Researchers find life expectancy decreasing
Written by Michelle Albert
It used to be that you could count on only a few things: death, taxes, and an increase in average life expectancy. Now it looks like we may be back to just counting on death and taxes. For the first time in recent history, researchers have now shown that life expectancy is slipping for some groups in the United States. The slip is prevalent in women (a gender known to have a longer life expectancy than men) living in rural and poor areas. It is a trend not bound by race, and the numbers are startling. As The Washington Post reports:
The downward trend is evident in places in the Deep South, Appalachia, the lower Midwest and in one county in Maine. It is not limited to one race or ethnicity but it is more common in rural and low-income areas. The most dramatic change occurred in two areas in southwestern Virginia (Radford City and Pulaski County), where women's life expectancy has decreased by more than five years since 1983.
My grandmother lives in the county bordering Pulaski, so this really caught my eye. She follows many of the lessons of the Blue Zones (but she doesn’t drink alcohol), and with just four years to go before reaching 100, she’s healthy.
But the data should give us all pause as the researchers note that many of the deaths are from lung cancer, emphysema, and diabetes – and there are things to do today to protect yourself from these diseases. Don’t smoke. Eat a plant-based diet. Exercise and remember your spiritual health. It looks like the Blue Zone lessons are more important now than ever.
*If you are interested in reading the journal article, click here.
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