20 Ways to Live Longer

20 Ways to Live Longer & Better Would you like to live to be 100? The odds are growing in your favor. Centenarians happen to be the fastest-growing age group in the United States. The latest census estimates that 75,000 Americans are over 100 years old. That number is expected to double every 10 years, with 300,000 Americans living beyond the century mark by 2020.
But healthy aging is not just about adding years to your life. It’s also about adding life to your years. The big question is how to do both.
Don’t sweat it if you don’t have any long-lived relatives. Research has found that diet and lifestyle may be far more important than your genes.
So, just what can you do to improve your chances of living a long life? The answer is to do everything you can to stay healthy. That’s because increases in life expectancy are largely the result of not becoming sick. It’s also important, if not obvious, that you avoid risky behavior, such as a job that puts you in the middle of a war zone.
Many of the following 20 tips are documented by scientific research. Others are just plain common sense. The bottom line is that you have to work at staying physically and mentally fit, and the earlier you start, the better.Nutrients called antioxidants—such as vitamins A, C and E, and carotenoids like beta carotene and flavonoids—protect you against hazardous molecules called free radicals. A recent study of centenarians found that they had higher blood levels of antioxidants, largely because they ate many times more vegetables and fruits compared with other seniors and middle-aged people.It’s important to have a sense of belonging and to have people looking out for you. So, stay involved in a network of family members or friends. But balance social relationships with quiet and creative time for yourself.Married men are generally healthier and live longer than their divorced or widowed counterparts. A divorced man is more likely to smoke, drink, eat poorly, develop Alzheimer’s disease, commit suicide or die prematurely of some other cause. There’s something very basic about physical contact. It makes you feel good. Experiments with primates have shown that a lack of touch during infancy leads to abnormal behavior later in life. Touch can take numerous forms: hugs, cuddling, massage and sexual intercourse. Sex, by the way, boosts immunity.Just about everyone seems stressed by too much work, too many family obligations and not enough time. When you’re feeling stressed, stop and take four deep breaths. Changing your breathing patterns, even briefly, can help you de-stress. Another tip: Don’t take other people’s rude behavior personally. Our attitudes toward the world around us strongly influence our physical well-being. Just as depression increases the risk of heart disease, a negative outlook can cast a pall over everything. Life, of course, has plenty of setbacks—losing a job, getting divorced and so forth—but it also offers countless opportunities. If you have an upbeat attitude, you’ll be more in the position of seizing those opportunities. Many experts in Alzheimer’s disease believe that it’s important to build an intellectual “reservoir” when you’re young and middle-aged. It’s never too late to expand your mind: Read, listen, travel, take classes and keep learning and challenging yourself. Ginkgo and ginseng supplements can also improve memory.Laughter equals fun, and it also prompts amazing physiological changes. A good laugh increases respiration, blood flow to the brain and immune function while reducing stress. Look for the silly moments in everyday life, and learn to laugh at yourself.Several studies have shown that simply going for a walk helps burn blood sugar. It reduces your likelihood of putting on weight and developing diabetes or heart disease. Regular physical activity can also help relieve depression. Go for a vigorous walk during lunch or after dinner in the evening.You lose muscle mass as you age, but you can slow this loss through resistance exercise, such as by carrying small weights when you walk. Muscle supports your skeleton and can reduce your risk of breaking a bone. It also helps burn blood sugar, lowering your risk of diabetes. You need a little sun, maybe 15 minutes a day, to initiate your body’s production of vitamin D, which strengthens your bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Too much sun, however, breaks down the collagen and elastin proteins that form your skin, leaving it thinner and more wrinkled as you age. Excess exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight can also increase your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, two leading causes of blindness. Wear sunscreen, UV-blocking sunglasses and a hat if in the sun for long periods.Diabetics are far more likely than nondiabetics to die of heart disease. A recent study, however, found that even modestly elevated blood sugar levels increase the risk of heart attack. To maintain normal blood sugar levels, cut back on dietary sugars and refined carbohydrates, which can boost blood sugar levels. Supplements of alpha lipoic acid, silymarin (derived from milk thistle) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) can help control blood sugar as well.Longevity is often associated with strong religious faith. Spirituality may help you feel more at peace. Or, it could be that religious people simply take better care of themselves, have a greater support group through the church community, and are less likely to smoke tobacco.
Most of your body weight is water, so it’s important to stay hydrated. Drink several glasses of filtered or bottled water daily. Avoid coffee (and other high-caffeine beverages) and alcohol, which are diuretics and can dehydrate you.Being overweight increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease, which can shorten your life. Extra weight also puts a lot of pressure on your joints, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis and disability.As you age, your blood vessel walls inevitably lose some of their flexibility, increasing your blood pressure. You can probably lower blood pressure with vitamin C supplements (500 mg daily) and a diet rich in olive oil. Too much salt and too little potassium may contribute to high blood pressure. It’s important to maintain a good potassium-to-sodium ratio, which you can do by eating a lot of fresh vegetables and cutting back on excess sodium, present in many packaged foods.A well-tuned immune system catches and destroys abnormal cancer-like cells before they get out of control. Antioxidants that boost glutathione (important in cellular respiration) such as N-acetylcysteine (NAC), alpha lipoic acid and vitamin C, are particularly important. In addition, you may want to consider deer antler velvet. Containing an array of nutrients, including glucosamine, chondroitin, insulin-like growth factors, amino acids and anti-inflammatory compounds, this unique supplement shows promise as a youth promoter. Thousands of scientific studies point to the disease-fighting and age-defying benefits of supplemental vitamins. For example, vitamin E can lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death. High intake of vitamin C is strongly associated with longevity. Folic acid and other B vitamins can help repair damaged DNA, which is at the root of aging. If you want to keep it simple, take a daily high-potency multivitamin supplement and a separate mineral supplement.Almost two-thirds of Americans don’t get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night, according to a recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation in Washington, D.C. A lack of sleep shortchanges your body’s time to repair the wear and tear of the previous day. It also impairs your ability to think and drive, which increases your risk of an automobile accident. Smoking tobacco or breathing in secondhand smoke is an assault on your body. So is drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. What’s more, both deplete nutrients you need for health, and a good diet and supplement use won’t fully protect you. So, in a word, stop!

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