The quest for how to live longer is nothing new. People have been searching for a fountain of youth throughout the ages. There may not be a magic elixir to increase longevity, but there are certain foods and lifestyle patterns you can adopt for a healthy life and to extend your years. These actually can work on a cellular level by lengthening the telomeres found at the end of chromosomes that shorten with aging. As they become shorter you are more susceptible to disease which can shorten your life. Making some changes in your eating and exercise habits can help protect the telomeres and slow down the aging process.
Dietary Changes For Longevity
Researchers have studied people for many years around the globe to find those that live longer healthy lives to determine what characteristics in their diets contribute to their longevity. For example, by looking at people in Okinawa, Japan, they have concluded that this population eats a lot of green and yellow vegetables and that they don’t clean their plates leaving about 20% at any meal. These type of vegetables provide a lot of antioxidant value, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients for protection against disease. Yellow vegetables contain carotenoids and bioflavonoids for a boost in antioxidant protection that has been found to protect against UV light from the sun, strengthen immune system function and protect against disease. Dark green leafy vegetables are high in fiber and low in fat, are loaded with phytochemicals, such as lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene, and are a good source for folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. Eating vegetables also helps fill you up with less calories keeping your weight down which puts you at less risk for disease from being overweight. Foods such as these with lots of antioxidants helps you fight off free radical damage to cells that can also lead to serious disease. Mediterranean people are another group found to have longevity from the diet they eat. This type of diet includes lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, foods with omega-3 fatty acids such as fish and olive oil, and the use of herbs and spices rather than salt for flavoring. A diet like this has been found in numerous studies to reduce risks of obesity, high cholesterol levels, inflammation, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar so you have less risk of diabetes and heart disease. Eating vegetables and other foods loaded with fiber are another way to add to your longevity as they help with weight loss, support stable blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and aid digestion. Nuts and nut butters are another good food to give you protein, antioxidants, and unsaturated fats, but they are higher in calories so while they are a healthy food to add to the diet, you do have to be careful not to eat too much.
One of the problems in our society that leads to disease and a shortening of life is the type of foods we eat. With our busy lifestyles it is often hard to get enough healthy foods every day. Adding wholefood supplements to the diet can help with this. To get the nutritional basics these convenient packets of wholefood supplements provide you with two forms of AFA bluegreen algae, probiotics and enzymes. AFA bluegreen algae is one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth being loaded with essential fatty acids, phytonutrients, proteins, complex sugars, vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, and essential amino acids. Acidophilus is a form of friendly bacteria or probiotic that lives in our small intestine and is necessary for proper digestion and a healthy immune system. When we don’t have enough acidophilus our immune system doesn’t function at its peak and allows us to contract everything from the common cold to indigestion, skin problems and allergies. Bifidobacterium, or bifidus is another friendly bacteria that is in the large intestine and helps with digestion as well as producing the calming and soothing B-vitamins that can help you relax and deal with stress. Acidophilus and bifidus are among the most important friendly bacteria and provide a barrier between the intestines and the bloodstream, as well as helping us fully digest our food. Digestive enzymes help with digestion too so that we are able to get the most nutrition out of the foods we eat. When taken with food, enzymes help ensure proper digestion and prevent food particles from entering the bloodstream. When taken separate from food, the enzymes are able to pass through the intestinal barrier to digest the food particles that get into the bloodstream. In addition to the basic nutritional support from these wholefood supplements, this stem cell support supplement can give you an extra boost of antioxidants. As antioxidants have been found to protect and repair cells from free radical damage, they also support our own natural adult stem cells that can become any other type of cell and replace damaged cells. Then for immune system support to help the body function at its peak for protecting against disease, this immune support supplement gives you the immune boosting power found from reishi, cordyceps, maitake, shiitake, Turkey Tail, and Agaricus blazei mushrooms with astragalus, and beta glucan.
Lifestyle Changes for Longevity
Making changes in diet to include foods that keep weight down, support the immune system and help reduce the risks that lead to heart disease and diabetes is one of the most important things you can do when searching for how to live longer. But there are also changes in your lifestyle that can make a big difference in longevity too. According to research done in Australia, people who maintained good social relationships were found to live significantly longer than those who didn’t. But other research indicates that it is important to pick those friends wisely as the type of lifestyle your friends lead can spill over to you. For example if your friend is overweight, the chances of you gaining weight is increased. Choosing friends that lead a healthy life will help you keep to that type of lifestyle. Of course relationships with other people are not always cordial and smooth and studies also indicate that it is important to use the forgive and forget method when becoming angry with others. Whereas anger can contribute to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and reduction in lung functioning, forgiving can lower blood pressure, support breathing function, and reduce stress and anxiety. So when you get mad or have a disagreement with friends or family just think, do you want to be right or be healthy and live longer?
Research also indicates that taking naps can help increase your longevity. One study of 24,000 people concluded that nappers showed a reduced risk of 37% of dying from heart disease. And you know that exercise is vital to staying healthy, but studies report that it also is a big contributor to longevity as it reduces that risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression and some types of cancer as well as helps in keeping the braining functioning well as we age. Along with napping, make sure you get the right amount of quality sleep that you need for your body to rejuvenate. Lack of sleep can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, mood disorders, and stress. And speaking of stress, it is important to find a way to cope with the stress that we have in our lives in order to live longer. Try out a variety of stress reducing techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, a hobby, or some type of activity that helps you relax.
When it comes to how to live longer making some of these dietary changes and lifestyle changes can help you get the edge. No matter how long your life in years ends up being, these changes can definitely help those years be more productive, active and healthier.
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Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/nutrition-world-2/slideshow-nutrition-longevity?ecd=wnl_wlw_020115&ctr=wnl-wlw-020115_nsl-ld-stry&mb=Xenvmz6dAtHtkRjp7Is6CeHnVev1imbCfXusP2Lh3sM%3d
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/ss/slideshow-longer-life-secrets?ecd=wnl_wmh_010215&ctr=wnl-wmh-010215_nsl-ld-stry&mb=Xenvmz6dAtHtkRjp7Is6CeHnVev1imbCfXusP2Lh3sM%3d
