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| RealAge tips provided by http://www.realage.com or by DrKoop.com, with thanks. |
This rather large section is where I have been accumulating daily "healthy advice" emails, usually from RealAge or Dr. Koop, and I certainly can't remember them all. So I save them. And now for you, gentle reader, I propose to list them by category. Take from it what you need.
Fact: Every hour you're active adds one and a half hours to your life.
You'll burn more fat if you walk in thre ten-minute bursts than you would in one 30-minute stroll.
LOOK! NEW!! Recipe Modifications!!!
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On this site:
Drinking
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No Stress
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Attitude
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Good Eats
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Cleanliness
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Miscellaneous
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Diet
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Exercise
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Your Body
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WATER!
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A Slimming Pre-Meal Practice
Eating a piece of fruit before each meal may help to melt pounds away.
In a recent study, women who ate a small apple or pear before each meal lost more weight than women who skipped the fruit but followed the same reduced-calorie diet. Fiber-filled fruits help to satiate hunger, which probably results in lower calorie intake from the meal, researchers speculate.
RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
More: Other high-fiber fruits include . . .
In addition to apples and pears, other fruits that are good sources of fiber include strawberries, raspberries, and peaches. Fiber takes longer for your body to digest compared to other energy forms. Women should try to get at least 25 grams of fiber per day in their diet. Men may need even more fiber -- about 38 grams per day.
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The Buzz on Decaf
If you have high blood pressure, you may want to steer clear of both decaf and regular coffee.
In a recent study, occasional coffee drinkers who drank a triple espresso experienced an increase in blood pressure and nervous system activity regardless of whether or not the drink contained caffeine. Coffee may contain substances, other than caffeine, that cause cardiovascular reactivity.
RealAge Benefit: Keeping your blood pressure at 115/76 mm Hg can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
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A Wrinkle in Time
If the promise of a longer life isn't enough to get you to
eat your veggies, perhaps the possibility of younger skin is.
A recent study suggests that a healthy diet may help prevent
wrinkles. In the study, people whose diets were abundant
in vegetables, legumes, and olive oil experienced less skin
wrinkling as they aged than people who consumed the
most meats, dairy products, and butter.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet, including 5 servings
of vegetables per day, can make your RealAge as much as 4
years younger.
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Why, Thank You
If you're trying to make new friends this weekend, flattery will get you everywhere.
Call it vanity, but according to research, people typically like a person who makes an effort to flatter them. Rather than being perceived as ingratiating, a compliment may simply make sense to the ears of someone with a healthy self-image, experts speculate. Let the new people in your life know which qualities you most admire about them.
RealAge Benefit:
Having a good social support system of family and friends can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
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Stone Stopper (Beer drinkers LOOK!)
Drinking plenty of water is one of the best ways to stop a kidney stone
before it starts, but pouring yourself a tall, cold one may help keep you
stone free, too.
According to Finnish researchers, drinking a beer or two per day can
significantly lower your risk of developing a kidney stone. Researchers
suspect that hops, one of the grains from which beer is brewed, may
hamper the release of stone-causing calcium into urine.
RealAge Benefit: Moderate consumption of alcohol--one drink per day for
women, two drinks per day for men--can make your RealAge as much as 1.9
years younger.
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Nuts To You
Did you know there's more to love about peanuts than their
heart-healthy monounsaturated fats? Peanuts also may be
potent cancer fighters.
According to research, peanuts have a high concentration of
beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that may play a protective
role against colon, prostate, and breast cancer. A 1.2-ounce
handful of peanuts contains approximately 50 milligrams of
beta-sitosterol.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy
unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge
as much has 6 years younger.
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Veggie Void
Tasty Paste
Add tomato paste to one of your meals this week and your lungs might breathe a sigh of relief.
Tomato paste is a rich source of both vitamin C and magnesium, two nutrients recently credited with helping to keep lungs healthy. Aim for 1,200 milligrams of vitamin C per day. For magnesium, women should try to get 400 milligrams per day, while men should aim for 333 milligrams.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Save Your Neck
If you're cutting some of the meat from your diet to lose weight,
you're getting more than you bargained for. Your new dietary
ways also may be protecting you from stomach and throat
cancers.
A recent study suggests that some of the nutrients found in
animal products are associated with an increased risk of
digestive tract cancers. Nutrients such as saturated fat,
cholesterol, and animal protein appear to contribute to the
increased risk.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy
unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your
RealAgeas much as 6 years younger.
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Sweet and Low
Spending more time with your sweetheart may have a positive effect on
your blood pressure.
A recent study of people who monitored their blood pressure throughout
the day revealed that they experienced the lowest blood pressure readings
when they were with their partners. Although the dip in pressure was
minor, researchers speculate that such dips could have a positive impact on heart health.
RealAge Benefit: Long-term, loving relationships can make
your RealAge as
much as 6.5 years younger.
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The Home Stretch
Are you keeping your muscles strong through strength training? Be sure to
keep them long, too, with a good stretch.
Strength training shortens and tightens your muscles, making them more
susceptible to injury. To battle the natural loss of flexibility that can come not only with strength training but also with aging, add a 5- to
10-minute stretching session to all of your workouts.
RealAge Benefit: Strength training can make your RealAge 1 year younger.
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Eat Early
When time permits, eat dinner early. It might help you stay slim.
A recent study tracked the eating trends of people of various weights to map potentially unhealthy behaviors. Researchers discovered that overweight people tended to eat more of their meals late in the day compared to people of average weight. Try to eat dinner early in the evening and resist nighttime munching.
RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
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A Nice Gesture
Do you want to build up your memory muscles? Gesturing while you talk may improve your recall.
In a recent study, people who gestured while explaining a
math problem were better able to recall a previously learned
list of words. Researchers speculate that gesturing when you
talk may lighten your cognitive load so that your brain is
free to perform other tasks, such as remembering a list.
RealAge Benefit: Becoming a lifelong learner can make
your RealAge as much as 2.5 years younger.
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Long-Term Gains
If you have joint pain in your knees, a small amount of discomfort after exercising now might mean less knee pain later.
Although osteoarthritis knee pain may temporarily increase following exercise, experts say that this pain increase is typically short-lived and that, over time, regular exercise leads to greatly diminished osteoarthritis knee pain. Just remember to stick to low-impact activities, such as walking or swimming, and ask your doctor about acute pain.
RealAge Benefit: A physical activity program that builds stamina, strength, and flexibility can make your RealAge as much as 8.1 years younger.
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Something Fishy
Putting more fish on your plate is a great way to stay young, but be sure
to choose your finned friends wisely. Certain fish may contain elevated
levels of mercury.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventon, long-lived
fish that eat other fish, such as shark, swordfish, and king mackerel,
can accumulate high levels of mercury from the environment. Stick with
smaller ocean or farm-raised fish, canned fish, and shellfish.
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In Good Time
If your New Year's resolutions include losing weight, give yourself the best chance to succeed by making changes gradually.
In one study of people who were successful at losing
weight, making gradual changes over a long period of time
appeared to be one of the keys to keeping the weight off.
Instead of drastically reducing your calorie or fat intake,
make small, sustainable, incremental changes to your diet. Amen.
RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
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Molten Java
Can't wait to gulp down that steaming, nonfat, half-caf
latte every morning? Well, this may get you to cool your
heels.
According to research, consuming piping hot beverages is
associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer. In a
recent study, people who regularly consumed very hot
beverages had a 2- to 4-fold increase in risk over people
who drank hot beverages infrequently or drank them cold or
warm.
RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make
your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
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Beer Belly Blues
At Your Leisure
How you use your leisure time will make a difference in your heart health.
A recent study revealed that people who often engage in leisure time physical activities, such as going for a bike ride or taking a walk, have a lower risk of heart disease compared to people who pass their free time less actively. Two hours per week of leisure time activities decreased heart disease risk by as much as 61 percent.
RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
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Beer Belly Blues
They don't call it a beer belly for nothing.
In a study of more than 12,000 people, wine drinkers who drank about 6 glasses of wine per week had significantly smaller
middles than the participants who drank the same amount of
beer. Researchers suspect that drinking beer increases
the production of cortisol, a hormone linked to weight gain.
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Eat Healthy or Diet Trying
Dr. Michael F. Roizen, the New York Times #1 bestselling author of
RealAge: Are You as Young as You Can Be?, brings us The RealAge Diet,
together with Dr. John La Puma. The RealAge Diet examines the
food-related factors that can cause you to age faster than you should.
Whether you are eating in or eating out, The RealAge Diet offers simple
guidelines that will make age reduction a snap. Here are just a few
of the 51 food choices that can make you younger (and by how much):
* Eating fish three times a week (3.4 yrs)
* Eating five or six nuts before a meal (women: 3.4 yrs, men: 4.4 yrs)
* Eating foods rich in flavonoids such as apples, garlic, and
chocolate each day (3.2 yrs)
* Making easy fat substitutions such as olive oil instead of
margarine (6.1 yrs)
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Tricky Trans Fats
Are too many trans fats sneaking into your diet? If so, you may be increasing your risk of colon cancer.
A recent study suggests that a diet high in trans fats may raise colon cancer risk. To keep your colon healthy, limit high-trans-fat foods such as pastries, chips, and crackers. Trans fats are listed as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils on food labels.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
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Low Fat
In a recent university study, men who ate a low-fat meal
appeared to have lower circulating levels of testosterone
immediately after the meal, compared to when they ate a
meal high in fat from animal sources. Chronically high levels
of testosterone may be associated with an increased risk
of prostate cancer.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy
unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge
as much as 6 years younger.
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Living Air Cleaner - by Laura O'Neil
Houseplants do more than make our homes pretty. They can play an integral role in improving the very essence of our lives -- the air we breathe.
Anytime you buy new linens, carpeting, or other home furnishings, you bring the chemicals used in their manufacture into your home as well. Even unbagging your dry cleaning can expose you to contaminants. These volitile organic chemicals (VOCs) make up a portion of the air pollution that exists inside our homes. Even when you can't smell them anymore, VCOs pollute the air enough to irritate your respiratory tract and cause headaches, sinus congestion, and fatigue.
Pioneering research at NASA has shown that houseplants are an antidote to many of the unhealthy household substances that contribute to poor indoor air quality and lead to illness. Greenery soaks up VOCs, breaks them down, and uses them for food.
Picking and placing plants
Two to three plants in 8-inch or 10-inch pots for every 100 square feet will help clean up the air in your breathing zone. Double that, and your indoor environment will become healthier in less time -- just one week. A breathing zone is a area of 6 to 8 cubic feet surrounding a person. These are areas where an individual remains for several hours, such as at a desk or computer, watching TV, or sleeping. Some suggestions:
Bamboo palm, Lady palm, Dwarf date palm
'Janet Craig' dracaena, 'Warneckei' dracaena
English Ivy
Kimberly queen
Weeping fig
Gerbera daisy
Corn plant
Boston fern
Peace lily
Florist's mum
Rubber plant
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