The danger of vitamin pills

You may already heard this health myth before: taking vitamins pills daily prevent diseases and even aging. Now several articles are debunking this idea, like this one from The Atlantic: The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements.

The article goes in more details about the origin of this myth. Seems that this was an untested idea promoted by some powerful scientists but not backed up by scientific research. And now the research points to exactly the opposite:

"The results were clear: those taking vitamins and supplements were more likely to die from lung cancer or heart disease than those who didn't take them -- the opposite of what researchers had anticipated."

Be careful, as this is not health advice, but consider talking to your doctor before taking any medication, including vitamin pills - it seems that they are not as harmless as we thought, and may do more harm than good on your road to a healthy longevity.

Preparing for a good end of a long life

Even if we live to 100 years old, one day we will die, and therefore preparing for a good and long life should also include preparing for a good end of life. Judy MacDonald in her TED talk proposes 5 practices for keeping quality of life high while our bodily functions and independence decline to zero:
Make a Plan; Recruit Advocates; Be Hospital Ready; Choose Caregivers; and Discuss Last Words.

Take 6 minutes to watch the powerful story of Jim and Shirley last days, then head to goodendoflife.com for more resources on the topic. I know I will.

A quick humorous review of aging process

A quick review of current scientific knowledge on aging, showing that genetics and environment both influence our longevity.

Source: ASAP Science