essence it is the same model of thinking of the middle ages. Being unhealty has become like doing sins. Medicine was forbidden by the churche in the middleages and doctor's that helped and cured people where demonized. Because they helped sinners and by doing that helped the devil in his worke. This sounds unbelieveble in or modern ears. But what is the difference between this shamefull superstision in the middleages and the demonizing of the consumption of SPF? The scientific priesthood of healty live almost force people to become the perfect healty super human being, like in Greek mythology. But these perfect humans in fact become scare to enjoy live. Humans are no god's. Only God's are immortal. And as you know, in Greek mythology, the God's where jealous to humans. And people who enjoy live know why. It is like my grandfather who became 93, and never saw a doctor in his live alway's said . Enjoy live in all his aspects, but just don't exaggerate.
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• MathieuHamaekers - Nov 20, 2007
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  I just want to add one more thing. A healty mind in a healty body is more or less the slogan for a super healty way of living. But this slogan was originaly a 'wish' in Greek antiquity. If a child was born, friends wished the parents a child with a healty body and a healty mind. But it was not a logical statement. It was a 'wish'! This saying doesn't mean that a healty mind can only live in a healty body. Prof. Hawking is a prove of this. I personally prefer a healty mind in a healty or unhealty body, than a unhealty mind in a healty or unhealty body. When Descartes made distinguishes between the body and the mind, he thought just that. I don't mean that a healty live is unimportant, but don't make a religion of healt.
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