About the Book Series -- Notes from the Author
I have used research from the medical and natural health care worlds to provide you with the information in this program. One objective is to use the best of common sense without the erroneous beliefs that are perpetuated out of habit or by promotion of misinformation.
The 120 Years -- and Holding collection of books is a blueprint for a complete program. It is not intended as medical text or a comprehensive review of all systems. Instead it is a program based on the possibilities for self care. If we respect the individual, we must respect his or her ability to make informed choices, based on reliable information. 120 Years -- and Holding program has gathered the information for you. It was written to educate and encourage all readers to gently favor good habits and take control of their own lives.
The following are some of my guidelines as the author, which I hope will benefit you as the reader.
1) Down-to-Earth, but Up-to-Date
7) No Pain, No Gain. . . Is Really Not Sane
8) 120 years and Holding......Your Choice
Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
Publilius Syrus, "Maximus"
Down-to-Earth, but Up-to-Date
The research has been read for you, but hopefully this will not sound like a research paper -- boring! The information is easy to understand - which is not difficult compared to original study papers. Since research is contradictory a considerable amount of time, I have tried to give you the full picture, not just my favorite picture.
Lies that Life is black and white,
spoke from my skull I dreamed.
Bob Dylan (My Back Pages)
Staying Gray
This is a gray book! (No, nothing to do with the aging of hair.) Most information has shades of gray; very little is black and white. Nothing is perfect for everyone and most things have both benefit and drawback. In relationship to number one above (down-to-earth, but up-to-date), I have tried to present you enough ‘gray’ information for making good choices.
I’m not confused, I’m just well-mixed.
Robert Frost
Sensational magic bullets for health and long life are seductive (and exploited by the media). 120 Years -- and Holding has no magic bullets. There is not a single, black and white answer that will fit everyone’s life. I have tried to be clear about preferences and benefits where helpful, but the benefits (and efforts) are always shades of gray.
I do not call a tree generous that sheds its fruit at every breeze.
Samuel Johnson
(18 th century author)
Low-Hanging Fruit
Low-hanging fruit is no less sweet than higher hanging fruit; it is simply easier to reach and within our own grasp. 120 Years -- and Holding is primarily based on the low-hanging fruit of health. While high-tech heath care is sometimes necessary and other times desirable, low-tech care offers on-going advantages which are within our control and much less costly. More importantly, it is the low-tech habits and behaviors that are most vital to our longevity. High-tech, high-dollar, invasive drugs and health care become less important when the self-treatment and preventative, self-care life style is embraced.
Harvesting the low-hanging fruit gives us self-control, money-saving habits, increased vitality, and a greater chance for healthy years of independent longevity.
Warning: The very act of Living is known to be dangerous to Health.
Los Angeles Times, editorial (August 14, 1988)
No Contradictions
Despite presenting "shades of gray," every effort has been made to avoid contradictory advice. Information at odds with other statements from the same source can be annoying and frustrating for the person evaluating his or her health care needs, or when establishing a prevention program. Hopefully, advice you read in chapter three will not be at odds with chapter one, or book two with book seven, etc.
A chacun son goût
A Smorgasbord
"A chacun son goût" means "to each his own;" or according to my mother’s favorite quotation "as the woman who kissed the cow said, everyone to their own taste." That is the reason there are smorgasbords, or choices on the dinner menu. We are all different in so many ways that one program so rigid as to be designed to fit everyone, fits no one.
This is not a one-size-fits-all situation, but instead a fit-it-to-yourself program. No two people will choose all the same options from the books. At a smorgasbord, no two plates are identical; they may be loaded with varying goods, or different quantities and combinations of each. Our lives and personalities are like that as well.
You have your own life lessons and preferences. You must take yourself as the ‘whole person’ into consideration to design the right program just for you.
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life
which is required to be exchanged for it,
immediately or in the long run.
Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"
Cost-Effective
This information is like money in the bank. Your best protection against disease-related costs is PREVENTION. I was brought up in a low-income family, and I am sensitive to good value. You do not want to pay ‘through the nose’ for your Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat specialist, or be charged an arm and a leg for orthopaedic services. However, you do not want to buy the cheapest products and services based only on price. You want value for your money.
I have tried to avoid writing the kind of book in which the author suggests expensive lab tests, and high-end products for every health concern. Some authors seem very decadent, suggesting instruction for your housemaids, cooks and personal trainers as to all your particular health needs. In addition, the authors recommend that you obtain personalized specialists for everything from soup to nuts, or (more appropriately) head to foot. Not very practical for the majority of the population.
Also, I have not endorsed products or companies for profit, percentages or royalties. However, I have included information about many products that I would like you to know about and be able to evaluate. Some are good, some bad.
Everything in moderation. . . . . . including moderation.
Michael R. Sawicky
No Pain, No Gain. . . . . . . . . Is Really Not Sane
The amount of effort required maintaining good health is often overstated. This book will help you gently favor good habits -- not wage war in a never-ending battle against all your bad habits. It is a menu from which you select what is right for you at any stage in your life. The extreme model of the totally vegetarian, meditating triathlete who eats nothing processed, no additives, no alcohol, no caffeine, no pizza, no ice cream, but takes all the needed supplements and drinks only the ‘green vegetable stuff,’ seems unachievable to most of us. We figure, "why start?" Thinking, "why should I bother to start" is especially understandable if that model is not your ultimate goal. (It may or may not be.) Extremism turns many people off the idea of healthy living.
Use moderation in your quest for a healthy lifestyle. But do not lie or deceive yourself into thinking you are doing your best. [One piece of fruit a day does not a healthy body make.] Push yourself whenever you can each day toward the good habits -- just do it with a gentle and loving hand.
Since "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," (processed sugar? uh, oh), I have tried to stay up-beat and up-lifting with most of the material. You can’t raise the body by depressing the soul. This is ‘serious stuff,’ but laughter has always been the best medicine.
‘Don’t come to the well with a teacup’
120 years and Holding.......Your Choice
To get as much as you can from the water well, you go prepared to carry plenty away. The ultimate goal of this book is to live a full, happy, healthy life for 120 years. The more you take from the material the closer to that goal you will come. Choose from the menu as much as you can, based on your own interests, abilities, choices and beliefs. The more you explore the information, reading or researching additional sources on your own, the greater your chances of living 120 years or at least longer than you might have planned. This series of books is not meant for a ‘once-through’ reading. Come back again and again to this program to refresh your memory, evaluate your successes or to plan continued transitions by developing new habits. Each good choice will make a difference; some will make a small difference, some monumental, but every bit WILL make a difference.
