At age 65 or older, 25.9% of Americans will have Diabetes. Unless more of us change our diet, I expect that percentage will grow. (With so many crazy fad diets offered to us, it should be said that we must change our diet in a sensible way.)
At an early age, I became aware of how unpleasant it was to "get old" from seeing what my parents and grandparents were going through. I started working at an early age to create a healthy old age. Diabetes was prominent on both sides of my family tree. Even though we ate generally healthy by today's standards, dessert was one of our favorite part of our meals.
Some obvious things, such as smoking tobacco, will wreck your health if you do them long enough. Being obese is another preventable factor that ages us. One of the most insidious dangers to our health -- I believe -- is the habit of going to the doctor often, which usually leads to taking a lot of medications and vaccinations, as if these things will make us healthy.
Another statistic for you to consider: 86% of Americans 65 or older have at least one chronic disease: Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, COPD, Asthma, Cancer, or Arthritis. Women had more than men in each category of "one or more chronic diseases", "two or more", and "three or more".
I'm sorry to bring up a subject most of us would rather not think about. There is a huge benefit in thinking about this -- and doing something about it -- as early as possible. I give thanks every day for my good health, but it is something we all must earn, it's not due to luck!
Finding a knowledgeable, trustworthy source of health information is critical. Health is really very simple, but the average MD, who doesn't consider our food important, doesn't have a clue. Find a good Naturopath, like Dr. Wallach!