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A Practical Anti-Aging Plan from Johns Hopkins
The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter (08/04) claims that 66% of health problems associated with aging are preventable and due to lifestyle choices that are within one's control. Here's their plan and some of our own:
- The single most important part of any anti-aging plan is regular exercise.
- Don't smoke and, if you do, quit.
- Follow a healthy diet. We just finished a series on diet, exercise, supplements and obesity. Low fat is critical to a healthy diet.
- Use supplements wisely.
- Drink several glasses of water daily.
- Avoid excessive exposure to the sun.
- Reduce stress.
- Challenge your mind. Learn new skills and work to keep your mind sharp.
- Limit alcohol consumption. If you have to have a drink, one glass of wine is considered acceptable. If you don't currently drink, don't start.
- Cultivate satisfying relationships.
To this most excellent list of suggestions we add a suggestion from the prestigious Rand Corporation:
"Elderly chiropractic patients report better overall health, have fewer chronic conditions, spend fewer days in nursing homes and hospitals, are more mobile in their communities and are more likely to report strenuous levels of exercise than their non-chiropractic counterparts."
08/09/04 – Archives of Internal Medicine Research Study Reveals:
At least 20% of elderly Americans are being prescribed drugs that could harm them! The most common cases involved antidepressants (41%). Prescriptions for the antidepressants amitriptyline and doxepin (Adapin®, Sinequan®, Zonalon®) and the anti-anxiety drug diazepam (Valium®) made up almost a quarter of the prescriptions. Second most common were prescriptions for inappropriate muscle relaxants such as carisoprodol, chlorzoxazone (Paraflex) and cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril). All can tax aging kidneys to the breaking point.
Consider Lifestyle Alternatives
Prestigious medical institutions like Johns Hopkins University and well respected "think tanks" like the Rand Corporation agree that one's lifestyle can contribute either to one's good health or to the development of disease and infirmity. We agree. And, we can add a new suggestion to the anti-aging plan. Based on the research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, anti-depressants and muscle relaxants may be shortening your life. Consider lifestyle alternatives!!!
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