AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019 - 26

FLY WELL

Celestial objects

BY DR. JONATHAN M. SACKIER

How to not become one
OUMUAMUA, HAWAIIAN FOR "SCOUT," arrived from
beyond our solar system and has now passed through
our neighborhood. Whether a dusty comet, a planetary remnant-or, as astrophysicist Avi Loeb proposed,
an element of an alien spacecraft-we shall probably
never know. Everyone surely prefers to continue flying
powered by reciprocating engines rather than following Oumuamua on angels' wings. Inherited genes play
a major role defining your time keeping the dirty side
down, but there are many steps you can take to influence the length of your healthy years.
Keeping the fuel lines clear: Let's start with taking steps. I wrote an article ("Fly Well: Off We Go Into
the Wild Blue Yonder," October 2016 AOPA Pilot) that
focused on Blue Zones-locations where longevity and

Inherited genes play a major role defining your
healthy years, but there are many steps you can
take to influence your healthspan.

DR. JONATHAN
SACKIER is an expert

in aviation medical
concerns and helps
members with their
needs through the
AOPA Pilot Protection Services plan.
(www.aopa.org/
pps)

26 | AOPA PILOT April 2019

robust good health are the norm. I addressed similarities
between Sardinian highlands, Loma Linda, California,
and Okinawa, Japan. Although people in Okinawa live
longer than elsewhere, and tend to have less chronic disease, they do not exercise as is generally recommended
in America. Rather, they do frequent, low-impact work
such as walking regularly, and occasionally stretch their
physical limits. Grandmothers climb up and down stairs,
garden, and stroll with friends. Just stretch your legs regularly, and occasionally push the limits; that will help
keep your fuel lines (arteries) clear. Your airplane likes
to be used; so does your body.
Cleared for the option: My chosen option is to do
physical activity only on the days I eat-and, believing
in efficiency, I exercise my brain listening to podcasts
of TED Talks while keeping my aging airframe fit with
a routine of runs and other workouts. Here's a checklist
for you: Document your daily activities and all you eat
and drink, and then consider alternatives. One option
is to walk while on phone calls, another is to choose
healthy snacks. We all know our emergency procedures; follow this recommendation and minimize your
risks of being the subject of one.
Attitude: A bad attitude can lead to a deathly spiral while flying. The same is true when not flying.
Isabel Allende, the Chilean author, gave a wonderful

TED Talk on living life with passion, pointing out that
our attitude is a potent influencer on how we feel and
whether we thrive. As my very wise 20-year-old son
recently reminded me, "Whether you think you will
fail, or succeed, you are right."
Flaps: We know flaps increase lift or drag, and
that it's a drag if you walk into one. But there are other
ways to get into a flap, an expression meaning bent out
of shape. (You, not the flap.) There is so much attention today on the word "working," such as: "Are you
still working on that steak, sir?" I am not working, I
am eating. Working is a verb applied to the prosecution of one's employment or avocation. Working out?
What's going out? Don't do things that might ensure
you are the best-looking corpse in the graveyard: taking steroids, unproven dietary supplements that might
carry cardiovascular risk, pushing the limits, and risking injuries and other negative consequences. You may
not want to look like a Sardinian granny, but you might
want to be as healthy as she is.
Undercarriage: A good landing that leaves aircraft and occupants undamaged relies on a diligent
and attentive pilot, a headwind, smooth pavement,
and good tires. So it is with sneakers, the one exercise item where expense is justified. Get fitted for good
shoes at a dedicated running shop, even if you only
use them to walk from car to hangar. Poor support can
induce painful and debilitating foot, calf, knee, and hip
issues. Tires need to be replaced regularly, so do shoes;
cracked rubber tricycle gear suggests a change, same
goes for your shoes.
Nextgen: Revolutionary avionics, more efficient
engines, and other advances will change flying for the
better and keep airplanes aloft longer. But what about
us? Biologist Cynthia Kenyon and others took a humble
worm, loftily named Caenorhabditis elegans, and fiddled
with its genes, first doubling its lifespan, then lengthening it even further. And these senior worms were not
in the nursing home-if they were 300-year-old people,
they would be skiing. Could the fountain of youth be
that accessible? Aubrey de Grey, a colorful researcher
from Cambridge University, believes so and has suggested that the first humans to live 1,000 years have
already been born. That's a lot of flight time and, if true,
life insurance is going to be a dying business.
AOPA
EMAIL DrJonathanSackier@gmail.com

http://www.aopa.org/pps

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019

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