Everyone gets sick, don’t they? Not according to health writer Gene Stone, author of “The Secrets Of People Who Never Get Sick.”
“I’ve written many books and talked to many people during the course of that, and I started to notice that some people just never got sick,” Stone says of his inspiration. “I started to learn their secrets.” Such healthy folks — who fend off everyday illnesses as well as the biggies like diabetes, heart disease and dementia — are a rarity, though, he admits.
“There aren’t that many, but there are some people who led lifestyles that prevented illness. Most of these people were lucky to have good genes, but a good deal of it was to do with their diet,” he says.
And Stone adds that there’s a less tangible element to good health, too: attitude.
“Psychoneuroimmunology studies show the relationship between the psyche and health,” he says. “Attitude and emotions have an enormous impact on your long-term health.” So think positive for a health boost.
The secrets
Stone picked out a few of his 25 secrets that he says are simple to do every day.
Eat raw garlic: “Garlic has been a natural antibiotic and antioxidant since the Egyptian times,” he says.
Eat a plant-based diet: “I went vegan four years ago and my HDL [good cholesterol] went up and LDL [bad cholesterol] went down.”
Take cold showers: “These bolster your mood and your immune system.”
Nap: “You need seven to eight hours [of] sleep, but not all at once. A 20-minute nap increases your lifespan.”
