can someone explain this scenario?

C

chmarbeauty

New member
Hello all.

I have a situation that leaves me at a total loss. Every time I turn around, I hear about how important nutrition and lifestyle is. So can someone anyone explain this to me??

Here's the scenario:

Male: Eats a proper diet his entire life, when I say proper, I mean he could be a walking food pyramid, nothing fried, no red meat, very limited on sweets. He makes sure to get at least 30 minutes in of physical activity each day, doesn't smoke or drink, maintains a proper healthy weight all of his adult life. He's educated, intelligent, good friends, good family life, overall happy, good personality, content.

Female: Eats junk consistently every single day, a dozen donuts at one sitting, a gallon of ice cream for a snack, fried foods, fast foods, overweight since her 20's, in the obese range, height 5'2" average adult weight range 220-250 lbs. , extremely sedentary lifestyle, homemaker, 8th grade education, angry and critical personality, doesn't smoke or drink. Unhappy with her life no matter what. She has had high blood pressure and diabetes since the age of 38, refuses to treat with medication and tells the doctors they don't know what they're talking about.

He dies at the age of 68 from cancer. She is still living at the age of 82, she is still unhealthy, she still refuses medication even though her blood sugar is in the dangerous range, same as her BP, and she is still as angry as ever, still overweight.

The only difference between these 2 people is that she takes vitamins every day, he never did. She has said for years that vitamins are what matter, nothing else. I know DNA and your genes have a lot to do with things but in this case, it appears that nutrition and lifestyle have nothing to do with longevity.

Comments??
 
Correlation is not causation.

Cancer is the big unknown. There are things that trigger cancer that have nothing to do with what someone eats or how they exercise. Genetics are huge. External influences, environment, etc., all play into someone getting cancer. The type of cancer is relevant, too.

So the question is immaterial - in terms of "why doesn't being healthy mean you won't get cancer". Because you're trying to make the cancer the scapegoat and it doesn't work that way.
 
genetics!

you've picked the two extremes ends of a spectrum and expect to make a logical relation between them?

of course, both scenarios can and will be expected in the huge pool that mankind is..

but we need to focus on what is more probable to happen, otherwise we should not plan for anything.
 
KaraCooks said:
So the question is immaterial - in terms of "why doesn't being healthy mean you won't get cancer". Because you're trying to make the cancer the scapegoat and it doesn't work that way.
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Ummm I don't remember asking that question, saying cancer is the scapegoat, or saying the above ^ It was put in quotations as if I said that, and I just want to clarify that I did not.

I never said nor assumed that being healthy = you won't get cancer. I realize ANYONE can develop cancer, at any age.

I didn't come here for someone to mix my words up or assume I meant something else.

I was just describing a scenario and I guess it just makes me a little crazy since I'm trying my best to be healthy, live a good lifestyle, and eat properly. I know there are exceptions to every rule, you will always see the most unhealthy person living a long life and the healthiest person develop a horrible disease and die young.

My point of the post is, it's not fair. But then again, who ever said life was fair?
 
wow! The replies here are not what I expected at all!! I didn't realize I was going to come up against such rudeness and hostility to my post!

The 2 people above are my parents. They are people I know. I didn't just randomly pick two people out of nowhere, I should have stated that in my first post. My error. But still.

Like I said above life isn't fair, that was one of my points.

I know genetics are key, in my case I have to wonder how this affects me?

Another point I was trying to make is every time you turn around, TV, radio, magazines, etc., you are told you should do this and you shouldn't do that and my point is .. why bother, if DNA rules then I guess it wouldn't matter much.
 
where was the rudeness and the hostility?

dna is very important. some genes inside your dna though lie dormant, and it is through your actions that you either activate them or not.

look, for example for cannabis-induced psychosis. someone has to have the gene inside them, and if they smoke cannabis they might go into a psychotic episode. if they don't touch cannabis they'll never even know they had the gene!
many other genes work similar to this.

dna is important, but our choices are important as well.

since you cannot control dna, you can try to control your actions.
 
You can't really come to a decision based your limited, extreme example of polar opposite lifestyles.

This query sounds a lot more like a rant instead of a genuine question, but the fact is that larger test groups (larger than 2 people) have shown that a healthier lifestyle should lead to a longer life. Does that mean its guarenteed?

Absolutely not. You try and make good decisions based on research, and hope for the best.
 
mmm I don't remember asking that question,
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The title of your post is "can someone explain this". Further you said in your post: So can someone anyone explain this to me?? If you're not asking the question, then what, exactly, do you want explained???

I never said nor assumed that being healthy = you won't get cancer. I realize ANYONE can develop cancer, at any age.I didn't come here for someone to mix my words up or assume I meant something else.
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Then perhaps you should be more clear in what you want out of a response when the title of your post CLEARLY asks for an explanation.

wow! The replies here are not what I expected at all!! I didn't realize I was going to come up against such rudeness and hostility to my post!
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The only rudeness or hostility here is on your part. You got a couple of clear, concise answers to a question you asked in the title of your thread. Perhaps you need to work on your communication skills if you got responses you don't like.

The 2 people above are my parents. They are people I know. I didn't just randomly pick two people out of nowhere, I should have stated that in my first post. My error. But still.
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What does that have to do with the question you asked?

I know genetics are key, in my case I have to wonder how this affects me?
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If that was what you wanted to know, then you should have asked that.

Another point I was trying to make is every time you turn around, TV, radio, magazines, etc., you are told you should do this and you shouldn't do that and my point is .. why bother, if DNA rules then I guess it wouldn't matter much.
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Again, if you were trying to make a point, then you should have said so. Here you're putting all your eggs in one basket again .. no one has said "DNA rules". It's part of a complex whole - and it varies from person to person.
 
Ok, confuzzledwife/housewife/etc. I get the hostility now, after reading your recent post in another journal. :) It explains a lot.

BTW, people who register and post under 4 different names ... now THOSE people have too much time on their hands. :D

Welcome back.
 
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grrrkgrrrl said:
In! their hands.
learn 2 english.
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I believe it is 'on their hands', actually.


For the OP: it seems like you are looking for some kind of answer, but at the same time, you are loading the question while drastically narrowing the answer set. (vitamins & dna)

First: Cancer happens. It can happen for a number of reasons, and for things completely related to what you outlined from the people above.

Second: I've seen a large number of cases where the 2nd person (the unhealthy one) dies first.

Third: To say that genetics plays such a huge role that anything is pointless is a bit of a sweeping generalization and throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are large number of people with cancer in their families who don't get cancer.

Fourth: Vitamins rarely have anything to do with anything unless a person has a deficiency. To say that vitamins are what kept the other person alive is a but of a cum hoc fallacy. Given that line of reasoning, you could say that since the global mean temperature has risen over the past 2 centuries at mostly the same rate as the number of pirates in the world, that pirates cause global warming (or conversely, global warming causes piracy). Now, I'm sure any rational person will see the absurdity in a statement like that. The same can be applied to your argument.
 
Are you asking why bother having a healthy lifestyle if you could just die young anyway? The answer really is up to you. However - $!&* happens. People who run every day die of heart attacks. Healthy people get hit by cars, trip on steps, get cancer... just like everyone else.

Having a healthy lifestyle improves your chances of long life and health. It doesn't guarantee it. Personally I choose to 'life healthy' because it increases my chances of not having the last days of my life be stuck in a bed with a diaper unable to do the things I enjoy.

You may be lucky and have good genes such that you can eat all the donuts you want and weight 300 lbs and live to be 100 - but you may not. Your call. For me, even if there was no correlation between life span and healthy living, I still feel better being healthy than I did when I was overweight and not exercising.
 
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