Long Life

Monica	Todd

Todd: So, Monica, a minute ago we were talking about Tai Chi and about how it helps longevity, helps you live a long life. One time when I was in Bangkok, I met a guy and he was doing Tai Chi and he looked really young, but he said the secret to his old life ... he said the secret to looking young, was Tai Chi and cold showers. He took a cold shower every morning.

Monica: Oh, wow!

Todd: Could you do that?

Monica: No, I don't think I could actually.

Todd: Yeah, you know, I actually tried it for awhile and I tried it for about a week and I did feel so energized and it was easy in Bangkok, cause it's really warm but I couldn't keep it up, especially not that I'm in the cold climate. There's no way.

Monica: Yeah, I remember when I was young, my mother used to teach me to splash my face with cold water in the morning because she believed that helped wake you up, and I remember as a child not liking that at all because I found it too cold. I preferred to splash my face with warm water.

Todd: So, have you heard about any other secrets to having a long life?

Monica: Yeah, I've heard of quite a few different secrets to having a long life. I guess one secret that a lot of different cultural groups seem to share is diet. If you take the Japanese as an example, and Japanese people do have a long life expectancy in comparison to other people from ofher countries. I think the Japanese eat a diet that's quite low in fat and reasonably low in salt as well, and I think their fluid intake is quite healthy because they drink a lot of green tea which has antioxidants in it, and a they drink a lot of miso soup which has a lot of vegetables in it, and is made from fermented barley, so I think that's very healthy.

Todd: I've also heard that people in the Mediterranean, they also often have a long life span in certain regions and maybe the combination of wine, just a little wine, not too much, but wine and olive oil, and then a lot of fish, seafood is also maybe beneficial to a long life.

Monica: Yeah, that's true. I've heard French people for example live a long life and that has often been said due to a glass of red wine a day, and I know people think differently about alcohol and it's affect on the body these days.

Todd: Right.

Monica: Yeah, because alcohol used to be considered quite a bad thing and discouraged in all forms but now people tend to think that a glass a day is actually quite beneficial to your health.

Todd: I've also actually heard that laughter, that people that laugh a lot tend to live longer.

Monica: Yeah, I've heard that too, actually, because laughing releases natural endorphins, and I think that helps you physiologically, and also I think psychologically you're happier if laughing so. Yeah, I think that long life is related to how you are feeling, and I think a lot of it is psychological as well as physical, for example, how much you are eating and what types of food you're eating.

Todd: Yeah, I guess, I'm kind of in the same boat, but I just don't know if I laugh that much. Maybe I'm in trouble.