For some reason, in the middle of one of the busiest periods of my life, I decided to schedule an overdue dentist appointment of which getting a tooth pulled was one step of a plan for dental work I had to get done.

I don’t know what made me think, “I know! With Thanksgiving a week away, let’s wrangle a tooth from my gum with a wrench and then lie on the couch with guaze in my mouth for an entire day, downing milkshakes and Tylenol!”

I’ve never had a tooth pulled before. And, well, thanks a lot tooth fairy. Not how I wanted to spend a few precious days of my life. You can have back all the nickels you left me fifty years ago.

The truth is, I scheduled the appointment now because I had been putting it off for a while and I was tired of my own procrastination. If you’re going to brave getting old then you’re going to have to toughen up. Have that tooth pulled, get that knee surgery, don’t cancel your next colonoscopy. Put on your knee-high boots and trudge through it all, holding a white flag and a sword in either hand.

It’s time to face the truth. Our bodies are like fading flowers. Maybe you have good tooth genes, or you’re still running ten miles a day at 60, but you’re not getting out of this life alive. One day, you too, will be deciding between eating Thanksgiving dinner or playing with a bowl of applesauce at the table after you get a tooth pulled.

Last June, a rather distressing study was released that claimed stopping or even reversing the aging process is impossible. I don’t believe anything I read these days, but I decided to read the article anyway.

“Our findings support the theory that, rather than slowing down death, more people are living much longer due to a reduction in mortality at younger ages,” JosÈ Manuel Aburto, Oxford’s Newton International Fellow, said. Oxford was one of the world-wide collaborators of the study.

“We compared birth and death data from humans and non-human primates and found this general pattern of mortality was the same in all of them,” Aburto said. “This suggests that biological, rather than environmental factors, ultimately control longevity.”

The statistics confirmed, individuals live longer as health and living conditions improve which leads to increasing longevity across an entire population. “Nevertheless,” ha added, “a steep rise in death rates, as years advance into old age, is clear to see in all species,” he added.

Jeez, you mean the supplements and wrinkle cream we’re all hoarding is all for naught? Why bother flossing? I’d love to wave goodbye to my dentist for good, as nice as he is.

Thankfully for the anti-aging industry, nobody reads anymore. The industry is poised to make $610 billion by the year 2025, and that’s because no one yet gets that this world-wide study is telling us that we’re all nuts.

Sometime in your 50’s, your body gets marching orders from somewhere deep inside your DNA, according to science, to begin the aging process.

As much as were taught to bow at the throne of science, I’m going to gamble that eating well and exercising is probably a good idea. And smoking, drinking too much alcohol and eating fast food three times a day is probably not a good idea.

When science tells us there’s nothing we can to do grow older better, then it’s probably time to stop paying attention to science. Their scorched earth policy on just about every topic these days is beyond the pale, whether they’re ignoring the truth about our own immune systems’ antibodies in viruses, or they’re repeatedly telling us the world is going to end on December 20, 2025, because we’re poor stewards of the earth, or they’re changing their minds about masks, or they’re forgetting to mention that vitamin D3 might be helpful in fighting COVID…well, you get the picture.

Here’s some advice: start trusting your own common sense when it comes to your health. And be a great study about your own body. Experiment with healthy habits. What makes you feel good? What brings you vitality?

And take what you read these days with a grain of salt. Do some deep research away from mainstream news outlets if you really want to know something. In fact, go to the library and research topics from books like the old days.

And wait to get your teeth pulled until after Christmas.

And enjoy your turkey Thursday. Living in the moment is good for you. Enjoy your holiday. Get lots of hugs.