Being over 50, I can join AARP for five bucks a year. For that I get discounts at hotels, a bulletin, and a magazine. I use the first deal once in a while but I find more value in the latter two benefits – articles that are well researched and well written. But recently the AARP bulletin made a glaring error.
In this year’s November issue, on page 21 there was an extremely inaccurate estimate of life expectancy for Americans. The article stated in bold letters that the average 65-year-old will live 20 more years. That is dead wrong. Instead of 20, the correct number is 13! American’s average life expectancy is 78.2, four and a half years shorter than that of the Japanese (82.7). Nearly 70 percent of the AARP readers are overweight or obese and contribute to a huge drain on our national economy. Worse, the USA leads the world in health care cost per capita and yet our fine country places a woeful 37th in rankings of all nations, according to research done by the United Nations. Instead of promulgating the issues of drugs and Medicare proposals, AARP should be emphasizing the many aspects of a healthful lifestyle. I emailed them with this enlightenment, should they decide to publish it in their “letters to the editor” section. Chances of it being published are equivalent to a snowball’s chance of remaining cold in hell.
Still, many of the older, WWII folks (referred to as the greatest generation), are projected to outlive the younger generations. Remember, these old geezers learned how to survive in the Great Depression (without smartphones or the Internet) and many of them either served in the military during the war or worked in a defense-related job at home. My father was one of those. He beat the average life expectancy by nearly ten years, despite a less than ideal lifestyle.
Very few Americans are fit enough to run five miles in less than one hour: a 12-minute per mile pace is not fast. Fortunately our military defense is the mightiest in the world, protecting us from an invasion, making me wonder what would happen to us if we were invaded. But, if you’ve been interested in LifeNuts, you know that we want to change American health and longevity.
Recently there was a glimmer of hope and it happened in one of the most unlikely of places – the financial pages of Barrons. In the Nov. 26 issue, Bill Alpert wrote an article about the Hain Celestial Group (HAIN, ticker), a publicly-traded small-stock company that specializes in natural food. They offer brands such as Celestial Seasonings, Garden of Eatin', Arrowhead Mills, and Spectrum Essentials and are finding shelf space in Whole Foods Markets, Costco, and Wal-Mart stores. OK, it’s a small company and employs less than 4,000 workers. But its founder and chief executive, Irwin Simon, after trying to build this company for two decades, seems to be a man of vision. And visionaries sometimes spot trends before they become mainstream. That quality helped Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and a host of others to build their empires.
One phrase that Mr. Simon said caught my attention. “We are in the early stages of health and wellness. Teen vegetarians will grow into the next generation of parents who choose baby foods and kids’ snacks . … The biggest prevention and biggest cure is what you eat.” Teen vegetarians, huh?
So I did a little electronic surfing to find out how many teenagers are vegetarian. Not many – only about three percent, which matches the percentage of adult vegetarians. However, the teenage percentage has grown faster than that of adults, moving from one percent in 1997 to the current three percent. Trendy stuff.
So what does Mr. Simon know about this trend that I don’t know? Probably a lot. Such companies hire marketing experts to spot trends, which the companies use to plan for future sales. He believes that this trend will continue and is positioning his company accordingly.
Of course this kind of diet for children makes the registered dietitians howl with fury, claiming that children won’t get enough protein. Despite their protests, there are no studies to support their stance. Cultures where people live well into their 90s and 100s typically have a plant-based diet, which extends from children into old age. Scott Jurek, the famous ultramarathon champion runner (distances often in the 50-100 mile range), recently wrote a book, Eat and Run, explaining why he switched to a vegan diet to improve his endurance and performance. Shocking, huh? Scott proved he could win a 100-mile race through 14,000-foot mountain ranges without any meat in his diet. Time and time again. Read the book if you don’t believe me.
About a year ago I called the development director of Albert Lea, Minnesota (the town where the Blue Zones vitality project was so effective) and found out that they no longer implemented the program (Teach a child to fish principle). But, he told me that he had noticed a big difference in high school students, who were now much slimmer than before the project. So maybe the trend will continue. Let’s face it: teens like to buck trends and set trends.
One part of this may be the fact that about 75% of teenagers (compared to about 46% of adults) are concerned about environmental issues like global warming and pollution. Perhaps this contributes to a teenager’s decision not to eat meat or dairy. A recent study confirmed this. If this trend continues, food manufacturers will adapt. You’ll see McDonalds offering a veggie burger (like Burger King does) and a baked potato (like Wendy does). The big boys don’t like to lose market share, even if it’s only a small percentage. Now, even though Burger King’s offering is a healthier choice than its Whopper sandwich (The traditional BK Whopper (w/o cheese) has 670 calories and 40 grams of fat while the BK Veggie Burger only has 420 calories and 16 grams of fat.), it’s not perfectly vegan.
Recently the polls show that the youngest generations have been predicted to have shorter lifespans than those of the oldest Americans. You don’t need to have perfect eyesight to see all the overweight and obese children, teenagers, and 20-somethings. But maybe, just maybe, if this trend of teenaged vegetarianism continues, there will be hope for future generations.
In this year’s November issue, on page 21 there was an extremely inaccurate estimate of life expectancy for Americans. The article stated in bold letters that the average 65-year-old will live 20 more years. That is dead wrong. Instead of 20, the correct number is 13! American’s average life expectancy is 78.2, four and a half years shorter than that of the Japanese (82.7). Nearly 70 percent of the AARP readers are overweight or obese and contribute to a huge drain on our national economy. Worse, the USA leads the world in health care cost per capita and yet our fine country places a woeful 37th in rankings of all nations, according to research done by the United Nations. Instead of promulgating the issues of drugs and Medicare proposals, AARP should be emphasizing the many aspects of a healthful lifestyle. I emailed them with this enlightenment, should they decide to publish it in their “letters to the editor” section. Chances of it being published are equivalent to a snowball’s chance of remaining cold in hell.
Still, many of the older, WWII folks (referred to as the greatest generation), are projected to outlive the younger generations. Remember, these old geezers learned how to survive in the Great Depression (without smartphones or the Internet) and many of them either served in the military during the war or worked in a defense-related job at home. My father was one of those. He beat the average life expectancy by nearly ten years, despite a less than ideal lifestyle.
Very few Americans are fit enough to run five miles in less than one hour: a 12-minute per mile pace is not fast. Fortunately our military defense is the mightiest in the world, protecting us from an invasion, making me wonder what would happen to us if we were invaded. But, if you’ve been interested in LifeNuts, you know that we want to change American health and longevity.
Recently there was a glimmer of hope and it happened in one of the most unlikely of places – the financial pages of Barrons. In the Nov. 26 issue, Bill Alpert wrote an article about the Hain Celestial Group (HAIN, ticker), a publicly-traded small-stock company that specializes in natural food. They offer brands such as Celestial Seasonings, Garden of Eatin', Arrowhead Mills, and Spectrum Essentials and are finding shelf space in Whole Foods Markets, Costco, and Wal-Mart stores. OK, it’s a small company and employs less than 4,000 workers. But its founder and chief executive, Irwin Simon, after trying to build this company for two decades, seems to be a man of vision. And visionaries sometimes spot trends before they become mainstream. That quality helped Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and a host of others to build their empires.
One phrase that Mr. Simon said caught my attention. “We are in the early stages of health and wellness. Teen vegetarians will grow into the next generation of parents who choose baby foods and kids’ snacks . … The biggest prevention and biggest cure is what you eat.” Teen vegetarians, huh?
So I did a little electronic surfing to find out how many teenagers are vegetarian. Not many – only about three percent, which matches the percentage of adult vegetarians. However, the teenage percentage has grown faster than that of adults, moving from one percent in 1997 to the current three percent. Trendy stuff.
So what does Mr. Simon know about this trend that I don’t know? Probably a lot. Such companies hire marketing experts to spot trends, which the companies use to plan for future sales. He believes that this trend will continue and is positioning his company accordingly.
Of course this kind of diet for children makes the registered dietitians howl with fury, claiming that children won’t get enough protein. Despite their protests, there are no studies to support their stance. Cultures where people live well into their 90s and 100s typically have a plant-based diet, which extends from children into old age. Scott Jurek, the famous ultramarathon champion runner (distances often in the 50-100 mile range), recently wrote a book, Eat and Run, explaining why he switched to a vegan diet to improve his endurance and performance. Shocking, huh? Scott proved he could win a 100-mile race through 14,000-foot mountain ranges without any meat in his diet. Time and time again. Read the book if you don’t believe me.
About a year ago I called the development director of Albert Lea, Minnesota (the town where the Blue Zones vitality project was so effective) and found out that they no longer implemented the program (Teach a child to fish principle). But, he told me that he had noticed a big difference in high school students, who were now much slimmer than before the project. So maybe the trend will continue. Let’s face it: teens like to buck trends and set trends.
One part of this may be the fact that about 75% of teenagers (compared to about 46% of adults) are concerned about environmental issues like global warming and pollution. Perhaps this contributes to a teenager’s decision not to eat meat or dairy. A recent study confirmed this. If this trend continues, food manufacturers will adapt. You’ll see McDonalds offering a veggie burger (like Burger King does) and a baked potato (like Wendy does). The big boys don’t like to lose market share, even if it’s only a small percentage. Now, even though Burger King’s offering is a healthier choice than its Whopper sandwich (The traditional BK Whopper (w/o cheese) has 670 calories and 40 grams of fat while the BK Veggie Burger only has 420 calories and 16 grams of fat.), it’s not perfectly vegan.
Recently the polls show that the youngest generations have been predicted to have shorter lifespans than those of the oldest Americans. You don’t need to have perfect eyesight to see all the overweight and obese children, teenagers, and 20-somethings. But maybe, just maybe, if this trend of teenaged vegetarianism continues, there will be hope for future generations.
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