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How to live longer, page 6 of 7

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Why do you overeat?

You overeat because:
  • Overeating feels good. Eating also feels good. Emotional eating also feels good.
  • When there is an abundance of food, your overeating is directly proportional to how much food you're served.
  • When there is a variety of foods, your overeating is directly proportional to the variety of foods offered.
  • When you're eating with friends or family they want to see a healthy appetite.
  • When you've got more than enough money, you know that, even if you overeat today, you will have money for food, even tomorrow.
  • When you're bored, the vision of a hot fudge ice cream transports you from the monotony of daily life.
  • When your social status is lower, by super sizing you try to elevate your lower social status. Super sizing is a subtle but definite sign of a lower social status. When you're powerless, you eat larger portions, as well as consume more calories, than those who are in power positions.
However, if you eat less, are you really going to live longer? Yes, there is scientific proof that you will live longer. (2)

Sources and references

(1) "Poor Richard's Almanack", by Benjamin Franklin, 1737

(2) "Prolonging the Life Span" by McCay, C. M. and Crowell, Mary F., The Scientific Monthly, Volume 39, Issue 5, pp. 405-414

(3) "The Retardation of Aging and Disease by Dietary Restriction", by Richard Weindruch and Roy L. Walford, ISBN 0398054967

(4) "Energy intake, meal frequency, and health: a neurobiological perspective" by M.P. Mattson, Annu. Rev. Nutr. 25: 237-60

(5) "Caloric restriction reduces cell loss and maintains estrogen receptor-alpha immunoreactivity in the pre-optic hypothalamus of female B6D2F1 mice", by F. Yaghmaie, et al., Neuro Endocrinol Lett, 2005 Jun, Vol. 26(3):197-203,
PMID 15990721.

(6) "Extending life span by increasing oxidative stress" by M. Ristow and S. Schmeisser, Free Radic Biol Med., 2011.Jul 15; 51(2):327-36.

(7) "Dental health behaviors, dentition, and mortality in the elderly: the leisure world cohort study" by A. Paganini-Hill, et al., J Aging Res., 2011:156061.

(8) "The effect of low-dose daily aspirin intake on survival in the Finnish centenarians cohort", by H. Agüero-Torres, et al., J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001 Nov;49(11):1578-80. ...More >>

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