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Health & Fitness: Ten Steps to Lengthen Your Life Span 1. Exercise Regularly. A number of studies have documented the fact that engaging in sound exercise on a regular basis can have a significant impact on how long a person lives. One theory hypothesizes that you extend your life 2 seconds for every second that you exercise. 2. Reduce the total number of calories you ingest. In theory, digesting food wears down the body's machinery and creates by-products (e.g. free radicals) that can harm the body. Accordingly, eating less food results in less damage to your body. Documentation for such a theory comes from the considerable research involving lab animals that were fed 30% less than normal (while receiving their full allotment of nutrients); they lived 30% longer. 3. Stop Smoking. Evidence suggests that quitting smoking for five years can add two years to the average life span. 4. Keep your blood pressure down. Research has shown that taking action to keep your blood pressure level below the recommended reading of 120/80 mmHg can lengthen your life by three years. 5. Keep your blood cholesterol levels at an appropriate level. If you can raise the level of "good" cholesterol (i.e., HDL) in your blood above 55, you can add a year to your life. By the same token, if you can reduce the level of the "bad" cholesterol (i.e., LDL) in your blood to below 160, you can add another year to your life. 6. Don't be a loner. Social interactions with others purportedly rouse the body's immune system. In such a case, individuals with social ties tend to get sick less often and get well quicker. Allegedly, people who socially interact with others at least three times a month can lengthen their life by two years. 7. Eat nutritionally sound meals. In addition to how much you eat, what you eat can have an impact on how long you live. For example, eating five servings of fruit and vegetabes a day can add a year to your life. In a similar vein, keeping the number of fat calories that you consume to less than 20% of your total calories can boost your life span by up to two ears. 8. Train your brain. The brain, like muscles, atrophies if unused. If excercised regularly (e.g., reading, interacting with others, etc.), your chances of maintaining an enhanced zest for life will be greatly improved. 9. Prevent diabetes. By the time you reach 65, your odds of developing adult onset diabetes are almost 1 in 10. If you take steps to avoid diabetes (i.e., excercise, eat a sound diet, manage your weight, etc.), you can add a year to your life. 10. Have a passion. Research suggests that individuals who live the longest have strong interests and goals. Courtesy
of ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal
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