LegendaryLife Blog

I realize this pure link bait but I can’t help myself when I see something so WRONG!

Background: Steroids Saved My Life

First, this guy was skinny, not dying from malnutrition, HIV or any other wasting diseases which is what steroids are medically used for. His life was NEVER in danger either before or after the steroids from what I can tell.

About “Peter” on Steroids Saved My Life

He is 22 years old, 138 pounds. His site there is not one bit of information regarding essentials like:

• weight lifting history
• diet history
• family history
• steroid dosage and course
• post cycle clomid therapy

His site lacks any measurements over his “experiment of stupidity” nor anything else that could possibly provide any type of educational information about steroids. Bodyweight isn’t a true measure of muscle mass, body fat %, actual measurements of his body parts etc are. His site also has misinformation regarding steroids as well, which I will address below. I don’t understand his reasoning behind not saying the steroid type and dosage, he is already admitting to taking an illegal substance (which I don’t think should be anymore illegal than alcohol or tobacco) so what’s the harm in being a little more specific?

Now, time for the real fun, an episode by episode review!

Episode 1: The First Pill

• Peter’s first major screw-up, taking pills over injectables. Pills are a wonderful way to fry your liver twice as fast as they are processed through your system twice vs once with injectables. He is either scared of needles or has no clue what he is doing… my guess is both. He should have called this episode “The First Plunge”.
• 22 years old, 6ft 1, 138 pounds
• Peter says “If I am smart about it, steroids is a good way to jump-start so I can grow and not be skinny anymore”. Jon says “if you are smart, you will learn how to exercise and eat right and NOT take the easy steroid way out (which it isn’t).
• Peter talks at length at how much he hates his body, this is a psychological problem, not a physical one, which steroids cannot change
• footage showing him take one small 10mg pill with orange juice which is about what your body produces anyways on a daily basis so if this is true, he is screwing up his endocrine system to replace orally on a daily basis what his body was producing anyways (????)
• day 1: 138 pounds
• day 2: 138.8 pounds (this is water weight gain, not muscle) at 6.6% bodyfat
• day 3: 140.2 pounds (again, more water) with a few more comments about how much he hates himself
• Peter says “(being skinny) is a lifetime of being unsatisfied physically”, again, more signs of depression and blaming his lack of muscle for all the problems he has had in life
• Peter says that people who have side-effects steroids are abusers who took it for a very long amount of time and aren’t doing the proper things to begin with such as eating properly and going to the gym everyday. As such, he is inferring that he has far more knowledge about steroids (hence taking pills over injectables), nutrition (hence his low weight) and exercise (playing tennis and with a Wii) so he won’t have side effects.
• Sadly, I see Peter investing far too much of his self-esteem in a pill instead of himself
• day 4: 142.2 pounds, without knowing what he is taking, the muscle gaining effects may be starting to kick in now but for sure, he did not gain 4.2 pounds of muscle in 4 days. He gained a combination of muscle, fat, water etc…
• Peter says “steroids isn’t cheating”, I completely agree generally but at 138 pounds, he readily admits to “cheating himself”. His testosterone receptors are already going on all cylinders at his age and the gains he does make don’t need steroids involved at all to achieved
• day 5: 143 pounds, he is taking far more than a 10mg little pill with orange juice in the morning
• Peter’s friend says “what’s the worst case of taking steroids? Looking fantastic! That’s it!”, now I know why Peter is taking pills, he is hanging around clueless people who shouldn’t be advising anybody

Episode 2: Side Effects

• day 8: 142.2 pounds. Mmmm… he is losing weight on steroids, this is a huge hint that his skinny problem is based on nutrition (or unknown medical condition). My guess is that he is probably reverting back to his calorie deficient diet which kept him skinny to begin with.
• admits to using very bad exercise form, “thinks” steroids are kicking in so he is basically saying he rarely went to the gym before starting steroids, if you talk to veteran steroids users, they will almost all tell you not to even touch steroids until you have spent at least a few years in the gym WORKING OUT HARD.
• Sugar Babies (who are very nice eye candy) say “if you are an informed user, taking steroids is ok” but so far in this show, all I see is misinformation and a complete lack of knowledge regarding steroids, nutrition and exercise
• day 9: 142.4, he really needs to EAT MORE!
• I like Peter, his logic makes no sense at all. He says now that his reason for being skinny is because he has concentrated so much on his mind that he let his body go, so taking steroids will bring his body to the level of his mind… a perfect zen-like balance will be achieved. Knowing this, I think his body is a perfect reflection of his mind already, he just hasn’t realized it yet.
• “…it can only do good things, he will only benefit from this”, this is from the same friend to said steroids had no side effects other than a fantastic body.
• Davin, another friends says that steroids “will teach him everything he needs to get the women”. Wow… I didn’t know that steroids could act like a virtual teacher on the opposite sex and tell you all their secrets!
• 142.2 pounds, Peter continues his enlightened rant at how detrimental being skinny has been to his life and once steroids kick-in, his entire life will change! (Jon inserts viagra music)
• Another incredibly enlightened friend (J-Rock) says that steroids side effects over the long term aren’t known but are probably ok because the FDA releases a bunch of other pills without knowing what happens to them long term either. I fail to see the relationship regarding long term use of steroids with other drugs, the effects of steroids are well known (though exaggerated)
• Peter says “you don’t see my abs yet but they will come (with steroids)”. Seeing your abs isn’t a muscle “problem” but a fat one. Bigger abdominals are nice but if you have a layer of fat over them, regardless of how muscular you are, they will still be hidden. Unless he is taking 2 grams a week, steroids doesn’t have much of a thermogenic effect on the body.
• Sugar Shane, an experience steroid user says basically anything not used properly (abused) will have side effects, which is like saying “if I don’t abuse steroids, I won’t have side effects”. Steroids at any dose will stop your testicles from producing testosterone, which is why they shrink, when you stop taking juice, guess what, the testicles don’t just pick-up where they left off, they take a long time to get going again, hence post cycle clomid therapy and GH being used to give them a boost.
• day 11: 144.4 pounds… he finally learned how to EAT!
• Peter gets a sunburn (which is preventable), I hope he prepared better that this for after his steroid cycle is over, otherwise, his gains will be very short lived
• Peter says that taking the proper precautions and supplements, he thinks, steroids will not damage his body (I think he forgot to ask his endocrine system and liver for a second opinion on this)
• Big Bear says putting chemicals in your body isn’t the right course of action, I completely agree if you don’t know what you are doing
• Peter says his testicles haven’t shrunk yet (I will take his word for it but I doubt he would notice a 1mm difference in circumference)
• Mr. Fantastic says “Steroids are fantastic… it’s only a matter of time before they become legal”
• day 12: 147 pounds, see Peter, eating right does make a difference
• Sugar Shane is doing a wonderful job of continuing the myth that steroids cause ‘roid rage relating to many incidences he boasts proudly about. ‘Roid rage is a myth created by people to excuse their bad behavior.

Episode 3: Revenge of the skinny

• Peter, in his infinite wisdom says “there is no scientific fact that steroids are really that damaging to your body… most of the evidence suggests that steroids are generally positive”. I agree, if you are being closely monitored by a doctor, get regular blood work, eat a proper diet, have a good exercise routine etc. Let’s see, it’s a scientific fact that steroids does damage your endocrine system, leads to premature baldness (if you are genetically prone to it), increases your blood pressure and affect sleeping patterns. The fact that he is taking pills instead of injectables and started at the gym after starting steroids shows he is clueless, so I wouldn’t take his word for it.
• Big Bear is the smartest guy in this show, he says Peter’s problem is in his eating habits
• Peter admits to “eating fast food 2-3x a day”… add an inability to cook to his lists of problems
• He prefers McDonalds (???) to vegetables and healthy foods because he doesn’t like the smell, taste and feeling it gives inside of his mouth… he is started to sound like an anorexic person!
• Davin says “his childish eating habits play on his childish personality”, I agree!
• Whitney says “when he is done his treatments, he will have a false sense of popularity and self-confidence”, I agree!
• day 17, Peter says “I am more hungry but can’t eat a lot of food”, this explains his lack of weight gain (before taking steroids and now that he is taking them)
• day 18, 149.6 pounds, bodyfat is 9.5% to which Peter says “I’m almost normal” (funniest things I have heard so far)
• J-Rock says “I don’t think steroids are any worse than nicotine and alcohol”, again, he has no clue what he is talking about
• Mr. Fantastic says that because other athletes and actors are taking them, that it’s ok because he doesn’t see any negative side effects on them… it’s good to know that Mr. Fantastic has access to the stars medical records!
• Picture of Carrot Top working out without a shirt, now that we know Mr. Fantastic’s role model, he is starting to make some sense now (no insult meant to Carrot Top)
• Davin says “he’s not going to rely on steroids, he’s smarter than that”, obviously Davin hasn’t been watching the show as all I see is a cycle of dependence lead-on by mis-information
• Sugar continues on this bad-ass rant at how steroids turned him from a normal person into an out-of-control monster
• Peter has no problem taking protein for the rest of his life but food is an issue for him… talk to any bodybuilder and they will tell you point-blank that protein is a supplement, not a staple
• day 19, 152. Now Peter is ranting at how his new body will create the life of his dreams, full of benefits that, because he was skinny, were not being offered to him. Look at Carrot Top for a moment, this guy was skinny as hell and he became incredibly successful THEN started working-out and becoming big. Peter again continues on the train of excuses as to why his life is shit all because of his skinny body.
• “What are the effects of steroids” to which Mr. Fantastic says “looking fantastic… I told you already!”, Mr. Fantastic has a learning problem
• day 19, calves 14 inches, waist 32.5 inches, chest 33.5 inches, biceps 11.5 inches

Series ideas

This entire show is a huge wasted opportunity full of mis-information and uses a very flawed person as its test subject. Peter needs to get over his food phobias, get a personal trainer to show him how to exercise and drop the steroids ASAP because the only thing I see from this show so far is how unprepared he really is both physically and mentally for the brick wall that is coming right at him when he gets off of them.

Real information about steroids

• Muscle memory is great… too bad it doesn’t last
• Why I decided not to take Anabolic Steroids
• Gaining Weight 101: Tips from a fellow Hard gainer
• LL Question: Even with bad genetics, can I become the world’s strongest man?
• Better Living Through Chemistry
• Taking Time Off and Muscle Memory

Buzvia: Steroids Saved My Life (Television Series)

Smoking and alcohol have NO ROLE in a healthy lifestyle.

I got a comment regarding my article about the benefits I was  having with muscle memory (Muscle memory is great… too bad it doesn’t last) and I got the following comment:

Hey man, I am wondering what brand of protein/ creatine supplement you use. I don’t want to end up buying lean body supplement which makes me lose weight. Also, what’re ur typical meals? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for your question and I have broken-up my answer for you below.

Supplements

My friend left me protein that had sit under his counter for a year in a clear plastic bag because he couldn’t stand the taste, wasn’t sure if it was still good so I tried it, no problems so I finished it up. It lasted me about a month taking a 5 tablespoons a day ration (protein powder is very hard to find here) mixed with water. There was no brand so your guess is as good as mine. I took it not to gain weight (at these doses it isn’t a weight gainer) but to make sure I got a good Amino Acid profile to supplement my diet. I haven’t been on creatine for about 3 years now. I just got a call from customs that they have allowed my supplements into the country now so I should have my favorite protein (4 bottles of EAS 100% Whey Protein Chocolate 5 lbs) and creatine (2 bottles of Prolab Creatine, 300g). Creatine is creatine so just get the cheapest stuff you can find – sure it’s like eating sand but it does work. I use EAS because they are relatively cheap, good quality and I don’t get tired of the taste. Other supplements I take daily are two multi-vitamins and glucosamine. That’s it supplement wise.

Diet

Breakfast

When I have oatmeal available, I eat plain oatmeal for breakfast with a table spoon of brown sugar thrown in. I down that with either a cup of green tea or coffee which I started drinking last week for the health benefits… still think coffee tastes like shoes but if it gives me another few weeks of life on this planet, I can live with it.

Meals

I don’t differentiate between lunch, diner etc… so here is my typical meal (I eat 3 solid meals a day)

• baked salmon with rice, potato, carrot, onion (all these together on one tray in the oven) and corn – I add extra virgin olive oil to everything and honey to the salmon, corn is boiled with butter.
• chunk of beef with potato, carrot, onion – I add extra virgin olive oil to everything
• tuna sandwich, two cans, add a bit of mayo and butter
• vegetable dumplings with rice
• mystery fish, same process as baked salmon
• pasta with fresh crushed tomatoes, sauce, ground beef, mushrooms, onions, carrots and beef chunks
• chicken pieces boiled in seaweed along with onions and carrots – soup

Snacks

I eat 2-3 solid “snack” meals a day, which bumps my total meals to 5-6. I alternate one “snack” with one solid meal. When I get my protein in the next few days, I will replace two of these with protein and add one more “snack” somewhere.

• dried squid (tastes great and is cheap yet is almost all protein)
• peanuts or cashews with a 67% cocoa chocolate bar or cheese
• seaweed slices, not sure what to call it but here, it’s all the rage so I eat it too

That’s it for food, nothing processed, I cook everything and at one time or another, it was actually alive. I rarely eat at restaurants because to be quite frank, my food tastes better and is cheaper than their offerings.

Drinks

I only drink water, green tea, coffee and a few other teas. In the summer I usually drink a shot of salt water in the morning as I lose a lot of it exercising and don’t add salt to any of my food. I also drink some 100% Welches grape juice 2x a week for the health benefits (wine is bad for you, grape juice is good). I maybe drink a beer every 6 months or so and any other alcoholic breverages I don’t touch. Alcohol is a diarretic and empty calories, it has no place in my lifestyle. The only thing I smoke is my competition

Exercise routine

After a few months of not really lifting much of anything, I began my workouts slow for the first two weeks to get my mind ready for what was to come then switched to lifting as much as I could using drop sets, pyramid sets and split sets. I gained weight because I forced my body to, not because it wanted to. I exercise for about 30-45 minutes, 4x a week alternating legs and lower back / chest and back / biceps and triceps. I workout instinctively, I don’t track anything nor do I plan anything out… if I feel up to it, after a thorough warm-up, I can jump into a power lifting routine one day and something different at another. None of my workouts are the same so the body never really adapts to any one lifting style or method. If I hit a plateau, I switch from high reps to low reps, change the sets… whatever it takes. I do close to two hours of brisk walking everyday and once the weather warms-up, hike up some mountains on the weekends.

Gaining weight

I am 32 years old now and I have been working out since I was 12-16 on/off then got seriously into it at around 16. As such, I have never been obese, never injured directly because of my workouts and know my body. If you are not gaining, it’s because you aren’t eating enough. I know you are tired of hearing this, so was I, but there is no supplement (other than steroids, slin or GH) that will allow you to gain weight on a bad / deficient diet. Eat clean, eat a lot and move around! There is NOTHING more anabolic than food. About 90% of your gains will come from the food you eat, that extra 10% will be the supplements which allow you to lift a bit more for a little longer than “normal”.

Mental

Having lifted weight and been very active most of my life, I can tell you with confidence that the amount of weight you can lift is more dependant on mental than physical ability. You have to become good at ignoring what your mind is telling you when your body is saying otherwise. For instance, if you are doing shoulder presses and your mind says “ENOUGH”, you got to ignore this and keep going… if my body physically starts to shake, then I know I am coming close to my physical limit. I have never been injured following this and it has given me great gains but if you don’t know your body, have proper form or don’t have a few years of solid weight training under your belt, don’t go to this extreme. When I am not happy, I am very happy so I don’t know depression which does affect workouts big time.

Disclaimer

All the above works great for me but every body is different, you can follow what I do and get great gains or get nothing or injured. Be sure to get a physical check-up by a doctor before starting any program or change in diet. I know personal trainers are a dime a dozen so ignore them unless they have qualifications beyond an online weekend course. If you are in the gym, find the oldest and biggest guy in the gym and ask him to just review your exercise and if he (it’s usually a he) sees any things you are doing wrong, to tell you.

Other articles that may be of interest to you as well

• Muscle memory is great… too bad it doesn’t last
• Why I decided not to take Anabolic Steroids
• Gaining Weight 101: Tips from a fellow Hard gainer
• LL Question: Even with bad genetics, can I become the world’s strongest man?
• Better Living Through Chemistry
• Taking Time Off and Muscle Memory

The stupid way to gain weight

I just saw this after writing the above article and all I got to stay is this is the stupidest thing I have ever seen! I would look like this guy if I didn’t workout at the gym and watched my diet. This guy doesn’t need steroids, he needs confidence and FOOD! If this guy thinks steroids will change his life, he will have a huge wake-up call when he gets off of them and loses ALL his gains and then some. This is pure exploitation for ratings and they make light of a very serious drug. If you want to take steroids, get to 200lbs relatively lean THEN start, not at 140lbs as it means you have your fundamentals down. If you want to take steroids, don’t do it to improve your self-esteem because you will cry like a little girl once you hit clomid. If you want to take steroids, make sure you have had your kids first as a major side-effect is possible infertility. If you want to take steroids, make sure you are supervised by a doctor and your growth plates have fused (ei: you aren’t growing anymore). This guy is a horrible example, he looks green at the gym, green diet wise and is nowhere near mentally able to cope with what is about to happen to him. THIS GUY IS HEADING INTO A DEAD-END OF SELF-PITY AND BIG TIME DEPRESSION.

The Bottom Line

Advice is free but implementation isn’t.

This is a great case study as to the power of muscle memory!

During the summer, I ran off to the Philippines for a few months were my diet consisted mostly of rice, bananas and water so I did the equivalent of an extreme diet while relaxing on the beaches and exploring the local area.

Taking a break from working out

I absolutely love working-out at the gym, the weight is always the same but depending on your diet, mental attittude and overall fitness, you can either lift more or less on any given day. It’s the ultimate in optimization as you can see the results quantified on a weekly basis as you tweek your lifestyle. It seems that every year, I end-up being somewhere for a few months were my diet (still healthy) gets severely limited, I sweat a lot and without a gym, lose some muscle mass and fat like I was on some sort of extreme diet. Stressing the body in this manner makes sure it’s constantly reminded and optmized and never gets use to any particular set of habits.

Results of an extended break

As expected, I loose about 30 pounds of weight over a few months time, my pants need belts, my shirts seem like they are a few sizes too big and my weight lifting ability (once I do return to the gym) would make a little girl feel strong!

…then muscle memory kicks in!

I started again at the gym two months ago, since then, I have gained back 25 pounds, almost doubled all my weights lifted since I began and my “old body” is coming back wonderfully! Two months ago, I had trouble lifting 14kg dumbbells, now I am lifting 25kg dumbells without must trouble and will probably hit the 30kg ones in a month or so the way I am gaining. My arms, chest, legs have all grown noticeably as well during this time and the fat gained has been extremely minimal due to my extremely clean diet. I have managed all these gains without the use of ANY supplements other than a little protein powder a friend left me, no GH, no steroids… not even creatine! This is muscle memory at it’s best.. I have been working out for more than half of my life so these gains are just getting back what I had, nothing “new” yet. A few guys at the gym who are still lifting what I use to lift two months ago are astonished by my gains, they come-up to me and say a few things in broken English but mostly “you’re strong!” hahahahhaha… I tell them this is nothing, wait a few more months once I hit the creatine and real protein powder! I am now just on the verge of hitting 180lbs and my goal is to be 200lbs by September with as little fat as possible.

My body type

My body is originally ectomorph which means I am a very hard gainer, naturally skinny and have a very lean build. Through years of hard work at the gym, I have transformed myself into more of a mesomorph while maintaining the traits of a ectomorph… meaning (once muscle memory is done), my gains are very hard to come by, I have to eat like crazy just to gain a little weight and the gains that I do make go away very fast once I stop. I am still gaining a lot overall thanks to muscle memory right now but that will soon taper off… too bad the 45 degree curve of progress doesn’t keep going huh? That would be amazing but as soon I approach about 190lbs, my natural limit, things get extremely tough for me at the gym, hence why this time around, that is when I will START taking the creatine and protein supplements.

The Bottom Line

Muscle memory creates steroid-like gains without the side effects.

Your goal over the holidays is not to become wider than the Christmas Tree!

Many people gain a few extra pounds over the holidays so here are some tips to keep them at a minimum and even, possibly, lose weight while taking some time off!

What’s up with the weight gain?

On a daily basis, no matter what time of day or night you take in the calories, a balance is created. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight, if you eat burn more than you eat, you lose weight. I don’t mean to over-simplify things but basically, this is really  a rather simple equation to work from.

Metabolism explained

It’s a known fact that your metabolism plays havoc on you when you change your lifestyle in any sudden way. Your mind, love or hate it, has only one goal in mind, to keep you alive another day out on the savannah full of lions and elephants. You must realize that when ever there is a shock to the system, your mind will direct your body to slow-down your metabolism (so you burn less) while, at the same time, dump as much muscle as possible while building-up fat reserves. Why? Well, muscle is very expensive to maintain while fat is easy and more calorie dense.

Alright, let’s recap.

If you eat more than you burn and your metabolism takes a nosedive while your body dumps as much muscle as possible because your lifestyle has suddenly changed… you GAIN WEIGHT!

Holiday Meals and habits

Now, if that wasn’t bad enough, the holidays are usually accompanied by very healthy portions of very calorie dense foods. Why is this bad? Well, it’s easy to over-eat as you can shove more into your mouth in one sitting before your brain signals you that your stomach is full. Add on-top of that, being distracted by conversation, friends and intense concentration and you have a recipe for eating a heck of a lot of stuff. Throw-in some alcoholic drinks to further confuse your brain and the pounds really start to roll on!

Solution to the holiday bulge

Here are a few tips to keep your waistline in check and maybe even lose a few pounds while enjoying the holidays.

1. Before any large meals, drink two glasses of water, this fills-up your stomach so you can’t eat as much and even better, keeps you hydrated, thus reducing stress on your vital organs.
2. Avoid alcoholic beverages, alcohol is a leeching agent throughout your body and worse yet, empty calories without any nutritional value at all. If you got to drink, drink one glass of water for every glass of ethanol.
3. Try to maintain regular schedules, remember, any sudden changes causes your body to go into starvation mode, if you keep your sleeping and eating patterns roughly the same, this reaction is minimized.
4. Take your time, being in a hurry to eat usually leads to over-consumption. Relax, enjoy the environment and eat as slowly as possible.
5. Exercise! In the morning, why not go for a quick jog to keep you in shape and after a large meal, a nice walk around the block. It will do wonders for you!
6. Get yourself a small plate! It’s a proven fact that a larger plate leads to added food consumption, this is a trick used by restaurants but be sure to be smart, if it’s a buffet, grab a smaller plate.
7. Get soup and salad instead of steak and lobster! The calories found within a soup and salad are almost nothing compared to a heaping plate full of fries and meat / seafood. Bread is fine but in moderation.
8. Sleep at the same time every night! Sleep deprivation is a wonderful way to gain weight because it stresses the hell out of your body (remember, stress causes your body to go into starvation mode even if you are already obese!)
9. Take lots of pictures! The more you take the initiative to move around and not be so sedentary, the better you will get through the holidays without that bulge!
10. Take time-outs. You are probably overloading your senses on a daily basis, take some time off for even half an hour to wind yourself back down.

The Bottom Line

Staying lean over the holidays takes some effort but is more than possible if you put your mind to it.

Most peoples bodies look like this building by middle-age... it doesn't need to be this way!

I realize that the word “disease” is thrown around all to easily in this world, usually in order to give people a reason to take yet more pills and medication but I truly believe that aging is actually a disease that is acquired through lifestyle… let me explain.

What is aging and its cause?

Aging is slow, progressive process, caused by cellular degradation, DNA replication errors (mutations) and general “damage” however you wish to define it within a living organism. It cannot be stopped nor reversed but it can be slowed down with proper lifestyle choices. Let me repeat, aging CANNOT be stopped or reversed regardless of how many products out there state otherwise.

What are factors that increase the rate of aging?

There are a number of things one can do to avoid “getting old before your time” and here is a quick list, there are many more but this should give you an idea of what needs modifying in your life to prevent the acquisition of this aging disease.

Stress

Having a crazy, burn the candle at two ends lifestyle is one of the quickest manners to age yourself. Now, there is good stress and bad stress, worrying about your finances is BAD stress while putting stress on your body physically (within reason) is GOOD stress. I have seen numerous studies directly linking stress and aging… this is probably the biggest thing you need to get a handle on within your life… luckily, it’s also the easiest to change in your life. Other things you can do which stress your body include drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking (pick your poison), taking drugs (legal or otherwise within reason) and a host of other mental, physical choices we put ourselves through on a daily basis.

Food

A typical western diet heavy on meats and low on vegetables / fruits is a great way to not only increase your incidence of bowel related conditions but also a great way to stress all your internal organs (BAD stress) leading to pre-mature aging. You ARE what you eat, no if, ands or buts about it and the sooner you realize that every little piece of food you shove in your mouth plays a very active role in your bodies ability to fight disease, stay healthy and do as you tell it to, the better you will be.

Genetics

Genetics is the ONE factor you have relatively little control over, but as Dean Ornish has found, you can actually, through lifestyle, change to a certain extent, your genetic predispositions. Let me repeat, the genes you where born with aren’t necessarily the ones you end up dying with, thanks to lifestyle choices. This is a MAJOR discovery and one that really got me excited, the body renews itself completely every 7 years, take every opportunity to make sure that while this process is occurring that you are smarter, stronger and healthier than the day before.

(see previous article: TEDTalks: Dean Ornish – activity leads to longer, healthier life!)

Acquired Diseases, Viruses and Infections

A very quick way to age and possibly die way before your time is the acquisition of diseases, viruses and infections, no matter how benign, they will play a role in your lifespan. There are extreme virus like the Ebola Virus which has a very bad survival rate once acquired but viruses like AIDS (HIV-1, HIV-2), with proper medication and genetic profile, mean a shortened but not as dramatic “hitting of the brick wall”. You can get a (bacterial) staph infection which quickly goes away with proper antibiotics or get it on your joints (arthritis) which limit your mobility. Basically, acquiring any common or otherwise diseases, viruses or infections do play a role, so try to avoid them if you can.

So why is aging a disease that is acquired?

I think aging is a disease that is acquired through lifestyle choices in that there are two types of aging, natural and unnatural. Natural is the general process of aging, unnatural is doing such things as watching TV all day on the couch drinking beer and eating potato chips. There is nothing natural in eating artificial foods, our bodies are NOT made for it anymore than living a sedentary life is… these are completely unnatural things for us to do and this is how we acquire unnatural aging along with the diseases they play a very large role in developing. The only reason many people are able to live such a long time while abusing their bodies is due to the medical advances that have come with living in a modern civilization… otherwise, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of older folks keeled over on a more regular basis. Our bodies are made to run, hunt, seek and discover, not sit around waiting for our next meal to come out of microwave.

The Bottom Line

Aging is a disease if brought upon by bad lifestyle choices.