Published by E.P. MASS MEDIA ADVERTISING INC. VOL.III No. 32 APRIL 2011 www.mymaturetimes.com MY MATURE TIMES APRIL 2011 PAGE 2 ‘Roadmap to 100’ is a matter of diet, exercise By Sam McManis ments, or gene and hormone people are staying healthier SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE therapy, or the latest “super longer. From the title of Dr. Walter fruit” — is the key to extending Bortz’s book — The Roadmap and improving life. Q: A good thing, right? But to 100: The Breakthrough Sci - “Fitness is a 30-year age off - don’t you also write in the book ence of Living a Long and set,” Bortz says. “A fit person of that we live in a “bifurcated so - Healthy Life — you might pre - 70 is like an unfit person of 40. ciety” in which we’ve got the re - sume the noted gerontologist And the galling thing is, it cost ally healthy and really has uncovered some miracu - us $2,000 per person per year unhealthy, and the healthy pay lous anti-aging formula. (in medical bills) to pay for peo - for the rest? In a way, he has. It’s called ple being unfit.” A: I lay a lot of the blame on exercise and diet. An outspoken proponent of health illiteracy. If you’re personal responsibility for smart, you’re going to live a health and a frequent critic of long time. Because now we mainstream medicine’s dis - know. It’s not genes and not ease-oriented focus, Bortz, 80, doctors. It’s how you live your SHNS PHOTOS is himself a model of healthy life. We are a ... wonderful en - ABOVE: Dr. Walter Bortz, left, and his wife, Ruth Anne, ran the Boston behavior. semble of genes. All these genes Marathon April 15, 2002. LEFT: Dr. We talked to Bortz about The are little electric switches that Bortz’ book. Roadmap to 100 (Palgrave must be tuned. The tuning of it MacMillan, $25, 246 pages) and is exercise. When you’re fit, longevity. everything tunes correctly. If Q: So, if doctors themselves you’re not fit, everything goes can’t stay healthy ... Q: I read a statistic from your to hell. A: Listen, health is a control book that shocked me: By the thing. You have to own it. You middle of this century, we’ll Q: Exercise and nutrition — must ingest health and make it have 6 million centenarians. is that going to be a hard sell to a part of all your decisions. I’m Does that mean people are someone always looking for the healthier, or are they just hold - quick fix? a student of the human poten - ing on longer thanks to medical A: Sure. We, as doctors, can tial. How long can we live? A science? treat disease. We can charge hundred years. That’s our birthright. But it can be a good Old school as that may seem, A: Oh, I give medical science you for it. We want things we the Stanford University profes - a very small partition of it. can send you a bill for. And 100 years. It’s not lying around sor of medicine presents solid, they can bill you for surgery in some desolate nursing home. peer-reviewed research that Q: Are people healthier now and pills. But if you come into confirms the belief that fitness than before? my office, and I go over you and Q: So longevity for its own — not antioxidant supple - A: The data clearly show old say the best thing for you is to sake is not a good thing? get on a really good exercise A: Clearly, no. It’s quality of program, you’re going to life. When I wrote my first book stalk out because I didn’t in 1991, called We Live Too give you the easy answer. Short and Die Too Long , I as - serted that 100 was our Q: Why aren’t doctors birthright. That was out on a trained more to deal with limb back then. A lot of people health rather than disease? said, ‘This guy’s blowing A: They get paid for hav - ing you sick. They want you smoke.’ Now we recognize that to bleed. I just lectured 600 we ought to live to be 100 if we doctors at Kaiser. They are don’t [mess] it up. all fat. Continues on page 4 MY MATURE TIMES APRIL 2011 PAGE 3 April is Cancer Control Month We all know someone the benefits of chemotherapy and cigarettes manufactured in years other cancer treatments. Smoking past, making it harder to quit. Tap whose life has been affected by causes more than 85% of lung can - into resources such as cancer. Whether it is a friend, fam - cers and can cause cancer almost www.SmokeFree.gov for helpful ily member or you personally, this anywhere in the body. One in three tools or call the NCI’s national disease cripples families and cancer deaths in the U.S. are to - QuitLine at 1-877-44U-QUIT (1- causes much heartache. Though bacco-related.” To make matters 877-448-7848) to speak with a technology has advanced research worse, cigarettes today have more smoking cessation counselor. and introduced new treatment op - addictive chemicals (nicotine) than Continues on next page tions, cancer remains the second largest killer of Americans, behind heart disease. In an effort to fight the battle against cancer, empha - size the promise of medical re - search and remind Americans of Miguel Tarango, MD the healthy, preventive steps to Colorectal cancer screenings (can protect themselves, President range from a blood test to a Barack Obama has proclaimed colonoscopy) and Prostate-Spe - April as National Cancer Control cific Antigen, known as “PSA” month. (generally recommended once per year for men over age 50). Other According to the National Cancer screenings for specific types of Institute (www.cancer.gov), there cancer are available and may be are four components to fighting prescribed. The good news about cancer- kicking bad habits, being these preventive measures is that conscientious about what you eat, most insurance plans cover these ensuring you make time for physi - tests in full. Inquire with your car - cal activity and getting screened. rier for details. Whether you have been diagnosed or are trying to reduce the risk of Stop Smoking. Research has found cancer, you should follow these a strong link between tobacco use guidelines: and many cancers, among other diseases. Quitting smoking- even Get your screenings. Perhaps the after many years- can greatly re - easiest part of a cancer-prevention duce your risk of developing can - regimen, early detection is the key cer and other serious diseases. to successfully treating cancer. According to US Surgeon General Cancers are most treatable when Regina M. Benjamin’s December caught early; conversely, unde - 9th press release, “Tobacco smoke tected cancers are likely to spread contains a deadly mixture of more and become harder to treat. De - than 7,000 chemicals and com - pending on gender, the most com - pounds, of which hundreds are mon cancer screenings include toxic and at least 70 cause cancer. mammogram (women age 40 and Every exposure to these cancer- older should have mammograms causing chemicals could damage every 1 to 2 years), Pap tests (talk DNA in a way that leads to cancer. to your doctor about frequency- Exposure to smoke also decreases the guidelines vary by individual), MY MATURE TIMES APRIL 2011 PAGE 4 Senior Games 2011 The City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Department and Bravo Health have the Senior Games underway for individuals 50 years of age and older. (Individuals turning 50 years of age in 2011 are eligible.) Continued from page 2 You can still register for any of the events below and registration forms are available at any of Q: What about the ways other than ex - the nine Parks and Recreation Senior Centers. The fee is $15 for two events and $5 for each ad - ercise and nutrition? Everything from ditional event. gene therapy to dietary supplements to Event Date Time Location super fruits. Is it people wanting to get the quick fix? Or is science trying to sell Cycling April 2 8am Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Dr. us product? Volleyball April 7 6pm Galatzan Recreation Center A: It’s money. I’m at Stanford. So high- Road Race(5K,10K) April 9 8am Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Dr. tech. They all want their laboratories. Track and Field April 16 830am Burges High School, 7800 Edgemere They all want to find something lucrative Awards Ceremony April 29 6pm Hilos De Plata Senior Center that helps people. I was at a lecture there Information – David Lopez at (915) 544-0753. a year ago on angiogenesis — new blood vessels. The speaker said, “With these New Website Helps Texans Find viral vectors, you get the first blush of a new vessel!” I went up to him afterward Information, Services on Autism and said, “You get the whole thing from (Austin) ― The Texas Autism Re - treatments really help, or where to exercise.” He says, “Yes, but there’s no search & Resource Center has go to get them. This new resource money in it.” It all comes down to what launched a website eases that learning process and em - you can sell in Walgreens. (www.tarrc.org) that can help Tex - powers parents to tackle the chal - ans find the information and serv - lenges ahead.” Cont/page 12 ices they need to support people diagnosed with autism spectrum Cancer Control... disorder (ASD). Continued from page 3 products, lean meats, fish, beans, Get moving.