That's Fit

At nearly 80, Ray Moon has suffered through polio, open heart surgery, financial ruin and two minor strokes. And he has a pacemaker. So you might be surprised to know what Mr. Moon's claim to fame is: He's a bodybuilding champ in his native Australia.

He recently took home the top prize in the Victorian Bodybuilding Championships in Melbourne in the 'over 60' category, which is quite a feat considering he is well over 60 -- by nearly 20 years! What's even more amazing? He only started working out four years ago. For more of this story, click here.

Mr. Moon works out six days a week for 2.5 hours and walks 4 km every day. Feel lazy yet? I sure do.

We'd all like to know that we're going to make it to our retirement and still have a few good years in us to finally enjoy some time off. But the sad reality is that many of us won't make it to those golden years, or won't have the health to enjoy it, and in many cases, this is mostly preventable. As diet guru Julia Havey points out, there are five things that could very well keep you from enjoying you old age:

1. You smoke. Haven't you heard the news? It will kill you, man.
   
2. You don't walk enough. True, cars and elevators are great inventions, but they're also making you a little rounder in the waistline. If you have a couple of minutes to spare (come on, who doesn't?), walk.
   
3. You eat too much saturated fat. Saturated fat is only healthy in moderate amounts. Use with caution.
   
4. You eat too much trans fat. Unlike saturated fats, trans fats are never healthy, no matter what the amount. Rid them from your diet.
   
5. You don't eat enough fruits and veggies. 5-10 a day, that's all it takes.

Are you looking forward to your golden years, the time when you can finally stop working and start living your life? If you're obese, those golden years might not be so golden, new studies are showing. In general, findings found the obesity significantly hindered senior's ability to participate in normal physical activities like getting dressed and walking between rooms. Non-obese elders, on the other hand, were unlikely to become functionally impaired.

So, if you're planning for your retirement, make sure you're not just putting away money -- It's more crucial that you have your health.

My experience with people older than me is they tend to give me the once over and with a far-off look in their eye, tell me, 'those were the days, when I was young like you'. I visit my great aunt in a nursing home on a weekly basis and encounter many a wheel-chair bound person looking glancing at me with envy, jealous that I can come and go as I please and navigated the hallways and life with the ease of youth and good health. But happiness and youthfulness don't go hand in hand as the following study shows.

According to recent findings, more people in their 70s claim to be happy with their lives than those in their 40s or 60s. On average, 89% of those in their 70s said they were happy, compared to 87% of those in their 60s and 78% of those in their 40s. Why do you think this is? If I had to guess, I'd say that retirement plays a big role -- people in their 70s finally have a chance to slow down and enjoy life after years of hard work. But I'm sure there's more to than that. What do you think?

The world's oldest man is now Tomoji Tanabe, an 111-year-old from Japan. How did make to such a ripe old age? According to Tanabe, it's because he doesn't drink.

There's undoubtedly some truth to this, but I find it interesting that every time an incredibly old person is interviewed, they tell the world their "secret" for outliving the other 99% percent of the world's population -- "I didn't have sex," or "I never drank alcohol," etc -- when there's obviously no such thing as a "secret" to longevity. While there are a number of lifestyle choices you can make that will improve your health and help you live longer -- achieving this kind of extreme old age has a lot to with luck.

That said, it is worth noting that the world's oldest woman, Yone Minagawa (114 years-old), is also from Japan -- and, in fact, lives on Kyushu, the same island as Mr. Tanabe. So if you really want to reach a ripe old age, maybe you should make a visit.

According to India's "Lima Book of Records," Habib Miyan is the oldest man in the world -- having just celebrated his 138th birthday this past weekend. That's 24 years older than the woman Guinness recognizes as the world's oldest person, and 32 years older than the world's oldest league bowler (just in case you were wondering).

The question is: is it true?

It's a little hard to believe, but doesn't seem impossible. The oldest authenticated "Supercentenarian" (the name given by scientists to exceptionally old people), was born in 1875, and was 122 years old when she died in 1997.

No news on if and when anyone is going to try and authenticate Mr. Miyan's claims, but I hope it turns out to be true. I can't imagine the knowledge, wisdom and insight a person would acquire after 138 years of life -- plus I like the idea that I might live for another 100 years or more.

Alzheimer's is one of the more frightening conditions that can affect as us we age. However, recent research suggests that there's hope -- finding that it may be possible to regain lost memories.

Using both mental stimulation, and a drug that encourages growth of brain nerve cells, scientists have been able to reverse memory loss in mice. The rodents had a condition similar to Alzheimer's, leading researchers to believe that these methods could also be used in humans that have lost their memory and ability to learn.

While this is exciting news in itself, what's most interesting, is that the mere possibilty of retrieving these memories suggests that they were never "lost" in the first place -- but instead rendered inaccessible by brain damage.

Meaning, that with impoved technology, the disease may not only be preventable -- but also reversable.

If you lived to see the age of 132,I wonder what you would say was the key to that rather golden age? Some of us would say "genes" while others would say that "nutrition" was the key to our longevity. How about exercise?

A woman who just turned 132 in South Africa dispels everything the modern world has to saw about anti-aging -- through supplements, surgery and other drastic "fountain of youth" measures.

She says that eating fresh food and getting plenty of exercise is her key to longevity. While scientists and nutritionists want fact-based data generally to correlate that certain elements help us avoid getting biologically older, this woman has lived it and her advice is to east fresh food and exercise. Regardless of her age, her advice is perfectly sound.