Are you killing yourself?

You may not have heard of Dr. Norman Lazarus or Dr Peter Attia, if you have then you might guess what’s coming. If not read on.

Both men have a commitment to improving the human healthspan, that is an important distinction from lifespan or longevity. Whilst neither of them is suggesting we should die young they are both committed to helping people live longer healthier, rather than live long just because we can. With advances in medicine, we all know that humans can live longer with heavy pharmacological intervention, but at what cost?

The cost is not simply one of money, which of course is an issue, both rather the cost to ourselves, the quality of our lives and perhaps more importantly the cost to those around us, our families and loved ones.

Dr. Lazarus has written an excellent book called The Lazarus Strategy How to Age Well and Wisely, Dr Attia has a podcast devoted to guiding listeners to help themselves improve their health.  I recommend buying a copy of Dr. Lazarus’s book, having read after stumbling across it in a bookstore recently. In his mid 80’s Dr. Lazarus is both an accomplished cyclist and Professor at the Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences at Kings College London.

I have no clue if these two gentlemen know each other, they appear to share a common belief about healthcare ( mainly that we do not have a healthcare system either in the UK or the USA, but a sick care or disease management service as Norman Lazarus described the NHS), that can be summarised as take care of what you eat, exercise more and sleep better. Simple as that. However, most of us are not doing it, indeed quite the reverse and then turning to our Doctors for symptom addressing drugs.

In his book Norman Lazarus uses the phrase “not ill but not healthy” to describe the state that many British people in their middle years find themselves. Another doctor I have come across recently Dr. Jeff Gladden gave up his cardiovascular career in Dallas Texas to refocus on heart attack and stroke prevention. He is fully intent and, like Dr. Lazarus, seems to be succeeding, in debunking the idea that being older means we get diseases. Rather than diseases of ageing Dr. Lazarus describes them as Exercise Deficiency Diseases.

My own Damascene event took place after an unsuccessful attempt to correct things with drugs. On a return visit to my GP surgery I saw a locum doctor, who after a few questions and review of tests suggested we give mother nature a try for three months. She set out what that meant, and I set to follow her advice. The result was a reduction in blood pressure, a return to a normal cholesterol level and an improvement in my mental health, which it has to be said was the thing most in need. So, after three years, four different doctors and several prescriptions (I confess I was not fully compliant with the meds…) I met a GP who saw health as part of the key part of the job description rather than drug prescription.

Distilling my reading and listening I suggest you ask yourself these questions;

·      Do I love my spouse or partner?

·      Do I want him or her to have to care for me as I age?

·      Do I love them enough to change now?

Chances are I know the answer. Given that what are you going to do about it?