LIVING LONGER

Hold on to your wits! There's a new THING to do! Is it a fad? Or is it a fortuitous conglomeration of factors -- like where we're at with our wars -- the untrustworthy politicians -- the possibility that some nut could press a button that might start the end of the world?

Maybe now IS the time to consider if, and why you and I might want to live longer.

There's a pill that will increase your life span. It's called "Resveratrol." Note the syllables, and pronounce it -- "Res vera trol." Should it be at the top of my get it/buy it/try it list?

It has amazed, impressed, and excited professors, doctors, health institutes, and Oprah, Barbara Walters, "Good Morning America," Time Magazine, and dozens of dot-coms. So it's something to consider.

(But what about the other miracle potions, that faded when the last new one hit? Is it like Atkin's "Diet Revolution?" Or another cookie diet? )

Well ... It's a pill that combines the ingredients in red wine, grapes and peanuts, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz.

(Oz has been on the Oprah Winfrey Show -- Oprah swears by him.)

The fact is, according to many reliable medical resources, there are new, very hopeful facts about longevity. Scientists say that a baby born in 2000 will live to be 100. And if the baby's female, she may live longer. Doctors are saying there are specific things to do right now, today, that will extend your life.

The first step for a longer life span, is to get back some of what we lose by living our over-fed, over-stressed, under-active lifestyles.

Scientists are thinking if you eat less you'll live longer -- restricting calories extends animal life, so they're testing -- they want to know if going hungry would help us too.

Dr. Oz, who is vice-chairman and professor of Surgery at Columbia University, a best-selling author, now host of the daily, nationally syndicated "The Doctor Oz Show," has the following suggestions for living longer.

●Take Resveratrol.

● Get 15 minutes a day in the sun, or take Vitamin D 1000, and Calcium 1000 with magnesium.

● Chose foods that look the same when you eat them as how they look when they come out of the ground.

● Oz recommends daily, vigorous physical activities.

● Oz recommends sleeping more than 7 hours.

● Have a purpose.

"Have a purpose!" Work -- being constructively busy -- learning a language, gardening, writing, painting, quilt-making, teaching, helping kids, elders -- take on a project, the bigger the better! (That's what I'm always saying to my friends.)

I looked at Oz's exercises -- some could do more harm then good. And taking Resveratrol -- yes, it's already being marketed. One Website says two a day -- a bottle of 60 tabs cost $4.99. Quite a few other Websites are offering a free starter bottle, varied prices, variations on the name, and the ingredients, and they're touting weight-loss, as well as energy. I'm not sure if what they're selling is a diet pill, a scam, or real Resveratrol.

Also, one well-known doctor says "soon" you'll be able to increase your life span -- another says "10 years" from now -- "by 2050" says another. Is it like the vitamin A retinol face-creams, like the one-hour-face-lifts that promise to make you look younger?

Oz is our latest new guru.

He's certainly an energetic, charming, articulate man with good ideas, like Oprah's Dr. Phil.

Dr Phil's show is interesting but I wouldn't consult Dr. Phil.

Dr. Oz's show is very interesting but I wouldn't consult Dr. Oz -- he's a fast-talking super charming, super salesman -- also, what Oprah falls in love with in books, styles, and gurus, I automatically don't trust -- she's a guru, and gurus are not for me.