The human survival instinct prods us to outlast afflictions and, if circumstances permit, to reach old age. Nothing, of course, could be more quintessentially natural than aging. Physician Andrew Weil gives his views on healthy longevity in which older people come to accept the challenges and discover the rewards of aging, plus a look at Okinawa home to the highest percentage on earth of people who live to be 100.

Themes

• How does one’s diet today effect potential illness in old age?
• What is the secret behind Okinawan’s old age?
• What are the health-giving benefits of social connectedness?
• What are the components of a healthy attitude for people to develop around aging?

I think there are rewards that come with aging. I look to areas of our experience where we see that aging creates value and I use examples of cheese, trees and then think about what the correspondences are in human life.”

—Dr. Andrew Weil