*** 11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100 ***
重点提示:You don't need to eat yogurt and live on a mountaintop, but you do
need to floss!!!
One of the biggest factors that determines how well you age is not your
genes but how well you live. Not convinced? A study published in 2009 in the
British Medical Journal of 20,000 British folks shows that you can cut your
risk of having a stroke in half by doing the following four things: being
active for 30 minutes a day, eating five daily servings of fruit and
vegetables, and avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol.
While those are some of the obvious steps you can take to age well,
researchers have discovered that centenarians tend to share certain traits
in how they eat, move about, and deal with stress—the sorts of things we
can emulate to improve our own aging process. Of course, getting to age 100
is enormously more likely if your parents did. (Recent research suggests
that centenarians are 20 times as likely as the average person to have at
least one long-lived relative.) Still, Thomas Perls, who studies the century
-plus set at Boston University School of Medicine, believes that assuming
you've sidestepped genes for truly fatal diseases like Huntington's, "there'
s nothing stopping you from living independently well into your 90s." Heck,
if your parents and grandparents were heavy smokers, they might have died
prematurely without ever reaching their true potential lifespan, so go ahead
and shoot for those triple digits. Follow these 12 habits and check out
Perls' lifetime risk calculator to see how long you can expect to live.
1. Don't retire.
"Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the
incidence of obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement," says
Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The
Chianti region of Italy, which has a high percentage of centenarians, has a
different take on leisure time. "After people retire from their jobs, they
spend most of the day working on their little farm, cultivating grapes or
vegetables," he says. "They're never really inactive." Farming isn't for you
? Volunteer as a docent at your local art museum or join the Experience
Corps, a program offered in 19 cities that places senior volunteers in urban
public elementary schools for about 15 hours a week.
2. Floss every day.
That may help keep your arteries healthy. A 2008 New York University study
showed that daily flossing reduced the amount of gum-disease-causing
bacteria in the mouth. This bacteria is thought to enter the bloodstream and
trigger inflammation in the arteries, a major risk factor for heart disease
. Other research has shown that those who have high amounts of bacteria in
their mouth are more likely to have thickening in their arteries, another
sign of heart disease. "I really do think people should floss twice a day to
get the biggest life expectancy benefits," says Perls.
3. Move around.
"Exercise is the only real fountain of youth that exists," says Jay
Olshansky, a professor of medicine and aging researcher at the University of
Illinois at Chicago. "It's like the oil and lube job for your car. You don'
t have to do it, but your car will definitely run better." Study after study
has documented the benefits of exercise to improve your mood, mental acuity
, balance, muscle mass, and bones. "And the benefits kick in immediately
after your first workout," Olshansky adds. Don't worry if you're not a gym
rat. Those who see the biggest payoffs are the ones who go from doing
nothing to simply walking around the neighborhood or local mall for about 30
minutes a day. Building muscle with resistance training is also ideal, but
yoga classes can give you similar strength-training effects if you're not
into weight lifting.
4. Eat a fiber-rich cereal for breakfast.
Getting a serving of whole-grains, especially in the morning, appears to
help older folks maintain stable blood sugar levels throughout the day,
according to a recent study conducted by Ferrucci and his colleagues. "Those
who do this have a lower incidence of diabetes, a known accelerator of
aging," he says.
5. Get at least six hours of shut-eye.
Instead of skimping on sleep to add more hours to your day, get more to add
years to your life. "Sleep is one of the most important functions that our
body uses to regulate and heal cells," says Ferrucci. "We've calculated that
the minimum amount of sleep that older people need to get those healing REM
phases is about six hours." Those who reach the century mark make sleep a
top priority.
6. Consume whole foods, not supplements.
Strong evidence suggests that people who have high blood levels of certain
nutrients—selenium, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E—age much better and
have a slower rate of cognitive decline. Unfortunately, there's no evidence
that taking pills with these nutrients provides those antiaging benefits. "
There are more than 200 different carotenoids and 200 different flavonoids
in a single tomato," points out Ferrucci, "and these chemicals can all have
complex interactions that foster health beyond the single nutrients we know
about like lycopene or vitamin C." Avoid nutrient-lacking white foods (
breads, flour, sugar) and go for all those colorful fruits and vegetables
and dark whole-grain breads and cereals with their host of hidden nutrients.
7. Be less neurotic.
It may work for Woody Allen, who infuses his worries with a healthy dose of
humor, but the rest of us neurotics may want to find a new way to deal with
stress. "We have a new study coming out that shows that centenarians tend
not to internalize things or dwell on their troubles," says Perls. "They are
great at rolling with the punches." If this inborn trait is hard to
overcome, find better ways to manage when you're stressed: Yoga, exercise,
meditation, tai chi, or just deep breathing for a few moments are all good.
Ruminating, eating chips in front of the TV, binge drinking? Bad, very bad.
8. Live like a Seventh Day Adventist.
Americans who define themselves as Seventh Day Adventists have an average
life expectancy of 89, about a decade longer than the average American. One
of the basic tenets of the religion is that it's important to cherish the
body that's on loan from God, which means no smoking, alcohol abuse, or
overindulging in sweets. Followers typically stick to a vegetarian diet
based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts, and get plenty of exercise.
They're also very focused on family and community.
9. Be a creature of habit.
Centenarians tend to live by strict routines, says Olshansky, eating the
same kind of diet and doing the same kinds of activities their whole lives.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day is another good habit
to keep your body in the steady equilibrium that can be easily disrupted as
you get on in years. "Your physiology becomes frailer when you get older,"
explains Ferrucci, "and it's harder for your body to bounce back if you, say
, miss a few hours of sleep one night or drink too much alcohol." This can
weaken immune defenses, leaving you more susceptible to circulating flu
viruses or bacterial infections.
10. Stay connected.
Having regular social contacts with friends and loved ones is key to
avoiding depression, which can lead to premature death, something that's
particularly prevalent in elderly widows and widowers. Some psychologists
even think that one of the biggest benefits elderly folks get from exercise
the strong social interactions that come from walking with a buddy or taking
a group exercise class. Having a daily connection with a close friend or
family member gives older folks the added benefit of having someone watch
their back. "They'll tell you if they think your memory is going or if you
seem more withdrawn," says Perls, "and they might push you to see a doctor
before you recognize that you need to see one yourself."
11. Be conscientious.
The strongest personality predictor of a long life is conscientiousness—
that is, being prudent, persistent, and well organized, according to The
Longevity Project, coauthored by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. The book
describes a study that followed 1,500 children for eight decades,
collecting exhaustive details about their personal histories, health,
activities, beliefs, attitudes, and families. The children who were prudent
and dependable lived the longest, Friedman says, likely because
conscientious types are more inclined to follow doctors' orders, take the
right medicines at the right doses, and undergo routine checkups. They're
also likelier to report happier marriages and more satisfying work lives
than their less conscientious peers.