Want to live to 100 in good health?

[Guest guest]

A lot of questions have come to Ask Dr. Mao on the subject of attaining longevity.

Here are some answers!

Q: What are the main obstacles to living a long life?

A: Some of the main causes of rapid aging include:

1. Poor Diet: What you eat probably affects your health more than anything else you do. When you eat a poor diet—fatty, processed, or fried foods and simple sugars--you burden your body with chemical additives and trans-fats and deprive your body of essential nutrients. On the other hand, when you eat the life-giving foods, you prevent disease and improve organ functioning.

2. Unhappiness: Unhappiness does not only depress your mood, it also negatively affects your health. In fact, depressed, unhappy people are twice as likely to develop heart disease.

3. Lack of Exercise: Exercise is essential for a healthy metabolism, proper energy circulation, and the expelling of cellular wastes. Being overweight and inactive is a surefire path to rapid aging and a host of diseases.

4. Stress: When you are experiencing stress, your body is programmed to go into fight-or-flight mode, a state that requires a lot of energy. All of this stress continually depletes your body of its energy resources until it crumples under the overload, leading to adrenal exhaustion or a broken-down immune system.

Q: What are the best ways to attain longevity?

A: Based on the main causes of aging listed above, here are my suggestions for improving your health and increasing your lifespan:

1. Generally, you should eat a balance of organic sources of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Also, eat a wide array of colors: numerous studies show that the different pigments in the skins of fruits and vegetables are powerful antioxidants that are crucial for maintaining health, preventing cancer, and protecting against environmental toxins. Avoid fatty foods, processed or fried foods, and gradually cut candy, soda, and simple sugars out of your diet.

2. Bring joyfulness back into your life! Laughter increases the release of endorphins, compounds that give you a sense of well-being, so watch more funny movies, read the comics, or anything that brings you a good chuckle. Whenever your mind takes you to negative thoughts, try focusing on the things in your life that you are grateful for to give you some perspective.

3. Exercise has so many benefits for your body, from boosting your energy and reducing stress hormones to lowering your risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer depression, and diabetes. Cardio will help your heart and moderate load-bearing will build your bones. Find some forms of exercise--brisk walking, jogging, hiking, swimming, bicycling, yoga--that appeal to you and get going! Tai chi is an all-around beneficial exercise form that benefits your body in all ways, while also bringing peace to your mind and spirit. If you prefer to start slow, begin an exercise or walking program, starting with just 5 minutes a day--but do it every day; add 5 minutes each week so that by the end of Week 4, you are doing 20 minutes of exercise every day.

4. There are many powerful ways to lessen the hold of stress on your life: daily meditation, guided relaxation, and tai chi are a few very effective stress reducers. Some of us may feel we don’t have the time for this, but it is crucial to manage your stress every day, so try this: once a day, close your eyes for 5 minutes and breath deeply and evenly. Everyone has five minutes, and this activity will bring you instant refreshment in the middle of your day.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

--Dr. Mao"Peace begins with a Smile""Count your Blessings""Live & Let Live""Carpe Diem! Sieze The Day!""To Err is HuMan; to ForGive, DiVine."HeartBodyMindSoulNSpirit/HeartBodyMindSoulNSpirit-subscribe http://www.freerice.com/index.php