Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Fountain of Youth? Maybe Exercise

Some good news. Some evidence, laboratory testing on mice, that exercise deters aging. In my experience, exercise keeps me feeling better. Will it help me to live longer? Maybe, but mostly, I want to enjoy whatever time I have. Besides, I enjoy exercise. I don't do painful, boring stuff. Today I played basketball. Crazy? Maybe, but I impressed myself. I'm not what I was, but I still can do a good deal. I shoot very well (if not guarded too closely by some young buck) and I pass extremely well (if you go the bucket, I get you the ball). Anyway, it feels good (although a bit sore tonight). Well, here's to the mice & me!

Art De Vany, Robb Wolff, and the Cave Man Life

Only network television could take a really cutting edge and interesting perspective like that held by De Vany & Wolff and turn it into something cutesy. On the other hand, while I didn't learn anything really new in this piece, I hope that others will. I think De Vany, Wolff, along with Sisson, Cordain, Taubes, and our own local Dr. Terry Wahls, are really on to something very important. While I am not a perfect convert (I confess to a birthday celebration cupcake today), and therefore my sinfulness notwithstanding, I think that this way of living--eating "paleo" or "primal" and working out this way--really is the right way to go. I've become more diligent in my adherence to these principles, and as a result, I'm looking better (Iowa Guru says so, it's not just my usual vanity) and feeling better.

I might also note that despite all of the cuteness and lack of substance contained in this segment, the authors that I list above all provide very well researched and considered proof supporting their positions. De Vany, for instance, a retired economics professor, uses his knowledge of complex systems and economics models to understand the human body. Taubes is a science writer from Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia. Of course, these degrees don't guaranty that he's correct, but he's not ignorant. (However, I think that he is mostly correct.) The others have similarly impressive credentials, and most importantly, commitment to seeking what is true and useful.

Okay, I gotta go home & eat me some meat (or fish) & greens!