I have completed day seven of the Longevity Diet.  I was unable to blog the last couple of days because of technical difficulties I encountered while visiting my father in California.  I went there to celebrate my father’s 80th - and likely last - birthday.  After we sang happy birthday, he said, “well, it looks like I made it but I was hoping to have more”.  He is losing his battle against prostate cancer and he knows it. 

I agree with the notion expressed in the Longevity Diet that it takes us so long to learn how to live we need to live longer so we can put to good use all that we’ve learned.  I know that 80 years does not seem long enough for my father’s life.  His mind is as sharp as a tac, he is so full of life and he has finally become comfortable being expressive with his love.  He is not ready to die; his eyes well up with tears when we talk about death.  We both know it won’t be long now and our hearts ache together. 

I can say the same for my mother as well.  At age 75 I enjoy her more than ever.  She is a lot more easy going than she was as a young mother and her sense of humor is as delightful as ever.  I appreciate what she said to me recently when I told her about some of my concerns for my own children.  She said, “Linda, stop worrying about your children.  I have been worrying for 50 years and it hasn’t done a bit of good!”  Now that put things into perspective.

For the most part I was able to keep my calorie count down through portion control during my visit.  I wasn’t about to refuse the cookies, or the enchiladas or the cake and ice cream.  These were foods that required a lot of effort on my step-mother’s part so I allowed myself to partake without going over board.

I revisited the Longevity Diet book tonight to make sure I am getting it right and it appears that I am.  This is not a book of extremes but rather it promotes substituting highly nutritious foods for the usual junky ones and to gradually decrease your calories over time.  This is easy enough.  What isn’t easy is tracking all of the nutrients as the book suggests.  Tonight I attempted to download a free demo of software that is supposed to be a companion to the book and make it easier to keep track of everything you eat.  The problem was that the download didn’t work.  Consequently I was unwilling to pay $35 for the full version for fear of losing my money.  I think I will stick with my plan of building my own menus with highly nutritious foods that are known to have either high ORAC values or other important nutrients such as certain vitamins and minerals. 

So how long is long enough?  I’m not sure but I do know that 80 is too young.  Your thoughts?