Throughout this seminar, I've been very intrigued by the different centenarians and the variety of lifestyles they've maintained. I think especially of the woman that smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol regularly and others that ate a diet consisting of southern soul food-including fried chicken. I think it is obvious that several factors influence the issue of aging, but I am even more perplexed and interested in finding just how they are intertwined. We've seen examples where genetics and lifestyle choices seem to make a difference, but we've also witnessed exceptions. Are these examples strictly exceptions, or is there more behind these cases?
In applying this information to my own life I have found myself thinking I should do this because it is 'good for me'. After seeing the wide variety of healthy aging individuals that didn't necessarily follow these guidelines, I wonder if it's really that important that I follow them myself. I think this drives my insatiable curiosity to determine what has the largest influence on aging and aging well. If we can find what causes us to age especially well or poorly perhaps we can emphasize following or avoiding these qualities. I guess for now we will have to be content in continuing our search since no obvious break throughs have been made thus far.
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