I happen to have access to a wealth of knowledge from a very good and reliable source, my elderly patients!  I often ask them questions about all sorts of things just to learn from their vast experience at life.  Whether it be tips on growing better tomatoes or fixing an issue with a car, they always come through with what I need.

This morning I saw a gentleman.  He is 96 years old, takes only a few medications for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and a baby aspirin a day.  He is normal weight, and despite his age still mows his own lawn, maintains a garden, and rides his stationary bike daily!  I asked him today what his diet was like, and here are highlights of what he said, and I’m paraphrasing…

“I have always eaten mainly vegetables and fruit.  I don’t mind meat, I just eat enough to get what I need.  What I really like is fresh vegetables from my garden.”

“I’ve never been a big bread eater, and I really don’t like pasta because it’s too filling.  I’ll eat a sandwich every once in a while, but it’s never been my thing.”

“I don’t eat cheese or really drink milk.  It has never agreed with my stomach so many years ago I decided to stop torturing myself and I just don’t eat any of it.”

“Although I like sweets, my momma always told me that too many sweets were bad for me.  I’ve always just made a general rule not to overeat sweets.  In my 30’s I figured out that when I eat sweets like cookies or cakes I feel tired, they just drain me doc.  I just gave them up pretty much 50 years ago or so…”

Who needs all these fancy studies telling us what to do when we have real flesh and blood people whose long-term habits clearly show the secret to longevity!  I asked him one more question, what he would choose as his last meal!

“Just give me a big tomato, a knife, and a little salt, and that’s all I need.  But, the tomato has to be from MY garden!”

Look for advice from the best possible sources!  Look around you, find people who seem healthier than you, fitter than you, maybe even older and wiser as in this case!  Compare this case to the hundreds of people I see who are in their 60’s, morbidly obese, on 4 shots a day for diabetes…and their last meal would be Chicken Fried Steak with a Side of Mashed Potatoes and Gravy!  It does not take an MD to see the pattern here 🙂

Eat Clean, Find an Adventure the MOVES You!

-Ernie