How To Remain Healthy Into Your 80s, 90s, and Beyond!

How long did God intend mankind to live at creation? What would man’s life-span have been if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned and been expelled from the Garden? And how long did God say man would be capable of living after he had sinned? These are interesting questions that you may have wondered about. The answers to all of them can be found in the Bible. So let’s begin by taking a look at a few verses that relate to length of life, before sharing some tips on how a person can live healthily to a ripe old age. One of the first things we learn from the Bible regarding length of life is that God designed the human body with the capability to “live forever”.

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” ~ Genesis 3:22-23

But something happened – man sinned, as we read in Genesis 3:1-21. And as we read in Genesis 3:22-23, the consequence of that sin was banishment from the Garden, and as a result of that sin, man lost the ability to live forever. However, this did not prevent God’s human creation from experiencing great longevity during the 1,700 years following Adam and Eve’s banishment from the Garden, and during those years preceding the Great Flood, which would occurs in Genesis Chapter 7. From the pre-flood verses in Genesis Chapter 5 we learn that the patriarchs lived to an average of 912 years. Methuselah lived the longest, surviving to the ripe old age of 969.

 

Why the Flood Came

Prior to the Great Flood (which occurs in Genesis chapter 7), God’s reveals the reason for bringing the flood in Genesis chapter 6. Here we learn that God was so upset with the behavior of his human creation that he was going to destroy not only man, but the “beasts, and the creeping thing, and the fouls of the air . . . . But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” ~ Genesis 6:5-8

In the latter verses of Genesis Chapter 6, God gives Noah instructions on how to build an ark. We must remember that these instructions to build an ark were given to Noah before it had ever rained and before there had ever been a flood. So Noah built that ark by faith.

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house ...” ~ Hebrews 11:7

Yes, God had chosen to use a Great Flood as His means of destroying mankind, but because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” God was going to allow Noah and his family to escape death by means of an ark that would float above the flood waters. And through Noah and his family, human physical life would be allowed to continue on the earth. In Chapter 7, after he had completed the building of the ark, Noah is told by God the reason for his task:

“And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.” ~ Genesis 7:1, 4-5 “And the flood was 50-days upon the earth, and the waters increased and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. . . . And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth: and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. . . . And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.” ~ Genesis 7:17, 19 and 24

Life (and Death) after the Flood

I realize that there is a theory that after the flood there was a dramatic climate change (canopy theory) that caused the shortening of the lifespan of man. But that is just a theory. I have a theory of my own, and mine is based on what the Bible clearly reveals. First let’s talk about man’s change in diet... During Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden, their diet consisted solely of plant foods coming from the garden (See Genesis 1:29). These foods were consumed in their raw and enzymatically alive form. The same way animals in the wild consume their food to this very day. There is nothing to indicate that God gave man permission to change this Genesis 1:29, 100% plant-based, exclusive garden food diet, during the next 1,700 years of biblical history and prior to the flood. Following the flood, because all Genesis 1:29 garden foods had been destroyed, God allowed man to consume the flesh of the clean animals that were in the ark. I believe he allowed man to do this for survival purposes, until the garden foods were once again available. Here is what God said after all garden foods had been destroyed by the flood:

“Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” ~ Genesis 9:3

Sadly, once man got the taste of flesh, he couldn’t leave it alone and that flesh became an ever greater part of man’s diet. Following the flood, man also began to cook his food (See Genesis 8:20-21). The result of switching from a 100% plant-based diet to an animal-based diet (and consuming cooked food following the flood) was that man's lifespan was shortened from an average of 912 years prior to the flood to 110 years in ten generations after the flood. The Bible tells us:

“And Joseph died being 110 years old.” ~ Genesis 50:26

There’s more to learn... Prior to the biblical description of the flood, we find a very interesting verse pertaining to how long God was going to allow man to live following the flood:

“And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” ~ Genesis 6:3

Why God’s Promise of Long Life Has Not Been Realized

If God said that man could live to the age of 120 following the flood, why is not the average person today living that long? That is the question that we are going to deal with for the remainder of this article. Also, we will give some strategies as to how to increase the lifespan, giving us a better chance of obtaining those 120 years. In the March 2013 issue of "The Blaylock Wellness Report", the report's author Dr. Russell Blaylock provides us with some very interesting thoughts regarding longevity. I’d like to take a moment now to share some of the high points and some of his comments in that report:

In the beginning, our gene pool was relatively pure, but over time, viruses have inserted their genes into our DNA, and these foreign genes have effected gene signaling that limits lifespan. This signaling controls life’s processes and over the years has so contaminated the genes that we no longer are capable of living to the ages of the patriarchs.

Another relevant factor is the foods we eat. Here is what Dr. Blaylock has to say about that:

“The vegetables people ate in antiquity were grown in richer soil with fewer contaminants, and the meals they ate were free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and industrial chemicals as we see today. The animals were not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones to make them fatter.”

Our cardiovascular system supplies our body with the nourishment and oxygen they need to remain healthy. Drugs do not strengthen the cardiovascular system, but the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables helps protect and strengthen blood vessels. Dr. Blaylock says that:

“Plant chemicals in edible plants powerfully protect blood vessel...On the other hand, a number of foods, as well as some food additives, can weaken vessels. Watch out for omega 6 oils, mercury, fluorinated drinking water, cadmium, lead, high fructose corn syrup, excitotoxins in food additives, trans fatty acids. These compounds increase inflammation within blood vessels and destroy their structure.”

Deep breathing helps cleanse the body of toxins. Exercise causes deep breathing and improves lymphatic circulation. This helps remove toxins from the heart and lungs and entire body.

 

Heart-Stopping Statistics

The Centers for Disease Control have published alarming statistics like these regarding the impact on heart disease on the American public:

• About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year; this means one in four people who die in America die due to heart disease.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
• Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack.
• Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year in the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

There is no way to calculate the emotional “cost” of heart disease on which affects sufferers, their family and friends, business productivity, and more.

 

7 Ways to Protect Your Heart Without Drugs

Despite what we are told by the medical establishment – to take medications for our problems -- there are many things we can do ourselves to protect our hearts.

1. Diet Is Critical - Dr. Blaylock advises: "A diet of sugar, omega 6 oils, and lots of red meat is a prescription for poor heart function and a high risk of a heart attack. Omega 6 oils (soybean, corn, peanut, sunflower, safflower, and canola should never be used in salads or used for cooking. The best way to utilize flavonoids and other nutrients from vegetables is to blenderize and drink them."
2. Avoid Coronary Stressors - Avoid alcohol, tobacco, prolonged stress, and social isolation, too.
3. Exercise Moderately at Least 5 Days Per Week - Include brisk walking and resistance exercises using all muscle groups. Resistance exercises strengthen bones and helps prevent falls which often lead to death among the elderly.
4. Avoid Sitting for Prolonged Periods of Time
5. Be Careful with Blood Pressure Medications - Medications lower magnesium levels. Taking magnesium supplements improves blood flow; raises antioxidant defenses in the blood vessel wall; prevents blood clots associated with heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary embolism; and protects both heart and brain. Magnesium deficiency is very common, especially in the elderly, and is caused by a large number of prescription drugs, especially heart medications.
6. Mercury Dangers - Major sources of mercury are flu vaccines and eating fish, especially tuna. High levels of mercury are correlated with heart failure. “Mercury interferes with the ability of the heart muscle to generate energy and promotes chronic heart muscle inflammation,” says Dr. Blaylock.
7. Maintain a Healthy Weight - Obesity is strongly linked to heart disease, especially abdominal obesity (fat around the intestines and organs). Regular exercise, avoiding sugar and simple carbohydrates (especially breads) reduce abdominal obesity.

6 Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System

Strengthening your immune system, the God-given natural defense against illness and disease that each of us has, helps every aspect of the body in self-healing. To strengthen this important system, you should:

1. Avoid mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium, and pesticides.
2. Avoid excess sugar, simple carbohydrates, and high fructose corn sugar.
3. Avoid excess intake of fruits.
4. Avoid omega-6 fats.
5. Eat or drink at least 10 servings of nutrient-dense vegetables a day.
6. Take a good probiotic at least three times a week.
7. Avoid vaccinations. The most dangerous include the HPV, tetanus, flu, and hepatitis B vaccines.
8. Get adequate Vitamin D3 - Vitamin D3 is a critical immune modulator that reduces immune overreaction and boosts immunity when it is depressed. The optimal dose of vitamin D3 for an adult is 5,000 IU a day with a meal. (Both this editor and Rhonda take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.)

A Word from Olin Idol, Hallelujah Acres’ Health VP

Olin Idol is Hallelujah Acres' Vice-President of Health. He has earned two degrees in nutrition since joining me 17 years ago, and I’ve asked him to share some interesting thoughts regarding how to keep the immune system strong and disease resistant. Olin says...

“Our body is host to about 10 times as many bacteria as there are cells in the body (they are on the skin, in the mouth, throughout the gastrointestinal tract, the genital areas, and throughout the urinary tract). The body has somewhere around 100 trillion cells but ten times this number are microbes. The mouth alone is (optimally) host to 6-plus billion microbes. We acquire these microbes throughout life. The variety or species shift with age. The womb is a sterile environment, so an infant’s first exposure to microbes is by way of natural birth through the birth canal and secondly by way of mother's breast milk.

About 85% of our immune system resides in our gut. Gut flora have a profound effect on what form of immune cells our body is able to produce and what they will be doing on any given day. Allergies result from an imbalanced immune system, gut flora, and a damaged gut wall. Autoimmune diseases are born in the gut. A healthy GI tract is host to about 3.5 pounds of bacteria in the colon. The organisms our body is host to should consist of about 80% friendly (beneficial) organisms while the remaining 20% unfriendly bacteria, reside in harmony. When these organisms become imbalanced with the friendly flora losing prominence, we become victims of bacterial-, viral-, and fungal-related illness. It is imperative that we keep the friendly bacteria dominant to maintain the integrity and protective powers of the immune system. But today’s unhealthy lifestyles of consuming animal source foods that increase unfriendly bacteria, bathing in and drinking chlorinated water, drugs/medications, and poor dietary choices, negatively impact the friendly flora. Yeast and Candida are the result. Ideally, the foods we eat should be predominantly raw, not highly sanitized, and contain an abundance of beneficial organisms. These organisms are found only in raw foods and help support the body’s efforts to maintain a favorable balance of friendly bacteria.”

Keeping friendly bacteria dominant goes a long way to assure the protective power of the immune system and to maintain its ability to destroy unfriendly bacteria, germs, viruses, and cancer before they can do their dastardly work. Rhonda and I each take one tablet daily of Hallelujah Acres Professional Strength Probiotic in order to insure that our friendly bacteria remain dominant.

I trust that some of the things we have shared in this Health Tip will encourage you to go for that 120-year mark God told us is attainable in Genesis 6:3. Rhonda and I both heed the information shared by Dr. Blaylock and Olin Idol each day. Thus far, it is working out well for me as I have already outlived both my mom and dad by 14 years and am only a few years away from having the greatest longevity of anyone on either my mom’s or dad’s side of the family! Apparently I wasn’t born with the long longevity genes that Rhonda has; her mom will be 93 and still lives alone and takes care of herself. Isn’t that wonderful... and something we can all hope for?

Next week, the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, we will return with another exciting issue of the Hallelujah Acres Health Tip. Trust you will join us and that you will share these Health Tips with friends and loved ones.