Longevity is mostly genetics

When you start with someone who’s 89 and work your way back to how they got there, you’ve made your mind up that they did something that worked as part of their lifestyle. And you like what they did.

This is kind of like thinking I like how Hemingway wrote. It was the daiquiris in Havana that made him a great writer. Time to get to work on that white rum.

Hemingway was going to be a great writer as a function of talent and his environment that rewarded and fostered the talent. Some of us are destined to live to a ripe old age. It’s coded in us. Unless something really rotten hits us. Lifestyle, nutrition, supplements and exercise really can help those whose number was constrained by bottlenecks in their heart health and other markers we now understand better.

I’ve got grandparents who are 98 and 91. And knowing what i know about their everyday existence, i am not going to sell you on their lifestyle. I could take a photo of them standing together and try to convince you it was their lifestyle. But that’s a lie. Most of my granddads sisters lived to 90. Grandmom has no siblings. But her dad lived long. That’s genetics.

I do think the longevity game is oversold. Much like the protein isolate in your idli batter.

But here’s what my grandmom could have potentially improved with 12 sets of squats a week and 50 grams of protein a day. She might have been able to take the stairs versus needing a lift. She might have not needed knee replacement at 60. She might still be able to dance as she would have liked.

My grandad could have avoided heart surgery had he walked a few more steps a day and eaten much less food. A few more lunges and the stairs at 98 were a possibility.

You can enhance quality of life at advanced ages with activity choices and better nutrition. You don’t stay active and eat better to make it to an advanced age.

Posts like this are a Rorschach test.

You see an outcome you like. Someone builds a narrative of a lifestyle that sounds like your current lifestyle. And the idea appeals to your bias.

That’s just lazy convienience.

That said, i have learned from my grandfather to chill out a lot more. Just disconnect from situations that you have no control over. And don’t fret over material crap.

But there’s a lot that can be bettered. And that’s just a function of capacities you can maintain through exercise and muscle that you can retain with protein.