Study: Too much red meat may shorten lifespan

[The Genealogist]

75. Might portion control have anything to do with it?

Two of my grandparents lived to be near 90. My dad's dad couldn't understand how people drank so much soda. Soda was usually a Saturday afternoon treat. He never ate large meals, and he was a letter carrier for years, and remained quite active after retirement too, with much travel and activities such as canoeing and fishing. My mother's mother never ate large meals. She rarely even finished a burger, fries and drink when she ate them, and that was with 70s and 80s sized portions, not the ultra-jumbo sized meals fast food places serve. They both ate plenty of veggies, but they did eat what is today considered unhealthy foods; they just at LESS of it. My other two grandparents died at younger ages, but one had cancer, the other what seems to be a hereditary heart condition. My parents didn't live to very advanced ages, but both had cancer. They both ate more food, too.

At the same time, I can look at what fretting about health does to people, too. A cousin of my mother's with whom I'm close has blood pressure issues, cancer, nerves. He spends many hours at the doctor, and swallows meds all day long. I think at least part of his problem is that news and some health practitioners have kept him ratcheted up with nerves over the years, which contributes to his poor health. He frets over nearly everything he puts in his mouth because "a study" said this or "TV Doctor so-and-so" said that.