Today we learned of the death of Claude Choules, the last remaining combat soldier from WW1. Claude, aged 110 years, died at a nursing home in Freemantle near Perth and leaves a large family including several great, great grandchildren. He told interviewers some years ago that he attributed his longevity to keeping his family close. We also learned that he hated war and only took part in Anzac Day celebrations under direct orders. This sounds to me like a man who lived by principle and sought to reduce conflict and stress in his life. Through his family he was also someone who appreciated the life enhancing benefits of a joyous and loving environment.
We were not told about his diet, his attitude to exercise in middle age, general fitness levels, dental health or regular moderate exposure to sunshine. Neither have we been told anything of the medications he may have been taking in his later years and up to the time of his death.
Also making the news today is a recommendation by Professor Nicholas Wald of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine that everyone over the age of 55 should take statin drugs and blood pressure pills to reduce incidence of heart attack and strokes. Professor Ward tells us that age alone is a better predictor of heart disease than typical medical enquiries of whether the individual is a smoker, and measures of blood pressure and cholesterol.
Professor Ward’s observations on heart disease incidence being related to age may be statistically true but the causative factors are our society’s dietary habits, our attitudes to exercise and our exposure to environmental toxins. Statin drugs are successful at lowering cholesterol but are known to have many side effects. Statins destroy the same enzyme in cholesterol that is required for the production of Q10, an essential ingredient for cellular energy production. The pharmaceutical industry believes that a chemical cure can be found for our ills and in this case is promoting the taking of statins as a preventive measure against heart disease. A truly preventive approach would be to boost our consumption of foods rich in omega 3, eat a selection of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants and to incorporate 30 minutes of vigorous daily exercise, but that requires effort and change. It’s easier to take a pill and ignore the unseen dangers.
Mankind has evolved to live healthily into old age if properly fed, physically, mentally and emotionally nourished and protected from environmental toxins. There is no disease caused by a shortage of statin drugs or ACE inhibitors. At best such drugs temporarily mask out symtoms of a more serious, dysfunctional lifestyle and suggest that the cure to our ills is just a pill away. This has never been so.
Claude Choules had a full life and retained his mental powers to the end. I’m betting that his longevity owes much to a simple, healthy lifestyle and a loving and supportive family and community life. Nicknamed ‘Chuckles’, Claude may well be chuckling at the Disease Management systems that we call Health Services.
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