Don’t let work stress you out

Comic vaudevillian George Burns lived to be 100 by following his own advice: “If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension.”

A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology confirms his sage observation. Researchers tracked around 100,000 men for more than 13 years. The researchers looked at guys with highstress jobs over which they had little control or for which they gained little recognition. They then looked at those guys who also had a disease called cardiometabolic syndrome (also called metabolic syndrome)—a combo of insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, elevated lousy LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and belly fat. The syndrome affects around 34 percent of Americans. Well, that mix of job stress and cardiometabolic gave those guys a 68 percent higher risk of premature death than men who also had the syndrome but not the stress.

The good news? Your stress response is within your control. You can tamp down your response with aerobic exercise daily (dispels stress hormones), meditation, by volunteering for something you care about and by relying on friends and family (for keeping things in proportion).

So tackle each risk factor in the cardiometabolic syndrome that applies to you: Work to upgrade your nutrition, reduce belly fat, control blood sugar levels and take it easy on the alcohol (avoid self-medicating for stress control)!

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit sharecare. com.