By Ezekiel J. Emanuel | The Wall Street Journal
My father didn’t meditate, didn’t track his steps or explicitly “exercise,” and never once uttered the word “mindfulness.” Yet he lived to 92, dying at home after a very short bout with brain cancer, having been visited by his children and 11 grandchildren in the 10 days between diagnosis and death. And my mom is still going strong at 92. She still has her sense of humor and her political engagement but no “diseases that will kill her,” as she puts it.
I have spent my professional life studying what makes people live healthier and longer. I have analyzed data sets on longevity the world over and reviewed hundreds of clinical studies. I have heard numerous new claims about supplements, diets and tech devices that are supposed to extend life. But nothing I have read in the scientific literature explains longevity better than the lives of my incorrigibly social parents, Benjamin and Marsha Emanuel.
My father was a pediatrician who spoke five languages and was comfortable talking to anyone and everyone. In the melting pot that was Chicago, immigrant parents brought their children to him because he always found a way to communicate with them and care for their children, often for free. He routinely talked to strangers, offering suggestions based on his well-honed diagnostic skills.
