“We worry too much about the signs of external aging, such as wrinkles, white hair or skin that loses a little firmness, because from a cultural point of view we see aging as a negative thing, to be fought. Instead, not only should we not fight it, but we should worry about those changes that take place inside our body, in the muscles, heart, skeleton and which make us more fragile. We don’t take care of these enough”. Says the immunologist Antonella Viola, protagonist with her book ‘The way of balance – Science of aging and longevity’ (Feltrinelli) of a meeting at ‘The possible book’, the literary festival supported by Pirelli, hosted in Polignano a mare and Vieste.
“Today we live longer and longer but we live the last 20 or 30 years in sickness, and this means a poor quality of life but also a big problem of health sustainability for the country”, he adds. “Science claims that between 20 and 30% of aging diseases can be prevented through a correct lifestyle. The purpose of the book is to talk about this possible and sustainable prevention”.
One of the debates that has seen the immunologist protagonist in recent months is that on the potential carcinogenic risk associated with wine: “it is an absurd controversy – she comments -. Science can only say things as they are. For many years, the WHO has included ethanol among the 126 compounds that cause cancer. The connection between alcohol consumption and cancer is very clear, then everyone does what they want and accepts the risk. But let’s make sure that the consumer accepts it in an aware and responsible way”.
However, the Italian health system is in trouble. “We have not learned the lesson from Covid, health care continues to be cut. We do not invest and do not change a model that is no longer adequate for the population in Italy, which has changed from a demographic point of view. A country that has such a large number of elderly people as Italy needs not only more health care but also different health care”.
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA