That's Fit

How often does this happen: You're watching your favorite show on TV, munching on a snack as you do. Going into this whole situation, your intention was to only eat a small portion of that food, but you instead ended up devouring the whole thing. Are you to blame? Well, yeah. Completely? Mmmm ... pretty much. C'mon, there has to be something else to blame? OK, fine, you can blame the TV show a little bit.

This assignment of blame is not entirely unfounded. Obviously, the TV show itself didn't make you eat more (leaving out the psychological effects of some commercials, of course); rather, it was the distraction the TV show created that may have contributed to your overindulgence. For example, RealAge.com cites a related study, wherein women who ate snack cakes while playing a video game wanted to eat more of the food than the women who ate without any distraction.

Evidently, if you eat the same food for a period of time, your palate essentially becomes bored. You feel full sooner and don't want as much of that food. This is known as sensory-specific satiety, say the folks at RealAge, and it helps keeps your appetite in check. But get distracted for an extended period of time, and this appetite-control mechanism gets turned off.

How old are you? How old is your body? The answers to these questions should be the same, but a great many factors can contribute to a noticeable disparity. Women's Health magazine points to the significant role fitness level plays in determining your body's age.

In terms of genetics, people who exercise regularly are 10 years younger than inactive people of the same chronological age. Researchers from King's College in London found that in twins, those who exercised had the longest telomeres -- genetic markers that shorten with age, oxidative stress, and inflammation. And, because exercise has been linked to a reduction in stress and inflammation, researchers posit that it therefore affects telomere length.

For other methods of finding out your "Real Age," visit (where else?) RealAge.com and complete their online physical assessment.

We frequently hear about making sure that our cholesterol is low, but rarely are we questioned about whether it is high enough. As you may already know, there are two types of cholesterol, LDL (which is considered "bad" cholesterol) and HDL (which is considered "good" cholesterol). Essentially, you want your LDL to be low, but you want to make sure that your HDL is high.

Fortunately, many foods that help lower "bad" cholesterol can also help boost your "good" cholesterol. RealAge.com highly suggests eating mixed berries to do just this. In a recent study, people with high blood pressure (a condition that can sometimes be attributed to cholesterol levels) who ate berries daily saw a seven point drop in their systolic blood pressure after only eight weeks. What's more, not only did their blood pressure go down, but their HDL went up, too.

Is your smile looking, shall we say, less than healthy these days? If so, regular brushing and flossing may not be enough. That's where yogurt comes in.

Yes, the same yogurt you usually eat as a healthy snack; evidently, yogurt eaters are less likely to suffer from gum disease and tooth loss. According to RealAge.com, researchers speculate that the bacteria in yogurt helps protect teeth and gums by balancing out the bad bacteria in your mouth, similar to the way they do in your digestive system.

In a related story, you can check out which cities were listed as having the worst teeth in America by clicking HERE. Clearly, most of the worst cities on this list didn't hear about this yogurt research!!

Hey, guys. Want to keep your prostate healthy? If so, visit more porn sites. Well, that wasn't exactly what was suggested by RealAge.com, but it's not too far off, either. The key to keeping your prostate in working order is to have regular ejaculations, say the folks at RealAge.

Fluid that the prostate provides for semen is used during ejaculations, helping to keep the prostate gland from becoming congested and stagnant. This makes urination easier and also helps testosterone levels stay where they should be.

So, if you happen to be flying solo these days, it would seem that the folks at RealAge just prescribed masturbation as a preventative measure against potential prostate problems. The increased risk of hairy palms and blindness were not addressed, however. ;)

Does your child eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables? Are your kids physically active? Do they have a pet they're responsible for? These are just a few of the questions I was asked when I took the RealAge Healthy Kids Test. RealAge -- it's not just for grownups any more.

If you're honest with this test, it'll spit out some good information when you're done. For instance, it'll list all of the good habits you're instilling in your children and then it will also tell you how much the bad habits you're ignoring will age your child by the time she's in her 30s. Better yet, RealAge will help you give you some tips to help you refine those trouble spots and improve your child's health.

The popular website RealAge.com lists four habits that can make you 14 years younger. In case you were wondering, none of them involve traveling to the Florida Everglades and searching for a legendary fountain.

The best part about these four suggestions is that they're very easy to follow. Most people will find that it is not necessary to adopt a lifestyle that is much different than the one they currently live. In fact, many of you will find comfort in the fact that you are already following many of these healthy principles.

4. Kick the habit. The folks at RealAge give you some tips on how to put out your cigarettes for good.

3. Exercise for 20 minutes a day. To help you set aside time for this, a fast and effective workout plan is outlined.

2. Add more colors to your plate. Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables with their diet tips.

1. Be heart smart in your approach to alcohol. Find out ways to keep your drinking healthy.

Evidently, when healthy, middle-aged men and women in a study followed all four of these health behaviors, the combined effect was a four-fold reduction in mortality risk -- an outcome equal to being 14 years younger.