Living to age 94.8

~Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series on longevity factors.

Recently a psychic told me I was in my "last life." That sounded sort of ominous to me, but she assured me it was a good thing.

"Enjoy!" she exhorted merrily.

I still don't know what to do with that information. What has been more helpful to me is a recent test I took that calculated I would live to the ripe old age of 94.8 years.

Now that was helpful. At least now I know that my financial planning for retirement is truly a joke.

The test used impressive research from the New England Centenarian Study to determine the most salient longevity factors. While many of these factors are a given and not under our control (like our gender -- statistically, women have a 10-year advantage over men when it comes to longevity), there are many we can do something about.

These are the ones I will share with you in this series. They make up a helpful checklist of things to which we can all pay attention to increase our health and life span.

• Live close to relatives. Research has shown that life-zapping psychological stress is increased when people do not have frequent contact with an extended and cohesive family, resulting in an increased mortality risk.

If you can't live near your relatives, you can work to have meaningful and frequent contact. If you are estranged from family, you might want to consider working on a rapprochement.

• Drink more green tea, less coffee. OK, I know I often offer support for one my favorite addictions -- coffee -- as a health supplement, but as in all things, moderation is key. Excessive coffee drinking can be indicative of a life in need of boosting, one lived in the depleting fast lane of stress. Coffee can chronically inflame the stomach, which can then open a door to other illnesses such as ulcers and heart disease. Tea -- especially the wondrous green tea favored by those long-lived Okinawans -- is full of life-promoting antioxidants.
• Drink alcohol moderately. Much has been written about this one. The research is mounting up impressively in support of the many health benefits gained from a moderate, even daily use of alcohol, not the least of which is a lower risk of heart disease. "Moderate" is usually defined as two drinks a day for men and one for women. Anything more will subtract years from your life. The days of keggers and drinking games should be a thing of the past.
• An aspirin a day may keep the doctor away. Again, our odds for avoiding heart disease are benefitted considerably by taking this humble pill. Its credit for increasing our healthspan comes from its anti-inflammatory effects as well as its ability to decrease blood clotting. A baby aspirin is recommended.

Now here is the usual but important disclaimer: Check with your physician whenever contemplating any of these lifestyle changes as there may be complications from other medical treatments or conditions.

OK, maybe you don't need to get her permission to wear a seat belt, but such things as aspirin therapy and alcohol consumption should be discussed with your health practitioner.

There are more things you need to consider. Next week, Healthspan will report on six more "longevity factors". This week, I will continue blogging at www.healthspanweb.com daily on the subject of longevity with more information on what we can do to promote it.

~Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh is a Cape Girardeau native who is a licensed clinical psychologist in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.