The best, simplest, most common sense explanation I have heard for what determines one’s health came from a retired physician friend of mind: “Your health is 1/3 genes, 1/3 luck, and 1/3 how you take care of yourself. His point was not that the proportions were just right but that it is important to accept that some things are out of your control; all you can do is make the best of the cards you have been dealt.  Maybe the relative contribution of how you live is well over 1/3. I don’t know. Whatever the case, it makes sense to do all you can to stay  as healthy as you can for as long as you can without being consumed with anxiety about whether you are doing the right thing.

What should be given top priority? Exercise per se has humongous benefits, but research shows that weight loss is not one of them:

“The 2010 Physical Activity and Weight Gain Prevention Study … divided 34,079 women into three groups, representing high, medium, and low levels of physical activity. Over the next thirteen years, the study found no relation between weight gain and exercise levels for the overweight obese women…. Furthermore, no change in body composition was observed, suggesting that muscle was likely not replacing fat.”[i]

The main factor affecting  your health that is within your control is what you eat. (An interesting indicator of the truth of this assertion is that longevity is more closely shared with spouses than with siblings.) Even though the combination of genetic makeup and life experience is unique to each of us, there appear to be some general dietary guidelines that are universally beneficial. The theory supporting them is described in Ten Lies Taught in Medical School by Robert Lufkin, MD.

https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Taught-Medical-School-Conventional/dp/B0CVN1WB6S/ref=zg_bsnr_g_10_d_sccl_7/142-4982405-7334638?isALC=true

The key propositions of the theory are:

1. Metabolic dysfunction is the main driver of obesity and chronic diseases, e.g., cancer, heart disease, dementia.
2. A calorie consumed can either be burned for energy or stored as fat.
3. Whether a calorie is burned or stored depends on insulin.
4. Calories that stimulate insulin production, such as those found in carbohydrates, are telling the body to store fat.
5. A diet high in carbohydrates stimulates production of a protein (mTOR) that puts the body into a growth mode. TOR “activates when it detects glucose, insulin, IGF-1 (an insulin growth factor), amino acids …, and oxygen.” When TOR activates, it puts an organism into growth mode…. This also drives cellular proliferation. TOR will cause an organism to store energy in the form of fat and glycogen, metabolize glucose, increase inflammation … and hold off on repair functions.”[ii]
6. When the body’s cells have been exposed to a high level of insulin for a long period of time, they develop a tolerance for it, a condition known as insulin resistance. This causes the body to produce more insulin to get the same effectiveness. Insulin resistance causes the body to get stuck in overdrive even though it does not need to grow more cells. Too much growth can lead to all kinds of chronic, life-threatening conditions.

If this theory is correct, then the implications are straightforward:

1. Avoid processed foods because they are high in refined carbohydrates and other ingredients that drive insulin resistance and mTOR, which, in turn, drive inflammation and metabolic overdrive. A good rule of thumb for following this practice is to avoid items in the center of most grocery stores.
2. Don’t use seeds oils that also drive inflammation (canola, corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower, oil, etc.). Olive oil is good.
3. Emphasize foods containing protein and fat, nutrients the body needs but cannot make for itself. Eggs, meat, chicken, fish, fresh vegetables, and cheese are good for you.

Dr. Lufkin offers a couple of other tips I have not seen elsewhere which have helped me:

• “the order in which you eat food matters. Start with fat and protein first. By eating carbs last, you reduce the insulin and glucose response.”[iii]
• “… it’s better to refrain from grazing and eat two or even just one meal per day.”[iv]

While it is smart to follow good eating habits, I believe it’s a mistake to be too absolutist about it. I enjoy my (one) six o’clock beer. I like a glass of good wine. And each year for my birthday, I treat myself to some marvelous truffle fries. Life is to be savored.

A disclaimer is necessary. I have no medical qualifications whatsoever. What I suggest above has worked for me and other people I have observed over many  years who are now well over 65. While I think the guidelines I describe have a big payoff in terms of promoting the best health possible, please do your own homework to see what is right for you.

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[i] Robert Lufkin, MD, “Ten Lies I Taught in Medical School: And the Truths That Can Save Your Live, Ministry of Technology LLC (December 1, 2023), Kindle edition p. 67.

[ii] Lufkin, p. 40.

[iii] Lufkin, p.252.

[iv] Lufkin, p. 241.