On my trip along the highway of life, I have been consistently in the backseat of a driverless car, dangerously weaving through obstacles, sudden roadblocks and near fatal crashes, most of which were my fault.
I have rebuilt my life from the blackened ashes of my personal car wreck. Now I’m grateful to be alive and on the road again.
At 53 years old, the man staring at me in the bathroom mirror has hair on his head and a face white as a Siberian landscape, prominent wrinkles and a road-weary stare in his eyes. I give all my attention to my mental health, changing negative thought patterns and rerouting neurological-based destructive behaviour.
I did not realize, suddenly, I am much older than I thought: a young old man, but an old man, nonetheless.
My friend’s two-year-old son’s eyes become alight all while calling me Papa. I am an adopted granddad. I’m honoured and constantly teary eyed to be in this position. Also, as a writer, I am speechless and humbled to be included in his limited, but exponentially growing lexicon of new words.
Still, even with my soul-energizing news, does aging have to be such an accelerated process with an eerily small amount of control?
Like most information these days, a podcast was the first source where I heard we have more control over aging and age-related diseases than I could ever have imagined.
Canadian physician Dr. Peter Attia suggests we control our life span and aging process much more than we think. We give up power regarding when we will die with too much ease.
Of course, there is a genetic part and, also, just plain luck with how our life will end. Still, there can be control over the quality of life as our sun sets and we die.
Attia specialized in surgical oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. At the same time, he undertook research at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing on cancer immunotherapy for melanoma.
It was through these experiences he realized the complete framework of our medical system is badly out-dated. He suggests age-related diseases are treated far too late in the process, when the disease has already taken complete control of the body.
Attia suggests a health care system where age-related illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases can be fought earlier in life, when abnormalities in health first occur.
The basic tactics against age-related diseases are exercise, nutrition, sleep and emotional and mental health. It is a formula, with detailed science-based backing, to increase our life span and, something Attia refers to as health span, enabling us to enjoy active lives into our 80s and 90s, and beyond.
In the bestselling book, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Attia presents a manifesto for a radical new approach to aging and death, which will be a game-changer for health care methods and culture. Perhaps, even more impactful, my Generation X will poke fun at the millennials further into a healthy and active future than previously thought.
Robert Skender is a qathet region freelance writer and health commentator.
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