Easy health tweaks that add years to your life!
Too busy for a major diet and lifestyle overhaul? No problem! These simple strategies can transform your health from head to toe—in less than 10 minutes a day!
✓ Prevent cancer with medicinal mushrooms
Supplementing with a combination of medicinal mushrooms— each type of mushroom, such as shiitake, cordyceps and reishi, promotes good health in a different way— could reduce your cancer risk 45%, reports the journal Innate Immunology. Medicinal mushrooms are chockfull of compounds that kill precancerous cells on contact—while also prodding your immune system to attack abnormal cells faster and more effectively, says study coauthor Jan Martel, PH.D. One option: Jarrow Formulas’ Mushroom Optimizer, $9 for 90 capsules, iherb.com. Concentrations vary, so follow the package directions for dosage. ■ Important: Always check with your doctor before starting a new supplement
✓ Keep your bones strong with raisins
Snacking on 1/3 cup of raisins, dates, prunes or other dried fruit every day cuts your risk of bone thinning as much as 50%, Canadian researchers say. Dried fruit is an excellent source of boron, a mineral that helps calcium latch on to bone tissue. To boost the benefit, enjoy a 12 oz. glass of beer or 6 oz. of red wine daily. Beer’s silicon and red wine’s resveratrol both increase your production of the enzymes needed to build healthy new bone tissue, reveals University of California, Davis, research.
✓ Nix aches and pains with mini breaks
Just taking two minutes twice a day to stretch out on a comfy sofa or bed—breathing slowly and deeply, while letting your whole body relax—can reduce aches and pains 30% or more in two weeks, Spanish researchers say. Their studies suggest that even small breaks from day-to- day busyness calm overactive pain nerves, relax tight muscles and boost the flow of nutrient-rich blood to injured tissues. ■ Bonus: Those soothing breaks also lower your blood pressure!
✓ Dodge Type 2 diabetes with berries
Eating three cups of fresh or frozen berries weekly could cut your risk of Type 2 diabetes 31%, reports the British Journal of Nutrition. Berries are rich in nutrients that block sugar absorption and help your muscles quickly burn that blood sugar for fuel, study coauthor Leo Niskanen, M.D., explains.
✓ Slim down with fermented dairy
At least 80% of the hormones you need to keep your appetite under control and your metabolism high are produced by healthy—but shortlived—probiotic bacteria in your digestive tract. No wonder several British studies reveal that women who eat probiotic-rich dairy, such as kefir or yogurt, daily, effortlessly shed up to 16 pounds in one year without dieting. The study-proven dose: 4 oz. of kefir or 8 oz. of yogurt with live-active cultures daily. ■ Bonus: Eating probiotic-rich dairy cuts your risk of heartburn, bloating and other tummy troubles 50% or more in as little as one week, say Finnish researchers.
✓ Add years to your life with compliments
Who should you compliment? You! Simply paying attention to your own acts of kindness (such as opening doors for strangers or dropping change in donation boxes) can lengthen your life eight years, studies show. The good feeling that comes from helping others cuts production of the troublemaking stress hormone cortisol as much as 50%. And the more often you notice your good deeds, the more you’ll benefit!
✓ Prevent a stroke with breakfast
No time for a sit-down bacon-and-eggs breakfast? No problem! Just having a smoothie, energy bar or piece of fruit each morning could lower your stroke risk as much as 66%, scientists say. Eating early— even if it’s just something light and fast— energizes your liver, helping it flush clot-triggering inflammation out of your bloodstream. Bonus: According to University of Michigan researchers, eating breakfast each day also increases your brain’s production of “happy” hormones, cutting your risk of blue moods, anxiety and depression in half.