6 Aging, Fitness, and Health Myths Debunked-Part 3 of 6

Myth #3
Longevity is Beyond Your Control

Most of us believe that genetics or "Lady Luck" determines how long we will live. If you were lucky enough to be born with good genes, then chances are you will live a long time. If you were unlucky in the genetic draw, then your fate is sealed and your life will be shorter.

Not true, say the old age specialists as told by Dan Georgakas in The Methuselah Factor.

With the exception of rare genetic conditions and being female, genetics may play a 5% to 10% role in how long you live, but no more and perhaps far less.

The number of your years is mostly determined by the choices you make every day—especially food, exercise, and lifestyle choices.

So just because your mother and father died at an old age, doesn’t mean that you will. And just because they died at a young age, doesn’t mean that you will.

Besides, if you judge longevity according to our cultural standard, a long life to you may be years shorter than what it actually could have been with better health and fitness choices. Another question too: were those longer years lived with comfort, independence, and high activity or were those last years lived with infirmity and disease?

As John Leonard says, "Aging is not simply decay; it is an accumulation of choices and consequences."

What are your choices now and what will be your consequences later?