So many of us are dying rich and too young

This week, another vintage Gifford-Jones column from well over a decade ago that notes the avoidable (and unavoidable) hazards that can cut a life short.

How many legions of men and women work to achieve financial success and then die prematurely of a needless disease? I have seen it too often: patients who are extremely bright, yet babes in the woods on medical matters. In fact, some of their pitfalls, stubbornness and irresponsibility are hard to fathom.

One 45-year-old friend repeatedly refused my advice to have a colonoscopy. “The are not going to do that to me!” he said. A few years later he noticed rectal bleeding and still would not agree. Unfortunately, the bleeding was not due to hemorrhoids as he believed but to advanced colon cancer. He travelled abroad for fraudulent treatments and after spending thousands of dollars he died a slow, painful death in middle age. It should never have happened.

Why are millions of people still puffing on cigarettes? One wonders, are these people living on another planet? The scientific evidence is overwhelming that inhaling smoke and multiple carcinogens can result in cancer. We cannot prevent many malignancies, but we can most lung cancers by tossing cigarettes away.

It has been said it is better to be lucky than good. I was lucky to inherit the longevity gene, and I was lucky to have parents who taught me not to spend it foolishly by following a risky lifestyle.

I have been lucky to inherit the gene of thinness, but I also step on the scale every day. My diet is not perfect, but it avoids excessive fats, sugar, processed foods, and it includes ample fibre.

I love what I do, and plan to continue until 10 years after I am dead! Being inactive physically and mentally kills people.

I had the lucky break of becoming a journalist. That allowed me to interview Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling, among others. He believed humans need high doses of vitamin C and lysine to wipe out coronary death. I am convinced that without this knowledge I would not have survived to this age.

I have not succumbed to the North American habit of popping a pill for every ache and pain, causing liver and kidney damage. My household has never had an over-the-counter painkiller or any cold remedies on bathroom shelves. Rather, I have followed Sir William Osler’s wise advice for treating a cold. You put your hat on the bedpost, go to bed, start sipping whiskey, and when you see two hats you stop. It was Osler’s way of telling people they were over-medicating themselves with pills. Suffice to say, sleep will heal many minor ailments.

I have limited radiation exposure to CT scans, chest, and dental X-rays, unless absolutely needed. Nor do I believe in cholesterol-lowering drugs. Rather, I have used high doses of vitamin C and lysine to keep my arteries open.

It has long been my conclusion that alcohol in moderation is not to be vilified. It lowers blood cholesterol, helps oil the blood, decreasing the risk of blood clot, and is a great relaxant after a busy day.

A good sense of humour never killed anyone. It maintains sanity amid today’s medical, political, and financial matters. Napoleon asked, when promoting an officer to general, “Is he lucky?” In war or peace, Russian roulette often decides who reaches the senior years.

I have no delusions. Eventually, both luck and hard work lose out. How do I want life to end? I hope it ends suddenly. Too many are coming to a slow, miserable, and agonizing end.

This column offers opinions on health and wellness, not personal medical advice.