Secrets to living longer and healthier!
Stay sharp with mushrooms!
Buttons, portobellos, shitakes . . . eating three cups of mushrooms weekly slows brain aging 30% and can halt the development of dementia, Penn State researchers say. Mushrooms contain two compounds (ergothioneine and glutathione) that together keep brain blood vessels strong and plaque-free, ensuring that healing, nutrient-rich blood reaches your brain easily.
Stay young by worrying!
If you’ve ever made—then abandoned— a New Year’s resolution, you know how hard it can be to make lasting changes to your diet and lifestyle. The trick that’ll make adopting those habits a lot easier? Letting yourself worry about the future instead of always focusing on the sunny side of life! A study in the journal
Psychology and Aging shows that people who mull a bit about what lies ahead are 41% more likely to celebrate a healthy, happy 100th birthday! Worrying about not feeling well in the future makes it easier to adopt— and stick to— positive, healthy changes now, explains study coauthor Frieder Lang, PH.D.
Stay smooth and firm with a little tomato sauce!
Lycopene, the pigment that makes tomatoes red, also turns on genes that slow aging of your skin and the supportive elastin and collagen beneath it, reveals a study in Dermato-endocrinolo
gy. It also helps block UV rays, a key step in preventing wrinkles and age spots, says study coauthor Chris Zouboulis, M.D. You absorb four times more lycopene from cooked tomatoes (like those in pasta sauce) than from raw ones, the reason consuming just 1/2 cup of cooked tomatoes daily helps you look five years younger than your actual age!
Stay heart healthy by skimping on sugar!
Checking nutrition labels to note the grams of sugar in the foods you eat can cut your risk of heart disease 50%— and add up to 12 healthy years to your life! Yale research reveals that sugar is so hard on your heart and its arteries, just keeping your sugar intake low can KO high blood pressure and halt plaque buildup and the formation of blood clots. Simply pick brands with the lowest dose of sugar per serving of whatever you’re buying.
What’s your number-one health wish? If you’re like most of us, it’s to enjoy every year feeling healthy, happy and mentally sharp, shows a new study. And you can! Just following a few study-proven steps can help stop aging in its tracks—and even turn back the clock!
Stay youthful with PS
The one thing healthy, independent, youthful seniors have in common? They average 7 1/2 hours of shuteye nightly! “Sleep is your body’s prime time for repairing damaged tissues, slowing aging and super-charg- ing your immune system,” explains Walter Gaman, M.D., author of Age to Perfection. Find sleep to be a little elusive these days? Taking 100 mg. of phosphatidylserine (PS)— a calming nutrient found in soy— at bedtime will deepen your sleep and prevent nighttime awakenings in as little as 10 days, Italian research shows. One option: Life Extension PS Caps ($40 for 100 capsules; Lef.com/ww). Important: Always check with your doctor before starting new supplements.