Mental Savings Accounts

Action to take

Be sure you are making deposits in your mental savings account. Then be of good cheer that your mental savings account helps buffer you from dementia and Alzheimer’s–and even helps improve your cognitive functioning.

Why

Penn State researchers, Sherry Willis and K. Warner Schaie, report that between ages 46 and 60, 10-15% of people show cognitive declines, and 10-15% of people show cognitive gains. The biggest factors in improving minds are mental stimulation, education, and exercise. Your brain is like a muscle, use it and it grows stronger, don’t use it and it atrophies. Apparently, any kind of mental stimulation helps–taking a course, reading, artistic pursuits, music, and even playing games. (But please don’t tell my video-game-addict teenaged son I said games.)

Another validation for the dementia preventative effects of using your mind comes from David Snowdon’s study of nuns. A convent provides an ideal research environment as the nuns have the same environment, schedule, food, and even prayers–year after year for decades. In his book, Aging With Grace, Snowden reports that nuns with better education and nuns who had intellectual pursuits were less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s. Results were verified by psychological testing, genetic testing, and brain autopsies.

Willis and Schaie found that the one common denominator in who lost cognitive functioning was hypertension. Thus, successful management of hypertension is vital important to future cognitive functioning. 

Another twist comes from Brandeis researcher Margie Lachman, who found a wide variation in cognitive change over time, and that decline is often reversible. She found that people who feel in control of their lives were likely to be happier,  have better health, and be sharper mentally. She speculates that not feeling in control leads to anxiety, distress, and not looking for solutions.

Envisioning a mental savings account encourages you to make sure you are making deposits and gives a more hopeful outlook that decline is not inevitable–rather your mind can get better with age.

Quotes

The life you are leading is simply a reflection of your thinking.
~Doug Firebaugh

Few minds wear out; more rust out.
~Christian Vovee

We should not only use the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.
~Woodrow Wilson

Humor

Men forget everything; women remember everything.
That’s why men need instant replays in sports.
They’ve already forgotten what happened.
~Rita Rudner

He has a first-rate mind until he makes it up.
~Lady Violet Bonham Carter

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Blood Tests (Part II)

Action to take

When you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein.

Why

I normally focus on what I know best—what it takes mentally to grow young
and live with purpose. Sometimes, news about physical health issues is so noteworthy
that I address it as well. The research source that I have grown to trust the most
for health news is the nonprofit organization, the Life Extension Foundation.
It has a history of championing causes ten years before mainstream medicine
and federal agencies acknowledge the problem or remedy.

Everyone agrees that exercise and good nutrition are vital to cardiovascular health.
For the past decade, cardiologists have focused on cholesterol in the battle against
heart disease—initially on total cholesterol and later on keeping HDL high and LDL low.
 
The Life Extension Foundation’s research indicates several factors foster cardiovascular
problems and cholesterol probably isn’t the most important factor–certainly not the
preeminent factor. One factor that causes a lot of problems is homocystine.
Homocystine is an amino acid found primarily in meat. Some people’s bodies
are more effective than other’s in breaking down homocystine. When homocystine
accumulates, it causes arteriosclerosis, even when cholesterol levels are normal.

A few decades ago homocystine testing was very expensive and could only be
performed in a few dozen research labs. Now it is a routine test but most
physicians haven’t added it to annual checkups. As the research on homocystine
damage accumulates, physicians have lowered recommended levels from
less than 11 to less than 7umol/L. When compared with <7, the risk of stoke
increases 26% at 7-9, 31% 9-11, and 74% above 11. Homocystine also
appears to contribute to developing Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, homocystine
levels usually abate with reduced meat consumption and/or with a combination of
Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, folic acid, and trimethylglycine (TMG or betaine).

Increasingly researchers are finding the two processes that contribute the most
to cardiovascular problems are inflammation and erratic blood sugar levels.
The C-reactive protein test is emerging as an effective marker for early stage
cardiovascular problems in people who have not shown symptoms.
A fasting blood sugar level gives a snapshot of blood sugar levels on a given day.
The A1C test, however, is the best measure of blood sugar level stability over a several
week time period. Thus it is an excellent test for early stages of diabetes.
Testing fibrinogen, homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein
levels in an annual physical may catch a problem early and help prevent serious disability.

Quotes

The best doctors in the world are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman.
~Swift

Humor

After talking with the intern, the woman started screaming hysterically and
ran down the hall. An older doctor stopped and asked her what the problem was.
She explained and he marched down the hall and grilled the young doctor,
“What’s the matter with you? Mrs. Terry is 63 years old and you told her she’s pregnant?”
The new doctor smiled smugly and said, “Cured her hiccups though, didn’t it?”

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Blood Tests (Part I)

Action to take

When you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein.

Why

I normally focus on what I know best—what it takes mentally to grow young
and live with purpose. Sometimes, news about physical health issues is so noteworthy
that I address it as well. The research source that I have grown to trust the most
for health news is the nonprofit organization, the Life Extension Foundation.
It has a history of championing causes ten years before mainstream medicine
and federal agencies acknowledge the problem or remedy.

Everyone agrees that exercise and good nutrition are vital to cardiovascular health.
For the past decade, cardiologists have focused on cholesterol in the battle against
heart disease—initially on total cholesterol and later on keeping HDL high and LDL low.  
The Life Extension Foundation’s research indicates several factors foster cardiovascular
problems and cholesterol probably isn’t the most important factor–certainly not the
preeminent factor. Fibrinogen is one of those overlooked independent risk factors
that has a substantial body of animal and human research indicating that higher levels
of fibrinogen bring higher risk of heart attacks and stroke. In a 2006 study, for example,
fibrinogen was the only independent risk factor to predict who was most likely to die
within 42 months of a heart attack. It also is a risk factor for cancer.

The liver produces the protein fibrinogen to make fibrin for the “mesh” that forms
to enable clotting to heal a wound or stop bleeding. Fibrin also helps in gathering platelets.
We need some fibrin. Americans’ sedentary lifestyles and fat rich diets, however,
often result in levels that are too high. A simple blood test can check fibrinogen levels.
The optimal range is 200-300 mg/dL. Factors that appear to reduce fibrinogen levels include:
• fish oil (e.g., fish such as salmon or from supplements)
• olive oil
• niacin (vitamin B3)
• Vitamin A
• keeping homocystine levels down (which usually can be reduced with vitamins B6, B12,
and folic acid and lowering saturated fats)
• foods and supplements that thin the blood, e.g., aspirin, garlic, green tea, Ginkgo, and Vitamin E

If you do nothing else, when you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein. Elevations of any of these is a
red flag for high risk of cardiovascular disease. I’ll discuss homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and
C-reactive protein in the next issues.

Quotes

very disease is a physician.
~Irish proverb

Humor

A new arrival, about to enter hospital, saw two white coated doctors searching through the flower beds.
“Excuse me,” he said, “have you lost something?”
“No,” replied one of the doctors. “We’re doing a heart transplant for an income-tax inspector
and want to find a suitable stone.”

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Baby Boomers or Age Busters?

Action to take

If you are a Baby Boomer, adopt a new designation for your generation.

Why

Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers’ claim to fame is that
they are so big they can’t be ignored. But Boomers need a new public relations firm.
Is size all the generation stands for? The previous generation knew PR and called
themselves “The Greatest Generation.” Now that’s great marketing.

Baby Boomers need to drop the Baby. Boomers are well out of diapers and
have changed quite a few diapers themselves. Eighteen years is really more than one
generation and earlier and later Boomers had quite different defining events.
What most distinguishes the Boomer generation? They have redefined aging.
Boomers made 50 the new 30, etc. It wasn’t rhetoric. Though often overweight,
Boomers tend to look and act twenty years younger than people used to act at their age.
The change has come from their spirit and determination. It affected a paradigm shift in
how people age. To give proper credit, however, they also had a lot of help from medicine,
science, and cosmetics.

So let’s give Boomers the credit they deserve for helping all of us to look and feel younger.
Let’s change their name from Baby Boomers to Age Busters.

Quotes

I hope to die young, as late as possible.
~actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy

Humor

Radio talk show caller: I’m 75, Flo. I used to want to live fast and die young!
Flo: And now?
Caller: Well…now I just want to die young at a very old age.
~Flo & Friends cartoon by Campbell Bigel

We could certainly slow aging process down if it had to work its
way through Congress.
~Unknown

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Anti-Aging Research (Part II)

Action to take

The anti-aging cavalry is on the way.
Take care of yourself now so you can
benefit from coming scientific advances.

Why

Last post addressed how a family of enzymes called sirtuins
hold promise for slowing aging and helping remediate diseases such as
diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Today I would like to discuss another
research endeavor that holds promise of improving health and slowing aging.

Human Growth Hormone prompts our bodies to grow new tissue.
HGH levels decline after puberty and continue to decline with age. Physicians began
using Human Growth Hormones (HGH) in the 1980’s to help very short children
grow to a more normal height. That use is still common.

In 1990, Dr. Daniel Rudman gave HGH injections to elderly nursing home residents
and got dramatic results–the residents developed bigger muscles, thicker skin,
denser bones, more energy, lower blood pressure, fewer wrinkles, better
vision, thicker hair, improved mood and memory and improved sexual functioning.
Since then, thousands of athletes, actors, and celebrities have been taking
HGH injections at about $10,000 a year. My take is that if you are already elderly
or have certain unique health issues, it might be worth trying. At younger ages,
however, it is risky because not enough is known about the effects of long-term use.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get our bodies to naturally produce more HGH?
You can. Exercising, especially strength exercising, helps increase your HGH levels.
On the Internet you can find hundreds of sites selling secretagogues–over-the-counter
supplements that are supposed to prompt your body to increase HGH production.
Do any work? There is no good way to tell. I would expect results in a third of
users just from the placebo effects. That alone can account for the testimonials.
Needless to say it is a buyer beware market. (I, for one, have not purchased any.)

Researchers at the University of Washington and the VA have been testing
capromorelin, an experimental drug from Pfizer. 395 men and women ages 65-84
used the drug for six months. They gained an average of three pounds in lean muscle mass
and were better able to walk a straight line (a test of coordination, balance and strength).
A year later they showed improvement in stair climbing. Merck reportedly is working on
a similar drug.

While the pharmaceutical companies have often had questionable practices
in reporting research and promoting medications, I certainly have more faith
in their products than a secretagogue found on the Internet. The FDA does
not regard aging as a disease and sets higher approval standards for medications
that just improve functioning as opposed to cure or manage diseases. Thus
medications such as capromorelin will receive extra scrutiny for the FDA.

Quotes

Basic research is what I am doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.
~Rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun

Humor

Finagle’s First Law: If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.

Finagle’s Second Law: No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be
someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it happened according
to his own pet theory.

Finagle’s Third Law: In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct,
beyond all need of checking, is the mistake.

Finagle’s Fourth Law: Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes it worse.

Finagle’s Creed: Science is true. Don’t be misled by facts.

Corollaries on mistakes:
1. Nobody whom you ask for help will see it.
2. The first person who stops by, whose advice you really don’t want to hear, will see it immediately.

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Anti-Aging Research (Part I)

Action to take

The anti-aging cavalry is on the way.
Take care of yourself now so you can
benefit from coming scientific advances.

Why

Satchel Paige said, “If I had known I would live so long
I would have taken better care of myself.” I don’t want
you someday saying, “If I had known how much help science
would offer, I would have taken better care of myself.”
Wellness (prevention) and healthcare (treatment) advances
are coming at an exponential pace. The healthier you keep
your body now, the more you can benefit from the advances.

In June, 2006 University of Wisconsin researchers reported on how
sirtuins, a family of enzymes, orchestrate many enzymes involved
in metabolic processes and can play a major role is slowing the
aging process. The report in the June Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences discussed how sirtuins may also
help treat metabolic disorders such as diabetes and neurological disorders
such as Alzheimer’s disease. Elevated levels of sirtuins slow degeneration
in damaged nerve cells and impact aspects of metabolism responsible
for insulin secretion. One substance that activates sirtuins is reservatrol,
the anti-oxidant found in red grapes and red wine.

Rare diseases often muster little interest from pharmaceutical companies
as there is not much profit in them. With effects on aging, diabetes, Alzheimer’s,
and many other diseases, the pharmaceutical companies are very interested in sirtuins.

Research on sirtuins is just one of many exciting research developments.

Quotes

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
~Albert Einstein

Humor

Enough research will tend to support your theory.
~Murphy’s Law of Research

Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of endeavor,
and stays in that field long enough, becomes an obstruction to its progress–-
in direct proportion to the importance of their original contribution.
~Jones’s First Law of Research

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Boomer Advertising

Action to take

Take a tip from Madison Avenue ad firms and pitch your lifestyle to the
age you choose to perceive yourself to be.

Why

Advertisers call it psychographics–using demographics in marketing to
determine the attitudes and tastes of a market segment. For Baby Boomers
psychographic studies prompted marketing to the Baby Boomers’
perceptions of their age and lifestyle. Boomers perceive themselves as a lot
younger than we used to associate with their chronological ages. Hence
50 is the new 30, etc. Some may see it as denial. I see it as supremely realistic.

Our perceptions and stereotypes for what people are supposed to be like at
40, 50, 60, etc. are typically based on how our parents’ generation aged.
We have to have some reference and our parents have been our role models.
But Boomers have a vision of being much younger than those stereotypes and
refuse to go along with expectations. Eventually, advertisers caught on and
marketed to their perceived ages. The ads in turn reinforced the Boomer beliefs
that they are forever young.

You can perceive of yourself as younger, older, or about the same as
stereotypes for your age. Thinking of yourself and your lifestyle as younger
fosters being more active, resilient, hopeful, and healthy. You’ve got to like choices
that give you everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Quotes

I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.
~George Burns

Humor

The perfume industry missed one important Boomer psychographic.
Yes there are perfumes that make you smell sweet. But if
Boomer women really want to attract Boomer men, they need
a perfume that subtly, imperceptibly smells like pizza.
~Mike Brickey

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Memory Quicksand

Action to take

Avoid the “memory quicksand” of self-limiting beliefs about your memory.
Reject negative stereotypes and beliefs about aging. Rather see yourself as
nourishing your memory with healthy beliefs, good nutrition, and exercise.

Why

If you were taking a memory test, would it make a difference if you thought you
were competing against younger people? Against older people? Researchers at
Tulane and the University of Kansas gave 85 men and women between 48 and 62
standard word recall task—study 30 words for two minutes and then write down
as many as you can recall.

Researchers told one third of the subjects that they were testing their memory
against adults over 70. They told another third they were testing the memory
against adults in their twenties. Another third just took the test. Those competing
against younger adults and those in the control group scored the same.
Those competing against seniors did not remember as many words. Why?
Apparently the pairing suggested memory deteriorates with age and
compromised their performance.

The effect is a common one. After reading that men do better on math tests,
women did not perform as well as controls who were not exposed to the article.
Likewise men who think they are competing against Asian students on math tests
do not perform at their potential.

I’m not suggesting a Pollyannaish denial that memory doesn’t deteriorate some
with age. For many the deterioration comes from the effects of disabilities and medications.
Even with good health there is some decline. If you stay healthy, there is no reason
your memory can’t be quite sharp in your hundreds in areas that you use it. I.e.,
Don’t expect to easily learn a foreign language at 90 if you only know English.
But if you are a crossword buff, you still can be a crossword maven in your hundreds.
The same holds for skills like play bridge.

Often people don’t remember a name because they don’t pay attention when they
hear the name, don’t rehearse the name, or don’t even believe they are capable
of remembering a name. A good memory requires interest, effort (rehearsal and
making it memorable), and belief that you can remember. Our expectations and
actions have far more influence on our memory than most people realize.

Quotes

I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.
~George Burns

Humor

A woman slapped her husband in the back of the head, and yelled,
“I found a piece of paper in your pants with Marylou written on it.”
“Calm down honey,” he said, “Remember last week when I went to the dog races?
That was the dog I bet on.”
The next morning, his wife smacked him again.
“What was that for?” he complained.
“Your dog called last night.”

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Four Stupidest Things Americans Do To Their Skin

Action to take

Make sure you protect your skin from the sun every day you–
are exposed to the sun and only use skin care products that are:
~pH balanced
~free of mineral oil
~free of dyes and fragrances

Why

A friend called me in distress. To celebrate his birthday his kids washed
his new car–only they used Brillo scouring pads. What would you say to the kids?
We periodically replace worn out cars. Most Americans do the equivalent of a
car wash with scouring pads to their skin every day. We have to live
with our skin the rest of our lives. How you look affects how you feel
and how others treat you. Don’t do the stupidest things to your skin.

Stupidest Mistake #1 Using Soap

You’re probably thinking I’m nuts. Don’t we need soap to be clean and
get rid of germs? Your sebaceous glands keep your skin at a pH between
5.5 and 6.5 (slightly acidic) for optimal health. Most soap is very alkaline
and strips your skin of its protective oils. What may feel “squeaky clean”
is really dehydrated and vulnerable to free radical damage. All soaps, shampoos,
shaving cream, moisturizers, and cosmetics should be pH balanced to protect
your skin. It may sound like I am overreacting, but it makes a difference.

Stupidest Mistake #2 Mineral Oil

Baby oil is 100% mineral oil. Why? Cloth diapers needed a barrier between
the baby’s skin and wet diaper. With absorbent paper diapers, an oil barrier isn’t needed.
So now we can use baby products that nurture your baby’s or grandbaby’s skin so it can
breathe and not get diaper rash. In the U.S. most cosmetic companies use mineral oil
because it is cheaper than water-based alternatives and it seems to moisturize
because it coats your skin. Your body is water based and like oil and vinegar
salad dressing, mineral oil doesn’t interact much with your water based skin.

Most European countries ban mineral oil from cosmetics and skin care products.
Some pricey cosmetics even use water-based moisturizers in Europe and mineral oil-based
moisturizers in the U.S. Mineral oil coats your skin, clogs your pores, and prevents
your skin from breathing. It keeps your skin from exfoliating dead skin cells and toxins.
It keeps your skin from absorbing vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants in a moisturizer.

Stupidest Mistake #3 Fragrances and Dyes

The most common causes of skin reactions and allergic reactions are the fragrances
and dyes that are added to soaps, shampoos, shaving cream, moisturizers, and cosmetics.
Having your hair smell like coconuts or mangos or bananas or be a pretty color often
comes with a cost. For the healthiest skin–no fragrances, no dyes.

Stupidest Mistake #4 Sun Damage

Most people don’t get enough sun. Sun is vital to feeling good and avoiding depression.
Like bears, many people respond to less sunlight in the winter by becoming depressed,
grouchy, and less active. Our bodies use sunshine to produce Vitamin D. Many Americans
have insufficient Vitamin D, a vitamin that helps with calcium absorption and
preventing osteoporosis. By all means, try to get some sunshine every day.

But sun also is by far the biggest cause of skin damage–wrinkling, drying, and skin cancer.
Skin cancer is three times more common than breast cancer and lung cancer combined
and accounts for half of new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. Sun tans are a sign of sun damage
to the skin and sunburn greatly increases the risk of skin cancer. Sun tans may look good
in the short run but in the long run they contribute to leathery, wrinkled skin and a
much higher risk of skin cancer.

If you insist on a suntan, ask me about a safe way to tan your skin without the sun or with
less sun. With the ozone depletion, sunscreen becomes even more important to healthy skin.
For prolonged sun exposure, use a sunscreen and if your skin gets red, a post sun skin treatment.
For modest sun exposure, use a moisturizer that includes a sunscreen.

Seeing Your Future

Imagine it is tomorrow morning and you are looking in the bathroom mirror.
Make a mental snapshot of how that looks now. Now imagine that 20 years
have passed and during those 20 years you didn’t give your skin much thought
–and now it shows in dry, wrinkly, perhaps even leathery skin with age spots.
It has some suspicious areas that you need to have your doctor check to
make sure it isn’t skin cancer. You say to yourself as Satchel Paige said,

“If I had known I was going to live so long, I would have taken better care of myself.”
Make a snapshot of the picture. Now imagine that tomorrow you start being kind
to your skin–using skin care products that are pH balanced, free of mineral oil,
free of fragrances, and free of dyes. You use a botanically based moisturizer
that includes a sunscreen and you are careful about sun exposure. Within days
your skin starts feeling softer and smoother and has a healthier glow. Within weeks
wrinkles get a little smaller and scarcer. And 20 years later your skin still looks good.
Which future do you want? Which image do you want to have to look at for several decades?

Quotes

Won’t you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you.
~Richard Sheridan
The saying that beauty is but skin deep is but a skin deep saying.
~John Ruskin

Humor

The hung over barber nicked the customer he was shaving.
Annoyed, the customer quipped, “See what happens when you drink too much?”
“Yeah,” said the barber, “it makes skin more sensitive.”

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

2-Minute Aging Antidote

Action to take

Journal the lesson you learn each day.

Why

At lunch today a fellow professional speaker, Marie Pollack,
talked about how she developed a habit of journaling what
she learned each day. I asked myself why I had never thought of this.

Because of Marie’s example, I started a daily lesson journal.
I haven’t kept a diary or journal as I imagined it would
just log mundane events. However, the two minutes it takes
to log the day’s lesson is a great antidote to aging.
It prods you to look for the good and for the lesson.

Learning something new each day is a great way to stay young.
Learning a lesson every day is even better. If you learn more than
300 lessons a year, you are destined to be a very wise person.
Will they all be keepers? If only ten percent seem profound
next year, you still have about three dozen a year.

How does one become a family patriarch or matriarch?
Learning hundreds of lessons a year makes you a natural.
Want to pass on a legacy to children, grandchildren, or others?
How many people learn several hundred lessons each year?

An insight is usually but a fleeting idea unless it is captured on paper.
What could be a simpler way to stay young, positive, and see the
big picture than logging a lesson a day? Writing is one of the best
antidotes to aging I know.

Quotes

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first,
the lesson afterward.
~How to be a Winner, This Week, 14 August 1940

The diary is an art form just as much as the novel or the play.
The diary simply requires a greater canvas.
~Henry Miller

The biggest lesson I have ever learned is the stupendous importance
of what we think. If I knew what you think, I would know what you are,
for your thoughts make you what you are; by changing our thoughts,
we can change our lives.
~Dale Carnegie

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Iron Age Blood Giving

Action to take

Consider giving blood periodically–as a good deed and to improve your health.

Why

What if you could perform one of the most generous good deeds possible,
help your health at the same time, and it would not cost you anything?
Chances are that you can. Philosopher Rabbi Moses Maimonides would add that
giving blood is one of the highest forms of charity as the recipient is anonymous.

Too much iron: Most Americans have higher than optimal levels of iron
in their blood. Iron is an oxidant that oxidizes LDL cholesterol and
contributes to atherosclerosis and heart disease. It impairs utilization of
zinc, which is vital to memory, immune functioning, healing, sexual functioning,
and healthy skin. Excess iron increases the risk of cancer and most cancer cells
consume more iron than other cells. One in 250 people have a common
genetic disorder that causes very high levels of iron. Very high levels or iron
damages the heart, liver, and other organs and can be fatal.

Too little iron: Iron is essential to red blood cell production. Iron deficiency
causes anemia, which brings weakness and fatigue and increased vulnerability to illnesses.
Iron is vital to several enzymes, energy production, metabolism and DNA synthesis.

Common sources of concentrated iron:
~Iron supplements
~Many multiple vitamin pills (use ones without iron unless you need iron)
~Cereals, pasta, and other foods fortified with iron
~Red meat
~Clams
~Soybeans, lentils, tofu, and beans

While people fret about whether vegetarians get enough iron, most get plenty from
soybeans, lentils, tofu, and beans. Popeye tried to popularize eating spinach for iron
and strength. One serving (1 cup) of spinach has 2.9 milligrams of iron. Red meat
and soy foods, however, have about twice as much iron as spinach. Three ounces
of clams has a walloping 23.8 milligrams of iron.

Do you have an optimal amount of iron?
When you get your annual physical (You do get an annual physical don’t you?),
make sure at least every few years you check iron levels. There are several
possible tests. Your doctor can choose the one that is most pertinent for you.

Women who menstruate and children have to make more blood and hence need
more iron than men and postmenopausal women. The reason premenopausal
women are less prone to heart attacks may be from menstruation reducing iron in their blood.
External or internal bleeding also would require building more blood.

Donating blood:
Giving blood is the quintessential act of giving of yourself and giving life to others.
If your iron levels are higher than optimal, it can also help you lower your iron levels.
One study found that men who donated blood at least once a year had an 88% lower
risk of heart attack than non-donors. It seems to be a tradition to reward blood donors
with donuts or sweets. When you give blood, bring healthy food with you, e.g., fruit
or nuts, and pass on the junk food.

Quotes

There’s a saying in medicine, which is that you are only as old as your blood vessels.
~Michael West

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
~(source unknown)

Humor

Children say there are three kinds of blood vessels: arteries, vanes and caterpillars.

Why did the Vampire get fired from the Blood Bank?
He was caught drinking on the job.

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Who Are Your Heroes?

Action to take

Have at least one hero that you aspire to emulate.

Why

When we were kids we had lots of heroes–perhaps they were
football stars, cowboys, movie stars, TV stars, rock stars, or even our parents
or teachers. Many people outgrow their heroes and don’t replace them with new
ones. Perhaps they think heroes are just for kids. If you want to
be youthful, do what youthful people do. Youthful people have heroes.

I often see clients who see trust as an all-or-nothing issue. They either
trust someone or they don’t. This is a bad idea. I can’t think of anyone
I trust on all matters, e.g.,
~to honestly say what they think (some people are “too nice” to risk hurting your feelings)
~to be honest and responsible with money
~to speak up when you are making a bad decision
~to be punctual
~to help with problems
~to keep a secret
~to be loyal
~to follow through, etc.

The idea is to appreciate a person’s or hero’s strengths and not insist they be
perfect in all areas. Especially when it comes to political leaders, it is hard to find one who does not have
faults and make some bad decisions. Not being perfect should not preclude you from having heroes.

Who is my hero? I thought you’d never ask. When my career turned to
anti-aging psychology, speaking, and writing, my favorite hero became
Art Linkletter. He was host of two of the longest running television programs–
“House Party” and “People are Funny.” One ran on radio and TV for 25 years.
Keys to his success included his wit, his great sense of humor, and his consummate
interviewing skills. He was MC for the opening of Disneyland in 1955 and at age 93 was
MC at Disneyland’s 50th anniversary in 2005. There is an interesting story that when
Disneyland opened Walt Disney said he couldn’t afford to pay him an appropriate fee.
Linkletter graciously suggested he would settle for the camera and photo rights for ten years.
I think he did OK on that deal.

He was adopted at an early age (and later in life adopted many children himself).
Despite family tragedies, (his 20-year-old daughter committed suicide and his
31-year-old son died in an automobile accident,) adversity didn’t stop
him from his passionate interest in children and seniors. In a Larry King
interview in 2000 he said he has been married 65 years. He swims laps every day
and only recently stopped skiing because his wife was afraid snowboarders might hit him.

His “Kids Say the Darndest Things” format interviewing young children has been often imitated.
His 27 books include Old Age is Not for Sissies. He does more than fifty lectures a year
and is active on the Boards of many businesses and charities. At 84 he still travels the world on
philanthropic causes. To me the crowning jewel is his new book,
How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life.
It has great advice for what it takes to live well into your hundreds. You can tell in reading it that
this is what he really believes and follows. His life is a testimony to following the principles
and the wonderful life that can flow from it.

P.S. When I sent Mr. Linkletter a copy of 52 baby steps to Grow Young,
I was thrilled when he wrote an endorsement for it.

Quotes

Don’t ask me if I’m going to retire. Retire to what? I love what I’m doing
because I think it matters. And I think this book can matter to anyone who
is getting into the later years. Don’t stop living and learning.
I never want to be
What I want to be,
Because there’s always something out there yet for me.
There’s always one hill higher–with a better view,
Something waiting to be learned I never knew.
So until my last days are over
Never fully fill my cup.
Let me go on grouping–up.
~Art Linkletter, from his newest book,
How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

Humor

The only thing you should Re-tire is your car.
~Art Linkletter

When you get old, love making is less like the Fourth of July and more like Thanksgiving.

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Accessing Your Strengths

Action to take

When you need to get something done, remind yourself of the strengths
you have already shown.

Why

I saw a woman who told me she grew up in an alcoholic family and became
an alcoholic herself. Eventually she did something “beneath her dignity”
and was so disgusted she quit drinking the next day.
A decade later, she was a three-pack-a-day smoker despite emphysema.
One day she was smoking and fell asleep. The cigarette fell on her
oxygen tube and her house burned down. She quit smoking the next day.

Now her health problems are complicating her recovering from a fall.
It was clear to both of us that to have a quality of lifestyle that would
let her walk easily, she needed to lose at least fifty pounds.
“But I tried all my life to lose weight and have never been successful,”
she lamented. She was feeling very hopeless.

Alcoholism, particularly when there is a strong family history,
is a tough addiction to beat. In my opinion, smoking is even harder to beat
than heroin or alcoholism. Hollywood glamorized smoking.
Until recently you could smoke almost anywhere and smoking became associated
with everything–to start the day, while working, to take a break, to socialize,
after a meal, with coffee, with alcohol, after sex, etc. For heavy smokers
few activities or events didn’t include a cigarette. Only recently has
smoking been limited in the workplace and public accommodations.

So I talked with her about how she has already singled-handedly, beaten
two of the most difficult additions. You could see a physical shift.
“I have never thought of it that way. No one has ever put it that way,”
she said. Instantly she was empowered and feeling hopeful.
We then talked about the nitty gritty of what weight loss strategies would
work for her.

The formula is 1-2-3:
1. Think of two or three of your biggest accomplishments in life. Think about how if you can do that you can do anything.
2. Think of why you must make this change (leverage). Post the reasons where you will see them everyday.
3. Plan the details of how you will achieve the goal.

What are you wanting to do that seems impossible (or just doesn’t seem to happen)?
Whether the challenge is a small one like getting yourself to exercise today,
or a big one like losing fifty pounds, accessing your strengths gets you in a can-do
state of mind.

Quotes

Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.
~Winston Churchill
What’s past is prologue.
~William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II, scene 2

The inscription “What is Past is Prologue” is also on the National Archives Building.
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was riding in a Washington
cab once, pondering out loud what the quote meant. The cabbie chimed in,
“It means you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

Humor

The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.
Thus only left handed people are in their right mind.

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Preventing Diabetes

Action to take

Just say no to the bread served before meals and follow
the other eating habit tweaks described below.

Why

Most Americans are aware of the obesity epidemic but most haven’t caught on
to its sister–the diabetes epidemic. U.S. diabetes rates are soaring due largely to
our eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, and living long enough for our habits to haunt us.

At about 250,000 American deaths a year, diabetes directly causes far fewer deaths
than heart disease or cancer. It’s pervasive profile, however, makes for a very compromised life.
It often causes:
–loss of vision
–male impotency
–fatigue
–increased sores and infections that are slow to heal
–dry sensitive skin
–bladder control problems
–heart and cardiovascular problems
–kidney damage which in extreme cases requires dialysis
–numbing and tingling in hands and feet.

Because diabetes impairs blood circulation to legs and feet, foot tissue
can literally die and turn black. Every year thousands of diabetic Americans
have to have a foot or leg amputated. I even saw one patient who
not only lost his legs but his penis as well.

I know that just reading the about the devastating effects of diabetes
isn’t going to get many (including myself) to adopt an ideal diet.
Rather I am interested in little tweaks in our eating habits that
give lots of leverage.

Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes accounts for 90-95% of the 21 million Americans with diabetes.
The three keys to prevention are:
1. don’t become obese
2. go easy on the junk foods
3. keep stable blood sugar levels

Let’s focus on stable blood sugar levels. When you eat a simple carbohydrate,
such as white bread, your body quickly converts it to glucose and your
blood sugar level spikes. This brings a surge of energy and perhaps nervousness.
About an hour later the surge wears off, your blood sugar level plummets,
and you feel tired and hungry.

These five tweaks can keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent Type 2 diabetes:
1. Eat food with protein, fat, or fiber (e.g., nuts, olives, salad, vegetables, fruit)
before eating any high glycemic index food
2. Go easy on the bread (bagels, etc.) and try to stick to 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread.
3. When eating high glycemic index foods limit yourself to modest portions.
4. Try to graze with several mini meals or snacks spaced through the day
as opposed to three meals with one or two of them being large meals.
5. Increase the fiber in your diet or take a fiber supplement. Fiber slows the
conversion of food to sugar and decreases calorie absorption. (It also helps colon
health and prevents constipation.)

So here is your test. You are at a restaurant and the waiter brings a basket of bread.
How many pieces do you eat? The best answer is none or you at least
you have an appetizer with protein or fat first. Restaurants serve rolls
to give people something to do and something to eat while waiting for their food.
The glycemic surge keeps customers feeling good, but isn’t good for their health.

Most Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. Often Type 2 diabetes can be
reversed (“cured”) with weight loss and improved eating habits. A few tweaks
in eating habits can make a huge difference in the long-term quality of your life.

Quotes

1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
~The American Diabetes Association

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Aging Can Help Your EQ

Action to take

If you know more, have more savvy, and are more effective
than you were years ago, give yourself credit for having a higher EQ.

Why

Pat Nicolino, a corporate consultant friend, was catching me up on
what had happened since I saw her in September. In short, she is having
great success at turning around yet another company and has
never felt better or enjoyed herself more.

“I’m 56 now and I have 20 more EQ points than when I was 36,”
she said with exuberance. “At 36 I would have been clueless
about how to accomplish things that I now do with ease.”
Everyone knows what IQ is. EQ, she explained, is knowing how
to get things done and doing them.

I love it. As you get older your experiences and new learning build on each other.
Do you have more confidence than you did twenty years ago? Do you
know more about how organizations work and how to work with people?
Have you learned a lot of new skills in the last twenty years?
If so, give yourself credit for a higher EQ (Experience Quotient).

I would suggest that at 18 the average IQ and EQ is 100. If you are
continually learning and growing, give yourself credit for an additional
EQ point each year since age 18. If you have gone back to school,
learned a new career, or have had other intense learning experiences,
give yourself extra credit.

After the insight, I realized there is a lot of overlap between experience quotient
and Dr. Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence and his eventual use of
EQ for emotional intelligence. The broad skills he describes for emotional
intelligence have a lot of overlap with experience quotient. The difference is
an emphasis on having social intelligence vs. those skills getting better with experience.
Why is considering your EQ important? Psychology and medicine
have painted a negative picture of declining skills as we age.
Your EQ reminds you that you have grown, and are getting sharper with age.
No disrespect to my teenage children, but would you really want to go back
to the mind you had at 18? Neither would I. So what’s your EQ?

Quotes

Many people think you have to be very intelligent to be successful in life.
Exhaustive research shows that many self-made millionaires have only average intelligence.
~Brian Tracy

Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.
~Winston Churchill

Humor

America is the only country where it takes more brains to
fill out the tax forms than it does to make the money.

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Lifecare Communities

Action to take

Learn more about residential options for seniors.

Why

Like going on a vacation? What if you could live in a resort for the rest of your life?
I recently had the great pleasure of giving the keynote speech at Peconic Landing’s
fifth anniversary celebration. Just a few miles from the Hamptons on Long Island,
Peconic Landing is a premier “lifecare community” (also known as a
continuing care retirement community).

Peconic Landing has beautiful apartments and cottages overlooking the ocean.
Amenities include a heated swimming pool, tennis courts, and dozens of classes
–most taught by the residents.

Frankly I wondered if it would have an elitist club atmosphere.
Instead, I found residents had quite diverse backgrounds, lifestyles,
and interests. They were very open, friendly, mutually supportive,
and shared a strong sense of community. They were very pleased with
the community and their choice to live there. Some did volunteer work in the city.
Some had become accomplished artists since coming there. And some were very
into athletics and outdoor activities. They even had a synchronized swim team.

I’m against retirement if it means just taking it easy the rest of your life.
This wasn’t that kind of retirement. Most residents were on several committees
and lamented that there wasn’t enough time to do all the things they wanted to do.

Peconic Landing was a harbinger of dozens of such facilities popping up
around the country. As with owning a condo, maintenance is taken care of.
Residents also have one meal a day in one of the dining rooms.
We are talking grommet dining.

The lifecare refers to the community’s commitment to provide assisted living
or nursing home care, if needed, at the same the monthly fee residents pay
for independent living. This attenuates the fear of declining health or illness causing
a resident to run out of money. It also prevents the life disruption of having to
move to a new, strange facility if health declines.

Some earlier retirement centers had insubstantial funding and went bankrupt.
Many states now heavily regulate retirement communities and require
substantial cash reserves.

Different facilities for seniors have different financial arrangements.
The enrollment fee may be a few thousand dollars, a fee to cover lifecare services
($35,000 in Peconic’s case), or six figures for the residential buy in.
Some facilities guarantee residents can withdrawal most of their initial investment
if they leave. A few facilities have a six figure cost upfront in exchange for
care the rest of the resident’s life. Peconic Landing’s “equity-based” approach is fairly unique
in that residents purchase their apartment or cottage and receive the
tax benefits of home ownership. Later they or their heirs can
sell the home (hopefully at an appreciated price).

So is this for everyone? For most people the home they have lived in
for decades is home and they want to live there as long as possible.
For some living with family works well. In either instance there may be
a strong desire to be connected to the larger community and interact
with people of all ages. Fortunately, home health services,
homemaker services, and meals on wheels are increasingly available to
help seniors stay at home.

I think lifecare facilities are best suited for community minded people who want to
be with friends daily and be in a stimulating environment with lots of resources.
People who generally keep to themselves in their rooms would miss out on
many of the unique benefits. Lifecare facilities also offer freedom from the hassles of
home maintenance and shuttle buses for those who do not drive. Of course the
lifecare part offers the previously mentioned benefits in the event of declining health.

The costs are within reach of many middle class individuals and couples.
The costs do tend to select for well educated and/or achievement
oriented individuals. This in turn results in a more achievement oriented,
learning oriented community than is typically found in independent living or assisted living.

Any time one is choosing a facility, the quality of the staff and the meals is critical.
That is best assessed by multiple visits.

In conclusion, lifecare communities are a very welcome option for seniors who
are choosing where and how they want to live.

Quotes

A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings.
~Pope John Paul

There’s no place like home.
~Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

Humor

Home is where you hang your head.
~Groucho Marx

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Do You Plan to Live Longer?

Action to take

Live as if you are going to live a very long time.

Why

An East Sussex man recently obtained a 25 year mortgage on a $400,000 rental property. The UPI article doesn’t sound remarkable until you learn the man is 102 years old. Does this centenarian know something we should know? I think so. He sees himself collecting rent for many years to come. Wishing doesn’t make something so, but it does blaze a path for the opportunity.

If anyone should have lived a long life it was George Burns. After all, he got to play the title role of God in not one, but three movies (Oh, God!, Oh, God! Book II, and Oh God! You Devil!). Through his movies he became more successful and well known in his eighties and nineties than his earlier success at vaudeville, radio, and TV.

His career began as a song and dance man. Not taking himself too seriously, he often broke the “fourth wall” by breaking from the skit and chatting with the audience about what was happening. He loved to work and said, “The happiest people I know are the ones who are working. The saddest are the ones who are retired.” He was very devoted to his wife Gracie and his two adopted children, and he had many close friends.

He booked a big hundredth birthday bash at the London Palladium. In his comedy routines he often quipped, “I can’t die, I’m booked.” I was going to say that if he had booked a bash for his 101st and other birthdays, he might have seen more birthdays. Perhaps he should have taken out a 25 year mortgage as well.

With more careful research, however, I found that at 98 he fell in the bathtub and hit his head. His health and mobility went quickly downhill after the fall. It was looking forward to the 100th birthday bash that helped keep him alive to 100.
He died six weeks later. Instead of taking out a mortgage he probably needed to see himself as flexible and coordinated and keep himself in shape to manifest it.

Quotes

Old is always fifteen years from now.
~Bill Cosby

Humor

I’d love to date women my own age – but there aren’t any women my own age.
~George Burns

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.

Longevity Insurance

Action to take

Consider longevity insurance.

Why

Only a third of Americans say they would like to live to 100.
Their reasons include fearing they will run out of money and be poor.

In a previous blog I cited a British man who bet $200 he would
live to 100 and eventually received $50,000 for winning his bet.
Since then the odds makers want to increase the target to 110 years old.

But there is a relatively new way to win that kind of bet – longevity insurance.

Personally, I dislike life insurance as I hate betting against myself.
You (or rather your survivors) only get the money if you die.
Longevity insurance rewards you for living longer and helps make sure
you have enough income starting at age 85. For example, let’s say a
65-year-old man pays $50,000 in after tax money for a longevity policy.
At age 85 he starts collecting $3,614 a month ($43,368 a year)
for the rest of his life.

If he dies before age 85 he and his heirs receive nothing. For women,
the monthly payments would be somewhat lower because of a longer
life expectancy. Of course you can purchase the insurance before age
65 and receive even higher monthly premiums at 85.

At age 65, life expectancy for American men (2004 data) was
82.1 years and women 85 years. Met Life, Hartford, and other insurance
companies are betting that in most cases they won’t have to pay anything.

You could take the same money and invest it in stocks or bonds.
That would allow you to take money out in an emergency and to
pass on money to heirs. If you get a 6% after tax return rate
on your investments compounded over 20 years, you would start
coming out ahead a shortly before your 90th birthday
with the longevity insurance.

The primary advantage of the insurance is less concern about outliving your money.
It also might be out of reach in the event of a lawsuit or divorce. Unlike life insurance,
you don’t need to qualify, you only need a birth certificate.

The biggest risk with longevity insurance is not living to 85 and collecting nothing.
Another risk is the insurance company could go out of business.

Another consideration is the likelihood of inflation. Whether you invest the money
in an IRA or have longevity insurance, the money will probably have far less purchasing
power in 20 years. At 4% inflation compounded annually, $1,000 in today’s money
would be worth $456 in 20 years. In our previous example the monthly payment
would be equivalent to $1,648 in today’s dollars and each year the value would be a little less.

With life expectancies likely to increase, purchasing longevity insurance in the future
is likely to bring lower monthly benefits than are being offered now. If you believe
you have a good shot at living to 100 or older, longevity insurance can be a good bet.

Quotes

Corporations often purchase “key man” insurance on staff they can’t afford to lose.
Think of yourself as the key man or woman in the business of your own life.
But rather than buy life insurance, do what it takes to live longer and healthier.
~Mike Brickey

Humor

My wife and I took out life insurance policies on each other,
so now it’s just a waiting game.
~Bill Dwyer

The insurance man told me that the accident policy covered falling off the roof,
but not hitting the ground.
~Tommy Cooper

Can atheists get insurance for acts of God?

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Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey is keynote speaker and author of the Oprah-featured book, Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. The books and his Reverse Aging anti-aging hypnosis CDs comprise his anti-aging system.