Living a Longer life – Do you want to live to be 100?

If you were to live to 100 years old, would you do anything differently today? It’s definitely a question to consider. There is one super- centenarian per million in the population, a total of 260 in the U.S. today. A super-centenarian is someone who is 110 years old or older.

According to the National Institute of Aging, there seems to be a genetic link that determines how long you will live. If you have relatives that tend to live into their nineties, chances are you may as well. In fact, siblings of centenarians have a four times greater chance of living into their early nineties than most people, according to researchers at the New England Centenarian Study in Boston, who studied 1,500 centenarians. In their findings, researchers found that, compared to the general population, brothers of centenarians were 17 times more likely to achieve age 100, and sisters were at least eight times more likely to reach this age.

According to Dr. Thomas Perls, MD, author of “Living to 100: Lessons in Living to Your Maximum Potential at Any Age” based on the above study, even with average genes, it's possible to extend longevity more than ever before: "Not long ago, 85 was considered ancient. Now it's relatively easy to achieve that age if you play your cards right. It all boils down to four simple things: not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet, strength training, and avoiding excessive sun exposure and alcohol. Those are the biggies."

They also found that this population became more optimistic about their lives as they aged, as opposed to becoming pessimistic. Dr. Perls refers to this as the ‘centenarian personality’ – a stress-reducing mindset that combines positive thinking with a fighting spirit. In their findings, most subjects were positive and optimistic in their attitude and bounce back easily from life's crises because they don't internalize thoughts or emotions that cause stress.

Here are a few health secrets for anyone on the road to 100, a prescription from Dr. Perls, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston School of Medicine, and geriatrician at Boston Medical Center.

Age accelerators to avoid: smoking, sun exposure, excessive alcohol , high- fat diet, ionizing radiation, toxic chemicals, excessive risk-taking, and mental stress. Make fitness, laughter, and relaxing recreation a priority in your life!

Age de-accelerators: Exercise (weight training, aerobics, meditation, yoga); a diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, with a minimum of meats and sweets, processed foods, and animal fat or butter.

Although many wonder if diet has much to do with the remarkable health of centenarians, Dr. Perls does mention that it is impossible to know if it has made a difference with today’s centenarians because most processed foods didn’t exist during their formative years; preserving was done by pickling, smoking, and salting; and fresh fruit was less available. "Some ate very little red meat, others ate it every day with bacon and eggs!--and both types lived to 100," He says.

Nowadays, however, there's little doubt, says Perls, that "good training," -- exercise and proper diet--contribute mightily to living to 100.

Another tip is to continue to challenge the mind. Dr. Perls found that centenarians are continually learning something new, which builds fresh connections between brain cells. Crossword puzzles, bridge and jigsaw puzzles all keep the mind sharp. Just as beneficial is painting, writing poetry, making sculpture or learning a new language.

One thing that many people say when they get into their 90’s and 100’s is that if they knew they would live so long, they would have taken better care of themselves. Don’t wait; start now!

Take this free longevity calculator to see how old you will live to be by clicking here: http://www.eons.com/body

To buy the book researchers wrote summarizing what they learned from the New England Centenarian Study, entitled, “Living to 100”, click here.

For more on aging, click here.

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What can you do to lower your colon cancer risk?

An estimated 148,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006. The statistics from the American Cancer Society state that in 2005, there were 56,290 deaths from colon cancer. This is one of the easiest cancers to detect and avoid, however, with a simple stool test or a more comprehensive test.

Although family history does not guarantee you are at greater risk, it does mean that person should take greater care to reduce their other risks. Ways to decrease risk is by cutting down processed foods, animal protein and fats, which we’ll talk about below, get adequate exercise, lose weight if you are obese, stop smoking and cut down drinking. It has also been shown that risk can be decreased by eating a diet high in fiber and fruits and vetegables, and getting adequate calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E.

Listen as Margie talks about several studies that look at the role processed meats play in colon cancer, what studies say about the role fat plays in this cancer, and then what the recommendations are to decrease your risk, today.

Taking steps today to live healthy will make your tomorrows more enjoyable. We all want to live long, healthy, happy lives.

For more on the role diet appears to play in cancer, read this EPIC study report by clicking here.

To read a report on studies related to obesity and colon cancer, click here.

For the role fiber plays in colon cancer, click here.

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Can Exercise really help Diabetes?

Diabetes is a major health concern in the US. There are 20.8 million children and adults, or 7% of the population, with diabetes. It is estimated that 6.2 million people have it but have yet to be diagnosed.

In a July, 2006 issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, reviewers looked at 14 studies comparing exercise against no exercise in type 2. These trials ranged from eight weeks to twelve months in duration. Compared with the controls, exercise intervention significantly improved glycemic control as indicated by a decrease HgBA1C levels, which is a 3-month level of blood sugars.

Researchers saw no decrease in whole body mass, but reviewers felt this was because there was an increase in muscle mass with the exercise. There was a consistent reduction in body fat, however.

No study reported adverse effects in the exercise group or diabetic complications. The exercise intervention significantly increased insulin response and decreased blood triglycerides. No significant difference was found between groups in quality of life, plasma cholesterol or blood pressure.

Overall, this review shows that exercise significantly improves glycemic control and reduces visceral fat tissue and plasma triglycerides, even without weight loss, but not plasma cholesterol, in people with type 2 diabetes.

The primary message is that if you have diabetes, you should be doing some type of exercise! Make sure you talk about it with your doctor, first, but this review of previous research is what we see all the time. People with Type 2 diabetes CAN control their blood sugars with just diet and exercise alone. So, if you are currently on medication and would rather not be, this could be your path towards lifestyle control of your diabetes.

To read the abstract of the Cochraine review, click here.

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Exercise for weight loss – Does it have to be hard?

Last week I focused on the type of exercise necessary to improve blood lipid levels, with the conclusion that, especially when starting out, duration is more important than intensity. However, as you progress, further improvements will be seen when you increase the intensity.

Does this also apply to exercise and weight loss? Join Margie as she talks about two studies that answer this question.

Published in a March, 2005 issue of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine the Cooper Institute split 201 subjects into one of four groups, who followed their regimen for one year. Researchers found that greater results were seen in the women who walked at least 150 minutes a week and concluded that that duration was more effective for weight loss than intensity.

The second study was a January, 2004 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine Researchers broke 120 subjects up into three groups for an eight-month program. Their focus was to see how the different exercise regimens impacted body weight, body composition and waist circumference. Findings showed that although the higher intensity and amount of exercise produced more weight loss, the lower intensity and amount group also saw improvements. Their recommendation for beginners is to start walking 30 minutes every day.

What we can take away from these studies is that it’s better to start a moderate intensity program than do nothing. Get the approval of your physician and start walking! If you have been struggling with weight, the best thing that you can for yourself is to ‘just do it’, as the saying goes. Put on your shoes and find a place to start walking. Although your goal may be 30 minutes a day, even just 5 minutes a day will help you start to create that habit. Once you get to 30 minutes a day, not only will you feel better, but you’ll sleep better, your attitude and outlook will improve and so will your body!

To see the abstract for the Cooper study, click here.

For the Archives of Internal Medicine abstract, click here.

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