Every day, new research emerges to help us decipher the best ways to live a long and healthy life. And while these findings can be interesting and enlightening, the messages delivered from week to week often contradict one another. A particular activity or behavior that was shown to be a healthy choice last week, could be shown to lead to illness or death the next week. Despite our efforts, it's far from easy to pinpoint exactly which science we should believe.
Those who reject the constant stream of conflicting research instead turn to the examples of people who have already lived long and prosperous lives through healthy practices of their own. Senior science advisor for Elements Behavioral Health Dr. Pamela Peeke joined HuffPost Live host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani today to discuss how the examples set by centenarians may carry more weight than the studies released each week.
“There are brilliant studies done on the centenarians -- these are the 100-year-olds," Peeke says. “And what we found was that a) most of them wouldn’t know a gym if they walked through it, b) they’ve never had a personal trainer, and c) they just simply get up and rock and roll through the day -- it’s called activities of daily living. We stopped doing that -- we just sit there. So how about we just bring it on like a 100-year-old? Clearly, physical activity across the board in all the 100-year-olds' studies is one of the biggest and most important things you can do. But notice I never said the 'E' word, I didn’t say 'exercise,' I said physical activity. ... Simple, simple things you can do.”
At the end of the day, when different studies present conflicting results, it’s ultimately up to the individual to decide how to behave with his or her own health and wellness in mind.
“There’s a common sense piece to this,” Peeke says. “You have to feel your own body and know your own thing."
To hear more about how to best pick though health and wellness research and advice, watch the full HuffPost Live clip in the video above.