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Tips for Living Longer: Most of
us don’t expect to find the fountain of youth or a cure-all that will
guarantee a long life, but it would be nice to know the top 5 or 10 things
that we can do easily and inexpensively, to live a longer and healthier
life. Though we don't have the secrets to longevity, it turns out that there are some studies that identify several things
that we can do to put the odds in our favor.
Many of us do the following things already, which will make it very easy for
those people. And if you don’t already do these things, at least most of the
following do not cost a lot. It does take some discipline and some of these
can be quite a challenge. But these are things that everyone should at least
know about it they want to reduce risk for some of the most common causes of
mortality.
The following are tips for things you can do to live longer and healthier
lives:
1. Don’t smoke. “Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of
preventable death in the United States” “… during 1995--1999, smoking caused
approximately 440,000 premature deaths in the United States annually …”
(article at http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5114a2.htm). This is
undoubtedly hard for smokers … some have compared nicotine addiction to the
most addictive drugs including heroin. However, it is hard to argue with
these statistics, so if you smoke this is one of the most important things
you can do to live longer and improve your health.
2. Wear seatbelts when in a car. “Motor vehicle injuries are the
seventh leading cause of death in the United States, killing 40,000
Americans and disabling 1,800,000 each year.” (see: http://www.acpm.org/seatbelt.htm).
And studies indicate that you can reduce your risk of injury by as much as
40% by using a seatbelt. So being able to significantly reduce your risk of
injury or death with a pretty simple action seems well worth the trouble.
3. Exercise 20 minutes or more per day. Exercise has been shown to
increase lifespan and health, and reduce the occurrence of several diseases.
Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the top 3 leading causes of death in
the U.S., and studies have shown that exercise can reduce the incidence of
these major diseases. For those of us that are sedentary, this is not easy,
but if you start by doing 10 minutes of walking, errands, or household
chores in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon, you are well on your
way. Exercise also has the benefit of boosting levels of endorphins that may
improve mood, and exercise can boost self esteem, confidence and even
feelings of accomplishment. So, if a longer, healthier life is not enough
motivation to exercise more, maybe these short-term results will help.
4. Eat at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit every
day. Just like exercise, consuming more fruits and vegetables has been
shown to reduce the incidence of the 3 leading causes of death in the U.S.,
heart disease, cancer and stroke. While this may appear to be easy to solve,
most of us just don’t get enough fruits and veggies in our diets, with the
prevalence and convenience of tasty fast foods. Perhaps just knowing that
this is important for health, reducing weight, and preventing disease may
provide a little incentive for adding more fruits and vegetables. There
certainly is a large variety of fruits and veggies to choose from, making it
easier for most of us to find a few tasty additions to our diet. And now
there are convenient prepared foods, such as vegetable-focused frozen meals
that provide one or more servings of veggies. You can always keep dried,
canned, and frozen fruits and veggies in the cupboard and freezer for those
days that you run out of fresh. Being creative, like adding more veggies to
your spaghetti sauce, or throwing in extra veggies in your soup, are simple
ways to increase your intake. Check out super suppers for some yummy ways to
include veggies in easy, tasty suppers. Note, eating fruits and vegetables
is particularly important for children, where lifelong eating habits are
established and good nutrition is vital for growing bodies. And for those
that are inspired to do more, the American Cancer Institute is now
recommending 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
5. Eat less. Several animal studies have shown that restricting the
number of calories consumed, extends lifespan. And some of these studies
also show that reducing calorie intake not only extends life span, but also
reduces age related diseases such as cardiovascular disease,
neurodegenerative disease, and cancer. Several human studies have also shown
that lower body weight was associated with reduced mortality. Given these
and other studies, it makes sense for those of us that are overweight to
lose those extra pounds. And for many of us that are already trying to lose
weight, we already know what reduced calorie intake is, and just how hard it
is to do (see our tips on Weight Loss). Because reducing calories, as in any
diet, can result in malnutrition and other problems, it is important to
discuss this with your doctor. Studies have also indicated that restricting
calories should be done gradually, and it is critical to consume highly
nutritious foods and supplements to avoid nutritional deficiencies. One
approach to easily accomplish calorie restriction is to simply cut out or
reduce consumption of junk foods, which are mostly high-caloric, and empty
calories to boot. Finally, there are recent studies that show that one
phytochemcial, resveratrol, a compound found in red grape skins and red
wine, has been shown to have the same effects as calorie reduction in
animals. Resveratrol can also be found in supplement form.
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