Jimmy Carter, non drinker, trim and healthy. lived 100 years.

 

Billy died at 53.

 

"Billy Carter was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 1987 and received unsuccessful treatments for the disease. He died in Plains the following year at age 51, five years after the death of his sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, who also died of pancreatic cancer at age 54."

"Jimmy Carter was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in August 2015 [at age 90]. The cancer had spread from his liver to his brain. He underwent surgery to remove the liver tumor and radiation therapy for the brain lesions. Carter also received immunotherapy with the drug pembrolizumab. In 2016, he announced that he was cancer-free."

Asked why he has escaped the disease for so long while it devastated the rest of his family [Jimmy Carter] blamed smoking. "The only difference between me and my father and my siblings was that I never smoked a cigarette," said Carter, former governor of Georgia and a state senator. "My daddy smoked regularly. All of them smoked."

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Plus probably a good few other healthy lifestyle choices. 🙂 

Hook

When it's time, it's time.

Best we can hope for is a quick and painless exit and that's where lifestyle choices may help. Choosing a "healthy" lifestyle with hopes of achieving triple figures is pretty meaningless.

 

Plus, to be fair remember Jimmy as an ex President had access to the top medical care available. Think back, most ex POTUS who died of natural causes lived long.

One of my favorite historical hero’s ole Winnie Churchill lived till his eighties in spite of his ever present cigar and affection for brandy, and judging his physique I don’t think he was a Richard Simons fan. The old fellow did have a very rough and tumble life in his early years in the British Army, not to mention several accidents like being run over by a taxi cab in New York City. Tough old bird.

The question is:  who died happy? 🙂

6 hours ago, speedyTC said:

Best we can hope for is a quick and painless exit

Cartoon with Fairy Godmother.

"All right, a quick and painless death. What is your second wish, Mr. Hoskins? ... Mr. Hoskins??"

Hook

🤣

Nah life is surreal, the saying 'Only the good dye young' is very real'

My Grandfather on my fathers side was an officer WW2, ran the beaches on D-Day, didn't get home until 1949 because his words 'I couldn't leave until the last man went home'

He drank heavily and smoked like a chimney and had all kinds of PTSD issues that were never realized through those years, and refused anything to do with Health Care. He died in his den at 85 years old surrounded by portraits of all his family framed on the wall, his record player and his small black and white TV. He always said he would die in his favourite chair in that den surrounded by his family as he did.

You could take care of your life to great extents and get hit by a bus, but yea this was a guy that ran the beaches on D-Day, was drunk every day by noon and smoked like a chimney, and went out at 85 on his terms. it is what it is, make your choices sometimes it doesn't make a difference anyways 

What do "death" and a "toilet" have in common?

When you gotta go, you gotta go!!

Actually, the number one contributing factor to death is...

 

Life.

😁

First, I believe that 90% of one's life span and overall health is influenced by genetic makeup over which one has no control.  Only the other 10% can be influenced by good diet, exercise, not smoking, etc.  I've seen people who never exercised a day in their life, didn't eat very healthy, or smoked for 40 years, live to be 85+ years old with no major health problems.

As far as Presidents and other "elites", well, they have access to the most expensive and advanced medical treatments on Earth, the kind that 99% of us little people could never get, which extend their lifespan.  It's not a coincidence that these high-level govt. people and other very wealthy people for the most part live to a very ripe old age.

Dave

2 hours ago, dave2013 said:

First, I believe that 90% of one's life span and overall health is influenced by genetic makeup over which one has no control. 

 

25% is genetic, Dave, according to this article.

 

Quote

The study of longevity genes is a developing science. It is estimated that about 25 percent of the variation in human life span is determined by genetics, but which genes, and how they contribute to longevity, are not well understood.

 

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/longevity/#:~:text=The study of longevity genes,longevity%2C are not well understood.

10 minutes ago, martin-w said:

which genes, and how they contribute to longevity, are not well understood.

The key phrase.

So we have a low estimate of 25% and a high of 90%, and it's likely somewhere in between. Average the two and 55-60% is influenced by genetics. Seems reasonable.

My parents had a cat that lived 22 years, dying within 12 hours of my father even though they were 80 miles apart at the time. Most cats don't make it quite that far. This doesn't seem like it's due to lifestyle choices.

Hook

I wonder if sometimes they are crediting physical genetics with what may be more socially influenced habits and lifestyle. I’ve noticed overweight children tend to have overweight parents, college educated parents tend more to have children finish college along with other things influenced by upbringing.