Anti-Aging Tips

• Don't get sick
• Don’t get old
• Don't die

• screening whole body computed tomography (CT) scans
• metabolic profiles and cancer antigens (blood testing)

• Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable deaths:
  • Annually …
    • Causes at least 300,000 excess deaths in the U.S
    • Costs the country more than $100 billion
  • Medical risks associated with obesity:
    • Type 2 diabetes
    • Gout
    • Hypertension
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Cardiovascular disease
    • Sleep apnea
    • High cholesterol
    • Cancers
    • Gallbladder disease
    • Impaired respiratory function
    • In women -- increased incidence of varicose veins, asthma, and hemorrhoids

• Trauma kills more people between the ages of and 44 than any other disease or illness:
  • Nearly 100,000 people of all ages in the United States die from trauma each years, roughly half of them in automobile crashes
  • According to the National Center for Heath Statistics, trauma (unintentional injuries + homicides) causes 62% of all deaths in ages 15 to 24
• Trauma can strike at any time of the day. Each year in the US:
  • 8 to 9 million individuals suffer disabling injuries
  • more than 3 million people suffer permanent disabilities

• Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of death
• Cigarette smoking is …
  • The most significant cause of lung cancer and the leading cause of lung cancer death in both men and women
  • Responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, and esophagus
  • Highly associated with the development of, and deaths from, bladder, kidney, pancreatic, and cervical cancers
• Environmental tobacco smoke …
  • Is responsible for lung cancers in several thousand nonsmokers each year [US Environmental Protection Agency]
  • Contributes to coronary heart disease [California Environmental Protection Agency]

• Reduces the risk of heart disease by improving blood circulation throughout the body
• Keeps weight under control
• Improves blood cholesterol levels
• Prevents and manages high blood pressure
• Prevents bone loss
• Boosts energy level
• Helps manage stress
• Releases tension
• Improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well
• Improves self-image
• Counters anxiety and depression and increases enthusiasm and optimism
• Increases muscle strength
• Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends
• In older people, helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging and maintains quality of life and independence longer

• Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons study
  -- 38% less risk of dementia in the population of study group with highest leisure activity:
  • “may reduce the risk of incident dementia, possibly by providing a reserve that delays the onset of clinical manifestations of the disease”
• University of Florida study
  -- More than physical activity, social interaction leads to more satisfaction with life:
  • Type of activity had little relation to extent of satisfaction received. Any pursuit that brought people together proved beneficial for promoting positive self-image and personal fulfillment.

• Results of an eighteen-year study by Scottish researcher:
  • Men who had sex 3 or more times a week looked an average of 12 years younger than they actually were
    • “Having sex helps the body produce growth hormones that produce lean muscle tissue and decrease body fat, which can make you look younger”
• Pfizer Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors
  (Feb. 2002)
  -- Age is no barrier to having an active sex life:
  • worldwide, 80% of men and 60% of women ages 40 to 80 responded that sex remained an important part of their lives
  • 70% of those surveyed who reported that their physical relationship with their partner was very or extremely pleasurable also reported being in excellent health

• The brain is a muscle and must be exercised in order to stay in peak form
• Memorization strategies can encourage the brain to work more effectively and reduce aging-related memory loss
• Cognitive impairment, a risk factor for dementia, is most commonly caused by:
  • unexplained memory loss (12.5%)
  • medical illness (4%)
  • stroke (3.6%)
  • alcohol abuse (1.5%)
• Challenge yourself with activities such as hobbies, adult education, and volunteering

• Reduce responsibilities
• Reduce expectations
• Meditate
• Visualize
• Take one thing at a time
• Exercise
• Hobbies
• Healthy lifestyle
• Share your feelings
• Avoid arguments … Be flexible!
• Go easy with giving and receiving criticism

• Sleep is …
  • Necessary for survival.
  • Necessary for proper nervous systems function
  • Rejuvenates brain nerve cells
  • Promotes brain function
• Deep sleep …
  • Coincides with the release of growth hormone in children and young adults
  • Promotes increased production, and reduced breakdown, of proteins in cells

• Mediterranean Diet: A notably low incidence of chronic diseases and high life-expectancy rates is present in populations living along the Mediterranean Sea (particularly Greeks and southern Italians):
  • diet features grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts,
  • diet features good fats -- olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids (fish)
  • diet includes red meat only sparingly
• Okinawan Diet: Elderly Okinawans have among the lowest mortality rates in the world from a multitude of chronic diseases of aging and as a result enjoy not only what may be the world's longest life expectancy and the world's longest health expectancy:
  • low caloric intake
  • high vegetables/fruits consumption
  • higher intake of good fats -- omega-3s, monounsaturated fat
  • high fiber in diet
  • high flavonoid intake

• Drinking one or two alcoholic drinks each day could help reduce the risk of developing dementia. [The Lancet 2002; 359:281-286]
• Light, and even fairly moderate drinking, appears to protect the elderly from developing small blockages in the blood vessels of the brain known as "silent strokes,” therefore lowering stroke risk. [Stroke 2001 32: 1939-1946]

• A study at UCLA School of Public Health found that men who took 300 mg of vitamin C daily had a 45% lower risk of heart attack compared with men who took less than the U.S. government Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
• In a Harvard study, vitamin E lowered heart attack risk by 41%
• Selenium decreases infection rates in the elderly, while vitamin E improves their immune response

• Infectious diseases are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.:
  • Claiming more than 100,000 Americans lives annually
  • Costing more than $30 billion in direct treatment expense
• Infectious diseases are responsible for 1/4 to 1/3 of the 54 million deaths globally each year
• Since 1973 …
  • Twenty well-known diseases -- including tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera -- have re-emerged or spread geographically, presenting in more virulent and drug-resistant forms
  • At least 30 previously unknown disease agents have been identified -- including HIV, ebola, and hepatitis C -- and there is no known cure for these
• New evidence is mounting to support the theory that the degenerative diseases of aging may be adverse effects of infectious disease, rather than illnesses in and of themselves

• Replenish lost fluids with an intake of 8 to 12 8-ounce glasses of water every day
• Tap water is dangerous:
  • Today, virtually everyone in the U.S. has one or more toxic chemicals lodged in fatty tissue as a result of ingestion of tap water
  • In the U.S., 53 million Americans drink water from municipal water supplies containing potentially dangerous levels of chloro- and fluoro-chemicals, lead, fecal bacteria, as well as pesticides and other impurities associated with cancer and metabolic dysfunction
• Distilled, sterile water is best:
  • Maximum ability to eliminate toxins from your body
  • Devoid of other substances and minerals
  • NOTE: If you drink only sterile distilled water, add a quality daily multimineral dietary supplement