(NaturalPath) According to a study out of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, those who live 95 years or more are able to stave off age-related disease, with serious sickness compressed into only a few years late in life. A study of nearly 3,000 people found that the onset of illness came decades later in life for centenarians than for their younger counterparts.
“Most people struggle with an ever-increasing burden of disease and disability as they age,” said the main researcher. “But we found that those who live exceptionally long lives have the additional benefit of shorter periods of illness – sometimes just weeks or months – before death.”
The researchers studied the health of those individuals that lived around a full century in two ongoing studies: the Longevity Genes Project (LGP) and the New England Centenarian Study (NECS). For the study, the researchers honed in on when the individuals developed one of the five major age-related health problems: cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and stroke. They found that those centenarian groups had a delayed onset of these illnesses compared to their respective comparison groups.
Despite their genetic, social and cultural differences, the long-lived LGP and NECS participants proved markedly similar with respect to major illness: Compared to younger comparison groups, their onset of major age-related disease was delayed, with serious illness essentially compressed into a few years very late in life. The findings suggest that discoveries made in one group of centenarians can be generalized to diverse populations. And they contradict the notion that the older people get, the sicker they become and the greater the cost of taking care of them.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.