15 Ways to Live Longer
Posted on May 19, 2006
Forbes.com has an interesting article (on MSNBC.com) that offers advice for living a longer and healthier life.
"There's a saying that genetics load the gun, but it's the environment that pulls the trigger," says Dr. David Fein, medical director at the Princeton Longevity Center, a clinic in Princeton, N.J., which focuses on quality of life and prolonging it. "You can have the gene for a certain disease, but it doesn't mean you're going to get it."The article includes these 15 tips for living longer.Take heed: Your lifestyle choices are very significant. While there is no way to ultimately defy death, that isn't an excuse to start indulging in vices and neglecting your health. There are plenty of ways to keep the grim reaper at bay -- and many of these "secrets" result in an improved quality of life.
If you really want to live longer, then start with your attitude. Your way of thinking not only improves your outlook on life, but also how long you actually live. In 2002, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people decreased their risk of early death by 50 percent compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism.
The Forbes article has an explanation for each of the tips that is worth reading. The article says people can expect to live to about 78 today. Just last month we posted about Aubrey de Grey, a biomedical gerontologist from Cambridge University, who believes the first person to live to 1,000 has already been born. If that's true it will require something more than just following these 15 steps to get there.Don't oversleep Be optimistic Have more sex Get a pet Get a VAP Be rich Stop smoking Chill out Eat your antioxidants Marry well Exercise Laugh a little Lose weight Manage stress Meditate