7 habits for a healthy 80-year-old you
These tricks will help you look your best in the ripe old age
These tricks will help you look your best in the ripe old age. PHOTO: ZEENEWS.INDIA
You tend to pray intently for longevity and good health but are you really following certain life rituals that could, in fact, keep you going for decades to come?
If not, you’re totally going to disappoint your ancient self! As compiled from Men’s Fitness and Reader’s Digest, these tricks will help you look your best in the ripe old age.
1. Make time for biryani sessions
Spending too much time alone can hurt your long-term health. Make time to expand your social networks, whether it’s joining a group activity (think book clubs or a biryani/haleem one-dish affair) or catching up with an old buddy.
A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found friendships formed early in life can protect your health in your older years. In fact, it was discovered that alienation leads to hypertension more than diabetes ever can.
Latest research also links loneliness to a weakened immune system and a higher risk of heart attack and depression. Lonely people have a 14% greater risk of dying than the average person. According to experts, it is just as important to build social networks as it is to eat clean and be active.
Catching fad: Healthy diet on the menu
2. Lather on SPF
Yes, this totally applies for dudes as well! You already know sunscreen prevents sunburn and cancer but do you know that it can also keep the 80-year-old you looking years, if not decades, younger.
Australian researchers studied more than 900 participants for four years. Some were told to use sunscreen daily and were given instructions on proper use, such as re-applying every few hours. Others were not given any directions. Researchers tracked participants’ skin changes with microtopography wherein silicone impressions are made on the back of participants’ hands.
People who used sunscreen were 24% less likely to show increased signs of aging — which basically translates into much fewer wrinkles and fine lines, plus tauter skin.
3. Take a minute to floss, please
Being considerate to your gums now can prevent complications later. Poor oral health has been linked with conditions such as endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of the heart), cardiovascular diseases and prostate issues.
In a study published in the journal Dentistry, researchers studied 27 men with moderate to severe gum disease and prostate inflammation. The men had high levels of prostate specific antigens (PSA), potential markers of inflammation and cancer. They were treated for gum disease and four to eight weeks later, nearly 80% of the men showed decreased PSA levels — even though they didn’t receive prostate care.
Make this your oral health mantra: floss and brush twice daily and regularly visit the dentist for check-ups.
4. Don’t forget to milk up
Milk added to a fibre-filled breakfast, like dalya (porridge) makes it an even more age-fighting formula. In an Arthritis Care and Research study, researchers performed annual knee X-rays on 2,148 patients with knee osteoarthritis to measure the disease’s progression for four years.
Increased milk consumption was associated with slower progression of the disease in women. The women who drank the most milk (seven or more glasses per week) showed smaller decreases in joint space than women who drank the least. Cool it guys, moo juice is beneficial for you too — doodh actually includes two types of protein: casein, which makes up 80% of the total protein content, and whey, which accounts for the remaining 20%.
Both are recognised as high-quality, muscle-building proteins that can help guys maintain lean muscle mass for decades to come.
6 unforeseen rules to follow for superior health
5. Clock in a five-minute jog, daily
It doesn’t need to be a gut-wrenching marathon or an ambitious sprint. Just five minutes of light, mild jogging keep your body running strong into old age.
A Journal of the American College of Cardiology study found jogging for as little as five to 10 minutes every day reduces the risk of death from heart disease by 58% and overall mortality risk by 28%.
Even participants who ran slower than 6 miles per hour, just once or twice a week, exhibited substantial health benefits. All it takes is a light jog while you’re waiting for that annoying commercial to end. Pretty doable, don’t you think?
6. Go nuts for nuts
Pack a snack of pistas, throw in chopped kaaju and aakhrot into your yogurt, or swap makhan for peanut butter on your morning toast. A New England Journal of Medicine study of 120,000 participants found that people who ate nuts daily had a 20% lower mortality risk than those who avoided nuts, and were less likely to die of heart disease, cancer and respiratory disease. Nuts lower LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol), raise HDL (‘good’ cholesterol) and lower blood pressure.
The protective properties may come from their fibre, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and phytochemicals — and they taste beyond divinity!
7. Try a fast, fast
Okay, we aren’t asking you to celebrate Ramazan all year round — since fasting need not mean going for days without food and drink. You can experience the benefits of a small fast every 24 hours, by scheduling the time that you eat during only eight hours of the day.
It takes between six and 12 hours for you body to digest and absorb a meal. After this time, the body enters a fasting state, when it calls on reserves for energy, like stored fat — so following a schedule of eating eight hours and fasting 16 can contribute to weight loss.
Recent scientific evidence shows that fasting, even for a day, can regulate insulin release, giving the pancreas a break. It can temporarily lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Research suggests that moderate fasting for longer periods can create a form of calorie restriction that drastically slows aging.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2016.
If not, you’re totally going to disappoint your ancient self! As compiled from Men’s Fitness and Reader’s Digest, these tricks will help you look your best in the ripe old age.
1. Make time for biryani sessions
Spending too much time alone can hurt your long-term health. Make time to expand your social networks, whether it’s joining a group activity (think book clubs or a biryani/haleem one-dish affair) or catching up with an old buddy.
A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found friendships formed early in life can protect your health in your older years. In fact, it was discovered that alienation leads to hypertension more than diabetes ever can.
Latest research also links loneliness to a weakened immune system and a higher risk of heart attack and depression. Lonely people have a 14% greater risk of dying than the average person. According to experts, it is just as important to build social networks as it is to eat clean and be active.
Catching fad: Healthy diet on the menu
2. Lather on SPF
Yes, this totally applies for dudes as well! You already know sunscreen prevents sunburn and cancer but do you know that it can also keep the 80-year-old you looking years, if not decades, younger.
Australian researchers studied more than 900 participants for four years. Some were told to use sunscreen daily and were given instructions on proper use, such as re-applying every few hours. Others were not given any directions. Researchers tracked participants’ skin changes with microtopography wherein silicone impressions are made on the back of participants’ hands.
People who used sunscreen were 24% less likely to show increased signs of aging — which basically translates into much fewer wrinkles and fine lines, plus tauter skin.
3. Take a minute to floss, please
Being considerate to your gums now can prevent complications later. Poor oral health has been linked with conditions such as endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of the heart), cardiovascular diseases and prostate issues.
In a study published in the journal Dentistry, researchers studied 27 men with moderate to severe gum disease and prostate inflammation. The men had high levels of prostate specific antigens (PSA), potential markers of inflammation and cancer. They were treated for gum disease and four to eight weeks later, nearly 80% of the men showed decreased PSA levels — even though they didn’t receive prostate care.
Make this your oral health mantra: floss and brush twice daily and regularly visit the dentist for check-ups.
4. Don’t forget to milk up
Milk added to a fibre-filled breakfast, like dalya (porridge) makes it an even more age-fighting formula. In an Arthritis Care and Research study, researchers performed annual knee X-rays on 2,148 patients with knee osteoarthritis to measure the disease’s progression for four years.
Increased milk consumption was associated with slower progression of the disease in women. The women who drank the most milk (seven or more glasses per week) showed smaller decreases in joint space than women who drank the least. Cool it guys, moo juice is beneficial for you too — doodh actually includes two types of protein: casein, which makes up 80% of the total protein content, and whey, which accounts for the remaining 20%.
Both are recognised as high-quality, muscle-building proteins that can help guys maintain lean muscle mass for decades to come.
6 unforeseen rules to follow for superior health
5. Clock in a five-minute jog, daily
It doesn’t need to be a gut-wrenching marathon or an ambitious sprint. Just five minutes of light, mild jogging keep your body running strong into old age.
A Journal of the American College of Cardiology study found jogging for as little as five to 10 minutes every day reduces the risk of death from heart disease by 58% and overall mortality risk by 28%.
Even participants who ran slower than 6 miles per hour, just once or twice a week, exhibited substantial health benefits. All it takes is a light jog while you’re waiting for that annoying commercial to end. Pretty doable, don’t you think?
6. Go nuts for nuts
Pack a snack of pistas, throw in chopped kaaju and aakhrot into your yogurt, or swap makhan for peanut butter on your morning toast. A New England Journal of Medicine study of 120,000 participants found that people who ate nuts daily had a 20% lower mortality risk than those who avoided nuts, and were less likely to die of heart disease, cancer and respiratory disease. Nuts lower LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol), raise HDL (‘good’ cholesterol) and lower blood pressure.
The protective properties may come from their fibre, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and phytochemicals — and they taste beyond divinity!
7. Try a fast, fast
Okay, we aren’t asking you to celebrate Ramazan all year round — since fasting need not mean going for days without food and drink. You can experience the benefits of a small fast every 24 hours, by scheduling the time that you eat during only eight hours of the day.
It takes between six and 12 hours for you body to digest and absorb a meal. After this time, the body enters a fasting state, when it calls on reserves for energy, like stored fat — so following a schedule of eating eight hours and fasting 16 can contribute to weight loss.
Recent scientific evidence shows that fasting, even for a day, can regulate insulin release, giving the pancreas a break. It can temporarily lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Research suggests that moderate fasting for longer periods can create a form of calorie restriction that drastically slows aging.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2016.