February 2006
Staying well: 10 tips for a healthful 2006
Successful aging--living without the burden of major disease--depends in part on healthful lifestyle choices that are within
your power to make. Here are tips that can help you prolong the good years.
Break out of the exercise rut
Varying your exercise routine can help slow the aging process. Switching among different activities keeps boredom at bay, creates exercise options regardless of the weather, and reduces the risk of injury caused by overusing a particular muscle, joint, or bone. So try alternating aerobic exercises, such as walking, running, cycling, swimming, and skating. Do some form of aerobics moderately for 30 to 60 minutes or at a harder rate for 20 to 30 minutes, four to five times a week. Add strength training twice a week and gently stretch your muscles at least two to three times a week to help prevent weakness, bone loss, stiffness, and falls.
Skip the sunscreen for brief periods
Sunshine stimulates your skin to synthesize vitamin D, which may help ward off osteoporosis and other diseases, including certain common cancers, research suggests. People under age 60 can get a year’s supply in most parts of the U.S. by going outdoors without sunscreen for several minutes between midmorning and midafternoon a few times a week during the spring, summer, and fall. Those who are older or heavier, have darker skin, or live far north need somewhat more exposure. Consider a vitamin D supplement of 600 to 800 IU if you rarely get out in the sun and seldom consume vitamin D-fortified milk or fatty fish.
Start to eat early
Eating breakfast every day may reduce the risk of weight gain and possibly heart disease and diabetes, research suggests. But avoid an unsound breakfast loaded with fat and carbs from items like white bread, sugar, and potatoes. Instead choose heart-healthy foods such as fruit, whole-grain cereal or bread, low-fat or skim milk, reduced-fat cheese, and an occasional egg.
Don’t worry about “super” foods
You don’t have to drink antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice or eat tofu, fistfuls of broccoli sprouts, omega-3 eggs, or other “super” foods if you don’t like them. You can get nutrients you need by eating nine servings a day of diverse fruits and vegetables. Include dark, leafy greens, the broccoli-cauliflower family, berries, and red or orange produce. Foods such as fatty fish, whole grains, nuts, and possibly soy foods may also help reduce your risk of disease when integrated into a balanced diet.
Take charge of your own medical information
You have a right to your medical records and eyeglass and contact-lens prescriptions. Ask for copies of all lab results, imaging studies, and immunization records and keep them in your own medical file at home (request clarification of anything you don’t understand). Ask that you be copied whenever a consultant or specialist writes to your primary-care physician. Keep an up-to-date list of medications and doses (carry this list with you at all times). And keep track of when your next blood-pressure check or other screening tests and procedures are due.
Consider digital mammograms
They cost 50 to 300 percent more than older film versions, but they appear to be more accurate in women under age 50 and those with dense breasts. Among those women, digital mammograms detect an average of 73 percent of cancers vs. 52 percent with regular film X-rays, research shows. And digital tests are no more likely to raise false alarms than film mammograms. A benefit for all women: Digital mammograms expose you to just three-quarters of the radiation of film X-rays.
See if diet changes can replace drug therapy
People can improve their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in just six weeks through dietary changes alone. That information comes from a study of modified versions of the government’s carb-rich DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which involve reducing carbs, particularly from sweets, fruits, and juices, and eating more protein (about half from plant sources) and monounsaturated fats. For some people, such changes may mitigate the need for medication.
Ask your dentist for this test
At your next regular checkup, ask your dentist to examine the sides of your tongue, the inside of your cheeks, and the roof and floor of your mouth. He or she can use a brush-biopsy test kit to immediately evaluate whether any small red or white spots are benign or potentially cancerous. Most insurance carriers now cover the test, which has been shown to catch oral cancer at curable stages.
Get serious about easing stress
Stress-management programs are part of the treatment plan for a growing number of diseases and conditions. Maintaining good emotional health--by treating depression, curbing anger, finding ways to relax, and enjoying a laugh--may be nearly as important for preventing heart attack and stroke as proper diet and exercise. If you find consistent stress control hard to practice on your own, an organized program can help.
Learn to sleep
Sleeping pills produce faster short-term results, but biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy may be safer for improving sleep, research shows. Nondrug approaches are also more effective over the long term than pills for chronic insomnia.
| 1 |
Varying your exercise routine can help slow the aging process. Switching among different activities keeps boredom at bay, creates exercise options regardless of the weather, and reduces the risk of injury caused by overusing a particular muscle, joint, or bone. So try alternating aerobic exercises, such as walking, running, cycling, swimming, and skating. Do some form of aerobics moderately for 30 to 60 minutes or at a harder rate for 20 to 30 minutes, four to five times a week. Add strength training twice a week and gently stretch your muscles at least two to three times a week to help prevent weakness, bone loss, stiffness, and falls.
| 2 |
Sunshine stimulates your skin to synthesize vitamin D, which may help ward off osteoporosis and other diseases, including certain common cancers, research suggests. People under age 60 can get a year’s supply in most parts of the U.S. by going outdoors without sunscreen for several minutes between midmorning and midafternoon a few times a week during the spring, summer, and fall. Those who are older or heavier, have darker skin, or live far north need somewhat more exposure. Consider a vitamin D supplement of 600 to 800 IU if you rarely get out in the sun and seldom consume vitamin D-fortified milk or fatty fish.
| 3 |
Eating breakfast every day may reduce the risk of weight gain and possibly heart disease and diabetes, research suggests. But avoid an unsound breakfast loaded with fat and carbs from items like white bread, sugar, and potatoes. Instead choose heart-healthy foods such as fruit, whole-grain cereal or bread, low-fat or skim milk, reduced-fat cheese, and an occasional egg.
| 4 |
You don’t have to drink antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice or eat tofu, fistfuls of broccoli sprouts, omega-3 eggs, or other “super” foods if you don’t like them. You can get nutrients you need by eating nine servings a day of diverse fruits and vegetables. Include dark, leafy greens, the broccoli-cauliflower family, berries, and red or orange produce. Foods such as fatty fish, whole grains, nuts, and possibly soy foods may also help reduce your risk of disease when integrated into a balanced diet.
| 5 |
You have a right to your medical records and eyeglass and contact-lens prescriptions. Ask for copies of all lab results, imaging studies, and immunization records and keep them in your own medical file at home (request clarification of anything you don’t understand). Ask that you be copied whenever a consultant or specialist writes to your primary-care physician. Keep an up-to-date list of medications and doses (carry this list with you at all times). And keep track of when your next blood-pressure check or other screening tests and procedures are due.
| 6 |
They cost 50 to 300 percent more than older film versions, but they appear to be more accurate in women under age 50 and those with dense breasts. Among those women, digital mammograms detect an average of 73 percent of cancers vs. 52 percent with regular film X-rays, research shows. And digital tests are no more likely to raise false alarms than film mammograms. A benefit for all women: Digital mammograms expose you to just three-quarters of the radiation of film X-rays.
| 7 |
People can improve their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in just six weeks through dietary changes alone. That information comes from a study of modified versions of the government’s carb-rich DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which involve reducing carbs, particularly from sweets, fruits, and juices, and eating more protein (about half from plant sources) and monounsaturated fats. For some people, such changes may mitigate the need for medication.
| 8 |
At your next regular checkup, ask your dentist to examine the sides of your tongue, the inside of your cheeks, and the roof and floor of your mouth. He or she can use a brush-biopsy test kit to immediately evaluate whether any small red or white spots are benign or potentially cancerous. Most insurance carriers now cover the test, which has been shown to catch oral cancer at curable stages.
| 9 |
Stress-management programs are part of the treatment plan for a growing number of diseases and conditions. Maintaining good emotional health--by treating depression, curbing anger, finding ways to relax, and enjoying a laugh--may be nearly as important for preventing heart attack and stroke as proper diet and exercise. If you find consistent stress control hard to practice on your own, an organized program can help.
| 10 |
Sleeping pills produce faster short-term results, but biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy may be safer for improving sleep, research shows. Nondrug approaches are also more effective over the long term than pills for chronic insomnia.
