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Posts with tag aging

Eat less, live longer

Posted: Jul 18th 2008 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health

Think you can cut just 300 to 500 calories a day from your diet? If so, it could be the very thing that keeps you living longer.

It's been said before: Limiting caloric intake can slow the aging process. This theory, based on the study of rats and mice, goes like this: Fewer daily calories decrease production of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging. Now, a new study adds to this theory and shows that this hormone decrease occurs when humans regularly skip rich desserts or forgo the Big Mac for a turkey sandwich instead.

So, researchers know now that calorie restriction does indeed slow hormone production in both animals and humans. Great news. What they need to determine now is whether the restriction actually slows the aging process. Common sense says that it does -- there's lots of evidence that cutting back on calories can limit risk for many common diseases, like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Avoid these diseases, and yes, you will live longer.

Continue reading Eat less, live longer

5 reasons you simply must exercise

Posted: Jul 16th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness, General Health, Women's Health

Forget fitting into your favorite pair of jeans, ladies. Forget burning tons of calories too. Yes, these are great reasons to exercise. But take a look at the bigger picture -- the reason, well five reasons, we simply must exercise. Each one falls into the category of living longer and better.

  • Exercise wards off Alzheimer's. All is takes is moderate exercise two to five times per week early in life.
  • Exercise boosts energy. Exercising when you're tired won't leave you exhausted. Instead, it will relieve your fatigue.
  • Exercise slows down aging. The bodies of active folks can be 10 years younger than couch potatoes of the same age.
  • Exercise helps manage menopause. Daily walking can cut stress and anxiety triggered by depleted estrogen. Try 35 minutes at four mph per day.
  • Exercise reduces the need for drug treatment. Want to avoid drugs for managing diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol? Walk as little as three to eight miles per week.

Pick up a copy of the latest Oprah Magazine for more on this healthy topic.

No anti-aging secret for Meredith Vieira

Posted: Jul 15th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Celebrities

About her anti-aging secret, 54-year-old Meredith Vieira says: "I don't have one." She does have good people, though -- none of whom are plastic surgeons.

One good person is NBC President Jeff Zucker, who hired Vieira as Today co-host. Passing up for the job folks in their 20s and 30s, Zucker told Vieira, who has been in front of a camera for nearly two decades: "I want someone with experience. I'm not looking for a number, I'm looking for a human being."

"I give him a lot of credit [for] that," says Vieira, who joins the ranks of women like Jamie Lee Curtis who take aging as it comes and accept it with simple grace. Vieira's kids help the cause. They don't care about her celebrity or anyone else's obsession with it, she says.

We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Round-up: June 27, 2008

Posted: Jun 27th 2008 10:00AM by Kristen Seymour
Filed under: Emotional Health, Food and Nutrition, Healthy Aging, Diet and Weight Loss, Celebrities, We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Roundup

Keira Knightley has battled allegations that her slight build is due to an eating disorder, and though she has publicly denied having anorexia (if fact, she insists she eats like a horse), speculation has continued. Her mom is now speaking out, saying that Keira eats well and has her father's genes.

Jamie Lee Curtis once again proved to be a breath of fresh air in Hollywood. The actress is turning 50, and at this point in her life, she has come to some realizations about age, body perception, and life in general. Not only is she a class act and a role model -- she's wise, too!

Oprah Winfrey ended her 21-day vegan cleanse, and she says she got out of it exactly what she intended to get out of it -- enlightenment. She kept an online journal of her diet and talked about what she found difficult and what she found surprisingly easy. While the talk show host isn't making any commitments to going vegan, she did say, "I will forever be a more cautious and conscious eater. That's my commitment for now. To stay awakened."

Continue reading We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Round-up: June 27, 2008

Fit Beauty: Superb skincare for the 40+ crowd

Posted: Jun 19th 2008 10:30AM by Kristen Seymour
Filed under: General Health, Healthy Aging, Women's Health, Fit Beauty

Throughout your life, your skincare needs change. As you entered puberty you required certain products to combat acne, and as you entered adulthood, perhaps the acne was no longer an issue, but you started having dry skin issues. That's totally normal.

Also normal is a change in your skincare needs as you age. You experience a decline in hormone levels, which affects your skin, causing it to dry out -- these changes generally begin to take place as a woman enters her 40s. Dry skin isn't the only problem, however -- at the same time, women begin to see more wrinkles, sagging, and age spots. Needless to say, the cleansers and moisturizers you used in your 20s are no longer the most effective choice.

My friend, Debbie, had the opportunity to try out some products by Emerita geared toward the specific skin problems of mature women and was very happy with the results, which is saying something because she has sensitive skin and is prone to allergic reactions. And so, for today's Fit Beauty feature, I thought I would share her experiences with you.

Gallery: Emerita: Skin care for mature women

Day Face Cream with SPF 15, $29.99Night Face Cream, $29.99Deep Hydrating Body Lotion, $12.99Deep Cooling Body Lotion, $6.50

Continue reading Fit Beauty: Superb skincare for the 40+ crowd

Exercise may be fountain of youth

Posted: Jun 15th 2008 6:30AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness

Want to cut your biological age by 10 years? Then exercise.

A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine says exercise not only gives us a youthful glow -- it actually makes us youthful. How do they know? Because they gauged biological age by measuring telomeres, parts of chromosomes whose length has been linked to life span. Telomeres shorten as we age due to inflammation and cell damage. But those who exercise for more than three hours per week have telomeres as long as those who are sedentary and 10 years younger.

Exercise may even have the power to reduce the telomere-shortening damage of behaviors like smoking and stress. Some powerful stuff, that exercise. But you know that, right?

5 aging secrets that work

Posted: May 28th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: General Health

There's no stopping the hands of time. We're all going to age, and there's not a thing we can do to stop the process.

I don't know about you, but I'm happy to get older. The older I get, the better, in fact – because right now, I'm not too fond of the alternative.

If, like me, you want to keep tacking on the years, try these five Woman's Day magazine secrets for aging long into the future.

  • Don't smoke. And avoid secondhand smoke. These two practices will help prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung disease.

  • Do play. Working too much can increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart attack, so take a breather from work-related fatigue and stress whenever you can. Start this weekend.

  • Don't eat fried foods or drink soda. Too much fast food and soda contributes to weight gain and can cause chronic inflammation, which prompts the entire body to age.

  • Wear sunglasses and a hat. Protecting your eyes from the sun's UV rays will cut your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration -- it's the leading cause of blindness by about 45 percent.

  • Get important health screenings. Get checked for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugars. Get screened for cancers of the skin, breast, cervix, colon, prostate, and more. Catch any of these conditions early, and you have a good chance of surviving them.

Jumpstart Your Fitness: 40 must have foods

Posted: May 26th 2008 7:30AM by Rigel Gregg
Filed under: Food and Nutrition, Jumpstart Your Fitness

Okay, so the article I'm basing this post on is titled "40 must have foods for the 40 yr old body" but I say why not 40 must have foods for everybody? They're all pretty basic and straight-forward foods that anybody can eat -- why wait to eat these things until you're 40, or feel like it's too late if you're already out of your 40s? I say all food is for everybody! Haha. Well, it is. And especially since these foods are categorized into groups like "immunity boosters" and "bone builders" -- I'm 30 years old and I want a boosted immunity and strong bones just as much as the next person!

So that's my rant on why I dropped the "for 40 yr olds" off the title and out the equation. As far as I'm concerned the following 40 foods are must haves (to some extent) for everybody. Wild salmon and kiwis here I come! (Ew, those don't sound good together at all ... ) .

Gallery: The 40 healthiest foods

For building bones:For building immunity:For building muscle:For fighting inflammation:

Continue reading Jumpstart Your Fitness: 40 must have foods

The Daily Turn On! Blueberries Improve Memory

Posted: May 26th 2008 6:30AM by Laura Lewis
Filed under: The Daily Turn On!

Life is too short not to be fully "turned on." The Daily Turn On! energizes all aspects of "you." Every Monday The Daily Turn On! with That's Fit Life Fit expert Laura Lewis will provide you with ideas and tips to awaken your mind, your body and your life as you journey through each day of the week! Check in each Monday to get your tip for Turning On every day of your life.

Did you know blueberries can improve your memory? Just one half to one cup per day may help get your brain up to speed! You see, your brain is highly metabolic, no different than other organs you have, and it suffers from free radical damage. Some scientists believe that age-related decline in mental function is due to a lifetime of free radical hits to your brain. In a Journal of Neuroscience study, one group of rats were fed the equivalent of one half cup of blueberries per day. In other groups, rats were given food extracts such as spinach, strawberries and a "control" diet low in antioxidants. Once the rats reached the age equivalent of seventy to seventy-five year old humans, they were given various memory function tests. All of the groups outperformed the "control" diet-fed rats. Blueberry fed rats were the champions, significantly out-performing the other groups!

Blueberries cross the blood brain barrier much like alcohol does. This barrier is semi-permeable and allows some materials to cross but not others. It turns out that blueberry phytochemicals have a particular affinity for areas of the brain associated with cognitive performance. These blue little gems are super brain boosters as they protect the brain from mental decline.

Turn On Your Brain This Week With Blueberries! Eat 1/2 to 1 cup daily. Then challenge yourself to memory games. Let me know what happens! Life is too short for you not to be at your "berry brain best. (Sorry, just had to say it!)

How to look 30 when you're 40

Posted: May 24th 2008 11:00AM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Fitness, Food and Nutrition, Healthy Aging

40th birthday candlesA couple months ago, my best friend turned 36. Since I'll be following suit in a few short months, I didn't mind telling her that 36 sounds a whole heck of a lot more like 40 than 35 did. Somehow, at 35, I could still fool myself that I was in my young 30s. But fooling time is over. I'm rounding 40 in a few short years and it's time to face the facts.

Luckily, age is all a matter of perspective. (I remember dreading 28 for some reason, too. It just sounded OLD at the time!) So when I hit 40, I want to be fit and fabulous like the Sex and the City girls. (Without wearing weird hats at premieres ... and drinking too many cosmos ... and wearing ridiculously high heels .. and having fly-by-night relationships with men. OK, maybe I don't want to be like them after all.)

Revolution Health has a list of healthful ways to look your best when the big four-oh hits. Check out the gallery for some of their ideas.

Gallery: 10 ways to look 30 when you're 40

The big four ohDon't smokeGet enough sleepDon't drink too much

10 health tips for men turning 40

Posted: May 21st 2008 7:30AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Emotional Health, Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health, Healthy Aging, Men's Health

My husband turns 40 in just over one week. He's shocked that it's happening. I think his mom is too.

My hubby only wants one thing for his birthday and I warn you: It's not something healthy. It's fudge. He loves this chocolate treat but rarely gets it because one year ago, he joined me in a diet overhaul. Sweets didn't make the cut. So I think I'll surprise him with some fudge since he's been such a good boy -- he's given up a whole lot of junk and has lost 40 pounds too. I'll also get him new swim suit -- his last year's model is too big and with a new one, he can swim that fudge right off his body. I'm getting him one more thing too -- a bit of advice on how to treat his body now that he's creeping on up in years. Much of this advice, housed in 10 friendly tips, is something we all can take -- except for the prostate and sex stuff -- so feel free to borrow anything you'd like, ladies. Here goes.

Eliminate "White Foods" from Your Diet. They are devoid of vitamins and minerals and stripped of their natural fibre so they rapidly drive up blood sugar levels, which contributes to weight gain, diabetes, and other health problems. John's is pretty good in this area already as fruits, vegetables, and lean meats make up most of his diet.

Continue reading 10 health tips for men turning 40

When I grow up I want to be...

Posted: May 20th 2008 9:30PM by Fitz K.
Filed under: Emotional Health, Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health, Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Spirituality and Inspiration, Women's Health, Men's Health, Diet and Weight Loss, Obesity

When I grow up, I want to be just like the adorable and inspiring 85 year old women I saw following along as best as they could in the back of a cardio kickboxing class today. I stood in awe watching them in their elastic waisted linen pants and button-down collared shirts jabbing and crossing with energy.

I thought about the things I do today to increase my health and preserve my athleticism. Will I be able to do the same things those amazing women were doing today while surrounded by others more than half their age? I bust my butt to ensure a long healthy life, but I when I watch things like that....it just seems like a bit of a miracle as well. That's what I'm working for. With all of my being, I want to be just like them.

Continue reading When I grow up I want to be...

Hot celebrities over 40 (and how they impact the rest of us)

Posted: May 18th 2008 6:45PM by Kristen Seymour
Filed under: Healthy Aging, Women's Health, Celebrities

Shows like Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City have given the world a new way to look at aging. Turning 40 or 50 no longer necessarily means a party with an "Over the Hill" theme -- older men and women can be just as sexy as their much-younger counterparts. And that's a good thing. Right?

Well, yes and no. It's fantastic that we are shedding our stereotypes regarding middle-age, for men as well as for women. Most men would agree that Halle Berry and Heather Locklear are just as sexy as any 20-year-old actress, and men over 40 include George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Pierce Brosnan -- 'nuf said.

However, eating disorders for adult women are on the rise. We see celebrities like Teri Hatcher, Demi Moore, and Kim Cattrall and while we know that the way they look simply isn't attainable for everyone, it doesn't mean many women don't try by resorting to anorexia or bulimia. Check out our gallery of super sexy celebrities who've celebrated 40 or more birthdays, but use these as inspiration, not for comparison. And, head over to AOL Body to see who they think is over 40 and still smokin' hot!

Gallery: 25 Sexy Celebs Over 40

Michelle PfeifferElizabeth HurleyPierce BrosnanHelen Mirren

Old people are happy

Posted: Apr 29th 2008 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Emotional Health, General Health, Healthy Aging

All old people may not be happy, but surveys of Americans taken since 1972 say that more than half of black men and women over the age of 80 are very happy. Older white men and women follow close behind. Young people, on the other hand: Not even close.

Only one-third of 18-year-old white men and 28 percent of white women say they are very happy. Young black Americans are even less happy. And Baby Boomers -- born between 1946 and 1964 -- are the least likely to report being happy.

Between 1972 and 2004, happiness trends went like this:

  • General levels of happiness did not grow over the years, even though America became a wealthier country.

  • Differences in happiness by gender, race, and education level lessened as people aged.

  • Happiness increased over time, rising to high levels when people were older -- even for folks facing health problems and the deaths of friends and family.

Why are old people so happy? Maybe because so many of them live social lives -- volunteering, attending religious activities, spending time with neighbors -- or maybe because they're able to successfully compare themselves to others and feel pretty fortunate with what they've got. Or maybe we all just assume old people can't be all that happy, when the reality is much different.

Do you wish to one day be old and happy? Check out this AOL Body resource for a few longevity tips.

Aging fears not about wrinkles, gray hair

Posted: Apr 28th 2008 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health, Health in the Media

What worries people most about growing old? It's not wrinkles and gray hair. It's something far less superficial.

About one-third of 28,000 respondents in an MSNBC online aging poll said they are most worried about their ability to take care of themselves. One-fifth said they're afraid of losing their mental abilities, and 16 percent are afraid they'll grow very ill and experience a lot of pain. Only seven percent fear looking old and wrinkly.

The biggest priority for nearly 60 percent of respondents: Staying strong and healthy.

Continue reading Aging fears not about wrinkles, gray hair

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