“And in the end it’s not the years
in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”.
-- Abraham Lincoln.
We live longer than at any time in the past. (1) Researcher, John Wilmoth, from the University of California, Berkeley, believes
that the life-span of humans is expanding and that there is no clear upper limit. Starting
in the Swedish health records, from 1861, Wilmoth and his team found that the longest living person was age 100. That maximum
rose at slow rate until 1969, when suddenly the trend shot upwards. From 1970
to 1999 the maximum age advanced rapidly so that by 1999 the oldest living person was 108.
An immediate response might be, “That’s because of better medical care”. However, to better understand
what is causing the increase in life-span you need to look at the average life expectancy figures. Amongst westerns average
life expectancy has increased by 30 years over the last century.
According to a recent study: Twenty five years,
more than 85%, of the increase in life-span is due to lifestyle related factors: “clear water, better sanitation, more
refrigeration, economic development and healthier diets and less than 15% of the increase is due to improvements in medical
care.” (2) It seems obvious that extending the quantity and quality of our lives is largely related to lifestyle factors
and decisions over which you have control. A good question to ask yourself based
on the above studies is: “What can I do to increase the quantity and quality
of my life?” Research suggests that a number of aspects of the chiropractic
lifestyle, if neglected, can cause chromosomal damage and thereby lead to reduced quality of life as you age. (3-10)
Most importantly, nervous system interference,
of the kind often associated with spinal related problems, spinal subluxation has been linked to chromosomal damage, loss
of muscle strength and loss of memory. (8-10) It’s nice to be living longer,
as the above quoted research shows we are, but just as important is the quality of life during those extra years. How will
you fill them? Well known author Joseph Heller turned the traditional image of
aging on its head when he stated, “When I grow up, I want to be a little boy.” Thought provoking isn’t? Maybe a useful question for us to ask is, “How might we all better sustain the
child within as we age?”
Well, chiropractic care provides an answer. The findings from two recent studies (11-12) suggest that older people who receive
ongoing chiropractic care:
·
Are more likely to exercise vigorously.
·
Are less likely to be hospitalised.
·
Are less likely to need to use a nursing home.
·
Are more likely to report a better health status.
·
Are less likely to need to use prescription drugs.
·
Are more likely to be active in the community.
Age
gracefully . . . put more life in your years, and years in your life with the chiropractic lifestyle.
