Resolution 2017: Outlive your life expectancy

While driving in the car yesterday with my husband Joe, we got on the topic of life expectancy and what are the leading causes of death. This conversation was triggered because all we hear at the beginning of a new year on the TV, radio and social media is how to lose weight. Join this gym that you won’t step foot in after March.. because it gets old and boring. Eat these crazy new foods that will cause your stomach to melt away.. all you have to do is breath. Probably not going to happen.Like many, my mind went right to cancer. But boy was I wrong.. Cardiovascular disease is the number one leading cause of death! Yikes!! Over Christmas break, we were inundated by the news with so much sadness regarding Carrie Fisher and George Michael and how their lives were cut short due to heart complications.

Ok people, we need to make this stop! Our hearts are the center of our being and everything we do flows from this magical, beautiful and mystifying organ.

The top 10 causes of death according to WebMD:

Heart disease (23.4% of all deaths)
Cancer (22.5%)
Chronic lung diseases (5.6%)
Accidents (unintentional injuries; 5.2%)
Stroke (5.1%Alzheimer’s disease (3.6%)
Diabetes (2.9%)
Influenza and pneumonia (2.1%)
Kidney disease (1.8%)
Suicide (1.6%)

 
Joe and I discussed our grandma’s and what amazing women they were and what great lives they had. His grandma Martha Murphy is 99 years young and will celebrate her 100th birthday on 4-1-17. My grandma Darlene lived to be 90 which is amazing seeing as how the US life expectancy is 78.8 years!! No way. That means I only have 38 more years to have fun! Not going to happen.