flatlander,
Thank you for your response. When I turned 40, (21 years ago) I began taking my health much more seriously. I didn't have any health issues but came to the realization that I wasn't getting any younger, and after visiting a few of my friends in the hospital who had developed cancer, I thought "That could be me.".
I bought some health books back then and began following their advice and completely changed my diet. Since that time, I have read a number of different books on health which included some of the latest research studies available.
I adopted a mostly plant based diet with animal products accounting for less than 10% of my intake. I am happy to say that after 21 years at the age of 61, my PSA is very low at .35, colds and flu are a rarity (once in about 3 years), I don't feel any older than I did 21 years ago, and at my height of 5 ft. 10 1/2" my weight has remained at a healthy 175 lbs.
I don't have much time since we are leaving on vacation in a few hours and I still have to pack so here is a little information I've gleaned in my studies.
Our Immune System is vital to our well being. As we age it can loose as much as 70-80% of it's effectiveness between the ages of 20 to 70. That's the reason that older folks are much more susceptible to illness. Diseases such as Cancer have a much better chance of getting started if our immune system is not functioning properly.
There are two main nutrients that are vital to our immune systems, Zinc and vitamin C. Scientific studies have proven that diets rich in these 2 nutrients and other vitamins & minerals will keep our immune systems working effectively even into our senior years.
Research scientists have determined that 80% of all cancers are diet and environmentally related. Prostate cancer is more prevalent now than ever before. In the past 20 years the number of cases of all cancers has more than doubled. Why?
Diets that contain a high amount of animal products are deficient in vitamins and minerals. Diets that are high in plant based nutrition are abundant in them.
There are certain areas of the world where cancer and other diseases are a rarity. These people consume a plant based diet. Studies have been done on those same people that have migrated from these areas to America and changed to the typical American diet that is high in animal produced products. The Cancer rate among these folks is on par with our national average. Hmmmmm.
Based on everything health related that I've studied from a number of resources over the past 20 years, indicate that most of the information contained in "Eat To Live" is in line with the many scientific studies that have been done.
Have to go.
Take care and stay healthy.
w30wcf