The Big Five: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life by Dr. Sanjiv Chopra

I believe we need to keep an open mind in life with everything we approach. This book is one of those. When anyone tells me to do something specific in order to live longer, not that it happens everyday, I don’t jump all in. I instead seek to understand, remain open to the facts and my own experiences, assess and reflect on my own thoughts and assumptions, and then decide on what beliefs I will create.

Dr. Chopra shares five things that we can all do to extend our lives. The include drinking coffee, taking vitamin D, exercising, eating nuts, and meditating. If you have experience with any one of these, you will likely to be able to draw your own conclusions as to the benefits they have in your life. If you are not familiar you may just make assumptions based on your current knowledge level and thoughts. If that is the case this book makes for a very insightful read.

It might sound like I am blowing this book off, I am not. I really enjoyed this read and with my hand on my heart openly admit I have started drinking more coffee as a consequence, and perhaps a few more nuts. In no way does this book promote excess. Actually excess will really be determined by your current level of intake. If you currently drink 10 cups of coffee a day then Dr. Chopra’s view that 4-6 may be beneficial may cause you to reduce your intake. On exercise also, he doesn’t claim that the more exercise you do the better off you are but that just doping exercise will be beneficial.

Discover your Hidden Why – Jump on the Discovery Call

Dr. Chopra has included much research and studies that help support his case. Most of them make sense to me and some I still have questions. I also know that you can find research for just about anything you want to prove and while in this book facts support the claims what about the research that does not, there is plenty of that out there. This is why you have to, as your greatest guide, generate your own beliefs on it all. This will be developed and the longer we experience life and continue to learn, the wiser we become.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

• Society has created a funny way of dealing with health. Too many of us believe that if we partake in healthy related things or activities that we will be healthier, perhaps even live longer. We don’t consider all the unhealthy behaviours of our life with much thought. Regardless of the benefits of this 5 things that Dr. Chopra discusses, if you don’t have your back yard clean, these things will account for jack squat.

Sanjiv actually illustrates this when he talks about drinking coffee. While the evidence says that coffee has many great health benefits these can be all countered by how we drink it. It is often not the coffee that is the issue but what we put in it. I would also think the source, how far and for what length its travelled will have impact.

On coffee, I say drink it and drink it black. Yes, it’s a drug but so are many foods and behaviours. Know yourself and how you react and handle it and drink accordingly. Just because Sanjiv drinks 4 cups it doesn’t mean this is best for us all.

• Vitamin D is one of the few supplements I take and have been doing so for a while now. It is the one supplement that I hear many experts recommended as ‘the one’ to take, if any. I have never heard any counter arguments for these benefits and for that I really take it without question.

Despite the copious amounts of research referred to in this book if you understand where our main source of it comes from and how our lives have evolved, taking it makes sense. Being that our lives are spent mostly indoors than that of our ancestors and that the Sun is our Vitamin D source it is easy to see why majority of society is deficient in D.

If you can’t spend the required amount of time in the Sun everyday than take some Vitamin D. I have taken many supplements in experiment and Vitamin D is one of the remaining few, next to magnesium, and Vitamin C.

• Exercise is good for us. We all know this, right? If you exercise you will be healthier and that will allow you to go on to live a longer healthier life. The problem that we as society face is that we believe that if we exercise everything else will work itself out. I see people going straight from the gym to the donut shop. Fucking pointless – I too am guilty.

Health is multi-dimensional. Exercise is good when combined with good eating and a balanced diet. To me the million dollar questions is what is the best diet for us? In my knowledge there is no simple answer and not one diet fits us all. You have to experiment and find what works best for you. Exercise is great but not if you are eating Macdonald’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Eat nuts. I love nuts so this one is easy for me to say yes to. To back my own confidence in this is that it’s a natural food source and when eaten in its most natural form it must be good for us. My thoughts on diet are that if its natural and unprocessed the body is going to be able to deal with it and in the process take away any associated benefits.

Dr. Chopra says to go nuts! Like most thing moderation is a key player even when it comes to those things that are good for us. He shares the qualities that make nuts so good for us is plus the research and support that back up the benefits.

• Finally, Dr. Chopra tells us to meditate. He himself found medication 30 years ago and has never looked backed. He shares the benefits to him personally as well has the new science that is starting to really highlight the greatness of meditation.

As a personally guinea pig to meditation I decided to join the hype a couple of years ago and now do it almost without fail daily. This is one that you can only really discover with time and practice. Actually like most of these 5 things no effects are immediately discovered. Yet unlike the others meditation is one that is in my experience the hardest to adopt into our lifestyles.

This is most likely because it is the most unfamiliar to us. We have all been conditioned from a young age on the benefits of exercise but there was never a class in school on meditation. It is also quite difficult for most of us to sit still and in efforts to be silent in the mind even for 5 minutes. Making the expectation associated to the practice a cause why many of us don’t give meditation a fair go.

After time however you will see and notice the benefits and it is likely others around you will also. Meditation calms the mind. In this chaotic world we live this is powerful stuff and has been practiced in the east for thousands of years. Meditation helps build your attention, awareness, focus and brings you to be more centred to the present moment. Living more presently for me has bought me greater happiness. Try it, it’s surprising how good it actually is.

In conclusion, this book is a great read with many great factual insights. If you can only learn one thing, and you will, its well worth the read. I believe strongly that you cannot take all that you read as gospel. You have to experience and create your own awareness and assumptions and do what works for you. This book is not a ticket to a longer life, while these particular things may help, there are so many other things that need to be considered. Very enjoyable read, to the point, insightful and with the ultimate focus on health.

If this book sounds of interest you can purchase The Big Five: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life here.

Please leave your thoughts, comments & questions below.

Peace, passion and purpose…

Other books by of interest…

                   

Discover your Hidden Why – Jump on the Discovery Call and take your life to the level you desire it to be. In this free coaching call, valued at $250, discover what it takes to start living you life with greater passion & purpose. Do you want more freedom, fulfilment and happiness? Let me show you how. Limited spots available!