Longevity, Silvio Garattini's recipe: «Avoid the medicine market. I never eat for lunch: and my drugs are cinema, theatre, conferences”

We are republishing Sara Bettoni's interview with Silvio Garattini, published in March, one of the most appreciated by our readers in 2024.

Silvio Garattini arrives in the Sala Alessi at Palazzo Marino more than half an hour early. “I came on foot from my house, I live near the Fatebenefratelli hospital.” Ninety-five years old last November 12ththe founder and president of the «Mario Negri» Pharmacological Research Institute is among the six «great elders» who were awarded the «A great life» award, linked to his commitment as an oncologist, pharmacologist and researcher.

In the city he is in good company: there are over 5 thousand people over 90.
«Italy is the European Union country with the highest number of elderly people. But if we look at the duration of healthy life, we go very far down the list. In the last part of existence several diseases appear, even two or three per citizen.”

What is the strategy to reach the fourth age healthy?
«Avoid the medicine market».

So you shouldn't be treated?
«Until now we have oriented medicine above all towards cures, therapies which have obviously created a large market. And so we forgot one fundamental thing: not all diseases rain from the sky, but many depend on our lifestyles. In Italy, for example, we have 3.7 million people with diabetes, a pathology which among other things has complications affecting vision, the heart and the kidneys. But it's avoidable. We must put prevention first.”

Where do you start?
«From the training of managers. We don't have a Higher School of Health, managers are often just friends of politicians. And we need to talk about health in the classroom too, one hour a week would be enough. It is ridiculous that the Ministry of Education cannot find the time to do this. Prevention must also be present in medical schools. Doctors should not only prescribe drugs, but also good habits: walk at least 3 kilometers a day, lose a certain number of kilos. And they should be judged on the health outcomes of their patients: how many have stopped smoking, how many are no longer obese. Another key factor is communication.”

Don't we talk about health enough?
«Health information must be independent, but instead it is conveyed by the market. There is no jury that pays attention to what advertising says. The medical association should be screaming for independent information.”

Doctors themselves tell us that the environment in which we live also affects our conditions. Let's think about the smog in Milan…
«In Italy we still have 12 million smokers. Cigarettes are not only a cause of lung cancer, but also a risk factor for 27 diseases, including cataracts and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the repercussions are broader. Smoking tobacco means using soil to grow poison. And the 40 billion cigarettes smoked every year generate PM 2.5 emissions. The butts end up on the ground, then in the water and finally in the food. The same chain effect can be seen in food choices: we eat a lot of meat, so much so that we are one of the countries with the most intensive farming. To feed the animals, fodder is used, to cultivate which land is removed from the forests.”

A lot depends on us, in short.
«Let's not complain about something if we are co-responsible for it. Rather, let's change our lifestyle, indulging in a form of healthy selfishness, because if we get sick we feel bad, with repercussions on our families, the economy and the National Health Service. It is clear that everything must be considered in terms of probability, not certainty: following correct habits gives us a greater chance of incurring fewer diseases and living longer.”

At 95 years old, he still doesn't take any medicine?
«If I needed them, I would take them. But there's no point in hiring them for propaganda.”

The recipe for hoping for a long healthy life.
«In general, follow the Mediterranean diet, which favors fruit, vegetables, fish and complex carbohydrates, consume little meat and little fat. The diet must be varied and moderate. I, for example, don't eat lunch. Calories must be proportionate to what you do. And then do physical activity, sleep at least 7 hours, have public relations. At Mario Negri we conducted a study on 2,000 80-year-olds, followed for 15 years. Those who maintained few social relationships had a greater risk of cognitive problems. They must be cultivated even after retirement.”

How do you maintain them?
«I work every day in the institute. On Wednesday I was in San Donato speaking to 400 students. Today I'm going to Rome to the bioethics committee. You have to reach a balance where you know that tomorrow you might not be there, but if you are there you have to do something.”

Is Milan a city that helps the elderly in this journey?
«I care about my Bergamo origins, but I can say that in Milan there is everything you need: cinemas, theatres, conferences. And you can also find help in organizing initiatives.”

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December 21, 2024 (changed December 21, 2024 | 07:26)

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