In recent months, however, several studies have produced a stream of evidence that mostly points in the same direction, and also happens to overturn one of the most stubborn American stereotypes: the belief that this is a land whose gifts, charms and joys flow mostly to young people.
The studies show that when you check on how happy people are at various ages, the elderly generally come out ahead.
Yang found, in research published in the American Sociological Review, those older than 65 had not always been happy. It was being older that conferred the contentment that many of them reported.
“It is counter to most people’s expectations,” said Smith, who spoke about Yang’s paper because she was not available. “People would expect it to be in the opposite direction — you start off by saying older people have illnesses, deaths of spouses — they must be less happy.”
The younger adults, Smith said, had less trouble with their health but had many more of the other kinds of predicaments, and those, in the long run, tended to trump their better health.
Yet another study, Smith said, looked at job satisfaction among people of different ages and again found that those who kept working past age 65 had the highest level of job satisfaction — going against the stereotype that older people keep working mostly because they can’t do without the money.
Fascinating stuff. So maybe the adage of older and wiser should include happier too!
“Young people — the very people we think from the stereotype are best off — in fact have high levels of anger and anxiety and also high levels of depression, compared to middle-aged adults.”
Younger adults were far more likely to have financial worries, troubled emotional relationships and professional stressors, she said.
“The image of youth or young adulthood as the best time of life is probably not an accurate stereotype.”
Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters. How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes. How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes. How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol. How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants. How to eat: Just drink it.
Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants. How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death. How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.’’ They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins. How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,’’ it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies. How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories. How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.
You can find more details and recipes on the Men’s Health Web site, which published the original version of the list last year.
And you began to experience the “jungle effect”?
Yes, it was so interesting to see some of the American volunteers who were there, and even my own family feeling the same kind of effect. We were not necessarily exercising more – it was too hot to exercise! – and still we were slimming down, and feeling more energetic, while eating very satisfying meals. And I realized that so much of it had to do with the local foods and the way they were put together. These were recipes that had been prepared for hundreds and hundreds of years because they tasted great and kept people healthy.
I also noticed when I was there that I saw lots of snakebites, machete wounds, malaria and other infections and injuries – these were the kind of medical problems that were easy to treat or prevent with modern medicine and sanitation. But I did not encounter anyone other than tourists who had the diseases I saw every day in San Francisco: obesity, heart disease, diabetes and depression.
So I began to talk to people, and I began to write down recipes, because while some of what we ate was exotic and hard to find in the states, many of these foods were available in standard North American supermarkets. When I returned, I emailed a dozen of these recipes to Angela. A month later, she called me back and said she was really enjoying the food, had gotten some of her “jungle energy” back and was exercising regularly. Two months later, her weight was down 14 pounds, and she felt the diet was easy to maintain. When her friends asked for her secret, she had answered, “I put myself on the Jungle Diet.”
The thing that’s so striking to me is that you went to these different cultures and found diets that seemed quite different: people in Crete eat olive oil and fresh vegetables, while Icelanders eat omega-rich fish and very few vegetables. So in terms of the proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrates, they are not necessarily similar.
This is true. The Tarahumara [the indigenous people of Northern Mexico] are eating 80% of their calories from carbohydrates, albeit slowly digested, low glycemic ones such as squash and beans. Contrast that to Iceland, where fish and dairy are abundant and are a big part of the diet. If you were to actually break it down in terms of percentage of calories from protein versus fat versus carbohydrates, you’d find that many of these diets are radically different. So it appears that there is no hard-and-fast way that way you should arrange your macronutrients in order to eat well.
So what is the element that these diets have in common that makes them healthy?
There are several. The first one is that the foods are relatively local, fresh, and unprocessed. Also, the farm or wild animals themselves have been “eating well,” from fresh, local ingredients, and a lot of those nutrients are being passed along when humans consume their meat or milk. Meat and dairy are also generally eaten in small quantities within the context of a larger meal. In most of these cultures, no one is sitting down for a slab of meat; even in Iceland, there are stews and beans and other things combined with the meat. All these cultures eat very little processed grains like white flour. Their starches (grains, beans, tubers) tend to look the same as they do when they come out of the earth. Salt and sugars are not in a highly synthesized, refined form, and by and large are eaten within that wholeness of that food, so salty flavors come naturally with seaweed and fish, and sweetness naturally occurs in honey and fruits. In addition, most of these cultures use healing spices and have fermented foods. Fermentation or pickling is a way of preparing food that has been shown to have a wide range of health benefits.
This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper funciton of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Sally Fallon dispels the myths of the current low-fat fad in this practical, entertaining guide to a can-do diet that is both nutritious and delicious.
It’s also linked to Dr. Mercola’s take on raw milk and eggs.
Motivation Peek has a great write-up on different theories of dreams. I especially like the Jungian one:
Jungian therapists recognize three levels of dreams. Level 1 dreams have no deep symbolic meaning, and are just remnants of the recent thoughts and feeling s of the conscious mind. Level 2 dreams use symbols to express material in the personal unconscious — material that relates primarily to our physical and sexual preoccupations — and in this sense they employ symbols in a similar way to that proposed by Freud. Level 3 dreams, or what Jung called “great dreams”, are qualitatively different. They contain emotionally-charged and powerful symbols that express the innate qualities and behavioural predispositions that make us human — what Jung called archetypes.
Happiness is Healthy
That sounds like a no-brainer, but a new British study has found that the more upbeat your mood, the lower the levels of an unhealthy stress hormone. What’s more, it showed that the happy women participating in the study had lower internal markers of the persistent inflammation that can lead to heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. While happy people do tend to be healthier than those who are pessimistic and stressed out, the notion that they take better care of themselves isn’t necessarily true. Saliva tests showed that happy study participants had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which contributes to high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and less than optimal immune function. Nearly 2,900 healthy adults, age 50 to 74, participated by recording their moods at the time of the tests. On another day, the researchers measured two markers for inflammation, C-reactive protein and interleukin 6. Among women (but not men) positive emotions correlated with healthier, lower levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin 6. The study was published in the Jan. 1, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
People are most likely to become depressed in middle age, according to a worldwide study of happiness. The team of economists leading the work found that we are happiest towards the beginning and end of our lives, leaving us most miserable in middle years between 40 and 50.
The results, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, showed that people’s levels of happiness followed a U-shaped curve, a pattern that was remarkably consistent in the vast majority of countries the researchers looked at, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe.
For both men and women in the UK, the probability of depression peaked at around the age of 44. In the US, men were most likely to be unhappiest at 50, while for women the age was 40.
We may never be able to unravel the complexity of inter-relatedness of the universe. But if we just acknowledge it and send what goodness we can into the world, we help heal the wounds.
Try this exercise — I use it to remind myself of the connectedness that I can easily forget — the next time you watch the news, imagine everyone they are discussing is related to you. A cousin, an aunt, a parent, a child. Think what you can do to help, then do what you can. Do not imagine that the answer can ever be “there is nothing I can do.”
Send a helping organization a check. Love someone more than yesterday. Pray. Do not lose hope. Use less fossil fuels. Help a stranger. Recycle more. Give. Write to Congress or the White House. Organize. Vote. Volunteer. Speak the truth.
Take the power of love seriously. Let your love for the world out, and let it roll into action. You are not alone. What you do touches what we all do, grows, expands, heals. What you do gives me courage, gives everyone you know hope as it gives to the rest of the world. Mitakuye Oyasin.
This blog is my attempt at giving back to the world, a small gesture to help others find information on all aspects of wellness: body, mind, spirit. Namaste!
Holistic Wellness 