It’s Never Too Late to Live Healthily
Even After Age 70, Healthy Habits Pay Off by Helping You Live Longer
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News

Feb. 11, 2008 -- If that New Year's resolution isn't working out, don't worry. New research shows it's never too late to adopt healthy habits that can help you live longer.

A new study shows that men who led a healthy lifestyle in their 70s were more likely to live into their 90s and have a better quality of life. And a related study shows that people who live to be 100 don't necessarily do it by avoiding disease entirely, but by not becoming disabled by them.

Researchers say studies of twins have shown that genetic factors account for just 25% of the variation in life span, and that these findings reinforce the importance of the other 75% affected by lifestyle factors within people's control.
Healthy Lifestyle Helps People Live Longer

In the first study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers followed 2,357 men who were part of the Physicians' Health Study. The men were evaluated when they started the study at about age 72 and were surveyed at least once a year for the next two decades.

Overall, 970 men survived to age 90 or beyond.

Researcher Laurel B. Yates, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and colleagues estimated that a 70-year-old man who did not smoke, had normal blood pressure and weight, no diabetes, and exercised two to four times a week had a 54% chance of living to age 90.

But for each of these common health risk factors, the chances of living to age 90 were reduced as follows:

* Sedentary lifestyle, 44%
* High blood pressure, 36%
* Obesity, 26%
* Smoking, 22%

Having three of these risk factors drastically reduced the odds of surviving to age 90 to 14%, and having five risk factors dropped the chance to just 4%.
Secret of Centenarians

In the second study, Dellara F. Terry, MD, MPH, of the Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, and colleagues studied 523 women and 216 men aged 97 or older.

Researchers split the participants into two groups based on gender and the age they developed diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoporosis, and Parkinson's disease. If they developed disease at age 85 or older, they were considered "delayers," and those who developed disease at a younger age were called "survivors."

The results showed that 32% were survivors and 68% were delayers. But researchers found that those who developed heart disease or high blood pressure before age 85 and still survived to 100 had similar levels of function as those who developed disease later.

Researchers say the results suggest that the timing of disease may not be as important in living longer as how the disease affects people's health, which is mitigated by lifestyle factors.


Want to live longer? Buy yourself a pogo stick
By PETA BEE - More by this author » Last updated at 09:56am on 15th November 2007

Comments Comments (5)
We all know the mantra - to live longer we need to eat more fruit and veg, take regular exercise, drink in moderation and cut out cigarettes.

Then last week the World Cancer Research Fund declared that we also need to give up bacon, pork chops and salt. Thankfully, there are other, less tedious ways to add years to your life. Here, the Mail shows you how...

TAKE UP POGO-ING

Exercise doesn't have to be dull. Bouncing on a pogo stick will work your leg and buttock muscles, build strength in your back and help prevent the stooping associated with old age.

It will also help you burn calories - up to 600 an hour, which is comparable to running or an aerobics class (but so much more fun).

WIN AN AWARD

Winners live longer. Oscar winners, for instance, live four to six years longer than average, says Professor Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto.

In a study published recently he looked at all 762 actors and actresses ever nominated for an Academy Award in a leading or support role.

On average, Oscar winners lived to 79.7 whereas other actors died at the age of 75.8

Meanwhile Nobel prize winners live 1.4 years longer than non-winners.

"Status seems to work a kind of health-giving magic," says Andrew Oswald, an economist at the University of Warwick, who conducted the research. But you don't have to win a major award to benefit.

"A sense of achievement that comes with doing well at something promotes feelings of well-being and boosts selfesteem that banishes the harmful chemicals and hormones produced by stress and depression," says psychologist Dearbhla McCullough of Roehampton University.

"Anything from winning an eggandspoon race to completing the London Marathon dressed as a banana can do wonders for longevity."

Read more...

* Housework can help you burn 50,000 calories a year

KEEP TOMATOES IN THE FRUIT BOWL

Storing red-coloured fruit such as tomatoes, watermelon, guava and red and pink grapefruit at room temperature doubles their levels of beta carotene, a yellow-red pigment that is converted by the body into the antioxidant vitamin A; it also boosts the food's content of lypocene, another powerful antioxidant, by 20 times.

A study from the US Department of Agriculture also found that keeping uncut fully ripe melons at room temperature overnight increased levels of carotenoids (disease-fighting substances) from 11 to 40 per cent, compared with those put in the fridge.

MOVE TO THE COUNTRY

People who live in rural areas outlive city-dwellers by more than a decade.

According to official figures, women living in rural west Somerset, for instance, live until the age of 86; those who reside in Manchester live until they are 76 (the average life-span in Britain is 74 for men, 79 for women).

Other studies have shown that older people who live near green, open spaces live longer than those in urban areas.

Many researchers believe this is due to the so-called "biophilia" hypothesis: the theory that human beings have an innate need to be close to nature and the countryside.

SWAP THAT LATTE FOR A BLACK COFFEE

Srudies into to the benefits of calorie restriction suggest that consuming a third fewer calories could enable humans to live up to a third longer.

At America's National Institute of Ageing in Baltimore, Dr Mark Mattson discovered that mice fed every other day lived longer than those allowed to eat at will.

This was because the semi-starved mice were more resistant to brain-damaging toxins.

Studies in humans are expected to yield similar results.

A recent report revealed that milky and creamy drinks account for almost a quarter of our calorie intake and supply half of the added sugar consumed by the average person.

Simply switching from a whole-milk vanilla latte, containing 380 calories and 14.5 grams of fat in a large cup, to a black Americano or espresso could begin to prolong your life.

FLOSS DAILY

Flossing daily is a cheap and potent weapon against heart attacks and strokes.

That's because common problems such as gum disease (gingivitis), cavities and missing teeth are linked to heart disease.

They are a risk factor for strokes and heart attacks in the same way as high cholesterol levels.

Experts don't yet know why the link is so strong but one theory is that bacteria in the mouth stick to the fatty plaques in the bloodstream, directly contributing to blockages.

Dr Michael Roizen, a bestselling American author and expert on anti-ageing, says keeping oral bacteria at bay could add 6.4 years to a person's life.

MAKE LOTS OF MONEY - OR MARRY SOMEONE WHO HAS

The average life-span of billionaires is 78 years, according to an analysis of the In Memoriam section of the annual Forbes Billionaires list - that's 3.5 years longer than the average male (all but one of the billionaires in the list were male).

Nobody knows for certain why the super-rich, and their spouses, live longer.

Some experts believe it is simply that they have access to better medical care, others that it is linked to intellectual evolution.

Social status correlates strongly with IQ and intelligence correlates strongly with health literacy - the ability to understand and follow a prescription for disease prevention and treatment - studies have found.

Psychologist Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh found mortality rates to be 17 per cent higher for each 15-point drop in IQ.

GO TO CHURCH

Regular church-goers - no matter what their religion - have a longer life expectancy, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh.

In fact, their added years of life were close to those gained from being more physically active or taking cholesterol lowering statin drugs (an extra 3-5 years for regular exercise, and up to 3.7 years for statin drugs).

Dr Daniel Hall, who led the study, suggested that increased longevity in church-goers could be linked to a number of factors, including an enhanced sense of community support that leaves them feeling less isolated and stressed than non-believers.

He also suggested church attendance positively influences other lifestyle habits such as not smoking or medication compliance.

LAUGH DAILY

Looking on the bright side can extend your life by as much as a decade.

A Dutch study published last year found that those who were positive about the future and about relationships had 55 per cent less chance of dying early from all causes and a 23 per cent reduced risk of heart disease.

Pessimists lived an average 12 years less than optimists, according to American research.

This is because negative people were more likely to suffer viral illnesses, thought to be due to lower immunity as a result of their negative thinking, and less likely to carry out self-checks for serious diseases such as cancer.

If you can't think positive, just try laughing more often.

Norwegian researchers found that those who laugh every day live an average seven years longer than the miserable.

GIVE YOUR TEA BAG AN EXTRA JIGGLE

Tea can actually lower cholesterol levels - but you need to be a heavy drinker; Israeli doctors found that those who drank more than 14 cups of tea a week had a 44 per cent lower death rate than non-tea drinkers in the three and a half years following their heart attacks.

Moderate tea drinkers - less than 15 cups a week - had a 28 per cent lower rate of dying over the same period.

The benefits are due to the disease-fighting antioxidants in both green and black tea.

And remember to give your cuppa a good stir before removing the tea-bag.

Recent studies have shown that jiggled tea bags release 15 per cent more polphenols, the age-resisting and diseasefighting antioxidants in tea.

BE A SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST

Sevent Day Adventists live on average four more years than the rest of us, says Dr Pramil Singh of Loma Linda University in California.

Analysing data obtained about the diets of Seventh Day Adventists, who are strict vegetarians, and other long-term studies, Dr Singh said that "long-term vegetarians have a 3.6-year survival advantage" and lived to around 86.5 years of age.

Even just cutting down on meat could extend your lifespan.

German researchers found that people who eat meat infrequently - 2-3 times a month - have "significantly longer lives".

DRINK HALF A GLASS OF WINE

Men who drink about half a glass of wine a day over decades outlive teetotallers, according to a 40-year-long Dutch study published earlier this year.

The researchers said that while starting to drink for its health benefits is not advised, anyone who currently drinks lightly could probably continue to do so.

On average, light drinkers lived four years longer, thought to be a result of a boost to HDL, or good cholesterol, and a lower incidence of blood clots. Cancer Research UK warns, however, that you can have too much of a good thing: a glass of wine (or the equivalent) a day raises the risk of some forms of cancer.

PARTY MORE OFTEN

Staying in touch with friends and socialising with people you like will add a decade or more to your life, according to Australian research.

A study of almost 1,500 people aged 70-plus showed that those with a good network of friends lived longer than those who didn't socialise.

This could be because friends may encourage people to look after their health, and help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety at difficult times.


How to live longer

Every one wants to live longer so that they could enjoy life but how do you do it? Follow these steps and you'll find out.

Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You’ll Need:
* Cofee or wine
* chocolates
* excercise equipment
* Fruits,vegetables,and meat
* The last but not least you!

Step1
ok First when you wake up drink coffee But not to many. just about 1 or 2 cups per day.
Step2
Eat a well balance diet. Eat go foods at breakfast then meat at lunch(with some fruits and chocolates for dessert) Then The vegetables at dinner.
Step3
if you have free time then excercise.walking your dog,jogging,playing sports,and swimming are good exercises.
Step4
then drink some wine before you sleep. Wine has these special vitamines that makes you live longer.


Want to celebrate 100?
Live smarter and you can live to be older

If you really want to live longer, there are plenty of ways to keep the grim reaper at bay—and many of these "secrets" result in an improved quality of life.
It's been said that a man dies simply because he doesn't know how to live longer. Well, thank goodness for progress.

People are living longer these days. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1920 the average life expectancy was 54. Today, people can expect to live to 78.

Feel free to speculate about why — better food supply, better medical care, better hygiene or any number of other factors. It's not totally clear to scientists how they all add up. But what we do know is that studies are finding genetics don't tell the whole story when it comes to which diseases will likely kill us.
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"There's a saying that genetics load the gun, but it's the environment that pulls the trigger," says Dr. David Fein, medical director at the Princeton Longevity Center, a clinic in Princeton, N.J., which focuses on quality of life and prolonging it. "You can have the gene for a certain disease, but it doesn't mean you're going to get it."

Take heed: Your lifestyle choices are very significant. While there is no way to ultimately defy death, that isn't an excuse to start indulging in vices and neglecting your health. There are plenty of ways to keep the grim reaper at bay — and many of these "secrets" result in an improved quality of life.

If you really want to live longer, then start with your attitude. Your way of thinking not only improves your outlook on life, but also how long you actually live. In 2002, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people decreased their risk of early death by 50 percent compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism.

"The exact mechanism of how personality acts as a risk factor for early death or poorer health is unclear," says Dr. Toshihiko Maruta, the main investigator in the study. Most likely, it has to do with the fact that pessimists have an increased chance for future problems with their physical health, career achievements and emotional stress — particularly depression. "Yet another possibility could be more directly biological, like changes in the immune system," Maruta adds.

More from Forbes.com
15 tips for living longer
Don't oversleep
Be optimistic
Have more sex
Get a pet
Get a VAP
Be rich
Stop smoking
Chill out
Eat your antioxidants
Marry well
Exercise
Laugh a little
Lose weight
Manage stress
Meditate

Other health slide shows
Healthiest vending machines snacks
The skinny on bottled water
Graying global world
Source: Forbes.com
Besides looking through rosier-colored glasses, there other personality traits that can help us live longer, healthier lives. According to Dr. Howard Friedman, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside, conscientiousness is related to mortality in a significant way. The Terman Life-Cycle Study, which ran from 1921 to 1991, examined an array of factors like personality, habits, social relations, education, physical activities and cause of death.

"Those low on adult conscientiousness died sooner," Friedman concluded. Conscientiousness does not mean looking both ways before crossing the street, it means looking both ways when the light turns green so you don't accidentally run down a slow-moving pedestrian. Beyond that, a conscientious person's long-living qualities probably have to do with the fact that they are predisposed to constructively reacting to emotional and social situations, and are more likely to create work and living environments that promote good health.

There are also more traditional practices that the aspiring centenarian can take. People should stop smoking, eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. While these may sound "nanny-ish," they are factors that cannot be overlooked. This might not sound like much fun, but it's a lot more fun than being dead.

Research shows that obesity, for example, contributes to a slew of medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and various cancers. So powerful are certain lifestyle choices that recommended diets along with maintenance of physical activity and appropriate body mass can, over time, reduce the incidence of cancer by 30 percent to 40 percent, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Animal lovers will be happy to know that having a pet can add years to your life, as well. One of the first studies in this arena, which appeared in Public Health Reports in 1980, showed that the survival rates of heart-attack victims who had a pet were 28 percent higher than those of patients who didn't have an animal companion. "The health effects seem to be very real and by no means mystical," says Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University. "Contact with companion animals triggers a relaxation response," he says.

Rebecca Johnson, a professor of gerontological nursing at the University of Missouri, Columbia, showed that interaction with pets does, in fact, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The ability of companion pets to reduce our overall stress level probably accounts for most of their life-extending qualities. "For many people, pets also provide a reason to get moving," adds Johnson. How many people, after all, would actually get any exercise if it weren't for overenthusiastic dogs?

To many people, quality of life is equally as important as life span. It is a good thing, then, that many of the factors that can improve your longevity can also improve your quality of life. After all, who really wants to live forever when they can have a life that ended perfectly?
© 2008 Forbes.com

oh no, I left my tomatoes in the fridge today!!