Dr. Plasker's 100 Year Lifestyle

Dr. Plasker Gold’s Gym Poughkeepsie NY January 7, 2009
I was invited to hear a Chiropractor speak on aging health hosted at Gold’s Gym because I am a Medical Social Worker. Gold’s Gym on Titusville Road is a monolith of health and fitness, a city complete with a health bar! Dr. Plasker is an ordinary looking man, who appears friendly and energetic. Plasker starts his discussion giving the audience a very vivid description of a scenario that occurred in his office involving a 96 year old patient named Max. Max was the typical elderly person in America: Medically afflicted, broke financially and alone. Dr. Plasker works with Max and in time, Max responds to the healing of human touch. I won’t go further into the story as I do not want to give it all away.
What I will say is Dr. Plasker uses Max as a springboard to dive into his lecture. As I was listening I wondered what nationality Max was and as I looked around the room of my fellow attendees, there was not very much diversity present - once again I could count the number of persons of color on one hand. Let me continue...
Dr. Plasker goes onto provide statistics on the elderly: There are 85,000 century centurarians (those who are over 100 years old) in the United States - this age group is the fastest growing. Why? Technology and advances in medical science: very few people work in hard manual labor as our ancestors did and the advances of medical technology produced education/awareness of what can keep a person healthy - this knowledge was not available twenty years ago. The United States is 45th in the world of being healthy! This ranking is outrageous!
Dr. Plasker goes onto to rant that genetics has nothing to do with getting to be 100 years old, it is a person’s quality of life and lifestyle that promotes longevity (30% genetics - 70% lifestyle) Whoa! Tell that to my grandmother’s both maternal and paternal who never smoke nor drank, and both of these women were quite vigorous in active lifestyles; both of these women died of diseases that did not reflect a non-caring lifestyle. My grandmother’s died of stress triggered diseases that was culturally induced. There are very health conscious people that I have encountered in my profession that have done all the right things and STILL got that cancer, heart attack and even AIDS diagnosis. Dr. Plasker says we rely upon genetics as a method of explanation for health outcomes and what should be focused upon is fitness, eating healthy and having good relationships in all areas of life. Well, lets tell that to the 20 year old who has to undergo a double masctectomy because she is genetically disposed to the most virulent form of breast cancer there is. My ire was up!
While I already had my disagreements with Dr. Plasker - I tried my best to remain optimistic and hear the rest of what he had to say: True, the concept of aging has been acted upon as a person being sedentary and removed from society. The most successful elders I have encountered are still employed, part time or full, volunteer in their community and they are their own health managers: they watch what they eat and exercise regularly- these people take care of themselves. Only in America are the elderly discarded in the fashion they are - I could not agree with him more. Dr. Plasker also recommends that everyone visit a nursing home to get the picture of the elderly in America. Is it a blessing or a curse to possess this knowledge to extend life when Americans do not value nor address the elderly population adequately?
Dr. Plasker so far STILL did not include the diversity factor in his discussion - I listened on: Crisis Motivation was the next discussion - Dr. Plasker recommends that we should not get to that point in order to realize and embrace health living. True - but today most people live in crisis and unfortunately, our health care system is a reactive one - not a proactive one. Dr. Plasker asked the audience if they would like it if their physicians embraced this model of practice and of course everyone agreed. I am not sure if anyone else in the audience remembers medical history: how - Chiropractors were greatly ostracized and discredited by Medical Physicians. Also, there is the profit concept: there isn’t any money in healthy people: imagine if the world were healthy - where would all the doctors and nurses go? The pharmaculticals? (Drugs)
How would hospitals and care centers survive? If life is extended how will morticians stay in business? How will any of these entities I have mentioned make a profit? The entire model would have to shift in order to make a profit.
Speaking of profit - Dr. Plasker gave quite a bit of his talk pitching Gold’s Gym, energy drinks and work out machines - I am sure some of these have endorsed his book. Even Jack LaLane was also pitched as he endorses Dr. Plasker’s book. All pitching aside , Dr. Plasker had more to say: "Take your head out of the sand when it comes to your health, your life! Change is easy - thinking about change is hard - draw a line in the sand. Change comes one choice at a time - Think progress, not perfection - do not compromise. Quality starts with you making changes so make changes compelling. Approach change with ideal in mind to live to be 100 years old!"
Dr. Plasker also states: "We are blessed with a inherited amount of energy and we misdirect this energy." I fully agree and unfortunately the media and societal norms contribute to this misdirection. Yes, we must direct our energy to be positive and productive. Dr. Plasker believes we can direct our energy expression of our genes. To do this, take a sheet of paper and fold it in the middle on the left make the title Energy Drainers on the right side make the title Energy Enchanters - make this list for a full day. Start to substitute the energy drainers with the energy enchanters - in other words, replace the positive with the negative.
Dr. Plasker believes we are killing ourselves with food and a sedentary attitude. I agree but, I also think Americans have an attitude of not being satisfied. Go to Sam’s , BJ’s or Costcos and you will see people with multiple cartloads of food. We don’t need that much. We also don’t need the huge houses or automobiles either. The newest addiction - flat screen televisions: you have a 46 inch that is working great, but you still want the bigger one. We are sedentary, not just because of age but because of national apathy and desensitization.
Dr. Plasker states: "Making changes in lifestyle, one can change genetics." I still have my reservations on that idea. I would be more impressed with Dr. Plasker if he took his pitch to the other fastest growing age group for disease - young people. School age children are the highest in the nation for depression, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. The future generation is coming out of the start gates sick. We need to heal your youth if we are going to heal the future and have sound contributors to society, not burdens.


Dr. Plasker has definitely upset with some of his discussion - I just do not know how aware he is. I am very much in agreement with Dr. Plasker on the following: We are a drug culture and we solve everything with a pill. As a Medical Social Worker I see addictions supported by an MD script and paid for with government funds. Americans are addicted. Medical School Students are URGED to stay away from drug companies. I have said this a million times: go and sit in a doctor’s waiting room fora few hours and you will see numerous drug reps in and out of that office all day long.
The FDA CANNOT fulfill its mission, scientific organization is weak - yes, its no secret when the very drugs taken to alleviate one thing, triggers another more severe. Dr. Plasker’s discussion also included:
Health Care Hierarchy of the 100 Year Life Style - Which is described as:
Self: You do this and no one else i.e sweating
Health: Dental cleaning, Chiropractor care
Crisis Care: Diseases.
The value system for nursing home generation is flipped: Do nothing, wait for crisis and then manage the crisis. The mantra is : "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."
The core message of Dr. Plasker’s talk is: We simply cannot afford to get sick! As a Medical Social Worker - that is the absolute truth. Try getting sick and see how much your illness with costs between hospitalization, specialist and rehabilitation fees. The profit, protection and professionalism is simply not affordable for most Americans.
Another part of Dr. Plasker’s pitch is a Gold’s Gym slogan: "Get your ESS in shape!" ESS stands for: Endurance, Strength and Structure.
In conclusion, Dr. Plasker talks a good talk, but his model is NOT diverse and should encompass every person. As with science, there will always be exclusions - the most healthiest person will contract a disease. There are factors that simply cannot be controlled. The exclusion being the unfortunate accident - which Dr. Plasker agrees does not relate to his model. Dr. Plasker does raise some poignant issues of aging: The elderly will need more money because they are living longer. Historically, the life span for our ancestors was much less (about 60) because of hard labor, and the lack of medical advances. In the past Medicare worked because the life span was shorter - now its longer and the elderly are using up the funds resulting in future generations not having any money for their turn on Medicare. I think about Dr. Plasker every time I see my 80 year old neighbor outside clearing the snow in his driveway - AND mine.
The lack of diversity in Dr. Plasker’s model disturbs me. There has always been a separation of quality of lifestyle and environment due to race and culture. Do people of color have the time and ability to change their environment? To prime, prep and then play as Dr. Plasker suggests to that there is quality time in aging versus the attitude of retirement? Has mental health been included in Dr. Plasker’s model? True, depression is alleviated with exercise and diet, the challenge is in getting that depressed person to engage. Hollistic health care involves the entire sphere of the patient’s lifestyle as well as the avenues of health care that also include Massage Therapists, Reiki Therapist, Chiropractors, Nutritionists and Acupuncturists. Dr. Plakser’s model does not address socio-economics or diversity. His model could have the potential to go so much further if he would incorporate Medical Social Workers into his knowledge base! (Now there’s a pitch!)