If you’re like me, you may be wondering whether or not our human pursuit of longevity has suddenly been displaced by a quest for immortality. No doubt, you’ve been reading a lot recently about the miraculous heart benefits of red wine (resveratrol), the extraordinary memory retention benefits of coffee (caffeine), and the countless benefits of a horde of natural supplements that, in one way or another, promise to reduce or prevent all known causes of mortality.

To begin with, let me make it unquestionably clear that I unwaveringly believe that certain~particular things that we put into our bodies can be beneficial to our health. Therefore, I’m definitely not opposed to taking supplements. Not only do I recommend them to my patients, but take them myself. Secondly, if confession is good for the soul, and red wine is good for the heart, then I’d like to take this opportunity to help both by stating for the record that I appreciate drinking a glass of red wine. The suggestion that it might have heart-healthy properties, well, that’s like icing on the cake, so to speak. And, lastly, as far as caffeine’s ability to actually reverse or prevent Alzheimer’s disease goes, I believe that if that were generally true, life would be far less frightening and far more enjoyable for many people and their families.

But, let’s pause and consider the prudence of aimlessly adding an extra cuppa to your breakfast routine, drinking more red wine with dinner, or plunking down a pile of cash on high-priced minerals and herbs that guarantee near-immortality.

For example, let us think about the fact that we, humans, are dynamic, biological beings, free to uniquely interact with life. We have not been detained in a cage, and none of us has been “propagated” to artificially develop the age-related debilitation and disease that lab animals are bred to do, conditions that are then “reversed” by resveratrol, caffeine, or some exotic herb.

Essentially, our being dynamic and biological means that we are not “robots,” and that we are more than the sum total of our parts. We are each biologically unique in certain ways, that is, we respond differently to internal stimulating factors and external instigating influences. For example, though generally, smoking cigarettes is harmful, there is a small minority of people who appear to be able to smoke and live to be ninety years old without any obvious ill effects.

The results upon which scientific research and testing are rely upon the isolation of a particular variable. It is this method that gives scientific inquiry its legitimacy. However, because tests related to human health issues occur through this very method, and are most often done on lab animals, when it comes to human beings, the effects are very likely to be quite different. In fact, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, what might benefit some of the people all of the time, most likely won’t work for all of the people all of the time (and sometimes won’t work at all!).

You make choices each day, some that are intentional and others that may be indifferent, that will affect your physical health, now and in the future. You decide what (and how much) you’ll eat and drink, and the amount of physical activity and rest you’ll get. Even though you can “sense” what is healthy for you, by the way your body responds, sometimes, perhaps too often, you may override the feedback. Clearly, when you don’t consciously make healthy choices, you jeopardize your health and longevity.

Then you, like many others, may enthusiastically jump on the bandwagon of the latest report that announces that researchers have uncovered THE VERY THING that has the potency to reverse all of the excessive and unhealthy things you have been doing to your body on a routine basis! Talk about wishful thinking!

The elegantly balanced system of your body (homeostasis) is highly responsive and intricate. This delicate system becomes “off balance” when you live an unhealthy lifestyle. Eventually, the imbalances nurtured through poor health choices, result in diseases.

As a chiropractor, I advise that you supplement if you need it. Pour that added cup of coffee if it feels right. And, have a little more red wine if it genuinely feels beneficial for your individual system. But all the while remember, the only truly reliable way that we, humans, can avoid or reverse age-related health issues is by changing our unhealthy lifestyle. Good health has nothing do with luck. And, there is no “magic potion” when it comes to health and longevity.

Dr. Jamie Phillips, a Santa Barbara Chiropractor, has been in private chiropractic practice for 24 years. She is also a consultant for Bloczone Marketing, a chiropractic internet marketing company specializing in chiropractic websites that attract new patients. She can be reached at (805) 882-1956.

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