For Mind & Mood

For Mind & Mood
Keep your memory sharp with mental exercises such as crossword puzzles, brain teasers, or learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. Social contact is also vital; individuals involved with others in their communities fare better than those who are isolated.



Age Well, Be Well: Diet, Supplements and Exercise Contribute to Longevity
By: Elaine Ambrose
With 64,000 American centenarians, researchers studying complex aging processes find it's easier than ever to locate subjects. Five million of us are over 85, and by 2030 one in five will be "seniors." With these statistics, no wonder there's so much interest in aging.

To age well, take advantage of all that medical science has learned. We know that tobacco and drug use, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle hasten aging. Screening for cancers, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other diseases means conditions that once ushered in the end of life can now be prevented or managed. Our goal is not simply to live long but to live well.

Diet Matters
Eat well to help make your golden years healthy. Integrative physician Andrew Weil, MD, urges us to consume more plant foods to defend against oxidative stress. "The appearance of age-related diseases represents the inability of antioxidant defenses to cope with oxidative stress over time," he explains. The Mediterranean diet and the traditional Japanese diet-both linked to longevity-emphasize fish, vegetables, and fruits, with only small amounts of meat. Consumption of refined and processed foods is rare.

Quantity matters, too. Excess weight is the most important factor in how quickly we age and whether we suffer from health problems. "Obesity is aging us at an unprecedented rate . . . a staggering 90 percent of aging conditions stem from being overweight," says Marcia Zimmerman, CN. "If you're over 40 and moderately active, you need about half the calories you consumed as a 20-year-old," she adds.

Color Palette for Healthy Eating
Phytonutrients-powerful plant chemicals present in fruits and vegetables-offer a host of disease-fighting properties.

Yellow, orange, and red foods like carrots, corn, sweet potatoes, squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, apricots, and melons are rich in antioxidants.

Green and white vegetables offering antioxidants include asparagus, broccoli, spinach, turnips, onions, garlic, and collard greens. Their sulfur compounds activate protective enzymes. Indoles found in cabbage help inhibit cancers of the digestive tract, breast, and lung.

Purple, blue, and magenta foods are rich in flavonoids and vitamin C. Choose berries, cherries, red apples, beets, eggplant, tea, and red wine. For fighting age-related symptoms, "The blueberry is king," says Cheryl Forberg, RD. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help protect the brain from free-radical damage and support cognitive skills.

Tan foods supply B vitamins, fiber, minerals, and vitamin E. Enjoy whole grains, beans, brown rice, tofu, and moderate amounts of nuts. Some of the phytochemicals in these foods work to suppress carcinogenic processes.

Besides plant foods, fill your diet with other healthy choices. Poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy are rich sources of protein, essential fatty acids, and vitamins. Omega-3 oils in fish reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions.

Choose organic foods when possible to avoid toxic and persistent pesticides. What's better for you is better for the planet, too.

Keep Moving
What you don't use, you lose. A study of 302 older people found that the most active lived longer. Exercise might include climbing stairs or loading the dishwasher. "The message here is that for older adults, any movement is better than no movement," says researcher Todd Manini, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging. "Simply expending energy through any activity may influence survival in older adults," study authors conclude.

Healthy seniors walk, bike, play golf or tennis, swim, lift weights, or practice tai chi or yoga, excellent for mind and body. While new government guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity daily for weight loss, start off with 30 minutes of brisk exercise at least 5 days a week to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Household chores and activities such as gardening and vacuuming add minutes. Besides a leaner body, you'll gain balance, flexibility, improved sleep, and mental stimulation. Remember to stretch afterwards.

Consider Supplements
Do you get enough essential nutrients? Vitamins A, C, and E, as well as calcium and magnesium, fall short in the diets of most American adults, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition. Consider a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement to fill dietary gaps. Anti-aging formulas contain nutrients important for older adults. Fish oil supplements protect the cardiovascular system, choline enhances brain function, CoQ10 improves heart muscle function, and lutein and zeaxanthin support healthy vision.

Learn to Relax
Research has discovered a link between chronic stress and aging. "This is the first time that psychological stress has been linked to a cellular indicator of aging in healthy people," says Elissa Epel, PhD, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco who helped conduct the study. "The findings emphasize the importance of managing life stress, to take it seriously if one feels stressed, to give your body a break, and make life changes that promote well-being," she explains.

For Mind & Mood
Keep your memory sharp with mental exercises such as crossword puzzles, brain teasers, or learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. Social contact is also vital; individuals involved with others in their communities fare better than those who are isolated.

selected sources "Accelerated Telomere Shortening in Response to Life Stress" by Elissa S. Epel, PhD, et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 12/7/04 } The Anti-Aging Solution by Vincent Giampapa, MD; Ronald Pero, PhD; and Marcia Zimmerman, CN ($24.95, Wiley, 2004) } "Changes in Older Adult Loneliness" by Pearl A. Dykstra et al., Research on Aging, 11/05 } "Daily Activity Energy Expenditure and Mortality among Older Adults" by Todd M. Manini, PhD, et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, 7/06 } Healthy Aging by Andrew Weil, MD ($27.95, Knopf, 2005) } "Healthy Aging for Older Adults," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12/05 } Stop the Clock! Cooking by Cheryl Forberg, RD ($17.95, Penguin Group/Avery, 2003)