JoAnneFogarty.com

A new study just released clearly points to four tips on how to live longer. People who followed all four healthy programs were at far lower risk compared with people who followed none: 93% lower risk for diabetes, 81% for a heart attack, 50% for a stroke and 36% for cancer.

Here are the four tips on how to live longer:

1. Regular physical exercise, essential to optimal health. The study recommends at least 3 ½ hours per week. There’s no excuse for not doing this one. It can be Free. Walking is Free. Running or Jogging is Free. After you get a bicycle, biking is Free. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is Free. There are some walking groups for Seniors, and in the malls that are also Free.

Looking for a little more fun as you’re living a healthy life. How about swimming or group exercise classes at your local Y. There are also dance classes, yoga or tai chi. You just have to search them out. The internet is a great place to start.

And of course, there are the gyms. I personally go to Curves and enjoy getting through the twelve or fifteen resistance machines in about 30 minutes. Sometimes not a word is said, but usually the women begin chatting about one thing or another and that makes the time go even faster. My husband prefers a regular gym with weights and resistance machines and treadmills and stationary bicycles for his cardio work out.

2. Eat healthy foods is elementary to living a healthy life. We all learn the basics in school. The four food groups. I grew up with meat, starch, vegetables and dairy. But actually that is not the way to eat healthy. What one really needs to do is focus on fruits and vegetables, add a minimum amount of red meat, and cut down on sugar and refined flowers (anything white). In case you haven’t heard, eggs are good for you again. Dairy too is important, but watch out for the calories here. And don’t forget the value of water. Did you know that often when you think you are hungry, you are really just dehydrated and need some water. So next time you feel hungry, try drinking some water and see if that satisfies you.

The study underscores that shifting to a healthier diet helps the heart – even if a person remains overweight. And as a side benefit, people who alter their diets often find they lose weight as well.

3. Don’t smoke seems to be key to optimum health. If you have never smoked, your life expectancy is already higher than those that have smoked – even if they have stopped. In the study, people who had never smoked and who maintained a BMI under 30 had a 72% reduction of chronic disease People who never smoked reduced heart attack risk the most of all four factors.

4. Avoid becoming obese is important to living a healthy life. A BMI under 30 lowered overall disease risk the most – particularly for diabetes. They study goes into the BMI index of the participants. Well I say forget the BMI. You know when the pants you wore last year don’t fit. You know when you have to buy new clothes because you can’t button last season’s clothes. Come on, get mad at yourself. And make yourself get fit. Did you hear that guy on the biggest looser show saying he would stop and eat 3 hamburgers on the way home to dinner. Yikes! How about only getting one hamburger before dinner – just for starters. Well, you get the picture. It’s time to cut down – not out.

These four tips on how to live longer should not surprise you. You have been hearing about them for years. But with this study we see that each of the four healthy factors reduce chronic disease risk.

Want to live a healthy life? The cardiologists are stressing to their patients more and more that cardiovascular disease is in the hands of each individual patient. You have the power to change. The power to put healthy programs in your daily routine. Even within a few years time you will see changes in chronic diseases associated with these health factors. So start now. And watch your LDL cholesterol and blood pressure go down.

The study was conducted by Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Germany. They examined the habits of 23,153 German men and women between the ages of 35 and 65. At the start of the study the scientists measured participants heights and weights and asked them about their diseases, lifestyle habits and diets.

Researchers reviewed the participants’ medical records about eight years later, looking for diabetes, heart attacks, strokes or cancer. The study’s findings should apply to people living in the United States as well as those in Germany.

The conclusion on how to live longer – do these four things. But the surprising thing is that only 9% of the people in the study practiced all four healthy lifestyle choices that would help them live longer and have optimal health. Four percent practiced none. 35% followed two of the healthy practices.

So how about you? Are you living a healthy life? Are these healthy programs routine for you? Do you want to live longer? Here’s hoping you’re on your way to optimum health.

First published: EzineArticles.com