Chapter 5. The Fountain of Youth Discovered: Swimming and Longevity

IN 1513 THE SPANISH explorer Juan Ponce de León braved the unknown perils of the swampy Everglades and the fierce Carib and Seminole Indians in his search for the mythical Fountain of Youth. Although he is remembered today for his accidental “discovery” of Florida, Ponce never did find the legendary source of eternal youth. He died in 1521 at the unremarkable age of sixty-one, reportedly looking every bit his age.
In 1989 Lynda Myers, a thirty-nine-year-old business executive, homemaker, and mother of two teenagers, found the real Fountain of Youth less than a mile from her home in a Washington, DC, suburb: she started swimming five days a week during her lunch hour. Today, Lynda is happier and healthier than she ever remembers being. What’s more, according to recent scientific studies and data gathered by life-insurance companies, Lynda has added over thirty years to her life expectancy! Later in this chapter I will explain how she accomplished this. More important, I will show you how you can do the same.