Longevity

Want to live longer? Follow these tips

Physical activity and exercise, which is the key to healthy living, prevents the building up of visceral adipose tissue (the dangerous tummy fat that causes arterial inflammation and hypertension). Research has shown that exercising for just 20 minutes a day can add around two years to your life.

Water: Remember our bodies are 80% of water. So drink plenty of water – the elixir of life. It also helps remove toxins and wastes from your body. Drink at least 2 – 3 litres of water if you want to live longer.

Make good friends: People who have good friends and have strong relationships with their families are believed to be healthier mentally as well as physically than those who cut themselves off from people and are reclusive.

Laugh out: Researchers at the University of Maryland reported that watching 15 minutes of a funny video can improve blood flow to your heart by 50%, which may reduce blood-clot formation, cholesterol deposition and inflammation. Our ancestors were not wrong when they said that laughter is a great medicine. People that tend to laugh 20 minutes a day are less prone to diseases and depressions.

A glass of wine: Research has shown that taking alcohol in moderation is good for your health. It is believed consuming one alcoholic drink per day can add +0.9 years to your life. Moderate intake of alcohol can be beneficial to reducing or even preventing some diseases and health problems.

Source: Wat’s up

`Oldest woman in Europe` reveals diet secrets

Emma Morano, who is the oldest woman in Europe and fifth-oldest person in the world at 114, has shed light on her diet secrets.

According to La Stampa, Morano believes that eating a raw egg every day has helped her live so long, News.com.au reported.

Morano, who was born in 1899, said that for breakfast she eats biscuits with milk or water and during the day she eats two eggs, one raw and one cooked, just like the doctor recommended when she was 20 years old.

For lunch she’ll eat pasta and minced meat then for dinner, she’ll have just a glass of milk, Morano said.

Morano, who goes to bed before 7pm every night and wakes up before 6am, has also credited her sleeping pattern in her longevity.

Source: sify

 

Cataract surgery linked to longer life

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354 persons aged 49 years diagnosed with cataract-related vision impairment – some of whom had undergone surgery and others who had not – were assessed between 1992 and 2007.

People who have had cataract surgery to improve their sight live longer than those who choose not to undergo the procedure, according to a new study.

The research is drawn from data gathered in the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a population-based cohort study of vision and common eye diseases in an older Australian population.

A total of 354 persons aged 49 years and older and diagnosed with cataract-related vision impairment – some of whom had undergone surgery and others who had not – were assessed between 1992 and 2007.

Adjustments were made for age and gender as well as a number of mortality risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, smoking, cardiovascular disease, body mass index and measures of frailty and comorbid disease. Follow-up visits took place after five and ten years since the baseline exam.

Jie Jin Wang, Ph.D., of the Westmead Millennium Institute and one of lead researchers of the study, said that their fiodnings suggested that correcting cataract patients` visual impairment in their daily practice results in improved outcomes beyond that of the eye and vision, and has important impacts on general health.

Wang noted one limitation of the study is that participants with cataract-related visual impairment who did not have cataract surgery could have had other health problems that prevented them from undergoing surgery, and that these other health problems could partly explain the poorer survival among non-surgical participants.

The study has been published in the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.