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In the past we've told you about how calorie restriction, hiking and weight lifting are good for your health and fitness. These lifestyle choices along with other healthy habits, may also be good for keeping your outward appearances -- and internal organs -- looking young. Discover 25 things -- you may already be doing -- to keep your body as youthful as can be.

Have you taken time to meditate during this busy holiday season? Chances are, your answer's going to be a big ole' heck no. Who has time to sit still when there's Christmas presents to be bought and wrapped, cookies to be baked, family to entertain ...

But Oprah's personal medical professional, Doctor Oz, thinks you should take time to meditate on a regular basis. In fact, he believes that meditation is our own fountain of youth. How's that for promising? All you need is five minutes a day -- click here for Dr. Oz's meditation tips.

That's not to say you need only to meditate to stay youthful -- eating well and exercising is still important. His list of anti-aging foods includes blueberries, broccoli, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

(via Fit Celeb)

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If you knew a pint of beer had as many calories as a hot dog, would it stop you from downing six on a night out with friends. Experts in Britain think so, and they're looking into putting calorie counts on alcohol in an effort to curb binge drinking. It's thought that this move will target young binge-drinking women in particular, who are more conscious of their waistlines. The calorie count could also come with a warning like the kind you see on cigarette packs, an idea of what a food equivalent would be calorie-wise and an indication of how many standard drinks are in the serving size you're consuming (for the record, there are 2.3 alcohol servings in a pint of beer).

But not everyone agrees. Opponents of the initiative think that instead of deterring people from binge drinking, this will encourage them to compensate for the alcohol calories by skipping meals. Hmm. Good point.

What do you think? Are calorie counts on booze a good idea?

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Mariska Hargitay, one of my favourite prime time TV actresses, is gracing the cover of Self this month. Take a peek between the pages because the stunning Emmy-winning actress is dishing about her healthy habits and how they keep her looking young. Fitsugar has the scoop on some of her notable quotes.

Hargitay, 44, says, "You know how you wake up in the morning and sometimes you look gorgeous and sometimes you look like you got hit by a Mack truck? I've realized my Mack truck is food. If I don't have sugar, yeast, and wine, I have no undereye bags and my skin is perfect!" However, when talking about indulgences, she adds, "I'm not going to give up wine for life. Everything in moderation. It's not about being fat or thin. I'm a full-figured woman. It's about, how am I going to keep up my energy." She also admits that she let her fitness routine fall to the wayside when filming the previous season of Law and Order: SVU but she's determined to get back into it in the off-season.

She sounds like a really grounded, balanced role model, don't you think?

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I adopted my son a little over a year ago. When he first moved home, he was 10-years-old and had spent quite a few years bouncing between family to family in foster care. Subsequently, he didn't have a very good grasp on a lot of basic principles, such as manners and appropriate boundaries. He honestly didn't know why it would be OK to ask for a drink of water, but why it isn't polite just to start rifling through a neighbor's kitchen cabinets.

While we worked on manners and boundaries at home, I decided it was best to set an outdoor-only rule when playing with neighborhood friends. I figured there were a lot fewer manner-glitches he could run into while playing outdoors. Besides, it was summer. Why should he be inside when there are bikes to be ridden and games of tag to be played?

A few of the other parents talked to me about the rule. They understood that he was learning new rules and needed stricter boundaries, but they didn't want him to feel different from the other kids in the neighborhood. In the end, they all supported my decision. And by the time winter's cold arrived, my son had a much better grasp on manners and could play inside friend's houses without unintentionally being rude.

Ashton Kutcher has a new role, but it isn't in any movie. He's working as an assistant coach for a high school freshman football team. Kutcher played football when he was in high school, and he's decided to put that knowledge and love of sport to good use. Kutcher attends team practices five days a week as well as games.

If you've got kids, you may want to take a hint from Kutcher's playbook. Coaching is a great way to encourage your kids and show them your love of sport. If your kids aren't interested in joining your team -- no problem. Kutcher isn't letting that stop him! If you have knowledge to share and love a sport, consider coaching a youth or high school team. You're helping other kids develop their athletic skills and you're setting a good example for your own kids.

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Parents are always trying to get their teens to eat healthfully, serving them healthy breakfasts and dinners as often as they can. But what about the hours in between? It's during those times, which typically fall around the normal school lunch period, that many kids make their own dietary choices. And, as a recent CDC study discovered, most high schools aren't offering the type of healthy choices you are at home.

A CDC study of 36 states found that in some states, it's very easy for teens to get unhealthy junk food both in their lunch lines or throughout the day in vending machines.

Amazingly, this is actually an improvement over recent years. In a related study, the percentage of high schools selling junk food during lunch periods dropped from 53 percent in 2004 to about 37 percent in 2006. However, there was not any change in the percentage of high schools selling junk food during non lunchtime hours, such as candy in vending machines or in the school store.

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There's looking young and then there's feeling young. Sometimes the two work in tandem, but if you were to ask Joan Rivers -- or almost any other cosmetically-enhanced older person -- I'm sure they'd tell you this isn't always the case.

Creams, ointments, and surgery aside, there is a way to keep your body 12 years younger, say researchers from the University of Toronto. Biologically speaking, regular cardio exercise can increase oxygen intake by 25 percent, thereby keeping your body looking and feeling years younger than it actually is.

For some easy-to-follow and effective exercise tips, visit our sister site AOL Health by clicking here.

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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?

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I have just come across the coolest thing I've seen all day -- Girls on the Run. It's a program designed to encourage "preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running."

Girls on the Run holds 5K events and pairs up a girl with a running buddy -- that could be you! According to the Girls on the Run Northeast Florida Chapter's website, "a running buddy chaperones and mentors one or two girls through her two 5K experiences: the Practice 5K and the RITA CASH 5K. That means keeping pace with the girl, ensuring her safety, and cheering her on!" Each location might be slightly different, but you get the point.

You'll be running slightly over three miles, encouraging a young girl to get involved in fitness, and building her self esteem. Just try to find something that's not to like! If you're interested (and I hope you are), check out the website for locations near you.

via FitSugar

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I remember viewing forced exercise as punishment well into high school. I never ran for fun. I ran because I was late for practice, or because we hadn't played well the night before.

Having coached youth sports, I understand the need to have some sort of punishment, and it's totally logical that the punishment be something that will also benefit the players. However, it's also important that the kids realize that's why you've chosen this consequence.

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Looking for the perfect gift to give your teen this year for his or her birthday? Try signing them up at your local fitness center.

Generation I is becoming more and more sedentary, as evidenced by the growing rate of obesity among adolescents and teens. The internet offers interactive entertainment that far exceeds the passive form of viewing offered by TV, making it a round-the-clock obsession for some kids. Consequently, this physical inactivity is making youth and teens heavier and more out of shape in greater numbers than ever before.

Battle back against the lure of websites like Second Life by offering your teen more of a real life. Get them to the gym. Sign them up. Maybe even throw in a few sessions with a personal trainer to help them along. Get them motivated and get them moving again!!

Ever since scientists have had access to the human genome, they've been discovering all kinds of new biological secrets. For example, we've heard from centenarians before who claimed to have the answer for long life. It could have cold showers for this guy, or maybe getting married has something to do with it!

But a new study is saying a large part of it may be due to the fact that some people living extraordinary long lives have mutated genes. The claim is interesting: researchers say a genetic glitch actually disrupts their normal body's growth process. This makes sense in some ways. If a gene is causing centenarians' cells to generate differently, then certainly this would affect their longevity.

They discovered the same link in animals who had really long lives. And the gene variations supposedly halt the aging process! Sounds like science fiction, but I wonder how long it will be before these "genetic glitches" are clinically produced for people seeking the fountain of youth. Now that's a page out of a sci-fi novel right there!

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Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System last year released a report stating that a very high proportion of children having surgery are overweight or obese.

Examining a database of over 6,000 pediatric surgeries at the University of Michigan Hospital from 2000 to 2004, the researchers found that almost 32 percent of the patients were overweight or obese (with more than half of that 32 percent being obese).

One of the major concerns, aside from the clear relationship to a nationwide rise in overweight and obese children, is that these children -- just like overweight and obese adults who undergo surgery -- are more likely to develop infections in their surgical wounds.

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We all want to live as long and as well as possible, but anymore it seems like that's near impossible with the regular bombardment of unhealthy food choices, sedentary job options, and daily stress levels skyrocketing higher every day. There are all kinds of good habits that are known to help with a longer healthier life (this site is full of them!) but recent research has found 4 specific good habits that have a measurable effect on longevity: altogether they can add as much as 14 years!

• Drink moderately
• Exercise
• Quit smoking (or even better never start)
• Eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies daily

Surprised? I am a little. I would have guessed that getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night or drinking enough water would have made the list (instead of drinking moderately), but all in all I like the list! Having 4 targets is so much easier than trying to do a hundred different things every day.

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