This is part of a story that is being reported on Discovery Channel and called "The art of aging".
It tells the story of Ms Taki Masawa, who started writing haiku poetry at the sweet age of 90 and, get this, published her very own Haiku Collection at 103 years old ! Incredible no? !!!
But it gets better...
Professor Toshihide Kuake of Tokyo University has done some research with Ms Masawa to find out why she was so alert at that centennial age and she had agreed. Here is what they've found:
Ms Masawa had agreed to have sensors installed all over her skull that would monitor her blood flows to the brain, much like having neverending x-rays. In her regular daily activities, nothing much would happen. All normal. But when she sat down and started writing Hiaku, concentrating and focusing, there was an incredible blood flow that would increase in her pre frontal area of the brain. That same area tends to shrink with age, it did very very lightly in her case. Blood flow to that perticular area has numerous positive effects on the body. It regularises cholesterol and blood pressure, it maintains the memory in good shape, and most importantly, it stimulates the body to make antioxydants which fight numerous diseases, including cancer cells.
This whole situation was in 2004, I do not know if Ms Masawa still lives, but I felt her story had to be shared, if only for the "It's never too late" factor. Not sure if I spelled the names right but I personally find this story totally amazing. If you get a chance, check it out. " The art of aging ".
Coral.
