Three Tips on Living Longer

Dr. David Agus is the author of "The End of Illness".

He's a world famous cancer doctor and researcher who's now on the promotion tour for his book. If you look for his name in pop-culture, or in just about any magazine you pick up, he's there.

I haven't read the book, as I gleaned most everything he has to say for free on the web (I read several Amazon reviews that said "don't bother - you can get all this information for free on the internet).

Whether you agree with him or believe he's just the next "health pop star", his philosophy is worth a quick look. It breaks down into three very easy-to-understand rules:

1. Regularity. Be "regular" in all things that you do. Go to bed at the same time. Wake up at the same time. Eat at the same times. In his opinion, our bodies thrive on regularity. And I've researched this for many posts I've made on BuildBetterSleep.com (the regularity of sleep habits build a pattern in your brain). Although the Paleo-health movement would argue that "eat when you're hungry", and perform "intermittent fasts" is contrary to his rule, I've found that the morning-noon-dinner-snack schedule seems to be hardwired in me regardless. No matter how hard I try to only eat when I'm hungry, I'm always hungry at 7:30am, 12:30pm, 6pm and 9pm.
2. Eat Real Food. This one is obvious to me. And is supported by Michael Pollan and hundreds of other researchers. There can't be anyone left out there that thinks eating processed foods is a good idea. If it comes out of a box - don't eat it. Again, the Paleo movement takes this a step further. Eat foods that our ancestors from 20,000 years ago would recognize - but with some obvious modern twists. They insist that dairy, grains, and legumes were not a part of our diet then, and have lots of reasons why they shouldn't be a part of our diet now. In my experience, this gets much easier to follow once you've lived this way for a month or more.
3. Be In Charge Of Your Own Health. This is near and dear to my thinking. You're foolish if you rely on something your friend said, or what your doctor said, about your health. You are the best judge of your own health. It's incumbent on you to research your own health - don't be lazy and trust someone else to do your homework. You will know more about you than anyone could possibly find out. Think critically, and don't be swayed by popular opinion. Going with that opinion, even if it's sponsored by the government (maybe I should say especially if it's sponsored by the government), could cause you more harm than good.

If you only remembered two of these three rules, I'd have to say that Eat Real Food and Be In Charge Of Your Own Health would be the ones with the biggest payback. They're the ones I'm following...