No tobacco BMI <30 Low-risk alcohol consumption +7 years

BMI <30

My father fasted on carrot juice and water when I was a boy. After fasting, the appetite was all the greater. He ran a mile a day around the Vasasjöarna in Bjärsgård and rode an exercise bike with dumbbells every morning. But Dad’s appetite for home-cooked food was slightly more significant than the calories lost in exercise. Reaching the correct weight is like balancing time and space - the shadow side ying and the sun side yang.

Running a mile is challenging but only adds a small chocolate bar to calorie consumption. For a 250 g chocolate bar, you have to run 2 miles. When you start working, you learn the value of money and how hard it is to earn enough to achieve what you dream of.

Likewise, when you start running, you learn the value of calories and realize that a half-mile run is only enough for 60g of chips. There are not enough hours in the day, and the body needs to be robust and injury-free enough to work out kilos upon kilos of fat. Combine exercise and diet, and 1+1 = 3.

I reached my ideal BMI, which scientists believe is the best for living a long time – 21.7. I lost 86 to 75 kilos by eating only vegetables and fruit for a month. Now, the weight is stable as the body gets to rest from food 16 hours a day.

Muscle weighs more than fat, so don’t stare mindlessly at the weight. Stand on a body analysis scale (free at the gym) and measure how much of the body consists of muscle, bone mass, water, visceral fat around organs, etc.

I have a scale from Tanita that shows my metabolic age, which is fifteen years younger than the age in my passport, so Tanita is the gadget that gives me the best confidence. It motivates and shows the gradual effect of strength training and fat transformation into muscle. Being underweight and overweight are just as significant health risks, so strive for balance.

Effect: The proportion of overweight (higher BMI than 25 according to WHO) in Sweden is 56.4%. It is usually said that Sweden is ten years behind the USA - so let’s look at its numbers:

In 2018, 42.4% of US adults were obese (BMI +30), and another 30.7% were overweight (BMI 25-29.9). Overall, more than two-thirds of American adults in the United States are overweight or obese. 73.1% of American adults were overweight.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

In 2019, the medical cost of obesity in the United States was $173 billion annually. The US spends the most on healthcare worldwide – yet life expectancy is falling, and health is deteriorating. With 3,868 kcal consumed per day per person in the USA, when the recommendation is 2,000 calories for females and 2,500 calories for males, the equation does not add up...

I had the privilege of meeting Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen at the Karolinska Institutet and interviewing him. He discovered the virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer, and his research contributed to the development of a vaccine in 2006. How can we vaccinate ourselves today with a healthy lifestyle while waiting for research progress?

Avoidance risk factors can prevent 30-50% of cancers. Increase the chance of curing cancer by diagnosing it early and following the doctors’ advice for treatment.

Body Mass Index is the most common way to measure weight. However, it is unsuitable for children, older adults (where it can sometimes be good to have a few extra kilos), and well-trained people with high muscle mass.

BMI below 18.5: Underweight. Pour a lot of olive oil on the food.
BMI 18.5-25: Normal weight. Congratulations – enjoy being in balance.
BMI: 25-29.9: Overweight. Between 25 and 27, there is a moderate risk of ill health. From 27, the risks for diabetes, blood fats, and blood pressure increase. 13 different cancers are linked to overweight and obesity. Reduce calories and increase exercise.
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/obesity/index.htm

BMI: Over 30: Obesity. 4-8% of all cancers are linked to weight too much, which also increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, cholesterol, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and infertility. Obesity makes exercise more difficult and risks knee problems. Each running step has a compressive force on the knees of 7-11 times the body weight. Pull the emergency brake now before a stroke or heart attack does it for you.
https://www.healthline.com/health/obesity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC98570...

Once you’ve reached your target weight, it’s easy to maintain if you weigh yourself every morning. The weight doesn’t have time to derail - but if you wait a month after the Christmas dinner or the summer holidays, a lot has happened. Weigh yourself every morning and let the numbers boost your confidence.

Low-risk consumption of alcohol

It seems that northerners have worse genes for low-risk consumption of alcohol year after year without it turning into risky consumption or abuse. Russians and Scandinavians, unlike the French and Italians, do not seem to be built for just one glass of red.

A long time ago, water was not drinkable, so weak beer was drunk instead - perhaps the genes for alcohol were found there? Finland, Russia, and Sweden are known for brandy worldwide, and the Vikings who once went berserk had not sipped a glass of red once upon a time.

I interviewed professor and WHO director Hanne Tönnesen, an expert on addiction problems. She told me that if you become addicted to alcohol, you can no longer enjoy it; its only purpose is to keep demons and withdrawal at bay. Avoid and prevent alcohol problems so that they never occur. Find out if relatives had alcohol problems - a warning flag that your genetics are extra sensitive. The later in life you try alcohol, the lower the risk of developing addiction.

Effect: 3 million die worldwide per year from alcohol, which causes 200 different diseases and injuries. Alcohol causes 5.3% of all global deaths, and in the 20-39 age group, alcohol causes 13.5% of deaths.

What the researchers consider low-risk consumption of alcohol for women and men is being lowered all the time. In addition, the statistics are clouded when the group that states in studies that they do not drink includes those who previously had problems with alcohol and were then forced to abstain completely.

The World Health Organization WHO wrote in 2023, “No level of alcohol consumption is safe in terms of human health.” That stance came after a 2021 study estimated that light to moderate drinking (1-2 glasses per day) caused 23,300 new cancer cases in the EU in 2017. New guidelines in Canada suggest that more than two glasses per week is a threat to health.

Tip: Don’t fool yourself and others by masquerading your search for the high as an interest in wine tasting or whiskey making. How many people would pay to go non-alcoholic grape juice tasting?

If you can stick to enjoying a glass of red, do so if it brings happiness to your life. If you feel the urge for more, cut your alcohol consumption completely before you develop an addiction that decimates your quality of life and longevity. Alcohol is behind unimaginable sorrows in families, in traffic, violent crimes, accidents, etc.

It is a lifelong struggle to stay sober if you develop an alcohol problem. Whichever flight, club, restaurant, or city you visit in large parts of the world, alcohol is part of the culture and a decisive factor in the economy. Alcohol is advertised in films and media. Throughout life, there are temptations everywhere for those who have become addicted.

Treat yourself to a massage, spa, meditation, yoga, cold bath, golf, or running with the same relaxation and effect as a glass of wine.

No Tobacco

I used to be able to smoke a Cuban cigar on New Year’s Eve, but I haven’t taken a puff after interviewing and spending a day with Professor Mef Nilbert at the South Cancer Center in Lund. I came to realize the differences in survival between different cancers – prostate cancer has an 88% chance, while lung cancer has a 17% chance.

We are rightfully outraged by every individual who dies in war, and 2022 was a 28-year high with 237,000 killed. Fewer are the bills for the unimaginable 8.3 million people who die from tobacco each year – which includes 1.3 million non-smokers who die from second-hand smoke.

22.3% of the world’s population smoked in 2020 – 36.7% of men and 7.8% of women. Tobacco is expected to kill about half of its 1.3 billion users. When there is a cancer that is both highly deadly and stoppable, we must protect ourselves when society fails. How do you protect yourself and your family?

In the 1930s, smoking became the norm in the United States, and a majority of doctors smoked. Tobacco advertising with pictures and quotes from doctors came in the 1950s and was supposed to give reassurance that cigarettes were safe.

As early as June 12, 1957, Surgeon General Leroy Burney declared it as the US Public Health Agency’s official position that the evidence pointed to a causal link between smoking and lung cancer.

Today, millions of people per year die from tobacco in the world - which would not have happened if societies had acted and stopped cigarettes as early as 1957. “The great tragedy is not the brutality of bad people, but the silence of good people,” said Martin Luther King.

Effect: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is the third most common cause of death in the world, with 6% of deaths (up to 80% due to smoking).

Smoking and alcohol are causes of dementia that are now found in 55 million people in the world, and every year, there are 10 million new cases (of which lifestyle factors could prevent 40%). Women are especially vulnerable, and 2/3 of the deaths affect them. Alzheimer’s is behind 6 out of 10 cases of dementia, the world’s seventh leading cause of death.

Cancer accounts for ten million deaths in the world, almost one in six deaths. The most common deaths from cancer are lung 1.8 million, colon and rectum 916,000, liver 830,000, stomach 769,000, and breast 685,000. Around a third of cancer deaths are due to tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high BMI, too little exercise, and low intake of fruits and vegetables.
https://www.alzint.org/about/risk-factors-risk-red...

Tip: If you are a smoker, make it your number 1 life goal to quit by using all available resources. All the billions of people, both living and dead, who have smoked have one thing in common – they all tried tobacco for the first time. Never try tobacco, don’t smoke, and never accept that you are exposed to secondhand smoke. Just say no.