© 2008, 2012 by David D. Biebel, James E. Dill, and Bobbie Dill Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com Previously published under the title 70 Ways to Beat 70 Ebook edition created 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. ISBN 978-1-4412-3752-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence. To our mothers, for trying to get us to eat our spinach. Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Accept Your Mortality 2. Attend a Healthy Church 3. Avoid Fad Diets 4. Avoid Infections 5. Be Content 6. Be Kind to Your GI Tract 7. Be Who You Really Are 8. Break Bread Together 9. Breathe Clean Air 10. Build Strong Bones 11. Create Your Legacy 12. Cry More 13. Dance—Or Learn To 14. Develop Resilience 15. Discover, Use, and Celebrate Your Talents 16. Dodge Cancer 17. Don’t Give In to Chronic Disease 18. Don’t Smoke or Hang Out with People Who Do 19. Drink Lots of Clean Water 20. Eat Well, Be Well 21. Enjoy a Hobby 22. Enjoy Your Work 23. Feast on Fiber 24. Forgive Others 25. Forgive Yourself 26. Get and Keep Your Affairs in Order 27. Get Out There 28. Hang Loose or Stress Could Get You 29. Have at Least One Close Friend 30. Hold On to Hope 31. Invest in Joy by Giving 32. Jollify Your Life 33. Keep an Eye on Your Eyes 34. Keep Your Heart Smart 35. Keep Your “Wow” Working 36. Know the Skinny on Fat 37. Lighten Up 38. Live in the Now 39. Love and Be Loved 40. Love God without Being Religious 41. Mind Your Mouth 42. Nurture Family Relationships 43. Nurture Something 44. “Owe No One Anything . . . but Love” (or Owe Less . . . Save More) 45. Pay the Kindness Forward 46. Play More 47. Practice Safe Sex 48. Pray 24/7 49. Prevent Accidents 50. Question Supplement Claims 51. Remember Who’s in Charge of Your Health 52. Save Your Skin 53. Seek Solitude 54. Simplify Your Life 55. Stay Active 56. Stay Connected 57. Stay Creative 58. Surround Sound Your Soul 59. Take a Nap 60. Take a Walk 61. Tune Your Immune 62. Understand and Fulfill Your Purpose 63. Value Yourself 64. Volunteer and You’ll Never Be Bored Again 65. Worry Won’t Change a Thing 66. Xpress Gratitude 67. Yearn to Learn 68. Zssss—Get Enough of Them Conclusion Notes About the Authors Back Cover Acknowledgments e wish to thank Sue Foster for her research and written contributions Wto the manuscript. We wish to thank Betsy Dill for her valuable involvement in this project. We wish to thank Dr. Robert Martin III for contributing the original text for the chapter entitled “Save Your Skin.” The Voice of This Book When we say “we” or “our,” it means that we agree on the point in question. When we are describing our individual perspective or experience, we identify who is “speaking” in each case. Disclaimer Neither the authors nor publisher are engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in this book. Readers should consult their health professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from the text. The authors and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and/or application of any of the contents in this book. Introduction ou want to live long; you want to age gracefully. And we want to help Yyou do that. But there’s so much hype and hooey out there, it’s hard to know who to trust or where to start if you want to beat 70. Many people use supplements of one kind or another to try to slow the aging process, even though few products have any real science to offer in support of their longevity-related claims. It’s not uncommon for baby boomers to show up in their doctor’s office with a bag full of bottles and the question, “Doctor, which of these will do me the most good?” In a broader sense, that is the question we tried to answer in this book. Of the thousands of products and programs promoted via the Internet, advertising on TV and radio, print ads in magazines and newspapers, and even whole books touting one thing or another, with ample “testimonies” offered as “proof,” where does the health-conscious person start? This question is crucial, because with time rushing on and 50 million of your cells replacing themselves with each sentence you read on this page, you don’t want to start down the wrong path if you can possibly avoid doing so. Each chapter will show the health-enhancing, longevity-producing value of whatever that chapter’s topic is. In creating the text, we reviewed hundreds of documents and visited thousands of websites, then summarized the best and most reliable information we could find, applying the “gold standard” of research as often as possible. The gold standard requires that a scientific claim should be based on independent, placebo-controlled, randomized, double- blind research. While anecdotes may be helpful in pointing researchers in one possible direction of inquiry or another, the testimony of one or even a dozen individuals regarding the health-enhancing effects of one thing or another does not prove that anyone else could or should expect similar results. The challenge in selecting our topics was not, “How can we possibly come up with seventy chapters?” Instead, it was more like, “Which seventy of the hundreds of health-and longevity-related subjects will provide the average