Adopting Healthy Habits

A new longevity study reveals that healthy lifestyle habits add up to six years to an individual's life—even if they're adopted in middle or older age. The study, published in Age and Ageing, followed 49,021 Japanese men and women ages 40 to 80 over two decades to analyze how modifiable health habits and behaviors affected their life expectancy.

What did the research find & why does it matter?
While other studies have been conducted on lifestyle habits, health status, and life expectancy in a number of countries with national life expectancies under 85 years, researchers wanted to see if adopting healthy habits in a country with a high life expectancy would also yield an increase in lifetime gains.

In 2020, Japan's national life expectancy was 84.7, with women living an average of 87.7 years and men an average of 81.6 years. These long life spans can be attributed to a number of factors—including a low prevalence of obesity, regular physical activity, lower intake of red meat, and diets high in fish, omega-3s, and polyphenol- and micronutrient-rich plant foods.

Interestingly, this study found that even though the average life expectancy in Japan is high, individuals could further extend their lives by implementing healthy lifestyle habits. In other words? Small, consistent actions that support our health make a big difference—especially when we build upon them.  READ MORE...

Exercising

Did You Know???

...that the fatter you are, the more calories you burn...  of course this sounds logical after I have shared it with you...  but, one would think that the more you walk on a treadmill the more calories you burn and while that is true also...  weight also seems to be an important factor in burning calories...  however, this is not to suggest that you should bulk up now so you can burn more calories when you finally start exercising...

I have always been one for exercising or working outside at something so that I SWEAT a lot such as splitting wood with a sledge hammer and wedges or using a push mower to mow an acre lot or moving 7 rooms of furniture with just a hand truck, a sturdy rug, and a 1/2 inch nylon rope.  If that was not good enough for me, I usually would fast walk for 90 minutes around the community which included hills, some of which were fairly steep....  since a mile is covered in about 15-20 minutes, I figured I walked 4-6 miles each time...  and, I would typically walk everyday unless it was raining or snowing.

BUT, exercising is not enough to STAY HEALTHY...

If you really want to stay healthy, you must:

1. Quit smoking cigarettes, cigars, and/or marijuana
2. Quit or  substantially reduce your intact of alcohol & red meat
3. Quit eating all friend foods
4. Quit eating sweets
5. Eat more fish and chicken, turkey
6. Eat more vegetables, fruits, and nuts
7. Manage stress with exercise and/or meditation
8. Get the required hours of sleep for you age
9. See your family doctor & eye doctor annually
10. See a dentist twice a year

OR, you can just get lazy, fat, and old and die earlier than expected...