You have a significant amount of control over your own mortality!
Most discussions about longevity detail multiple factors that contribute to how long we live. One study that measured the additive effect of various healthy lifestyle behaviors was the “Healthy Aging: Longitudinal study in Europe” project. It identified four healthy lifestyle behaviors:
1. Mediterranean diet (High in olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains and fish. Low in saturated fat, meats and dairy products.)
2. Moderate alcohol consumption (less than 3 drinks daily).
3. Physical activity (exercising over 30 minutes per day, or burning up at least 2,500 calories per week).
4. Non-smoking (never smoked or quit more than 15 years before).
The study demonstrated the contribution that each of these behaviors had on the 10-year survival of 1507 men and 832 women, aged 70 to 90 years, from 11 European countries:
The effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors were found to be cumulative. An individual with all four behaviors had a 65% decrease in death risk from all causes:
The most impressive finding is that these behaviors decrease the risk of death from all causes. We have known that the risk of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) is lowered by healthy living, but the findings show that the death risk from cancer is similarly improved.
