Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Which direction am I headed?

I've been on the road again and today I flew home from Denver, Colorado. So in a geographical sense, I guess I was headed West. But that's not quite the question I'm really asking. Please bear with me for a few minutes......

While in Denver today, I picked up a copy of a USA Today newspaper that someone had left around the gate area. And in the Life section, there was an article titled "Which direction are you going, and for how long?" By Craig Wilson. This instantly caught my attention so I read on.

In the article, Craig talks about a friend of his who is in her 90's. He uses his discussion about her to segway into the topics of longevity and health. The focal point of these topics is a book titled "The Blue Zone" written by Dan Buettner, a journalist/researcher. Buettner describes areas in the world where people live the longest as "Blue Zones." As I read this, I recalled an article that I had read in the past that described the island of Okinawa, Japan as having more centenarians (people over 100 years old) than any other place in the world. So curiously I read on, hoping to find some secret clue to my own personal fountain of youth.

I patiently read on as Craig rambled and pitched a free website: "bluezones.com." So tonight as I rushed into the house I couldn't wait to log on-line to check it out. Turns out they offer what's called a Vitality Compass. This is a specially constructed quiz that will tell you when you're going to die. Well, not exactly.... But it does provide some insight into your future based on your current habits. I broke down and took the quiz and tried my best to be honest. I think I may have stretched the truth just a minor bit but mostly, I was honest. The compass offered the following information:

  1. Biological age
  2. Life expectancy
  3. Healthy Life expectancy
  4. Blue Zone years

Turns out my biological age is about 11 years younger than my actual age and my life expectancy is 93.3 years. According to the compass, I can expect to be healthy until I'm about 81 years and then my health may suffer the last 12 years or so of my life.

So there you have it. If you're curious and want some entertainment, give it a shot. Something to think about. The site is loaded with useful information. Contrary to what the Vitality Compass says about me, I happen to feel like I've been headed "South" for the last few years. This just might be the right inspiration to change directions to a Northerly heading and live better and longer. Follow this link if you want to try it: Blue Zones

Happy Navigating!

7 comments:

Tami Daun said...

You were very brave. Heh. I don't know if I want to know that info. Thanks for the tip, though, 'cause you never know when curiosity will take over.

intrepidideas said...

No, I'm not brave just silly. I forgot that no news is good news right? Thanks for reading Tamera.

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of a silly conversation that I've had with some buds of mine. We were running alot (5 miles, 3x week, fast) and were all between 40 & 55 and in great shape. All guys. The question was how long we could realistically, expect to remain "youthful" (I'm pretty sure thats not the word we were using). The consensus was that by age 60, we could be "in good shape" and energetic. But that inevitably, 60 year olds are just not able to be youthful

Robert A Vollrath said...

I'm spending to much time at this computer, goodbye I'm going out to get some.....

Jane Turley said...

Nope, I ain't going to look; I think I already know the answer!

Oh boy,I feel another diet coming on.....

intrepidideas said...

Robert,

Yep... That's the secret to longevity. Have fun.

intrepidideas said...

Miss Jane,

Skip the diet. We love you the way you are!